Chapter 83
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 83
Chapter Title: Aira Petrovna (1)
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A day passed at the mansion, and I spent several hours ironing out the remaining details with the witch's butler.
Most of what the witch had mentioned herself was honored without a single haggle, but in line with the middle-aged butler's concerns, I was hit with a few additional demands.
"I've heard that you've acquired the ability to create clone dolls for your master."
"Yes, that's right."
"Your ability essentially allows you to manipulate living dolls as subordinates. Therefore, to protect my lady's dignity, I humbly propose adding a few restrictions."
The additional contract he presented boiled down to this.
First, the created clone must make contact with the witch's mansion at least once every three days. Second, no belittling or insulting language toward the clone under any circumstances. Third, absolutely no sexual contact of any kind.
He continued in a stiff voice, not hiding his displeasure.
"Of course, this is a decision made directly by our lady, and you have now become a valued partner of our household. However... on the other hand, my lady deeply suspects any potential debauched intentions on your part."
His gaze flicked briefly toward my crotch before snapping back up.
"For the sake of my lady's honor, I believe you can certainly honor these modest proposals."
Hmm.
If I want to do it, I will—what's with all the nagging?
I clicked my tongue inwardly and decided to accept all his proposals. Contracts were just scraps of paper to me anyway.
"Of course. I accept them all. I see them as the bare minimum to build trust with my partner."
I flashed the most polite, trustworthy smile I could muster.
"I'll arrange a time later to send over my doll so we can create one for the lady. Creating a perfect clone requires meticulous preparation, after all."
"Understood. When the time comes, we'll send someone to receive your doll."
With that, the butler bowed to me.
"Then, as promised, I've prepared the witch's 'welcome gift'."
At his gesture, something slithered out from the dark corner of the room.
It had a human shape, but it wasn't a complete person. Like a mummy, its entire body was wrapped in ragged, filthy cloth. Fresh dark red bloodstains were still visible in spots, as if they hadn't dried yet.
The butler pointed casually at the gruesome figure.
"This person..."
As I furrowed my brow, he added,
"Yes, you saw him yesterday. Li Wei, an executive of Black Line. He's freshly made, so he hasn't fully taken shape yet, but that should resolve itself in a few days."
Eh, a guy.
I had to focus every nerve on keeping my expression neutral for a moment.
Honestly, I'd been hoping for one of those voluptuous naked women from yesterday, not this bloody mummy ragdoll.
Well, a free toy's a free toy—no room to complain about gender.
Hiding my disappointment, I asked as nonchalantly as possible.
"This is the welcome gift?"
"Indeed. A 'welcome' restored to its exact living form. With a physical body like this, 'zombie' might be a better fit... but it's now the lady's perfect slave. And now, I'm giving this man to you."
The butler continued.
"He'll return to Black Line in a few days. And he'll report that this deal with our mansion will take a very long time to finalize. From there, he'll become your eyes and ears. Use him when operating in Nocturne Town. The position of executive in a massive villain organization will bring you far more benefits than you might imagine."
Black Line, huh...
Getting a heavyweight spy like this for free? It'd be weirder if it didn't help.
I nodded reluctantly.
"Got it. I'll gratefully accept."
With that, the butler bowed deeply once more.
A silent signal that all business was concluded.
He led me and Doris—who stood dazed like a doll behind me—back up the endless stone stairs to the surface.
'Whoa, we have to climb all these?'
But surprisingly, the butler was considerate.
Unlike the descent last time, the stairs folded upward on their own, sparing our legs the strain.
"Shall I take you all the way to the Nocturne Town entrance?"
"Ah, yes."
We didn't go to the underground auction house from yesterday's stairs, but up to the top level of Nocturne Town, straight to the surface.
'What a convenient ability.'
Escalator powers, huh.
The world is full of weird abilities.
The damp, eerie fog of mana enveloping the witch's mansion had thinned, and blinding light poured in from the end of the stairs.
'Ugh.'
"We've arrived."
My recovered vision took in the daytime Nocturne Town.
Nocturne Town's day was louder and dirtier than its night. The smell of mystery meat grilling mixed with sewer stench and cheap perfume assaulted the nose, while shouts, haggling from the crowds packing the narrow alleys, and drunken singing from somewhere rattled the ears.
"Then, I'll take my leave. Until next time."
After parting with the butler, I let out a deep breath.
'What can I say—it's that chaotic scenery you miss and want to return to.'
Time to head back.
I walked along, pondering how to distribute and consume the new elixirs I'd acquired.
No more doing something stupid like chugging them all at once like last time.
It was on my way back to the Academy.
Amid a pile of dozens of crumpled papers trampled into the mud by passersby, I spotted two all-too-familiar faces and stopped dead.
"...What the hell is this?"
What on earth had happened in just one day?
Gracing the front pages were none other than me and Instructor Seraphina.
I picked up a paper from the ground and read the headline.
From Flunk-Out to Once-in-a-Lifetime Talent! Kang Ihyeon, Owner of the 'Doll Creation' Skill—Is Academy Instructor Seraphina Behind Him?
Exquisite Active Hunter Doll: Miyazaki Rena. Who Truly Pulled Off This Miracle?
Academy's New Hero Emerges? Instructor Seraphina Reexamined as a 'True Educator'!
Portrait Rights Violation Gone Too Far—Is This Okay?
"Whoa."
