Chapter 71 - Words Without Legs Travel a Thousand Miles
In a certain subculture game I enjoyed playing before the possession,
There was a sub-quest called “The Galaxy Train Carries Love”.
It felt like revisiting a story I enjoyed in the early stages, so vivid memories of enjoying it quite impressively came to mind.
However, now.
That memory was tragically painted over.
Yes. If I had to express it,
The train carries love dolls…
I’m not sure if this is actually from the game’s story, or if I’ve taken a wrong turn and the story is going off track.
Maybe it’s the fault of the game developers who created the world setting in the first place.
With such idle thoughts, I looked out the window while enjoying the bumpy ride reminiscent of the Mugunghwa train.
In the distant rice paddy ridges,
A lizard beastkin (gender unknown) and a human male sat facing each other, sharing liquid (probably makgeolli) from a kettle.
A robot (gender unknown, drinking function unconfirmed) with flowers on its head was dancing next to them.
It was a bizarre scene as if 23rd-century cyberpunk civilization had time-traveled to 18th-century Joseon.
And one little one who was the most excited,
“Duiju! What’s that, what’s that?”
《Identifying. Adjusting image quality. Identification result: It’s a statue of Empress Heo, a founding contributor of the Great Imperial Empire. Looking into the statue’s eyes has positive effects such as becoming happy, healthy, able to laugh, growing taller, having larger breasts, etc.》
Deceived by the unbelievable, absurd words, Tinya and Neb stretched their necks towards the statue that looked small-headed, let alone its eyes being visible, through the window.
Their head angles moved smoothly at 1 degree per second until the statue was out of sight.
…Even Neb, who always nagged Tinya for being stupid, falling for such nonsense.
“Here, Ark-nim? Say aah. Aah──”
“Woof!”
“Oh my.”
On the left. Elise kindly peeling yeot (Korean taffy) and holding it to my mouth.
On the right. Lumi eating the yeot Elise threw at me instead.
“…Me too…”
Next to the two nong-nong’s still diligently exercising their necks.
Rene drooling.
If I were the Demon King, I would have quit being the Demon King.
How could I conquer the human world with these guys?
Around the time my butt started to hurt,
Finally, the Ark Thief Gang, no, our hero party arrived at the core hub city of the 21-25th floor main story.
‘Neo-Hanyang’.
“Moo──”
“It’s my first time seeing a live cow, woof!”
I’m not sure why they specifically added ‘Neo’ to the name, but anyway, it definitely felt like we had come to a folk village.
While interestingly watching a lizard beastkin, who looked just like a reptilian, riding an ox cart,
“Duiju-girl?”
《Inaccurate designation. This Duiju No. 38 is not a Duiju-girl. However, as a guide, I will accept the query.》
“That ox cart, can we rent one too? It looks good for loading luggage.”
《Affirmative. However, not recommended. Ox carts are expensive to rent. I recommend a human-pulled rickshaw instead.》
“…? You’re saying it’s cheaper for a person to pull than an ox?”
《Affirmative. Oxen are important strategic resources. However, humans are beings that can be birthed again if they die.》
You can just give birth to more, huh.
What kind of nonsense is this?
Modern human rights sensibilities whispered of bamboo spears and Luddites.
However, causing trouble in the capital of a potentially hostile force is not a wise act.
When in Rome, do as the Romans do.
“Then, Lumi and Rene? Let’s go pick up our friends. Elise, please get us either ox carts or human-pulled rickshaws. We need 4 since there are 4 coffins.”
Let’s first collect the heroes who are probably snoring in the coffins.
As I went to the cargo compartment with Lumi and Rene,
From the moment we received the love doll cases, no, coffins,
Glare──
Glare──
An intangible killing intent from an unspecified number of people began to pour towards me.
At first, I wondered why,
“How virile must one be…”
“Tsk tsk, the morals of Neo-Hanseong have fallen to the ground.”
“Master, shall I crush them?”
“Hold back, gendarm, no, Lumi.”
Lumi.
No Rukiyatho.
…It feels quite strange to hear them openly gossiping, no, talking about me to my face.
But emotionally, I could fully understand.
To others, I must look like:
A pimp of super alpha male who made two women carry two love doll cases each, confirming a 7P play…
To hide the rising bitterness and embarrassment, I pulled my hood down even more and hurriedly returned to where our group was.
“Hehe. Why would we need people or oxen when we’re here? Your concubines can pull them.”
Elise, you crazy thing.
She had only brought 4 carts.
If we go like this,
I’ll look like a crazy otherworldly King of Chairs making four women (including a minor not even 140cm tall) pull love doll cases on carts each…!
“W-Wait. Let’s load them first. Hey, Tinya. Take your hands off the handle…!”
“Huh?”
“Just a moment, just a moment.”
I need a stand-in.
I hurriedly opened the lid of the nearest coffin.
“Hmm… Yohena will sleep a liiittle more…”
I closed it again.
From the coffin next to it,
“Ark…? I… miss the Great Forest…”
An employee on the verge of submitting her resignation due to homesickness.
Renatel was suffering in silence.
“That’s impossible.”
“Whine…”
This one has a risk of escape, so I closed it again.
Still, severe decline in work motivation is a serious problem.
She’ll probably be satisfied if I take her for a beauty treatment to collect beastkin tail fur and then a tour of the Great Forest.
