A Space Oddity

by J. J. Pavlov

  "She is a unique demon with an equally unique past whom I managed to find and add to the Maid Corps." My mother explains when the door closes behind the maid. "She was born into this world without a name, though every single one of her deceased lovers gave her one they found fitting. I just gave her one of my own."

  "The story of the Peony Lantern?" I tilt my head and ask with a skeptical look. It's the tragic story of a girl named Otsuyu who is driven to suicide by being denied the love of her life, only to come back as a ghost. She then proceeds to bring death to her lover so that they can be reunited in the afterlife.

  "That's my girl." Petting my head, Maou-mama states with a proud grin.

  "So, she's your lover?" After talking throughout the night about all sorts of touchy topics unthinkable in or previous lives, I don't feel awkward to ask if she has come to this side too.

  "Ah, no. Not after I lost Aldeath." She shakes her head with a lonely smile. I don't want to think about it considering she's my mother, but a part of me calmly analyzes that she just implied she hadn't had a relationship since his death nearly thirty years ago - and maybe all the other things that accompany it. That must be torture for a Crawling Chaos.

  A knock on the door draws our attention, and Maou-mama calls the person inside. It's Mithra, doubtlessly here with news about Asoko's whereabouts. I still haven't told my mother about the other me out there because I feel that it will complicate things. I think it would be better to show her directly rather than tell her.

  Or maybe she already knows but didn't feel it necessary to talk about it with the person in question not here.

  "I have located her, Your Highness." The court magician announces with a nod.

  "Where is she?" I ask while suppressing my overeager curiosity. If I don't pay attention to what I say, I may accidentally reveal something critical. Even though I don't like to keep secrets from my mother, this is one of those topics difficult to approach.

  "She is presently in Kongenssoevn, hiding in the basement of the Royal Academy." He replies, and my jaw drops.

  "How did that happen?" I jump up from my chair and nearly knock it over. I don't have any memory of the circle under the academy. And even if I had, she shouldn't have ended up there while Hestia, Kozii, and I came here during the same transportation circle activation.

  "I do not know." Responding with a shake of his head, Mithra admits. It's not like teleportation is something people could ever wrap their heads around. In my time, science was far from achieving it, so how would those learning that it's magic and just works be able to understand its inner workings?

  "In either case, can you get her out of there?" Something tells me that the answer will be negative.

  "He cannot be caught in the academy. It would ruin his long-time work to infiltrate the envoys of the gods." But Maou-mama is the one who answers my question instead. As I thought, things aren't as convenient as I wish they were.

  "Then, can you bring me to Daica's store without being detected?" I don't know how teleportation works, but that time the professors ambushed me when I came back from here tells me that there's a way to either detect the activation of the transportation circle or the vault door has a silent alarm. The fact that they knew it was me still makes me wonder, though. "There shouldn't be any people to witness your appearance."

  "Is that alright, Your Majesty?" Mithra turns to my mother and speaks in a questioning tone that is audible even through the muffling bandages. He doesn't want to risk things on my word even though I'm sure he knows exactly where Daica's store is located.

  "You are the eyes, so you should know whether or not there are people around, no?" She counters with a rhetorical question of her own. I already suspected it before, but she just confirmed that the court magician is the one who ran surveillance on me as well as all the other failed children before me.

  "I understand." With a bow, the bandaged man raises his staff to transport me right away.

  "Wait, not right now! Airiunne is preparing a feast!" Maou-mama raises her voice to stop the court mage and me. Her tone makes it clear that she knows it's unreasonable to keep me here solely because of that, and she pouts when I look at her with a frown.

  "Sorry, mama. But with my companion stuck in the academy, I have to rescue her as quickly as possible." I put my arms around her in an embrace and look into her eyes. "I'll come back with all of them right away, and we'll have that feast then."

