A Mother's Touch
The archery class had been one I was particularly wary of, since Riana—who clearly held a grudge against Aria—was among the students. Yet, to my surprise, the entire lesson passed without a single incident.
Like the other classes, the archery instructor first assessed the students’ abilities and then assigned an extremely difficult task. Not a single student stood out in any remarkable way.
In truth, this should have been Riana’s time to shine, given the nature of the class. But she spent the entire period hyper-aware of my presence. Unlike Arin, she couldn’t perform properly, and that tension was precisely why the class ended so uneventfully.
I had never really considered it before, but seeing Riana so thoroughly cowed made me realize I might have been a bit too harsh.
If things continued like this, I wouldn’t be able to teach her anything meaningful during archery lessons. It would probably be best to soothe her a little in the next class.
No matter how rotten her personality was, she was still one of the kingdom’s promising talents for the future.
“Maybe I should tell her I won’t torment her anymore while using Aria’s body…”
The root cause of Riana’s fear was Aria herself, so it made sense to comfort her using Aria’s form. I could even add that I had forgiven my sisters.
I decided I would find a similar—or better—way to convey that tomorrow. With that thought in mind, I stopped walking along the temple street and lifted my body into the air with magic.
Unless it was Advent Day, only temple personnel ever walked these streets, so using magic posed no problem. And as both my earlier speech and this spell revealed, I was currently in Meiel’s body.
I would normally have walked around as Aria, but there was a specific reason I had chosen Meiel’s form today.
“Oh, Traveler. You have returned.”
“Mm… Did you prepare all the materials?”
“Yes, of course. Everything you requested has been placed in your research lab, Traveler.”
The Pope greeted me warmly as I descended at the temple entrance. When I asked my question, he nodded and stepped aside. I walked past him, opened the door behind the central staircase, and headed down into the basement.
The space that greeted me underground was a vast chamber built of stone. Strange magical circles were drawn everywhere. At a glance, it looked exactly like a mage’s laboratory.
…Of course, those magic circles were purely decorative and held no actual meaning whatsoever.
I walked between the meaningless arrays and stopped in front of a human-shaped clay doll placed at the center of the lab.
Laid out neatly before the doll were seven materials.
I examined each one carefully, then gave a small nod.
“Mm… Yes. Everything’s correct.”
This was the reason I was currently in Meiel’s body, and the most important project in my present situation.
More precisely, it was a way to create some breathing room in my schedule.
“The story has truly begun now… It’s time to start preparing…”
The ultra-early story quest that had occurred today—the Demon Race’s Signal Flare.
I had completely forgotten about it for a while, so after dealing with the demons involved in today’s quest, I used the remaining time to list out every upcoming quest I could remember.
If I kept forgetting future events, I couldn’t rely on luck like I had today.
I wrote down everything I could recall, squeezing out even the faintest memories. The next demon-related incident was the “Falling Sky Island” quest, which would happen soon.
The Falling Sky Island quest involved demon executives infiltrating the floating island, forcibly relocating it above the Fhara Kingdom, then erasing the magic that kept it afloat in an attempt to crash it. The players had to stop them.
Of course, as the temple priests had mentioned before, the story ultimately ended with the player character causing the island to crash somewhere else. The key elements used to achieve that were the player character who had killed the demons during the Signal Flare quest, and the Magic Parasites planted on the professor.
And those parasites had been hiding inside the demon crystals the enemies carried today.
“Those parasites… are currently planted in Arin and Kana…”
They couldn’t latch onto me while I was in Yeonha’s body, so they had attached themselves to the two people beside me instead.
To use those untouched parasites in reverse, the clay doll standing before me was absolutely essential.
“One body isn’t enough…”
No matter how much future knowledge I possessed and how much power I had to stop those events, I still only had one body.
Moreover, since I was working at the academy, I couldn’t afford to draw suspicion. What I needed was a doppelganger capable of acting in my place—a homunculus.
And not just any homunculus. It had to be one that followed my commands with absolute obedience, without the slightest deviation.
“And to create such a homunculus, I need these materials… A magical duplicate simply won’t suffice…”
Creating a homunculus that could serve as my substitute through magic alone was easy. In fact, it was almost too simple.
