Chương 338: Mara's Back Home

I returned to my body in the real world after letting the little chick escape the nightmare. Girlies like her really are precious…

"Ah, Mara! It's good that you're awake. You've been causing a mass hysteria" Since I was in my 'Base Form', I scratched the top of Leou's head with just one finger.

"Doesn't sound like un–unusual news""The countries on the Continental Alliance and other big nations are keeping it together quite well, but all the medium and small kingdoms and such? Oh boy, I think they've reached their breaking point while you were busy with those final trials, Mara" I transformed into my 'Gynoid Form' to make dialogue easier.

"While I was in the nightmares? It didn't even take two days to wrap it all up. They really know how to pick their timing… I guess they decided to do something foolish. You look a bit distressed–Did they do something to upset you? Should I ruin them by flooding them with the good old Nightmare Plague?"

"Oh, Mara… Aherm… Ruining them might be a bit hasty, but… What happened is that one of them reached their breaking point and basically announced that they would do like the former Aestherian regime and summon otherworlders in an attempt to deal with the problem""That is a tactic that has been proven many times to be more trouble than it was worth…

I presume that following this announcement, the other nations that had been quietly panicking went into a full-blown panic attack and decided to make announcements of their own?"

"Exactly! My informants were quite concerned themselves, to be honest. Most of these nations are fully governed by a king, so the moment he starts losing his mind… You know that there isn't much that can be done" Ah… The weakness of my beloved monarchy. Thankfully, that's what murderous heirs are for, but I doubt anyone else is faring better than these kings when it comes to concerns I inspire.

It has all been slowly boiling for a while now, and it seems like the lid has finally been blown off by the accumulated steam. Leou twiddled with her fingers until she scratched her face with one claw.

"The problem is that the reactions are wildly different. Some are absolutely terrified by you and are deciding to pull out all of their secrets. Some are thinking of summoning otherworlders, but some others… Well, they don't seem to be quite as aware that the fear you inspire is warranted, and instead, they are using the mass hysteria to try and start wars with neighbouring nations""According to my intel, the risks of a war starting are high, and you know that once one starts, it will be like a castle of cards.

Several more will begin, and before we know it, large spans of the continent will be in complete chaos!" I rubbed my chin and also rubbed Leou's head at the same time. My dear snow leopard was a successful woman who had done things by herself for a long time, but she absolutely loves being doted on and praised, two things I am very willing to dish out.

"It could indeed cause uncertainties, and if wars start, people won't be as afraid of me as they'll have more pressing issues to worry about… But it should be good for business, right? War is very profitable. Back when I was taking care of the business left by my parents, I made loads of coins thanks to a war" Leou nodded, and I could notice her tail swinging around a bit shyly. A sign that she was worried, but excited nonetheless.

"Of course! But as you know, war is also a breeding ground for heroes, champions, and all that business! There hasn't been any major face-to-face conflict on this continent for a very long time. The number of great warriors and mages has clearly diminished. City guards have grown softer with each generation. Knight establishments struggle more than ever to recruit, and even the mages that are indeed around are mostly non-combat specialists…"

"... If war breaks out and spreads throughout the continent, it will create a perfect soil for people to elevate themselves–I have heard people say that the world has progressed away from great strength, but that is obviously false. The second things are disturbed, and there is a need to fend for oneself, for fathers to go to war again… It will definitely be a problem, won't it?" She looked down.

"I know you like to fight and would appreciate the challenge, but I would really prefer it if the number of strong enemies against you didn't increase, you know? While the war rages on, we'll be safe as no one will be able to target you directly, but once the dust clears and you are still here, all of the champions forged by war will turn to you, and you'll be hunted down as if you were a monster monarch" I pat her back.

"Don't worry. Even if I die, I'll come back. I am a Vengeful Spirit, after all. As long as I have unfinished business, what could possibly put me down forever? Besides, I'll always have unfinished business""Really?"

"Of course, for example… You are unfinished business, my dear Leou" I cupped her soft face in between my palms, smushing up the fluffy cheeks as she purred on instinct.

"Apart from this, is there anything else I need to know?"

"Mmh… Huh? Oh yes! I had a meeting at the organisation, and they confirmed that they were able to collect enough blood from the underground ocean… I shouldn't tell you this since you aren't a formal part of the organisation, but thanks to you, we were able to gather two more of the necessary ingredients!" Love what you're reading? Discover and support the author on the platform they originally published on. I rubbed my chin for a few moments.

They gathered two ingredients they needed for their secret thing from an underground blood ocean? Huh…

"Do you mean the drop of Ichor and the drop of blood from a fallen devil prince?"

