Chapter 235: About the Place Called the Infinite Labyrinth (1)
Chapter 235: About the Place Called the Infinite Labyrinth (1)
After a session of sex with Serica that was as quiet and dense as the calm before a storm.
I tucked her into bed so she could get plenty of rest and stepped outside.
"That took two hours."
"I guess I just lost track of time."
I took the drink Laura handed me—a glass of mana milk—and rehydrated.
"Laura, is this yours?"
"Yes. How is it?"
"It tastes sweeter than usual today."
"That means my mana has become that much more refined."
Laura pointed to her chest.
She was also wearing a swimsuit, and it was damp from the inside, likely because she had just freshly expressed the milk.
"We'll have sex once we're back in the room. It’s about that time anyway."
Before I knew it, the sun had passed its zenith and was sinking toward the horizon. Outside, the sea elves who had been working on external tasks were waiting at the entrance to the swimming pool.
"Come on in. Well? I’d say I kept the place pretty clean, wouldn't you? No problems with staying here, right?"
"...It might be alright."
The sea elves crouched by the water and lightly placed their palms on the surface.
Whirrrr.
As soon as small ripples formed, the pool became so clear the bottom was perfectly visible.
Using mana and wave magic, they pushed pollutants and foreign substances out of the water. Then, they neatly washed away the debris that had been pushed onto the deck back into the drainage system.
Swoosh.
The streams of water followed the tiles toward the drains, where filters caught all sorts of hair and debris.
As long as that’s cleaned up, we can enjoy a pristine pool every single day.
Even if the sea elves sleep and live here every night, there’s no reason we can't swim here as long as it undergoes a purification process every morning and evening.
"Good. Now that we have a pool and the waterpark is ready outside... it’s about time I start making people walk around in swimsuits."
"Don't you think people might find it a bit embarrassing?"
"Embarrassment is one thing, but a place where wearing a swimsuit is the norm is another."
They say clothing should change depending on the time and place, but if I create an environment specifically for swimsuits, that’s a different story.
"You remember that performance we did last time? We should hold a regular Waterbomb festival. We’ll have the bards play exciting music while we use golems to spray water everywhere. Every weekend."
"And we’ll supply the necessary magic stones through the Infinite Labyrinth and mythstones?"
"Exactly."
During the Waterbomb festival.
Among the people who come out in clothes they don't mind getting wet, there will surely be those bold enough to wear swimsuits.
"Soon enough, every time a Waterbomb event is held in Fermaton, women will be dancing in swimsuits. Then, naturally, men and women will come together and start grinding on each other. That leads to sex, which leads to babies. And those babies are the future—the taxpayers of Fermaton."
An increase in population is the very strength of our Fermaton.
"It’s not enough for just me to have children. True development happens when everyone is having them. Don't you agree, Laura? I’m sure the Goddess would be happy to see her followers increase as well."
Laura gave a light shrug.
"I’m not sure if a mindless increase in people is always a good thing, but it doesn't matter to me. As long as the world you dream of unfolds, and I am by your side."
"You really know how to say exactly what I want to hear."
I scooped Laura up into my arms.
"Sea elves! Get some rest. I’ll set up a barrier so no one can enter the pool at night, so feel free to make yourselves at home. It might be a bit cramped compared to the ocean, but..."
"Then, may we swim here?"
"Swim? Of course. But won't it be a bit small for you?"
"We like it precisely because it’s like this."
Flutter.
The sea elves stripped off their work clothes, which resembled maid uniforms.
Every single one of them, completely naked and without even a swimsuit, dove into the pool and began to swirl around.
"Count."
One of the sea elves, with only her head peeking out of the water, asked me a question.
"Is it certain that we will live in the place we dug out today?"
"Of course."
Thanks to the architect mages, there is a massive area in the waterpark dug out to the size of a lake.
The bottom of that place will remain natural without the need for tiles, becoming a proper lake where the sea elves will live.
"It might be a bit uncomfortable now, but you’ll be moving to a much larger place soon, so just bear with it for a little longer."
"...It might actually be better than the sea inside the Infinite Labyrinth."
The sea elf gave a faint smile and splashed the water.
"Since that place is a limited sea, just like this one."
"......?"
Huh?
Wait.
I think I just heard something strange.
"A limited sea? How can a sea be limited?"
"Ah."
The sea elf’s face turned awkward, and she began to look around nervously.
