The Simulacrum
~Chapter 161~ Part 2

"Uuu…"

"Are you sure you don't need an ice pack?" Mr Plague Doctor asked with undisguised worry in his muffled voice, but I shook my head and waved for him to get back to work.

"Don't worry, something like this is nothing."

"Uuuuuu…"

"If you say so…"

That topic concluded, I casually brought the breastplate over and placed it onto one of the many large machines lining the walls of the room, out of reach of my fidgeting sister. Penny, apparently still mortified by my sudden appearance, was lying on her stomach on top of the odd bed in the middle. It was shaped like a large stick figure, or maybe more like one of those chalk outlines you'd see drawn around the victims in crime shows. It was also generously padded with thick white leather cushions, and if not for the machinery and the large scanning arm looking like an enormous retro-futuristic ray gun, it wouldn't have looked out of place in a massage parlour.

"Uuuuuuuuu…."

With a sigh, I turned to the fidgeting girl, currently only wearing socks and a sporty set of underwear, still trying her best to cover up her butt with her hands.

"Kiddo, would you please stop moaning? It's distracting."

"I-I-I'm not moaning!" She looked up, but when our eyes met, she let out a stifled "Hauhauuu!" kind of noise and buried her face back into the cushions.

"Is she always like this during the procedure?" I asked the only other man in the room, and Mr Plague Doctor exhaled a nonchalant 'Nah,' in response. "Am I the problem then?"

"Of course you are!" Penny yelled into the cushions and tried even harder to cover her butt. "Uuu… I can't get married anymore!"

"You're weird," I noted with just a hint of exasperation as I walked around her. "You do realize that there's no difference between seeing you in your undies and your swimsuit, right?"

"There's a huge difference! A girl can't show her underwear to a man! It's improper!"

"Then what about him?" I gestured at the man currently busy making coffee, seemingly not even caring about our conversation.

"That's different! He's a doctor, and it's fine to undress in front of one!"

That made me stop in my tracks and fully turn to the odd researcher.

"Are you a doctor?"

"In a manner of speaking," he answered indifferently and raised an empty cup in my direction. "Coffee?"

"I refrain, but thank you." He lightly shrugged and returned to his infernal beverage (I don't judge, I'm just stating the facts), and so I also focused on my sister again. "Kiddo, would you please stop making a mountain out of a molehill? I came here to check your progress, and it's hard to do it when you're fidgeting like that."

It took a couple of seconds, but she finally stopped wriggling her butt and removed her hands, putting them on the designated armrests.

"O-Okay, but… promise that you don't stare."

"Oh, cut it out. There are exactly two butts in this universe I even remotely care about, and yours isn't one of them."

I got a slightly more defiant huff in response, which meant she was already getting over her weird bout of embarrassment. Or so I hoped. Anyhow, I turned to the scientist in the room again.

"How's the progress on the Oaths?"

"Within expectations." He paused for a breath to put down his cup and readjust the large round glasses perched on his mask's beak. He then continued in a more professional tone. "We've managed to isolate the channels used to integrate the mana input/output interface into the subject's astral body, and the mapping of the Oath receptacles' base architecture is essentially complete, only requiring secondary verifications."

"And what's the bad news?" I asked half-seriously, yet the man's shoulders drooped as if he was dreading this question from the start.

"I'm afraid that we still don't have the appropriate mechanism required to remove or reinstall the broken receptacles. In other words, the procedure still requires your… personal touch."

That made Penny shiver on the table, but I ignored her for the time being.

"Should I reach out to Mensah after all?"

"Not yet," Mr Plague Doctor declared on no uncertain terms. "I'm not ready to throw in the towel just yet. Please, give me a few more weeks, and I'll figure out something."

We locked gazes (or as much as we could do through his mask's darkened goggles), and he remained completely adamant.

"Fine. I'll still call up the Celestials and have them prepare to hand over the…" I paused, suddenly feeling unsure of myself. Was 'technology' the right word to use? Or was it more like a 'ritual'? In the end, I just side-stepped the whole 'sufficiently-advanced-science-or-sufficiently-analysed-magic' dilemma. "The method. It'll probably take a while anyway, so do your best until then."

"An acceptable compromise." The masked mad scientist nodded and returned to his machinery.

My eyes drifted back to the stock-still girl on the table and I exhaled a shallow breath. If everything worked out as planned, then she would be receiving the first set of replacement Oaths, which was essentially an instant power-up in preparation for our final arc. We knew it could be done; Percival demonstrated it thoroughly for everyone to see, and we also learned that the Celestials already perfected the procedure.

The most logical thing would've been to just take their research and magitech and whatever else it involved and use it for our own benefit. At this point I'd completely cemented my position at the top of the Elysium's hierarchy, so if I gave the order, I could absolutely get my hands on that, but Mr Plague Doctor here had other ideas. According to him, it was pivotal that we first attempted to do it our way and reverse-engineer the procedure using Percival's armour and Oaths (or at least what remained of them).

His logic was as follows: if we just took the Celestials' work, then we would be locked into their methodology, and there was no guarantee we could even replicate it without relying on their magitech and expertise. However, if we developed our own system first, then we could compare and contrast it with theirs and potentially come up with an even better and/or more efficient solution to the broken Oath problem.

