Chapter 1077 – The Unexpected

000

In life, unexpected things always happen.

Either the calculation was wrong or the plan was clumsy.

Or, from the beginning, it is something so extraordinary that it is impossible to even imagine the possibility of such a thing happening.

Every time something like that happens, what is ultimately required is ‘ad-lib’.

To put it better, it’s improvisation, to put it worse, it’s a struggle that comes out only when the situation is right.

Well, it might be true if you say that not being able to predict is a mistake in itself, but wouldn’t it be possible to say that somehow solving the problem using the method mentioned above is also a part of skill?

However, sometimes when people encounter something that goes beyond their imagination, their minds turn completely white to the point where they are unable to even ad-lib or struggle.

I don’t know who said it, but it’s a good expression.

Because the stress of what happened right in front of us exceeded the tolerance level, it became impossible for humans to say anything about it or even to ‘accept’ it.

“That’s how it happened…”

Like Cleon now, I had no choice but to talk like this in a somewhat dazed way.

“… No, that’s how it happened… Even if you say…”

And as Galatea looked at the two girls that Cleon had carried on both of her shoulders, she couldn’t help but look somewhat troubled after hearing Cleon’s explanation.

“What happened… No, what are you going to do? That’s…”

On one side is the girl we saw earlier, ‘Yuni’, who has only one horn growing.

And on the other side, a black-haired girl with two horns growing out. Here too, the facial appearance was the same as Yuni.

“It means that if Cleon and the woman enter the room as two, they will come out as three. Is this what you meant?”

Caliburn looked at the two people and nodded her head in understanding.

“It can’t be what you meant!”

Galatea dismissed Caliban’s nonsense, but took Yuni as Cleon handed her over and laid her on the ground.

And when she lays down the black uni next to her, she appears to be the same height, and the length of her tail and ears are all the same.

It would be easier to believe that one of the identical twins dyed her hair.

Cleon looked down at them for a moment, suddenly noticed something, and looked towards Laplace and Descartes.

She took off her own outer clothing and covered it over them.

[This is a mysterious phenomenon. Did liberation gas have that effect? I’d like to hear an expert’s opinion.]

Instead of mentioning Cleon’s actions, Descartes would have asked Laplace, who was keeping quiet, for his opinion.

Then, Laplace broke the silence and opened his mouth.

“Liberation Gas does not have such an ability. This is probably the magic swordsman… It would be correct to view it as the effect of the ‘Imprint of Domination’ he possesses.”

According to his hypothesis, Cleon tried to separate from Uni the ‘dark magic’ accumulated in her body.

However, Yuni’s dark magic was already considerable, and it was directly entangled in her soul and was already eating away at her body.

Since the attempt was to forcibly separate the dark magic that had already become a part of Uni, it was not a strange situation even if the ‘soul was torn apart’.

However, Cleon used his magic power to replenish her soul, and in addition, her body had ‘extra protein’.

“A large amount of magical power, the imprint of domination. And the existence of an object that can be used as a material for the human body. A magical beast that evolved through medicine. A kind of ‘miracle’ that occurred when various conditions overlapped. This observation is the history of magical mathematics. It is such a unique case that it is not even referenced.”

He, who is easily excited when it comes to matters related to magical beasts, shook his head, perhaps thinking that Cleon’s achievements would be difficult to apply to his own research.

The results are not obtained from experiments conducted under certain conditions and in a controlled environment-

Fluke. An irregular phenomenon created by luck and ad-libs.

Such a thing could not be accepted as a scientific achievement.

“The thing about her is, let me think about her explanation after she wakes up. ‘It’s not something that’s given, it’s something that’s increased.'”

“I don’t think it’s that kind of problem, but…”

Cleon frowned at Laplace’s words, but put his hand in his pocket.

And what I took out was a red, sticky liquid contained in a small flask.

“Wow. I didn’t forget to bring it.”

