Chương 296: Magic, In Black And White

When it came to stuff of importance, I basically knew everything Leou knew since the snow leopard told me absolutely everything now, but I was nonetheless not expecting her to use Ririlt in this manner…

She had only told me about Atlent and Argantis recently, and due to her 'excitement' concerning a certain new kind of activity we took part in together, I hadn't gotten the occasion to hear the full story before she wrapped all four of her limbs around my 'Gynoid Form' and hurriedly put her spined tongue in my mouth. …

Leou was a serious, composed businesswoman who could maintain a poker face with someone dangerous like Lunovis without problem, but it seemed that she struggled with her inexperience when it came to an intimate relationship, as the snow leopard couldn't help but sometimes be extremely clingy and be unable to restrain her desire for some of my attention.

Many would probably find that to be annoying, but while I didn't have the same issue despite this being my first actual relationship as well, I could understand where she was coming from, and besides, I was doubtful anyone could be mad at her for her moments of clinginess when she would purr like this… She truly showed a lot of her 'beast' side when like this, which I did not dislike one bit.

The only issue with this was that compared to other parts, I needed way more tongues in stock, as my current variant of them couldn't handle the sharp spines of Leou tongue, resulting in them being damaged every time we kissed. What surprised me the most was that Leou didn't mind us kissing even in the hallways of the tower where her guards could see us–They were held to silence by their contracts, but it was nonetheless quite surprising for Leou to be so uncaring about such things.

I suppose it was a testament to her strong love… In any case, this strong desire for kisses and cuddles–Amongst other things–Was why I didn't get to hear the full picture concerning these users of black magic. I was quite surprised when I heard about this. Some details were missing, but the brunt of it was that Atlent was the elder disciple, and that Argantis had joined in later.

Currently, while Leou hadn't mentioned it to Ririlt, it was known that Argantis was working with Beliol Azt Mastras, the former ruler of Beelmart. The old men apparently knew each other personally, but while the man I had once robbed silly was minding his own business working for someone with deep pockets, Atlent was very much making his business everyone else's problem. Most people only knew of Clatamicus as a madman and mass murderer, but that was a gross oversimplification.

Back when I was a young gal studying history to make my parents proud of my academic capabilities, I learned that Clatamicus was called insane as a way to soil his legacy and make sure people didn't want to dig too deep into him. Just like most people only knew a few things about Clatamicus, a lot of people also knew next to nothing about what 'black magic' was. Although the name simply implied magical activities seen in a poor light, black magic and white magic were actually ways of power of their own.

Separate from energy manipulation. I was no expert on the subject, but these two disciplines were basically the same, only that one was good, and the other was evil. They were close to incantationism and other common magical practices, but required extensive study to be grasped. Regardless, higher-tier spells of black magic required sacrifices, and it was exactly what Clatamicus had been doing when he was alive and kicking. He wasn't insane, nor was he killing people for no reason.

He had a clear objective behind what he was doing, and what those who had ended up defeating him wanted to hide from others was that it had worked. I understand the reasoning. You didn't want all the people who wanted strength to hear that mass murder was an actually viable option, so the old black magic user was branded a maniac who just killed because he wanted to.

Though Atlent naturally knew the truth as a disciple of Clatamicus, and Leou had reason to believe that the eldest disciple was seeking to do what his master had done for himself, only more sneakily this time around. It seemed that no amount of stealth could allow someone not to evade the snow leopard's informants, though.

"So, you want to stop him? I could kill him for you if needed""I don't want him dead… Ergonip only has a modest understanding of black magic, and we would like to get some blueprints for circles and arrays of black magic for our plan.

As far as we are aware, Atlent and Argantis are the only two black magic users who are actually worth something these days, and we don't exactly have the means to go look outside the continent" Leou answered while purring, her head resting against my thigh as she lay on her side on the couch of her office. I was softly caressing her head and face as she spoke, a small smile on my face.

Even now that I have full access to the fluff, I doubt I would ever get bored with it, especially now that Leou was no longer doing everything in her power to hide the fact that she loved the attention.

"By the way, is it really a good idea to do it like this? Ririlt will have to follow through with Argantis's plan. Won't it be an issue to allow him to mess with the Deep Dream like this? I ran into one of their clerics once, and he was no pushover" This novel is published on a different platform. Support the original author by finding the official source.

