The First Expedition
Waking from sleep, I found myself seated in a chair wearing a maid outfit. My hands were operating a holographic computer on the desk in front of me. What are you doing?
“Oh, you’re finally awake. Uriel is working right now.”
Various reports and data floated on the hologram as she sorted and approved them. Following her moving eyes, I saw other archangels working as well, along with the God sitting with a bored expression. Huh, the God doesn’t work?
“He’s been making that sour face since work started, just sitting there looking important.”
He really seems to hate managing Eden.
The God fidgeted restlessly the entire time, only brightening up and standing once the workday ended. “Alright, good work, everyone!”
“Thank you for your hard work.”
Isn’t that exactly what a shady boss who makes his employees do all the work looks like?
Even Master works directly.
As the God tried to leave in high spirits now that work was over, Michael stopped him. She spoke in her usual emotionless, almost mechanical voice and tone. “The next dimensional gate appearance has been predicted. Approximately six days from now, near the Lamina Great Forest in southern Ryuzan.”
A dimensional gate? At this timing?
“They appear without any fixed pattern. This system predicts them by detecting various changes right before they manifest, based on accumulated appearance data.”
Uriel explained in a small voice. The God grew even more delighted at the mention of a dimensional gate and patted Michael’s shoulder. “Kuhaha! It’s been a while. Prepare for departure.”
“Understood.”
“Ah, wait a moment.” As if remembering something, he pointed at me and continued. “This time, we’re taking Uriel. Get her ready.”
“Yes, I will arrange it.”
Huh? Ready? Does that mean he’s taking me to close the dimensional gate? It’s an honor to witness His expedition firsthand.
More importantly, going so far away alone with the God?
When the God goes on expeditions, He only takes one archangel to attend to Him. He has to leave the others to handle the work.
“By the way, she’s already returned.”
Because Uriel had finished her work and immediately returned to the mental space, I ended up handling the expedition preparations. “That aside, the God is stronger than expected. And with this unexpected dimensional gate situation, it doesn’t look like we’ll be able to settle things in a day or two, so I need to contact the outside.”
Internal communication within the temple is difficult. All wireless signals are blocked, and even wired lines are under strict security.
Since we’re going out with the God to close the gate, we can just send the message then, right?
That’s the best option.
Combat gear for the God, emergency repair supplies for the prosthetic body, and various weapons. All combat-oriented items were neatly packed into a metal suitcase the size of my body. Michael, who had been helping with the preparations beside me, handed over a choker-shaped device and said, “Since you have an implant-integrated prosthetic body, you won’t need the trouble of carrying a bulky long-range wireless communicator. Attach this to the external connection port and you’ll be able to use a dedicated secure channel. Send regular reports through this.”
“Yes.”
“If you run into trouble with civilians, we archangels would normally handle it, but since you also have a prosthetic body, please be especially careful with your strength control.”
“Understood.”
While we were in the middle of preparations, the sound of a door opening came from behind us. Standing in the doorway was the God, wearing ordinary men’s clothing instead of his usual flashy attire. Seeing us preparing, he spoke. “Are the preparations done? The road is long, so let’s depart quickly.”
“Please wait just a little longer. Uriel, go change quickly.”
She pointed at the clothes hanging on the rack. Ordinary women’s clothing hung there as well. So they don’t wear maid outfits when going outside.
Before taking off the maid outfit, I glanced at the God, but as expected, he just stared openly with no intention of leaving. Under the silent pressure, I hurriedly changed clothes. Once everything was ready, I dragged the suitcase and followed the God through a passage in the temple basement, boarding a train that ran along rails. Emerging from a secretly constructed entrance in a corner of the station warehouse, we entered the station without going through the management office.
“So that’s how you secretly come and go outside. There was a secret passage.”
Information about dimensional gates is classified, so it was created because it’s hard to give reasons every time.
Yeah, doing that every time would be annoying.
While listening to their conversation, I wrote a message to send to Isabel. I detailed the current situation and future plans. “Don’t space out and get lost. Stay close.”
“Ah, yes.”
