"Hmm~ I haven't tried using my arcane magic to convert the gender of the entire physicality before," Kuzunoha playfully smirked. "Do you happen to have a certain preference for aesthetics? I thought that you would want me to castrate the males before your charm got the best of them."
That would certainly be my first option.
But ever since that one dream, I felt an underlying urge of anger and hatred whenever I associate anything similar to that one faceless man who committed physical abuse on 'Daffodil'.
Not that I started to become a misandrist. It was just—I realized that there was a strong reaction for no concrete reason before I came to this conclusion.
Though, my most certain reason was the preservation of my own Sanity.
I learned that surviving the Ordeal was still a fickle thing, and I prefer to discard every source of mental discomfort before I would be dealing with Calamity Objects for 24 hours anyway.
"I will reward both you and Verina if you can complete this request of mine."
"I would have done it without the reward, anyway~" Kuzunoha closely leaned toward my face. "I shall see it as you giving me a batch of fresh test subjects. However, loyal as I might be. Why reward Verina too when I'm the one who performed the deed?"
"Because you would tease her nonstop about it."
"The apple must be given to the winner of the race."
"This is not a race."
"It is, but I'm the only one who participated in it~"
"Then why would I bother to give the apple at all?"
"Because you greatly value me~" Kuzunoha promiscuously whispered near my ear. "Just like how I greatly obsess over you~"
"... I don't think that is a healthy way of living."
"Is the healthy way of living always the happy way for every person?"
"Makes sense."
Sometimes, I wonder why I even try to one-up this devil's clientele.
Oh wait, because I would be dead if I didn't.
I believe that my relationship with Kuzunoha was more similar to that of a toddler and an intrigued rich grandma. The whole reason that she got shackled by my groundwork was because of her initial interest, after all.
I really need to one-up this gothic fox if I want to make her stay after my Valtherion's Blood finished their culturalization.
While Kuzunoha forcefully performed her strangely potent magic on the male recruits, I used this time to deforest a couple patches of land and build a proper barrack to accommodate the recruits.
It wasn't anything grandiose or complex. It was just one big room with many fabric-less wooden beds and a couple of essential furniture on the side.
I also planned to interview each one of them after they fully process their new allegiance.
Oh right, I also need to build a roof for our temporary prisoners.
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I didn't really want to, since I barely care about what will happen to them from this point and onward. But I believe that this action was needed to maintain Verina's favorability to me, since she was the one who convinced Kuzunoha to not kill all of them, something that I was grateful for.
Imagine putting an effort to change the mind of your murderous and sadistic friend only to have your own loveable boss treat the survivor less than dirt or even kill them on the spot.
Yes, I still want to maintain my kind and reliable imagery despite not being the kindest fake fae in Carcosa. I believe that if I heighten my favorability with her, it will be to a point where she would agree to any decision I made in the future.
"So, do you want the makeover to just change the appearance or also the thing below their torso?" Kuzunoha jested. Sёarᴄh the ηovelFire.ηet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.
"The main reason why I suggested this is to prevent a single one of them from pouncing on me with carnal desire."
"I doubted that they would even be successful at pouncing on you, considering the feisty beast you're!" Kuzunoha giggled. "In fact, it is more believable that you will be the first one to pounce them first."
"Now you're just basing that incident as a reference for my overall behavior."
"Poor recruits~ I can't imagine their fate after realizing how naughty their leader will be~"
"Don't make me recreate that incident again."
"I would like to see you try~" Kuzunoha gleefully smiled, not a single hint of dissatisfaction appeared on her face.
"..." In that instance, I felt an instant repulsion akin to a gag-reflex after finding out that I was swallowing a horrible consumable. "I'll talk to you later, now go do your task."
"Aww~ you're so adorable when you're flustered~"
"I'm flustered by the fact that now I have two predators preying on me when I sleep."
"Took you long enough to realize~"
I'm already fending off a deadpan-snarker spellcaster who was twice my age. I don't want another even-more powerful spellcaster to eventually transform into a molester…
The awkward discussion aside, let's go back to the state of the former bandit group.
According to Verina and their detailed logs, their so-called Rough Mist group traveled far away to the southwest after their temporary bastion suffered from a bad instance of Ordeal and nearby neutral bastion.
They ran so far away to the point that they would gladly take over any sign of civilization, no matter how small it is, and they were malicious in their intent to do so. One of them was an ohrtender capable of 'farsight', a spell in which one was able to scout a great distance of land.
It was definitely useful to us, but that person was not in my recruitable list.
For one, it approximately took 6 hours of undelayed casting on average to cast the spell. Second, the person was not the most amiable nor gullible kind. It would be a waste of time and intention trying to convert him. His spellcasting capability was also below average.
While I was trying to finish everything, I told Verina and Kuzunoha to eat their meals together with the new recruit to familiarize themselves with the two of them.