“When I think about what you did to get this, I don’t want to hand it over, but…”

Cleon’s gaze looks at the tank pillar erected behind Laplace.

That blood was needed to completely cure Nemeia, who was still floating unconscious.

Cleon thought that if he dropped it, Yuni’s sacrifice would be meaningless, so he carefully took it to Laplace and placed the flask in front of him so carefully that it did not make a ‘thud’ sound.

The liquid flowing inside had a mysterious magical glow, and Laplace had already turned his attention away from the unicorn and seemed to be fascinated by the material of ultimate and immorality that could only be obtained ‘once and in very small amounts from one unicorn.’

“This is the virgin blood of a unicorn… This is my first time seeing it in person.”

“What…? You’ve never used it yourself?”

Cleon spoke as if he couldn’t believe what Laplace said.

If he was so confident and stubborn, I would have thought he had at least tested the efficacy himself before-

“This is one of the rarest materials in the world. If it weren’t for this special situation, it would have been impossible to obtain. You could probably count the number of people in history who have been able to obtain it on one hand.”

[Hoo! So if you take it and sell it, wouldn’t it be sold at a ridiculously high price? It smells like a new business!]

Descartes spoke as if an idea had suddenly occurred to him, but of course he had to receive disgusting looks from everyone gathered there (except Laplace).

[Hmm. I was wrong about what I just did.]

Surprisingly, Descartes quickly apologized for such a look, but he couldn’t have done anything about the water that had already been spilled.

Cleon and Galatea stood as if protecting the two lying Yuni from Descartes.

[Oh my. I was hated by young people.]

Descartes shrugs as if nothing has happened.

And, Laplace would look at Cleon like that and quietly open his mouth.

“Before I treat the lion, I have something to tell you.”

“What is it?”

When Cleon’s cold voice echoes in the room once again, Laplace stops his body and looks back at Cleon.

“Demon Swordsman. You don’t trust me, do you?”

Of course, Cleon nodded his head.

“Even though I don’t ‘trust’ you, I followed you because I thought there was a trustworthy part of ‘use value.'”

“That’s an honor. And should I say I’m glad that you seem to be able to make rational decisions.”

Laplace responded to Cleon’s words like that, but Cleon’s eyes became a little sharper.

“But… What happened in the room a little while ago has turned into doubts about whether it’s right to leave you like this, setting aside its usefulness.”

“Hmm… I see? But then, here, ‘make it clear and go’. What you want from me. And what I want from you.”

When Cleon heard Laplace’s words, he created magical energy from his fingertips as if he had been waiting, and made a contract made of magical energy appear.

And Laplace also nodded his head.

Because that contract was exactly what he wanted to see.

[Is this a contract of oath? Tsk tsk.]

Descartes laughed as if it was funny, but Cleon still spoke in a cool manner.

“I have two conditions. The first is, ‘You will treat Nemeia normally.’ And the second, ‘You will not cause any injury or damage to Nemeia.’ These are two.”

After hearing Cleon’s words, Laplace brought the tip of his wing to his mouth and made a gesture that seemed to stroke his chin.

But soon-

“Of course. That’s what I was thinking. It was so obvious that I was a little discouraged.”

“…”

He would look at Cleon while answering leisurely like that.

“However, there is no need for me to unilaterally sign it. There are no conditions that benefit either side. Can I state my request this time?”

[It’s just like you said. Even if you don’t accept the magic swordsman’s offer, he can’t cut you down. To save that lion, your skills are indispensable.]

And if Descartes agrees with Laplace’s words-

Cleon tells Laplace before he can speak for himself.

“After you heal Nemeia, even if its ‘use value’ disappears completely.”

For a moment, silence.

“I will never cut you down. In the future, ever.”

“──Hmm.”

[Ho.]

In response to Cleon’s answer, Laplace let out a somewhat meaningful sigh, and Descartes responded with interest.

