Point-of-View: Shiro Blanc
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"Uh...I don't know, this is kinda creepy," Remarked Minise skeptically.
"Oh, come on, no need to be so apprehensive! Just have some fun with it, it'll be great," Responded Belia persuasively.
"Yeah, uh...I don't see what could possibly be fun about controlling a bunch of corpses," Frowned Minise, unconvinced.
"But you did it during the last battle!" Pointed out Belia.
"That was different, I was in a situation where I'd have done anything to stay alive!" Countered Minise objectively.
I let out a sigh as I took a sip of my mixed fruit juice...it was currently the 15th of July, and I was in a restaurant with Belia and Minise. Belia had wanted to discuss something with Minise, and wanted me to come too...I only agreed because I was curious. I regret that now.
"Shiro, what do you think?" Suddenly inquired Belia, dragging me into it.
"Yeah, whose side are you on?" Added Minise, piling on.
Ah, crap...I really didn't want to get dragged into their argument, it seems like way too much trouble.
"Does my opinion really matter?" I sighed in response.
"Well, yeah, we're not getting anywhere arguing amongst ourselves, so to resolve this, we need a tiebreaker...and that's where you come it," Explained Belia with a grin.
So, basically, Belia had modified and preserved several of the corpses of the other races that had been killed during that battle...after all, there were definitely a lot of them to choose from, so from her perspective, why not? And she wanted Minise to control them using her Lich powers, but Minise was reluctant.
"Fine, I'll go with Minise, then. After all, you can only control a maximum of ten corpses at a time, anyway, right?" I reasoned objectively.
"Sweet, thanks!" Grinned Minise, holding her hand up for a high five, which I hesitantly returned, tapping her palm with mine as I averted my gaze.
"Aw...that's so logical that it's boring, is this what getting blue-balled feels like?" Sighed Belia with a look of disappointment.
"Why are you asking me?" I responded dryly.
"Anyway, I'm not giving up that easily! I put a lot of work into fixing up those corpses, you know!" Protested Belia, pretty much throwing a tantrum.
"I mean, you probably just stitched them up or something, right?" Replied Minise, looking unimpressed.
"Wha-...no, of course that's not all that I did! Let's see...first, I removed all their unnecessary innards, so they'll be super light and fast now! I also set spells on them to keep them from rotting and installed a bunch of hidden weapons inside their bodies. Oh, and mortal bodies have self-imposed restraints on them to prevent muscle deterioration and excessive strain, I've removed those restraints, while taking measures to prevent the drawbacks...come on, at least take them for a spin!" Implored Belia, grabbing her shoulders.
"I-...alright, fine, I'll control one or two of them for a few minutes, but that's it!" Minise gave in reluctantly.
"...I mean, that's not a great deal, but for now, I guess I'll take what I can get," Shrugged Belia in reply.
"Okay, so when do you want to do this?" Responded Minise with a sigh.
"Hm, let's see...well, I'm supposed to go check on the progress of the autonomous wooden puppets...half an hour ago. Crap, I totally forgot...eh, whatever, I'm sure they won't be surprised if I'm a bit late," She shrugged, as she took a bite of her food.
"Shouldn't you take this more seriously? If either the Laus Domain or Abyss attack us, we'll be-," Began Minise.
"Oh, don't worry about them, not right now, anyway. Abyss won't attack us unprovoked out of nowhere, it's clear that Kuro wants to avoid unnecessary casualties on his side. They'll take advantage during a battle, but if nothing's happening, they're more than happy to sit back and do nothing," Surmised Belia confidently.
"Okay, but...what if you're wrong? And what about the Laus Domain?" Pressed Minise, looking unconvinced.
"Well, if I'm wrong, then...great! Unforseen circumstances result in chaos, so I don't mind being wrong, never have," She responded with a smirk, before adding, "As for the Laus Domain, it seems that they're occupied with an internal conflict...it's quite interesting."
Hm?
"Wait, really? I thought the other races all got along unconditionally," I chimed in, my interest piqued.
"Normally, yes. But with enough doubt and strife, even they can end up going against their instincts. It's a matter of circumstance. Just like how a human that grew up in violence and a human that grew up in peace would be vastly different types of people, the other races can also change, given the right circumstances. For instance, back when the Demi-Humans were still thriving, the other races had never experienced real hatred or rage. But the actions of the humans of that time changed that, and the current situation in the Laus Domain is such that more change is on the horizon for its populous, it really is fascinating to watch," Remarked Belia, licking her lips tantalizingly.
