Having six kids around made for a lively time. They were ostensibly children related to me and my family, so they were allowed to stay in the castle without arousing too much suspicion. And they were pretty accustomed to living here already, given that they’d grown up here in the future. It was their home, after all. They weren’t just staying at a stranger’s place. And as such, they basically came and went as they pleased. Quun was usually up in Babylon, while Frei could be found in the training field with the soldiers every morning. Their presence had quickly become a part of daily castle life.
“...Like this?”
“Mhm, like that. Then move on to the next part...”
Linze and Elna were knitting together in the reception room.
Elze and Linne were both sparring with each other on the training grounds. It was a little funny seeing the girls hang out with each other’s daughter, since they almost looked like they were the actual mothers themselves...but it felt natural, so nobody seemed to mind. They just happened to have similar personalities.
Arcia was hard at work in the kitchen, trying out all kinds of new recipes. Occasionally, she went out to hunt with Karina, saying something about wanting to get a more natural feel for the ingredients by gathering them directly.
Yoshino often headed out to various places via [Teleport], which was a bit concerning. To stem any anxiety I had relating to that, I told Luli to go with her as a chaperone and stipulated that she had to ask permission before going to any specific foreign nations. Also, she had to come home before nightfall. If she caused an international incident, it’d be a real pain in the ass. I once complained to Kousaka about her wanton use of transportation magic, but he simply laughed at me and said something about finally knowing how it felt... I felt a little bad after that, honestly.
I headed up to Babylon’s research laboratory, since I’d been called up. The Fishman corpse had finally been analyzed, so they wanted to tell me what was going on with it.
I entered the lab and found Tica standing alongside Flora. They were both looking over a capsule pod where the dead Fishman was floating in suspended animation.
“I’ll be blunt. This is a human.”
“What?”
I couldn’t understand what Tica meant... How could this thing be a human? He was obviously some kind of a fish monster.
“He was originally a human... The base body, at least. Then something must have happened that changed him from the inside, creating a Chimera of sorts.”
“A Chimera?”
Flora’s words confused me... I understood what she was saying, but it made little sense.
“I’ve heard of Chimeras before, but...”
“If you’re thinking of the Chimera that’s part lion, part goat, and part snake, then put that out of your mind. This is another matter entirely.”
“What’s important here is that this creature is a half-fish, half-human creature created by merging physiological elements together.”
...So it’s a whole new lifeform, basically? Who the hell made it?
The source of the transformation could’ve been the blue crystal I found embedded in the Fishman.
The power of the wicked god was clearly at play either way, which meant they were related to the wicked devout.
“So, why did the people who got bit turn into Fishmen?”
“It was a curse, though the only ones capable of transmitting it are those with the crystals embedded in their bodies.”
Hm... So it can’t spread exponentially, basically. But if there’s more out there, I doubt Elna and I alone are gonna be enough to help. I should probably prepare some kind of item enchanted with [Recovery] in case of an outbreak.
“But why would they even attack?”
“If I had to guess, the purpose is probably to cause fear, anxiety, and panic through the transmission of the curse.”
...Yeah, that sounds sensible. The wicked god used negative emotions to empower itself, but not everyone overtly shows them all the time. As far as methods to bring them out are concerned, the looming threat of a curse is pretty genius. The fear of the unknown, the anxiety of being bitten, the panic setting in once you know your fate is sealed. It’s like a chain reaction of bad vibes that can even spread to those who aren’t directly affected by the curse. Like if someone close to you gets infected, you could get scared for them or fearful that you might be next. Maybe these guys are trying to bring back the wicked god by using mass negative thoughts and emotions or something?
“By the way, ahhh...Master... I... I did good, didn’t I? Mhhh...”
“Uh...yeah? Why...?” I asked as I narrowed my eyes at Tica, who was suddenly fishing for some kind of praise.
“Mmmh... Then you should reward me, Master! Ahhh! You should let me strip down naked with your daughters and cuddle with them all night under the covers! Please! Ahhh! Please!”
“Absolutely not! What the hell is wrong with you?!”
