CH.187 To the Dhampir village with Alice

CH.187 To the Dhampir village with Alice

“... good morning.” I said quietly to Ria, who was still getting dressed.

“Oh? Did I wake you up again? I’m sorry.” Ria turned to me and most likely bowed considering that I lost sight of her slightly glowing eyes for a second.

“It’s fine. I don’t mind. I’ll go to the factory to catch up with Laura. Enjoy your breakfast.”

“Yes. And good morning.” Ria said before leaving the room.

“Good morning, you two.”

“Good morning.”

“Good morning, Mr. Brian.”

“So, is everything ready for us to bring Lua here today?”

“Yes. We have run all the tests we can and we are happy with the results.” Mia answered.

“And what about regrowing or replacing Agatha’s arm?”

“We do have something for that as well.” Laura answered.

“Using an Exodia arm?”

“We tried that, but we didn’t get satisfactory results.” Mia answered. “The arm is too heavy and bulky. The only good thing about it is the orichalcum armor that surrounds the arm. It is quite good in terms of defense.”

“... wait, What? The armor Exodia wears is orichalcum?”

“Yes, it is.” Laura confirmed.

“... can the dungeon make it?”

“No. We would need an SS-rank dungeon core for that. Maybe even higher.”

“Oh? So a dungeon can make stuff based on the rank of the core?”

“Yes. While the S-rank core of TinaWood is great, it cannot make certain things. Mithril is its upper end. Perhaps hihi'irokane, but the greatest metals are beyond the dungeon’s power.”

“Hihi'irokane? That scarlet metal?”

“Yes. It is more commonly known as scarletite, but it's system registered name is hihi'irokane.”

“Do any of my monsters have any of it?”

“Yes, but none have a pure form of it that can be analyzed for the dungeon. Millennium Shield has a small coating of it in the front of it, to add to its fire resistance. Gaia The Fierce Knight also has lances coated in hihi'irokane, but again, it is simply a coating, so we cannot analyze it.”

“Can we strip it off or something?”

“No, not currently. If we had a spell similar to Mystik Wok, but for equipment we might be able to, but currently not.”

“I guess cooking a shield is impossible.”

“No, that is possible. But cooking it and then trying to strip it for the metal is impossible. Mystik Wok will always make something edible, no matter what monster you tribute for it, but some choices taste less good than others.”

“... really? Eating a friking shield? ... yeah. I’m not going to try that, even if it is possible.”

“That might be for the best.”

In terms of sets, Laura fully completed for me.

Spoiler[collapse]Spoiler[collapse]Spoiler[collapse]Spoiler[collapse]Spoiler[collapse]Spoiler[collapse]

“How would anyone have one? I guess the King has a floating ship and I’ve heard some of the dukes do as well, but for most people, something like this is impossible.”

“So flying ships are a thing. Good to know.”

“What? You used them, but you didn’t know?”

“Well, I’ve never seen anyone use one, but judging by people’s reactions, I assumed at least ones around the size of Gradius would be a thing. And if they are, surely someone has built a larger one.”

We gathered a small crowd when we appeared in the middle of the town. Does like twenty people count as a crowd? Maybe.

Anyway, I introduced Alice to everyone and I also showed B.E.S. Big Core to them. Anika and Kody kept asking to see it after they spotted the slight glow from its main reactor. It was a bit surreal to look at the massive ship just floating above us, so I made it go invisible again and then unsummoned it.

I then went with Agatha to drop off the blood, as it was still in my inventory.

Alice and I had a quick tour of the village, well it was mostly for Alice, as I already had mine. Alice really liked the blood lilies, so we spent some time just looking at them.

Also, when we were in the graveyard, I noticed a grave belonging to Maria. It was right next to Griffa’s grave, so I’ll assume Maria has some sort of family relationship with Griffa. At least I hope it is familiar, not romantic, as that would get awkward. Maria had passed 24/2/1345, about 14 years before Griffa, so she might have been Griffa’s mother or something. I could ask, but I don’t think I want to. It isn’t something that really matters, so I’ll just let it be.

“It’s really basic, isn’t it?” Alice had come to that conclusion after our tour.

“Yeah. It is. There is just nothing here, except some pretty flowers. Let’s go back to the town hall. I have something I want to speak with Lua about.”

“Hmph. Here you are with me, but all you can think about is another girl.”

“Alice, for one, we aren’t a couple. Two, it isn’t romantic.”

“But you proposed to me.”

“By accident, mind you. I didn’t know it was a proposal. There is a reason I took them back.”

“You could give them to me again, now that you know.”

“... when did you get so aggressive?”

“Am I not good enough for you? I know I’m basic and boring, but I can still be yours.” Alice said. “You can even take up another wife. I won’t mind.”

“... Alice. It isn’t like that. It’s complicated, okay? ... I guess I should just tell you. And maybe Lua as well. You two deserve to know.”

I know this isn’t the right time to tell them, but at the same time, I think Lua should know before she meets Laura, so I had actually planned on telling her before I took her into the factory. So might as well tell Alice while I’m at it.

We headed for the town hall. There I grabbed Lua as well as Ria and we headed for the room I slept in when I spent the night. I decided to include Ria, as she would learn about this sooner or later and she was under the slave contract, so I can easily order her to never tell anyone about it, and that order will persist even after she is released from slavery. I also summoned Cosmo Queen to set up a barrier, as I didn’t want anyone overhearing any of this.

I then told them everything. Well, a lot of things. I told them about how I was from a different world and about my relationship with Laura back there. About how I appeared at the depths of that dungeon and eliminated it. How Prime Rib were the first people I met in this world and so on.

Their reactions were... mixed. Lua seemed to understand everything the most, as she always does. She is a really thoughtful girl. Ria was mostly just enjoying my recap of my adventures. And Alice, well, she seemed extremely sorry for how she had acted around me.

She was sorry that she was so aggressively pushing herself onto me, when she really didn’t even know me. She was sorry that she basically used me as a tool to escape the prison that was her house. And she was sorry that she kept demanding things of me.

I accepted all of it. I told her that I do like her, but I just am not sure about anything. I was afraid when I accidentally proposed to her. I still am. In a way, I’m still with Laura. The other Laura. I really just wanted to talk to her, one last time. I want to hear it directly from her. Am I allowed to move on? Or am I stuck in this limbo of not knowing if I can?

Lua did a great job in consoling me into telling me I could move on. She said that I had to move on, as what I was doing wasn't healthy. And she said that as I could never speak with my previous Laura, I should just talk with the one I have.

Never, huh? I wouldn’t be completely sure about it. I do have Dimension Fusion, Different Dimension Gate, Dimensionhole and even Return from the Different Dimension. Any one of them might take me home. Or to somewhere else, where I will be lost forever. That is why I never tried any of them.

After our little truth session, it was time for the experiment I wanted to run. Getting Lua into the Different Dimension Factory. In all honesty, I wanted to get all three of them into the factory, but one step at a time. If Lua is successful, I think the two system supports might come up with a way of bringing the other two into there later.

Oh, Lua did actually reveal to both Alice and Ria that she did have the System Support. I did somewhat force her into it, as this situation was ... strange to begin with, but I did say we could leave this test for the next visit.

But Lua said it was fine, as it would come out sooner or later anyway. I guess when it is visible in your status, it really will.

Now then, to the factory, we shall go.