After resigning to the fact that I effectively had a fourth child to take care of for the foreseeable future, I gave predecessor/daughter a set of clothes including a spare robe.
While it might have been a spare, it was properly enchanted so it gave a decent defence bonus and protection from [light magic]. Though putting it all on her when this girl refused to let go of me was a bit troublesome, somehow it was pretty cute as well.
The feelings within myself was quite conflicting on the matter though.
On one hand, she was far older than myself, and was even the person I was named after. From the stories I had heard, she should have been hundreds of years old before she had died, and that was already hundreds of years ago. Even adding my own previous life, my own life experiences didn't even come close to compare.
On the other hand, it seemed like her experience spending centuries locked up on that damn capsule had not only traumatized her, but caused her to mentally regress in many ways...I think.
Frankly, it wasn't like I actually knew what her personality was like before, and those old stories about her were definitely conflated to quite the extreme level. What people said she was like didn't necessarily have any real resemblance to the actual person.
While I couldn't say it wouldn't be surprising, it was possible that this girl hadn't really changed at all since the old days and people simply remembered her with nearly-opaque rose tinted glasses.
(No, there's no way that legendary woman in the stories was anywhere near this clingy.)
I looked down at the robed figure hunched down with her face pressed into my chest. The look of relaxed contentment in her face made me think that if she was capable of falling asleep, she would've right then and there.
The fact that I couldn't resist lightly stroking her hair through her hood didn't help matters. If she had ears on the top of her head, I would've bet she'd be purring at that point.
While I didn't know how much she had changed from before her death, there was only one reason why she could be the way she was now. That damn capsule.
"If only this thing didn't exist."
Glaring at the offending piece of machinery, I swallowed the entire thing up in my shadows and squeezed.
Creaking and shattering sounds resounded around the room, loud and prominent enough that it even made the victim who was happily snuggling between my boobs look up and watch. She stared as the shadows changed shape from something that resembled the high tech coffin she was imprisoned inside of as it slowly turned less and less recognizable.
Finally, when I receded my shadows, the previously medical-looking device had transformed into what could loosely be called a compacted block of trash.
"Mother? Can you move closer to that?"
"Huh? Oh, uh, yea. Sure."
Being called mother made my spine tickle a little. It was a term I wasn't really called much, especially in this way. But as I had already accepted adopting this oversized child, there wasn't exactly much I could do to refuse being called such. I could only accept it and get used to being called such.
We awkwardly shuffled over to the compressed mess of metal and glass, her arms not once letting go of me.
"Yah!"
Once we got close, the so-called saint stomped on the block of scrap.
Even from this awkward angle, I could see the hate in her eyes, and I couldn't blame her in the slightest. She repeatedly stomped its unyielding surface while her arms were still locked around my back.
"Yah~ah!"
"Ah!"
To finish things off, she gave the thing a swift kick, but even as I saw it happen, I reacted too slowly to the unexpected event and neglected to stop it. The girl buried her face into my chest as her arms tightened as much as her feeble strength stat could muster. Her body trembled slightly as she kept her foot raised.
"Geez. Look what you did."
I stroked the girl's head while extending my aura. A magical mist sprayed over her foot, toes bent awkwardly and blood dripping. In mere seconds, all trace of the damage she had done to herself was gone, and she soon lowered her foot.
"Thanks, Mother."
She raised her face, and while her eyes were still moist, she gave me a warm smile.
"Um, yea. Just be careful. You're still level one."
I averted my eyes and scratched my cheek as they grew warm.
(Geez, how can someone so much older than me be so cute?)
Despite her adult body, this girl was somehow able to have a natural charm approaching the levels of Alicia and Fate.
Not quite that high, but certainly in a similar range.
Either way, with the last of our immediate business done here, as well as the realization that I've spent quite some time inside of the dungeon already that day, we turned to make our way towards the exit.
"Oh yea, by the way."
"Yes, Mother?"
