Strawberry Devil in a Fantasy World

By the time I had finished the question and answer session with the system, dense walls of fog that came out of nowhere had encroached onto the fishing vessel.

"It's gotten quiet."

"They're probably just drunk." Smoothie replied with a shrug.

Neither of the two crews who were on the deck just earlier were present. But, I figured it was getting cold outside so they must have returned back inside the cabin.

As we made our way to the cabin, I could clearly see white misty tendrils creeping along the deck. With each second passing, the fog only grew denser, obstructing my vision.

"There's something strange about this fog. Be on your guard."

We hastened our steps.

Inside the cabin, everyone was accounted for. But strangely, all of crews had fallen into deep slumber. I could even make out snoring and incoherent murmurs coming from them.

"They're all asleep somehow. Smoothie, did you put them to sleep?"

"No, why would I do that?"

That's odd.

She seemed just as perplexed as I was.

Suddenly, two faint presences emerged out of nowhere. Sensing this, I activated my tactical sight.

Two translucent humanoids stood motionlessly on the deck. I could not feel any hostile intents from them.

"Smoothie, stay by my side. We have visitors. Maybe they just want us to share some food with them."

"This isn't a time for jokes."

When I got a better look at them, I understood why my tactical sight was having troubling picking up their presence.

These two were like part of the fog, condensed whiteness. They had no physical bodies nor any status to go with them. Their faces were generic human facial features and had nothing of special to note. One had a silly grin plastered on his face while the other had a melancholic frown.

How should I greet them?

Regardless how I would greet them, I had [infinite dreams] activated. Yet, I wasn't picking up their origin as if these two were merely an extension of someone's magic or ability.

"Hello." I sent my greeting their way.

One of them suddenly became animated.

"Howdy!" A male voice said with cheerful wave of hand before stopping motionlessly.

Howdy?

"Did you need to something? Since the crew members are all asleep, I assume you have business with me?"

"Mhm," The other one gave an exaggerated nod.

It was as if they were supposed to be terrible comedy duo. Whoever was speaking was allowed to move. The moment they were done speaking, their bodies froze suddenly leaving them with whatever pose they were in.

"Then state your business."

The first one spoke again, "You have been invited."

A letter was presented to me with a red wax seal.

"Who is it from?"

As I asked that, the two faded and so too did the fog around us dissipate.

It didn't take long before the whiteness had faded back into the sea as we were waking up from a strange dream.

Now, only a white letter remained in my hands.

Seeing how strange that phenomenon was, I carefully unsealed the letter and read the content.

"Come to the Great Labyrinth of Daedel. I have the answers you're seeking."

That was all it said. There was no sender's name and exact address. I tried using my celestial eyes to find any hidden messages, but unfortunately, there was none.

Hence I passed it onto Smoothie for her to see if she had any idea.

"Where exactly is the Great Labyrinth of Daedel?" She asked.

"Ah right, you've never been there before, have you? I figured you would have asked Kanoko about it when she came back. I guess you didn't. It's a subspace like the Plane of Ataraxia. But, unlike my place, this subspace has entrances all over the world. If you don't know how to navigate it, you could lose your way."

"Take me with you!"

"No, it's too dangerous." I shook my head.

"But I'm stronger than Kanoko!" She protested.

"Are you as strong when your abilities are sealed?"

She looked down at her feet and answered, "No..."

"Kanoko is capable of hands on combat when it comes down to it, though I've yet to see it. But, someone had vouched on her combat skills. On the other hand, you're relying on [sage], right? With abilities sealed, magic would likely be sealed as well. How would you fend for yourself?"

"Mother..."

"When you're strong enough to hold your ground, I'll consider it. For now, let's head back to the Imperial Palace."

In a sulky tone, she said, "I like our home better."

"If I sent you there, you'd be all alone."

"Then come live with me... If you aren't going to, have someone live with me."

Why is she so clingy? She can't be that lonely.

"I'm telling you, the meeting with that person should be quick. Stop whining. Stay at the Imperial Palace. They should be treating you rather well. Kanoko is there to keep you company. If you don't like the palace, then there's also Vintelo and Mufy. Take your pick."

After I said that, she looked like she was about to cry. Her eyes became a bit reddish and puffy but no tears came.

Reprimanding a kid isn't my thing...

"There's another option, putting you in stasis. Would you prefer that instead?"

