Ch.322Half-Baked (16)

Fwaaah!

A burst of light erupted.

As Cartesia’s mental form transferred, the dummy Sonia’s appearance began to change.

Her hair, which had been cut at the shoulders, now flowed down to her lower back. A blue aura swirled in her previously colorless eyes.

White tentacles extended anew, and dazzling stardust adorned the empty space.

It was the moment when the android shell was reconstructed into a new living being.

[— The constellation, ‘God of Wisdom and Curiosity’ is reincarnating.]

Foreign god, no.

My backing constellation.

She rose gracefully, stepping on thin air.

Her appearance was so beautiful and noble that I couldn’t help but be mesmerized.

“…Youngster.”

Cartesia, examining herself, asked me.

“What happened here?”

“I used the crystal you gave me.”

“Yes, but how?”

“I borrowed the power of my academy colleagues. Your crystal was another aspect of yourself. I just awakened it.”

Mezulen was right.

“That crystal contained the dignity and power you should have had as a constellation. It probably stayed with you in a condensed form since you were born.”

“How did you know that?”

“I told you. I got help from my colleagues.”

In truth, it wasn’t just me.

The power of research and science comes from collective intelligence.

“How does your body feel?”

“…It’s completely fine. Strangely so.”

“Of course it should be. As a constellation, you can stay here for a long time without any issues.”

Cartesia had become a constellation.

“Me, a constellation?”

“Both a constellation and a foreign god.”

[— You have received 5,000 coins.]

[— You have received 5,000 Pron.]

“It’s… really true.”

Cartesia smiled.

“Youngster, so you ended up saving me after all.”

“Not me, but humanity saved you.”

“Interesting. I’ll have to adjust my assessment of human intellectual capacity upward.”

Cartesia flew toward me. She caressed my cheek. I could definitely feel not just Pron but also the energy of Aether.

[— ‘God of Wisdom and Curiosity’ gifts you 100,000 coins.]

“What’s this suddenly?”

“A wedding gift.”

“What?”

“I’ve lived my whole life being mocked as half-complete, but now I understand why. My other half was here all along. Why didn’t I realize it?”

“What are you—”

My words were cut short.

The space before my eyes turned into a milky way.

At the same time, a warm sensation flowed across my lips.

Rustila, Zernya, and Ireh’s eyes widened like coins.

“You, what are you doing to Eidel…!”

“Hey, you finally showed your true colors! You damn bitch!”

“Wa, waaah.”

Rustila couldn’t continue speaking, Zernya spat out all kinds of curses, and Ireh was about to fall backward. Sonia held her forehead and shook her head.

“Hey, ladies. Want to share this youngster?”

A declaration of covalent bonding.

Just like a thought-form based on hydrogen, her skill at attaching to carbon is artistic.

Tentacles sealed both my arms. I couldn’t move. Cartesia pressed her lips fully against mine.

Maybe it’s because of the accumulated fatigue.

Either way, my mind is growing distant.

“Foreign god, you’ve seriously crossed the line.”

“That’s my fucking husband! First a robot, and now a foreign god is after him!”

Just as Rustila and Zernya were about to charge forward with murderous intent.

BOOOOOM!

A thunderous roar struck my ears. The space began to vibrate.

Tremble, tremble.

The void split open.

A mass of black fog tore through the distorted gap. A sound close to a monstrous howl seemed to strike directly into my mind.

“I will never, ever forgive you, Cartesia.”

What appeared was a foreign god.

Powehi. The satellite god who follows Renatus around calling him teacher.

“Look what you’ve done to me!”

“Oh my, you’re pregnant? Congratulations.”

I definitely heard from Zernya. It was Renatus who became female due to Cartesia’s attack. But Powehi is pregnant… why?

“Because of your schemes, I crossed the line with my master. There’s no going back now. In that case, I’ll kill you as an offering to my teacher and then take my own life! Accept your fate!”

The next moment, black hooks flew in an arc.

Cartesia clicked her tongue and extended her hand.

“Too bad, but you can’t beat me.”

Snow-white tentacles flew out, wrapped around the hooks, and flung them away. Powehi’s main body, connected to the hooks, shook along with them.

“You who are neither foreign god nor constellation!”

“I’m both.”

Cartesia’s divine form cut through the void. She deflected all of Powehi’s attacks and mental interference as she flew to his vicinity.

And then.

She drove her fist into him.

[— ‘God of Wisdom and Curiosity’ uses <Song of the Stars>, <Mental Collapse>.]

BWAAAAH!

Starlight exploded. The fog scattered. Powehi was pushed back and howled loudly. The ink-black hooks that had been sticking out like fine hairs were all severed at once.

It was over.

He had taken physical damage from constellation techniques and direct damage to his thought-form from foreign god techniques. Both his body and mind were not just worn down but completely shattered.

“H-how.”

“How am I stronger than you? Because I’ve only been using half my power until now.”

“You’ve even… acquired the dignity of a constellation. When did you…”

“Just now.”

“Bad luck for you.”

Cartesia swept back her hair and waved her hand.

“Any last words?”

“Hahaha, hahahaha! Sex!”

PABABAK!

