"Poi," squeaked a tiny voice.

She wiggled her finger about. Having already pressed it into the girl’s cheeks, a soft sensation wrapped its tip as the indentation on the skin followed its trail. Just like this, she playfully traced an inward spiral on Letty’s face.

She covered her mouth and giggled to herself. "She’s not waking up, is she…?"

Somewhat disappointed, the mischievous child finally pulled her finger away.

Well, aside from worrying her all day, the haul we brought back from those farms really took its toll on her. I know I left the supply side to her, but I sort of feel bad about passing out right after dinner, even while she was still organizing the storage.

She rubbed the back of her neck.

Somehow, I felt exhausted right after. I wonder what that’s all about? I didn’t do anything tiring, apart from marching and standing all day...

"Hup." She pushed herself up from the floor. "Well, she deserves a bit more sleep. I suppose I’ll go away so she can have some peace and quiet."

And so, she left the temple to Letty’s quiet snores. But as she went out the cave mouth, a sith greeted her. It was apparently past breakfast, but when he came to bring the offerings of food earlier, both the girls were still asleep.

Having said that, the dogman hurried down the village to bring Sylphia her breakfast.

"Hmm?" Her eyes flickered. "Speaking of food-" She then pulled her fan out of her belt and pulled it open. "Hey, Sebastian!"

The fan’s eyebrows fell. "Geez, you don’t have to shout, little girl. I’m awake. I’m always awake."

"Oh. Is that so? Anyway. Food! You must have drunk a tub’s worth of blood yesterday right? So you’re probably a dozen levels up now!?" Her eyes gleamed in anticipation.

"Eh? Level? What in the world are you talking…" His eyes suddenly widened. "Ah, oh!"

"So! So!" She pulled Sebastian closer to her face. "What new powers do you have?"

His face turned pale. "Err…" As if to shield himself from her gaze, his pupils then darted left and right, but the girl simply turned him right around in her hand.

"Hey, come on, tell me!"

His voice weakened. "We-well..."

Just from hearing his tone, she realized. At once, all enthusiasm escaped her body, and her face, once filled with excitement, clouded over with disappointment.

"About that..."

Her eyelids twitched.

"Eheh eheheh... I told you about it, right?"

"What?" she menacingly said.

"Y-you know...? If you weren’t the one who killed it... I can’t gain power from the blood."

Her jaw dropped.

"Aha! Ahaha! The blood was still very tasty, you know! I feel completely invigorated! I feel like a really good power-up is coming soon! Just give me a *little* more blood - that you killed - and then-"

"Huuuuuh!?" she screamed right into his face, "That’s the first time I heard such a thing!"

"Ah... is that so...?"

"A hundred monsters worth of blood!" Her glare was so intense that red streaks formed around her pupils. "I fucking strolled around that damn field for hours just to let you drink every last drop! And you’re telling me none of it counts!?"

"W-w-well... you know!" His eyes batted left and right in quick succession. "It’s... that! You were planning on burning them, right! Well, dried bodies burn well, don’t they!? Hahaha! So all’s well that ends well, right? It’s the first meal I’ve had since birth too, so that’s something to celebrate, right!?"

"Grrrr...!" Negative emotions whirled in her mind like a hurricane.

"Eek!" He squealed preemptively, as if to steel himself for her fury, but even as a few moments passed, nothing happened.

Her temper was an inch away from blowing over like a powder keg, when, at a stroke of realization, or perhaps enlightenment, she reached a a conclusion.

"This is pointless…" she muttered as a sigh escaped her lips. Then, with a far off stare, she quietly placed Sebastian back into her belt and said,  "Let’s go..."

Resignation - that was the conclusion she reached.

I shouldn’t thrash Sebastian in front of so many of his followers, anyway...

"L-little girl?"

Despite his call, however, she refused to even acknowledge him with a grunt.

"A-are you mad?"

"Yes."

"Ehh...? Err... I’m, uh... sorry, I guess?"

"You should be," she muttered, "stupid useless cursed fan..."

"S-stop calling me useless! You’re hurting my feelings!"

"Good!"

In her anger, Sylphia stormed down the village with a scowl on her face.

The sith would later return with her breakfast, but she was long gone.

While she cooled her head, the little girl found herself strolling around the village. At first, it was just to get her mind off her bubbling fury, but soon, genuine curiosity took over, and before she knew it, she was on a sightseeing tour.

The village seemed a bit more quiet than it used to be. Though she couldn’t really pick out the siths from one another just by looks, she had a strange feeling that a few faces were missing. After all, a handful of her soldiers did lose their their lives in the skirmish yesterday.