In the next coffin, I finally found the talent I was looking for.
The one with a relatively tall stature and dignified way of speaking.
I found Saha’s bright eyes, which seemed capable of temporarily taking on the role of the Revelator.
“Saha? I have a favor to ask.”
It seems like it hasn’t been washed for about two days.
But there was no choice.
I quickly took off the robe that supposedly had a perception interference spell on it (according to Elise) and handed it to Saha.
“Please put this on. And please pretend to be me until we reach our destination.”
Rather than becoming a harem king (virgin),
I’ll get into the coffin myself.
That is the choice of Steins;Gate.
Although it was still an unresearched result in the Last Calix world,
There exists something called the major histocompatibility complex in the human body.
Skipping various boring and pedantic explanations, it’s roughly a gene that gives off scent.
It was also the main culprit that programmed most siblings to feel intense disgust towards each other.
(Of course, the world is wide, and there are many mutants)
And now.
Saha, wearing the hood imbued with Ark’s scent, a man’s body odor, was hovering on the brink of ecstasy.
Slowly. Slowly.
Leading the cart containing Ark’s coffin with very delicate touches and gentle, slow steps,
Saha wished this moment would last forever.
She hoped time would stop like this.
“Grrr…”
Lumi, instinctively sensing the growing pressure of grrr-woof-kyaoo emanating from Saha, raised her tail.
Just as a catfight, no, a dogfight was about to break out!
“Lumi-woof, what’s wrong?”
“It’s nothing, woof…”
As Tinya, piggybacking on Lumi’s shoulders, gently stroked her ears, Lumi lowered her tail, succumbing to those seductive touches.
“Heavy…”
“Huh? Stupid spider, Neb isn’t heavy at all. It’s the luggage behind that’s heavy.”
“Neb is heavy…”
“Eek!”
The manzai performed by Rene and Neb in just the right place once again eased the atmosphere, allowing Saha’s happy journey to continue a little longer.
But there’s no such thing as eternal happiness in this world.
Before they knew it, their footsteps were passing by the walls of a magnificent palace, and soon they arrived at the main gate of the palace.
“Halt. Unauthorized persons may not pass.”
A royal guard blocked their way.
While Saha, intoxicated by the scent, was still not free from dizziness,
Elise, with Duiju No. 38 perched on her chest, stepped forward.
“We’ve come on an errand for the Imperial Princess. This Duiju will prove our identity.”
《Affirmative. This Duiju No. 38 testifies. These friends, no, these people are errand runners for the First Imperial Princess.》
“Hmm.”
The gatekeeper of the east gate,
Hwa-ryeon, furrowed his brow.
If a Duiju was testifying, it probably wasn’t a lie, but despite wearing Great Imperial attire, the group’s appearance was quite exotic.
So an additional verification process.
For example, it was necessary to check if they were bringing in anything that might be too dangerous inside the palace.
“Step back. I will inspect the luggage.”
Hwa-ryeon considered drawing his sword for a moment when the voluptuous woman wearing a hood seemed to hesitate for a bit.
But soon, an extremely lewd-looking bitch with her cleavage fully exposed wagged her tail and pulled her back.
The first box he opened.
What was inside was
A female sex automaton.
Why would the Eastern Palace need something like this, surely it couldn’t be that the reason for vehemently opposing the celibacy decree was because of this preference, Hwa-ryeon thought of all sorts of impertinent ideas as he closed the lid again with a sour expression.
The next one, and the one after that too.
Female sex automatons.
And when he opened the last lid──
“Hup.”
Hwa-ryeon, who had predicted that a female sex automaton would pop out again, barely managed to stifle the exclamation that was about to escape his lips.
Inside was
A male sex automaton worthy of being called a national beauty.
No, it might even be a real person.
He could clearly hear a heartbeat.
Thump, thump, thump.
No, that heartbeat might even be his own.
An exotic appearance rarely seen in the Great Imperial Empire.
Rather, because of that, Hwa-ryeon couldn’t take his eyes off its beauty.
《Warning. This item is to be delivered to the First Imperial Princess. Do not show excessive interest.》
“Ah, ah…”
As if waking from a sweet fantasy, Hwa-ryeon raised his head with a sigh.
And, with a very careful touch, he gently closed the lid.
“…There are no dangerous items. You may pass.”
Strictly speaking, that appearance itself was a dangerous item, but
Since it was something the First Imperial Princess wanted to bring in despite the shame, it wasn’t his place to comment.
Unfortunately for the First Imperial Princess and Ark,
Hwa-ryeon’s mouth wasn’t that heavy,
And as luck would have it, that day was scheduled for the east gate guards’ get-together.
Naturally, many guards were curious about why Hwa-ryeon was so surprised by the contents,
After a few rounds of drinks, Hwa-ryeon’s mouth opened, and more drinks went around, and around, and around again, stories circulated, and after everything had spun out of control,
What started as a simple eyewitness account of “I saw a male sex automaton of national beauty”
By the end of the get-together, it had been distorted to:
“Our beloved Imperial Princess has finally broken her vow of celibacy and succeeded in bringing an exotic, world-class beautiful boy into the palace to form a hundred-year bond! How is this not a national celebration! I’ll drink until my nose bends today!”
And probably the next day,
That rumor was set to spread throughout the entire palace.