Taming God-Level Creations
"Wait! Stop, everyone!"
First, what should I even say?
What could possibly make them stop fighting?
"Autumn? Khk."
"Master, this place is dangerous, ugh."
"My 'Gaeul.' It's dangerous. Stand back."
The moment I stepped between them, Rebecca and Bathory both halted the surge of power they had been gathering. It seemed they had stopped because they were worried I might get hurt, and the backlash had left them with internal injuries. I felt terrible about it.
"Why are you all so determined to fight? You're literally just arguing over who’s closer to me!"
"Well… strictly speaking, that’s not entirely wrong."
"Autumn! I’m your wife! How could I just stand by and watch strange women try to steal my man?!"
"Master, I spent ten thousand years by your side, and I finally got to hear your answer! Then suddenly these strange women appear and try to take you away from me!"
…When I thought about it from their perspectives, they had a point.
Bathory was technically my wife (well, Autumn’s wife, but since I was pretending to be him), and Rebecca had waited ten thousand years for my memories to return (Aki’s memories, technically, but again, I was pretending). From their point of view, they were rivals, weren’t they?
The only person who could possibly understand my position right now was another version of 'me'! Though the rest of them weren’t even human to begin with. Dragons and vampires.
"Bathory, Rebecca. The truth is, I’ve had deep relationships with all of you. Even I can’t remember everything clearly. My memories haven’t fully returned yet. That’s why you’re all precious to me."
Ugh. They didn’t look convinced at all. Their eyes were practically spinning.
Well, of course. It wasn’t like they could just accept some random woman suddenly claiming to be their husband’s lover.
"So I don’t want you fighting. A thousand years ago, as Autumn Grace, I married Bathory…"
"See? I told you."
Bathory spoke with a triumphant tone.
"…And as Aki, bearing divinity, I spent ten thousand years alone with Rebecca."
"Hmph. My words were correct too, weren’t they?"
Rebecca puffed out her chest as she spoke.
Urgh. What could I say to get them under control?
Think, me.
Huh.
Ah. That’s it!
If everything was manifesting based on my delusions, then even if they had extra details I never imagined, the core of my delusions should still be reflected in them! In that case, maybe I could make them listen.
"Rebecca. Do you remember when I was Aki, how you used to hole up in that cave all day, living like a total shut-in?"
"No way! You even remember that, Master? Th-that’s a little embarrassing…"
Rebecca flailed, her face turning as red as her hair.
Whoa. Rebecca was actually panicking.
"I told you back then, didn’t I? To get along with other beings. Not to attack them without understanding who they are first. You promised you would, remember?"
Back when Rebecca had sealed her heart away and lived as a hikikomori in her lair, she would slaughter any life that passed by depending on her mood. That was probably why the gods had labeled her an evil dragon that needed to be destroyed.
Unable to watch any longer, I (well, the Aki from my delusion) had opened her heart and made sure she wouldn’t attack others indiscriminately.
"Y-yes, that’s right. I remember, Master."
"And Bathory. When I was Autumn Grace and we were adventuring together, you tried to kill every single person we met, didn’t you?"
"Th-that was because every single one of them was lusting after you!"
Even Bathory’s face flushed as she shouted in protest.
Whoa. Getting this kind of reaction out of Bathory, who never showed emotion?
"That’s why we made a promise, right? No matter how much we disliked someone, we wouldn’t try to kill them until we understood them properly. Isn’t that so?"
Back when I (the Autumn from my delusion) had been traveling with Bathory, this world was gender-reversed, so plenty of people had lusted after Autumn Grace. And every time we met someone like that, Bathory had tried to kill them.
In the end, I had promised her we wouldn’t harm anyone until we knew them well. That was how we’d been able to spare those pirates who tried to assault me on the road and instead take them on as subordinates.
"…Yeah. We did promise that, Autumn."
"So let’s take the time to get to know each other. We still don’t know each other well. Plus, my memories aren’t complete yet. Got it? You’ll keep your word, right, Rebecca? Bathory?"
"Yes… I understand, Master."
"Yeah. I got it, Autumn."
Whew. At least they were still treating me like the reincarnation of Autumn/Aki, so they were willing to listen.
I handled that pretty well. I was basically the creator of these delusions, after all! I should be able to control my own creations!
