— — — — — —
"Ikaros, you'll stay with Auntie for now and learn from her. Once you earn her approval, you can go find Crouch. After you're fully settled in, the Astra Abyssum Guild will be yours to manage."
"Yes, Master."
The pink-haired girl answered flatly, her face completely blank, looking a little… vacant.
"M-Master?!" Daphne shot up from her chair. "Tom, who is she supposed to be?!"
Concern flickered in Lady Greengrass's eyes as well. She studied Ikaros carefully. The girl didn't look much older than Daphne, maybe a year or two at most.
Questions piled up in her mind.
Whose child was this? Why wasn't she in school? Did she really have the qualifications or ability to take over the Astra Abyssum Guild?
Someone Daphne had never even heard of, yet Tom trusted her this much?
"Calm down, Daph." Tom sat down beside the girl, grabbed a piece of bread, and spoke around a mouthful. "Let Ikaros explain it herself."
Ikaros spoke in the same flat, emotionless tone. "My name is Ikaros. Numerical Code 1264. Multi-functional angel. I am an alchemical lifeform created by my master."
"So she's an alchemical being," Lady Greengrass said with relief. "Like the Catherines, then…"
"No."
Ikaros looked at her. Her still, depthless gaze made even Lady Greengrass feel a chill.
"Catherine is an auxiliary, clerical-type alchemical puppet created by the master. I… am an angel. A true creation of life."
"A creation of life…" Daphne's eyes drifted down to her own stomach.
"?????"
Tom was instantly flooded with question marks. He explained, half laughing, half exasperated. "What are you even thinking? Alchemical lifeforms like Ikaros… you can think of them as a magical race. If you really want to understand, go read the books I gave you."
Daphne shook her head like a rattle drum. "Yeah, no thanks."
"You, honestly." Tom tapped her lightly on the head and didn't press the issue.
If Daphne wanted, he would teach her everything he knew, every bit of power and knowledge he possessed. Unfortunately, she preferred lying flat and doing nothing.
"Hehe~"
Daphne stuck out her tongue, slid all the sliced sausages from her plate onto Tom's, then looked at the expressionless girl talking with her mother. Suspicion crept into her voice. "Tom, are you sure she's really up to it? She feels kinda dumb. Not even as smart as me."
Astoria, hearing that, nearly rolled her eyes straight into the sky.
What kind of comparison was that?
Were you judging her, or redefining your own intelligence?
Tom didn't think Daphne's comment was strange at all. He was used to it by now.
"That's just Ikaros's personality. She's not good at expressing emotions. She's actually very smart. Really smart."
He emphasized that last part deliberately.
How could she not be? Ikaros had inherited his spirituality.
After sitting motionless on the moon for seven days, Tom hadn't come away empty-handed. His mental strength had become far more refined, and with his enhanced physique, his control over himself had grown incredibly precise.
He had finally mastered a way to extract spiritual essence without damaging the soul.
At present, all of his most advanced techniques had been poured into Ikaros. Compared to a real human, she lacked only one thing: a true soul.
As for turning Ikaros into a genuine human being? Creating a true soul for her?
Tom didn't dare. Ravenclaw's example was still painfully fresh in his mind. A legendary witch had managed to ruin herself through sheer overreach. With his current strength, he wasn't about to poke that taboo.
He'd think about it after surpassing Ravenclaw.
...
By the time Tom finished breakfast, Lady Greengrass had also finished talking with Ikaros.
The results were more than satisfactory. Ikaros, who looked unreliable at first glance, turned out to be unexpectedly solid. Her knowledge base was extensive, her thinking quick, and she had more flexibility and intuition than the Catherines.
If she hadn't known better, Lady Greengrass would never have guessed that the adorable girl in front of her was an alchemical creation.
She glanced at the boy joking around with Daphne and couldn't help feeling emotional.
Having ability really did mean doing whatever you wanted.
No suitable staff?
Then just make one yourself.
"You kids enjoy yourselves. I've still got a mountain of work waiting for me at the Ministry."
With that, Lady Greengrass took Ikaros and the two Catherines with her. She was smiling as she left.
Ikaros aside, she'd have to return her once the huge workload was finished. But the two Catherines were different. With them handling her paperwork, wouldn't she be able to slack off every day in the future?
That long-abandoned girls' afternoon tea tradition might finally make a comeback.