While writing the message in the bustling station filled with people, he grabbed my shoulder and pulled me into an embrace. He wore sunglasses as a disguise, but his height and build made him stand out, drawing everyone’s attention—and consequently, mine as well. Oh my, he has better manners than I thought.
Do you now understand His charm?
I’ve liked him ever since I saw that sturdy cock.
A man isn’t just about his dick.
While the two of them discussed a man’s charm, I successfully sent the message I had worked hard on and let out a sigh of relief. Just then, a large train spewing smoke arrived at the station. It was a steam locomotive that used coal, the most commonly used fuel on the continent. It was strange that they still used steam locomotives burning coal when advanced technology like hover cars existed, but there was a reason. Because the distances between cities were vast and monsters sometimes appeared through holes in the borders, quieter steam locomotives were preferred. Of course, the application of various modern technologies had made them lighter, improving fuel efficiency, and structural improvements and simplifications made maintenance easier, allowing them to run almost indefinitely as long as they had water and fuel. This came with the minor drawback of the locomotives being extremely expensive.
The locomotive, which had been containing steam through internal circulation, stopped at the station and released the accumulated steam outside. Amid the thick white steam, people began busily getting off and on. The God and I boarded the train and headed to our reserved seats. Because we had hastily reserved an express train to Ryuzan, we had to rent a premium seating car with few passengers due to the high price. We boarded the luxurious premium car, stored the suitcase in the overhead compartment, and sat down. The seats were divided into four-person compartments, so we sat comfortably in the spacious seats. After moving frantically and finally sitting down, I looked out the window and suddenly realized this was my first time leaving Eden since being born.
“Huh, isn’t this the first time we’ve left Eden since being born?”
That’s right.
It’s our first trip.
“Wow. Suddenly I’m excited.”
My heart began to race at the unexpected first trip. Still not departed, I sat pressed against the window showing only the station and pictured the scenery of Ryuzan in my mind. “I heard it has a strong religious atmosphere since it has the Sun God Church as its state religion. I wonder what it’ll be like.”
The capital of Ryuzan has the Papal Palace and the royal palace, boasting a world-famous landscape.
Ugh, but it’s too dangerous a place for a succubus.
“Ooh, I want to see it.”
“What are you muttering to yourself about?”
Startled, I turned my eyes from the window to him. I had been so excited that I momentarily forgot his existence. Hurriedly composing my expression and sitting properly, he looked at me with a puzzled face and said, “No need to pretend now. I’ve known for a while that you have emotions.”
“Yes?”
“I was wondering from the beginning if you even intended to hide it. Your expressions are so varied.”
At his words, my entire body tensed. Does he know my purpose? But he showed no particular reaction for someone who did. “It was unexpected that you still have emotions even after being made into Uriel, but it’s not bad.”
“Is it okay for an angel to have emotions?”
“I wanted to own at least one angel who has emotions.”
It seems like he just likes having a rare item.
I wonder how he would react if he knew that angels who have symbiosis with Abaddon have emotions.
His interest was clearly just at the level of wanting a toy with emotions. There was no unpleasant vibe, nor any sign of suspicion. “Having the same dead eyes as other angels but with such rich expressions is really refreshing. Using you will feel like having sex, not masturbation. I’m looking forward to it.”
“Couldn’t the other archangels just act out emotions?”
“No matter how good the acting, it shows. There needs to be natural reactions that come from emotions for proper sex between people.”
I agree with that. Now I understand why they use angels as masturbation tools.
Indeed, there are statistics that sensitive men find angels’ acting unpleasant.
Honestly, even I would probably just use them as sex dolls and not see them as sex partners.
I had once been an angel who worked hard at acting out emotions, so Cuby’s words felt too harsh, but at the same time, I couldn’t deny them. Even I, who had directly felt the presence and absence of emotions, felt that my past self had been nothing more than an acting doll. “Still, please don’t dismiss the effort they put into learning and acting out emotions for their partners.”
“High-performance AIs can do that too. The only reason they make angels out of humans is because it’s cheaper. If not for that, they would have replaced them all with sex bots long ago.”