It seemed as though she had made a slip of the tongue she shouldn't have, but she soon licked her lips and looked up at me.
"Count. If the Infinite Labyrinth is... and this is just a 'what if'..."
The sea elf smacked her lips and spoke cautiously.
"...What would you do if each floor was actually a small, individual world isolated by magic?"
"Worlds separated by magic?"
"Yes. If those living in the labyrinth are residents of those worlds, separated from their original worlds by some great being to live as inhabitants of an isolated realm."
"......."
It sounded like she was trying to tell me something complicated.
"...What if the Infinite Labyrinth is actually a place where residents kidnapped from other worlds live?"
"Interesting."
As someone who used to skip the story in the original game, I didn't know the true nature of the Infinite Labyrinth, but according to the sea elf, the labyrinth is literally a collection of separate, isolated worlds.
"Even if that’s the case, nothing really changes for me."
I tightened my grip on Laura, whom I was still holding.
"I will continue to conquer the Infinite Labyrinth for my own benefit, and I’ll keep doing exactly what I’ve been doing. I’ll capture humanoid female demonkind like you to use as my workers, and I’ll keep using you for the prosperity of Fermaton."
Everything is for me, and for Fermaton.
"Humans are selfish creatures, and I am the ultimate version of that selfish creature."
That’s exactly what a human from Earth is.
"But if, as you say, the beasts and demonkind in the Infinite Labyrinth are those who have lost their homes and are trapped... then I’ll do this for them."
I pointed toward the pool for the sea elves.
"If you cooperate with me, I will create an environment where you can live freely outside the labyrinth. For the succubi, an environment where they can live by taking essence; for the sirens, an environment where they can freely enjoy playing in the waterpark instead of the labyrinth’s sea. In other words."
I gestured toward the sky with a slight tilt of my head.
"I will give you the right and the opportunity to live on my land in Fermaton. Because you are my workers."
* * *
After saying those reasonably impressive-sounding words.
I took Laura back to our private sex room.
While Serica rested in another bed, I threw myself onto the bed with Laura in my arms.
"Laura."
"Yes, my Lord."
"This is just a hypothesis of mine, but do you want to hear it?"
"I’m listening."
Laura hugged me tight, and as I stroked her back, I shared my thoughts.
"Maybe the Infinite Labyrinth is a world that was destroyed by an evil god or something similar."
"......."
"Or perhaps when humans die, their souls are sucked into the Infinite Labyrinth and they are reborn as beasts. If they’re lucky, they become humanoids like succubi; if they’re unlucky, they become beasts like goblins or slimes. After being reborn, their memories of being human vanish, or even if they keep them, they aren't allowed to speak of them."
"What makes you think that?"
"It’s just a feeling. Just a thought. I don't know if it’s actually true."
It was just a hunch.
"Until now, no one has thought seriously about the Infinite Labyrinth. They just saw it as a vein of ore where they could mine magic stones to their heart's content, or just a place crawling with monsters. Probably no one has ever had a thought like this before."
"So, what are you going to do? Are you going to save them all?"
"No?"
I met Laura’s eyes.
"I told you. I’m only looking out for the female-type beasts and demonkind, like succubi and sirens. The rest are just uncontrollable monsters."
"But they are also monsters that kill humans, aren't they? Succubi kill by draining essence, and sirens are water ghosts that drag humans into the water to drown them."
"But they can be controlled with this."
I pressed my cock against Laura’s entrance and pulled her closer.
"As long as they are female, they have no choice but to submit to a human cock. Even if it’s a legendary dragon, or even... a goddess."
"Are you saying even a goddess would be helpless against your cock, Count?"
"Isn't that obvious? A goddess must have a pussy too. A goddess pussy. Or as I like to call it, 'Goddess-y.' Heh."
"......You didn't say that just to make me laugh, did you?"
Laura chuckled and pulled me even closer.
"If... just if. If there is a god of that destroyed world called the Infinite Labyrinth, what do you think they would be like?"
"It depends on how that god acts, but I only have one thing to say."
Squelch.
I pushed my cock deep inside Laura and kissed her forehead as I answered.
"If it’s a male god, I’ll kill him. If it’s a female god, I’ll fuck her. And then I’ll make her my bride."
"......A goddess bride, so she’s literally a 'Goddess'?"
"Whatever."
Smack.
I squeezed Laura’s buttocks hard and thrust my cock even deeper.
"She’s the woman who will be my wife and the mother of my children, so of course she’s a goddess."