  "Do not leave without me, Chloe!" The door to the dining hall slams open and Hestia comes in with her wings spread menacingly. She must have come here moments ago and overheard a conversation inside, so she didn't want to disturb us. But when it sounded like I was about to leave her behind, she had to say something.

  "It's just a quick trip. I'll first come back with Kamii and Daica. Then I just need to learn the shape of the circle in the academy basement to pick up... our companion." I almost slipped up by saying the name. While it's nothing incriminating to say it out loud, Maou-mama would surely ask who in this world has such a strange name.

  "Take me with you either way." Crossing her arms with a pout, the angel girl doesn't let up. Maybe it's because I'm not particularly insistent that she feels it's alright to act like this; if I put my foot down, she would listen to me.

  But I'm glad that she wants to stay by my side no matter what. In the battle against Kiamedras and the Golden Queen, she was a valuable asset as well. So when we get into the academy basement, and a battle breaks out, I'll trust that she can fight alongside me rather than having to protect her.

  "Alright, come along then. Shouldn't be a problem, right?" I relent with an exaggerated shrug and turn to Mithra for confirmation. Well, he teleported Maou-mama and me around all the time, so two people have never been a problem for him.

  "As you wish." With these words, he lifts his staff once again.

  "Come back as quickly as you can, alright? I will be waiting, Makoto-chan." While waving her hand with a sad expression, my mother speaks as if this is a long farewell.

  "I'm off then." Grinning with a nod, I pump my fist just as I always did when I headed out for a competition. Then the usual stream of light surrounds us, and within seconds, we return to real space. The brightly illuminated dining hall is replaced by a dark room covered in red tapestry.

  This is doubtlessly Daica's room.

  "Makoto, you're back!" Senka's voice echoes through the room, and I spin around to look for where she is. Then I realize that it was in my head and that she used telepathy to communicate with me.

  "Where are you?" I ask in my mind and wave off Hestia's concern for my sudden movement. "I've come to bring you all back to the demon castle."

  "I'm downstairs with Daica." The doll girl's tone gives me a reason to feel concerned.

  "What is it?" There's no point in beating around the bush, so I ask her immediately while gesturing at Hestia to follow me. Before opening the door leading out into the hallway, I turn to Mithra. "Wait here. We'll be back right away."

  He lowers his head in compliance and sets down his staff as if saying that he will be resting. There are chairs and a table, so he could sit down if he wanted to. But I don't have time to worry about that, as Senka replies to me right at that moment.

  "This morning, in the cells of the citadel..." The doll girl's voice begins. The words and the gravity with which it's delivered cause me to speed up my steps. This can't be about Asoko, right? She shouldn't even know that another me exists.

  I practically jump down the stairs to the first floor and round the corner to the hallway. I can't await the continuation and want to reach Senka's physical body as quickly as possible.

  "... I lost all contact with Kamii." Senka finishes her sentence after a pause as if she was unsure how to best word it.

  "What?!" I slam open the door and jump outside to see her sitting lifelessly on a chair behind the counter.

  "C-Chloe!" Daica is startled by my sudden appearance

  and drops the broom in her hands. Sh
e stares at me with her big amethyst eyes, blinking twice as if trying to make sure I'm real. It seems that Senka hasn't informed her of my return yet.

  Even though it's a long-awaited reunion, my elation is dampened by the revelation of Kamii's disappearance.

  Chapter 72 - The Senka Parable

  Senka, Daica, Hestia, and I sit in a circle around the table in her room, silence hanging over us like a heavy blanket. We've exchanged the stories about our experiences since we were separated, although I've kept the revelation that Maou-mama is my mother from my previous life a secret. It would complicate things here.

  Mithra has returned to the Dominion to inform Maou-mama that we won't be back for the breakfast feast at this rate. He's also going to locate Kamii, though results may take some time, so it's better that he went to a place where he would never run the risk of being seen by those that shouldn't. Since I have no way of contacting him, he said he would be back whenever he finds out, so we shouldn't leave this place unattended.

