Chapter 35
Yuurai uses Marionette magic to move the surrounding Forest Wolves to one location.
Then, she first stacks three Forest Wolves together and places her right hand on them.
"Magical Remodeling"
She imagines a wolf with three heads. By combining three Forest Wolves, each about one and a half meters long, into a single body.
After a black-purple light is emitted, a Cerberus-like Forest Wolf is born, with three heads and a body equivalent to three wolves.
"Yes, it worked."
Using Marionette magic, Yuurai tries moving the three-headed Forest Wolf. Replicating smooth quadrupedal movement is difficult, but she gradually gets used to it.
However, while she thought the Cerberus-like appearance looked cool, it doesn't seem very practical in combat. It appears more effective to fight with three separate wolves than with three heads on one body.
"Hmm, it might have the effect of surprising the enemy as a bizarre Monster, but it's not practical for actual combat..."
"I think that kind of Monster would be rather easy to defeat."
"Yeah, right... Should I just combine them into one giant wolf, or maybe..."
She tries Magical Remodeling again. This time, she creates a Werewolf with a human body and a wolf's head. Using the corpses of five wolves, she makes a very robust Werewolf over three meters tall.
"Oh, isn't this pretty good? Humanoid forms are easier to handle, and with this size, I can expect some destructive power."
As a test, she has it strike a tree about one meter in diameter. While a regular Forest Wolf could only scratch the surface with its fangs, the Werewolf's strike successfully breaks the tree in half.
"This is good. But if I don't control the strength properly, it might break down quickly."
The artificial Werewolf's right hand is bent out of shape. The bone is protruding, and blood drips from it.
As Yuurai repairs the hand with Magical Remodeling, Claire offers some advice.
"If you're making it humanoid, why not give it a weapon? There are plenty of unused weapons in town."
"True. If it uses a weapon, the body will last longer."
Next, she tries making a simply enormous wolf. While it looks intimidating, quadrupedal beasts are still hard to control. Moreover, since its only combat methods are biting or charging, it doesn't seem suited for fighting humans.
"If I'm going to control something, a humanoid form might be better..."
"But whether Yuurai can properly control it is also an issue. If it's not fighting automatically and Yuurai has to control it, complex movements might be difficult."
"That's true too..."
"Besides, honestly, if you have the time to manipulate corpses, I think it would be more threatening for Yuurai to fight using her other magic. For example, with Concealment magic, you should be able to completely erase your presence or that of your spells. Fighting an invisible enemy is very difficult."
Claire's point was quite valid.
Yuurai isn't a combat expert and lacks experience, so she still doesn't fully understand how to effectively use her magic. At the very least, remodeling and controlling corpses doesn't seem very effective.
"Hmm, so rather than remodeling corpses, it might be better to use Mental Manipulation to control the Monsters around here while they're still alive... Oh, and strengthening them with Magical Remodeling might be a good idea too. That way, I wouldn't have needed to bother with corpses in the first place."
"...Manipulating living creatures is also quite a terrifying thing, I think."
"Well, yeah. But for me, Claire and the others are more important than the lives or dignity of the Monsters around here."
"...I see. If you're going to do it, keep it in moderation."
"Yeah."
"By the way, why not try using Mental Manipulation on Ceres? She'd make a good fighter."
"I'll pass on that. If people thought I was a Monster who steals human free will and forces them to fight, I'd be feared even more as an enemy of the world."
"...True. Considering the future, it might be better to hold back."
"Yeah. So for now, I'll keep experimenting with Monsters. I'll also look into ways to utilize my other magic."
For the time being, Yuurai conducted as many experiments as she could think of.
She also came up with the idea of bringing stronger Monsters from within the Dungeon, but decided to try that another day.
As the experiments and such came to an end, Claire spoke up.
"By the way, can you make a doll of yourself with Magical Remodeling?"
"Yeah, I can. Why do you ask?"
"Lipia said she wanted to sleep with Yuurai, so I thought maybe you could give her a doll or something."
"...A doll made from a corpse would be creepy, don't you think? What kind of harassment is that? Besides, Lipia doesn't recognize me as me just by appearance, so she wouldn't want a doll."
"Then, are you planning to sleep with Lipia?"
"Hmm, how about the three of us sleep together?"
Claire frowns in displeasure.
"Huh? You dislike it that much? Could it be that Claire hates demi-humans?"
"Not really. I neither like nor dislike them."
"Then, together..."
Claire frowns again.
(She looks like she hates the idea... But still...)
"...We can't just leave Lipia alone, right? Even with Ragvela and Jeevy around, I think she still feels different from everyone else. I understand the loneliness of being by herself, so please let her spend time with us."
"...Is that an order?"
"...Let's call it an order."
"...Fine."
Claire lets out a deep sigh, then pulls Yuurai close and hugs her tightly.
Due to the height difference, Yuurai's face is buried in Claire's chest.
More than feeling joy at the softness, confusion takes over.
(Huh? What is this? Why am I being hugged?)
Claire doesn't let go of Yuurai for a while. In the near-zero temperature, Yuurai finds Claire's body warmth comforting.
Incidentally, it's known that Yuurai, Claire, and Lipia's body temperature is around thirty degrees. They do have body heat, but to non-Undead creatures, their bodies feel cold. Only fellow Undead can find comfort in embracing each other.
"...Claire?"
"The one who turned me into this body is you."
"Yeah...?"
"You'll take responsibility for it."
"...I'm not quite sure what you mean by that."
"...I've come to feel an obsession toward you, something akin to love."
"...Is that so?"
"I think it's an effect of being turned into an Undead by you. I want to touch you, I hate anything that harms you, and I want your attention."
"There's an effect like that too?"
"Yes. You're slowly changing me. Not that I dislike it. Being by your side feels comforting."
"I see..."
"It's fine if you care about the other girls. But if you neglect me, I won't forgive you."
"...Got it."
(A side effect of becoming Undead, huh... Since I pour a huge amount of my magic into creating them, it's no surprise that an unusual obsession forms. That means Lipia's remarks might also stem from that obsession... If I create too many Undead, it could turn into a real mess...)
Claire releases Yuurai.
Claire's expression isn't that of a lovestruck maiden. It's more like she's looking at an object of worship.
Yuurai feels a bit uncomfortable.
"...Did I break Claire's heart or something?"
"Not at all. It's just that an obsession toward you has been added to who I was before. Nothing fundamental has changed."
"I see. That's a relief, I guess."
"Yeah. ...But still, just a bit more."
Claire pulls Yuurai close again. This time, she doesn't let go of Yuurai until a Monster appears.