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After having sent Geie towards the Pantheon of Gods that overlooks my Empire, we finally reached Nannet's territory, which was a large and dense forest filled with swamps and rivers, in the biggest one was where the High Thunder Gillmen Nation and their city was located.
But because most of the buildings were not present outside of their enormous swampy lake, there were no issues over the destruction of buildings or anything of the sort.
When we reached the area, we were quickly greeted by my children, who had come out of the enormous flesh-mechs created by my own flesh for their protection.
"Mommy, we did it!" said Vudia, being the first to fly towards me, embracing me in a tight hug with her great strength.
"Mommy, we killed all the ugly beasts just as before! This time it was even easier now!" said Ailine as she flew near me through the use of Wind Attribute Spells.
"Mama! I ate a lot of Divine Souls! I am strong now!" said Nirah, while waving her snake-headed tail, the snake head seemed oddly nervous near me, as it often closed its eyes and began to sweat… Anyways, Nirah seemed a bit stronger, and so did Vudia and Ailine.
"I'm glad you three had your fun-"
"Mommy, I think I got a bit stronger as well, though the souls of these monsters tasted quite plain after we ate a few, maybe we need something of higher quality," said Belle, as she appeared near the girls while flapping her butterfly wings, which left a trace of sparkling yellow and dark colors.
"Is that so? I have captured a few Space Attribute Divine Beasts, and I could also feed you pieces of my soul now that I've eaten more gods, it should give you some boost, but let us do that later" I said.
"Okay!" said Ailine.
"Eating Mommy's soul is always nice, it's very delicious!" said Vudia.
"It always tastes different too," said Nirah.
"I wonder if we should feel that way…" muttered Belle.
The harpy chicks appeared as well while flying towards me like a flock of colorful birds.
"Mommy, we did it! We defeated the bad guys!"
"Mommy, mommy! I want milk!"
"I'm hungry!"
"The monsters weren't as tasty"
"I want milk too!"
"Milk, milk!"
Many of them wanted to drink milk, and as they are still growing, it was a necessary thing.
"Well, I can also help you out with milk, chupi" said Nephiana appearing from behind me.
"Okay, okay, but calm down, dinner is soon so I can give you milk there, but have patience," I said.
"Yay!"
"I want milk! I'm thirsty!"
"What milk do you prefer, mommy or mommy?"
"I like both! They're delicious, it always makes me comfortable to drink them"
"Shirp!"
It seemed like my milk has given them a bit of an addiction problem… Is my milk really that good? Well, the other girls had grown from it now such as Vudia and Ailine… but Nirah and Belle still drink from time to time, although Nirah should not need to.
Anyways, there is never a problem regarding that, and there is also Nephiana to help them out… now that I think about it, how would Harpy milk taste like? Perhaps I might inspect its flavor tonight when we are doing lovely things.
"Hm, it seems that most didn't get as much power, but I did get a bit more than the rest, is it because I have an affinity with the Undead? They were all Undead-type monsters" said Amiphossia, who came flying with the rest of her party alongside us. She was currently fighting alongside her party inside one of the flesh mechs, their teamwork was quite good, and Evan's strength had begun to combine well with Amiphossia's.
"I feel like your soul had already become a Divine Soul, Ami… I wish I could do the same so I can protect you better" said Evan.
"Fufufu, my little Evan wants to protect me? Don't worry, I will be the one protecting you~" said Amiphossia as she took Evan with her arms and kissed his forehead.
"A-Amiphossia, don't treat me like this when we are in front of your mother…!" said Evan with a flushed expression.
It seems that Ami and Evan are very close already, Ami likes to spoil him rotten as if he were more like her son… from where has she developed such maternal instincts? Well, perhaps Lamia's nature is like this, as Nesiphae was similar before even having her egg inside her belly.
Perhaps Lamias have a distinct way to express love and are very attached to their lovers when they finally find one. They are ideal wives for lonely men, and Evan was quite shy and lonely, despite having a party before.
Perhaps Amiphossia's open nature made him soften more and accustomed to the Empire quicker than I had thought. At first, he really seemed like the 'righteous-type' kind of guy, but now he has changed more and is more willing to fight for what he cares for instead of what humans think is right… well, losing his humanity and becoming part monster might have helped. He also had quite a strong emotional development after finally avenging his father by killing his brother.
Anyways, it seemed that even after so many events, he still could not help but feel surprised every time Amiphossia did something 'incredible' such as eating the souls of Divine Beasts.
"Phew, that was easier than we thought, we were waiting for you to come back like half an hour ago…" muttered Aarae coming alongside Ervin and Valentia.
"With Aarae-chan strength, it was fairly easy… But I am worried that eating those ugly monsters' souls might give you indigestion…" muttered Ervin.
"Don't worry, Ervin-kun! We can even eat gods if we are giving the opportunity! So, how was it, mommy? Did you eat those annoying gods?" asked Valentia while patting Ervin's back.
"Oh… About that… well" I muttered.
"So how was it? Huh?" asked Ryo coming back with the rest of his siblings, such as Yiksukesh, Marduk, Nammu, and Nanshe.
"They escaped…" I muttered.
"EH?!"
All of my children seemed surprised.
"But mommy, how could it let it go like that!" said Amiphossia.
"We should have really accompanied you there, all of you are strong, but you might have needed more hands…" said Ryo.