  According to Daica, her big sister went into the Lost Tombs with Rolan and the party eleven days ago. They planned to stay in there at least a fortnight this time as the bard had found a hidden path that may take them into undiscovered depths. Senka would check her status twice a day, shortly after sunrise and before sundown, respectively.

  However, two days ago, Kamii reported that she was in the cells of the citadel. She and the party had been chased by a massive swarm of the undead and somehow ended up in the transportation circle hall in the basement of the Royal Academy. There, they had been captured by professors of the academy who had learned of their intrusion.

  Every morning and evening, Kamii and Senka would talk about any changes in their situation, as they were kept for interrogation. But this morning, the doll girl couldn't establish contact with the little dark elf anymore.

  I already noted before when I found the place the first time that it must have a connection to the Lost Tombs. Some of the barred tunnels in the transportation hall smelled of decay, so finding their way there was fortunate in their desperate situation - or unfortunate when viewing the outcome.

  I'll work under the assumption that they're all still alive. I can understand that the academy staff doesn't like Kamii after all that happened, but executing her for trespassing after being expelled seems too much. Doing the same to Rolan and his party is even less likely, considering the heroic status that they have achieved in the city.

  Kongenssoevn and Arkaim are about twelve hours apart, based on the fact that it's early evening here while it was just dawn over there. So the timing of my arrival in the demon castle might even coincide with Kamii's disappearance here. And that includes Asoko somehow ending up in the basement of the academy. It all seems too perfect to be a coincidence, so maybe finding my lost other half could be the key to all of this.

  "We'll have to go to see." I lean back in my chair and state with a sigh. We could wait for Mithra to find Kamii first, but Asoko has been stuck in the academy basement for around twelve hours now. The likelihood of her getting discovered rises with every passing minute. Her appearance is close enough to mine, so if the professors find her, they will kill her.

  "Are you sure that is a good idea?" Hestia voices her concern. Even though I've grown much stronger through experience and a new powerful template, it's still a huge risk. Especially when we might get into a fight in the transportation room again and could see a repeat of what happened last time.

  Every battle is different. I can't judge my chances against a group of experienced mages on previous victories against overwhelmingly powerful opponents like Kiamedras or the Golden Queen.

  "I don't know, but what else can we do?" I wouldn't even know how to plan a fight against them. In our last battle, I killed several professors, so the time to talk is long over; the moment I'm spotted, they will attack. I also don't know whether Thorvald was the only one who saw through my disguise or only the first to reveal it to me. I can't rely on that convenient ability of mine to infiltrate the academy either.

  "You said that this Asoko - very creative name by the way - is another you?" Senka scratches her chin in a thoughtful gesture.

  "Don't tell me you can contact her with that strange telepathy of yours?" Hope rises in my chest at that possibility. She could tell my other half how to get out of the transportation room without being detected by retracing the route I took when I first snuck inside. While the doll girl's magical lockpicking won't be available to her, I'm sure there's another way to open that vault door.

  "You and she are separate consciousnesses. Even if she's a perfect copy of you at the time you two split, both of you are one whole soul now." She stamps out my hope before I can build up any high expectations based on my flimsy theory. "But I can go in there and tell her myself."

  "Huh?" Daica and I make this surprised noise at the same time.

  "I-it's too dangerous." The dark elf stutters while staring at Senka with a concerned expression.

  "Are you sure you can avoid detection?" Giving the doll girl a skeptical look, I ask with my brow furrowed. She has displayed her ability to blend into the shadows and disappear from a room without a trace several times before, so I know that she didn't come up with this idea without any basis. "What do you think your chances are in a fight?"

  "Depends on how many I have to face." Senka grins, causing the stitches on her cheeks to open and extend her expression into a frightening visage.

  "Then I won't allow it." I cross my arms and put on a steadfast expression, and her smile freezes over. "You'll be identified as a demon and killed on the spot."