"But Autumn, why is this woman Autumn trying to take you?"
"That’s right, Master. This female Master might be difficult to accept."
"Huh? Well, obviously because she’s another version of 'me.' She understands my position, so of course I said she’s the closest to me. There’s no way 'I' would like me, right?"
Thud.
What was that? The air suddenly felt incredibly heavy.
Huh? Was this another 'me’s' power? Couldn’t she reel it back in now that everything was over?
That was when it happened.
"Male God! I’ll save you now!"
Monica suddenly burst in through the broken wall.
Eh? Why was she here?
"Male Go—kuhek."
A dark aura from the other 'me' crushed Monica, knocking her unconscious.
What the—scary, 'me.'
"Some vampire wench tried to butt in without knowing her place, so I put her to sleep. Don’t worry, Rebecca, Bathory. Since 'Gaeul' doesn’t want to fight, I won’t attack as long as you listen to him."
The other female 'me' spoke calmly after instantly neutralizing Monica, who was quite strong even in this world’s standards.
"And 'Gaeul.'"
Huh? Me? Why all of a sudden?
"I haven’t given up on you. I am the one worthy of becoming your first wife. Therefore…"
Huh? She hadn’t given up on me?
Was she saying she liked me? Another version of 'me'?
The female 'Gaeul' who had spoken up to that point suddenly lowered her head. The dark aura surrounding us vanished completely, along with that overwhelming pressure.
"…No. It’s nothing. Hey, Bathory, what are you going to do about that broken wall? Fix it already."
The other 'me’s' speech pattern had returned to normal.
What was that? Some kind of side effect from gaining such immense power? I should ask her later how she got so strong.
More importantly, it meant 'me' didn’t actually like me. I’d gotten a little excited without realizing it.
Well, of course. She was me. There was no way 'I' would like me.
Still, I felt strangely disappointed.
"Uh… Female Autumn, your vibe just changed, didn’t it?"
"Don’t worry, female Master. I’ll fix it with magic right away."
Clap.
When Rebecca clapped her hands, the debris from the walls flew back into place, restoring the living room wall to its original state. Even the scattered dust was cleaned up.
"How about that, Master? I’m much more helpful than that vampire over there, right? After all, I’m the maid who served you for ten thousand years~!"
Rebecca placed her hands on her hips, puffed out her chest, and spoke proudly.
"Kh. I could fix it too if you gave me time. There’s nothing in this country I can’t handle! Autumn, if you need anything, just say the word! Hmm… Your identity situation is still ambiguous, isn’t it? I’ll take care of it."
Bathory clicked her tongue, then suddenly pulled out her phone and started making a call.
"Karen, it’s me. I need something done. What? That can wait. This is extremely urgent!"
Uh…
They both seemed incredibly helpful?
Still, I was just glad things had been resolved for now. Though it felt more like I’d just pushed the problem into the future.
Ever since yesterday, I kept saying we should just wait and see.
Well… I guess my future self would handle it.
Now I had to explain things to the startled Gyeoul…
"Whoa! Oppa, what the heck is going on? I’ve been seeing nothing but fantasy stuff and I can’t process it at all."
At least she wasn’t in full panic mode. Still, wasn’t it weird how little she was freaking out after everything that had happened?
Also, why did she keep asking me instead of her own sister when we were still awkward around each other?
So the other 'me' and I explained the current situation to Gyeoul.
I also told Bathory to let Monica know that we’d be keeping Cassandra with us.
Bathory then mentioned that Monica had come yesterday to apologize about what happened and asked us not to think badly of vampires.
Honestly, vampires were still terrifying to me right now, but since Autumn Grace had been a true ancestor vampire, I had to pretend they didn’t scare me, right?
After that, Bathory took Monica somewhere for a bit before returning alone.
She said she was going to live here from now on.
Wait, so I was going to be living under the same roof as those three terrifying beings?
I felt like I was going to have a heart attack living like this.
Sigh. At least once Cassandra woke up, I could just explain everything properly.
Letting out a sigh, I finally relaxed enough to realize I needed to pee.
After finishing in the bathroom and stepping out—
Huh?
Vrrrrrm
Something appeared before my eyes, rippling and gradually growing larger.
A portal… maybe?
And from that portal (presumably)…
"Daddy!"
A woman leaped out and hugged me.
D-Daddy?