Aila Is Indeed the True Wife

"Hey... why are you hugging me so tightly? Did both of you... do something wrong to me?"

Aila tilted her head, looking puzzled as I continued to stroke her hair and hold her close. Since I was usually the type to finish my business and leave without lingering, she seemed to find my current behavior quite strange.

'I can't tell her I left her waiting for over an hour... not even if I die.'

Until just a moment ago, I had been completely lost in the throes of passion, succumbing to Cheshire’s temptations. Afterward, I had discovered Aila discarded on the workbench, and a wave of overwhelming guilt had kept me hugging her for the last thirty minutes.

"Huh? Oh, no. Wrong? I’m just hugging you because I like you, Aila..."

"Hehe... That’s right, it must be because Aila is just so cute."

Cheshire chimed in with a smile, backing up my excuse. Yeah... this is exactly what it is. The situation where you commit adultery with your wife's friend... and then sit there smiling with them as if nothing happened in front of your wife... The guilt weighs on me... but it feels so good. The truth is, I love the fact that both of them are my women.

"Hahaha..."

Aila tilted her head again at my awkward laugh, her face expressionless. Since she was someone whose emotions couldn't be read through her expression, I always had to rely on her actions or the tone of her voice.

"Anyway, when did you get here, Cheshire?"

"Me? Oh... about 10 minutes ago? I just arrived."

"Hmm... I see... Well, never mind."

Aila accepted that explanation without much fuss. Thank goodness. She was more oblivious than I thought.

"Then, I’ll be heading back now. I have things to do..."

"Yeah. Take this with you before you go."

Aila pulled out a luxurious wooden box from the drawer of her workbench. It was painted in a deep, glossy black. The box alone looked like it was worth at least 3,000 points.

"This is..."

"The gift I mentioned earlier. Open it."

I opened the black wooden box. Cheshire leaned in, looking just as curious as I was.

"Wow... this is..."

Inside the box were a ring, a necklace, and a bracelet. They were custom-made accessories crafted specifically for me, much like the three divine treasures of Nus.

'A snake...?'

The ring was shaped like a snake coiling around something. The bracelet was a snake biting its own tail, and the necklace had a single snake hanging from its clasp.

"The overall concept is a snake. You... have a deep connection with snakes, Jun. By the way, I measured your size when we held hands earlier."

"You can measure sizes just by holding hands?"

"Yeah. That much is easy for me."

"That’s incredible. And these are so beautiful. I love them. Thank you, Aila..."

"Hehe... It’s rewarding to see you like them."

"Aila..."

I hugged Aila once more. She was right; I have a deep connection to snakes. In a way, the Black Snake’s inner core I bought from the peddler was what allowed me to get this far. If I hadn't consumed that core and then the Twisted Black Snake’s core to build my foundation, I never would have made it here. And if I hadn't been half-dead from the side effects of that twisted core, unable to face Indikron, where would I be now? I would likely be a very different person.

The Black Snake was, quite literally, the foundation and symbol that allowed me to rise to this level. Hearing that, Aila had prepared this gift for me.

'Accessories with only positive effects and no penalties? Just imagining it makes me happy. I wonder what kind of effects they have...'

I immediately checked the detailed information of the accessories.

"My god... A-Aila... I don't have to choose just one of these, do I?"

"Hm? They’re all yours."

"Whoa..."

Wearing all of these would increase my Magic stat by a whopping 300. I had just obtained 300 points of Magic without any penalties... This alone made them top-tier accessories. But the additional effects made my eyes pop out of my head.

'Halving the summoning penalty means...'

It meant the pressure I felt when calling upon Kesia would be reduced. Every time I summoned ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠her, I had been hit with all sorts of bizarre notifications and the crushing sensation that the world itself was rejecting me. Now, I could ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠summon Kesia, who I could previously only keep for 3 minutes, for much longer. This alone was a cheat code.

But it didn't end there.

'Reducing the magic cost by half... This is... this is insane...'

With this, I could now summon Einax and Kesia simultaneously. When a summon is active, the magic used to call them is frozen. In other words, the 500 magic points spent to summon Kesia couldn't be recovered until the summon was dismissed. Furthermore, the magic cost for summoning couldn't be replaced by accessories. It meant I had to summon them using my pure stats... but...

'Since I can summon Kesia with 250 Magic, my 880 Magic stat is more than enough to summon both...'

I could summon two for the cost of one. Plus, I still had two more summons I could contract through Chaos Observation. If I could summon all of them, I was practically half a Summoner now. Moreover, I could now prevent the summoned Kesia and Einax from attacking me. I no longer had to fear Kesia, who always tried to torment me, or Einax, who always tried to ravage me. This was a revolution.

"You look really happy..."

"Of course I am. Aila... you are... a god..."

I picked Aila up and spun her around. Aila is a god... and now, I am invincible. Maybe I could even take down Ziegfried. No matter how strong he is, he couldn't possibly handle Kesia and Einax at the same time. Probably...

'Even the death penalty is reduced... and I can even gain some experience from what my summons kill...'

Now, the penalty that prevented me from summoning the Jet-Black Beetle for a day if it died would be drastically reduced. I could even gain ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠a small amount of experience from the enemies my summons killed. Back when Kesia slaughtered those demons in the Black Market basement, I hadn't been able to share the experience... but now, I could.

"Haa... My god..."

I couldn't help but shed tears. Unlike the achievement rewards that always forced me to choose one out of three, I could gulp down all three of these this time... and that was why tears of joy were flowing. Yes, this is the taste of living... This is why you need to be close to merchant NPCs.

"Uh... Jun... are you crying...?"

"N-no. Why would I cry? I'm just so happy."

I put on the ring, necklace, and bracelet with a beaming smile. Now, no one could stop me. In fact... even Nick couldn't threaten me anymore...

'Ah... I-I haven't let my guard down.'

'Ah... yes...'

Just then, Kashnakas had approached and firmly suppressed my arrogance. Perhaps because I had been winning continuously lately, I had almost let my guard down without even realizing it.

"Then, I'll be going now..."

"Yeah. Come back for tea when you have time. Oh, and I’ll be taking on a disciple soon, so keep that in mind."

"Yes!"

If Aila calls, I have to come, obviously. And since she’s training a new jeweler, I should recruit some interested slaves and have them interview. 'If a man is chosen...' It goes without saying, but I’ll have to make him drink a cup of 'Confused You'. People naturally develop feelings when they’re close. So, if a man is chosen as a disciple, I absolutely must castrate him. Just like Phallus, who tried to become my woman's master, was castrated...

"I'm off!"

"Yeah~"

"Come back again."

Aila waved, and Cheshire winked at me from behind her. I waved back at Aila, and with a sinister smile, I gave a nod to Cheshire behind her.

"Whew... now..."

I headed to the science lab on the same floor. It was filled with Hellus and his assistants. And Keker is here, too. It’s time to try out the Fusion Chamber.