  "Ahn? What's that supposed to mean?" Talking like a delinquent, the doll girl raises a fist in a threatening gesture. Normally, I would grab her and squeeze her to my chest, but now isn't the time for that. "I'm the only one here who can go in and out undetected."

  "And how are you going to bring Asoko back out?" Just as I say this, I realize that it's quite simple. As long as Senka can remain undetected, that should include everything on her body. So Asoko could turn into a bodysuit just as I did for Hestia back in the Khurut Sultanate. That way, she would be compact and hidden. "Actually, that might work."

  "What might?" Growing serious again, the doll girl asks.

  "Let me show you." I don't wait for her reply and stretch my arm out toward her, splitting it into tentacles and latching onto her. She flinches in surprise, but there's no escape; once attached, I won't let go. Traveling across her skin and underneath her clothes, I spread myself out across her small body.

  "Wah, what are you doing?!" She tries to struggle, but I quickly complete my transformation and turn into a bodysuit that covers every inch of her skin up to her neck. Two tendrils extending up behind her ears and forming cat ear-like triangles on top of her head complete the image.

  "I call it the-" I start, but she slaps herself on the thigh to hit me.

  "Don't you dare say it." She interrupts me in a somber tone. I think I know what she means by that, so I make her shrug to signal that I'll stop it. "Wait, did you just...?"

  "Yeah, I can move your body." My voice goes directly into her ear, just as it did when I was being worn by Hestia. "But it only works when you're relaxed. Otherwise, you might get hurt."

  "You do know this is a fetish, right?" I can't see the doll girl's expression from this angle, but I'm sure it's not an amused one. To be honest, I never actually thought about it that way, but when I think back to Hestia's reactions, that must be true.

  And Daica stares at Senka with her amethyst eyes wide-open, as if she just saw a ghost. She only knows that my body is seemingly made from tentacles, but she hasn't even seen my true form, unlike Kamii and Hestia. That's why the revelation that I can essentially turn into cloth comes as such a shock.

  I peel myself off the doll girl's body and come back out from one of her sleeves, returning to my full size within seconds. Now that I think about it, I could use this ability to mimic cloth to create fake clothes from my own bo
dy. It'll be on a different level compared to bodypaint, as they will actually have texture and wrinkles.

  "So, what was that demonstration for?" Senka asks while patting herself down to inspect if anything of me remains on her. In the meantime, I turn back into my academy appearance, complete with my custom school uniform - made from my own matter. It's still the body and outfit I feel most comfortable in even after all that happened there.

  "Asoko can do the same. You only need to meet her, tell her to do what I just did, and then sneak back out." I explain it in the simplest terms. "While I don't like the idea of somebody else touching you all over - even if it's another me - for the sake of saving her, I'll have to accept it."

  "What about my opinion about being touched all over, huh?" She retorts snarkily. At these words, I scoop her up into my arms and squeeze her tightly while rubbing my face against hers. "Argh, stop that!"

  "It's like you never left puberty and hate being hugged because you think it makes you look child-like." Laughing, I jokingly analyze her attitude.

  "I never even entered puberty in the first place." Calming down, Senka shrugs while making this heavy revelation like it's nothing. That causes me to stop and turn her around on my lap to look into her big blue eyes. "What?"

  "Will you tell me what happened to you?" I'm completely serious once again, as I regard the doll girl with an expression that suggests we're friends and she can tell me everything.

  "We don't have time for that. If you want to know, find a way to get back to your previous life and read about it online." Shaking her head, she replies with a line I can't even begin to comprehend. I already suspected that she was from Japan in one way or another, as she can speak the language, has a Japanese name, and possesses knowledge about modern times Earth. Maybe she was a famous person, and there's a biography available online.

  After all, the time of death doesn't correlate to when one is reincarnated anywhere. My mother died way after I did but came to this world almost thirty years earlier. Who knows what exactly happened to Senka, but she could be from the future of my previous world.