"Like this… will it really work?"
"Mm. Slowly release the energy."
"…Alright, then. I... I'll give it a try."
Cocotte swallowed hard and looked toward the heart ahead of her.
She stretched out both hands. A gentle, brimming energy gathered in her palms, gushing out like a clear spring.
A natural aura quietly spread from it, wrapping around her body.
The two emerald streams of spring water aligned with the heart of the Yard Divine Tree, rolling past Cocotte and slowly moving toward the core of the heart.
The moment they touched the heart, Cocotte's body trembled slightly as she felt a vast surge of vitality.
Then, she carefully flipped her hands, and the spring streams immediately sped up, surging straight into the heart.
Bathed in abundant natural energy, the divine tree's heart began to pulse with a stronger rhythm, seeming more robust than before.
After the two streams had fully entered the heart, Cocotte let out a breath and cautiously opened her eyes.
"Is it done?"
Viktor stood to the side. Seeing Cocotte's relieved expression, he spoke softly.
"Mm, more or less."
Cocotte nodded, her expression still serious.
Inside the divine tree, vibrations began. Countless lush green branches stretched out from the surrounding wooden walls, forming one green fruit after another.
The next second, natural energy rushed rapidly through the branches. The fruits swelled quickly, expanding at a speed visible to the naked eye.
When the fruits completely stopped growing, they gave off a faint pink glow. Their emerald-green shells looked crisp and translucent.
Looking at these ripe fruits, Cocotte suddenly seemed to realize something and froze in place.
She abruptly turned her head, eyes wide, and shouted at Viktor, "Viktor!"
"You brought me here just so I could give birth to children for you?!"
However, Viktor stood there with his hands in his pockets, completely calm.
"Don't put it in a way that causes misunderstandings."
He raised his hand and hooked his index finger slightly. Countless branches beneath the divine tree's heart swayed nonstop along with his movement.
At the same time, the emerald fruits fell.
The transparent green shells shattered under gravity, exposing the pink bodies of newborn spirits to the air.
Their eyes were vacant, their movements sluggish.
One spirit after another, like dolls, was casually manipulated by Viktor as they walked toward Cocotte.
Looking at these zombie-like spirits in front of her, Cocotte's mind filled with questions.
She could tell that these spirits had no thoughts at all.
Like puppets, they had no consciousness. Without orders, they were completely incapable of any action.
A question suddenly flashed through Cocotte's mind.
What use were these spirits that had no thoughts or ability to act?
"Marey."
Viktor stood beside her and called out calmly.
As if answering the summons, a branch beneath the divine tree began to tremble. Marey Dim's white spirit body emerged from a hanging dewdrop.
It circled in the air twice, leisurely selecting a spirit's body.
Then its eyes shone with a dazzling light, locking onto one body.
After that, it gently descended to the ground.
The liquid-like body began to rise, and the fluid rapidly transformed on the surface into the shape of that spirit.
The spirit's limbs shook, it straightened its posture, its gaze focused, and in an instant it became a gentleman.
After finishing all this, she elegantly placed one hand over her chest and bowed deeply to Viktor.
"Please give your instructions, sir."
Cocotte stared at the inexplicable Marey Dim that had emerged from the branch, her eyes wide open.
'Th-this… what kind of creature is this?'
Cocotte felt extremely confused, but she clearly sensed that the white spirit before her was absolutely not a spirit.
Even though it had taken on a spirit's appearance, Cocotte herself was a spirit, and she could easily tell the difference.
At this moment, Viktor looked at Marey Dim and spoke.
"As you can see."
He waved his hand, and the dense branches of the divine tree slowly parted.
Those countless human and demi-human bodies that had been made earlier were hanging from the branches, connected to the divine tree by thin cords.
They hung quietly in midair, completely motionless.
Cocotte stared blankly at those bodies and immediately felt dizzy.
However, as she focused on them, she could sense from the humans and demi-humans the same aura as the spirits.
These bodies had no thoughts at all, there weren't even faces.
Suddenly, Cocotte rubbed her eyes.
'Wait, was that an illusion?'
She had just seen a catgirl who looked exactly like Viktor's sister?
But with demi-humans mixed among the crowd, it became even harder for Cocotte to distinguish them.
Viktor lightly flicked his wrist, and those doll-like bodies all dropped down completely.
He continued to look at the lifeless bodies and said, "Control them. Grant them 'movement.'"
"Of course, these four won't do."
Viktor extended his other hand and tapped lightly in midair, sending four of the demi-humans back to their original positions.
As if they were his most treasured collectibles.
This time, Cocotte saw clearly.
Among them was not only Viktor's sister, but also three other demi-humans with facial features, people Viktor clearly knew.
Cocotte stood frozen in place, utterly shaken inside.
However, Marey Dim didn't seem to care about any of this.
She slightly turned her back, and with gestures as precise as a carving knife, split open the bodies' abdomens, taking out a mirror-like object crystallized like snowflakes, encompassing the full image of every doll.
The faceless humans and demi-humans seemed to be activated by an electric current. Silently, they raised their heads, though their blank faces showed no change.
Cocotte caught this subtle shift.
Those bodies still hadn't been given any consciousness, they were merely being controlled by an external force, dolls with no self-awareness.
But unlike before, these almost lifelike dolls now moved more fluidly, as if they had been granted life.
Viktor calmly looked at Marey Dim and said in a faintly indifferent tone, "You should know what your job is."
Marey Dim nodded and bowed deeply to Viktor once more.
Behind her, the blank-faced puppets mimicked Marey Dim and all knelt on one knee in unison.
"Of course."
"I will follow your will."
Viktor nodded, then turned to look at Cocotte.