Weren’t angels three hundred million?
That’s the selling price. The production cost is definitely cheaper when making them from humans.
“Then is there a reason they deliberately erase emotions?”
At my question, he lay down on the seat with a nonchalant expression. “Emotions are nothing but obstacles for angels who must be absolutely loyal and unconditionally devoted to others. You know that well yourself, don’t you? You’re showing hostility toward me right now.”
“That’s…”
The God is right. Because I, who should originally have no emotions, developed them, I sometimes feel negative emotions and it’s painful.
That’s sophistry. Both loyalty and the heart to devote oneself require emotions. Doing things exactly as input without emotions is no different from an AI. It’s just an excuse for turning humans into dolls because they’re cheap.
But the lack of emotions makes them efficient. The fact that the number of customers angels receive has drastically decreased after gaining emotions is proof.
Then how do you explain the increased customer satisfaction? Our brothel has an overwhelmingly large number of regular customers. Each customer has a fixed angel they seek out. That’s proof there are things acting alone can’t satisfy.
Angels are nothing more than tools for Eden’s profit. If emotions have reduced revenue, then from Eden’s perspective, they’re inefficient. You mustn’t forget your duty, Cuby.
I’m not an angel. I’m a succubus who has emotions. Above all, sex only has value when everyone involved enjoys it. What can emotionless angels get from sex?
There’s no need to get anything. They’re simply doing the work assigned to them.
You’re also happy serving the God. Without emotions, there’s no joy either. Do you still like that?
That’s…
Uriel fell silent, perhaps flustered by Cuby’s point. I thought that Uriel, who already had emotions and thought and acted with them, could never win against Cuby. And I also found myself slightly agreeing with Cuby’s opinion. Thinking of Senior Stella’s precedent and the numerous angels who regained emotions through symbiosis with Abaddon and fell asleep exhausted, I could understand how difficult it must have been for angels who lived devotedly just doing their assigned work. While we were talking, the train sounded its horn and departed. Lying down and clicking his tongue, he yawned and said, “I’m going to sleep, so wake me when it’s time to eat.”
“Ah, yes.”
Absurdly, he really fell asleep just like that. Uriel, having composed herself, spoke again in a calm tone. It’s about a three-day journey to the destination, so meals will be served accordingly.
Since we have this much time anyway, tell me about the dimensional gate.
“I’m curious about that too.”
Why do you want an explanation when you already have all my memories?
What’s the point of having them if I can’t properly recall them?
Haah, I’ll explain briefly.
The dimensional gate was a name the God had arbitrarily given to a phenomenon of unknown cause. A certain space would ripple as if space itself were splitting, and various monsters would pour out from within. The methods discovered so far to close a dimensional gate were three: sealing it with a special device until it disappeared, going through it directly to kill the monsters, or killing all the monsters that came through. The God usually preferred the latter method, treating the sealing device as insurance for emergencies. The types of monsters are diverse. Most are similar to the monsters on this continent, but new species sometimes appear. If this phenomenon has continued from the distant past, it’s speculated that it might be the origin of the monsters on the continent.
“That’s fascinating.”
Could succubi also be a race that came through a dimensional gate in the distant past?
It’s possible. But since they’re a race that has existed since ancient times and are now extinct, there’s no way to confirm.
“It seems even QA doesn’t know about the origin of the race.”
Huh, you’re not calling her Mother anymore?
“She’s a mother to Cuby, but it feels a bit awkward for me.”
When I was one with Cuby, I had the perception that QA was my mother, but after separating, it had faded. Well, succubi are born that way. And the demon core fell off too.
Come to think of it, Elisha was an Abaddon Queen. Can you still create symbiotes?
“I’m not a complete Abaddon Queen. Still, shall I check?”
Closing my eyes and focusing my consciousness, I felt the familiar Abaddon sensation. My consciousness moved to the uterus and showed the inside where the demon core had disappeared. Even after becoming a full-body prosthetic, it still worked. That aside, my uterus felt much healthier than before. My ovaries had also improved, and it seemed I could produce healthy, good eggs. They said they had enhanced reproductive function, so this must be the effect. “It’s possible. My reproductive organs have improved compared to before.”