Lady Greengrass seemed to have forgotten one small detail. She might be liberated now, but her good friend Bones wouldn't be nearly so lucky…
"Tom, let's go see the cows today," Daphne said eagerly. "The kind you showed me in those pictures before."
Tom nodded without hesitation. After running nonstop for so long, it really was time to take a couple of days off.
Once the sisters had changed, Tom took them to the largest zoo in Scotland.
The "cows" Daphne meant were Highland cattle. They're one of the smallest cattle breeds in the world, shaggy and woolly, with faces that look half sheep, half pig.
Their looks were… hard to describe, but undeniably cute. Daphne had fallen in love the moment she saw the photos.
Now that she was seeing the real thing and confirming that the live version matched the pictures perfectly, she immediately decided to buy a few and raise them at home for fun.
"Sis," Astoria said, pointing at the information board on the wall. It showed what Highland cattle looked like when fully grown. "They're cute now, but once they grow up, you definitely won't like them."
"It's fine," Daphne said breezily. "When they grow up, I'll just buy more babies."
Astoria frowned. "Then what about the grown ones?"
"Eat them, obviously," Daphne replied without hesitation, still petting the calf. "Why are you asking such dumb questions?"
Astoria: "...…"
"What if you can't bear to eat them later?"
"I'd just give the dishes to Tom. He'd say, 'Cute when they're little, good in the pot when they're big,' and eat them cheerfully anyway."
Tom: "...."
---
"Jeanne, are you ready?"
Inside the learning space, Tom smiled warmly at the Maid of Orléans.
A man had to keep his word. He'd said before that he would personally supervise her exam, but things had kept piling up until now.
So after buying ten cows from a farmer and watching Daphne have the time of her life, he immediately returned to the space and prepared a test for Jeanne.
As long as she scored sixty, the noble Saint of France could proudly declare that she had officially graduated elementary school.
"I... I'm ready!" Jeanne looked at Tom nervously.
It wasn't the exam that made her uneasy.
It was the promise she'd made with the other "herself."
Aside from studying the textbooks Tom assigned, Jeanne had secretly gone to the library to read books on psychology. She didn't understand much of it, but she had managed to identify her own problem.
Turns out… she suffered from dissociative identity disorder. And not a mild case, either.
If Tom found out she was mentally ill, would he be disgusted by her?
But she had already promised the other self. If she broke that promise, the other Jeanne might forcibly take over, which would only make things worse…
Her heart was a tangled mess.
Tom thought she was just nervous about the test. He gently rubbed her golden hair and offered a few words of reassurance before placing the exam paper on the table.
Time ticked by.
Two and a half hours passed in the blink of an eye.
"Time's up. Let me see…"
Tom picked up the papers and skimmed through them quickly, nodding again and again.
It was obvious at a glance that Jeanne had studied seriously. Math, English, science. Three papers, three hundred points total, and she scored two hundred seventy.
"You did really well, Jeanne. That's amazing."
Tom didn't hold back on the praise. "But keep it up. Try to finish mastering the first three years of middle school as soon as possible. After that, you won't need to study so strictly anymore. You can read whatever you want."
Jeanne didn't lack strength. What she lacked was an understanding of the world. She needed proper, modern knowledge to wash away the poison the Church had once poured into her.
"Yes, I'll continue to work hard," Jeanne replied softly.
She nodded, fidgeting with her fingers, hesitation written all over her face.
Tom played along and asked gently, "What's wrong, Jeanne? Are you having some kind of difficulty? If you have any thoughts, say them out loud. I'll help you."
Among all the troubled children around him, Jeanne's obedience was especially precious. Ariana had once been the same way, like a little beast that had strayed from its pack, wide-eyed and full of fear.
Sadly… she'd been led astray.
So this time, he wouldn't let Jeanne walk the wrong path. He would protect this close little quilt properly.
"Um…" Jeanne began timidly. "Are you satisfied with my results this time?"
Tom nodded. "More than satisfied."
"Then… may I ask for a reward?"
"Oh?" Tom was intrigued. "What kind of reward do you want?"
Jeanne slowly stepped closer.
Under Tom's stunned gaze, she wrapped her arms around his neck. Her pupils turned gold, while her hair faded into a pale silver-gray.
"Hah…"
She breathed softly, warm air brushing against his ear, "I. Want. You."
Tom blinked blankly.
What the hell just happened?
.
.
.