boring.
that's right, that would be the best way to describe what has been going on lately.
you see, after the initial test it had begun to be test season.. written, test season. very boring and uneventful, there hadn't been any major scuffles or breakthrough at all lately either..
the only good part of it is that he can work on his two largest projects in peace
'itl only be a few days until i fully understand Layla..'
Layla-009 had been the name of the robot he had found, and it had indeed been made by him.. and ever since then he had been studying her, learning how she works and her mechanisms.
his plan has three steps, the first to repair her. after all a robotic assistant wouldn't be too bad, and its also the first step to achieve his ultimate goal for his gift.
the second would be making a soulbound artifact, something to grow with him and detrimental to his future power.
the third will be built around both the first and second step and will be achieved with the help of the rechargeable aura core.
but this isn't something to worry about right now, as another part of his plan is coming to fruition.
"are you.. the saintess?"
of course he had known it was her, but it was good conversation starter.
"yes.. i am, do you perhaps need anything?"
"ah no.. I'm actually here to thank you, on the first day of the academy.. i had heard it had been you who helped me recover right? i had been so busy lately i hadnt found the time to thank you for it.."
with a hint of realization washing over her, she asks him to raise his head gently
"there's no need to thank me.. its my job after all."
"but it isn't, you had the choice to ignore me and let me recover on my own, and I'm grateful for you helping."
"and there's.. another reason I'm here.. its my way of repaying the favor.."
"ah! what is it..? if its something important to you i must refuse.."
"its not.. not at all, would you please follow me?"
with a reluctant look, she follows after him, the glares of nearby students piercing his skull, soon enough the had arrived at Cains workshop, where Layla, her basic appearance restored by now, looking indistinguishable from a human though she isn't able to function just yet.
"is that..! person dead..?"
"no.. its why i called you hear.. miss Saintess.. no, could i call you Ariana?"
"s-sure..?"
"thanks.. but the reason i called you hear.. Ariana, you are known to be able to heal every wound but.. that's not the full answer right? you cant heal natural wounds, like being blind from birth.. which is why you were never able to help your paraplegic sister.."
a hostile and shaken look forms on her face, her voice laced with caution she asks
"what are you getting at?"
"my way of thanks.. i believe, that maybe i can let your sister walk again."
her sisters legs were originally working, however she suffers from a deadly disease, which slowly removes her sensation and control of her body parts one by one, she had gotten rid of the disease upon becoming Saintess, but her legs had already given out by then, and it had been considered their natural state and were never able to be repaired since, not by the most skilled of clerics and doctors
which was the reason Ariana had collapsed on the floor, her knees buckling shock on her face
"r-really..? but-but not even the most skilled doctors, not even i had been capable of healing her!"
"i never said i can heal her.. i said i can let her walk again."
staring at the beautiful robot, he points at her legs
"this thing.. it isn't human, its a machine made by me, it can walk, breath eat and feel. and i believe i could replace your sisters legs with mechanical legs aswell.. infact, her legs will probably be stronger than before, she would be able to walk, run and feel them like she could in the past-"
before he could continue, he could feel a heavy weight on him, Ariana's arms wrapped around him like a lifeline, tears marring her beautiful wheat eyes
instead of saying anything.. he simply hugs her back, waiting for her to calm down, and after she had he continues.
"it might take a while, that machine over there, Layla, isn't done yet. and il need to completely change the way her legs work for them to be able to be put on your sister.. and even then, in order to do this i may need to amputate your sisters legs.."
after speaking some more, they decide to let Cain have as much time to make sure the legs are perfect, neither willing to risk failure of the operation, as such, Cain gets to work.
the Mainframe of Layla now fully complete and working, however it seems due to the previous injury on her head she doesn't have any of her previous memory's, and her feeling of emotions are far dulled, almost as uncaring as that of the Headmaster, who seemed to have taken a liking to this handy maid outfit wearing robot
well who wouldn't like a woman who pampers you, does everything you say without any mistakes and cleans whatever mess you make? and it sems the robot is quite similar to her master, having a fondness for kids and a strong maternal conscious, very caring over kids
"that should be maintenance well done."
that isn't to say there isn't some lag here and there, some stiff shoulders or a loose cog he had missed, often needing repairing.
"thank you master, i shall get back to work."
lately his biggest use of Layla had been the academy's paperwork, 3 people working on it at once is far easier than just him and Azazel, who even then only helps out occasionally.
'who would've thought creating mechanical legs would be harder than a soulbound artifact'
his lates venture had been on Echidna's side, he truly had been leaving her to the side for too long, not finding much time to train her form, which is where his soulbound artifact comes in.
[puppet]
Description: a Large featureless, genderless robot, far more hidden beneath than above.
type: soulbound Artifact
function 1: fuse 1 gift(current limit) with the puppet temporarily, allowing a fragment of the original gifts owner to control the puppet, aswell as the gift.
function 2: the user cannot use any gift currently fused to the puppet
this basically means he can give the puppet one of his gifts and let one of his previous lives take over the puppet, this is due to the fact he is currently stuck in the academy and having something akin to two bodies is incredibly useful.
and he can also remotely control the puppet and hear the thoughts of the other puppet, but that's only one way for both, and while it says he cant use the gift doesn't mean he still doesn't have the gift, so any passive ability's like Echidna's tattoo is still on him and its effects are still active.
he had only just made the artifact so he hadn't given it a try yet so here goes nothing..
infusing the gift of the Maren crown, the featureless puppet becomes a spitting image of his form as Echidna, what he had failed to take into account is that she would be naked.. in his room, to which he promptly gives her one of his shirts which is as big as a dress on her, naturally
"so this is our current life..? dang I'm hot!"
another thing he hadn't expected was her personality.. you see, apparently her tyrant part was mostly for show, she had been cruel but because she needed to be, so now that her daughter is on the throne and she's considered dead, she can basically let out her original mischievous, flirty personality.. who is also apparently into women?
"i never even liked men in the first place, its why whenever you use my gift even despite having the mind of a woman you are still into other women, infact my daughter was my younger sisters daughter.."
apparently, the Maren kingdoms ruler is decided by a fight of all the heirs, the last one alive becoming empress or emperor, while Echidna had killed her sister, she had promised her she will take care of her daughter as if her own. and she did.
and it wasn't before long that she would mess shit up.. for some reason, she had forced him to waste all his mana on keeping the non doll form of Mania up since she wanted to "appreciate" her form, and had most certainly flirted with Delilah as soon as she saw her, after that she wasn't allowed out of his room, well only Echidna's form, he had plenty of gifts after all.
-CHAPTER END-
heyo yalls! just wanted to say i mostly write as a hobby, so chapter uploads may be inconsistent, since there's no point in forcing myself to write.
peace!