บท 199: Results
After a 'very' eventful evening, stretching well into the morning, Paul, once again, found himself in the main banquet hall. This time, however, nearly everyone was present, happily relishing the breakfast prepared by Xiangling and her growing number of 'disciples.'
As she hadn't been allowed to participate in the evening's 'entertainment,' Klee was seated atop Paul's lap with a radiant smile, feet dangling as she enjoyed her favorite meal, slightly charred, fish-flavored toast. The aroma and appearance of the meal were more than a little...unique, but Paul had long grown accustomed to it. Klee had a habit of wanting to sit on his lap, and while he knew it probably wasn't the wisest decision, Paul struggled to deny the earnest Elfette's requests when she appealed to him with her patented, puppy-eyed stare.
With a somewhat exasperated expression and tone, Paul gently brushed a few crumbs from Klee's lap as he instructed, "Sit still, Klee. You're getting crumbs all over your dress..."
Though she stopped dangling her legs, Klee didn't appear to take Paul's words to heart as she replied, "It's okay, Big Brother~! Klee's clothes are stain and dirt-proof~!"
Smiling wryly, Paul considered how he might gently admonish the young blonde before exhaling a sigh and abandoning the notion. Fortunately, he was not the only one involved in Klee's rearing. Jean wasn't present, but Albedo had no qualms articulating, "Klee. While there is a certain degree of truth to your words, that's no excuse to disregard manners. When you make a mess, others have to clean it up. A proper adult does their best to avoid making trouble for others..."
"Oh..."
Not wanting to cause trouble, Klee visibly deflated but focused intently on her toast. Paul had told her she would need a few years and the approval of Jean, Albedo, and her mother before she could be considered a proper adult, so she did her best to take their words and advice seriously.
Feeling appreciative of Albedo's assistance, Paul directed a grateful smile in her direction as he asked, "How's your research going? Have you made any headway on repairing the teleportation circle to Betobe's Library?"
Exhaling a faint sigh, Albedo replied, "We've repaired the magic circle and triple-checked the spell formula. However, without exact coordinates, the probability of teleporting directly into the corrosive lake slime is far higher than reaching our destination. Trying to pinpoint spatial coordinates in an area spanning 226,000 square kilometers isn't easy..."
Though she had no intention of giving up, the amount of magical energy required to trigger long-distance teleportation wasn't insignificant. Each attempt required thousands of gold worth of high-quality magic crystals, so unless they began raiding dungeons or slaughtering B-Rank monsters by the thousands, they were limited to around 2-3 attempts per day.
Thinking he may have touched a nerve, Paul adopted an apologetic smile and said, "I appreciate the efforts of the entire research department. Just inform me if there is any progress..."
Nodding in affirmation, Albedo replied, "Certainly." before adopting a faint smile and segueing back into her research, revealing, "Speaking of which, our resident bio-alchemist has made notable progress in her study of the 'Black Armor.' Were she here, she could speak more on the matter..."
As Sucrose was one of the girls Paul elected to spend his evening with, she was currently a little...indisposed. She had attempted to come down for breakfast, but Paul forced her to stay behind and get some rest.
While Paul was looking somewhat embarrassed, Kishirika and Kishirisu decided to chime in, the former remarking, "Oh, that little puppy girl was able to make sense of Laplace's notes?" while the latter added, "Not bad. She doesn't give off the impression of a particularly reliable individual, so I assumed it would take a decade or two before she made any significant headway. Hell, even Laplace took fifty years..."
Narrowing her eyes, Albedo adopted a rare, prideful look as she asserted, "Sucrose is the student I am most proud of. When she adequately applies herself, there is very little she can't achieve."
Not wanting an argument to break out, Paul inserted himself back into the conversation, asking, "So, what was she able to figure out? I'll ask her for the details later, but a sneak preview is more than welcome."
Shifting her crystal clear, brilliantly teal eyes from the twin Empresses to Paul, Albedo took a moment to collect her thoughts before revealing, "She has identified the mutagenic compound that allows Slimes to evolve from their standard, river-dwelling variant to the sort capable of ingesting and processing metals. She is currently in the process of trying to synthesize it into a transplantable compound. If her experiments are successful, well, the possibilities are endless..."
Recalling the discussion he and Sucrose had once had after analyzing the structure of Azura's 'blood,' Paul understood what Albedo was alluding to. He had told them about how scientists in his previous world postulated using nanomachines for everything from automation and construction to modifying human genetics. He also warned them about the dangers of a 'grey goo' scenario, but that hadn't deterred the alchemically-inclined duo from looking into it between their other projects.
Though he felt like they were on the threshold of opening Pandora's Box, Paul couldn't help smiling as he jokingly replied, "If we're seriously able to develop functional nanites before processors and computers, I'm going to feel bad for the scientists of my previous world..."
"Ah, yes...computers..."
As Paul had frequently talked about computers and the possibilities they opened up as far as technological innovation was concerned, developing a working prototype was high on Albedo's list of priorities. However, while she had a basic understanding of what she was supposed to be making, it was difficult to conceptualize binary and create a programming language when she had experience with neither.
