Chapter 115: I’d Like to Speak to Your Supervisor
*Ding!*
A tiny cloud of smoke puffed into existence.
Pebbles floated out of it, looked from Mirabelle... to Lucien...
"...Congratulations, Host." He paused.
"...Three emotionally unstable Beast males acquired."
Another pause.
"...Statistically, your life expectancy has decreased."
’Pebbles.’
"That was a joke.
...Mostly."
Before Mirabelle could work herself into a proper outrage, the familiar translucent blue window popped into existence before her eyes.
[Congratulations]
[Milestone Achieved: Third Mate Bond Established
Reward Granted: +35,000 Legacy Points
Main Story Progress Increased:
6.0% → 9.0%
System Tip - Complimentary
The strongest kingdoms are never inherited.
They are united.]
Mirabelle stared at the Main Story Progress.
3% increase??
That seemed like... a lot.
Considering she’d only taken another mate.
She narrowed her eyes as a thought suddenly struck her.
That stupid flying tentacle thing isn’t actually planning to make me collect twenty mates by only giving Main Story Progress whenever I mark a new one... is it?
Before those negative emotions could travel through the bond to Lucien, she hurriedly pushed the thought aside.
Carefully, and with muscles that still felt slightly stiff, she slipped out of Lucien’s embrace.
Before getting up completely, she leaned forward and pressed a quick kiss to the tip of his nose.
"I think..." She smiled softly. "...I’d like a little time to myself."
The fox Beastman nodded in understanding.
He knew that markings were exhausting for females. Most preferred to retreat afterward and be alone for a while.
Besides...
There was something he wanted to check himself.
He helped her get dressed before finally leaving her alone in the rose garden, but not before she’d reassured him several times that she was perfectly fine.
Lost in thought, Lucien followed the winding path between the towering rose hedges.
The evening air had grown pleasantly cool against his skin, while the steady chorus of night insects slowly replaced the cheerful songs of birds.
Mirabelle, meanwhile, waited only until she was certain he had disappeared beyond earshot.
Then she reached for Pebbles.
The tiny octopus spirit let out an indignant squeak as she grabbed one of his tentacles and pulled him toward her like an exceptionally naughty toddler.
"What exactly does..." She narrowed her eyes into suspicious slits.
"The strongest kingdoms are never inherited. They are united ...mean?"
Pebbles, who had spent the last several seconds desperately trying to pull himself free — at one point even bracing all seven remaining tentacles against Mirabelle’s hand— finally admitted defeat.
Instead...
His animated eyes flew open in exaggerated surprise. One eye slowly grew larger than the other.
Two of his shorter tentacles curled upward, hovering above his eyes where eyebrows would normally be, before folding into a deeply puzzled expression.
His entire little body tilted sideways.
"Host..." Pebbles looked at her for a long moment. "...your ability to notice the parts I was hoping you’d ignore is remarkably consistent."
DING!
Before Mirabelle could respond, another translucent blue window unfolded before her eyes.
[Main Quest - Stage II Unlocked]
[Condition Fulfilled
Required Mate Acquired:
✓ Lucien of Rotwald]
────────────────────────
[Main Quest - Stage II
One Banner
Territories may share a border.
A dynasty allows them to share a future.
Objective:
Claim the High Duchy of Rotwald.
Merge it with Luchsenstein.
Rule both as one.
Reward:
+2,000,000 Development Points
Penalty:
???
Status:
Active]
The satisfied smile that had appeared on Mirabelle’s face at the thought of her reward vanished instantly.
Cold dread spread through her chest.
Her fingers went numb, her breath caught, and for one horrifying heartbeat, it felt as though someone had pulled the ground out from beneath her feet.
"...What the fuck is that supposed to mean?"
The tiny octopus mascot looked at her as though she were unusually slow today.
"’To bring the Duchies of Luchsenstein and Rotwald under one rule?’"
Pebbles phrased it like a question, just to make absolutely sure she hadn’t somehow misunderstood.
Mirabelle had understood.
Her brain simply refused to accept it.
"...I’m supposed to start a war with Rotwald?"
Every word dripped with horror.
Pebbles blinked.
Twice.
One eye twitched.
Four tentacles spread outward like someone throwing their hands into the air.
"There are considerably more ways to acquire a territory than through war."
That single sentence abruptly pulled Mirabelle’s thoughts out of their downward spiral.
’...Right.’
For one brief moment, relief washed over her. Then she shook her head.
"No, that’s not the point!" She threw both hands into the air. "How am I supposed to take over the High Duchy of Rotwald?
Lysandra is the heir!
And besides..."
She pointed in the vague direction Lucien had disappeared.
"I’m mated to Lucien!
That practically makes us allies!
None of this makes any sense!"
Pebbles stared at her for several long seconds.
"...Host."
"Yes?"
"I fail to identify the contradiction."
Mirabelle blinked.
"...Excuse me?"
"The objective remains valid. Host’s current diplomatic relations do not alter the required outcome."
She continued staring at him.
"...You’re serious."
"Entirely."
Mirabelle found herself wondering whether Pebbles was simply astonishingly dense... or genuinely stupid. She slowly pointed at the quest window still floating between them.
"Pebbles..." She took a deep breath.
"Pebbles... Rotwald is the most powerful High Duchy on the continent."
"Correct."
Mirabelle: "They have an army that would probably eat mine for breakfast."
