"Was all that necessary?"
Before we went back to the guest wing in the Palace, we removed our black ninja [Assassin] costumes. Well, Apricot kept hers on but nobody cared. Our dear First Hero was on cloud nine. After seeing with her own eyes the legacy of the Master. Alive thousands of years after her time. I've never seen her too-round face show so many emotions in such a short amount of time. Family took almost all her emotional bandwidth, given her special condition. It was a good thing. I always feared that Apricot would become a monster if I hadn't my Earth memories to temper her impulses.
Barbara used her storage ring to quickly change out of the costume. It had some droplets of blood on it but against the dark fabric, they vanished. Assassination was a messy business and the color of the clothes helped hide stains. Her feelings were in the right place. I didn't need to impale the [King] with the [Unicog's Spear. Not even kill him but it was the only way I would be a hundred percent sure.
Some might consider it a slippery slope. That I was murdering and reviving people to make sure they weren't in cahoots with the Demons. Take how many people I put through the "Akashic Wringer". Thousands went straight to the reincarnation, without collecting two hundred bucks. That showed how deep in shit we were. The Demon infestation was too insidious, too pervasive, and perverse. We needed to make sure our sieve let no muck through.
What I feared was not the people's resentment. Heck, even Earth's Christian God (no claims of Him being real or not. I had no idea) planned to kill everyone and then bring back only the worthy. Yaweh's plan included a thousand years of cleanup. Only after that came the move to the other side of the pearly gates.
This was my world. My children. My ethos. My rules. It wasn't an end justify the means" fallacy. Not even the most righteous ends justify things like genocide. Which wasn't what we were doing.
How can I put it? If you look at the world as a living organism and its inhabitants as cells, did that make us the immune system? If so, these death and rebirths were necessary. Justified. Yznarian was dying.
"Hello? Nethe?" Barbara shook me with some concern.
I opened an eye in the middle of my cover. "Yes, I'm here. Your question sent me down a loop. I gave it some thought. A lot of thought. Yes, it was necessary. When I killed the Master or the [King]'s shadow persona, I watched the reactions of the girls, even under their masks. The shock, horror, outrage, and sadness struck them. These expressions showed me they all cared for him and weren't in league with the demons. They all passed."
"I worry about what fate awaits those swords. Wouldn't they get lost, sold, or, dunno, captured by an enemy?"
"They are soul-bonded now, and the Living Silk inside the steel blades will make sure nobody else can use them. Most of them will even evolve and gain Perks to return to their masters – mistresses, they're all female – I didn't make the weapons intelligent but it is the closest thing. Living Silk items usually grow along the wishes mom impart into them as she crafts."
Silence in the room. Barbara didn't comment, using her time to think. "It's good that all the killing upset you. It means you didn't grow numb to it. Also, we needed the Exp."
"I can go to the fourth rank now," she said after checking her Status.
"I still need a bit more. Early level 79 here."
We [Assassinated] millions of people, including some very high-level ones. It was obvious that we would rake in a ton of Exp, even after sharing. Our party had fifty-one creatures. That allowed my Perks to consider the group as only seventeen when splitting the Exp. Each individual earned ten times as much, compared to the split without them.
Apricot and Lily were on the long climb to the pinnacle. The Exp they earned was a not drop in the bucket, more like a few cups. The elves and Adventurers, at the end of the third tier. Miriel was in the early third tier because she took too long to rank up.
*
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*
Barbara and I spent some time going over our Status and putting our points and picking our Perks. Then she asked, "The [King] died, shouldn't the heir get promoted?"
"Mom used her Admin privileges to change it. Now it waits for up to an hour before granting the title forward. If the sovereign comes back to life during that period, then no change happens. She once wiped out an entire Royal Family in a few minutes by tracking the passing of the title. Right here, when this land went by Virturia."
"Marlowe's homeland? Was this one who was keeping a pet Demon Lord in the basement?"