But I needed one that could perfectly replicate my role without any shortcomings. Magic could only produce a homunculus that mimicked my actions, so I had asked the Pope to prepare these specific materials.
First, a clay doll made from special clay that could only be harvested in the Mirage Swamp.
Second, a phoenix tail feather that could withstand powerful impacts without disintegrating.
Third and fourth, the temple’s treasures—Iriel’s Chains and the Crystal of the Window of Heaven—to endure my power.
Fifth, the tongue of a jok that would make the homunculus recognize the owner of the blood it consumed as its parent, ensuring absolute obedience.
Sixth and seventh, the core components for autonomous action: the brain of a yuok and mercury.
Eighth, a branch of the World Tree that could absorb its own movement mana.
“And finally…”
I pulled out five small glass vials I had kept inside my robe.
Each contained a single strand of hair and a single drop of blood from Aria, Yujia, Kama, Meiel, and Yeonha respectively.
I embedded all the materials into the clay doll, then uncorked the vials and sprinkled the hair and blood near the doll’s head.
Drip— Drop—
“That should do it for the preparations…”
I had never created a homunculus before, but Meiel’s body already knew the method.
The first thing needed was water. I sprinkled water over the clay doll that now held all the materials, then used earth to build walls enclosing it on all four sides.
Next, I kindled a flame hot enough to melt iron ingots in an instant, then sent wind into the enclosure to intensify the blaze.
“Water, earth, fire, and wind…”
The power of the four elements—often called the fundamentals of the world—was the key to birthing a homunculus.
Gwooooooo—
I swung my staff, channeling the elemental powers in the correct order. A sound like a blast furnace roaring with fierce heat filled the underground laboratory.
The moment that sound rang out, I instinctively knew the spell had succeeded.
—Gr… Uaaaah…
As if to confirm my intuition, a faint but unmistakable sound of a living being came from inside the earthen wall.
Soon the flames and wind inside the wall died down, and something struck the barrier with a heavy thud.
Thud. Thud. The knocking continued without pause. I waited quietly for the homunculus inside to break through. After several minutes, a violent impact far different from the previous knocking finally cracked the wall.
Kwaaang—!
Once, twice, three times. With each powerful blow, the cracks grew larger. Before the tenth strike, the wall slowly collapsed.
I watched as the homunculus stepped slowly out from the rubble.
Or rather, the homunculus that had taken Aria’s form.
Rose-red hair and grey cloth armor. A woman with two swords at her waist. She stared at me with Aria’s signature sharp gaze, then opened her previously closed mouth.
“You. Meiel. I know you.”
“Hmm… You’re more fluent than I expected…?”
The homunculus pointed at me with surprisingly clear pronunciation.
That slight awkwardness in her speech would probably be corrected through self-learning in less than a few minutes.
I had sensed success earlier, but the result exceeded my expectations. I couldn’t hide my excitement.
So I looked at the homunculus, who was quietly waiting for me to speak, and gently stroked her head as I said,
“From now on… when we’re in private, call me Mom…”
According to the literature, homunculi created using a jok’s tongue as material became extremely happy when their creator allowed them to call them “Mother.”
It was only natural, since the material made them recognize the owner of the blood they consumed as their mother.
And it seemed the information was accurate. The homunculus gave a faint but unmistakable “smile” and nodded her head up and down vigorously.
“Yes! Understood! One of five moms!”
“For now… shall we start with studying?”
There were still five hours left before the day ended. If I trained her hard during that time, she would transform into the perfect homunculus I desired.
Once that was done… I could take her to school tomorrow for a performance test.
After all, she was going to be my slave, worked to the bone until we reached hell itself.
The third morning dawned, and it was time to head to the academy.
For academy students, this was the hour when morning roll call would be held in their respective classes. The same was true for Riana.
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‘It still hurts…’
Riana sat in her seat, enduring the throbbing pain throughout her body. The reason was simple: the muscle pain from the punishment Kama had given her during yesterday’s class still lingered.
Her neck felt like it might snap at any moment, her waist throbbed, and her heels stung as if pierced by needles.