“Now, wait a minute, Cleon, are you serious? That kind of trash…”

“Ah. I’m serious. Of course, it’s a prerequisite if that guy doesn’t throw away his own value.”

Cleon responded as if he had made up his mind despite Galatea’s objections, and after the conversation between the two, Laplace covered his mouth with his wings and let out a low, unpleasant laugh.

“If you put it that way. Actually, I was a little anxious too. I was afraid that you would cut me down once this treatment was over.”

“…”

Cleon made no reply to his words.

Does this mean that his prediction was true?

But then Laplace shakes his head.

“I’m sorry, but ‘don’t cut’ isn’t enough. If you want to play with words, it only seems like you’re looking down on me.”

“──.”

“Not cutting, literally. It means not doing a ‘specific action.’ In your case, it means not harming me with the sword you have. But you are a ‘magic swordsman.’ You can use not only fighting skills but also magic. What great meaning would there be in simply taking away the ‘threat by the sword’ from you?”

Cleon clicked his tongue slightly at his words.

“I guess that was the correct answer. In that case, let me change your condition to this: ‘The magic swordsman Cleon cannot cause any harm to Laplace. Forever.’ “

“Hah!? That’s too one-sided! If you make an agreement with those conditions, who can stop you from attacking Cleon!?”

Naturally, when Galatea protested, Caliban quietly nodded from the side.

“If she doesn’t make her oath with these conditions, I won’t heal her. I don’t care if she cuts me. Anyway, this body of hers is her temporary body. I’m just using it as another vessel.”

Did you bring up the story of the oath with that in mind from the beginning?

Galatea was appalled by Laplace’s treachery, and Cleon waited for a response.

But Cleon-

“Okay. That contract doesn’t matter.”

“──.”

He does not show any sign of concern and nods his head at Laplace’s suggestion.

Then, words created with magic were written on top of the contract.

1. Laplace cures Nemeia.

2. Laplace does not cause any injury or damage to Nemeia.

3. In return, Cleon cannot harm Laplace. The validity period is forever.

No matter who sees it, it is a contract that is unilaterally disadvantageous to Cleon─

Nevertheless, Cleon bit the tip of his finger, drew blood, and wrote his name on the contract before Laplace.

Seeing that, Laplace would also repeat the same action.

Grumble! When the contract burns with a green flame, the ‘pledge’ flows into the souls of the two people.

“Kkeuk…”

Laplace laughed as if he had won.

However, Cleon was not embarrassed at all and spoke to Laplace.

“As you may know if the terms of contract number 1 are not established, the protection of this covenant does not apply.”

“Ah, of course I know. Just wait a moment.”

Then, nodding to Cleon’s words, Laplace picked up the flask containing unicorn blood at his feet and inserted it into a machine connected to a water tank.

Rumble…

When the unicorn’s blood flows over the surface of the glass bottle and is injected into the machine, Laplace will press another button to operate the tank.

Inside the tank – When something like a mechanical arm extends from the closed top and grabs Nemeia, the bottom of the tank opens like before and the liquid inside flows out, emptying the tank.

To avoid being caught in the current, Nemeia was supported by a mechanical arm.

And the next moment, when you thought the bottom was blocked, the top of the tank opened and a different color liquid than the green liquid from before flowed in.

It was a blue liquid.

“… This?”

When Cleon asks a question, Laplace answers.

“Contrary to the maintenance fluid from before – it is a liquid that promotes mutation. And here…”

In addition to the blue liquid, another liquid was mixed.

Red liquid-

This must be the unicorn blood that was placed in the flask just now.

Then, the blue accelerant and red blood combined, turning the liquid purple.

Even though the unicorn’s blood was very small, it had an incomparably large effect on the color of the accelerator.

In the blink of an eye, the inside of the tank will be filled with purple liquid, and Nemeia’s body will float inside it, just like before.

“… It begins.”

And Laplace said that in a meaningful tone and narrowed his eyes.

Then-

Exciting!

