Chapter 246: Do Artificial Creations Have Souls? (1)
After the shipwreck incident was sorted out to a degree, the sailors tried to relieve their stress by summoning some dolphins, but unfortunately, perhaps due to the presence of the killer whale girls, the dolphins got scared and ran off, ignoring the sailors' signals.
"Ah, this won't work... In that case, would you prefer to return to port and visit a nice place? I heard the tavern owner recently hired a fine new girl."
"I'll have to decline."
The sailors, probably thinking it was some kind of manly camaraderie, tried to look out for me, but going to a place like that felt like trouble waiting to happen.
To be specific, I had a feeling that if I went to a temple during the upcoming Holy Week, the goddess would scream, "You filthy wretch!" and smash my head in with her statue.
My survival instincts in this kind of situation were usually quite accurate, and if word got out that a knight dispatched from the kingdom got involved in a sex scandal, it would obviously become a major headache, so refusing here was the smart move.
'Well... I already released a lot of pent-up lust on the way here.'
During the leisurely return to the warship, I made sure the killer whales' blowholes had no time to dry out, and for cleanup, I trimmed a bit of their pubes, rubbed it like softening straw, and wiped it off before sending them back into the ocean.
So, while the sailors left behind on the warship were drying up in frustration, I had thoroughly released my desires using the beautiful killer whales and whales nearby, so naturally I was less lustful by comparison.
Returning to the job at hand, thanks to the killer whales herding the fishmen, we did experience some danger, but the fishmen, lacking intelligence, either rammed into the warship and died or fled in another direction. Those who boarded were sliced up by my efforts and the sailors' defenses, becoming nothing more than new sashimi.
"Whew, I heard rumors about knight-level power, but I never imagined it was to this extent."
The first mate spoke in awe. He'd apparently thought I was just a clueless ink-stained bookworm, but seeing me fend off the fishmen alone, without even proper equipment, left quite an impression.
They planned to gather a bit from the sailors' bonus and offer it as thanks for my help. Normally I'd refuse, but money was tight these days, so I gladly accepted, bringing the warship task to an end.
"Looks like the fishing boats returned early?"
"Well, we can't keep the fishmen on board forever for preservation purposes. I hope you understand, even if it seems unfair. We have mouths to feed too..."
"It's fine."
They felt more sorry for me because they assumed I'd been floating at sea barely surviving, unaware that I'd been having fun with the whales and killer whales the whole time. But since I was fine, I didn't feel much about it.
Even if the boats had stayed, it wouldn't have made much of a difference.
"So is the job all wrapped up now?"
"There's still the paperwork to be finalized at the harbor, but the person in charge has probably already finished it. You just need to sign it. By the way, fishmen fishing is this dangerous... we'll probably have to hire knights every year from now on."
This had been a pretty lucrative job, so even if it wasn't me, it wouldn't be a bad gig for others in my year.
And for them, having knight-level protection means they can focus on their livelihood with peace of mind.
'Though there probably won't be another case of getting caught up in fishman waves like this again.'
This time, the whales and killer whales were looking for me on Mary's request, so... Anyway, I wasn't dumb enough to throw away such a sweet gig, so I quietly signed the paperwork and shook hands with the first mate.
"Thank you for your hard work."
"We just did our job. You're the one who worked hard, knight. So what now? Will you return to the kingdom? If you're staying a few days, I can round up the prettiest girls in the area and send them to your room."
"As I said before, I'll have to decline."
"You just don't understand the charm of our Baran Duchy's ladies. Sure, they can be a little rough and temperamental, but that's part of their appeal."
Still, humans are a bit...
"Ahem!"
While I was chatting with the first mate and wrapping things up in the Baran Duchy, a young man, clearly waiting for me, gave a fake cough with a bored expression, trying to signal us to wrap up the conversation.
"Looks like you've got a guest. I'll leave you two to it."
The first mate, disappointed at the interruption just when the talk was getting good, clicked his tongue and gestured for me to visit him if I had time, before heading back into the harbor to continue his work.
"What can I do for you?"
