Chapter 10: A Growing Domain
As the two girls panicked at the declaration I’d just made, I went on.
"That cave you see, Laïa, is where my heart as a superior being rests."
I took a step forward, menacing on purpose.
"And unfortunately for you, you saw through the illusion Aria, here present, had set in place."
Another step, letting the silence and my words sink into them.
"So you have only two options left now. Death, a choice you won’t be able to regret. Or total devotion to me, enemy of this world, and to my ambition. A choice you most certainly will regret."
Naïa stood frozen, breath caught, as if the meaning of the words took a moment to run her through. Her arms tightened instinctively around Laïa, ready to shield her from who knew what.
But it was Laïa who moved.
The little one gently freed herself from her sister’s embrace. Naïa tried to hold her back, a strangled "wait—" at the edge of her lips, but the child had already taken a step forward. She was trembling from head to toe, her small hands clenched so tightly the knuckles whitened, and yet she lifted her eyes to Freya and did not look away.
"You..." Her voice broke on the very first word. She swallowed, drew a ragged breath, started again. "You say you’re wicked. That you’re the enemy of the world, all that."
A tear rolled down, one she didn’t even wipe away.
"But that’s not true. You’re the one who came. You’re the one who stopped them." Her lower lip trembled. "The whole village, everyone we’ve known since we were born, they... they bowed their heads. They covered their ears. They let it happen. No one came."
Her breathing quickened, the words tumbling out now, unable to stop.
"No one, except you! You’re the one who... who held us in your arms, when... when Mama, she..."
The word shattered in her throat. Her face crumpled all at once, and all the courage she’d gathered collapsed with it. She clapped both hands over her mouth, as if to hold back the sob rising in her, in vain. Her shoulders shook with spasms, and she wept, truly this time, those child’s tears that come from the gut and can’t be stopped.
"Laïa!"
Naïa was on her in a second. She dropped to her knees and pulled her against her chest, one hand on the back of her little sister’s neck, the other on her back, rocking her. Her own eyes were overflowing, but something had hardened in her gaze, that strength that comes to the eldest when they’re all that’s left to hold things up.
She lifted her head toward Freya, chin trembling but voice firm.
"She’s right. My sister’s right." She drew a breath, holding Laïa a little tighter. "It doesn’t matter what you say you are. Evil, the enemy of the world, a monster, whatever you like. We don’t care." Her voice cracked for a second, then steadied. "We have nothing left. No home, no mama, no one. You’re the only one who held out a hand to us. So please..."
She lowered her forehead, until it brushed her sister’s hair.
"Please. Just give us somewhere to go. That’s all we’re asking."
A long silence followed, broken only by Laïa’s muffled sobs against her elder sister’s chest.
Then a smile slowly took shape on Freya’s lips.
"Good." Her voice had softened, almost against her will. "Very good, even. That’s exactly what I wanted to hear."
She crouched down to their level, and for a brief instant, the mask of the world’s enemy seemed to crack.
"In that case, I accept you. For good, this time."
She gave them time to collect themselves, time for Laïa’s sobs to space out and for Naïa to wipe her cheeks with the back of her hand. Then she straightened and continued, in a more measured tone.
"Now, go fetch your things from the village. You’ll settle into your new home when you return."
They nodded, trembling smiles on their lips, and answered as one.
"Thank you, my lady."
"Ah, and one last thing. I’m going to give you your first task." Freya raised a finger. "Discreetly ask the people of your village about the value of mithrite at market, and about weapons forged from that metal."
"Yes, my lady!"
And they set off, already lighter, hurrying away to gather their belongings.
I watched them disappear among the trees. Two orphans, body and soul mine now. The thought carried something oddly satisfying. They were adding themselves to the list, along with Aria, with the Mycofoxes, with this dungeon. One more possession in a domain that, day after day, was becoming entirely my own.
Aria spoke up once the two sisters were out of sight.
"It would seem I’ll have much to teach them from now on. Starting with proper manners."