"Well, the way they escaped, even with all of you present, it would have been almost impossible to catch him at the moment it happened… You see, they escaped right when they were inside of my mouth! Could you believe it? Well, there is way too much to explain, so let us go into details in the Gillmen Nation"
Alongside my children, the Elder Dragon came flying into their humanoid forms, seemingly having finished their hunt as well.
"We gained more levels than we expected… slaying Divine Beasts was rather hard though," said Goghesdum, as Odanth, Yvnei, and Nannet came flying alongside her.
"It wouldn't be possible without Kireina-sama's help though," said Odanth.
"That's right… Although we cannot eat them to gain more power like her family" said Yvnei.
"I… Were those Divine Beasts? They felt like simple monsters…" muttered Nannet.
"Ah, that's because of my God Devour! The Red Slime atop your head was what was giving you the power to fight against them. Without it, your feeble attacks would have never done any damage against Divine Beasts" I said.
"Eh?! Is that so?! Then the slime wasn't just to tell me what to do…" muttered Nannet.
"She's smart but often clueless," said Goghesdum.
"Mother! How can you say that of your daughter?!" asked Nannet.
"Hehe, yeah she might be smart, but she has a hard time catching up to things," said Odanth.
"Even you sister?!" asked Nannet.
"Nannet being like this makes me relieved that I am not seen as the clumsiest of the four…" said Yvnei.
"E-Even you, Yvnei?! I feel betrayed… Go away… leave me alone…" muttered Nannet as if despairing…
"Wait, Nannet-chan, don't say that!" said Yvnei with concern.
"We just broke her…" said Odanth.
"You two should mind your words more with my daughter…" muttered Goghesdum.
"YOU WERE THE ONE THAT STARTED IT!" roared the three Elder Dragon girls at the same time.
"Errr… Sorry? Maybe I need to be more careful then?" said Goghesdum.
"No… I am clueless after all… Haahhh…" muttered Nannet.
"Huh? Nannet-chan, don't give up!" said Yvnei, as Nannet's soul began to slowly fly out of her body, metaphorically.
"I got her!" said Odanth, catching Nannet who had suddenly fallen into depression, she was certainly very weak emotionally. Quite unstable. Perhaps due to her age.
I don't think what would happen if I were to ever call my children 'idiots' or even 'clueless'… I might make them quite sad. After all, the person that most loves you is calling you like that, it hurts more at the end than a random stranger.
"You're not quite a good mother, are you not, Goghesdum?" I asked the Elder Dragon, as she gave me an apologetic look.
"Kireina-sama, you're the mother of so many children… I think I've counted more than twenty… How can you do it? Only these three are giving me headaches… I guess that is why I let them live in their own Nations…" muttered Goghesdum.
"Well, that was a bad move on your part, you should have kept them all together with you! Letting them go away from you might have affected them… As you often complain about Odanth and her deviancy, Yvnei's clumsy nature, and Nannet's emotional weakness… You'll have to work hard to help them out. Don't worry, you're part of my Empire now so I can give you more advice later on" I said.
"Ah! Kireina-sama, is that true? You're such a benevolent Goddess!" said Goghesdum.
"Of course I am, how would I keep so many people happy in my Empire? It's hard work but the pay is good too (EXP and Skill Point every day through prayers and faith)" I said.
"The… the pay?" asked Goghesdum.
"Yeah, well, weren't you raising mortals for that purpose originally? So they can hold faith and prayers upon you, and in exchange, you gain power? Well, that can only happen if you reach godhood or possess a Divine Soul like my children and Rimuru" I said.
"Oh right… So that strategy is also done by you, Kireina-sama? And I always thought that I was quite the pioneer…" muttered Goghesdum.
"Indeed, as long as I keep my citizens happy, comfortable, and having nice lives, I get a lot on exchange. I am not really someone so benevolent as you think, and I don't do things out of goodwill as it could seem unless it is for my family… And well, all of my citizens are growing in my heart as my family, so, naturally, I do the best of my capabilities to bring them happiness" said Kireina.
"Kireina-sama… But how can you even know them so well, are they not thousands? I often do have a very hard time recognizing every citizen, and only know the ones that are closest to the churches…" asked Goghesdum.
"That's… well, I guess I am the only ruler that could be so connected with its citizens. It's through my ability to divide myself and create clones that share my mind like an enormous hive mind, like that, I have thousands of Slime Clones, Flesh Clones, and other variants all across my Empire working together with my citizens every day, helping them in their daily lives and assisting them in everything they need" I said.
"So you have thousands of bodies?!" asked Goghesdum.
"Not exactly… Only recently have I gotten the ability to divide me while sharing my complete mind with clones, which I call True Clones. The rest are Slime Clones, and simply possess a mind that is a copy of mine, but is also independent, different, and can even develop in other ways… However, I always have them connected with my mind through the Hive Mind Skill," I said.
"Oh… I see! Kireina-sama, you are such a complex living being. I cannot help but want to investigate your every secret! Your whole physiology defies a lot of the science and logic I've acquired through my life" said Goghesdum.
"Well, I suppose I can help you out in investigations later on as well, you could even join those that already do it, such as Redgaria," I said.
"So there are more like me?! This fills me with motivation! The future is truly bright!" said Goghesdum.
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