Interpreting Albedo's utterance as an expression of exasperation, Paul's smile waned as he said, "Don't push yourself. The work you and Sucrose are doing is already well ahead of its time. We can worry about things like computers and the development of the internet once Hitoshit has been dealt with. I don't even want to imagine what that jackass could do with access to social media..."
Understanding that Paul was trying to cheer her up, Albedo regained her smile and replied, "Very well. I'll continue to look into it, but I'll reduce its priority to C-Class until Master Alice's arrival. With her help, we should be able to complete a working prototype for use in automation."
Hearing mention of her mother's name, Klee, having long finished her fish-flavored toast, promptly perked up to ask, "Is mommy going to be joining us soon!? Yaaaaay~!"
Realizing she had inadvertently stepped on a landmine, the expression on Albedo's face resembled Paul's usual wryness until the latter wrapped his arms around Klee, forcing her to stop bouncing around as he revealed, "It all depends on luck and fate. I intend to perform a mass summoning this evening, but there are no guarantees your mother will be among our new allies. If you can promise not to cry, I'll let you enter the IOF and watch..."
Though she was a little disheartened by Paul's words, his warmth and the possibility she could be reunited with her mother brought a smile to Klee's face. The days she spent with Alice in the Intersection of Fate were some of her fondest memories before her summoning. She had experienced lots of new and exciting things since then, but she believed everything would be even better with her mother present.
Smiling at the notion, Klee looked up at Paul and said, "Okay, Big Brother. Klee promises not to cry, so can Big Brother hold me nice and tight?"
Restraining a sigh, Paul's expression melted as he replied, "Sure thing, Klee..." Then, even though it made him feel incredibly awkward, he gave the petite Elfette a firm hug while nearly everyone at the table observed him with various degrees of amusement and sympathy...
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After what felt like an incredibly long yet paradoxically short day, Paul found himself standing at the entrance to the IOF while Kishirika used a variety of Demon Eyes to try and visualize it. Kishirisu was also present, but most of her Demon Eyes had been lost during the encounter against Ei and Zhongli. She didn't keep her Demon Eyes when she transferred to a new body, so she was still in the process of recovering even the base set Kishirika was known for.
"This is ridiculous...a doorway to another world can't just open up without leaving behind some sort of trace..."
As he was nowhere close to uncovering the secrets of the IOF, Paul just shrugged his shoulders and said, "I don't know what to tell you. I've tried carrying in others who couldn't see the interior, but they just disappear in a kind of 'ripple' before falling to the floor."
Shifting her attention from the door to Kishirisu, Kishirika earned an eye roll from her counterpart before she begrudgingly volunteered to let Paul demonstrate his claim with her body. He obliged, but, as purported, the buxom Demoness nearly fell onto her rump as he stepped into the portal. From the perspective of those that couldn't see the IOF, Paul was the one who appeared to disappear into an invisible membrane while Kishirisu was left levitating in the air.
Though she couldn't quite believe what she was seeing, Kishirika had no choice but to admit the IOF was, at least for the time being, an existence beyond her comprehension. It had to be a form of spatial magic, yet, even while observing the process of Paul disappearing and reappearing, there wasn't so much as a single trace of magical or even elemental energy.
Throwing her hands up, Kishirika groaned, "Whatever, I give up trying to make sense of your powers. Just get on with your summoning and return as quickly as possible. I'm eager to meet m—your new subordinates..."
Shaking his head in mock exasperation, Paul lazily replied, "Yeah, yeah..." before stepping into the IOF and joining everyone waiting for him atop the summoning platform. He took a moment to greet Katherine and ask if she had any additional merchandise available for purchase, but that was more of a courtesy than anything else. Unless he increased his Adventure Rank or cleared a Labyrinth, her stock didn't change.
With all the formalities out of the way, Paul took his place between Ganyu and Xinyan. They had already slotted in enough gold for him to perform a summon, so after a brief kiss from his residential Goddess of Luck, Paul closed his eyes and readied himself for another intense, hopefully fruitful, round of summoning...
Expecting a series of misses, Paul wasn't the only one surprised when the very first ritual manifested a resplendent golden meteor. The approximate odds of this occurring were a mere 0.6%, so Paul couldn't help turning to Xinyan and playfully remarking, "Remind me never to summon without you at my side..."
Feeling her cheeks heat up, Xinyan reached up to cover her blush and massage them as she averted her eyes and replied, "Right...I'll keep that in mind..."
Though he was tempted to tease the bronze-skinned beauty even more, the luminosity of the meteor forcefully drew Paul's attention. He doubted the person within would be Alice, but so long as it wasn't the Tsaritsa, he would be content with just about anything. If it 'was' the Tsaritsa...well, he still had twenty-one months before his return to the Central Continent...
Fortunately for everyone, the fortuitous 5-Star was not the infamous Cryo Archon. It also wasn't Alice, but that didn't prevent Klee from bouncing up and down as she excitedly cheered, "Yaaaaaaay~! Klee's going to be even stronger now~!"
While many had yet to obtain even a single Constellation, Paul's third major summoning spree was commemorated by the acquisitions of Klee's third. This made her the 5-Star Character with the highest Constellations thus far. Since they had also obtained her personalized weapon during his previous spree, it wasn't an exaggeration to say that Klee was the luckiest person Paul had ever summoned...besides himself, of course...
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