"Good morning, darling." Marcus' words made Bronya look at him.
The girl just woke up and is trying to orientate herself in the unfamiliar room.
The Heiress smiled a bit as she properly turned around and crawled toward him.
The ash-silver haired girl got close and kissed him directly on the lips. There was no hesitation or second thoughts.
The kiss somewhat escalated as the girl's tongue tried to slip into his mouth, but he 'caught' hers midway as they began to swirl and wrestle for a bit.
Bronya's eyes slightly narrowed down as she tried to fight, but eventually, she gave up as she needed to breathe, something she noticed wasn't required for Marcus!
Marcus chuckled as he saw her pulling back; the girl's eyes were a bit glassy.
"It appears I was right; you have a quite unfair advantage." The Heiress slightly puffed her cheeks as she realised that he was a cheat in and out of bed!
How is a woman supposed to resist him? He can go on as long as he likes! That is what happened to her! He kept drowning her in love and passion, making her incapable of resisting him after experiencing that afterwards!
"Well, it's a byproduct of my tampering with biological life." He began to move. He pushed Kallen aside. By this point, she was awake but pretended to sleep.
The Inventor got closer to the Heiress. The beauty wanted to see what he would do.
His hand went to her face as he stroked her chin.
"I do have a surprise for you."
"What kind of?" she asked, looking very curious. She had no idea what it could be, and this was her considering how it could be anything, in the most literal sense.
"Eternal Freeze has been all but destroyed."
Her eyes bulged out for a second.
"A-Already!? But it was only…" She pondered how long it was; she had no idea how long her nap was!
"A night's worth of sleep, I know. Enterprise used her Combat Evolution, and it was overkill." He chuckled, realising that they used being capable of a multiversal fight for a mere planet's cleaning.
The only thing that mech needed to do was flex its 'muscles', and it was done.
"...I-I see… I can assume it was something grand and a bit too much…" the girl showed a strained smile.
"Something like that." He pulled her in for a hug before looking at her face, which was close. She looked super adorable in her bed hair. One could say that what she did last night was evident.
"Apart from that, I do have something for you."
Once again, her eyebrow perked up.
"Something I promised last night."
Her eyes had a realising look. Bronya recalled that she asked for a 'real' engagement ring. Truthfully, she was nervous, as she was just one girl among several.
So she needed some sort of guarantee.
"...Ring?"
"And more." He nodded, and his hand went to the centre of her chest. Nanites surged into her, creating clothes.
Bronya looked at herself, getting dressed in a similar style to Marcus: a blue and white hoody and a skirt, followed by knee-length stockings and sneakers.
The girl quickly got out of the bed, as it was just wrong to be with clothes in a bed like that! Marcus followed after her and got out as well.
Leaving Kallen behind, who quickly pretended to wake up, she won't miss this!
"We are going to visit the item storage. If you want to come, then follow."
"O-Okay…" Kallen nodded as she wanted to see what a 'fiancee' could get.
The trio then began to walk towards the doors. Bronya ended up hugging his hand as she had a smile that she could barely control.
~~~
When the trio arrived on one of the floors, there was only one door at the end of the corridor.
It opened before they got close. Inside were items on pedestals.
"...These are not weapons," Kallen commented as she realised that these were something close to Divine Keys…
"Nope, they are much more than that." He smiled before expanding on what he meant.
"These are Neo Gears. They are like artefacts with special powers.
But we are not here for something as mundane as that." He walked deeper, and the pedestals with items moved aside. A new section rose from the floor, revealing triangle items inside a special wall.
"What we are looking for are Arcane items." He motioned towards one, and it flew into his hand.
"This is a multipurpose device, and my most important people use them." The Inventor handed it over to Bronya. The girl looked at it.
Her eyes widened as she felt something… the device—that made her feel in awe. It was like there was something in it… huge!
Like there was an entire world inside of it… ready to assist.
The Heiress tried to understand what she was holding!
It was far… too magical or, as Marcus said– Arcane!
"W-What is it?"