"Err, umm, yea. So I just realized, I was named after you, but that means that we have the same name. It'll be pretty troublesome to be called the same thing, so I was thinking we should find a way to differentiate us two."
Still clinging onto me like a koala, the former saint looked up from between my bosom and went into thought.
"So, like Scarlet the first, and Scarlet the second?"
"Or senior and junior. Though I guess you'd be the senior."
If we used such a naming scheme, she would get such a title, being my predecessor in every way aside from physical age. Though I couldn't help but feel that she looked a little older than me, breaking even that detail.
That aside, it would be pretty awkward to call the daughter senior or the first against her own birth(?) mother.
(Uh, even though I never carried her in my womb, from a technical standpoint, she really is my daughter by blood when I think about it.)
But my daughter shook her head, causing her chin to be buried even deeper in the chasm they rested in.
"I don't like that."
"Then, I guess we can go for a nickname. Is there one you want to be called as?"
My girl looked up in thought, but soon shook her head.
"I want Mother to chose!"
Once again, being faced with that innocent smile, was I forced to avert my gaze as my cheeks warmed up.
"Ah, alright then. Let me see..."
If it was a nickname, something related to her name would be good. Something simple and easy to remember as well.
Taking from Scarlet, we could split the name up in half to get something easy to say, as it was a popular way to create a nickname.
The first option would be taking the first half, Scar.
(No. Absolutely not. Not only is it not cute at all, but every time someone called her that, I wouldn't be able to keep the image of a sunglasses wearing macho man out of my thoughts.)
The other option going by this scheme would be Let. Though by itself, it wouldn't work, modifying it a little didn't feel too bad.
"How about...Taking a part of our names, Letty?"
"Letty? Lett'y...Let'ty...Le'tty...Letty! Yea! I love it, Mother! From now on, I'll be Letty!"
Letty bounced up and down as she giggled, causing me to sway back and forth as she still hadn't shown any inclination of letting go. But even through all that, I couldn't help but find that wholesome smile of hers heartwarming, and so I gave one back.
Though with the way she kept kicking off the ground while her upper body was pinned against mine, I quietly lowered the back of her robes that had risen up.
Once Letty had calmed down, we finally made our way back out, touching the fountain and teleporting to the first floor.
"...That's not good."
The moment we came back, the first sight that greeted me was the first floor's fountain, now complete with a brand new statue.
"Wow! Mother! It's you!"
I wanted to face palm myself, or rather try to run away from the reality in front of me, but resisted the urge with all I had. There really wasn't any point and delaying, as it would only make Alicia and Fate wait even longer.
"That was there on the bottom floor too, right? Wow, you look so cool Mother!"
Letty bounced up and down as she stared at the fountain. Or rather, the thing that was placed on top of the fountain.
No matter how much I wanted to pretend it didn't exist, reality was slapping me in the face, forcing me to look at it.
There, on the fountain's pedestal, was a life sized statue of myself, wearing the same dokkalfar shawl and my robes half removed, my double scythe in hand, finished off with that cringe worthy 'merciful saviour' pose.
If I had seriously though about what that pedestal with the holographic picture taker was for, I might have realized the consequences of my actions and prevented it all. But hindsight was 20/20.
I had been doing quite a decent job of hiding this side of myself, and it didn't seem like anyone had suspected it at all. But from this point on, it was there for all to see.
I wanted to curl up and die.
Or at least break this damn statue, and presumably every copy of it in the dungeon.
But I knew so little about how this dungeon worked, there was the possibility that I could do serious damage to it in the attempt. Presuming that it was even possible to do permanent damage to that statue in the first place.
Everything fixed or reset itself automatically in dungeons, and the fountain room was likely no different, having survived without any signs of damage despite the lack of supervision for millennia. And even if the dungeon here was some sort of exception due to its isolation, the one at Knossis was proof enough.
Turning away from that permanent display of embarrassment, we awkwardly left the dungeon, Letty still hugging me, though the movement had caused her grip to slip a bit so she was now pressing her cheeks against my belly.
(Are you really fine with that?)