My head spun.
A trap aimed at me? What scheme was Seraphina pulling this time?
As I scanned the papers with a confused look, Aira—who had been standing quietly like a shadow at my side—whispered in a low voice that cut through the surrounding noise just enough.
"The plan has begun, Master."
"...Ah."
In that instant, all the doubts swirling in my head connected into one clear line.
Ah.
Black Line's plan.
It meant the scheme to oust Seraphina—an executive of 'Eclipse'—from this Hunter Academy.
Sure enough, Aira had told me back then.
They'd artificially inflate Seraphina's reputation to the heavens, then shatter it to the depths with one decisive scandal.
From the highest heights, to the most miserable fall.
And now it seemed I was right at the center of that plan too.
"If I'm not careful, I'll get dragged down with her...?"
The mastermind of this was none other than Aira Petrovna's original body—the clone standing beside me.
Putting together what I knew:
She had sent Cheon Seo-eun, Cheon Da-eun's sister, to kidnap me. Even after failing, she'd kept surveilling me, and even now, her real 'eyes' might be watching from somewhere.
'Did she shift from just coaxing me to eliminating me too?'
I stared hard at Aira for a moment before looking away. No point asking now. To understand the full picture, I'd have to draw out her original consciousness anyway.
'Hmm, but didn't I give her a lot to do?'
Founding and running Arbiter, asset management. And now the role of doll creator for the witch.
"Hmm."
Then the options were clear.
I needed to finish taming Aira as quickly as possible and make her perfectly mine.
The conclusion was already set.
'Hypnosis Gun.'
Time to use it.
One day, at some hour, in Kang Ihyeon's private lab.
Her consciousness rose from the deep abyss to the surface like awakening from sleep, clarity slowly returning.
Aira Petrovna—the original consciousness with her face buried on the desk—slowly opened her eyes.
"...Where is this?"
The first thing in her view was the familiar yet unfamiliar ceiling of Kang Ihyeon's private lab.
She realized she had awakened as the 'original' consciousness once more.
'I thought I wouldn't wake again.'
She had accidentally let her master, Kang Ihyeon, discover she wasn't a mere machine consciousness but the original.
And after the subsequent sex, she was subdued before she could resist.
She never imagined she'd awaken in full consciousness like this again.
'Is there some condition for awakening?'
But right now, there was no way to know the mechanism.
She sat up and turned her eyes to the scattered documents around her.
It seemed her 'machine consciousness' had been commanded by Kang Ihyeon to handle some important task here.
But what it was, she had no idea.
Memories from machine consciousness state didn't exist for her.
Drawn by something, she picked up the top document from the pile on the desk.
It was titled 'Observations on Master's Body'. Below it, in her own familiar handwriting, were densely packed sharp, analytical notes.
'Looks like my machine consciousness was researching Kang Ihyeon's body.'
Why?
Before reading further, she glanced around.
Empty lab. No one there.
Then, like last time, she must have awakened of her own volition, not woken by someone else.
She turned back to the document and read slowly.
Her eyes widened in disbelief.
[Correlation Between Experience Sharing and Intercourse with Clones]
Under the absurd subheading were even more unbelievable contents.
'Impossible.'
Aira Petrovna knew that intercourse—a primitive act—could absorb and distribute mana.
Since mana was intertwined with life force itself, primitive mana transfer via bodily fluids was common knowledge among scholars.
But what was written here was on another level entirely.
['Upon receiving Master's seed (semen), the clone converts it into a high-concentration mana energy source for use.']
– Hypothesis 1. The clone's ability to maintain the original's reason for extended periods is likely due to this special energy supply.
– Hypothesis 2. The amount of seed received is presumed proportional to the clone's activity duration.
– Provisional Conclusion: Periodic intercourse and ejaculation are indispensable for stable clone operation.]
"Such vulgar, unscientific nonsense... Did I really research this?"
But she couldn't deny it all.
That day, she had clearly felt a massive mana surge whirl through the doll's body as it took his seed deep inside.
Like oil poured on a dying ember.
And then she realized—ah.
The reason she could awaken like this now.
'Was it because I had sex with Kang Ihyeon that day?'
She had used her body as a test subject.
To see if receiving his semen made the clone conceive pure life force—energy—instead of pregnancy.
She administered a powerful sensory blocker, excluded all pleasure, and conducted sex with him as a purely rational 'experiment' from an observer's viewpoint.
Even though her body had apparently climaxed multiple times to his overwhelming maleness...
It was mere physiological response. Her mind had maintained the detachment of a cool observer—or so she believed.
She closed her eyes.
'Maybe my actions then weren't a mistake after all...'
She had to report everything about Kang Ihyeon to Eclipse's main body intermittently.
But his daily life was just sex, sex, and more sex. Seducing women in a vulgar routine.
She'd judged it unworthy of reporting.
But if this was the result...
The story changed.
'His semen is special.'
Definitely worth analyzing and studying.
And that was when she reached that conclusion.
Creeeak—
The lab door opened, and in walked Kang Ihyeon himself.
"Aira, research going well? You said there's more research on me today too."
His usual languid voice.
Aira glanced at the last part of the documents.
Today's schedule, and she responded naturally.
"Yes, Master. Body measurements and milking impregnation fixation experiment. I'll prepare immediately."
A meaningful experiment.
For the first time in a while, excitement stirred in Aira's heart.