"What you are holding is an accumulation of some of my research; it's a world in its own right.
The key part is that it will protect you if I am not around; the device has enough power to create and power an interstellar civilisation if need be.
So it has more than enough firepower to keep you safe," he explained to her as the girl looked at the device with a growing sense of awe.
"...Isn't it—"
He placed his finger on her lips.
"Don't start with that." He warned her. "This is an essential item, something you HAVE to have in your possession if you want to be close to me."
"O-Okay."
She nodded at his serious words, but then she was confused. What to do now?
So, he took it and placed it in the middle of her chest. At that moment, the nanites in her clothes reacted and 'switched' sides. At the same time, more nanites flooded her from the device, spreading and bonding with her.
At that moment, the girl saw… a HUD. She was slightly shocked, as she didn't expect it to appear like that!
She quickly realised that this was an interface that allowed her to access data directly from Aurora Network.
The Heiress realised that in mere moments, as she saw things starting to pop up… like, for example… Marcus' age, making her realise that she was a bit older than him!
At the very least, the physical part of his age as Aurora doesn't show that he is older than he looks.
Not only that, but she only needs to look, and the HUD will show things in more detail, like things about Kallen! She learned that this girl is supposed to be some sort of Saint and Maiden of her world and that she was saved by Sirin as she was destined to die.
This information she didn't know!
Out of that curiosity, she checked information about herself.
Her face paled as she saw quite a bit of stuff!
Like her past! Adopted from an orphanage, she got a childhood friend!
There is even stuff about the Underworld that her city doesn't know yet!
'H-How did he learn about this!?'
"It's Fascinating to have access to such information, right?" Marcus smiled at her as he saw her expression. The girl had just learned the magic of HUD!
"I would say it's scary, not fascinating." The girl looked at him and made the HUD show even more stuff.
Sadly for the girl, she should not have done that as the more she learned about stuff like his power or heritage…
Something about him 'enslaving' devils and being heir to a man who was apprentice to a God made her a bit puffy.
Not only is his tech terrifying, but his identity itself is scary!
"Maybe, but it's just me." He shrugged before recalling that he needed to do something else.
"Before we move on, there is something else." He all of sudden got a bit serious.
His tone made her dismiss the windows in her HUD and look at him.
"What is it?"
Instead of saying anything, he took her hand where the ring was.
"I realised that I needed to improve my engagement rings. Before this, they used to be an altered version of my focus ring, but now they're a bit different. I have nanites that could make them even better."
As he explained to her, nanites moved from him into the ring… they were glowing!
"...Ummm... I think it was okay as it is…" She didn't mind how it was; it was symbolic and had a meaning behind it. There was no need for extras…
"Please, it has to reflect from who you got it. If it were something simple, people would think that someone else has engaged you and not me." He rolled his eyes at her way of thinking.
After a couple of moments, the ring changed slightly. It had blue lines as if it had veins. The snowflakes were still there, and the colour of these flakes still depended on the angle of the gaze.
"The ring has a few more perks; one is that it has coded in a specific bio merge evolution that is only available for my ladies."
Instead of asking what 'bio-merge evolution' was, the HUD popped up and showed the confused Heiress a couple of videos of different evolutions. The girl realised that it was some sort of unique power-up that boosted overall abilities.
The more she watched, the more she was certain that this stuff was a thing of miracles! How can one suddenly gain this much power and then just… poof! Lose it like that!
It was absurd! But, at the same time, she realised that if she were in danger such a thing would save her life. It was a proper safety belt.
Kallen looked at the number of expressions on Bronya's face; whatever the girl got from him was considerable.
It made her feel a bit jealous… especially since she didn't have her Oath of Judiah!
"Will I get anything? After all, I am most useful when I can fight." The Maiden Schicksal asked him all of sudden.
Marcus looked at her for a second. One could see that he was thinking quite a bit.
"Not today."
Kallen immediately had a downcast expression.
"...I understand. But can I ask why? I do want to know where I lack, as Bronya has only been a day longer with you than I was."