Cocotte looked completely lost. Even now, she didn't understand what Viktor was trying to do.
"Do you remember the previous dungeon, Cocotte?"
Cocotte froze. Hearing Viktor say this, her heart jolted violently.
Those painful memories began to resurface in her mind.
One person, one night, one pair of hands, one miracle.
She thought of that night, alone, she had opened nearly twenty different subspaces.
Those barren subspaces mirrored the loneliness in her heart, vast and deserted, with no one around.
The only vitality came from the flowers and green grass she personally planted in every corner of those spaces.
She was so exhausted that she collapsed straight onto the ground, like a completely worn-out little fish. The clouds struggled to lift her up, but from overwhelming drowsiness they slipped, and her head slammed into the ground, swelling into a big bump.
She could only smile bitterly, climb back onto the clouds' back with difficulty, and heal herself alone.
She felt she had never been so tired, her body and mind completely wrung dry.
The memory came to an abrupt halt. Cocotte's body trembled involuntarily.
She suddenly realized, when Viktor talked about overtime, did he mean this?
As if seeing through her thoughts, Viktor looked at her calmly and said firmly, "Like before. Create more spaces."
"Marey Dim will assist you."
After Viktor finished speaking, Marey Dim even gave Cocotte a very polite smile.
Cocotte felt as if she had been struck by lightning after turning to stone, utter despair. She stood there, eyes wide open.
Then Viktor's voice rang out, "But don't try any little tricks."
This sentence was directed at Marey Dim.
The instant the words fell, white lightning flashed above the heart of the Yard Divine Tree, and a violent storm raged throughout the entire space.
Within the storm, a deep-blue colossal dragon gradually took form under the fusion of magic and natural energy. Its flesh and bones were reforged as it rode the storm's power, floating in midair.
Its abyss-like massive pupils stared directly at Marey Dim, its overwhelming pressure like a mountain, impossible to look at directly.
Sensing the terrifying oppressive atmosphere, Marey Dim narrowed her eyes and met the dragon's gaze.
However, Cocotte was even more confused.
'Holy crap, the Storm Dragon King?'
She was way too familiar with this thing.
The first time she met Viktor, the two of them had witnessed the magnificence of this giant beast together.
Back then… it was when Viktor had just arrived at the Magic Gorge…
What came after was a bit bloody.
Cocotte hurriedly shook her head, cutting off the memory.
'But how could the Storm Dragon King enter the Yard Divine Tree and merge with its heart?'
'What in the world is going on?'
Both of Cocotte's eyes were full of question marks. Just what kind of weird things had Viktor been doing behind her back?
"And you too, Cocotte."
Viktor turned his head to look at her and reminded her, "Don't slack off."
"Yes, sir!"
Hearing this, Cocotte immediately straightened up and sat properly.
She really didn't want Viktor to one day get upset and fuse her with some strange thing too.
At least when it came to not slacking off, she wouldn't slack off.
After Viktor finished giving all his instructions, a sudden gale swept through the entire divine tree space.
Clouds and mist rolled in, obscuring everything.
When the white haze dissipated, Viktor had already vanished without a trace.
After Viktor left, Marey Dim turned around and smiled at Cocotte.
In her eyes, it was as if a blue soul-flame was burning, gradually rising.
"Looks like we're colleagues now."
"Please take care of me, Your Majesty the Queen."
Cocotte felt a chill as she looked at Marey Dim.
"Colleagues? I don't want to be colleagues with something that can't even tell its own gender."
"But that's the reality."
Marey Dim chuckled softly. Immediately after, flesh and skin like tentacles coiled up from behind her, completely swallowing her.
The next moment, Marey Dim took on a different appearance.
He wore a black suit, tall and upright, with white gloves on his hands and a black ebony cane, looking every bit the gentleman.
He removed his tall top hat and bowed to Cocotte.
Cocotte looked up at his head, and saw the head of a crow.
Mm… it was strange, but as long as he wasn't turning into a spirit, it was fine.
Cocotte relaxed again, sat cross-legged on the cloud, and kept her distance from Marey Dim.
At this moment, Marey Dim raised his head, looked at the enormous heart of the Yard Divine Tree, and said, "Hmm… Mr. Viktor said my task is to arrange these 'extras' and design some scenarios."
"Although I don't quite understand what he ultimately wants, but…"
A trace of fanatic light flashed in his eyes. He spread his arms, wearing an intoxicated expression.
"I am confident I can direct this grand performance."
Cocotte shuddered and quickly turned away, letting out a sigh.
How did she end up working with a lunatic like this?
'Life is hard. Life is really hard…'
———
Gwen followed behind Henny, weaving through the manor.
Liya said that Henny had a way to find Viktor, though she herself didn't know why.
Gwen watched Henny, who was wearing loose robes, and an inexplicable feeling always rose in her heart.
She really wanted to personally open Henny's robe and see what Henny's body looked like underneath.
However, as a knight, Gwen had firm willpower and didn't treat that thought as something real.
Henny led Gwen forward and said, "Miss Gwen, I've always had a question I wanted to ask."
Gwen felt a little confused. She tilted her head and looked at Henny, who had stopped walking.
Seeing this, she stopped as well.
Henny slowly turned around, gazed seriously at Gwen, and asked, "Do you… like Professor Viktor?"
[T/N: Hello guys, translator here. Hope you all are enjoying the book and having a great day. I just started a new book "In a Hentai World As Takayanagi Family's Eldest Son" which, I hope you all will support. I am also now focusing on this account more and working on other fanfics as well. If you have like any specific type of fanfic or franchise please let me know, I will keep an eye out for them.]