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"...Why?"
Nyrathrom blinked.
"Why what?"
"Why are you asking me that?"
She hesitated.
"Because I wish to have offspring with you as you are the one succeeding my brother. There aren't any other suitable candidates to be my mate."
He pinched the bridge of his nose.
"I gathered that much."
"Then what's the problem?"
"The problem is that you've barely known me for any length of time, and you've just asked me whether I can impregnate you."
"Is that not a reasonable question to ask before attempting to produce offspring?" she tilted her head with a finger on her lip.
"No! Well, perhaps it is, under certain circumstances, but that's not the point!"
Her expression grew increasingly troubled.
"I don't understand."
That, more than anything else, made him stop.
She wasn't teasing him. There was no trace of mockery in her voice, nor was she attempting to use her beauty to manipulate him.
She genuinely didn't understand why the conversation had become so uncomfortable. How dense was she? As dense as a black hole?
"Have you never had a partner before?" he asked dubiously.
"No."
The answer came so readily that he almost wondered whether he had heard her correctly.
"You've lived for thousands of years."
"Yes."
"And you've never had a partner?"
"No."
He looked at her for a long moment.
How does someone live for thousands of years and never learn how to approach a man? She could even live among humans with her humanoid form. Any man would fall for her in a heartbeat.
In terms of personality, he would compare her to Yorm and in terms of beauty, she had few who were her equal. Even if she didn't have the latter, the former was enough to show her charm.
Her existence, values, and understanding of relationships might have been fundamentally different from those of humans so she didn't even know that about herself.
Then again, how could she? Deities like them prioritize strength and beauty above everything else. So, she thought that she could use her beauty to woo a human.
It would've worked but things were too complicated for Arnold at the moment.
"Then why now?" he asked. "Why have you suddenly decided you want offspring?"
Nyrathrom lowered her gaze.
"...I don't know. We get these urges only when many years have passed by. It might be my body telling me I'm nearly the late stage of my lifespan after a hundred thousand years."
For the first time, her voice lost its certainty.
"These thoughts began appearing only in recent years and I only started speaking about them today. Before that, I never felt any particular desire to seek a partner, much less produce offspring. I thought little of it because I saw my brothers as my family."
She paused, struggling to articulate something that had apparently troubled her for quite some time.
"But lately, I find myself wondering what it would be like to have a child. I thought my brother was too caught up in his desires when he started the Taelith family but he must've had these urges too. Not just yearning to have a child but feeling what it's like to... make love."
Her fingers intertwined.
"I don't know how I'm supposed to speak about such things so forgive me for bringing it up in this manner. I hope you don't think less of me or think I'm a harlot, as you humans call it."
Nyrathrom possessed so much power, she could honestly just push him down and take what she wanted but she was so honest that she'd rather think of the other person's feelings.
She'd never been the aggressive violent type like Suarif.
Honestly, if Suarif were a woman, he'd become popular overnight because the weirdos in the game's community have this unnatural love for dominant women who take everything they want by force, even if it's the Hero's purity.
Suarif and Nyrathrom must be the Yin and Yang of dragon lords due to the contrast in their natures.
"Alright." After much thought, he nodded, "Your request is strange but I can fulfill it."
She sighed in relief, "Thank you. I apologize for requesting this of you. I was worried my body wouldn't be to your liking."
She must be joking. Any man would jump at the chance. Well, not Arnold.
He killed Suarif, now he gets to do his sister? What bastard orchestrated this?
"Where shall we do it?" she stepped closer, hands about to take off her dress without a hint of shame on her face. He was wrong to think she was like a timid school girl when she was fidgeting earlier. This was a grown woman consumed in her lust.
"Hold on a minute! You should know the time and place—and right now both aren't suitable for that!" he grabbed her hands just as she was about to let her dress fall.
It wasn't that he was flustered. He really didn't have time nor the drive for it.