Glowing thorns pierced through Powehi from all directions. There was a sound of something breaking, and at the same time, Powehi’s voice was cut off.

Fssssss.

The fog, having lost its form, dispersed into the void.

And the next moment.

Through the fading mist, an egg-shaped, deformed object revealed itself. Black and crude. Just as I sensed something ominous and was about to shout.

The egg burst open and purple claws extended out.

A hidden mass of Pron.

It had condensed so much madness that it moved with its own will, instantly ensnaring Cartesia.

“Kugh!”

“Cartesia!”

I tried to rush forward, but my body wouldn’t listen. No wonder, as I hadn’t slept even 24 hours in 5 weeks. My mind was already at its limit.

Crack! Another fracture appeared.

From within, thorns like the teeth of a demon revealed their form.

Judging by the bloody flesh stuck to various parts, it was a trap created with the power of a Darwin-type foreign god.

The claws that shot out from the trap quickly pulled Cartesia in.

“Damn it, what kind of power…!”

At that moment, three pairs of starlight brushed past me.

[— ‘God of Purity and Resolve’ uses <Blade of Resolve>.]

[— ‘God of Humility and Healing’ uses <Tumor Excision>.]

[— ‘God of Patience and Integrity’ uses <Weakening Bullet>.]

Vega, Deneb, Altair.

The three constellations forming the Summer Triangle cut and broke the hands pulling Cartesia. Soon the trap closed its huge maw and disappeared beyond the abyss.

The three constellations caught Cartesia as she was about to fall backward, having lost her balance.

“Are you alright?”

“…Why did you help me?”

“Even if only half, a constellation is still a constellation. We can tell right from wrong. Especially if you had such a past.”

Deneb stroked Cartesia’s head.

“You’re a newly born baby star. We should take care of you.”

Cartesia wore a blank expression. She wasn’t the only one. Ireh and my wives also looked like they couldn’t grasp what was happening.

Foreign gods are hard to understand, but constellations are no less difficult.

Altair turned to Ireh and me and bowed his head.

“Both of you have worked hard. This incident will be a great lesson for our stars. It has become an opportunity for us to recognize beings born between foreign gods and constellations.”

You’ve worked hard.

The moment I heard those words, all strength left my body.

“Huh? Eidel!”

Just a little. I need to sleep… just a little…

***

At some point, I realized my stomach had become swollen.

It wasn’t simply a feeling of having eaten too much.

Thump, thump, it was pulsating.

Like a fetus.

– Hoho, youngster. You’ve finally conceived my child. Congratulations on becoming a mother. Things will get more and more interesting from now on. Don’t you think so too, youngster?

“AAAAARGH!”

I reflexively sat up.

“Huff, huff.”

I blinked and looked around. A familiar ceiling. I was lying in a hospital bed.

“It, it was just a dream.”

An IV was inserted in my right hand. My wives must have hospitalized me after I collapsed.

But even in dreams, why such a terrible nightmare? I must have been extremely tired.

“Huh?”

I was wiping the cold sweat from my forehead when I felt something strange.

I should have just woken up from a nightmare, but my lower abdomen still felt heavy.

Something feels ominous.

Maybe.

Could it be.

“Awake?”

“AAAAARGH!”

“Judging by that healthy scream, you seem fine, youngster.”

Cartesia was lying face down with her head resting on my stomach.

“W-why are you here like this?”

“Well, because I’m your backing constellation?”

Cartesia rose with a seductive smile.

“I still lost the black hole, but there was power remaining in the crystal. It must have been a gift from my mother. Thanks to that, I won’t run out of coins.”

“Then, when the coins run out…”

“Don’t worry. Now that I have the power of a constellation, I won’t evaporate just by living here. Oh, no. I will evaporate, but only after tens of billions of years.”

Tens of billions of years. That’s practically an eternity for humans.

Nothing to worry about for now.

Right.

“What about Rustila, Zernya, Sonia, and Ireh…?”

“It’s dawn right now. They all went to sleep. Unfortunately, not me.”

Judging by her tone, it seems Cartesia put my wives to sleep. While that might work for Rustila or Sonia, Zernya would never leave me alone with this one.

But there was something more important.

“Did you cure Ireh’s curse?”

“You dare worry about that woman first in front of me?”

In the blink of an eye, Cartesia climbed on top of me and pressed her face close, aligning her nose bridge with mine.

She was so close it was suffocating.

“Hey, this is too close…”

“I can get even closer if you want.”

“Don’t.”

“Why, because you already have partners?”

Cartesia snorted. Her hot breath settled on my face. It smelled sweet like honey.

“How impudent. You dare put me in this state when I was dying, and then worry about another human? You will definitely pay for this humiliation.”

What did I do wrong?

“You didn’t want to die either, right? Stop this and if you have complaints, just say them. Don’t bring out the tentacles!”

Damn it, I gave her freedom by making her a constellation, and this is what happens. What was the point of cutting back on sleep to research the crystal?

“Please, let’s resolve this through conversation…!”

“Conversation? How amusing. I’ve told you before. Don’t apply human customs or standards to transcendent beings like us.”

“Hey!”

A slippery sensation.

This crazy foreign god actually put her tentacles inside my pants.