Chương 249: Fluff And Affection

"It has been a while since I last saw Ergonip being so damn happy about anything… Aesther might just turn into an undead-infested hellscape soon""No need to add 'might', it's definitely going to happen, he did his weird, distorted laugh amidst his cackling. He only does this when he is planning something genuinely evil.

Remember the time some guy tried to rip him off on an enchanted item, and he used a spell to render him unkillable for thirty minutes before launching far into the ocean, where the poor bastard was torn apart by sea monstrosities?"

"I don't actually, I had to call in sick when that happened""Ah, I had forgotten about that… Well, anyway, he had done his weird laugh then too, but not quite as long or as pronounced. I am telling you. Unless they make a drastic change in leadership soon or something exceptional happens, Ergonip is going to drop some of his undead servants onto their heads–And when I say 'some', I mean at least ten thousand.

This fucker has more soldiers than most countries" Following a meeting of the organisation, Leou and Sahhi had stuck around to discuss. The snow leopard had a rather heavy container placed in front of her on the table. This was what she had managed to do as a reward for Maya from the old, dusty skeleton. He had been in a very good mood, so making him give something valuable hadn't been difficult at all, and besides, Ergonip was very pleased with Maya's performances so far.

He was very much willing to dish out rewards for her. The container was actually a magical creation of his, which could contain far more liquid than it looked like it should be capable of holding… And it was filled to the brim with Ghostly Essence. Naturally, since ghosts were undead creatures, the skeleton was knowledgeable about them, and actually had what he himself qualified as a ludicrous stock of this particular liquid.

Maya seemed to quite enjoy this kind of thing, so Leou hoped that it would be a good reward for her efforts.

"Leou, you seem a little bit preoccupied today. Is something the matter?" The snow leopard's tail swung around a bit before she replied, sighing before words came out.

"Sahhi, I have come to realise something about myself, ever since I met Maya I-""Are you in love?"

"How… How the hell did you guess that?"

"I mean, with how you started your sentence, it was quite obvious, besides, everyone knew 'your type' already… Well, except you""Wha… How?"

"I mean, the time I tried to introduce you to a man was a dead giveaway. Who wouldn't be interested in such a fine specimen?"

"Oh, please, I told you, he just wasn't my type! Just because I didn't like his looks doesn't make it obvious that I prefer women!"

"It absolutely does""It does not! Not every woman has to like the same type of men you do, Sahhi. I mean, he was a freaking dragontaur for the sake of the gods! A dragontaur with his human half sitting atop a dragon head, he was basically a dragon with a humanoid growth on his head like… Like the humanoid bit is his hairstyle!"

"... And he was freaking giant, too!" Sahhi smiled.

"Come on, Leou. All women love dragons""I am afraid you are alone on this one, Sahhi""Anyway! I was correct regardless, wasn't I? Come on, what are the juicy details? What happened that made you realise all of this?"

"There is nothing juicy… I… Maya likes my fluff, alright? And, huh… I might have let her touch my fur a bunch of times. Like my ears, face, and top of my head–I didn't think much of it at first, I thought it was a bit embarrassing, but eventually, I wondered why I had let her do this to begin with. Usually, I am quite aggressive when someone tries to touch me, but I just let her do it the first time without thinking!"

"It stayed on my mind for a while, and then it clicked… So now, I am stuck between not wanting her to touch me anymore because it makes me incredibly embarrassed and feel like I am having a heat stroke, but also, I don't want her to stop, since I now realise that I actually like it when she does it…" Sahhi scratched her chin.

"Just tell her how you feel""That's the problem, Sahhi. I don't think she feels the same way about me. She likes my fluff, but that's because she just likes soft and cute things, not because she likes me like… Romantically, and… There is another girl, too" Lady Sahhi Dest Salamandia's piercing yellow eyes focused as she leaned forward in her elevated chair.

"Now… That's juicy, a love triangle? With two girls directing their affection toward the same person? It's just like those books I like to read. I didn't think this was something that actually happened in real life""Could you be serious for a moment, Sahhi?" This novel is published on a different platform. Support the original author by finding the official source.

"Right, of course… Does Maya like that other girl back, or…?"

"It doesn't seem like it, but Mari is way more open about how she feels, and she's doing her best to get into Maya's good graces, and… Maya is a little bit unpredictable. I can't really tell if she likes either of us, but she could suddenly decide that she does. I don't think I'll take it very well if she were to get closer to Mari. That's… Don't laugh, alright? But that's the first time I've felt like this""What about this Mari? How would she take it if Maya got closer to you, instead?"

"Oh, I don't think she cares as long as Maya likes her back. She's a bit… Unwell would be a bit extreme, but I suppose you could say that she is a bit obsessed and overly devoted. I am pretty sure that if Maya asked to be worshipped, Mari would do so without a shred of hesitation" Sahhi raised an eyebrow. She could hardly believe that such juicy gossip actually existed.