Besides that, dragon mating was both spiritual and physical. What this means is that Nyrathrom may be able to sense Suarif's soul inside him.
She was able to sense Thalgrimm's soul when he called out to her. Selia gave him a neat artifact that could help him hide the soul if he ever confronted the dragon lords, but that thing will end up being useless if Nyrathrom's spiritual energy goes into his body.
The third reason... he'd like to enjoy her body thoroughly, show her the ropes of making love. If it's true that he could become Nyrathrom's lover, he'd have an additional guard against the demons. Nyrathrom was almost on par with Guinevere in terms of strength so the way he saw it, the relationship benefited him.
"Ah, I'm sorry. I was a little hasty."
"…It's alright. We're going to have to postpone your request, Ms. Nyrathrom. I have to get going soon."
"I see. I understand." She smiled warmly. Her innocence was just too powerful.
He was really going to taint this innocence with his villainous seed. If his guild mates, who idolized her saw this, they'd cough up blood.
"So… what was the other thing?"
She cleared her throat as she fixed her clothes.
"It's not an urgent matter but it's about the Taelith Family. I was hoping to know your plans for them. I've been protecting them for centuries but I can't replace a capable patriarch like my brother and his descendant. While unknown to the world, there are many dragon tribes with offspring from the Valkyries and Elves that would jump at the chance to swallow the household. Little Tyrgavion can't fend them all off. I can't always be there for them as enemies may be able to take advantage of my absence."
This was originally a quest you could get as Luke. But the difference between that and this was that Arnold had a bond with the Taelith Family.
Naturally, they were important to him.
"I was planning on marrying Myrena and ruling the Taelith House. But I never had the time to go there to meet her family."
"Oh, that's good to hear! I was worried you'd be against it…"
"I've already accepted my relation to Plesiduxis, even if I never met him. I'm also grateful to him because he's keeping Oriel's soul at bay inside my body."
"My worries were for naught, then." She chuckled softly to herself, "I'll continue protecting the family with you so don't worry about leading them yourself."
**
His discussion with Nyrathrom ended on a positive note… surprisingly.
Looks like he'll need to go see Ladiath soon to hand over Suarif's soul because if she found out he had it…
If he wanted to enjoy the body of such a beauty, he'd rather not have his head ripped off halfway through.
Arnold met up with Selia on top of a building. Next to that building was the exposed sewer that got destroyed in the fighting.
"What took you so long? Aren't you supposed to go back soon?"
"After I was done speaking to the emperor and bishop, Nyrathrom came out of nowhere to look for me and that kid, Nait."
"Does Nyrathrom know you—"
"No, I don't think so. She didn't appear hostile and even offered to fight alongside me against Oriel."
In fact, she even wanted to have his baby—but he kept that to himself. That's something to think about another day.
He shook his head to clear the image of that innocent ancient dragon moaning under him with the same pure look in her eyes.
"How did it go with Lauran in the end?"
"Not sure. All I can say is that she's not dead. Only time will tell how much her trial helped her. Lauran's awakening isn't as explosive as Luke's because she doesn't actually accept the Progenitor's power. The changes are inside her and at this stage she's worthy to become Freya's disciple."
If Freya was hasty to have a disciple, Lauran would've been broken by the training not even halfway through. Training to become an Archmage was far different than an ordinary mage's training.
"Guess only time will tell."
He nodded.
The two of them jumped down into the sewer and he looked down at Ekterina who was glaring daggers at him.
"She's being obedient, huh?"
"Guinevere used an artifact to paralyze her and another one to seal her reincarnation cycle."
"A thing like that exists?"
While he wasn't an artifact expert (he was just a hoarder), if this were real, he would've seen it in auction or something.
Though she nodded, her thoughts conveyed something different.
'The paralysis poison is from an ancient beast so that's real—works even on monster lords. But you can't just interfere with a demon lord's natural reincarnation cycle so easily. I think it's probably a scare tactic. With the situation she's in, she wouldn't risk it, right?'