"So, wait, then they're not all that different from humans after all?" Inquired Minise curiously.
"Not exactly...see, human emotions can be highly volatile and fickle, even a human whose known nothing but peace can be capable of violence. But the other races have naturally-stronger convictions and their bodies and minds possess better regulation of their emotions and instincts than humans do. They do have the potential to display the negative traits that humans do so readily, but to a much, much less significant extent, it would take something truly extreme to push them to that point," Explained Belia.
Huh, so that's how it works. I never really bought the whole 'incapable of deceit' aspect about them, that just doesn't seem possible to me. Especially after seeing the intensity of their hatred towards humans.
"Okay, so I'm guessing something extreme has happened in the Laus Domain?" I inquired with a raised eyebrow.
"Yeah, it seems so...I'm not a hundred percent sure of the context, especially since I can't use my Observation Magic on Sant, but for some reason, they're hunting down the Wind Sage. The Elves and Halflings are definitely showing signs of feeling conflicted, and to a slightly lesser extent, the Dwarves too. It isn't helping that Sant's personality has changed so drastically. The Fairies are as loyal as ever, but those creatures aren't normal mortals to begin with."
"What do you mean by that?" Asked Minise curiously.
"It's hard to explain. Hm, let me think...they're just abnormal, they're honestly closer to plants than animals. They reproduce asexually and show no signs of lust, they never question Sant no matter what, he could probably command them to murder a bunch of children and they'd do it, no questions asked. The only reason that they display hatred towards humans is because Sant expressed displeasure at what happened to the Demi-Humans...otherwise, they probably wouldn't have been all they affected by it," Belia informed us.
"It's that extreme? Actually, come to think of it, when we fought those Fairies by the south gate, they were all attacking with almost no regard for their own lives, that kinda made it easier to kill them," I recalled.
"Yeah, we'd have been fucked if they'd fought more cautiously, they outnumbered us by a ridiculous amount," Agreed Minise.
"By the way, all of this is just my opinion, I might be wrong, or at least inaccurate," Clarified Belia, as she finished her food and stood up, "Alright, let's get going, time to control some corpses, Minise!"
"Sure, but, uh...shouldn't you first go check on the wooden gol-...puppets before that?" Pointed out Minise.
She was about to call them golems, which would technically be accurate, I suppose, but Golems exist as a type of monster in this world, and they happen to be under Minise's control. So it seemed ill-fitting to call these creations golems in this world.
"Oh, right...yeah, I suppose that I should. You two wanna come with?" She offered, as she opened a portal.
"Sure, why not? I'm pretty curious to see what they're like," I admitted.
"Yeah, I'll tag along too. We should first pay the bill though-," Began Minise, but it was already too late, as Belia opened the portal beneath us and we all dropped into it, landing in a large factory that was being used to manufacture the puppets.
And...holy shit, there's a lot of them!
"You are quite late, Belia!" Snapped an irritated voice, storming over.
"Sorry, Elina, I was hungry!" Grinned Belia in response.
"...you do not require food," Frowned Elina.
"That's...true. But, uh...just because I don't get hungry doesn't mean that I don't crave food, I do have tastebuds, you know!" Huffed Belia, pretending to be offended.
"Tch, how exasperating...inspect the puppets yourself, I do not have time to waste on you," Responded Elina with an irritated grumble.
"Mind if we take one out for a spin?" Inquired Belia hopefully.
"What would be the point? All of your Mana signatures have been registered, so they will not attack you unless the command lines are changed," Replied Elina with a glare.
Oh, right, they only attack when they come across something or someone with an unregistered Mana signature. Minise's monsters would also be ignored by them.
"Not to worry, I'll just pop over to one of the Laus Domain's fortresses and kidnap someone, problem solved!" Surmised Belia triumphantly.
Elina let out a sigh of exasperation, rubbing the sides of her head. Yeah, there's no way that she's going to okay that-.
"Very well, do as you please. But you may only take one, no more than that," She responded firmly, before leaving.
Oh, never mind...I sure as hell didn't see that coming...
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