Chương 203: The Girl, The Dog, And The Stalker

Leou would have probably liked for the rest of the day to be calm, a high-noble had just threatened her inside her own office after all, and not just any high-noble, but one from the Boorizar family. These owlfolks were the eyes and ears of the royal family here in Heldinot. They mostly kept to themselves, but it was no secret that they had influence and held some sway with the king. Not to mention that, as I learned afterwards, this man specifically was rather important.

Lunovis Boorizar was the twin of the current patriarch of the Boorizar family. They weren't identical twins, but it was still notable that one of them had become patriarch while the other had simply accepted it. It should have been a coveted position, but Lunovis was very specifically more focused on getting jobs done than managing family affairs. He was apparently the most competent family member of the time. Leou even said that he had surpassed his forefathers.

Now, as an information gatherer, it didn't mean that he was strong per se, but the snow leopard was very specific that I really shouldn't be thinking about killing him. He had apparently perfected his mastery over the transformative abilities of his bloodline and could take on truly powerful, monstrous, and absolutely gigantic owl forms if he so desired.

In fact, due to an accident that had taken place during his youth, some people referred to him with a title that sounded rather humorous for a noble, 'The Blast janitor'... But the origin of the somewhat ridiculous nickname was anything but funny.

He had gotten it due to once getting into a situation where he was stuck in a room with several spies or anti-royalty individuals who, at the time, were definitely more than powerful enough to kill him, but he made use of a specificity of his transformation ability and transformed into a large form inside the small room–Apparently, although they were taught to restrain it, whenever they transformed, the window during which they were actively in the process of shapeshifting, their bodies were actually way more durable than normal and packed a punch superior to even a direct blow from their strongest form.

In short, he turned everyone in the room into memories alongside the room itself. The quote-on-quote 'blast' he created was so powerful that the people inside the room with him were basically nowhere to be found. It was like even their blood had been struck hard enough to just evaporate on impact. Hence the name 'Blast Janitor', because he cleared an entire room with a 'blast". He could have done the same thing inside the office if he wanted, and it would have definitely worked.

He was far more powerful and experienced than he had been back then, or so Leou told me. I would like to believe that 'Reinforced Frame' and 'Shock Dampeners' would be able to get me through such an event, but I could only concede that he was indeed quite the dangerous fucker, and that was only mentioning the thing that made him famous. The Boorizar family supposedly had access to any form that was even remotely owl-like, so theoretically, he could take on the form of an utterly unbeatable creature by my standards.

Once I got the information, I understood why Leou looked quite shaken after the fact. She had kept her composure throughout the event, but let it all out afterwards. She may be a snow leopard beastfolk, but she wasn't much of a fighter at all, or at least, she had never actually had to put herself in a situation where she needed to fight. My fluffy friend was a businesswoman, and not the kind that engaged in intimidation either.

She was a real glib-tongued orator–So, her first instinct was to do what she had said she would do, and take this up to the crown, but it would take a little while before anything happened. At the very least, the fact that the king would know that Lunovis might have done something like this should prevent the owl bastard from doing anything else while he was under the gaze of the king. I personally didn't believe a sneaky, slimy individual like him would be stopped by this, but who knows?

Maybe a good reprimand by his boss would set him straight. Regardless… The day did not calm down afterwards, as after a visitor for Leou, I got visitors myself.

"Aherm, apologies for the interruption, Miss Palf. There are two women asking if a certain: 'Tall woman made of steel and with purple eyes is here'... What should I say?" One of the guards in charge of watching the tower's entrance came up into the office just as Leou finished explaining why Lunovis was bad news, and obviously, all eyes turned to me. The description was pretty specific.

"... I'll go–go check it ou–out""I didn't know you had friends. If you want, you can invite them in" Leou didn't ask many questions. I gave her a nod and headed down the entrance, where I met a rather… Unusual-looking duo, it was a wonder how they had even been allowed inside the city, but I guess I got in, so… Sensing that the discussion would be weird, I quickly walked away from the entrance where the guards were and took those two visitors to a quiet alley.

"Whoa! You… You look so much different from how you did inside the nightmare! Can I touch your steel?"

"Hand–ands off! And kee–eep quiet!" Oh… She must really, reaaaaaally like you, Big Sis. It looks like she got a reward for being the first to survive a final trial, and got a system-linked ability to specifically find you The tale has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation. What the hell… One of the two visitors was Mari. Here I thought that I would never see this girl ever again, and frankly, after the events of the A. R.

DL, I had hoped to never see her again, but apparently, her being obsessed with me was something that transcended all realities as even though she had only ever seen me once, she had apparently fallen so madly in love at first sight, that her reward was tailored to help her find me again. … To find the person who had literally tried to murder her. I am frankly surprised she recovered so well from that knife I threw into her back. I was certain to have punctured a lung with that one.

