NOVEL NEXT Chapter 14: Chapter 14: A Much Needed Bath
"Then the last thing I should look at is-"
{Mother, your bath is ready!} Said a lone Sylvan Carver.
"My what?" Alchemy questioned, discarding her System panel.
{Your bath. You asked us to gather a large tub of water to cleanse yourself, did you not?} The Sylvan responded, pointing to a large wooded water-filled tub.
Alchemy paused for a moment before nodding.
"Well, I was planning to do the water gathering, so you guys didn't have to, but I suppose I did ask for something along those lines."
{Oh no, mother! We couldn't possibly let you do such strenuous tasks! The Thornskirmishers have already let you on the battlefield, which is a massive slight against us.}
Looking at the Sylvan Carvers for a few moments, Alchemy sighed.
"You know. I think you guys have the roles reversed here. As your "Mother," I'm definitely the one who should be taking care of you guys."
She still wasn't used to the whole being a parent thing, especially because she couldn't refute it. In this world, the Seraphim Verminae is the progenitor of all insects and arachnids, and even if that wasn't the case, her creation of units could very well bring them into existence.
In both name and effect, she was their singular parent. Their Mother.
That left the question of why her form was identical to her human form and whether she could even be considered a human anymore.
Her Avatar in A.O.A was also primarily human but at least had some inhuman features.
{Absolutely not. If you will force yourself into labor, especially dangerous labor, you must let us, your loyal kin, take care of you.}
'I guess there's no reason to refuse the offer. As time passes, I'm only going to get busier. The chances to lounge around like this could lessen by the day.'
Getting up from her throne, Alchemy looked at Sapphire and then back to the Sylvan Carver.
"Fine. I'll do my very best to turn this small colony of ours into a nation that no man or god can conquer for you, who worked so hard for me. However, you'll promise me one thing. This goes for all of you. Whether it be a Human, a Demon, or an animal, don't discriminate. I'm curious about the lengths I can take to my new Divinity, too."
{Then… Are you telling us not to attack humans?}
'Hmm. I wonder about that.' She mused to herself, sighing.
"No. I'm saying to have tact. If they attack first or infringe on our rights, we'll trample over them like any other enemy. But life should be valued to some extent." Her words paused as she walked toward the bath.
"As a Goddess, isn't it only natural to be merciful to all under my rule?"
{Your words are wise, Mother. Please enjoy your bath. The dismantling of those wolves should be done before you get out.}
At the mention of dismantling, Alchemy's stomach growled at the thought of food, causing her to chuckle once again embarrassingly.
"I'll do just that then."
Taking off her tattered clothing, Alchemy approached the tub. It was almost as tall as her and filled a little over halfway. She felt the temperature of the water with her hand.
'It's cold.'
But she didn't care. After nearly a full day and a half of fighting and being covered in blood, she didn't even care that she lacked soap or any modern-day amenities.
"Aah." Alchemy sighed in relief, letting herself sink into the water as she rinsed the blood off her body.
For the first moment she got into the cold bath, nothing else mattered. It was pure bliss.
She had been making do with the recovery effect from her throne, but it simply wasn't the same as finally allowing herself to get clean.
'What exactly am I going to do moving forward?' She wondered.
She meant what she said about wanting to see what the limits of this new divinity she has acquired are. She's not locked to the Verminae units like she was in A.O.A. She didn't know how hard it'd be, but if she managed to create a country full of diverse people, she was sure her Divine Power would never run out.
Faith is a funny thing. The more seemingly impossible things you do, the more people will give you nearly unconditionally.
"What will I have to give up for my expansion… Will I truly cease to be human if I walk the path of Divinity?" She mumbled to herself, her words causing bubbles to form in the water.
Lucky for her, sinking into the water was an easy feat, thanks to her small breasts. Truly, not being able to submerge yourself to soak properly is a problem she could never imagine having.
'Oh, right, I nearly forgot about it. I haven't checked my [IDOL] due to the Sylvie interrupting me…' She hummed inwardly, opening her traits tab and looking at it.
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The lovely little bracelet she was blessed with upon entering this world.
'Clausura Aeternum… Does it mean to lock something up for eternity? This definitely wasn't in the game before I was transported here.'
[IDOLs] were unique items that were bound to Prospects. Like the heroes and themselves, Idols could grow with you, gaining all sorts of beneficial effects supporting numerous different playstyles.
Of course, with all games, there was a clear meta of which ones were the best, and because of that, Alchemy memorized all 133 of them and what they did. Since their names always used Latin phrases, she even learned a bit of the language.
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'An item to seal people's abilities? That's Ironic.' Alchemy shrugged before thinking about the glaring issue with the item.
'Aside from that, I can't use a weapon, huh? I suppose I made it this far without one, but isn't that asking for too much with my short reach?'
Although she asked that question, she didn't want to discover what constituted a weapon. The pain aside, [Soul Damage] was tricky. It was damage that couldn't be negated or mitigated in any way, on top of halting healing for an extended period of time.
'Darn. Well, not like I've used anything that'd be considered a weapon up to this point. Except maybe that rock? I'll find a way to manage.'
She had to find a way to manage…