Chương 300: Submerged

I waited for a few moments, gauging Rose's reaction to my words, but her face showed no particular expression, and the only negative emotion I felt emanate from her to me was acute confusion. Her first instinct wasn't to be mad or sad that I had lied to her, but curious as to why. Clearly, she had a lot of trust in me.

"You see, Rose… As you already know, back when you were summoned into this world, the intention of your summoners was to use you and the other two as weapons, even though it is rather taboo to summon otherworlders in the first place""When I presented myself there, I was merely posing as someone interested in being an instructor for you guys. In truth, I was sent by another group with the mission to take away at least one of you guys" Rose tilted her head slightly.

"And you took me away for that?" I shook my head.

"No. I took all three of you. At first, my intent was just to fulfil my mission to the best of my abilities, and since I was equipped to take people away quietly, I thought it would be a shame not to bring all three of you… But… It will sound out of character, and it will seem out of character even more as you learn about me, but I got quite fond of you guys, and I figured that I would want to keep all three of you within arm's reach" I stepped forward and put my hands on her shoulders.

Rose wasn't much shorter than me when I looked exactly like my human self, as she stood at a nice one meter and eighty-one centimeters in height. Nonetheless, in my eyes, she was younger than I was, so I viewed her as smaller than she really was.

"As you know, the idea that someone never has favourites is bollocks. You are the favourite, Rose. So instead of bringing you to the organisation that asked me to bring you guys, I kept you close to me… Not to say that anything bad is happening to Baker and Williams. For them, things have basically not changed at all, to be honest""Just a change of leadership, really… But you, I would like you to be my disciple. My little protégé.

I understand that you might not appreciate that I abducted you and then lied about it for so long, but I assure you, you are better off here than anywhere else. I will make sure of it" Rose was still not emitting any negative emotions. The confusion waned, leaving place for a pensive young woman. I couldn't know with certainty what she was thinking about, but it seemed like she had questions.

"Do you still work with this organisation? They and I aren't really compatible, but I would still like to be able to see those two idiots again. Even if we don't actually come from the same world, they are still the only people I can have conversations with about the past""Oh, you certainly can see them again. It would be quite easy, actually… And yes, I do work for the organisation. Well, I don't have a contract with them or anything, but one of my girlfriends is part of its council, so…"

Rose seemed to completely forget about anything else, and she was the one to grab me by the shoulders now.

"ONE of your girlfriends?! I can not believe Williams was right about the yuri shit!"

"The what shit?"

"Mmh… Don't worry about it, just otherworldly slang…" Rose coughed into her hand, trying to get back on topic, even if the revelation clearly made her want to interrogate me about the details.

"I… I honestly don't really care about the abduction and the lies. I feel like I should, but… Meh, I guess? I liked Aesther a bit more after it became a monarchy again, but it wasn't exactly a great place. The tower feels more like home, and although this place can be a little creepy, I can't lie that I very much like how much space you gave me here""I guess it's hard to be mad when I prefer where I am now compared to before… But… Huh… How do I say it?

When I am not here, I can not help but hear a lot of bad things about you, Miss Mara… I sort of already knew that you weren't just called Maya, as I've seen a lot of stuff about that in the newspaper""Oh, I guess there is one of those in this city…" Leou was the one financing it, too. So, of course, she would receive copies all the time. Copies that include the mess with the adventurers and such. With how infamous I was.

Even Leou, who owned the press in this city, couldn't do much without being incredibly suspicious, so she had no choice but to let the articles be made. Regardless, I seemed like Rose didn't really care about all of this. It seemed like she had a much greater image of me than I had thought, as even learning about my misdeeds didn't do much to taint the way she saw me.

On the other hand, whilst Baker and Williams were also doing well, they didn't have much, if any, knowledge of the world beyond the headquarters of the organisation where they had to live alongside Ergonip and endure his ancient anecdotes and over-the-top lessons in magic. The dusty old skeleton was having way too much fun having disciples…

"Frankly, I expected a stronger reaction, Rose" This novel is published on a different platform. Support the original author by finding the official source. I put my head on top of her head.

"You're a great girl. You'll go far in life no matter what, but… I have an offer to make to you""What is it, Miss Mara?"

"You can just call me Mara, now" I lightly pinched her cheek. There wasn't much fat to grab onto. Rose was a pretty young woman, but she was a farm girl. She was a bit rough around the edges, had thick skin that was used to being battered for hours by a powerful summer sun, and had the kind of muscles that only hard labour could bring. Apparently, she was the only one amongst her siblings who was ever interested in the family farm. So, she spent far more time working on it than even her father, as he began ageing…

Rose only truly showed sadness when she realised that she would never see her family or the farm again. Nonetheless, she held strong and wanted to make something for herself in this new world where the once ridiculous concept of magic was commonplace. I pulled a nearby table over and placed upon it two different items: A blank, white mask and a blank, white suit that was akin to a Glown costume.