"Yes. That one." I remarked with a sigh.
Diabolism was rampant. We are a few thousand years too late. Not our fault. Mom was stuck in the bottom of the Maelstrom, then trapped in the book.
*
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*
Before departing for Atlantis, we had breakfast at the palace.
Seating arrangements for Haru proved to be a challenge. The palace staff managed it with aplomb in any case. We were having breakfast with the [Crown Princess] and the table had only four seats.
She was on one end of the long table while I sat on the other end. Behind my chair, twenty-six large pillows were set in a semicircle for me to rest my tails on. The enchanted chair had a floating backrest, locked in space relative to the seat and legs. I could sit and stand up from that chair without snagging my tails.
Barbara sat to my right while the [Princess]'s fiancé sat to her right.
"I'm so happy to finally meet you in person, Your Divinity," she said in a lilt with softness and excitement. Her control over her voice was almost as good as Arista's.
I smiled back, "Me too, Your Royal Highness. I find your choice of earrings very daring."
Her earrings were small swords hanging from their hilts.
"We are at war with alien invaders. This shows my resolve to lead from the front." She wavered at the end. "I hope."
Her fiancé grasped her hand. "I know you wanted to go on a sortie, but we cannot risk it. Your father and you are the linchpins of this nation." He brought her hand to his lips and kissed the air above the knuckles. "And you are such a delicate flower. A battlefield is not fit for you."
She cast a loving glance at him with a faint smile and lowered her head as some color filled her cheeks.
I reminded myself she was a level 74 [Assassin Princess], though most had no idea of her real level or Class. Unless you beat her masking Perk, you'd see only a level 52 [Princess], as ordinary as they came despite the high level. She had an impressive mission record. More than half the nobles that died in Ackerton became fuel for such growth.
The murderhoboness was strong with that one.
I interrupted the two flirting lovebirds. "Only if your father allows. I don't see why you couldn't come with us to visit the nearby cities. It would be good to have someone with knowledge and authority to ease our task there."
For a split second, she cast a questioning stare my way. Her eyes softened as her mask came back on. "I wouldn't dream to burden Your Divinity with my clumsiness."
"No, Patricia," the fiancé said. "If you wish to go, I shall escort you." He glanced at me and added, "With your permission, my Goddess."
Stolen novel; please report.
> > Level 57 human male [Noble Lancer].
"No harm, no foul," I replied with a foxy smirk and a flick of my ears. "Though [Princess] Patricia wishes for a whiff of freedom if I'm not mistaken."
"You aren't," Patricia whispered to herself.
Barbara remained silent. I could tell she felt the people at the table were too much for her. And she wasn't sure she would not give the [Princess] secret away. I mentally reassured her and earned a faint smile in return.
"A chaperone or a [Knight] escort would be no different than a trip through the palatial gardens," I continued.
"I worry," he replied. "But what companion would I be if I locked you in a tall tower, my love?"
Where's my insulin?
"I'll stay close to the Goddess. Oh, Ferdinand. I'm so glad you understand."
He didn't understand but he only needed to think he did. It would be hard for the [Princess] to fight if she was being watched by people from the Palace. She needed field experience. So far, all her murders took place inside a walled garden.
*
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*
A week later, our airship fleet departed for Atlantis. The mermaid nation was off to the east and a bit to the south from Akerton's shores. Patricia was on the bow of Queen Lorna's Vengeance. She wore fancy traveling clothes, a knee-high skirt with tall riding boots. The outfit was enchanted. So long she didn't stand with open arms at the bow claiming to be the queen of the world, that was fine.
Along to the north, I could see two circular bays, both created by exploding deities. One by me and the other by Bundeus and Wyxnos ducking it out because Loki played a prank on them less than a decade ago. The Norse won't tell me what happened to them. In his words, "it doesn't matter because nobody will ever see either one of them."