A loud heartbeat sounded.

The pulse was so loud that each person thought it was their own heart beating, and it was the sound that came from inside the tank.

Ne Meia opened her eyes wide, but they were shaking back and forth, unfocused.

“Have you come to your senses?”

“No.”

Laplace gave a short answer to Cleon’s question.

And the next moment.

A large amount of bubbles burst from Nemeia’s entire body.

“!!!!~~~!!”

Nemeia moves wildly, twisting her body in the liquid.

Thud! Boom!

Her eyes were wide open, and she felt as if her whole body was being torn apart in pain, and it looked as if she wanted to swing her feet at her tank, break it, or headbutt her way out. Br〉

“Ugh…!”

Galatea held her breath as if she was a little overwhelmed by the sight, and Descartes still had an interesting expression on his face.

Cleon looked nervous, then looked back at Laplace.

Laplace just stood there and remained silent, just like before.

Bubble Bubble Bubble!!

More bubbles flowed out than before, and the inside of the tank was barely visible.

And finally, changes other than the occurrence of air bubbles began to appear in her body.

First, body hair all over the body.

The hair covering her lion body falls out in an instant, dissolves in the solution and disappears.

Her appearance, with nothing but skin left, was ‘strange’ itself.

But that also stopped bothering me after a while.

Pop, pop, pop, pop!

I could hear the sound of her skeleton being forcibly changed.

The first thing that changed was the ends of her legs and arms.

Bones realign, nerves melt and reattach, and muscles contract and expand repeatedly.

The direction of the joints changed, the purpose of the organs changed, and even the organs in the body were rearranged.

“────!!!”

Probably she was roaring.

However, such voices do not resonate underwater.

The moment I thought Nemeia’s face was covered for a moment thanks to the air bubbles that were much more numerous than before.

Thud! Something flew and stuck to the surface of the tank, making a sound.

It was a face. But it wasn’t the face of a lion.

There, there was no more ‘lion’.

A light brown-skinned woman with green eyes whose eyes are quite sharp.

Her long golden hair sways, and wherever she looks, she has human hands and human legs.
She was in a human body.

A chest mass that is clearly larger than that of a uni, and extremely developed muscles that are split like sculptures can be seen underneath.

Her arms and legs also look noticeably strong.

Now, the only remaining ‘lion’ parts of her body are the round ears that grow on her head and the long tail that extends from her waist.

She banged her own head into the tank a few times, but it seemed like the ‘thread’ that was controlling her had finally broken.

Her struggles suddenly stopped, and the amount of bubbles rising from her decreased.

“… Is it over?”

Cleon asked a question in a nervous voice, but there was no answer.

Instead, I should say, her mechanical arms once again shot out from above her and grabbed hold of her body.

Finally, a purple liquid flows downward.

After a while, the liquid in the tank completely disappears.

Her mechanical arm let go of her, and her tank opened.

Shake it off!

There was a sound as she fell to the bottom of her tank.

Haha, haha. And only the sound of rough breathing rings for a moment-

“Gwae, is it okay?”

Even her Galatea stammered as if she was worried.

“… Her stamina may be greatly depleted. I will help her recover…”

The moment Caliburn tried to get closer, Cleon raised his arm and blocked her approach.

“… Cleon?”

Caliburn looks up at her Cleon, as if not knowing why, but her Cleon’s eyes are still wary as they look at the ‘her’ in front of her.

“… I thought it would be like this.”

And let’s mutter something.

“K… Kk…”

A familiar sound of laughter came out.

But it wasn’t from the bat ‘stiff’ standing quietly at the foot of the tank.

It was from ‘her’ who was breathing heavily and struggling inside the tank just a moment ago.

“Laplace. I was thinking that he would go that far.”

When Cleon said that, Galatea responded, ‘What!?’ And looked back at Cleon.

“Ah. But the fact that I didn’t stop it means I can assume you accepted it too, right?”