I couldn't help but wonder if Letty's cheeks hurt as they rubbed against my abs, but as long as she didn't show any signs of discomfort, I didn't really have any reason to fix her posture. Not when she was so adamant to literally stick to me like glue.
Hopefully she'd eventually get tired of this and let go.
As we exited the dungeon, I blinked tears out of my eyes. The sun's daily assault on the land hadn't quite ended yet as it barely peeked through the gaps in the treeline.
"Ah, don't worry. Your clothes are enchanted to protect you from the light."
Perhaps it was ingrained instinct, but Letty immediately moved into my shadow as the light of the sun attacked our vision.
But my attention was pulled away from my newest daughter due to the commotion everyone was making. People gathered, giving me their goodwill.
All I could do was smile and wave my hand, though my cheek twitched a bit.
"Master!"
All of the sudden, from above, Claret came flying.
"I heard! Master! You did something amazing!"
"Ah, umm...well..."
Despite the vagaries of what my ever faithful familiar was saying, I knew what she was talking about. Any hope that I could get away from it had been evaporated by this dark spirit.
"Cla...ret?"
Letty looked up, surprise on her face.
(Oh, right.)
Of course Letty would recognize her. Claret was originally her familiar. From what Claret had told me, they were together even before the dark greater spirit had evolved.
"Who're you?"
Though I had expected it, it was a bit disappointing that she didn't recognize her old master. Not like I could blame her, but I did hope a little.
Letty's appearance had changed significantly since her rebirth, though I could see the details that she had retained now that I was able to compare her directly to the dark spirit.
Letty's colouration was completely different. Her hair and eyes especially, though even the tone of her skin as well, but that was due to the difference of their races. Claret had said that she took on her master's appearance when she evolved, aside from details like that. Her own colouration, the black hair, grey eyes, and ash grey skin, were all traits of dark spirits. Letty on the other hand had silver hair, red eyes, and marble skin, all traits of vampires.
But her straighter chin, slightly larger mouth, narrower eyes, and countless other tiny differences, I could see how they came from her former body when I compared her to my floating familiar. It almost looked like Letty was a child born from myself and Claret, though in the end she did resemble me more than her.
"You don't recognize me?! Come over here you stupid familiar!"
My eyes shot wide open. While Letty didn't really act anything like how I had heard in the stories, I certainly didn't expect such words come out of her mouth even at this point.
Though, I still had to admit the way she reached out an arm trying to grab Claret despite not letting the other go from around me was a bit adorable.
"S, stupid?! Master's the only one who can call me stupid!"
(Wait, it's fine if I'm the one to do it?!)
"Stupid familiar! Moron! Smoke head! Why are you always so stubborn, stupid Claret?!"
"Why you...rot weed! Master! Who is this! Why does she look like you!"
Claret continued to glare at Letty, but she kept glancing towards me as well, giving me a look like that of a confused cat.
"Ah, well...first of all. Letty, look here."
I pulled out a mirror to show my newest daughter her new face.
"...Okay, I'm even prettier than before. So what?"
"No, I mean, she can't recognize you because of that."
"That doesn't matter! Claret can recognize people by their soul!"
"That's...a good point."
My eyes went from Letty, who looked like she was a step away from starting a temper tantrum, to Claret who's head tilted to the side.
"Of course I can recognize my master by her soul. Who else has such a pure, brilliant soul? Yours is a bit brighter than most people's, but it's so muddy in comparison."
An expression of disgust ran across the dark spirit's face as she spoke those last words before turning back to me and smiling.
"Ah, I see."
I couldn't say I understood for sure, but a theory popped into my mind that would explain all of this, but I didn't want to give it voice out here in public.
"Well, we're going home. Come, Claret."
"Yes Master!"
As if having forgotten all about what happened between her and Letty my ever blindly faithful familiar followed behind while Letty followed my footsteps, refusing to let go of me despite her awkward posture like usual. There was some traces of a pout on her face, as if she was trying to erase it by rubbing her cheek against my chest.