"It is fine. The Deep Dream isn't associated with us, and by keeping an eye on what Argantis does, we might just learn what the disgraced king is up to… He's been keeping a low profile, but we all know that he wants to get his throne back. We just don't know how he plans to put his crown back on" We spoke for a while like this, and after so much fluff-disturbing action, I naturally ended up lying in Leou's bed. The snow leopard was fast asleep, clinging to me as if I would disappear if she let go. How cute…

You two are such a cute couple! Even though she was just a disembodied voice, I could feel Nara shaking from excitement. It was like she was watching an arena fight, and her favourite combatant was on a winning streak like never before. We just need to add Mari to the picture as well, and you girls will be the prettiest lovers of all time! Speaking of Mari, I think she'll have something to show me tomorrow. I wonder how she managed to figure out something so quickly.

With the motivation you gave her, she could have built a flying machine in less than a week. If it's for you, I doubt there is anything that is out of her reach–Truly a match made in heaven! Nara was quite involved in how things would turn out, but it was fine. At least she wasn't thinking about how to add more after Mari.

I already found it very odd that I was going to have two lovers instead of just one, and I wasn't planning on going beyond this number, although I was afraid that I would attract more crazy girls… It seemed like I had a weird knack for that. In any case, I couldn't just slip out of bed, so I couldn't enter the Gravescape. I went into the Mindscape to inspect how my projects were coming along. The 'Gynoid Form' parts were already very good, but there was always room for improvement in this regard.

Though what interested me more was the latest versions of two of my inventions… The mask and suit projects. The former was already on a good track. Gilepre hadn't fully acclimated, but he was already showing better signs than the previous subjects I had tested previous versions of the mask upon, as for the latter…

I had tested it on the failed mask subjects since I wasn't one to waste perfectly good resources, but one had been gruesomely killed by a malfunction, and while the other hadn't even been harmed, the suit had broken apart instead. As such, the suit project was still struggling. … Maybe I should add a restriction to it when I create the next versions? The reason why the suit project struggled compared to the mask project was that it was intended to be used on different people.

The mask was ultimately meant for Rose, whom I was still training and instructing. Rose is a strong otherworlder and has a good constitution. As such, the mask could afford to be a bit more violent in its way of functioning, but it wasn't the case for the suit. I moved over to the Fashion Corner. I had crafted very nice attire for my little sisters there, which they were currently rocking without any issue. Of course, it helped that they were all very pretty to begin with.

It made one wonder if the clothes sublimed their looks, or if their looks sublimed the clothes. Regardless, they were very pleased with the gifts I had given them. Even Elowen, as tomboyish as she may be, was still a girl who wanted to be careful about her looks–Even if she did her best to act nonchalant about it.

Knowing that she was embarrassed about it, I secretly gifted her a pretty dress like Poppy wore all the time, and it was indeed quite impressive how the rugged, tough tomboy, could transform into a beautiful lady with just a change of clothes. Currently, I am preparing stuff intended for Mari and Leou. Due to her being a very bestial sort of beastfolk, Leou never wore any shoes, as it would be uncomfortable since she had paw pads on her feet, even though she had none on her hands.

And since she already had a well-furnished wardrobe, I went ahead and began working on an accessory. It wasn't too complicated for me to think of what kind of accessory it should be. Although Leou was pretty all over, I had noticed quite quickly that she was particularly proud of her legs, so I went ahead and crafted an anklet for her. I had to be careful since I couldn't make something that could get caught in her fur, but I was quite proud of the result. As for Mari…

She had quite a different style compared to Leou. Even before becoming a mechanist, Mari wasn't actually one to wear very feminine clothing. When she worked at the orphanage, she just wore a simple suit with only a waistcoat and no jacket. She was never one to bother about highlighting her attributes, but even if she didn't realise it, she nonetheless always had a charm due to this. Now, she was always dressed as a mechanist, and although lacking in bulk, her body had grown muscular.

I wasn't certain what to make for her at first, but I realised that since it was a gift, I would give her after we 'officialise' things, it needed to carry a message, and so I settled on a more refined version of what she used to wear, with the idea being to tell her that once we became a thing, that it meant that she would no longer just be my personal mechanist, and that she could go some days without working on machines and just be with me. Perhaps I am overthinking this. She might not even get the message.

What do you think, Nara? It's just… It's just so beautiful. If I could, I would cry Alright, let's not exaggerate… I'll ask Xlown's opinion as well, and while I am at it… I exited the mindscape and quietly whistled, causing Coco to rise out from under the bed like a devil from the depths of hell–An impressive entrance that was quickly ruined as he immediately started acting like an obedient puppy. This ghostly machine of death was quite cute.

"Coco, I need your opinion on something…"