457 Girls' Worries
"Congratulations, Fang!"
As we were sitting before each other, I couldn't help but turn my head toward Ember and the others. They look like they're making much progress on their side, with Fang and Igni already figuring out how to make their God Kingdoms.
On this side, we were also sitting down on the ground, in a circle, and doing... nothing.
Well, it was supposed to be an open forum, an open discussion, or a team-building activity, but nobody was willing to step up to be the first one to share. At this rate, we could be sitting here until nighttime without making any progress!
"We're not going anywhere like this..."
Fatima, unable to keep quiet any longer, sighed exaggeratedly.
"I'll go first, then. My worries..."
Although she wanted to go first, she really didn't seem to have any sort of worry. Well, at least I thought so.
"... I'm worried that I'd stay as a half-machine even after I reach the 9th stage, and it scares me."
"Fatima..."
She was worried about that?
Compared to when she was at the 1st stage, where her body was technically just a robotic placeholder, now that she's at the 7th stage, she actually has half a flesh-and-blood body, with the other half being a machine.
As such, it was still hard to say that she was now a "human."
Well, for what reason was she afraid of staying as a machine... Let's just say that her "parts" aren't working as they should in her current state.
No matter what I say to her at this current junction, I doubt it would help, so I just smiled and patted her head gently, trying to give her as much support and affection as I could offer.
Fina felt emotional, as if she could completely understand what Fatima was feeling. Tears were threatening to flow down the corner of her eyes, but she quickly wiped them away with her fingers.
"Judy. Next."
And as if riding the momentum, Judy started to voice her mind next. Her speech was still a little hard to understand, sloppy, and intermittent. Still, she could convey the thought behind her words clearly.
"Judy... Hate... Will. Womanizer. Judy. Protect. Master. Too gullible."
Hearing her words, I could only smile wryly. She was technically correct about the womanizer part, but I, for one, made sure that I had everyone's consent first. Ahem, the contract, I mean, ahem.
10:01
As expected, Judy's and Yorm's minds were still young. They must be feeling like daughters of Fina, and they are trying to protect their "mother" from offenders like me. Wait, no, I'm not a sexual offender, definitely not.
After she finished her part, she then moved closer to Fina, snuggling with her like a child wanting to be praised. Fina found it cute and smiled while patting her head gently.
Judy was done, and, like it was the most natural thing to follow, Yorm began to speak about her own worries.
"I... Want Master to be happy... Thus, I hate Will... Will bullies Master!"
"Bully Fina? When did I...?"
"I saw, once... Master, come to your room. Came out... with red marks on body. Smelling like Will. Hate."
"Uhh..."
Was that... the time when Fina brought Minerva and Hekate together with her? Looking at the situation from a certain perspective, I did bully Fina, along with Minerva and Hekate. However, I'm sure it's not the kind of "bully" that Yorm was worrying about.
After saying up to that point, she then slithered closer to Fina while moving her entire tail around her as if to create a physical barrier to separate her from me. Well, at least now I know what my assignment is. I should consider this progress, yep.
Finally, it was Fina's turn.
Her expression darkened a little as her hands moved nonstop, patting the two beside her.
This continued for a while, until finally, she looked like she had found the courage to speak.
"Actually, Will, I have been hiding something from you."
"...?"
For some reason, the way she phrased that made me feel anxious. What could she be planning to say?
"Both Julia and I have been hiding this secret for the longest time... and I think it's finally time to tell it to you."
She took a deep breath, as if calming her mind and heart, preparing to say the next words.
"Will, we need your help."
"I know, I know, I don't mind... wait, what?"
"What?"
"..."
Oh... Ahem, it looks like I was jumping to conclusions.
"Please ignore what I said and proceed. You need my help?"
Fina narrowed her eyes, curious about what I was just saying before in reply to her, but as if losing interest, she quickly returned to what she was saying and continued explaining.
"Actually, even before that Succubus Lord, Namia, appeared, both of us knew we had succubus blood. The reason for that is that we came from a certain town... inside a dungeon."
"...?!"
I gasped after hearing her words.
So, she means that she wasn't a resident of this planet but rather came from a certain dungeon somewhere? What is this...?
"Oh, don't worry about it. We're not planning on invading this world or anything. Our town inside that dungeon is small, after all, with barely a dozen residents."
"Wait..."
I raised a hand to stop Fina for a while. All this information is making my head hurt. First of all, let's organize the bullet points.
Fina and Julia were hiding the fact that they came from a dungeon. The two of them were also considered by the Taming System as users, giving them access to it. Then, does that mean they're still humans?
"Could that dungeon be... a safe haven?"
That was the only reason I could think of. A dungeon that a select few decided to hide in to avoid persecution. It was a little heartbreaking, thinking about it, but well, it's all in the past already.
"Correct."
Fina nodded at my words with a smile. But her smile slowly faded away, turning into a sad frown.
"However, a decade ago, it stopped being a safe hiding place."
I listened intently, feeling that what she was about to say next was the most important bit.
"Our enemies found the place and occupied it. The rest of the town was captured and now sealed... Will, I want to ask your help in removing their seals."
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