Thanks to the short distance between the dungeon and my house, we arrived in short order despite the crowds that had formed in the area due to my mistake.
"Oh? Welcome back."
Peeking into the large living room right beside the lobby entrance, the sole occupant there looked up and greeted us.
"Thanks Philia."
I waved at the dwarven orphanage director as she was enjoying some tea during one of her regular breaks. Thanks to the resources she had gained ever since relocating to the Hourai Commonwealth, Philia's job had gotten much easier.
No more days of unceasing hard work to make sure everyone was fed, or constant worries about the kids that became independent in the hopes of earning their own livelihoods while reducing the burden on Philia and the younger orphans.
After relocating, food was plentiful, and all the kids now were able to gain proper education and training, with decent jobs always available to enter. Even if the ended up becoming hunters like how the orphans before became adventurers, the work of hunters was still safer and more reliable, on top of paying better.
The benefits of creating a country around a dungeon was countless, and this was just more proof of that.
Of course, Philia always felt bad for the new orphans that continued to pop up everywhere, so a few times a year we'd go and have a look around Linsington City, where Scarlet's Sweet Home was originally located. Any we found, we brought over, so Philia's orphanage would continue to operate for the foreseeable future.
Only, it was now operating out of the spare rooms of my own personal house, so the signboard over the main entrance was ironically even more apt than before.
"Looks like you got yourself caught up in even more trouble, is it?"
The aging dwarf grinned as she lowered the teacup from her mouth. If my guess was right, the kids should've already fallen asleep, and Philia was simply enjoying the short quiet time before heading to bed herself.
"Ahahaha..."
My laugh sounded hollow even to my own ears as I looked down at the bundle of trouble that clung to my body.
"This is Letty. I'll explain everything later, but for now we'll be in my room."
"Hi! I'm Letty! Short for Scarlet!"
Letty gave Philia a smile and waved her hand.
"Hi Letty. I'm Philia. Seems I'll have a lot more explained to me than expected, Scarlet."
"Ahahaha...yea..."
I could only slump my shoulders. It was true, and she wasn't the only one I needed to explain things to.
Or rather, I had a lot of things to explain to a lot of people.
I could only sign at the thought of it and the implications of it all.
But with that, we exited the room and went up the stairs and to the large room reserved for me and my family.
Almost all the rooms in this building were quite large, and back when it was just me and Claret, this room was far too large to live in, not to mention the whole house with its many rooms. But ever since Alicia and Fate were born, and many of the other rooms being occupied by Philia and the orphan kids, this large room had started to feel cozy along with the furniture we had accumulated.
I sat down on one of the couches. Letty sat down beside me, refusing to let go of my waist. But at least she adjusted herself to a more comfortable position and lay her head on my lap. Claret, being a spirit, still felt the idea of sitting foreign and simply floated across from us, right above the couch across from the low coffee table in front of me.
"So, first of all..."
My eyes flickered between Claret and Letty as I thought about how to broach the subject, who's issue to address first.
"Claret. You've always said that my soul was clear and bright, right?"
Between the two, Claret's issue was much more ingrained. It didn't seem like Letty would be nearly as troubled by the implications of my theory. That, and I couldn't help but want to award Claret for her years of dedicated service.
"Of course! Nobody's is as pure and brilliant as yours, Master!"
Somehow, even at the mention of the subject, did my familiar's eyes sparkle. I never really took note of it, but I couldn't help but wonder if it was because she was talking about my soul, or because its appearance somehow resonated with her, or even spirits in general.
"And you're saying that Letty's here, isn't?"
"Definitely! I don’t know where she came from, but her soul is muddy. It's not as bad as some people's, but it's nowhere near as bright as yours! Even Philia's soul is way brighter and clearer than hers!"
While I couldn't properly understand what that meant but, if someone was to get Claret's approval when it came to their soul's quality, it made me feel a bit warm that it was Philia's.
"Well, do you remember what I said when we first met? That I had no memories of meeting you?"
