Chapter 157 Balls.

After his talk with Miku, Sam returned to his room in the male dorms to get a shower and a change of clothes. The soldiers he met on the way seemed baffled at his sight. At first he thought it was because he had two young Valkyries, B3 and Miku, following him around, however turns out his fame has spread far and wide after he went alone to face the enemy leader and came back alive.

From what he heard it seems the truth has yet to be revealed to the public so he wasn't expecting that kind of reaction, but when you consider his declaration that he could make something stronger than the Valkyries the rumors that they owe him their victory in the last battle became quite believable.

He was asked to confirm them many times, and though he was hesitant to say anything, Miku took it upon herself to brag about his achievements, her small chest puffed out with pride.

Not wanting to fuel the rumors anymore Sam made sure to ask the young Valkyries to teleport his around when he was done with his business, though he ended up spreading a different kind of rumor by taking two cute girls to his room and not coming out for a long while.

"Look who's finally decided to show up." Elina said the moment he entered the lab.

It wasn't the same one he's used to but a new one built underground for the sole purpose of carrying project Asclepius. Two Valkyries had greeted him at the entrance. Apparently Wolf had asked them to guard the lab just in case someone tries to steal their secrets.

The female scientist met him with a knowing grin. "So? How was your night?"

"Pretty good, actually." Sam replied. "I had the best sex in my life! And with three incredible beauties at that!"

"I... I see..." Blinking repeatedly, Elina seemed to be taken off guard by his reaction.

"I have one question though." Sam walked over and sat down on one of the chairs, picking up some of the papers lying on a nearby desk and giving them a glance. "I didn't give it much thought before, but now that every sell in my body has been replaced with an artificial one, what happened to my balls?"

"Your balls?"

"Yes. My balls."

Elina stared at him for a while, completely dumbfounded.

"I'm being serious here." Sam said, but then he realized something. "You still don't know the whole story of what happened?"

"No, I think I know what you're getting at." As she spoke, Elina picked up a tablet and started tapping on it's screen. "You'll understand once you have a look at the blue prints for your new body, but if you want the short story, some of your organs are replicas that serve no real purpose."

"You mean..."

"You don't need to breath but you have lungs. You don't need blood but your heart is still pumping. You'll still feel hunger even if you don't need to eat. Your sexual urges as well; you have no genes to pass on but you still feel like having intercourse. Some things don't just disappear once you become a... well..."

"I get it already, but that's not what I'm asking."

Pausing for a few seconds, the female scientist walked over and handed him the tablet before going to the other side of the room, explaining as she looked for something in cabin.

"Your new... family jewels are a replica as well. The semen they create is just a useless compound that's supposed to emulate your bodily fluids. Kinda like the milk the Valkyries produce."

"I see..."

Sam looked through the files on the tablet and almost lost himself in his own thoughts. Looking up he went on to confirm the conclusion he came to the previous night.

"So I can no longer have kids?"

"Well, not exactly."

Elina came back holding a small metallic box in her hands, and one look told Sam it was heavier than it seems. Placing it on the table she wiped the nonexistent sweat from her forehead then gave Sam a nervous stare.

"Don't tell me..." He could already tell what she was about to do.

"It was the old man's idea."

Entering a combination on the numerical lock on top of the box she backed away and watched it open. Inside was a cylindrical container that looked like a miniature version of Eir's pods,

inside which was a small lump of skin he recognized very well.

"This way they'll always be safe no matter what happens and you can switch them in whenever you want." Elina said. "Though I doubt you'll ever need them. I mean, you're technically immortal."

"You know, Alice and I have been trying for a child before... what happened..." Sam said, staring at his pickles testicles, probably the only thing left of his old body.

"You sure have no luck, huh?" Elina sighed, a shadow looming over her eyes as she turned away. "Just when you got together with your beloved childhood friend turns out she isn't even human. I can't believe we actually fell for it. I mean, the white hair said it all."

"She is human." Sam said. "So are the Valkyries. And the Nephilim."

"You'll have a very hard time convincing people of that."

The two glared at each other then turned away. Sam understood what she was trying to say and he couldn't confidently say she's wrong. Even in his case, with every cell in his body having been replaced by a nanomachine, he can't exactly say that he's a human anymore.

"Sorry, I didn't mean it like that." Elina said after a brief silence, having read his thoughts.

"No, I understand."

Now that he was in this position the question of what makes a human human was no longer just a philosophical thought experiment. The human consciousness and self awareness are things that science still can't explain, even so the distinction between a flesh and bone human and anything that isn't born the same way will always ensure that each will always be considered a different being from the other.

Sam couldn't blame anyone for not accepting him as a human, after all it wasn't that long that he finally changed the way he looked at the Valkyries. Still he hoped the inevitable prejudice they'll eventually face will be less sever than other types of discrimination, though it was clear that that's just wishful thinking.

"Just to be sure, are you really going after her?"

"Yes." Sam answered without hesitation.

"I guess that was a stupid question."

Shrugging her shoulders, the female scientist took a deep breath, her mood changing the next instant.

"Anyways! Let's put aside all the gloomy shit for now. It's time for you to decide how you'll reward me for saving your life!"

"..."

"What, did you think I won't ask for anything? You should already understand how difficult it was to pull it off!"

"I thought you received help from the old man?"

"I was almost done by the time he came by. I did most of the work."

"Just kidding. No one knows your true capabilities better than me." Scratching the back of his head, Sam thought for a while the exhaled slowly. "You have one wish. I'll grant you any one request so think about it carefully."

"Really?" Elina asked, a wide smile spreading over her face. "I can ask for anything, right? You won't take it back, right?"

Sam felt a shiver run up his back and he started to think that he might've done something he would regret. Even so he didn't back away.

"Hmm~ what should I ask for~?"

The female scientist began humming to herself while pacing around the room. As time passed Sam grew more nervous and when she seemed to have decided his back straightened readying him to hear her demand.

"Alright!" She said, turning around and stretching her arms toward him. "I want a hug!"

"... a hug?" Sam repeated.

"Yes. A hug!"

There was a moment of silence as Sam tried to see if she was joking or not, however it didn't seem like that was the case.

"Are you sure about that?" He asked. "You can ask for something more... you know..."

"No. A hug will do."

With her answer remaining unchanged Sam lifted himself up from his seat and faced her. Before he could open his arms for her, the female scientist jumped into his embrace startling him quite a bit.

As she wrapped her arms around him, Sam was forced to recall the time they were together. Her stature was as small and frail as he remembered it, and the slight trembling he felt told him of the difficult emotions she was trying to suppress.

"Don't you dare make me go through that again... never..."

Silently he wrapped his arms around her as well, a horrible feeling growing in his chest reminding him of the time they went their separate ways.

Sam understood that Elina has every right to hate him. Her feelings for him were genuine, even so he broke their relationship to chase after a woman who never looked his way. He couldn't bring himself to ask for forgiveness, after all he couldn't say he regrets what he did. And now he had his life saved by her.

Though she pretended that everything between them had ended that day, it was clear that Elina still had feelings for him. She couldn't bear seeing him die in front of her so she did everything in her power and more to save him, but in the end her efforts weren't enough. That caused her to fall deeper into the pits of despair, leaving her with no other choice but to rely on the person who caused all of their suffering, cursing her inability to finish the job on her own.

As her tears began to fall, Sam allowed the horrible feeling to torture him, making sure he knows that he was far from deserving to have someone like her feel that way toward him.