Pebbles: "Also correct."
Mirabelle: "Lysandra is alive."
Pebbles: "Correct."
Mirabelle: "She’s healthy."
Pebbles: "As far as the System is aware... correct."
Mirabelle threw her arms into the air. Now the lynx female couldn’t decide whether Pebbles was spectacularly oblivious... or simply an idiot.
"Then how in the world do you consider this realistic?!"
Pebbles tilted slightly.
"I wasn’t asked whether it was realistic."
Mirabelle: "..."
Pebbles: "I was instructed to present the objective."
Mirabelle blinked. Had she heard that right?
"Wait..." She pointed at the quest window.
"Does that mean...
...you don’t actually know how I’m supposed to accomplish this either?"
For the first time, Pebbles seemed thoughtful.
"Not specifically."
He folded two tentacles behind his back.
"The System does not calculate a single future. It calculates... possibilities.
Probabilities.
Potential."
Mirabelle’s brow furrowed.
"So... even if I have absolutely no chance right now... that could change someday?"
Pebbles nodded:
"Otherwise the quest would not exist."
That answer unsettled Mirabelle even more.
"Doesn’t that mean the probability of Lysandra disappearing is incredibly high? Because only then would the chance of the position of heir becoming vacant — and me inheriting Rotwald through my bond with Lucien — increase."
The thoughts tumbled out of her mouth like water cascading down a waterfall.
And these thought terrified her.
Not a little.
A lot.
Especially because Lysandra had only just become her friend.
If she was supposed to take over Rotwald without war...
...then Mirabelle could think of only one way.
There had been rare cases in history where a noble house without a female heir had been passed to the mate of its eldest son.
Her stomach lurched.
"Host, according to my calculations, the probability of Lady Lysandra disappearing is 80%."
"What?!" Mirabelle’s voice shot up into a shriek. "Lysandra is going to die?!"
Panic crashed over her.
It felt as though an invisible fist had driven itself deep into her abdomen, knocking every coherent thought from her mind.
Her heartbeat stumbled before racing ahead, her chest tightened painfully, and a cold shiver crawled beneath her skin despite the warm summer evening.
Pebbles’ animated brow ridge drew together, making his entire face scrunch into a puzzled expression. He squinted at her as though she were an insect that had just landed in his lunch.
"Host." He blinked. "No one said Lady Lysandra has to die."
Pebbles continued as casually as though he were commenting on the weather.
"The current probability of Lady Lysandra’s death is 0.5%." He tilted slightly. "...Statistically negligible."
Mirabelle’s racing thoughts came to an abrupt halt.
It took her several long moments to get the rising panic back under control before she could think logically again.
’So...Lysandra will disappeare...
...but she won’t die?
Disappeare how?’
"Kidnapped?"
Pebbles clasped two tentacles behind his back and began floating back and forth through the air like a professor pacing in front of a lecture hall.
"The manner in which Lady Lysandra disappears cannot be determined.
I can only calculate probabilities."
The knot in Mirabelle’s chest loosened considerably.
Of course, she didn’t want Lysandra to be kidnapped either.
But knowing that her chance of dying was almost nonexistent lifted an enormous weight off her shoulders.
Only then did she realize how strongly she had reacted. Her brow furrowed.
"Wait..." She looked back at Pebbles.
"I bought the Body Adjustment.
Wasn’t that supposed to stop my Beast instincts from amplifying my emotions?"
Pebbles blinked.
"Host, this emotional response was entirely genuine.
It had nothing to do with your Beast body.
It was simply the reaction of someone who deeply cares about Lady Lysandra."
Mirabelle fell silent.
That was somehow comforting.
Pebbles, however, wasn’t finished.
"Nevertheless...
If you intend to rule a High Duchy in the future...I strongly recommend improving your emotional regulation."
*DING!*
A familiar translucent blue window unfolded before her eyes.
[Recommended Purchase]
[Cold Heart
Reason is sharpest where emotion cannot cloud it.
Suppresses excessive emotional responses during high-stress situations.
Allows for calmer analysis, improved decision-making, and enhanced emotional self-control.
Warning:
Repeated use may gradually reduce emotional expressiveness outside of combat and leadership situations.
Cost: 75,000 Legacy Points]
Mirabelle flicked the notification aside without reading a single word.
"None of this would’ve happened if you hadn’t dumped that ridiculous quest on me."
Pebbles let out a long, theatrical sigh.
"Host. I have already informed you that I possess no authority over the quests assigned to you."
Mirabelle stared at him for a moment.
Then a slow grin spread across her face.
"So..." She leaned a little closer. "You’re basically just the messenger.
With absolutely no decision-making power whatsoever."
Pebbles froze.
"...That is an unnecessarily reductive description of my highly sophisticated position."
"But technically correct?"
The flying tentacle thing flinched.
Mirabelle’s teasing tone had apparently struck a very sensitive nerve.
Her grin widened. She was ready to deliver the final blow.
"In that case..." She tilted her head ever so slightly. "I’d like to speak to your supervisor."
Pebbles’ movements immediately grew noticeably more frantic.
"Host, I believe something is burning."
Before Mirabelle could grab another tentacle, a familiar cloud erupted around the tiny octopus spirit.
"I’ll be back once the emergency has been resolved!"
PUFF!
The cloud dispersed.
He was gone.
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