I didn't care about their fates. Dead, reincarnated without their Cores, or something else in-between. To counterbalance the [Princess] excitement to join us in this Adventure, I had m. I stared up, at the sky. My gaze wandered. Above the clouds, beyond the atmosphere. To a band of green where two pieces of my heart stayed, separated from me. I had to make sure there was a world for them to return to.
"One day, we will all stargaze together," I mumbled. "In a world that's at peace."
I felt a tiny hand grasp mine. "That would be lovely."
*
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*
We were in our cabin, me in book form.
Barbara's emotions were unreadable. I felt compelled to use our bond but didn't out of respect for her privacy. We usually didn't hide our emotions from one another. It must be something important to keep the empathic link shut.
The quiet was as welcome as it was disturbing. I'd spent too long in Haru's form. The physiology was interfering with my usual mimic cool. It was much easier when you didn't have all those people hormones messing around with your brain. Or not having a brain at all. A mimic's whole body was its brain but it worked in a solid state.
It was hard to explain. Pretending to be an object also came with a mental silence that was very comfortable. In a nutshell, I waited for her to speak her piece. It didn't take long.
"Do you think the love between the [Princess] and her fiancé is real?" And gossip was not what I expected.
"Ferdinand and Patricia?" I asked to be sure. Barbara nodded. "Only one way to find out."
I spent a moment reviewing the breakfast we had days earlier. I had 80% certainty they were but for the other 20%, I cheated and opened my Deity interface with the System. Wyxnos had codified an easy-to-use and intuitive management panel. Faith, clergy, worshipers, wishes, pledges, quests, and a bit more. I wondered why those assholes didn't put in the minimal amount of work to stop this world from sliding into shit.
I didn't have all of mom's memories and feelings right now. My recollection of what transpired between Wyxnos and her was second-hand. But damn, wasn't he the one God from the bunch that was doing his job. It spoke more about how bad the others were. Bunch of lazy-ass gods.
I flipped to the Domains tab. Creation, Wisdom, and Protection. Those were my three main Domains, out of the three each deity could have in the current system. But it also showed my influences on the other domains. I had a good foothold on Justice, Retribution, Death, Magic, Crafts, Beauty, and Love.
Love. L-fucking-ove.
I was all thanks to a certain [Priestess] we met in Auvani. The survivor of the cathedral massacre was spreading rumors. Which were well-accepted by the female clergy and worshipers. I could feel my influence spreading and threatening Zacheia's hold on Love. As of right now, I could challenge the other deities for those domains.
Fuck them. Peace was never an option.
I linked that influence with the worshiper tab. With a small investment of divinity, I created a quest for Patricia and Ferdinand.
> > The Matriarch has offered you a Quest: Prove your love for your betrothed is real.
>
> > Condense the reasons you love your betrothed within five minutes.
>
> > If both succeed, the Goddess will record your thoughts and share them with your paramour.
>
> > Reward for success: 5 Attribute Points, Experience.
>
> > Penalty for rejecting or failing: None.
>
> > Time remaining: 04:59
We heard a screech of surprise from the deck. It was Patricia.
"What did you do?" Barbara asked. I showed her the Quest window and she snorted. "That's cheating!"
"Is it? It is up to them if they want to share it or not, though."
Barbara frowned. "Five Attribute Points is not a lot but who knows? I guess people would sell their mothers for less."
While it wasn't Apricot who sold her mother, the woman went for a cheap price.
I got the answer from Ferdinand first. Outside, Patricia was fidgeting. She braced herself against the airship railing and prayed.
"Oh, Goddess, why do you have to test me?"
Frowning, Barbara grabbed me. "You made this mess, now go and fix it." She went to the deck.
Patricia was on her knees, staring at the ocean. The [Assassin] raised her head and cast a pleading gaze at us. Barbara helped her back to her feet.
"Sorry."
"I was... praying," the [Princess] fumbled her misdirection. "What's wrong?"
