episode_0076

What will happen if the current situation is left unchecked?

1. Merlin tries to discipline Serena. 2. Later, he finds out the dog doll was Serena all along. 3. A bad ending for insulting a goddess.

“Evan-de…”

The Archmage Merlin is a highly significant figure.

Among the Prophecy RPG characters, he’s the smartest and the most reliable when it comes to getting things done.

He’s the perfect guy to delegate tasks in other regions.

And he’s an archmage.

Even now, he’s a capable mage, but—

Once he fully awakens to the truth, he’ll become the ultimate archmage, capable of wielding magic from all schools.

In other words.

It means he can create magical artifacts of any school.

“Now that’s really good.”

Which is why.

He’s one of the allies I absolutely cannot afford to lose.

So I stopped him.

“Merlin.”

“Yes.”

“She’s my friend. Just let it slide this time.”

“I cannot.”

“?”

“If you maintain an equal relationship with a summoned doll familiar like this, you could die.”

“Die?”

“You didn’t know?”

I’ve never even heard of someone dying because of a doll familiar in Prophecy RPG.

But.

If Merlin says it’s dangerous, then it must be.

He’s the magic expert, after all.

At least when it comes to magic, listening to Merlin is the right call.

So I asked.

“Why is it dangerous?”

“Fundamentally, a familiar is in a state of connection with its summoner.”

I knew that much.

“Through this connection, they share each other’s magical energy.”

“Magical energy sharing?”

“Yes.”

“Because summoning and maintaining a familiar requires energy.”

Well…

That much was obvious.

Just like a robot without batteries won’t move,

a magical doll without magical energy won’t function—that’s just common sense.

Needing a periodic supply of magical energy as a battery was a given.

“But isn’t Sophia handling that?”

Thanks to the divine power Saintess Sophia provided, battery concerns were practically nonexistent.

So.

There was no way I’d die from having my magical energy drained by the doll.

…Or so I explained.

“Having someone else supply the energy doesn’t solve the problem.”

“?”

“The danger lies in the state itself.”

“Why’s that?”

“When the master-servant relationship is clear, the summoner can control how much energy is given.”

“But when the relationship isn’t clear…”

“They could steal my energy?”

“If it were just energy theft, that’d be fortunate.”

“Then?”

“They could steal your body.”

“They could steal my body too?”

“Yes.”

“Normally, you’d only implant a weaker soul or spirit, so body theft wouldn’t be a concern, but…”

“Since I’m D-rank, I might be in danger?”

“Yes.”

“That’s why I’ll discipline her thoroughly and modify her to obey her master absolutely.”

Merlin said with a serious expression as he grabbed the dog doll (Serena).

“Hey there, mutt.”

“Was your name Merlin?”

“Yeah.”

“For Cain’s sake, I’ll let it slide this far since you warned him.”

“An insolent doll till the end… Master. This thing is dangerous.”

“Merlin.”

“Yes.”

“You’re the dangerous one.”

“Huh?”

“While I’m being nice, put that doll down and forget today ever happened.”

“I cannot do that.”

“Because I’m in danger?”

“Yes.”

“There’s no danger, so it’s fine.”

“You can’t just dismiss it like that. The one possessing that doll instinctively desires a body. Not just this doll’s body—they’ll want a proper, living one.”

“I said it’s fine.”

“For now, the doll may satisfy them. But with time, they’ll start craving a human body.”

“That won’t happen.”

“No. This is instinct. No saint or noble person could resist such desire.”

“Sigh…”

Merlin showed no signs of stopping.

So.

Before it got worse, I revealed the truth.

“Merlin.”

“Yes.”

“The one possessing that doll is Serena.”

“……?”

“The Goddess of Light, Serena.”

“???”

Merlin stared blankly for a moment before laughing.

“Hahaha.”

“What kind of joke is that?”

“It’s the truth!”

“The great Creator Goddess of Light, Lady Serena, possessing a toy-like doll like this…”

Merlin’s expression turned sharp.

“An evil spirit has deceived you, Master.”

Gathering flames in his hand, he continued.

“To dare deceive you… To impersonate the great Goddess of Light, Lady Serena!… I’ll burn even your soul to atone—”

Thud!

I grabbed Merlin’s wrist to stop him.

“I said it’s the truth!”

“You’ve been tricked, Master.”

“It’s true! The Saintess acknowledged it! The Hero acknowledged it too! It’s really Serena!!”

“……Is that true?”

“It is.”

“Lady Serena… possessed a dog doll… Is that the truth?…”

“Yeah.”