I guess love is just that strong This is not funny, Nara. I have a stalker. You seemed to quite like her back in the- Shhh… Let's focus on that other one, alright? She's… Weirdly familiar-looking? The second woman was wearing a cloak, but she quickly pulled the hood off, revealing a rather bizarre appearance. Bizarre in the sense that I didn't believe I would ever see anything like it again. It wasn't a perfect match, it was just a close resemblance, but the face, the hairstyle, and the attire…

Apart from the lack of colours, she looked just like the clown suit.

"Who the h–hell are y–ou?"

"We've never met before, but I am Xlown! I… Can you adopt me?" … What the fuck. Nara! Analysis! Mmh… Seems like she was created a long time ago by your remnant negative energies that permeated the Glown suit. It must have taken her a while to properly form, but she was indeed created by your negative energy and negative emotions in general It seems like you were developing your abilities back then, but your untimely death in the backroom sort of reset them and changed everything to what it currently is.

She's a relic of a previous variant of your abilities. She is unique and can't be replicated… At least, not with the same means Huh… So… Wait a minute… She's my daughter?! I mean… Not really, she's more like a by-product if anything- I used the wrong tone. I didn't mean to sound like I was questioning it. Look how cute she is! A cute clown girl! Aww, and she wants me to adopt her? How could I possibly pass up on this opportunity?

"You s–said your name was–as Xlown?"

"Yes! From the moment I was born, I've felt like this name was the right one!" It even feels like I named her, Xlown? That's exactly what I would have called her… I mean, I called the MI clown, Zlown, as well…

"Girly, you a–aren't just adopted. You–You are my fle–flesh and blood!" I instinctively reached and pinched her cheeks, finding them to be abnormally elastic. I almost forgot that she was definitely a monster. Mixing my negative energy and an abandoned costume made out of special material definitely wouldn't make me just a girl who looks like a clown. Xlown seemed to be over the moon, but proceeded to point to her shadow.

"I… Huh, I am not alone. There's Coco as well""Coco?" A monstrous, rusty-looking automaton with a canine-like head rose out from Xlown's shadow, bowing to me so hard that he cracked the ground in a single blow with the tip of his nose. Let me guess, same deal as Xlown, but with… Huh… Did she say, Coco? That was the name of one of the crappy automatons in the backroom, no? Mmh, judging by what I can see.

Unlike Xlown, who is directly made out of the Glown suit, this Coco only takes the form of the automaton he is named after, but isn't actually made out of it at all. He is pure negative energy woven into solid steel. That's probably why he was able to just rise out of Xlown's shadow like this. He isn't strictly a physical being Oh, so not quite the same, heh? Why do they behave so differently, though?

"My goddess–Thou who has given me life and purpose… I dedicate my existence to you! Your word is my command!" Xlown thinks I'm her mother, and he thinks I'm his god. They hang out together, but have completely different views despite the fact that they're basically the same? It's probably just a matter of personality, or perhaps the fact that one is made of flesh, while the other is made of… Let's call it 'negative steel'. Coco must view his creation as a miracle made solely by your power, while Xlown…

Well, she was made from something you once owned and wore. So I guess she feels a sense of closeness with you I see, I see…

"A–Alright. Why are you–you all toge–toge–ther, though?" The Xlown and Coco duo made sense, but what the hell was Mari doing with them? How did she even manage to get invited to the party? I don't know those two too well, but I doubt they are very nice, considering that they were made from my negative energies.

"Well, I was planning on eating Mari in a single bite like I had been doing to most people Coco and I encountered, but when I tried approaching stealthily, she noticed and immediately talked about how I was messing with the compass and that it must mean that I had something to do with the love of her life""Naturally, I couldn't just eat someone who apparently had a magical compass pointing toward you! After all, who else am I in any way related to other than to you, Mommy? It had to be about you!"

She was quick to get comfortable with calling me Mommy… But what she said made sense.

"Mari. I-""Please! Let me stay! I love you so much! Please, please, please! I literally can't think of anything else. You are in all of my dreams! I've even tried to get infected with nightmares again to see you! I'll do anything you want!" She even got on her hands and knees to beg. Even I was taken aback by how absurd this was. There is no way this was healthy in any way, shape or form. This woman was obsessed with someone who tried to kill her.

Was it really a good idea to allow her anywhere near Xlown or my little sisters? She might spread her craziness… I am not saying this because I think you two would make a cute couple or anything… But even if she is obsessed, it has to mean something that she was given a way to find you, right? Perhaps she can be useful I really wanted to sigh right now.

"Mari… Have you ever–ver tried to be a–a mechanist?"