If I remember correctly, the guys dug them a grave in the communal cemetery outside the village. Apparently, it was customary to bury soldiers with their equipment. She sighed. It was a pain, convincing them otherwise. These guys could be really stubborn after all…

She climbed up the village this time around. She did not normally visit the upper portion of the village, because she disliked walking uphill, but somehow, at that moment, a change of pace was exactly what she desired.

As usual, she was met with bows as greetings, as well as the odd salute from, she assumed, those of her army. She couldn’t really tell just by looking.

On her way, she came across a hut with a couple of siths inside. The two, one small and the other, tall, bowed in front of a Mythril cuirass. Curious, she stayed for a bit and observed them.

The larger sith soon raised his head and lifted the armor from its rack. The smaller sith then unbuckled it, opening it to one side, like a book, before slipping inside. Then, the larger sith closed the cuirass again and buckled it shut. The armor sagged down, even covering part of the pup’s leg. He then tried walking around with the armor on, spreading his arms out to maintain balance.

The rather mundane sight nevertheless coaxed a tiny giggle out of her.

After a while, the pup finally sat down, and the adult sith patted him on the head.

This subtle gesture struck her.

"Huh... strange..." Sylphia murmured to herself.

I noticed it a while back, but siths don’t have family, in the sense I understand it.

Further, she rubbed her chin and closed her eyes whilst in quiet contemplation.

There are no women, and yet there are children. In that case, where do the children come from?

Then, she lifted her head and let her eyes wander about the rocky ceiling.

But from the way they acted back there... aren’t they like father and child?

"Strange..."

Moments later, the two siths, both donning mythril armor, came out of their huts and, seeing their Goddess right outside their home, immediately gave her a bow.

"Woof, good morning, dear Goddess," said the taller sith.

"Mm, good morning," she replied.

For a moment, she debated with herself if she should ask them directly, but when she saw that the siths were about to go on their way, she quickly reached her resolve. "Ah, wait..." she reached her hand out.

"Woof?" the taller sith turned around, his armor clanking lightly with his shift of direction.

"S-say, I’m curious..." Sylphia scratched her head, "how do siths... reproduce?"

"Woof?" he cocked his head to one side.

Unlawfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon.

She grunted.

Was that a rude thing to ask...?

He thought for a moment, and then said, "Woof, it is by the Gods’ will, of course."

She raised an eyebrow. "Huh? What was that?" she said, leaning her head in closer. "I don’t understand."

"W-woof!?" He then jolted all of a sudden, and apologized, "I-I’m sorry, my Goddess, it was wrong of me to assume that the Goddess of War concerns herself with our mortal affairs!"

Eeeeeh...? Was I supposed to know this sort of thing beforehand? Shit, I’m supposed to be their God, wasn’t I? Hm, anyway, let’s just go with his explanation...

"No need to apologize," She placed her hand on his head, "Tell me anyway, I was just curious."

"Woof, well, it is as the God Barog- err... Sebastian told us. Woof, as the Gods will it, we are created from divine mud and are sent into this world. Woof, with our homes as a guide, they plant our seeds in the ground and watch over us as we grow into maturity."

Um... what?

She scratched her head...

Divine... mud? Did Sebastian teach them this religious mumbo-jumbo? Goddamnit, this wasn’t the answer I wanted...

"Aaaaah, in other words," she said, motioning impatiently with her arms, "how does it work?"

"Woof..." the sith stroked his chin, "I’m not sure what to say... Woof, it is precisely how the Gods have said."

She slapped her palm onto her face.

Goddamnit, Sebastian.

Heaving a sigh, she let them go on their way.

With another bow to their goddess, the two siths climbed slowly down the ridge on their tiny, stubby legs.

Hmm... I don’t get it...

What do they mean by divine mud? Seeds...? They grow from the ground like plants? Tsk. There’s still a problem with how fast the kobolds reproduce... if I can assume that these monsters reproduced the same way, I could come up with some way to control their population, but... what the hell is the deal with this divine mud mumbo-jumbo?

She let out a sigh.

Nah, I probably shouldn’t think dig too deep into it. It’s probably just a story he made up on the spot... He did say he got tired of their stupid questions somewhere along the way...

Again, she let out a sigh, and resigned herself to ignorance.

Well, this is pointless, I should just go on with my stro-

Just as she was about to turn back, though, something caught her attention right at the corner of her eye.

In the house, from which the two sith just exited, sat another sith - a child around the size of the smaller sith from earlier, but with differently colored fur.

Her entire body jolted as though she were struck by lightning.

"What the..." she muttered. "That... wasn’t there before."

With frenzied eyes, she dug into her brain.

Our homes as a guide... our homes...? A guide? Planted like seeds...?

She swallowed her breath.