"I know about the dumb quest. Sorry about that. You don't need to worry." She stared at me. "Right, Nethe?"
"But Ferdinand will be devastated!" Patricia protested. "And his feelings are so... pure! How? How can it be?"
"I don't know," Barbara glared at me.
"I don't want to hurt Ferdinand," she finally confessed. "Will he resent me?"
"I'm using him," the [Assassin Princess] said with a hint of remorse. "He's so sweet and devoted, he's the perfect cover. I guess I fail the Quest."
"It's no big deal," Barbara soothed.
I handed Ferdinand his rewards and deleted Patricia's quest. No refunds, though. The [Assassin] seemed relieved. I kept pretending I was a book while the two women talked. After several minutes of small talk, Barbara's emotions stirred. She asked something personal.
"Will you discard him when he ceases to be useful?"
"No. He's easy to keep around," she sighed. " Sorry. That sounded horrible. No, I won't toss him out. He's better than all the other suitors I met. Even without love, I intend to make him my consort."
That meant marriage. The halfling puckered her lips and studied Patricia's face carefully.
"I need to keep this country alive and give birth to an heir. As I said, Ferdinand is easy to be with. Perhaps I'll grow to love him after a while."
"Thanks for answering," Barbara replied.
They remained silent for a while. Whatever was troubling Barbara rubbed on the other woman. Patricia cast her gaze far into the horizon. After a minute or two, she fixed her clothes.
"I'll be in my cabin until we arrive."
We watched her withdraw down the stairs in silence. We were alone on the deck.
*
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*
"Nethe, how do you feel about Kasumi?" Barbara asked with some fear and uncertainty in her voice.
"Do you love her?"
"What if I wasn't around?"
I floated out of her hand and spun around to stand in front of Barbara. I opened a large eye on my cover and stared at her.
She opened her mouth, closed it, then turned away to face the ocean as Patricia did. "I don't want to make Kasumi sad."
What is wrong with these people?
"I want your thoughts on the matter, Nethe."
Fine!
The barrier keeping her mind locked waned. Barbara's head was a mess of conflicting emotions. Her stress sent a shiver up my spine.
"Nevermind," she pushed against the railing and took a step away, almost hitting me.
I sent a ribbon to wrap around her wrist before she could stomp away. She grunted a protest but didn't yank her hand free.
"I said, never mind."
The ribbon dropped like cloth ought to. She didn't go away.
"How long until we reach Atlantis?"
"The sea is surely huge," Barbara whistled.
I opened a hundred eyes on my cover and stared at her with eyelids half-closed.
"It's a gal thing."
Could It be? I shapeshifted into a male Eleon. His facial features resembled my previous incarnation. I also conjured nice stylish man's clothes. Barbara stared at me, bug-eyed and without moving for a while.
"I – eh, hi, hello there," she blurted.
Eleons were taller than other Halfling ethnic groups. I was almost a head taller than Barbara in this form. I grabbed her hand and smiled. "Hey."
"Who's this? It isn't Percival, right? The last [Emperor] was a human."
"Call me Nathan." I wiggled my eyebrows.
She sputtered and broke into a fit of laughter. Her chortles almost drew the attention of the other passengers on the airship. I saw the top of a head poke out the door and then go back inside.
"So cheesy!"
"Oh, like you have a lot of experience!" I protested.
It might've sounded like a challenge. Because the next thing, Barbara was pressing her lips against mine. I felt... weird. Not bad-weird. Just... I don't know why my new body was reacting the way it was.
The block on our empathic link came down completely and I instantly knew what to do. I kissed back.
"What are you guys doing..." Kasumi's voice came from the door. "Who are you? What..." The Kitsune's eyes wandered to my hands around Barbara's waist. She pursed her lips. "Am I interrupting something?"
Barbara disengaged. She was deeply embarrassed. I shifted my gaze from one woman to the other. Damn.
Okay, the moment this becomes a rom-com harem anime, I'm outta here.