I was thankful he got me away from the persistent first mate, but this young man didn't seem to be here for something simple. I sensed he brought a complicated matter.
'Mage, maybe?'
I could feel the sluggish flow of mana around his body. He hadn't yet reached the level of complete control over his mana like Professor Pandel or royal court mages.
"I heard you're an expert on anti-golem combat and came to seek your help."
"Me?"
"Yes. They say you took down multiple golems from the Sytorax Republic, even easily defeating the new angel-type golem."
I did take down a golem, but only one, and that was with Eileen the centaur warrior. As for the rest, I just bought some wreckage that had been defeated by senior knights from the White Rose Order and reported to the capital. The angel golem, while I did bring it down, more or less self-destructed while I was trying to install new AI into it.
"That's a bit exaggerated. But may I ask why you're inquiring about golem combat?"
"It's a... sensitive matter. I'd like to speak somewhere private."
"Is it illegal?"
"No! It's just... it concerns a deceased person's private circumstances..."
When a mage dies without deactivating their golems, they sometimes continue repeating previous orders. Since golems are hard to subdue with magic, knights often get called in to shut them down. So I figured this was just another case of that.
"Alright, let's go then."
If it didn't have AI or if the programming was weak, it would just be a slow-moving hunk of rock or metal—easy prey for my Mana Saber.
"If possible, could you keep this secret? I didn't make an official request to the knight order because I didn't want this to be reported to the Mage Guild."
"Of course. If it's the deceased's belongings, it deserves discretion."
That was what I thought, until we reached the estate on the outskirts of the Baran Duchy that he led me to.
---
There are many types of golems.
The most primitive are made by imbuing mana into clay using magical scrolls. These are similar to combat slimes—fragile and short-lived. Etching rune characters into sturdier stone to increase their lifespan was the real beginning of proper golem crafting.
From there, ambition leads to iron golems. But due to weight and traction issues, they can't be placed indoors, and their footsteps can cause the ground to cave in. They're rarely used unless disassembled and reassembled on-site before battle.
Such golems can be smashed by soldiers with hammers, so I figured this must be something more delicate, like a flesh golem (made from human or demi-human corpses), which would explain the secrecy, though such cases weren't technically illegal.
'Ah... I didn't expect this.'
The golems surrounding me weren't evil creations. They were porcelain golems with etched runes.
Inside the mansion, life-sized porcelain dolls dressed as maids moved around, cleaning the house and preparing food.
Normally, golems without installed AI go haywire upon their master's death. But these were calmly baking cookies and brewing tea to greet me like a guest.
Unlike the combat golems of Sytorax, they couldn't speak, but they were more humanlike—to the point that some maids wore only aprons over bare bodies, or had low-cut tops revealing pink ceramic nipples beneath.
'I get why he wanted this kept secret.'
The mage who commissioned me was apparently a friend of the deceased owner, who had been a clean freak. He claimed real women were filthy, filled with all sorts of impurities and waste, and so he gathered untouched clay to craft his own ideal women in the form of porcelain golems.
That in itself didn't surprise me, but... I didn't expect he'd made golems for that purpose.
'I mean, look at that mouth...!'
One golem stood before me, lips formed in an 'O' shape, eyes closed. The purpose was obvious.
Probably meant to offer pleasant service to guests while they waited...
Creak...
Click.
The sound of glass joints grinding together echoed as the porcelain golem before me began to undress. With no one to maintain it after the master's death, mana levels in the joints were low, making the glass clack with every move. But it still worked fine, and soon it knelt naked in front of me.
Ziiiip.
It expertly unzipped my pants and grabbed my cock with its cold porcelain hand. The chill startled me, but the finger movements were shockingly skilled. It stroked me to full erection and then pressed its mouth against my tip.
'Wait, this hole's kinda small?'
It must have been perfectly sized for the original master, but for me, the glans got stuck at the lips.
Unlike the angel golem, porcelain golems can't open their mouths wider since their faces are fixed, so it couldn't properly suck.
"Ow ow ow ow!!"
Yet the golem, unaware of this, began forcing my glans into its mouth.
'Fuuuck! My dick's gonna snap!'