Chương 322: Divine Craft

The monster that Gilepre had become sounded awfully confident. Lunovis couldn't help but be curious. What did Mara Nebulo have to offer that she was so certain a deal could be made between the two of them? As far as the beastfolk was aware, there should be nothing special that she could offer, or at least, not special enough to make him consider joining hands with a foul being like herself.

"Alright, I'll bite… What is this 'offer that I can not refuse'? Are you going to try to blackmail me? I must warn you, apart from once having the misfortune of finding myself alone in a room with Lunima, there is nothing that could possibly be used to make me do her bidding" The former agent shook his head.

"Of course, it isn't an attempt at blackmail. Otherwise, our best asset wouldn't have been so readily spent. It is a true offer that My Lady is offering… As I stated, she's a goddess, and what are gods most known for, My Lord?" Lunovis didn't like it one bit when he was called 'lord' by this thing. The words sounded hollow, and he did not believe even for a single second that this thing could actually be considered to be Gilepre. This was nothing but a monster who had stolen his skin, voice, and name.

If the noble wanted to, he could use his species transformation ability and render this vile creature to nothing but a stain, but letting this thing speak could reveal important information about Mara Nebulo. She was currently the public enemy number one. Although everyone put on a brave front, they were all afraid of her. They were afraid of the Nightmare Plague she wielded as a weapon, and they were afraid of what they didn't yet know she could do. Indeed…

The Revenger of Noktronne, Lataniel the Suneater, and Volthaim, the Ailing… She was considered the walking calamity of this era. The rogue rifts linking this world to Great Realms and the increase in abnormal kinds of creatures were nothing more than a small bump in the road compared to her. The rifts could be sealed with ease, the damage they dealt could be cleansed with overwhelming power, and the unusual creatures were just that, unusual. They could still be slain and disposed of…

But Mara Nebulo was a wild card. Even if destroying her was certainly possible, it could only be accomplished once her location became a certainty, and just like with the big names of history, known for their massacres, a big part of why she was able to keep on going was simple: Cowardice and fear. She had already shown what her Nightmare Plague was capable of, and the strong forces that should have more than enough firepower to kill her were hesitant to even try to seek her out…

Fearful that displeasing her would only lead to a resurgence of the Nightmare Plague. Their wariness was understandable, but Lunovis found it laughable that such powerful people could be so deathly afraid… Is it because they don't know in full how it spreads? Partly, perhaps. Lunovis knew well that the kings and rulers were afraid because the plague could massacre their people, and without people, the crowns on their heads were nothing but lumps of steel.

As for the powerful individuals, they were afraid because strength alone seemed useless in resisting the plague. Lunovis would have found it even more laughable had he known that the fear these people had for the plague only made them more susceptible to it. Strength did help them avoid suffering from the nightmares, but that would only remain true if two conditions were met: One, if Mara stayed just as strong as she currently was… And second, if Mara never got anywhere close to them.

The owlfolk frowned slightly, preemptively turning his right hand into a talon adorned with sharp claws.

"Go ahead, what could she have to offer that I desire?" Gilepre smiled with only his teeth and crimson flesh.

"What else but an offspring, My Lord?" Lunovis stayed frozen for a few moments.

"... Explain yourself""You must have heard that My Lady controls spirits, and now you can see that she can deal with the realm of the corporeal. I am the living proof of her achievements in this domain… She has even recently acquired something that can greatly aid in her work" Half of Gilepre's face returned to its rightful position, allowing him to display seriousness properly.

"She can create a rightful descendant for you and your wife, My Lord… As a goddess, creating such a measly thing is easy for her–And there you go. That is the offer being proposed. You were unable to have any offspring with your wife, so you cherished the bastard that came to be against your own will, but now… Well, now there is a better way" The other half of Gilepre's face also returned. He walked to a nearby table and placed something down before speaking up once more.

"This is a powerful contract. Sign it if you agree to cooperate with us from now on, you could even get more than a single offspring. Think about it, My Lord. My Lady is unfathomable and divine" With these words, Gilepre simply walked out of the door, leaving the manor the same way he entered, alerting no one to his presence but Lunovis and Binibelle. Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on Royal Road.

The beastfolk was left stunned for a minute before he walked over to the binding contract that had been left behind. The conditions of this contract were actually not anywhere as bad as Lunovis would have expected. He thought that he would be met with a nicely worded demand for slavery in exchange for what had been promised, but it seemed like Mara Nebulo only wanted him out of her way and for him to keep his mouth shut. …

It certainly was alluring, especially since it guaranteed that Mara would provide exactly what she was offering. Unless she was somehow able to completely bypass the restrictions of such a contract, Lunovis would get what he was promised without fault.