The scenario Leou was describing was so ridiculous that normally, she would have rolled her eyes if she had seen it in a book, but this was reality, which made it incredible.

"How would YOU feel if you had to share your dear Maya with this Mari girl?"

"... I don't know, honestly""Alright, alright… I still think you should just go ahead and take the first step. At least, you will know if something is possible between you two. Is there anything else that's an issue?" The snow leopard paused for a moment, scratching her ear in thought before speaking up.

"Maya has a daughter" Sahhi choked on air.

"Isn't she a Sapient Golem made out of steel…?"

"Her daughter isn't literally her daughter, like, they aren't blood-related""I see… Alright… So that's a whole new dimension to this stuff. Because this isn't just about holding hands, kissing, and doing cute stuff, this is about whether you feel like you can take on the role of a mother. Now that's pretty damned serious. How old is that daughter, anyway?"

"Well, she's something of a monsterfolk, so her age is a bit in the air, and probably doesn't line up with the typical sapient species anyway… But it looks like she is a young woman. Very close with Maya, though""Also, I am fairly certain she's been trying to push both Mari and me to get with her mother. She's not very subtle with it. Sometimes she calls me 'mom' by surprise to see my reaction""How do you react to it?" Leou shifted in her seat.

"A bit too naturally–Listen, she's a cute and lovable girl, but… She sort of has two sides. Most of the time, she's a sweet girl who hums songs and skips around while gushing over girly stuff, and the rest… She's quite scary, but I suppose it is to be expected. Maya is a very competent fighter and assassin, after all" The two women discussed for a while longer, with Sahhi doing her best to fully understand the very unusual dynamic at play. In the end, the advice the short woman gave was very simplistic and typical…

And it was that Leou should just go for it. It was better to do so than to endlessly wonder what to do and leave the question hanging in the air. The snow leopard had to agree that it was the best thing to do, and soon enough, they parted ways, with Leou reappearing at her tower. After getting over the nausea caused by the warping array. She placed the container of Ghostly Essence in a safe spot and soon sat behind her desk. At the moment, Maya was still deep underground.

At this point, with the recent news and very obvious overlap in timings–She was well aware that Maya had been hiding things.

"To think that you are the true master of the Nightmare Plague… Ergonip might actually lose his lower jaw when he learns of this" Also, it became clear that Maya wasn't a Sapient Golem at all, but instead an oddity. Leou knew quite well now, so she didn't believe that Maya was truly a monster like she was described as. She may be monstrous in appearance and behaviour, but there was something profoundly sapient about the way she acted.

"Maya probably isn't her real name…" After all, she used to be known as 'Maeve' when working for Beelmart. Leou didn't mind that the one her heart beat faster for had kept secrets and lied. With such a resume, it was only natural not to tell the full truth. Leou worked with killers at the organisation. In fact, every member of the organisation had probably done far worse over the course of their lives, or undeath, than Maya. So there really were no problems concerning this. The only issue is…

A knock came from the door, and it soon slightly opened.

"Mmh… Hello? Did you want to talk with me, Miss Leou?"

"Just call me Leou, Mari. Why don't you take a seat?"

"Alright, how can I help you M–I mean, Leou?" The beastfolk leaned forward.

"Listen, we both like Maya, alright? We should team up"

"Listen… Let's play nice, alright?" Gilepre faced a seemingly inactive Blaunellie. The bard-clown gal towered over him. She might not be as physically impressive as Purpurnita, but she was nonetheless an intimidating presence. Currently, she wasn't holding any instrument, and Gilepre found himself in a room backstage. This place was apparently where basic tests were performed on the automatons. They were so advanced that it was mostly a formality, but in this particular, special shift…

The captured agent had to perform one of such tests. The setup was simple. He was locked inside this room with Blaunellie and had to make a basic test to check if there was no problem with the way she could play the piano. Basically, the idea was that a private party was going to be held, and the child's favourite automaton was this blue girl, and the family wanted her to play the piano. However, since it was not an instrument she typically played whilst on stage, there was a need to check if her M.

I was still functioning as intended in that regard. Overall, the scenario Gilepre was forced into was actually a very reasonable one, more logical than when he had to run around, fleeing from Gelbimi… He had only received a basic explanation and a small instruction book on how to perform the job. The most important part was the small explanation he had received through a system panel.

Basically, rather than running from Blaunellie, he needed to maintain his cool and speak with her as if he were just a regular employee doing his job, instead of the guy who needed to be slaughtered. Knowing that the room was locked completely and that even the vent lid wouldn't budge no matter what, was definitely quite nerve-wracking. If he messed up, there would be no timer to save him in the nick of time. He either completed the job in full or failed and would get beaten to death.

He just needed to remember what he had learned about Blaunellie… And everything would be fine.