"You are currently inside the Gravescape–The name might sound ominous, but it is only called that because it is a pocket dimension of sorts that I stole from a necromancer, but I don't think he ever did much necromancy in there""The Gravescape is a physical space, but there is also the Mindscape, which is literally in my head. Those who can go inside the Mindscape can be summoned and brought back with just a thought of mine…

The idea with both of these items is that they will allow you to enter the Mindscape, and thus allow me to keep you safe at any time""... Is the Mindscape a nice place?"

"Yes, it is quite the gorgeous place. It is where my little sisters spend most of their time. There is a forest, there is a plain, and there is even a farm. The farm is Ophelie's place. She used to live on a farm just like you. I am sure you two will get along""Alright… What's the difference between these two things, though?

You placed them on the table like they don't go together""In essence, they both do the same thing, allowing you to enter the Mindscape and thus become linked with me, but the suit is much safer compared to the mask… The suit will hurt for a moment, and that's it, but the mask will hurt a lot more for longer, and you will need to spend a while submerged in liquid negative energy" Rose scratched her face with a wry smile.

"So… I guess the mask is better in some way?" I smiled faintly.

"Indeed, it will truly infuse you completely with negative energy and empower you. You will certainly gain new abilities from it as well, but the choice is yours, Rose. You can pick either one… Or you can pick none if you don't feel comfortable with giving me any sort of power over you""I consider you family, so I'll respect your decision–Though to be honest, that is only because I know that you aren't in dire need of protection.

If you were a frail girl without much means to fight by yourself, I would put the suit on you anyway" My honesty seemed to take Rose aback as her wry smile got bigger.

"Do… Do you really think I am strong enough to be alright?" She latched onto a part that wasn't the top of my expectations.

"Of course, I know there are freaking dragons and ancient creatures that can erase whole cities with a sneeze, but let's be honest. Those fuckers don't give a damn and would rather sleep for centuries than bother with anything. Also, we sapients always find a way to beat the crap out of them. Don't ask how, we just do. That's probably why the gods rarely descend from the heavens.

They must be afraid that a maniac will try to murder them, and the worst part is that it is not an unfounded worry to have" I chuckled lightly. Although it had been a wretch, I had technically slain a god myself. I don't even remember if the bastard had a name, but he was only a deity by technicality. In practice, he had been nothing more than an idol worshipped by a handful of random creatures. He had been bound to the rules of his own ability completely, and I was able to take advantage of it.

Remembering the time I had unlocked my first form was nice. Especially since the 'Molten Steel Form' was actually an incredibly powerful form that wouldn't have normally been anywhere near this simple to acquire. I still have that guy's soul, but I really don't know how I should use it. I can tell that his soul is filled with what Nara had told me was both holy energy and divine energy. Holy stuff was fine, but divine energy? I felt uncertain if I could even manipulate this thing safely.

Now that I think about it, if I were to ever use it… It would most likely be for the creation of a little sister. I haven't given up on the idea of making a cute little sister from scratch, but it was a project that required careful planning. I couldn't afford to bring into this world a girl dear to me in an imperfect manner. … Rose seemed to be a bit shaken by the fact that I thought she was strong enough to be alright, but she shook her head.

"I don't think I am strong enough. I am nowhere near as strong as you are""I take into account your potential, too. Your special abilities might not seem fancy, but they are practical and full of potential""I know, but I still think I should strive to be as strong as possible. I…" Rose looked at me as if she wanted to say something important, but the words got stuck in her throat.

"... I want to use the mask, please""Very well, but keep in mind that no matter how bad it gets, once you start, there is no going back" Rose nodded, and I extended my hand toward her. She took it, and I led her to the part of the Gravescape where the current version of the pool remained. I gently placed the blank mask upon her face, using my hand to keep it in place as I led her into the pool, where we both stood at about waist-deep.

"Ready? I'll count from three to one…" Much like a physician with a needle, I actually did what I wanted to do when I said two. The mask activated, stabbing into Rose's face as I made her fall back into the pool of negative energy. Keeping her from floating up. I was taken aback by how much resolve Rose showed. The pain caused by the mask failed to knock her unconscious, but she was nonetheless not panicking despite being plunged under the dark liquid.

I could feel her heart beating quickly, but as I remained by her side, it gradually slowed down. It made no doubt in my mind. She was going to emerge without any problem.