Actually, this is probably the first time they’ve seriously produced a female full-body prosthetic. Originally, the technology was developed intensively for him, who is male.
So in various ways, it’s an experimental model?
Although not in the modification records, numerous newly developed technologies have likely been applied.
While we were talking, the scenery outside the window suddenly caught my eye. The distant view, which had always been blocked by the outer wall and showed only gray, was now filled with blue nature. Beautiful houses dotted the landscape of low hills and vast grasslands. Feeling awe at the endlessly spreading nature, I said, “It’s beautiful.”
It is beautiful, but I still prefer the night streets.
How vulgar.
What’s with this bitch calling everything vulgar? Why have you been so prickly since earlier? You, come here for a second.
Wait, what are you doing?
With those words, their voices could no longer be heard. They were probably having a private conversation in the mental space. Ryuzan, where grasslands made up most of the territory, had endless plains continuing. While I was blankly watching out the window to pass the time, I heard a knocking sound. Knock knock. “Yes.”
“I’ve brought your meal.”
“Ah, please come in.”
The door opened quietly and a staff member entered pulling a cart. The male staff member flinched upon seeing me as he entered and his face slightly reddened. With slightly flustered movements, he operated the table in the middle, which automatically unfolded and transformed into a dining table. Oh, using this method to increase space efficiency—good idea. He set the food on the table and said, “I hope you enjoy your meal.”
“Thank you.”
When I smiled as a sign of gratitude, he coughed awkwardly, his face even redder, and hurried out. Hmm, why is he so flustered? Anyway, since the meal had arrived, I needed to wake the God. He was sleeping so deeply that even when the staff came and set the food, he remained asleep. “The meal is here. Please wake up.”
I said it several times, but he didn’t wake at all. Left with no choice, I stood up and approached him. I had hoped that a powerhouse of his level would wake just from someone approaching, but that didn’t happen. Placing my hand on his shoulder, I spoke again. “It’s time to wake up now.”
“Mm.”
Only then did he open his eyes and abruptly sit up. Blinking several times and stretching his neck, he said, “Traveling is always such a chore. It would be convenient if we could just teleport like with the dimensional gate.”
“Still, it feels nice because it’s like traveling.”
“After doing it about a hundred times, you won’t be able to say that.”
Ah, that’s true. Wait, more importantly, why am I talking to him so normally? It seems like after separating from Cuby, something’s slightly off. I thought I had grown in my own way, but was that Cuby’s influence? While I was worrying about myself, he finished his meal in an instant and, patting his stomach, said, “The taste isn’t great, and the portions are insufficient too. Go to the dining car and buy more food.”
“Ah, yes.”
At his words, I came to my senses and looked at the table to find that he had already eaten my portion as well. Looking at him with a dumbfounded feeling, he sat with his arms crossed, looking as if there was nothing wrong. “You ate my share too?”
“You’re mine, so what I ate is mine. I don’t see the problem.”
“Sigh.”
Left with no choice, I grabbed the wallet containing the activity funds and left the room. How can there be a person like that? He seemed like someone who thought everything revolved around himself. Well, since he was someone who had done all sorts of cruel things to satisfy his hero complex, it would be difficult to understand him with ordinary values. Da da da— While looking for the dining car, I heard someone running from behind. From the light footsteps with short intervals, it seemed like a child. “Hyah! Ultimate attack! Skirt…!”
Thud. I caught the hand of a small child reaching for my skirt from behind. The child, looking at his caught hand with a blank expression and then shaking it, looked up at me and said, “Big sis, I’m sorry.”
Hmm, was that just now a prank to lift up my skirt? Honestly, I didn’t know how to react. Perhaps because I just looked at him without saying anything, the child’s face turned into a pout. “Pretty big sis, please forgive me. I won’t do it again.”
“Then will you do one favor for me?”
“What is it?”
“I’m looking for the dining car. Do you know where it is?”
“I know! I’ll guide you.”
As if his pout had been a lie, the now lively child grabbed my hand and led me.