'Yet, she was a Fiancee and got preferred treatment.'
The question made Bronya look at him curiously as well. She wants to know the details, too.
"Hmm, that is because I know you two both to a considerable amount.
I know what you would do. I know you would 'follow' what you think is right without second-guessing it, which is a red flag for me.
My Technocracy would kill a million to save a billion, or save all of them, depending on if I want that. That is something you as Kaslana can't accept."
The girl looked at him for a bit. What he said is right. She rebelled against Schicksal because it was corrupt, and from the looks of it, this Empire followed his whims to the letter, making her feel annoyed.
"...I understand, but why… you have such ability, you could easily help all the people you want." She asked with a heavy frown.
"And then?"
"..." She looked confused by his response. What does he mean?
"You only thinking about the immediate response, ignoring what it could lead to."
He explained to her.
"Listen and listen well; sometimes hardships in society are necessary because they discipline the person who is experiencing them." The Inventor clarified to her.
He then looked at Bronya. "Tell me, you know personally how difficult it is with limited resources and how it impacts people."
"...I do know… people come together in time of need," she said while recalling something. The girl knew that people were quite humble, as they survived hardship by sticking together.
"Indeed, if I spoon-feed everyone, they will be fat pigs who can't even take care of themselves," Marcus explained to the Maiden of Schicksal.
"Sometimes, helping one can be detrimental, as the one gets the feeling that he is entitled to it, when he clearly is not, as that charity was nothing more but a desire to make yourself feel good."
The girl didn't expect to get this kind of response.
"You do realise that I have a pet project where I am growing a civilisation? I saw wars, famine, prosperity, destruction and natural disasters that can erase kingdoms in a matter of days." He rolled his eyes at her.
"People are still living creatures of flesh and blood. If you hand-feed one, you are domesticating it; if you don't, you keep it wild and self-sustaining.
Easy to understand, no?"
"...What about when they can't be self-sufficient? You can make food, water, and things from nothing! It's not hard to automate some sort of help," Kallen asked with a frown. She understood what he was saying, but the guy was like a god—he could easily turn the world into a Utopia!
"The principle doesn't change. Mother Nature will have its due. There is something called ecology. Grass grows, a deer eats the grass, and a lion eats the deer. If there are enough deer, the lion population is big, but lions die off too if the deer die off.
The question is, where do humans fall in that? Are we outside of?
Not really. Humans don't have natural predators; we self-govern. Or we should, until girls like Kallen appear, " he joked at the end.
"...You…are saying that we should… leave them be?" Kallen realised what he was hinting at.
"Do you have a better alternative?" He asked with raised eyebrow.
"All life is precious! It should be protected!" She was getting worked up. This makes Marcus… somewhat… excited as he wants to put her delusions down.
"Oh… you think so?"
His tone changed as he grabbed her hand. "Let's go, Bronya come with me." He walked towards the doors, dragging the Maiden, and the Heiress followed.
They left the workshop and went to the lift. The lift ride was the most awkward the pair of girls had ever had. The silence was mind crushing!
Eventually, they arrived at a floor that had a symbol of crystal with multiple lights in it.
"This is the Realitus Simulation system. Here, you can simulate anything, and I mean anything, from fictional characters spoken in books to alternative historical events." He explained to them before dragging Kallen inside.
"Since you are naive to the point of stupidity, let me show you the pure horror of the world you dream of."
"..."
"..."
Kallen and Bronya didn't comment. Instead, they looked at a room that was purely made of Diamonds… or at least they thought it was diamonds. If that were true, then this room would be worth an enormous fortune.
"For this simulation, we will use more than 320 million years of data available on biological lifeforms, including sapient life."
"You spoke about my faction helping the poor and in need, so we are going to do that."
The control console appeared with a hand motion. Marcus swiped a couple of times, and the surroundings shifted.
Bronya's eyes widened as she looked at the green world around her. It had trees, and there was a river in the distance with clear skies and grasslands rolling as far as she could see. this was… beautiful!
