Ch.59Nest Building (7)

“It’s a hassle.”

“…Huh?”

Of course, it didn’t sound bad. Just thinking about a future where I’d be called Lord was quite pleasing.

But that wasn’t the journey I wanted.

“In the end, it means I’d be tied down here managing everything.”

“W-well, yes, but you could handle only the important matters while I help with the rest or find a proxy—”

“I want to go on adventures.”

I don’t like cutting people off, but Lorian’s objections were getting lengthy.

I understood her intentions, of course. I could see why she thought that way and why she came to persuade me.

“And above all… isn’t it too early to guarantee that I won’t reach the Guardian’s level?”

She wasn’t a player like me.

The status window was something only visible to my eyes, and she didn’t understand how this world was structured.

“Easy to say… but do you even know what kind of existence a Guardian is?”

Lorian’s tone grew a bit prickly. I could understand why.

Guardian Lucilla.

This person, presumably my sister, was clearly the protagonist role of the game.

She would be someone who had crushed the three clans’ conspiracies since the first installment of the series, one of the few official level 20s in the world setting, and a monster classified as the strongest living being.

That was what a Guardian was.

“The Guardian, when she was just an adventurer at first, killed a weaponized homunculus. You’re strong too, but that homunculus was on a different level entirely.”

I recalled the setting. Information that could be inferred from flavor text of items found when looting homunculus corpses.

“It was the greatest success of ‘Body Reconstruction.’ A being closest to ‘Father’s’ flesh, and a manufactured monster that received the essence of clan technology.”

The final boss of the first Grim Darker series and the reason I later stubbornly stuck with the Homunculus Mourner build.

The assassin of the five grand dukes. Lucilla, my sister, apparently killed it herself.

“You think that was the end? Just when we thought it was dead, it was resurrected through Inquisition technology. It even became a homunculus with the genes of what we considered our greatest success.”

Her face contorted with a serious expression. The memories surfacing were clearly humiliating for her.

“The only… no, the unique homunculus that possessed magical power and retained its soul while refusing to follow our control.”

The story Lorian continued to unfold felt almost like a lament.

Understandably so. It was the failure of the three clans, and until recently, her failure as well.

Even Isla, who had been looking at Lorian with suspicious eyes, quietly sympathized with her.

But to me, it didn’t just feel like Lorian’s tale of failure.

Rather, Lorian’s story was a means for me to guess what had happened in this world.

And simultaneously, it was the path my sister had walked.

I couldn’t know what kind of ill will my sister might have harbored toward me, or if it was even ill will at all.

But she was still my sister. I couldn’t help but focus on the whereabouts of my only family.

“The number of our agents killed by the Guardian during the civil war exceeded what you could imagine. Ridiculously, she could identify agents before even exchanging a single word.”

Her disposition remained the same. My sister didn’t hesitate to dirty her hands for the best possible outcome.

“Her strategic plans might be rated poorly, but that doesn’t mean her skills are lacking. The fact that she simultaneously defeated five Sword Saint candidates hired from the Sword Saint Association and repelled an army, or defended a castle alone, was astonishing even within the clan.”

She followed the story’s path almost exactly. Perhaps she couldn’t allow long-term plans to be disrupted by unpredictable variables.

“An artificially created homunculus. High value as an experimental subject, but not as much as you. Possessing magical power and a soul isn’t that important to us. Being of human origin would be significant too.”

My sister started as a human and became a homunculus, as if carrying over a save file to the second game.

Considering that in the second game, the protagonist could die and be resurrected, with the option to change species at that time, it seemed like an intentional choice.

The fact that she maintained her magical power and even retained her soul was a bit unexpected.

Was it a difference between the game and reality’s systems?

“The Guardian also thwarted our plan to devour the Empire as a breeding ground and gather resources needed for Father. There…”

Lorian suddenly stopped speaking. Beneath her pained expression, a clear sense of dismay showed through.

She took a moment to collect herself, then shook her head.

“Anyway, do you think you can reach that level? Your potential is excellent, of course. Your aptitude isn’t bad, and above all, with Father’s genes, if you do well, you might reach the level of a Sword Saint candidate.”

Her vivid red eyes look at me. How do I appear in her eyes?

Material for a king?

Father’s second coming?

“But no matter how strong you become, you’re just prey for the clan. Especially considering your value…”

“Do you think I can rule over people and such?”

“You have me. I can stay by your side to assist and take care of you.”

Lorian looked at me with an expression melting with emotion, as if her heart was burning. Even Isla couldn’t interject at that expression.

“So I beg you. Please become the lord and…”

“No.”

Is this what they call a crestfallen expression? It was the first time I’d seen someone make such a face.

She wouldn’t cry, but it was a face that wouldn’t be strange if she did, so I quickly opened my mouth.

“Don’t misunderstand. I’m not saying I won’t grant what you wish. Just…”

“J-just? What is it? Tell me quickly.”

She suddenly approached and grabbed my collar. I thought she was overreacting, but I realized in that moment that it might not be so for her.

She chose to betray her clan and stay near me. Perhaps the closest similar feeling would be abandoning family and fleeing for love.

Of course, being an orphan, I lacked that normal sensitivity to understand, but still.

“I’m going to become strong.”

“…What?”

“The Guardian, the Blazing Duke, the Sword Saint, the Dragon King, and the Seven Contractors. Whoever they are… they won’t be stronger than me.”

Lorian looked confused, but she snapped back to attention when Isla’s hand gently wrapped around her wrist.