"I need to talk with Eliva…" Who was he kidding, though? His wife would kill for such an opportunity. She had always felt terrible seeing others with children when she was unable to bear any, to the point that she had cherished Hulil despite the conditions in which he came to be. Even if the contract was drafted by a devil, she would sign it without question. Though the question was whether a devil or Mara was more trustworthy… A deep sigh escaped his lips.

"I'll have to explain myself to my brother, too…" Surprisingly, he wasn't very worried about this. Inversol was most definitely already quite used to the 'hijinks' of his unhinged wife. It wasn't exactly the typical cheating situation when the Entrails Ripper was involved.

"Still, she's capable of creating life like this? She might actually have a spark of divinity if that's the case… But to get such a thing, you either need faithful followers or to take it from someone who already has one… Does she fulfil any of these conditions?"

Following my return from my successful mission, I decided to show Leou all of the stuff that I had stolen. Some of it was apparently extremely precious to the point that it couldn't be sold without risk, but some other stuff was more typical and much harder to link back to Hyotrask Devilblood, so my fluffy lover decided to sneakily sell some of it to create a pool of emergency funds.

Although I had experience handling finances on account of taking care of the business of my parents back in the day, I let Leou handle such things. I swear she was born with the ability to count coins with how good she was at this whole business shtick. Most of all, however, was the artefact that had been used to bring Hyotrask Junior into this world. I hadn't consumed it on the spot in case it might make me pass out, but once I came back, it quickly ended up devoured whole.

It didn't cause me to lose my perception of time like when I had over-indulged with the Blood-Cursed Tree, but it did have an effect on my Mindscape. Wow, you've acquired a new piece of equipment in the Mindscape–It looks like it isn't even an intended one What do you mean by that? I mean that it isn't something you could have ever gotten naturally. It could only be gained from consuming that item just now Huh… I wonder what decides that this random item gets to give me something.

I mean, surely this system of mine didn't account for every single thing in the entire world and assign some of them with special stuff for me ahead of time, right? That would be pretty insane, wouldn't it? … Your silence worries me, Nara. I can't tell for sure, but I wouldn't be surprised if what you just said is literally how it works. Your system is powered by the Universal System after all, and you are… I'm not allowed to say it clearly.

What I mean is that it wouldn't be surprising Though it might also just detect things within a certain range, and under certain conditions, assign them special effects Mmh… Well, let's check out this new piece of equipment, shall we? I swiftly made my way into the Mindscape, finding my work area once again larger than before, even if only slightly. My gaze immediately fell on the brand-new addition.

This one was built directly into the wall and seems to be nothing more than a glass door leading to a rather wide sleeping space. There was even a pillow built into it. Now, what is this about? I focused on it, and a system panel soon appeared. The Pod Mmh… This piece of Mindscape equipment is capable of a superior form of nurturing for your spirits or any followers capable of accessing it.

'The Pod' is capable of cleansing defects, empowering, and aiding in the creation of beings, be they non-corporeal or corporeal The perfect tool to nurture your most beloved spirits This is… This is quite interesting! Now THIS is some good shit! I inspected the device from all angles, soon finding that there was an inbuilt drawer in it, containing a small manual explaining how to use it. As expected, using it is a bit costly… Though not nearly as much as I would have expected, considering its wondrous effects.

Rather than its usage being restricted by a great cost, it was mostly restricted by a big cooldown and also by the fact that there was only a single pod. That wasn't all. Once I began attempting to do something with it, I couldn't cancel it. So, if I were to–For example–Decide to make use of it in the process to create a little sister from scratch, even if I were to take out the spirit-in-making to use other tools, 'The Pod' wouldn't be usable for anything else still. I was fine with that, though.

Restrictions only served to empower something, so these restrictions, coupled with the 'exclusivity' of how this unique piece of equipment was acquired, guaranteed that 'The Pod' was an incredibly powerful asset to have. It can even create physical beings, huh? Looks like I found how to create a physical body for you, Nara. You'd better be ready. I am happy, but also afraid Heheheh… It could also be used for quite a lot of stuff, don't you think? For example…

Don't I know, thanks to Gilepre and Leou, all about a certain struggle a nosy owl has?

'The Pod' requires being fed the materials to create a physical body. If I were to collect some skin, blood, or whatever from two people, wouldn't I be able to create what is essentially a child between the two of them? It would seem that Mister King of Rootriska will have some competition when it comes to creating supposedly impossible lineages! I am a freaking goddess of fertility!