The voice was definitely female – it was a very pretty voice, but the way she spoke had an uncomfortable feeling, as if someone’s nerves were being scratched with a sharp scalpel.

And that tone of voice is also familiar to Cleon.

She comes down from the tank on the spot.

And, as if on purpose, he stepped on the now empty shell of the ‘bat’ at the foot of the tank, exploding it and killing it on the spot.

At that action, Cleon flinched and trembled.

Pushing back his swaying blonde bangs, Laplace speaks to Cleon.

“Indeed, the species called the King of Lions. Strength, endurance, and stamina. They are all the best among all the natural magic beasts I have ever seen. It is a disadvantage that it has almost no magic power, but the magic resistance it is born with is excellent.”〈 Br〉

It was as if she was evaluating her own body – it was clear that Nemeia had changed in her appearance, but that her inner personality was not her.

Seeing him talking without a single thread on, Galatea looked back at Cleon with a truly disgusted expression.

“Cleon! What happened?”

“This is the place he used to experiment. And, transferring his personality to a living thing is also his skill… The moment I decided to use the power of this place to heal Nemeia, I thought it would end up like this.”〈 Br〉

[…

Descartes also fell silent for a moment at Cleon’s words.

However, Laplace talks about Cleon like that.

“Indeed. Even though you knew that much, you accepted that pledge. It was something you thought could not be reversed.”

And then I’ll squeeze his hand.

“As you may know… This body is treated as ‘Laplace’. The body I am in is treated as ‘me’, no matter who its original owner is. If you even attack me to overturn this result – ‘oath’ is broken.”

That confident look, that statement – it was, without a doubt, a declaration of victory.

“Of course, there is no possibility of that happening to you. This body belongs to the family of your precious unicorn friend. Did you say ‘Laplace can’t hurt Nemeia’? Of course, that’s what I intend to do. Hehe…!”

At his laughing attitude once again, Galatea blinked her eyes as if she was dumbfounded, and Caliburn frowned as if he was in pain.

However, Cleon – even if he narrowed his eyes at the insidiousness of that action, he did not show any resentment at all.

Even Laplace would feel a little uncomfortable about that fact.

“… Why are you doing nothing?”

“You said ‘I expected it,’ right?”

Cleonon covered his mouth while saying that as if it was really okay.

That’s not the same thing as a protective behavior that comes from the physiological discomfort caused by the being in front of you.

It was close to ‘manners’ to cover up the uncontrollable laughter at seeing an unsightly clown.

“!?”

Laplace took a step forward and tried to approach Cleon, perhaps because he thought something was wrong with Cleon’s laughter.

“Stop.”

But, the next moment.

When Cleon gave that command, Laplace stopped on the spot.

“What…?!”

“The fact that this side ‘anticipated’ naturally means that they ‘prepared’. Returner.”

The story was that it was not at all an ‘unexpected event’ like Uni being divided into two.

At Cleon’s words, Laplace looked down at his stomach, as if he had noticed something in him.

Then – a clearly glowing pattern emerged and was ‘imprinted’ there.

A purple pattern.

“The… Imprint… Of domination!?”

Laplace would speak as if he couldn’t believe what was happening before his eyes.

How? In order to engrave the stamp of domination, it is necessary to infiltrate a large amount of Cleon’s magic into the body.

The most certain method is forcible injection of magical power using bodily fluids through sexual negotiations.

However, unless Cleon was a sexual fanatic, there is no way he would have done such a thing with Nemeia, who was a lion-

“──Is it the blood of a unicorn…!”

And there, Laplace spoke with exasperation in his voice, as if he had figured out Cleon’s method.

“That’s right. Yuni’s blood. I mixed it with my blood. And, as much as possible, with magical power. As you probably know, blood has much higher magical power than other liquids. I took a bath with that mixed liquid. My entire body received my magical energy. Even if I brought it in, it wouldn’t be any different, right?”

Laplace understood what Cleon said.