"We will start with something simple," he said. In a couple of minutes, they had a village full of people.
"Imagine a simple agricultural village in a world occupied by my faction."
The surroundings shifted even more. There was a Star Destroyer flying high above the village.
"At first, things continue how they always did; you have people working in the fields to make food."
Marcus began narrating an idyllic life in the countryside.
"But then a drought happened, and the crops fell." His words impacted the world as the group felt the heat, and the fields turned bad.
"If nothing changes, people will starve. What will you do, Kallen?"
"Help them survive? Give them food for the winter?" The girl suggested the most obvious thing.
And just as she did, the carrier-type gunships arrived, dropping containers full of food for the people.
"And so they have food to survive the upcoming winter." Marcus played along, and Bronya started to think about the purpose of this.
Still, the pair of girls watched with smiles how people celebrated the deliveries of food.
"However, because of the heat, autumn is a different thing altogether."
The days swiftly passed, and the season changed. The pair of girls watched everything closely.
Sure enough, rain began, a lot of rain, and the river close by began to flood.
"Because of the heat of summer, the autumn is promising to be rainy, with floods. What will you do, Kallen?" he asked her again.
"...Send your troops to help?" she replied with a curious look. Now she wonders where this is going…
"Sure, if this is what you wish." At that moment, the gunships arrived again, and the knights helped with the flooded river banks, saving the houses.
"And just like that, they survived a bad autumn."
After autumn, it was winter, and Marcus continued with his narration.
Each time something happened, he would ask Kallen, and she would use Technocracy to help.
From food to flooding to wild animal attacks…
Bronya, watching from the side, started to see… patterns…
'They are getting relied on… the amount of crops they are growing is lessening, people are getting lazy…'
Yet, Kallen doesn't notice that she is looking at how happy these farmers are.
Still, the village grew, and the amount of food they received grew. Soon enough, strange incidents started to happen.
The village became mostly run by 2nd- and 3rd-generation residents.
They were…far more different than the original residents.
"...W-What is happening?" Kallen exclaimed in horror. The village was a town now, and the amount of land used for farming had shrunk to a massive degree. The place was disgusting, with a selected few ruling the town, and food distribution was a thing.
"Your kindness, obviously." Marcus scoffed at her stupidity.
"...Like Marcus said a while ago, these people completely depend on Technocracy for their survival.
They realised that no matter what, these people with their impressive technology would always help them.
There is no point in trying anymore. There are few who have strong principles, but others… they don't care; greed has consumed their hearts."
Bronya perfectly explained to the Maiden what was happening.
"...This…" The girl tried to reason with them. But the byproduct of her kindness was obvious.
"Like I said, and then what?" He reminded her of his words in the storage area.
"You need to understand the big picture. Bronya understood it quickly, but you, Kallen, were oblivious before it was too late."
As he said, he allowed time to move on, and the town quickly fell into complete chaos when food didn't arrive.
It took a short time for the people who were useless to die off.
One could say that everything changed over a night, and the town regressed into a village.
"Just like that, Kallen, you killed thousands through your charity."
She felt like someone had stabbed into her heart with a rusty knife.
"If you want to help then, instead of giving away charity teach them useful skills.
There is a saying in my birthworld: Give a man a fish and you feed him for a day, teach a man to fish and you will feed him for a lifetime."
He looked at the downtrodden, white-haired girl.
"Thankfully, you didn't experience this in person as nearly sixty years passed. Imagine living a full life and at the end of it you realised it was wasted away."
Kallen's eyes trembled as she learned something new today.
"Now you know why." He finished the simulation as the surroundings shattered like glass, returning to the walls made of diamonds.
The pair realised that they were back in that room.
"Do you have any questions?" Marcus asked the Maiden.
"There has to be a way… I still believe that doing good is not a bad thing." She said while biting her lower lip.
"Of course, but you must accept the other side of the coin." He seriously commented as another simulation happened.
"People have to experience the ugly because the ugly teaches vital lessons." The group appeared in the void, observing a blue world before diving into it.
