Chapter 145

"Vintelo, Mufy, I have an errand for the two of you, if you don't mind?"

These two fellows, fey beings, were living such a sweet and relaxed life in Ataraxia that I became a bit jealous.

Currently, I had split my consciousness in two. My main consciousness was listening to Oortez's non-sense while my alternate consciousness was here posessing Blueberry. That being the case, only a few abilities and traits could be shared.

"You're back so soon?" Vintelo said.

What do you mean back so soon!?

But, I was a mature person so I restrained myself from any childish outbursts.

"You can say that. There's somewhere I'd like you two to go. Think of it as a business trip!"

"Oh. What about the strawberry field?"

Earlier, I had asked them to cultivate some strawberries on an empty patch of land. So far, things seemed to have gone well.

"No worries, I can freeze their time."

"Ah... Where do you want us to go?"

Thus, I explained the situation regarding my appointment the Highlander Emperor and the possibility that I might be a tad bit late.

Upon hearing my explanation, Vintelo seemed to have lost all motivation. Mufy, on the other hand, seemed to know the reason.

"Ehh... Can't you go there yourself? You can teleport, right? I don't want to go there." Vintelo grumbled.

"I can but... I'm dealing with troublesome demons. Plus, you two are fey beings, right? They trust you more than me. I've lost my fey status, you know?"

Obviously that was poor excuse given that I could fudge my status display.

Mufy, seeing the troubled Vintelo, offered an explanation, "Vintelo was from there. He doesn't want to see his relatives back at the palace."

"Eh? Could it be that Vintelo is royalty?"

"Not quite. The representatives from his lineage acts as direct advisors to the emperor."

Ohh... I can definitely see it. There was that someone with the same appearance. What an unexpected development!

"So that would be the Imperial Governor or something like that? Is he a runaway son of the governor?"

"Strictly speaking, he's the father of the current governor."

"Ehhh!? Vintelo, you're a father!? Who's the mother?"

"Mufy..." He sighed.

That's a bombshell!

"Hah!? Mufy is the mother?" I was too shocked by this revelation. My head turning between the two of them, trying to connect the dot. Unfortunately, I wasn't sure how these two combining together would give birth to a fey being of the same as Vintelo.

"No, I'm not! Vint, don't mislead others with your half finished sentence. Berry, his wife is still living in the Imperial Palace."

"Oh... Right, that makes sense. So is Mufy your mistress?"

"Berry, Vint and I are friends, or merely old acquaintances."

Upon the mention of "acquaintances" by Mufy, Vintelo made bitter expression.

"I see. Wouldn't that make you two the perfect candidates to run that errand for me?"

Mufy suggested, "Can you send Kanoko? She's more than capable."

"She's supposed to be retired. I don't want to send her... Not only that, she can't fly so that place isn't suitable for her."

"I don't mind." A voice came from behind.

Startled, I yelped, "Ekk! Don't do that to me!"

I turned around to find Smoothie and Kanoko standing behind me. To think neither Vintelo and Mufy showed any hint of their arrival...

"Have a taste of your own medicine." Kanoko threw a surprisingly amiable wink, though not at me.

"Mother... or Father... Umm..."

I quickly corrected Smoothie before someone could run a bad joke on me, "No, stop there, Smoothie, Mother is fine. So, what do you need?"

"I want to see the Imperial Palace, please! Pretty please!" Her eyes suddenly became that of adorable puppy eyes.

Eh? She can transform now...? Wait a second...

"Smoothie, illusion magic isn't for something like that!" I reprimanded her and gave a soft chop to her head.

As if she was doing a comedy skit, Smoothie hid behind Kanoko with a sorrowful expression.

"Uuu... Auntie Kanoko, I've been bullied."

Eh!? Auntie!? Since when did they become so close? But wait, she's more like a granny or ancestor if you consider her actual age... Oops, better not voice that.

"Berry, what's the harm? I don't think Zortek has changed much since my last visit. If it's Smoothie, I don't mind showing her around."

"Isn't that supposed to be my job?" I asked.

"But you're busy, right?"

I blinked twice.

"Yes...? I guess?"

"Then there's no problem if I take her with me. Don't worry, I'll keep her safe."

"Fine..."

Since she was this adamant about it, I allowed her to have her way.

"Mind if I speak?" Mufy spoke up.

