What a beautiful day. What could go wrong?
Victor asked himself this as he flew over Isabel Moore's corner of the V&V Empire. Tonight is Samhain, the Offremont equivalent of Halloween. A time of undead and monsters, just like the people who made up his entire country.
Before that, they failed to kill Odius.
This meant she would get those "arrows of light" he had warned about beforehand. Between the lost Apple of Knowledge, Brandon Moore's Wind Spear, and the Earth technology acquired by Formos, Victor has a good idea of the true nature of these weapons.
The future looked dire, but not everyone lost, the minister told himself. They have magic, allies, levels, and abundant resources. They defeated Maul, the Nightblade, Wotan, Aknapep, and even recruited a damn Tarask. They will soon face their most dangerous enemy yet, but there is hope. With Harvest in hand, he can focus on extracting all the information Mag Mel has gathered about Prydain in preparation for the coming war.
Still, Victor needs a pocket dimensional shelter, if only he can make one.
He finally reached the settlement established by the Archdemon, a fortified town in the heart of the desert. Mu with semi-anarchy
mu
i
Different, the Governor rules her slice of Moran with an iron fist; nearly all the settlers are bug-like demons, and Victor notices a heavily armed Hell Knight on every street corner. Workers were everywhere building new houses and fortifications, while wizards were busy growing plants in the dry soil.
He soon found Isabelle, who was managing a group of demons and laying the foundation for a new watchtower. The big devil stared at the building with satisfaction.
"Really?" Victor called her as soon as he landed. "How's my favorite private tutor doing?"
"My dear, you are back!" She said with a smile when she saw his arrival. In fact, she looked much happier than he had ever seen her before. But she gained some weight, especially in her hips and belly.
"I see you've adjusted well to your new role," he replied, taking off his helmet.
"Just like you did with your new armor," she said, admiringly. "You feel different. Have you gained a new level?"
"And a huge charisma boost."
"I can totally see that," she said, looking at him as if he were an appetizing dinner. "Maybe we should test it?"
"Actually, I can cast Level VIII spells now," Victor said, holding her in his arms. "I think I can shape my own private space."
"Well, I have a spell scroll that you can learn," she replied, nudging him. "I'd be happy to teach you this trick if you allowed me to decorate the room. I have high standards for private recreation reserves."
To be honest, Victor would like to build more than one shelter if he could. for Mu
mu
i
The citizens are provided with alternate refuges, flat hidden hideouts, and perhaps intermediate checkpoints between colonies. But that's the long-term plan.
"I would be happy to continue your studies in magic, especially [demonology]," Isabel said. "That way I won't have to think about this urban development project. The original structure of the happy world will bend to our will."
Of course they need it. "I've always wanted to take private lessons, but you also want to tell me something important, don't you?"
"You're looking at it," she replied, putting her hand on her belly, "or rather, looking at her."
"Oh, then you are already ffffffffffffffffffffffffff——"
Victor's brain stopped working as the truth hit him like a truck driving down the highway.
His mind quickly replayed several memories, linking them together to form a simple yet horrifying picture.
"When you come back, I have something to tell you." "She didn't arrive in time. "Physical examination..."
Intelligence check successful!
"Beep".
"It's a girl!" the big devil said happily, "at first I hoped for a B
a
iño II to replace the old one, but this one is better. "B
a
iña will grow into an amazing CEO warlord, cruel and beautiful. Hell, I even asked Fiondo Bugchi to design all of her outfits until she was 18. "
Victor wished someone would pinch his arm and wake him up. But no one did. "Is this serious? Is this a joke?"
"I'm serious. I know I spoiled Brandon, but my kids aren't going to dress like blue-collar workers."
"No, I mean, how could this happen?!" Victor was horrified.
"My dear, we have been dating for several days... several years..." The big devil hesitated before setting a time limit. "Year. It was bound to happen."
"But, but, but-"
"I know," Isabel answered. “After the first dozen attempts, I thought it would never work out between us, but it took hundreds more! My therapist told me she was going to be [demon/humanoid] instead of what I hoped she would be. [Worm/Dragon], but she will inherit both of our excellent genes. She will have B
a
iño twice the initial attributes and unique perks!”
Victor listened, but he could only focus on one thing. "daughter".
"Our daughter."
Thanks for reminding me. "Can we discuss this in more detail?"
She caressed his face. "You're scared?"
"Of course I am!" This was completely unexpected! "We're not married yet!"
"Honey, I'm a devil," she replied angrily, "I would never marry you. It goes against my principles."