Selia spoke using the system. That was true.
'Looks like even a demon lord is scared of death without reincarnation.'
'What was the purpose of capturing the demon lords again?'
'Freya wants to use the demon lord's lifeforces to ascend her own powers without the help of the Progenitor.'
'Progenitor…?'
'It's a long story but he's the one that created magic, or more like popularized it among mortals and gods. Anyway, I was able to kill Malzorath for a few years. It might take him five years or possibly longer to reincarnate now.'
'What? When did that happen?'
'…I sent a clone over to the demon world. Normally my artifact can't teleport me there but the portals gave me a chance to go there. The inventory system works universally regardless of where I am so I used that to get my ring back.'
'Even if it was a clone, don't you think that was reckless!? You don't know what kind of magic the Watcher uses!'
That was a concern, of course. The Watcher was Freya's equal in terms of magical prowess and was older than modern human so he must've discovered many strange spells even Lufulur hadn't heard of.
With the Progenitor's words, Arnold had a suspicion the universe of Star Fantasy was bigger than merely being a game. What if it wasn't even a game in the first place?
He brought this up to Selia.
'I don't know what to think. It's possible that some omnipotent being created the game and pulled in most of the players for fun. Even godlike beings get bored and find unique ways to entertain themselves.'
Her theory was something he thought of as well.
But wasn't that the point of revealing it to him? That damn Progenitor probably tried to tease Arnold into wanting more.
He even used Alecs, one of his closest friends in the game. Sure, it was only through a screen, but the two were basically inseparable when they led their own guild.
'If this game's existence was really just a god's boredom, how could he know the future so accurately? While I'm not the expert lore-wise, everything happened exactly as it did in the game, with the exceptions just yielding different results.'
Either it was the Future Timeline God… or some deity had the Dark Scroll.
'Don't fall into temptation. It begins with you having your own theories on what happened. He wants you to make contact with him using Lauran. We don't know what he has up his sleeve.'
'Yeah, I get it. Should I confront Grace about this? Maybe she knows more?'
Speaking of her, he had shadow demons guard her as well. She was somewhere in the cathedral but he didn't make an effort to go see her.
'Yes, since she said she was part of the development team, maybe she knows who the Progenitor really is. But it doesn't make sense for him to be a major villain since the most he really did was pester Lauran about accepting his power, right? Peulik's actions also weren't manipulated by him from the little I read in a wiki.'
"What are you two scheming?" spitting on the ground, Ekterina spoke to them.
"We're deciding what to do with you."
"…"
"Why are you pretending to sleep?" Arnold then looked at the sideways laying voluptuous succubus, whose dress got a little too far up her thighs, granting him a view of her butt.
As expected of a race whose sole purpose is sexual gratification—even her panties were of the erotic kind.
'Why is she wearing those toys in the middle of an invasion? Is that… a whirring sound I hear?'
"She must be trying to chant a spell to break out of her constraints." Selia harrumphed, "Don't bother—Guinevere said these seals are typically used in the prison worlds in the divine realm. They were the spare cuffs she received when she was tasked with capturing a prisoner in the divine realm. You won't be able to break through it so easily. Once they go on, they can't come off."
"Just kill us already!" Ekterina shouted, "Do you want me to plead for mercy, hah? Should I beg on my knees while wiggling my butt like some slave who's awaiting her master's command? Sick bastard, ptoo!"
He didn't even say anything…
"Were you always this short-tempered? Or did the drugs get to your head as much as it got to between your legs?" Selia chuckled.
"Why you!" Ekterina's teeth grinded against each other, "Release these chains then we'll see if I'm still under the influence!"
"Oh, look at you acting tough. You were whispering Arnold's name the entire time you were unconscious."
"!" her face flushed, "T-That—It's because I want to kill him! I never should've agreed to the truce even if it meant revealing my presence to the world! Mark my words, Arnold, I'll make the Hero's blade turn against you once he finds out the truth."