"Precisely! The blood ocean was actually formed because of a fallen devil prince and a divine being. At least, that's what Ergonip's research said. We need to extract quite a bit so that we could actually acquire the two required drops, as the ocean is also filled with the blood of countless other beings who were sort of… Blended alongside the two fighters?

The details aren't clear, but Ergonip was correct, so that's two ingredients down" Leou looked left and right, getting on her tiptoes as she held onto my shoulders to whisper something to me.

"... I left a map showing how you can get there inside the Gravescape, you-know-where… be careful of the baron, though. I know that you can be very stealthy, but exert caution!" I wrapped one arm around her waist and then proceeded to lift her off the ground into a princess carry.

"You really show me every day how lucky I am to have you as my lover, don't you?"

"I-I mean… It's only normal, right…?"

"Then, let's do something normal for lovers right now as well""Sh-Should I call Mari?"

"I'll visit her one-on-one afterwards. Just the two of us this time" Leou giggled nervously.

"A-Alright…" Can I…? No. I am cutting off our shared senses. I should have just stayed quiet and hoped she didn't notice… … … …

"I see that you're trying to replicate my 'Wire Mess Form', Mari. I do hope it isn't too complicated to willfully craft an automaton that has no business functioning at all""Mara, you're back! Did you have fun in the nightmare?"

"The fun was somewhat spoiled, but it gave me ample time to think and get my mind in the right place. I was able to wonder about the future. About having more little sisters, and… About having more daughters using 'The Pod'. I am confident that I will be successful in producing an heir for Lunovis and his wife, which means that using things like blood and flesh as a basis for the creation of a body does work in manifesting what should be indistinguishable from an offspring born naturally" I smiled at Mari.

"Which means that despite the many reasons that should make it impossible for us to procreate, we could have daughters as if we were able to do so""Is that so…"

"You seem a little bit sad""Well, I am happy to hear that. The idea of having children without getting pregnant just feels weird. It's probably going to sound very weird since giving birth is obviously not exactly the most pleasant experience, but I kinda wish I could be pregnant at least once""Nothing weird about that. Or I am weird too, since I think the same. Family is everything to me, so when I was still a human, finding a man to marry and having children was an obvious step that I would take eventually…

I got a bit bogged down at the finding a man part and missed my chance, but family still means the world to me. So even if it feels a bit odd to grow children inside 'The Pod' like plants in a pot, if it works, then I will be glad to use it" Mari gave me a look that I knew. She was about to say something deranged for certain.

"Or you could use 'The Pod' to create the… Huh… The 'stuff', and then we install a special attachment on your 'Gynoid Form', and you use that to… To you know, do the thing with Leou and me!" I stared at her without saying a word for several seconds.

"The answer is still no, Mari. I am not adding such a thing to my body""Can we perhaps compromise?"

"It is a bit difficult to find a middle ground on such a subject, but… How about…" I thought about what I could say to delay it–For possibly as long as eternity–But there was only one plausible idea that came to mind.

"... How about we wait until I unlock my 'Nightmare Form' in full? Then, I might be able to freely manipulate my form when I visit and dream, and then, I'll agree to it. In a dream, it makes me feel better about it" Mari could clearly sense that I was buying time instead of finding a compromise, but she didn't point it out and merely smiled.

"Alright, I'll hold you up to it, then! No taking back, alright?"

"I would never break a promise I make to you, Darling" I propped her chin up, prompting her to turn beet red and quickly change the subject. Even now, she was still quite shy.

"Aherm, you asked me about the automaton, right?"

"I certainly did""Well… It was a bit difficult to pull myself out of my mechanist mindscape, to be honest. I always want to make everything one hundred per cent functional, but I eventually came to fully integrate the fact that I could just make interesting designs and allow the spirits to put everything together into a coherent whole" She tapped the head of the 'Wire Mess Form' look-alike. It wasn't actually a perfect copy, nor was it actually an attempt at one.

In its deactivated state, it looked a lot like the actual form, but this automaton actually had a full body. The actual form was just wires, a maw, eyes, and hands. Each piece was held together by more wires. It wouldn't be inaccurate to say that I was just the wires, and the rest were just pieces being puppeteered by the wires, and thus myself. Instead, this automaton simply followed the idea of the form.

All parts were linked by wires, but the idea was clearly for it to actually be able to stand and walk once possessed. It isn't the first to be granted a 'Faraday Box', but it will definitely be the one to possess the strongest electrical power so far. She's doing a good job, as per usual… I wrapped both arms around Mari.

"What do you say about a one-on-one exercise?"

"Sh-Should I call Leou…?"

"Don't worry, I ran into her first""O-Oh my…"