"Go ahead."

"Since Berry is worried, Vint, how about we tag along incognito. Kanoko can deliver the message since she's trusted."

"But I don't want to go..." Vintelo grumbled again.

Mufy sent a stern glare at him and called out his name. "Vint."

"Fine."

I wonder what's really their relationship?

"Berry, please alter Vintelo's displayed status, just the species name is fine."

"Alright, since it was my request, I'd assist at least that much. I'll have to let my main body do it."

"What about me?" Smoothie pointed at herself.

"I can recreate a fey body for you. You don't have to worry about your physical body. I'll take care of it."

"Yay, thanks!"

Moments later, after my main body entertained Oortez just enough for him to begin another passionate speech, I carefully had my main body swapped without alerting him. Thankfully, whenever he went into those passionate speeches, he would lose focus of his surroundings.

Altering Vintelo's displayed status was done almost immediately on the spot.

Then, for Smoothie, since I didn't want to show everyone how I altered her status and form, I led her by the hand back to my room in the mansion.

"Lie down please."

She laid down. Suddenly, with her eyes upturned and her cheeks tinted rose, she spoke with a flirtatious tone, "Will you mate with me?"

What the hell?

"No."

Upon my rebut, she frowned.  

"Why not? Am I not good enough for you?"

"Enough of these jokes, you should know better." I answered with a firm tone before suspending her consciousness.

Unlike the time I had to create her physical body, the reverse was very simple.

I extracted her fey core, leaving the physical body as was. It was equivalent to an out of body experience. For a short period of time, there should be no issues such as deterioration. But since I was a bit concerned, I put the body in a sealed casket and slowed the time inside. 

Now, for Smoothie's fey core, even if I left it alone, as long as mana was present within it, Smoothie's fey body would automatically regenerate. Though, that could take quite some time. So, to speed things up, I injected my own mana into her through our link.

Her body had nearly instantly reformed into a splitting image of the elf girl I had let rest in the sealed casket. Or, perhaps it should be the other way around. The elf girl was the splitting image of Smoothie!

With silk smooth and creamy white skin, mint green glossy hair, and pink lips, it was as if she had grown prettier.

She's just so adorable... As expected of my daughter!

Hah, if only she had a more desirable personality then she'd be perfect! Hmm? Wait, it couldn't have been my fault. No. Way. Nope. She definitely didn't inherit my personality. Mine is perfect.

"Wakey, wakey." I poked at her soft cheek as I called out to her.

"Mm..."

It was as if she was mumbling in her sleep.

It couldn't be that she's in a dream? Eh...? You're just teasing me right? How dare you... Kuh...

"Kiss me."

Yep you're just teasing me.

"Smoothie, get up, or I'm leaving you here."

Her eyes shot open, and flustered about, "I'm up! I'm up! Don't leave me here all alone!"

"Good girl, everyone's waiting. Let's go."

Since Mera was no longer staying with us, there were only four residents remaining: Smoothie, Kanoko, Vintelo, and Mufy.

Of the four, Mufy and Kanoko couldn't fly at all. But, that wasn't a problem since I planned to leave Blueberry with them as a servant. Blueberry could just carry the two if it came down to it, though they'd probably want rent one of those flying lizards for travel.

Once everyone had gathered, I transferred them to a quiet location inside Zortek, the capital of the Empire.

"Smoothie, make sure you follow Kanoko, okay? And don't cause any trou-"

"Mother, I don't want to hear your nagging! Hmph!" She crossed her arms and looked to the side with disgruntle.

"Eh? EH!? Smoothie is in her rebellion phase now?"

"Berry, just leave her to me." Saying that with a lukewarm gaze, she patted me on the shoulder.

"Yeah... I'll leave her to you."

My eyes then turned to Vintelo and Mufy.

"I don't know how well versed you two are in combat, but if you'd like, I can bestow you some weapons?"

"I understand your concern. Don't worry, no one will lay a finger on your daughter. You know, despite his looks, Vint's fairly reliable." She chuckled to herself.

"Hey... "

Speaking of Vintelo, he had already altered his appearance via [transformation]. Currently, he was the same species as Mufy who resembled something like raccoon bear or something along the line of that.

"Alright, then I'm off."

Saying that, Blueberry returned to being Blueberry.

blanksphere