"Without outside forcefully commanding events, a cycle forms, something you are aware of in person." He began to show her images of two things she was well aware of.
War and Peace.
"...And what does Outside Force do?" Kallen asked him.
"In technocracy, we take direct control and impose our rule. Instead of having a mindless existence, there will be an imposed role to focus on crafts.
Imagine getting a horse and using it, for it was a breed to do." He explained to her.
"...and it would fix it?" Kallen looked perplexed.
"It will be because technocracy has limitless resources. We can utilise the most in-depth programs to figure out what each and every single individual is good at."
Kallen's eyes slightly widened as she realised that in a sense… Marcus would create a version of Utopia regardless.
"Then… people will be far too focused on their craft to fall like in that experiment!" The girl quickly realised why she had failed the test! Because the jobs became useless! People stopped trying!
The Inventor smiled at her.
"Precisely, people will be far too focused on their tests, experiments, and competitions to bother with the essentials; the essentials will be covered by Technocracy.
It was always humanity's desire to leave useless jobs for automata and focus on their dream jobs; sadly, greed always got in the way," Marcus explained with a shrug.
"That is why I shall crush whatever resistance exists and impose my rule."
Kallen stopped smiling before turning serious, nodding at him.
There was a fundamental shift in her when she learned what he was planning!
The inventor then looked at Broyna.
"However, it's your choice if you wish to try something like this in your city."
The girl slowly nodded, as she had been on the fence about this for a while. There was more than enough time to try an array of things with something like unlimited resources.
Unlike Kallen, Bronya paid close attention to the whole simulation, which lasted for years, and the Maiden used a single solution for all of these things.
And that was mindless assistance. Since she knows where this will lead, she can avert it from happening.
"There is more than enough time. I am in no rush."
Bronya's response made Kallen frown. By this point, the maiden was completely on Marcus' side. As someone who had learned the ultimate method to fix their problem, any other techniques looked stale and could lead to unnecessary deaths.
"It's your choice."
With that said, Marcus returned to showing them the cycle of peace and war and how it's happening.
One could say that the girls were intrigued by this system. Unfortunately, they were taken aback by it so much that they couldn't see it as some sort of form of entertainment.
~~~~~~Meanwhile~~~~~~
Kiana spent the whole night pacing and pondering how to fix the situation.
She realised it could be days until she got another chance, if not weeks or months!
After all, Marcus has planet-sized pools to draw interesting females from each time he conquers a new world! The advantage she had before, thanks to the cosplay with the suits and being a side of the same coin as Sirin, is meaningless.
"Or not…"
The girl stopped in her tracks as her eyes grew big.
"That could work… but…"
Her expression morphed into reluctance as she realised what this could mean.
She is to join an enemy for a chance of a breakthrough.
"I need to see her."
That's right; Kiana decided to speak with the individual who had almost killed her and who tortured thousands, if not millions, to see her.
The very same person who played with an entire civilisation just to make sure Kiana appeared.
It's madness, but there is no other way in the Valkyrie's eyes.
Sirin has a bigger chance to return to power than Kiana, and that can't happen!
After making up her mind, she summoned her console and began to explore, going through tabs and settings until she eventually found a map.
'Hehehe, I still have the same military access as Sirin had before her demotion.'
The girl giggled to herself as she went to where Sirin was.
'Though…this thing is huge…'
She realised that with all the parts, this thing could rival the moon.
And that is ridiculous…
'Well, it just proves that I need to do this!'
With a fresh set of resolve, the white-haired girl left the hotel room and walked to the lift, taking it to the ground floor before leaving the hotel and ending up in the corridor that led to the main lift.
She took the main lift to the living quarters and began to walk towards the doors.
'Let's see…'
After looking for a bit, she located what she was looking for.
Once in front of the door, she began to knock…
Nothing…
One more time…
Nothing…
A frown appeared on the white-haired girl's face as she tried again, with more force.
Nothing…
With narrowed eyes, she banged the doors even more.