Why did this man accept all of his conditions?

“It would be like this – from the beginning… Stupid! It couldn’t have all gone as planned!”

“Laplace… You are too easy to understand.”

Cleon said so, and he approached Laplace, who was trying to move his body somehow.

And, Laplace – no, he will put his finger on Nemeia’s forehead and talk.

“Remove the ‘impurities’ within you.”

“!!!”

At Cleon’s words, Laplace opened his eyes wide and grabbed his head with both hands.

“Oh, no! I’m disappearing! No!!”

“Yes, but it’s from that body, right? I could have come to another body anyway, but there’s a fuss…”

Laplace struggles once again, as if unable to bear the intense pain assaulting his head.

And Nemeia’s sharp nails will cut a small wound on his own head.

Puzzle!

Then, a burning contract appeared in front of Cleon and Laplace.

“This, this!?”

Above the burning contract – the incarnation of an ancient being revered as the god of contracts appears.

That thing in the form of a skull wearing a hood refers to Nemeia—no, it refers to Laplace within it.

[You. Since the oath was broken, punishment is engraved on his soul in the name of discipline and contract.]

“Huh, why!? I broke some kind of contract—”

“You hurt me, right? Nemeia’s body. Ah-ah-. What are you going to do? It’s even bleeding.”

Cleon said this and touched the small scratch on Nemeia’s head with his hand.

“Well, this will be cured quickly, but-“

And the next moment.

The skeleton’s hand reaches out toward Laplace and enters his head.

And then he took out the ‘remaining Laplace’ contained within it─ and began tearing its mind and soul to pieces.

“No, no! Stop it!!”

Laplace screams.

“Help! Descartes! Aren’t we comrades?”

And he will turn his head towards the mechanical doll who was quietly watching the scene from the side-

Descartes just shook his head quietly.

[My old friend. It’s your mistake.]

“Sooooo!!!”

As Cleon said, he could have come back in another body.

However, the penalty for making an oath was different.

The price of violation is to rob the soul of the most precious thing.

It was – to Laplace, a piece of ‘knowledge’ that was like life – no, it was definitely more precious than life.

‘You won’t lose that much knowledge with just one scratch… But at least, the risk will be greatly reduced.’

Cleon thought in silence and just looked at him with cold eyes.

And finally, when Laplace’s soul completely disappears before your eyes.

Nemeia, who had been struggling, stopped completely and fell down on the spot, losing her senses once again.

“… Whoa…”

Cleon will take Nemeia with both hands and lay her body down.

Unlike before, she seemed to be sleeping peacefully, and although she looked a little tired, there didn’t seem to be any problem.

And Descartes spoke while looking at Cleon.

[You did one thing. I won a complete victory over Laplace.]

Cleon felt a little uncomfortable at his unexpectedly cold attitude, but answered him.

“Not yet. He will definitely come back. In addition to his original purpose, it also includes revenge on me.”

[Ah. It will definitely happen.]

“Are you going to avenge that guy?”

When Cleon asked a question, Descartes was silent for a moment and then-

[No way! The guy who just bet was wrong! Isn’t it against business ethics to stab a collaborator first in the back? Haha!]

“…”

He was smiling at Cleon while saying something incoherent.

[By the way, it’s hard for this old man to bear the thought that when they wake up, they’ll all be naked like babies. Please wait a moment. There are probably extra lab coats around here.]

Seeing him trying to go out of her room while saying that, Cleon looked at her with suspicion.

“… You’re not going to tell Darwin, are you?”

[Then there is no need to go out! I am not like Laplace, so rest assured!]

Of course Cleon couldn’t feel at ease, but as he looked at him-

Cleon quietly sat down and sighed heavily.

To be honest – even for Cleon, what was just a gamble was a gamble with a chance of losing.

“Well. Still─.”

Nevertheless, while contemplating the clear victory, Cleon looked at the crushed ‘bat’.