Isla’s firm blue-gray eyes met Lorian’s anxiously trembling red ones.

Isla believed in me. Whether it was her nature or for some other reason, I wasn’t sure.

Come to think of it, she had said at some point that she could risk her life for me.

“My qualifications will be greater than anyone else’s in this world.”

“What are you saying…”

Lorian with a bewildered expression.

I reached out and roughly tousled her hair.

Belatedly coming to her senses, she backed away with sounds like “ugh” and “what,” but her hair was already thoroughly disheveled.

“Just watch.”

Clearly, my sister had spent a lot of time in this world and grown stronger by obtaining all sorts of story rewards and experience.

Unlike me, my sister seemed to possess magical power, charm, and inspiration.

Such a sister would surely be powerful, but even so.

“I’ll become stronger than the Guardian.”

The one who was better at Grim Darker wasn’t my sister, but me.

My build is perfect.

*

“Though I said all that, it doesn’t mean I won’t use this nest.”

Sulking Lorian, who had been sitting dejectedly, raised her head.

Her bewildered expression seemed to contain all sorts of unspoken curses.

“I’ll use this place as a base, but don’t expect me to actively manage it, gather people… that kind of lord-like behavior.”

“I thought you weren’t going to use it at all…!”

The bloodiness in her eyes intensifies. Was that a symptom of blood magic?

Even while thinking this and watching her eyes gradually turn a more vivid red, I spoke without flinching.

“I’m not an idiot. Why wouldn’t I use an existing teleport?”

“…Teleport?”

Lorian’s expression became puzzled. I nodded at the middle-aged man who was conveniently coming down the stairs, scratching his stomach.

“I’m planning to install teleportation beacons at locations that seem safe. That way, we can minimize camping and secure a refuge for emergencies.”

As I sat down on the floor, Isla lay down as if she had been waiting, resting her head on my leg. Isla wagged her tail.

It was Isla who directly mentioned the refuge. I too had no intention of using it as a castle or becoming a lord, but having a refuge wasn’t a bad idea.

“Then we’ll need to investigate the teleportation device, but none of us are mages or alchemists.”

“Right. Isla is a hunter, the old man is a mourner, I’m a mourner too. You are…”

“A blood knight who uses a few combat blood magic spells.”

“Exactly.”

“Then how will you manage without becoming the lord…?”

I thought we could just figure it out, but upon reflection, I realized it wasn’t that simple.

This was an ancient device.

Its principles hadn’t even been identified, created with technology that was completely lost.

Normally, even understanding it would be difficult.

That’s why Lorian thought that way.

That it needed to be researched with the help of mages and alchemists to be understood.

And I barely realized that this was common sense.

I was the strange one.

Or more precisely, it was abnormal that I had a status window.

[You have discovered the teleportation of the Pantheon!]

I saw it in a dream. Not my dream, but someone else’s memory.

Even though that alone shouldn’t have been enough to figure it out, I did.

No, it would be more accurate to say the status window told me.

Only then did a thought occur to me.

What exactly is this status window?

What is it that gives me these abilities?

I thought that power given without cost is power that can be taken away at any time.

Perhaps this world is some kind of trap created by a powerful being, and it’s fattening up my soul before devouring it?

Just imagining it was frightening, but intuitively I felt that couldn’t be the case.

Even if it were true, there’s nothing I could do about it anyway.

While I should be wary of why the status window is giving me power, it made sense to use what I was given for now.

“Well, when I was sleeping… someone showed me how to make and use it.”

Lorian blinked. Beneath her long, snow-white eyelashes, her eyes held suspicion.

“They looked exactly like me so I thought it was me… but the atmosphere was different. How should I put it, like benevolent…”

“…Could it be!”

Finally, Lorian’s expression comes alive. A look of shock mixed with joy.

I nodded, hoping desperately not to be found out.

“I think what you’re thinking is probably right. I’m not certain, though.”

“Ah, Father… you’ve been watching over us…”

Lorian, moved to an almost tearful state, adopts a reverent posture.

I felt relieved.

And I subtly shook my head at Isla, who was looking at me with a gentle smile.

If I’m found out, I’m screwed. I wouldn’t be able to explain.

So I quickly took control of the situation before Lorian came to her senses. Fortunately, I had the material to do so.

“Look at this. This sphere. There’s a blue dot that wasn’t here yesterday.”

On the sphere I pointed to, there was a blue dot at some distance that I hadn’t seen yesterday.

The flickering appearance wasn’t unfamiliar.

And it wasn’t difficult to guess what it was.

[You can craft teleportation beacons using blue minerals obtained from the new continent, and teleport to the nest through dedicated platforms within the radius of installed beacons!]

To use this teleportation device, dedicated platforms and beacons were needed, and to craft those, this blue mineral was necessary.

Something I had never seen before.

If this were a game, such resources would conveniently be scattered around this teleportation device.

Or it would make sense for the first teleportation to take you to a place where you could obtain the resource.

“If you don’t believe me, shall we go check? The person you presume to be Father said there are materials for the teleportation device if we go here.”

The excitement hasn’t even subsided yet.

Due to the intentional drop and elevation, the excited Lorian hesitated for a moment before nodding.

I felt relieved.

At the basic goodwill provided by the existence of “Father.”

And at the fact that Lorian was a blood knight who didn’t know much about the world.

But at the same time, a thought occurred to me, and I added without delay:

“I’ll manage the funds with Isla.”

“Hmm? Sure, do as you please.”

I had a feeling she would definitely get scammed if she held onto the money.