In the end, she picked the first option, staying at the Imperial Palace.

When morning came, the drunken sailors woke up one by one. Given the situation, the captain apologized to me profusely for their poor conducts.

Of course, I forgave them.

With the winds now picking up again, we set sails returning to the harbor.

"Berry! Don't do that to me!" Kanoko glared at me seeing I had Smoothie in tow. "When I woke up, I was told Smoothie went missing! You asked me to take care of her, and here I thought my life would meet its demise when I heard from the servants."

"Eh? Ah... Didn't Blueberry say anything?" My eyes darted left and right, trying to avoid her piercing gaze.

"As if! She's usually mute unless you possess her. Please, next time, either you tell me beforehand or don't ask me to look after her, okay? I'm sick of it."

Oops... I made her angry. I'll reflect on that.

It seems I'm terrible with relationship stuff.

"I'm sorry. Super sorry!" I clasped my hands together and begged for forgiveness. "Please, I'll leave a note or something next time!"

She sighed heavily, probably because seeing how sincere I was, and forgave me.

After that, she asked, "So, where did you two go?"

Thus, I recounted our short little excursion out in the sea.

When Smoothie was no longer around, I whispered to Kanoko, "Smoothie wants to experience mating. How should I go about it?"

Instead of being shocked, she simply nodded understandingly, "I see. Look at her physical appearance, she's at that age I suppose."

"What? How are you so composed like it's all natural!?"

"You're the unnatural one. By the way, how old is she?"

"Umm... Just a few months younger than me."

"And how old are you?"

"I think maybe five months? I didn't keep track of time in the early days. It could have been longer. I don't know."

"Fey beings age differently depending on lineage. It also depends on her level. The higher level a fey being is, normally the more intelligent and mature they are. Generally speaking, level 30 would be considered adult by our standard. Though, how do those from your lineage mate?"

"How would I know? I'm the first in line. She was born out of a miracle."

"Really?" She raised her voice unexpectedly.

"Shhh... Yes. I had the |progenitor| trait at one point but it's gone now. I think it's merged with another trait and disappeared. Before that, I was a flowering and fruiting plant. The strawberry wine was made from such."

"Ah... I see. Now I feel sick."

"Heyyy!"

She chuckled, "I'm kidding! You no longer have a plant body, right?"

"Right."

"Then you probably can't procreate the way you used to. But you can transform into both male and female so there shouldn't be a problem. We fey beings are different from other races. You don't have to worry about blood relationships. Seeing that you're asking me, you've denied her splendidly, did you not? Ahh..." She shook her head lightly with a grin on her face.

"That's easy for you to say! You procreate differently, don't you? Wait, I never said Smoothie wanted to produce offspring. She just wants the mating experience."

"Oohhh! So she's just curious! Then wouldn't anyone do? If you're unwilling to be her first?"

"It just feels... Wrong!"

"Tell me about it. Mating is only natural. For you to abstain and create those puppets, or 'clones' as you say, is just absurd."

"Huh, it's like you've got some experience yourself. You sure you don't mind sharing?"

 "Oh? Berry, for you to be interested? Come to my room tonight and I'll teach you all about it. I might not look the part, but those from my species are experts in charming men and women so we could eat them up." She moistened her lips as she said that.

"Ahh... I don't think I'm ready for your lessons! Smoothie can go first!"

"Heheh," She giggled. "Jokes aside, if she really only want the experience, we could arrange someone from the Imperial Palace to teach her the basics. Don't worry, it's completely safe."

"The palace offers such a service?"

"Of course! And to add onto that, Smoothie is absolutely adorable. There'll be no short of volunteers to select from."

"Ehhh? But..."

"If you're concerned, take her first time. I mean, if you're inexperienced, we can find one for you as well. As a parent, you have to be a role model for your kid, right? Unless you wish to play with yours truly, you'd be best having both male and female instructors to teach you the basics."

"Ahh... Uhh..."

My face must have been beet red by now.

I think I like her better when she's serious and professional. Too much free time changes people's personality... Maybe I should petition the emperor to give her some work.

Retirement? What's that?

I decided to change the topic before things got any more out of hands.

"Let's talk about that later. Kanoko, can you look after Smoothie for a bit? You know, the letter of invitation."

"Sure."

"Thanks."

With that settled, I excused myself from the Imperial Palace and made my way into the labyrinth.