"Ummm...I don't remember?"
(And who here was supposed to be the one who didn't remember?!)
"Anyways, when we first met, I told you I didn't recognize you, but despite that, you still wanted to be my familiar because you thought I was your old master's reincarnation."
"Of course! If my master came back from the dead, of course I'd want to serve her once again!"
"So that's how that happened."
Letty casually commented, though from her tone, it didn't seem like she cared that much and found it more like a casual curiosity than anything.
"And Letty, sorry, this might be painful, but do you remember the last thing that happened before you died?"
"..."
Closing her eyes, my new daughter thought about it for a bit.
"I remember, after changing some things about vampires in that weird room in the dungeon...I came out and wanted to tell everyone about it. I called a bunch of people so they could all hear about it at once. I was playing with the little ones while I waited, but someone appeared I didn't recognize. He caught a bunch of the little ones, and threatened to kill them if I didn't let him stab me with his knife."
Letty pulled tighter against me as she recalled that day three hundred years ago.
"His knife looked weird, but not that dangerous, so I figured I could let him, and just kill him the moment he let his guard down. I thought it was better to get hurt a little than let the little ones die."
I nodded. I could understand that. I presumed that she was talking about the little fluffballs when she meant the little ones, and frankly, I would've done the same thing in her shoes. Though, that was without the benefit of the knowledge I currently had, presuming things went as I expected.
"But when he stabbed me, before I could kill him, everything went dark. Then...then...all alone..."
Letty's body started to tremble as she tucked her legs in and put all her strength into her arms. I wrapped an arm around her head while stroking her back.
"Don't worry. You're not alone anymore. I'm here now. Claret's here as well."
It took a few minutes, but eventually her trembling subsided, but she refused to relax her grip. Not like I was going to refuse her my warmth. Especially not after making her relive her trauma again just to confirm some facts.
"So Claret, here's what I think."
Turning to my familiar, I gave her my take on things.
"I think Letty here, really is your old master, not me. But the reason why you don't recognize her soul, is because the ones who kidnapped her had spent the time since eroding her soul."
I didn't know if there was some sort of special process, or if it was a natural consequence of being trapped all alone for so long. Frankly speaking, it was amazing that she hadn't gone insane, though at the same time, maybe that was connected to the way her soul was contained.
Though thinking about it, maybe rather than that, it was actually because of how her enlightenment value had gone up after my mana was used to create a new body. The act of resuscitation might have forcefully put together the broken pieces of her mind and soul, or perhaps even just the fact that my mana, which came from me who had a high enlightenment value, was used.
Quite a large part of me felt like that was what had really happened, though I wasn't sure about the exact details nor how much each part factored into the result. Either way, between my mana and that equipment in the lowest floor of the dungeon, Letty's enlightenment value had been partially restored and she was safely reborn with her sanity intact.
While she was still suffering from PTSD, but that was quite a minor issue when confronted with just how bad things could've been otherwise. Though thinking of it in that way did make me feel a little guilty.
"It's because of those guys, I think, that you can't recognize her soul."
Looking down, I gave Letty's shoulder a squeeze before looking up again at Claret.
"I'm not saying that I'm abandoning you, but Claret, please, be nice to your previous master."
Ninetailed_Furball
Hi everybody! It's your usual furball! (/◕ヮ◕)/
Sorry for missing last week's chapter. m(_ _)m
I got caught up in doing some research, and ended up squandering way too much time on it. And to make things worse, the subject had nothing to do with this story. -_-
That said, how did everyone enjoy this chapter?
Frankly speaking, the things revolving Letty is taking longer than I had originally expected. Originally I had planned out one or two chapters to get the main things out of the way, but at this point, it's looking like it'll be closer to double my original expected length.
Wonder if it's to do with my skill as a writer, or my skill as a planner? (・・?)
Anyways, expect some more Letty action in the next chapter. And tell me what you think of her? Is she anything like people have imagined, or what? (ﾟ∀ﾟ)
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