Chapter 142: Homura's Disgust

"Children. She has been trying to fuse children," 

"Then what the fuck are you doing? Save them instead of watching," Homura says as she glares at Kumo. 

"Save them? They've been broken long ago. When I first caught a whiff of it and found where she was experimenting, I saw all of them. The woman had broken all the minds of the children already," Kumo said. 

"Then you can still save them!" Homura shouts. 

"Nah, it's not that easy. There were nine children when I first encountered these experiments. All their minds were broken, and let's say I did save them. What would I have done after that? I'm pretty sure some parents were dead since the woman kept talking about how proud their dead parents would be… Now, what do I do once I save them?" 

"You could've taken them in and fed them, gave them a warm bed, and help them recover," 

"Naive. I'm assuming you're talking about helping them recover from their broken minds but, that's just not possible. You would need something that needs a big impact on them such as their parents but, just like I said, they are dead," 

"Arpious puts Yin and Ava through the torture that breaks their minds. I've seen their eyes, and they were like that of a dead Constrictor Koi. It looked to be hanging onto the last of its life, but it had already died long ago," 

"That…" Kumo pauses. 

"Homura, the torture that I put them through sometimes breaks their mind, but just as Kumo said, they need something to reinvigorate themselves with. They need something to get them out of the hell hole they were placed in. 

Before I tell you the reason, I'll let you know the conditions. First, they have most of their senses and movement locked off. I then either pretend that I leave or do leave, giving them a sense of helplessness. They'll go through many emotions which don't help at all. It might even break their spirits even further. 

Finally, they're left with only their mind. Desperate thoughts start to appear, like 'I should've listened to her' or 'I'll do better next time' or 'I promise I won't fail you.' That is when I strike. I take off their blindfold and sit in front of them. 

Most of the time, they don't even realize I'm there until I notify them of my appearance. And once they do see me, those desperate thoughts will turn into words and begging. They want to get out of their current situation so much that they'd even become my pet. 

That's when I then give out the rules that they have to follow. This will make them know their place, but sometimes it takes a couple of tries to set those inferior feelings thoroughly.

They'll then have a reason for living again. And that reason… is to serve me," I say coldly. 

Everybody was silent and looked at me in awe. I mean, it's much more complicated when explaining it compared to doing it.

"Yeah… what she said," Kumo says.

"That's it. If you're not going to help the children, then I will. I will create my own force within the kingdom that will help manage the prisons and kingdom security. What Kumo just described is disgusting, and I won't let it happen ever again," Homura says.

Holy shit… that scared me for a second. I thought she was going to say she wanted a divorce. I don't know what I would do if she ended up saying that. 

"Sorry, I said too much. But it's just…" 

Kumo seems distraught between many emotions. Homura's feelings started to seep into Kumo, but she didn't want to get rid of her already existing ideals. 

"*sigh* You stick to your ideals, and I stick to mine," Homura says, gesturing for the maids to stop massaging her.

"So, can I keep her as a pet?" Kumo asks. 

"No! Take me to that woman right now. I'm going to bring her in, and I'll take charge of the prison. I'll then organize teams to patrol even the most remote part of our kingdom so that this shit won't happen ever again," Homura says. 

"Is the prison even finished?" 

"Yes, it has. Let's not waste any more time before more kids start to get experimented on," Homura says, dragging Kumo out of the bath. 

"Alright, Alright! I'll help you. Just let go of my arm. Plus we're doing it tomorrow, not tonight," Kumo shouts. 

"Wait, before you leave, did the experiments where she tried to fuse the kid's work?" I ask. 

"Nah, they instantly burst into chunks of meat-" 

"Shut the hell up and start walking faster!" Homura shouts once again. 

"Bye, bye," 

Kumo waves goodbye as Aika turns her head towards me. 

"What the fuck just happened?" Aika asks. 

"Don't know. I think this is the first time I've heard Homura curse," 

"Yeah, I think so as well…." 

"Anyway, I've been thinking of getting a job like Homura and Kumo. Homura is creating a security force and will be managing the prison while Kumo is helping organize all the armies," Aika says. 

"You don't need to," 

"Yes, I do. Though I still enjoy training and enjoy the feeling of getting stronger, I just feel like I need some social interaction. Maybe I'll start up my own business?" Aika says as she leaves the bath.

"Good luck then," I say as I get out of the bath as well. 

We dried ourselves off before walking into the changing room where we changed into some nightgowns. Tonight, we enjoyed ourselves regularly.

[Day 59]

We both walk inside the changing room and see Homura and Kumo changing into their respective clothing. Homura changed into a dress while Kumo changed into a loose, thin, and loose robe close to what you would see on a Mage in a video game.

Aika and I also changed into our respective clothing. Aika changed into a dress while I changed into leggings and a new grey sweatshirt. 

"Arpious, you should try to wear some brighter clothes," Homura says. 

"I don't feel like shopping. These clothes are gifts from Aimi, which she sends occasionally. Shopping is pretty boring in my opinion," 

"If it is boring to you, then how about I shop for your clothes? Or how about you come shopping with me… after I settle the thing I want to settle," 

"Sure," 

"Then you have to take me on a date as well. We haven't been on one in quite a while," Kumo says. 

"Same, I'm right after Homura, though," Aika says. 

"Psh, whatever. You can go after Homura. I'm not going to be as immature as to fight back," Kumo says, her hands supporting the back of her head as she leaves the changing room. 

"I wasn't even immature. She didn't call a spot, so I just took the spot," Aika mutters. 

That's somewhat immature… 

The rest of us left the changing room and walked towards the throne room, where the maids already prepared breakfast. 

We sat down and discussed some more positive things, such as the situation with our children. It seems all of my wives had already spied on the school to check on our kids. 

"Hades hasn't been improving with the sword much. His classmates are at a much lower level than him. But, one class that I believe he's doing well at and needs to continue is Leadership. 

I watched a few classes, and it was teaching the students how to lead a group. Also, manage and control the group for your good, and they're good. They also teach you how to increase your presence whether it's on a group assignment or battlefield," Aika says. 

"Oh, Freya is doing that as well," Homura says. 

"Same, Luna is also taking Leadership," Kumo says. 

"Seems we have some future leaders for our kingdom. But they're nowhere near ready. I think we'll have to test them if they want a shot at leading this kingdom," I say. 

"Yeah, maybe they have to defeat us when we're using 75% of our power. Of course, we won't tell them that," Kumo suggests.

"That's possible… To be honest, once one of our children takes over as King or Queen, I'll probably make a house on one of the smaller mountains within the [Mountain of Twilight]. We can all live there in peace, and we can do what we want," I say. 

"I don't mind, but I know you want to do many more things before actually living in that remote house," Aika says, giving me a grin. 

"Of course, I or we are going to explore past this plane. I'll only be content once we've taken over a few planes and we've amassed an immense army with powerful subordinates," 

"Ummmm… what's a plane?" Kumo asks. 

Wow, even Kumo doesn't know. And judging from Homura and Aika's expressions, I can tell they don't know as well… maybe I should also inform my kingdom of the existence of planes… Maybe? This might create chaos, but I feel like it's better to let it sink in than it randomly hit us, causing even more panic and chaos within my kingdom. 

"*sigh*... I'll have to explain it from the beginning," 

And thus, I explained what Paimon had taught me… just less shouting and laughing.