"I, I mean we're not even exclusive!" Or at least he's not, and he's made that clear from day one. "I never thought about it!"
"My dear, I'm quite satisfied with you keeping your mistress on the side," she replied softly, obviously unable to understand his question. "However, as my spouse, I insist that you acknowledge B
a
iña is your biological daughter. This is very important because as Happyla
d" hero, which may make it easier for her to become a corporate overlord. Maybe she’ll become Overmond’s first [Demon Queen]! Wouldn’t that be great?”
Frankly, Victor didn't know how to answer. He had no idea how to handle the situation.
"I know it's a big change in our lives," Big Devil admitted. "But, as Chancellor, you will need an heir. Maybe even some to spare. We could build a dynasty that would one day rule all of Ortmund."
Wow, she skipped a lot of steps!
"I need a moment to digest this," the prime minister admitted, breathing heavily.
"Very well, dear, but don't process it for too long. If she's anything like her half-brother, she'll start in a few months as long as I speed up the process with the elixir Climb out. You understand, in these hard economic times, I can't take parental leave."
How many months? That’s not enough time! A few years is not enough!
"I...I'll come back later." Victor said, he had too many things on his hands to react calmly.
"Take your time, dear," she replied cheerfully, before immediately giving orders to her workers. "A little further to the left is the new watchtower!"
Victor walked towards the desert, using his newly acquired [Magellan] pe
k before teleporting back to his mansion for some time alone. He needs to breathe, needs to get back to his place, needs to see his lawyer, needs to do something, anything!
But he found Alison and Chocolate waiting at the door.
The satyr seemed merely worried, while the werewolf looked utterly devastated. Did something happen to her brother on the moon? Unfortunately, he has no more mischief to do now.
"Ah, good morning, girls." Victor saluted them, trying to look cheerful and not anxious. "If it's about the cat, I heard some very shocking news and I'm not in the mood right now. Can this wait?"
"No, Victor, it can't," Alison replied, while Chocolat bit her bottom lip anxiously. "This is urgent. Very urgent."
Victor was almost ready to brush them off until he took another look at the werewolf's distraught face. His compassion kicked in. "What happened?" he asked worriedly.
"It's about Jock," the dryad explained, putting a hand on her female friend's shoulder for support, "that she learned something very important from her god during her morning prayers, Sibu Leigh confirmed this to me. I believe you should hear this news as soon as possible."
The werewolf didn't seem ready to say anything until Allison whispered encouragement in her ear. The minister braced himself for what he felt was even more shocking news.
"Vic..." Chocolate looked at him with horrified eyes. "Vic, promise you won't be angry?"
"Really?" Victor tried to give a comforting smile, feeling that a disaster was coming. "There's none?"
"Vic, if you..." Chocolat choked out. "If you... if we're not careful... if the protective ward doesn't work for me, and... you know..."
The Prime Minister kept smiling, even as he was screaming inside.
"Vic?" Allison asked him. "Vic, I think your face is broken."
Sitting on the chair in Nisema's lawyer's office, Victor's mind went blank. The light from the window shone on his sweaty white skin.
"Sir?" one of his attorneys asked him, with a pile of papers sitting on their mahogany desk.
"Can you... The minister struggled to find the right words. "Can you say it again?"
The lawyer said: "You are being sued collectively by the 'Happy Paradise Fighting Harem' for 'illegal pregnancy of a horizontal angel while working.' "Based on the "Sugar Daddy" jurisprudence, you may face 8 child support charges. ."
“Since you’re the subject of Happy Park and the judge is my cousin, we’re confident we can keep this matter low-key,” another lawyer added, before browsing through the documents. "However, we expect new cases to emerge in the near future. There was the incident with Miss Chocolate, a person named Lynette who requested a paternity test, and that scholarship intern..."
"Thankfully, we have covered up/intern affairs since the birth of democracy. We call it a 'cleaning out of the Oval Office of the President.'"
"What's going on?" the minister asked, clenching his fists.
"Well, sir, with all due respect, you are a whore."
"I always use protection, including magic wards, and half the protection I use makes me sterile!" Victor argued angrily. "What, are you going to say that Charlene is also on the list? An immortal vampire and a half-dragon can have children?!"
"Well, according to modern vampire literature, Miss Enue is not among your confirmed cases—"
"That's not how DNA works!" Victor protested.
The lawyer responded: "Based on our research, His Majesty's new benefit appears to allow for minion interbreeding, no matter how anatomically impossible." This explains all the post-café interactions, like with the Chocolate Lady. As for the failure of protection, magical or otherwise, we don't know. It's like you're completely ignoring them. "
Intelligence check successful.