While Selia was laughing at the demon lord, Guinevere landed nearby, now in her casual dress again.
"You! D-Don't you think this is cruel!?" Lilith screamed at her when she approached them.
"Don't appeal to my emotions, succubus. You're not being tortured or abused. But your life will benefit the ones you want to oppress."
"Stop, Lilith." Ekterina shook her head, "I'll put my life on the line if I have to when I find us a way out of this."
"Ekie…"
Lilith's beautiful face distorted and her eyes turned blood red. She glared up at the three of them, showing her sharp fangs. That gentle appearance was gone now, only bloodlust remained.
"Arnold, most of the demons managed to escape so I plan on investigating the outer regions of the empire. But first, what should we do with these two?"
"Since you're already here, work alongside Freya. I'll have my shadow demons chase the demons down. It's better for you to be their bodyguard instead of someone else."
"I'll also use my summoned monsters to chase the demons. Don't worry, all of them are SS-rank or above in terms of strength so the job will easier with numbers." Selia suggested.
"I understand." Guinevere didn't argue against that.
Arnold looked back down at Ekterina, finding her staring at him but quickly snapping out of it and harrumphing.
"I need to return soon. If you need anything, contact Selia. She'll be in the empire for the duration I'm gone."
Selia nodded and took out that device Sylphiala made, "I hope you know how to use these… No offense."
"Haha, I'm quite familiar with modern day tech."
"Oh, and here." Arnold took out a bag of gold coins and handed it to Guinevere, "…I feel guilty making you live as some mountain dweller while fighting alongside us. Buy clothes and whatever else you need."
Guinevere raised an eyebrow but didn't reject the money.
"Tell Freya to use some kind of transformation magic on these two. Make them look like ordinary slaves. We can't have the entire world knowing these two are demons."
"Understood." Guinevere bent down and picked the two up, throwing them over her shoulders.
'Lilith's toy fell out.' He made a disgusted face when he noticed how wet it was.
"Hey! I'm not your luggage—!"
She took off with the two, speeding through the air like a jet.
"You've really made it in the world, senior. You even got the loyalty of one of the strongest people in the game~"
"It's more of a debt that she owes me."
While he knew he could end their "god and servant" relationship whenever he wanted, Guinevere was too useful to throw away. Plus, there might be some kind of backlash from removing this stigma.
'There's something I need to tell you.' Selia suddenly became serious. She even communicated using the friend feature.
'Is it so serious you're cautious about us being watched?'
She nodded.
'Your little sister… have you used the system on her before?'
'No. That's never been on my mind really. She's still as weird and expressive as she was in the game.'
The only concern he would have is that same noble appearing in front of her that led to her death.
Of course, he'd kill anyone that tries to harm his family. Melina was mentally unwell and trusted others too easily. Her trust was taken advantage of after serving her purpose.
'Well, I won't beat around the bush. Some deity took over your sister's body. They claim they're the Goddess of Fate from this timeline.'
Arnold's eyes widened.
'...Are you sure about this?'
She nodded.
'I'm not sure if your sister is still alive or even existed in the first place but… It's best to confront her with caution going forward. A deity doesn't randomly directly reincarnate into someone unless they're in danger or sees no other path forward.'
In other words, getting involved will only bring trouble to him as well.
Arnold fingers trembled.
Should he… use the Future Letter to ask the Goddess of Fate from the past?
No. First he should confront her about this.
'How do you know this?'
'She revealed herself to me for some reason. She was aware I'm a highborn so she probably thought I could help her, though she didn't ask me to help her yet.'
'If she's been living among my family for ten years until now, I don't think she's a threat to us.'
'The danger probably isn't her but whoever or whatever's after her.'
'Yeah.'
She might be able to explain why Ladiath suddenly had an ability from her authority of [Fate].
'I'll keep watch over your family to make sure nothing happens.' Selia summoned a teleportation gate before vanishing.
'Thanks.'