“No… That’s absurd…”

“It’s the truth.”

“……”

Merlin broke out in a cold sweat as he stared at the dog doll.

“Are you… truly the Goddess of Light, Lady Serena?…”

“I’m saying this for my friend Cain’s sake. Since you know now, I’ll forgive your rudeness this time.”

“I—I’M SORRY!!!”

Merlin immediately slammed his head against the floor.

“I said I forgive you?”

“This insolence deserves my life!!!…”

Thwack!

I kicked him.

“Guh!…”

“Serena.”

“Yeah.”

“I hit him once, so that’s enough, right?”

“He really doesn’t listen, so hit him one more time.”

“OK.”

Thwack!

I kicked him again.

Merlin slowly got up, regaining his senses.

“Ugh… I apologize for my disgraceful behavior…”

“Enough. Just act like usual.”

“But…”

“Serena said it’s fine, and I don’t want things to be awkward between us, so just act normal.”

“U-understood…”

Merlin took deep breaths to calm himself.

“Hah… Then… Master…”

“?”

“N-no, never mind…”

Merlin looked at me slowly and spoke.

“I’ll serve you as usual—as the Seeker of Truth, Master K.”

“That’s all I ask.”

“Yes… Then… To summarize… My duty is to diligently carry out Master K’s tasks. Is that all?”

“It’s not just about completing tasks.”

“Then?…”

“I plan to form a second Hero Party and delegate half of the Hero Party’s duties to you all.”

Namely, the Sage Party.

The Hero Party will handle main quests like the Demon King subjugation or the Four Heavenly Kings,

while the Sage Party will take on sub-quests like helping citizens or bandit suppression.

That’s the rough plan.

I don’t have time to roam every map and clear every sub-quest myself.

So I’ll create a sub-quest party to handle them.

And.

As a reward, I’ll grant their wishes.

“With just my Prophecy RPG knowledge, granting their wishes is a piece of cake.”

So I made the offer,

and chose Merlin as the Sage Party’s leader.

“I’m the leader?…”

“Out of the four I selected, you’re the most suited for it.”

“You’d bestow such an honor upon me?…”

“Honor…? Compared to the Hero Party, it’s more like grunt work, so ‘honor’ feels off, but…”

Hugging Serena, I added.

“The goddess will recognize your efforts. Right?”

“I, the Goddess of Light, shall personally acknowledge your hardships.”

Serena spoke in her divine voice,

and Merlin, still on his knees, bowed deeply.

“I’ll do my utmost!”

“Then, in the name of the goddess, I shall assign your first mission.”

“Yes!”

“The first mission is…”

“The first mission is?…”

“To craft the item in this blueprint and present it to me.”

Tap!

Serena placed a blueprint on the floor.

“T-this is?…”

“You can make this, right?”

“Yes! I’ll craft it within a day and present it to you!”

Merlin immediately pressed the mission acceptance button.

But why a blueprint all of a sudden?

“Curious?”

“Yeah.”

“It’s a cooking tool blueprint.”

“Cooking tool?”

“Yep.”

“A gas stove? Microwave? Oven? Deep fryer? It’s the ultimate portable cooking tool that combines all your world’s kitchen appliances into one!… or so Geum Taeyang said.”

“Geum Taeyang?…”

I checked the blueprint briefly.

“Hmm…”

“I don’t understand a single thing here.”

I’m a science major, sure,

but I’m purely biology and chemistry—I know nothing about physics, machinery, or electrical engineering.

So this is beyond me.

Tap! Tap! Tap!

While I was examining the blueprint, Serena pulled out several boxes filled with metal parts.

“Just assemble it and apply magic. It’ll be quick.”

“You even prepared the parts!… I can finish this in under three hours!”

“Then get it done within a day.”

“A day?”

“Rushing might lead to defects, so take 24 hours to make it properly.”

“Yes! Understood!”

Merlin looked at me.

“Master. Any further instructions?”

“Uh… No, go get to work.”

“Yes!”

Merlin hurried toward the lab.

“That expression… I know it well.”

The look of pure joy at discovering a new toy.

I’ve seen it often in Prophecy RPG.

Whenever he obtained an ancient magic tome or a blueprint for a legendary artifact, he’d make that face.

A blueprint directly from the Goddess of Light, Serena?

Wow.

No way he’d resist.

How could anyone resist a divine blueprint?

So.

I get why Merlin reacted like that.

But.

“Why is the first mission making a cooking tool?”

“With this, we can eat even more delicious food!”

Serena drooled as she spoke.

Hmm…

This thing is a goddess?