How the hell can you say that with a straight face?! You good-for-nothing, child-loving freak!
“Whyyy? I’m the only one who doesn’t get to see your kidsss! It’s... Nh! Nooo faiiir!”
“Obviously you’re not allowed! I don’t want any of them developing early life trauma from meeting you!”
“I’ll treat them gently!”
“You’re not allowed to leave the research laboratory. Ever.”
“Mean!”
There’s nothing mean about this. You’re way worse than mean. It’s my job as a parent to keep my kids safe, so I definitely can’t let a freak like you near them.
I left Tica, who was now whining and screaming at me, behind and headed to Babylon’s workshop.
Hopefully Quun’s there, and ideally not making anything too weird.
I entered the workshop and saw Quun riding something strange. It wasn’t exactly foreign to me, since I recognized it as the Dvergr excavation machine developed by the dwarves...but this one was far smaller in size. It was more compact. The head and chest were gone, replaced by an open seat, and the magic motor was on the back. It also had two short, stubby arms on either side of it. Honestly, it kind of resembled a power suit, but since Quun wasn’t technically wearing it, it was more of a vehicle. She was using it to stack a bunch of blocks that were nearby.
“What’s this?”
“Oh, this is a prototype construction vehicle. I was thinking I could combine Frame Gear technology with Gollem technology to create a smaller tool,” Doc Babylon came over grinning as she explained what I was looking at.
...So you’re making my daughter your guinea pig?
“I call it the Arm Gear. It was originally just meant to be something for Quun to play with, but it has some good applications. Why, we could weaponize them to form an entire mechanized division.”
“...Could you not give playthings like this to my kid without asking first?”
...This isn’t a toy, not by a long shot. Jeez... I need to keep a closer eye on things up here, clearly.
“F-Father! Look at this! Isn’t it amazing?!”
“Uhhh, it’s amazing all right. Did you tinker with it?”
“Sure did! Hee hee!”
Dammit... She’s smiling so wide! There’s no way I could take this from her now!
I turned back to Doc Babylon, who was grinning right at me.
“Typical daddy. Can’t help but dote on your little girl, can you? Ah, how fatherhood changes a man...”
“Shut up...” I grumbled. I couldn’t exactly say anything else, since she was right... I did feel like I was spoiling Quun a bit, but she seemed to have things under control.
She’s cute! It’s not my fault! How could any dad resist?!
Just as I was fretting about my own weakness, Luli and Yoshino appeared in front of me.
“Oh, Yoshino...you scared me! Don’t just pop in with [Teleport] like that!”
“Daddy, look! I found something amazing! It’s a syrcus! A syrcus!” Yoshino exclaimed. She didn’t seem interested in listening to my lecture. She was far more interested in getting hyped over whatever it was she’d come to tell me about.
...What’s a syrcus, though?
“Luli?”
“She means a circus, my lord.”
I was glad to have the Dragon there or else I might’ve been confused a while longer.
A circus? So what, there’s a traveling circus in town? Like a traveling troupe or something?
I’d seen a circus in Belfast’s castle town once before, though I’d never actually attended the show or anything. From what I heard, they were a little different from the circuses in my own world. They had different acts like theatrics, singing, and dancing. They didn’t have stuff like magicians, probably because of how common magic was in this world.
“So, uh, what’s this about a circus?”
“It looks awesome! Here, let’s go see it! I got a flyer!” Yoshino excitedly said as she held a flyer out to me.
Let’s see...
The flyer read ‘Cheering World Circus! A traveling troupe shrouded in illusion, mystery, and excitation! We’re finally coming to Brunhild!’
...Cheering World Circus? Like they’re so good the whole world cheers for them or something? I’ve never heard of them.
“Oh? A circus is coming? That sounds interesting,” Quun said, seeming fascinated enough to lean over us in the Arm Gear.
“Right, Quun? Let’s go!”
A circus, huh? I’ve never been to one, so I’m kinda curious. I could invite them to the castle, but I bet it’d be better to go out and watch with the rest of the public. Hey, maybe it could be a nice day out for me, my wives, and the kids.
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