It was only natural. She had been forced to stand with her hands behind her back and her head bowed while carrying Kama on her back. The muscle pain was still excruciating.
Her entire body hurt so much that she couldn’t focus on anything. She listened to the roll call with one ear and let it out the other. When the assembly finally ended, she saw Professor Aria approaching and her body stiffened.
Step— Step—
Professor Aria walked straight toward her as if she were the target.
Wondering if this was retaliation for not paying attention, Riana began to tremble involuntarily. But contrary to her expectations, Professor Aria simply placed a single sheet of paper in front of her and immediately turned away.
“I have something to say. Come to the location written on the paper.”
It was clearly a request, but thanks to her voice and aura, it sounded like an order.
Having said what she needed to, Professor Aria left the classroom. Riana remained frozen for several seconds before she finally regained her senses. She picked up the paper the professor had left behind and unfolded it.
The neatly folded sheet opened easily in her hands.
The only thing written on it was a short, concise location: “Old Biology Lab.”
The distance from Class 1-A’s classroom to the old biology lab wasn’t far.
It was only two floors up the stairs. Less than a minute’s walk.
The only downside was that the corridor leading to the old biology lab—now that the new one was in use—was covered in a thick layer of dust.
The dust was so heavy that even a small breeze would send it swirling visibly through the air.
Riana stood in front of the biology lab in the middle of that corridor, waiting for Professor Aria who had summoned her.
“When is she coming… Ah.”
After waiting about five minutes with no sign of the professor, Riana was about to let out a small complaint when she spotted Aria at the far end of the hallway. She quickly swallowed her words.
Professor Aria was walking toward her from the end of the corridor connected to the stairs. Riana tried to bow lightly in greeting, but when she saw the “something” being dragged along by Aria’s right hand, she couldn’t lower her head.
‘Professor… Kama?’
The person who had given her the choice between penalty points and punishment yesterday. The one responsible for the muscle pain she was still suffering from.
The object of her fear was now being dragged by an even greater object of fear. Riana took a small step back, yet she watched the two with considerable curiosity.
It was only natural to be curious. Although Professor Aria had called them her sisters, Riana had never once seen her together with any of them.
In fact, unless it was time for practical combat classes, it was rare to even catch a glimpse of Professor Aria or her so-called sisters at the academy.
The only one she could reliably see was the chef named Yeonha who worked in the cafeteria.
So seeing Professor Aria dragging Kama along for the first time left Riana’s mouth slightly agape. Before she could close it, Aria arrived in front of her, still dragging Kama, and placed a hand on Riana’s shoulder.
“I’m sorry. I didn’t hold what happened that day against you, but my sister caused you trouble because of my mistake. Allow me to apologize. Now, Kama. You apologize as well. Quickly.”
The words “I forgive you.” For a moment Riana couldn’t understand them and almost asked for clarification, but Aria was faster. She forcibly pulled Kama—who she had been dragging—up to her feet.
Kama resisted, stubbornly trying to remain in her slouched posture. But the difference in strength was too great. She was eventually hauled upright.
She looked so different from the elegant and gentle Kama of yesterday that Riana wondered if they were even the same person. Was this because she was with family?
Faced with this 180-degree change in Kama, Riana asked herself that question inwardly. The answer appeared right before her eyes.
“I simply disciplined a student who was rude to my sister. Therefore, I have done nothing wrong… Eek?!”
“I clearly told you to apologize, Kama. Or do you want to die by my hand today?”
Kama tried to slip away while still in her crooked posture, turning her head slightly. But before she could fully turn, Aria’s fist slammed down on the crown of her head, smashing her face into the dust-covered floor. In the end, Kama gave a sincere apology.
“I am… truly sorry for yesterday, Lady Riana. Since my sister has forgiven you, there is no reason for me to hold any anger toward you. Therefore, I hope you can focus comfortably on my classes from now on.”
It didn’t sound like an apology given merely because she was ordered to. It was genuinely sincere. And when Riana realized it came from something beyond mere respect and consideration for Aria, she had no choice but to let go of what she had buried deep in her heart.
‘Yes… I should let it go…’
Revenge and such. It didn’t matter anymore.
Wasn’t it better to save her life rather than die trying?