"I’m counting on you, Aria." Freya kept her eyes on them, in the distance. "Start by following them discreetly. See whether they talk."
"Aaaah~ Now I understand better why you sent them straight back to the village." A flash of comprehension crossed the demon’s eyes. "It’s a test."
I said nothing. After all, she was right. I may have accepted them, but I hadn’t gone soft for all that. What was mine stayed mine on my terms, or didn’t stay at all.
Aria asked, a wide smile on her lips.
"And if they talk, what should I do?"
"You know very well, Aria." I held her gaze, without blinking. "If they talk, then kill them. Them, and the whole village with them. Leave no one who might have overheard. And bring me every body for the dungeon."
The demon’s smile only widened at the words.
"It shall be done as you desire, my lady." She dipped into a curtsy, then vanished all at once.
Good. That’s settled. I stretched. Now, let’s go see how the Mycofoxes are getting on.
I headed back into the dungeon, where a Mycofox greeted me with a "Kyuuu ~" before guiding me somewhere.
Another mithrite vein?
The worker led me to the spot where the others had already dug out the space for the new mine. I glanced at my reserve.
[ Mana: 64/500 ]
"System, build the second mine, please."
[ Create the mine for 30 mana points? ]
"Yes."
The mine appeared, and the little worker set to work at once.
Right. And now?
I had only thirty-four mana points left, and I needed a hundred for the summon upgrade. I’d have to wait several more hours. I sighed.
It’s so long...
I wandered for a while, moving from one room to the next. Reaching the Guard Hall, I lingered to watch the Mycofoxes spar against the dummies, and an idea sprouted.
What if I went for a walk outside?
The urge hit me all at once. I could bring a Mycofox along, Aria wouldn’t be long now, and I had the Quill Pen to defend myself if needed. No reason to sit around in circles.
"Kyū!" I called, spotting the ninth one. "You’re coming with me, we’re going for a walk."
He answered with a grumble, a drawn-out "Kyuuu!", as if nothing in the world could bore him more. But he fell into step behind me without argument.
We left the dungeon behind us, and I ventured in under the trees.
What I found there stopped me in my tracks.
A small creature bounded in front of me. It looked like a fawn, but with a soft pink coat, and it vanished with a leap into the ferns. Higher up, a monkey with deep blue fur watched me, head tilted. Flowers of every color carpeted the ground, some glowing softly, others turning toward me as if to watch me pass.
It’s beautiful...
I walked on, unable to stop looking. None of this could have existed in my old world. And there was something stranger still: the mix. A small voice, deep down, whispered that these species should never have coexisted. Beasts, plants from opposite climates, gathered here as if this patch of forest had drawn together fragments of the whole world.
And to think all of it lay just outside my door. My territory. The idea made me smile. This forest, too, belonged to me somehow, and I hadn’t even explored half of it. I filed the thought away in a corner. For now, I just wanted to enjoy the sight.
The hours slipped by without my noticing, the little Mycofox trotting reluctantly in my wake.
Then a butterfly caught my eye.
It was splendid, and left behind a trail of rainbow suspended in the air. Fascinated, I began to follow it. It fluttered just out of reach, drawing me deeper among the trees, until it rounded a thick trunk.
I followed. On the other side, nothing.
"Where did it go?"
I scanned my surroundings. Nothing but a wall of rock, the flank of the mountain, against which the butterfly seemed to have evaporated.
Impossible. It didn’t just vanish into thin air.
I leaned against the rock face to think.
My hand met nothing.
No stone, no surface, nothing beneath my palm. I toppled all at once, carried by my own momentum, and rolled several meters, right where I thought I was leaning.
Huh?! That wasn’t a wall?!
I finally came to a stop, dazed, and pushed myself up as best I could.
A vast cavity stretched around me. Empty, silent, extended in the distance by a corridor that sank into the dark. At my side, the little Mycofox had risen back up, fur bristling, on the alert.
And to think that, just moments ago, I’d believed everything here was mine. And now an entire stretch of my lands had slipped past me, hidden right under my nose from the very start.
... Where in the world am I?
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