"WHAT!?"
Midway, the doors opened, and a frustrated-looking Sirin exclaimed with anger. It was so fast that Kiana's hand was in mid-motion. She needed to stop herself for a second.
The Valkyrie looked at her counterpart. She was dressed in a single big pink T-shirt with the words 'The Queen' on it. The girl looked like she had nothing on under the shirt, and she was barefooted, too…
Apart from that, she had a plastic bucket of ice cream and a spoon.
She didn't look like a world-ending threat, or 'God' like she used to call herself, nope… she looked like a girl who fought with her boyfriend.
"What is it you want, experiment?"
"Back to calling me experiment?" Kiana deadpanned. Back to old 'nicknames'?
Sirin shrugged at her without caring about the world.
"You are here to see me, not the other way around. I don't have a reason to keep things to myself." The girl plainly explained while swirling her red spoon in her right fingers.
"...Fine. Can we talk?" Kiana sighed before explaining the main reason she was here.
"Why?" But the Void Queen didn't care.
"Because it will be beneficial to you?" That made Sirin consider it for a bit.
"How much?"
"Like getting back what you lost? Getting Marcus' attention?"
When Sirin heard that, she snorted for a second.
"Then you clearly do not know him. You have to offer something to pique his attention." The Ex-Herrscher explained with a mocking smirk.
"Like, for example, us together? To get the 'full package'?" Kiana leisurely suggested, as if saying something boring.
"..."
Sirin stopped in her tracks and gazed at her 'Good' counterpart.
An array of emotions passed through her eyes until they settled down.
"Let me guess, you messed up so bad that you need to ask your 'enemy' to join forces." The orange-golden-eyed girl mocked her.
"I want to know if you agree to this."
Seeing that she was ignoring her jab, the Ex-Herrscher stared at her for a bit more.
"..."
"I will agree, but you will tell me everything." Sirin turned around and motioned to get inside.
Kiana frowned for a second before sighing in resignation… She can already imagine the incoming laughter from her!
…
…
…
"Pfff!!! Hahahahaha!!!" Sirin started to roll on the couch as she heard how Kiana flopped!
"Let me get this straight! You had not one but two opportunities to become his fiancee!? And you chickened!?" The Void Queen wiped tears from her eyes as she could not believe what she had heard!
"S-Shut up! It's embarrassing! I am not like you, who is ready to do lewd things!" Kiana, with a red face, exclaimed in an embarrassed tone while looking away from the Ex-Herrscher.
"Ha! If you can't do something as basic as make him get all over you, then you have no right to be his fiancee." Sirin stopped laughing as she got serious.
"Unlike other of his fiancees, you have no talent. The only thing you can offer is things related to your body."
Kiana's mouth opened as she was about to complain, but then she stopped.
"...And you? What is your talent?" The Valkyrie asked her.
Sirin looked away for a second before looking at her; the girl looked back at her, expecting an answer.
"The only thing we can offer is ability in the battlefield. My gift to him was supposed to be Earth with conquered honkai wrapped in a gift box.
But you know how it has ended." The Void Queen brushed her hair with her hand as she explained her— their failure.
"...So… you saying that we lack things?"
*Sigh*
"Marcus has Three— Four." Sirin recalled the new fiancee… "with unique abilities."
"First is the Goddess of Wisdom, Athena; she is a legitimate Goddess from the Greek Pantheon." The ex-Herrscher recalled a brown-haired goddess who likes wearing glasses.
"Her trait is that she can keep up with Marcus' intelligence. Then you have Erina. Before she came here, she was a simple mortal human with the ability to cook.
She used her abilities to reach the apex of Technocracy and now can wield time like a God.
And lastly…me…"
"...Wait…one is missing…" Kiana only mentioned three!
"Use your brain, Experiment." Sirin rolled her eyes.
"I got grounded before I learned anything about this Bronya girl," she said with a frustrated puff.
"...Right…" Kiana was similarly frustrated, feeling that Bronya was getting in the way.
~~~
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