Spawning!?

With all haste, she hurried back onto the path and chased the siths who just left.

"Wait!" she yelled.

"Woof?" The taller sith turned around, followed by the other.

Without even catching her breath, Sylphia said, "When you say, ‘our homes as a guide’... does that mean you are all born inside these mushroom huts?"

"Woof." He nodded.

"Everyone!?"

"Woof, woof." He nodded twice.

"How about the forge? Does anyone get born there?"

The tall sith scratched his head. "Woof, well, no, my Goddess... woof, the forge is not a home...?"

Her gaze sharpened. "And what would happen... if these homes were destroyed?"

"Woof...?" He cocked his head to the side, "then we would be born in other houses?"

"No," she shook her head, "I mean-"

Wait a second- She cupped her mouth. Don’t they even understand what these houses mean to their survival?

"Nevermind, just answer me one last thing," Sylphia asked, "this story that the Gods told - the same story goes for the ko- the... catlings?"

"Woof." Once more, the Sith nodded.

"I see." She once more let out a sigh. This time, her chest felt light, and her mind, clear. "Thank you." she said with a timid smile, "I’ll let you go on your way now."

"Woof. Of course, my Goddess. Woof. Anytime."

When the siths disappeared into the distance, Sylphia drew her fan and unfolded it, revealing Sebastian’s face. She glared at him and said, "Hey, what’s with that story you told the sith?"

"Hmmmgh?" Sebastian groaned, "What about it?"

"Is it true?"

"Of course it is."

"What does the story mean, exactly?" She focused her gaze on her fan. "Tell me."

"Guhhh... But you look like you already figured it out..."

"I said tell me." She tightened her grip on his frame.

"Ahh! Ahh! Okay! Okay!" The moment Sylphia loosened her grip, Sebastian mumbled under his breath, "Tsk, why you so violent...?"

"What’s that?"

"Nothing! Ahem," he cleared his throat, despite not having one, "it is the creation story that I knew when I was born."

"Born?" Sylphia raised an eyebrow. "You? A living weapon?"

"Yes. Well, it’s closer to being created than born."

"Explain."

Sebastian sighed. "When this place was carved out of the earth by the Gods, and I mean real Gods, by the way - not me. So when they carved this place out, everything inside it was created in the same instant. The cavern, the pillars, of course, the Mythril, and me."

"Gods...?" Her brows knotted tightly together. "What do you mean?"

"Hmm... well... Gods!" He said with a strained voice. "Um... sorry, I can’t really explain it any better than that, little girl."

Gods...? Carved...?

"Fine. What does ‘carved’ mean?"

"Exactly what it means. The earth was carved hollow, and this landscape was formed."

"And when, exactly, did this happen?"

"My age. Well, I don’t remember the exact number anymore, but I’m pretty sure that I’m more than 500 years old."

Her eyes widened. "Five hundred!?"

"Yeah, didn’t I tell you that before?"

"And it all happened in an instant, you say? Like, you appeared all of a sudden?"

"Uh-huh."

She rubbed her chin.

What does that mean...? Houses that act as spawn points? A dungeon appearing suddenly out of nowhere?

"What," she muttered audibly, "like an update?"

"Hmm?" Sebastian lifted an eyebrow.

These mechanics are straight out of a game!

Shit, it’s slipped my mind for a while, but I’m trapped in the game, aren’t I!? What was its name again? Something... Empyrean. So, this world is like a hybrid of a game world and a real fantasy world...? Gnn... That just opens up more questions than it gives answers!

She bit into her thumb.

Like, is there a way out of this world? I’m growing more and more attached to this world as time goes by... and if my plan goes well... there might come a time that I’d be too invested in this world to return to my own...

"Hm? Are you satisfied?" asked Sebastian.

"Eh?" She snapped instantly out of her train of thought. "What?"

"Err... I guess that’s a yes?"

"A-ah! Right, sorry. Lost myself for a moment... Anyway, yeah, that’s all I wanted to know for now, thanks!" She gave him a warm smile.

I’ll leave that complicated stuff for later.

Then, slipping him back into her belt, her smile stretched further into a mischievous grin.

Right now, I’ve found my answer!

As Sylphia made her way back to the temple, she was intercepted by a sith who claimed to be one of the scouts.

"Woaf! My Goddess!" he said, with his tongue sticking down from his lips as he panted heavily.

She lifted an eyebrow and asked, "Hm?"

"Woaf!" His frenzied eyes met with hers. "The catlings have amassed!"

A chill ran down her spine.

At least, at first.

Upon taking her breath, her complexion darkened and a malignant grin draped across her face.

"Good."

They took the bait...

It’s time to put my plan into motion!