"(Ten thousand)," Victor realized, his eyes widening.
"sorry sir."
"One of my 'Reaper' perks allows me to be considered 'invited' to any magically protected location and unlock any lock on a successful 'Skill' check," Victo
explain. "If it applies to any part of me and having a broad understanding of locks..."
This is the last time Pe was activated in a hotel
k's reason! He didn't consider the implications, but now he can only curse his naivety!
"Oh God, this is really happening," Death panicked. "I'm going to have a baby."
"Baby?" Victor almost jumped out of his chair when he heard little Winkle scratching at the office door. "child? !"
How did it get there? "Not yours," the minister replied in an uneasy voice. "mine."
"Baby, Vic?" he heard Buzz Jelly ask from behind the door.
"Child?!" replied little Winkle, obviously more pleased for his master than Victor himself. "Baby!"
"Don't worry, sir," the lawyers tried to reassure their clients in the way only friends can. "We will make sure you get away with it and not give you - sorry to use a politically incorrect word - a penny."
"Wait, how many?" Victor asked the lawyers, his eyes empty. "how many?"
The friends exchanged glances in an awkward silence. "Well, if we believe our predictions, the confirmed cases, and the propensity of werewolves to have four to six pups, a conservative estimate might suggest that—"
"How much?!" Victor snapped impatiently.
"Sixteen years old."
Vitality and Charisma checks succeeded! [Paralysis] and [Terror] negated!
"Sixteen?!" Victor choked.
"Maybe only fifteen, sir!"
He's not ready to have a kid, let alone at 16! How is that possible?!
Intelligence check successful!
"Congratulations on your 32 new eyes." Victor murmured to himself, remembering what the Moon Man said during that ill-fated trip. He glanced through the window and saw the moon half obscured by clouds. "That damn bastard!"
"gentlemen?"
"He knows! The squid has known it for a long time and had a premonition!"
His friends looked at him as if he were crazy, then smoothed his tie awkwardly.
"This is karma, isn't it?" Victor asked. "This is retribution, punishment for my lustful lifestyle."
"Sir, I understand this situation may feel hopeless, but we are your attorneys. You are paying us to protect you from retribution, and this is something we have been through before. We have a solution."
"Like what?" Victor almost prayed for an easy escape.
"We can make these problems disappear, disappear." One of the demons imitated a beheading motion with his hands. "Or we falsify all paternity tests. Or even threaten offenders with lawsuits if you prefer a non-violent solution?"
"Threat is too strong a word," his colleague responded. "I would suggest a smear campaign followed by an insulting settlement offer."
"Yeah, that's more civilized. Nice call."
The minister ignored the unethical solutions they discussed, from a rocket to send children to the moon, to faking his death so he could legally avoid paying child support. For Victor, who has done everything he can to avoid any serious romantic entanglements, this is a real nightmare.
He turned to the window and looked at the sun. The bright and bright guiding star that Mithras claimed was his. He remembered Ludwig's words and realized that the same thing might have happened to his mentor.
If he followed his example and opened the window and ran away, he could escape. Even with Winkle, he had become powerful enough to easily disappear after dealing with his ex-demon. This is cowardly and irresponsible behavior, but he still has no responsibility. He can become a free soul like Ludwig, roaming the world as he pleases. He could even skip Overmond and transfer to other planes.
But this meant abandoning Winkle, abandoning his people, abandoning his children, abandoning all those who depended on him. That was probably the most selfish thing Victor had ever done.
He immediately decided against it.
Don't run away. He had built his life there and he couldn't abandon it.
What about the other solution? Isabelle would keep her daughter, he must have known, and there were others...Chocolate had said she didn't want to settle down either, but she was now as confused as Victor himself. While the Prime Minister does have a say, he is not the only one making decisions.
He still didn't know what to do. What did he learn in Shilin? What parental wisdom did he learn from Ahenapepe?
Minister's Strategies Eighteen: The law of having no sons, because they are usurpers and disruptors.
Okay, what about daughters? Vizier Strategy Nineteen: There is no law for daughters, because they are only one step away from being turned around by the handsome [Paladin].
Achieve immortality because you are the only one suitable for this job.
That's no use! That's no use at all!
College didn't prepare him for parenthood!
Should he ask the gods for guidance? He's already claimed by half the pantheon, at least someone should answer his prayers. Maybe Camilla?
"No."
"gentlemen?"
"No, not them," Victor replied, more to himself than to the lawyer. "I just need to check with a friend."
The one who knew him best.