I half suspected there was also some professional pride in there, and that he really wanted to be the one to figure it out, but since we weren't strapped for time (yet), and because his arguments made sense, I decided to leave it up to him. Also, while it was only a small thing, I didn't want to disappoint Penny either. Sure, I occasionally teased her a little, as all good older brothers ought to do, but she was still family and I didn't want to make her feel like all the time and discomfort she put into these reverse-engineering experiments was for nought.

But speaking of her, I stepped up to the bed and my eyes skimmed over her back. While the Oaths had no physical presence, they were roughly lined up with her spinal column on her astral body, with the first one being at the base of the neck, and the last one just over the tailbone. I was just about to inspect her, but then my eyes caught something.

"What's that?" I asked as I cocked my head to the side and carefully reached out to lift the back of her sports bra a little.

"A-Awawa! Brother, what are you doing!?"

"Just checking, but…" I squinted at the hazy colourless light seeping out of under the cloth. "Is that one of Snowy's Sigils?"

"Y-Yeah."

I squinted a bit harder, and I was almost tempted to poke it with my phantom limbs, but I restrained the urge. Unlike with enchantments, my Abyssal sister's magical markings were more like self-sustaining magical effects, so they were much more susceptible to disruption, and I didn't want to accidentally dispel it. I leaned closer to take a better look, and while I wasn't clear on Abyssal iconography or anything, I found it surprisingly familiar.

"It kind of looks like the invisibility Sigil Brang and the Fauns use." Penny didn't respond, so I pulled her bra strap back over the marking and lightly patted it. "Does it work?"

"It does, it's just that…" Penny's words trailed off into a whisper. "I-I can't turn it on by myself yet. I-If I could, I would've done it before you could look at my undies!"

Even if she did, I could see through that spell with ease, so it wouldn't have made a difference. She didn't need to know that though, and it didn't really matter anyway. But staying on the topic of seeing magic, I took a deep breath, focused all my attention on her back, and tried to 'see' past it. I've done this a few times before, but it was still a relatively finicky process. Kind of like trying to read the contents of a closed book with a scanning X-ray machine. The fact it made me feel I was going cross-eyed also didn't help with my concentration.

With time and effort, I could feel my vision slowly 'tune out' the material world, transforming everything into churning outlines formed by colourless waves of mana. It wasn't quite like when I was interacting with someone's metaphysical yarn-ball with my phantom limbs; that was akin to tunnelling my consciousness into the deepest layer of the Simulacrum, while this was more like peeling off the top layer of the world to peek underneath.

Soon, Penny's astral body came into a vague view and I could quickly make out the Oath receptacles, like small light bulbs embedded into her along the spine. There were seven of them in total, each corresponding to a different Oath, and they were connected by multiple strands of wispy, pulsing strands of mana.

On closer look, three of them were visibly different from the rest. The first one, right at the base of the neck, was dim, like a candlelight that was just about to burn out. It was the Oath of Loyalty, which originally tied the Brotherhood to the Celestials, and the reason why the original implanting of the Oaths was such a long and arduous process. Since it was pretty much 'broken by default', and since it was the first one that had to be implanted, it was quite painful. Worse yet, even after it was integrated, it would flare up every time a subsequent Oath was installed, which was the main reason why the Entitled Knights had to recuperate between each Oath, dragging the procedure out for months, or even years.

Conversely, I figured that once we could figure out how to remove this one and replace it with a different Oath (like switching out 'Your Celestial Masters' to 'The Ordo Draconis' in a contract), it would make the creation of new Knights way easier and faster.

The other dim one was the second from the bottom, and while it looked slightly brighter than the top one, it was clearly inactive, with the strands of mana going around it. That was the Oath of Integrity, which was apparently the Oath that got broken the most, either on accident or by deliberate choice. It was also the 'don't hurt the innocent' rule, which made me wonder how Penny broke hers. I never asked though. I had a faint feeling it might've been a touchy subject, so I figured I wouldn't bring it up unless she wanted to talk about it.

In any case, this Oath didn't need replacement, but repair, which posed a different challenge altogether. In a way, it might've been even more difficult; kind of like the difference between replacing a faulty motherboard, or trying to fix it by finding the broken component and re-soldering all the connections.

Last, but not least, we had the third Oath receptacle at the very bottom, right over Penny's tailbone. That was, for lack of better terms, flickering, and it wasn't hard to figure out why. It was the Oath of Legacy, which demanded that the Knight would uphold the rules, traditions, and legacy of the Brotherhood. Except, I dissolved the Brotherhood and turned it into the Ordo Draconis, effectively subverting its original purpose, but at the same time its mission of 'keep the Draconians in check' effectively remained the same. As such, this particular Oath was in an ambiguous situation, where it was caught in a kind of logic loop and was barely functioning, requiring an update.

In short, we had one part that needed replacing, one part that needed repair, and one part that needed a firmware update. It almost felt like I was running a computer repair shop or something…

Anyhow, I took a closer look at the faulty Oaths but saw minimal progress. Mr Plague Doctor and his crew didn't want to break anything, so they only enacted the safest of changes using the upgraded soul-scanning machine and some other fancy retro-futuristic equipment lying around. Because of that, all the changes were safe, but conversely, their progress was quite glacial.

I knew from experience that, if push came to shove, I could just pluck them out with my phantom limbs, modify them the same way I would tweak an enchanted artefact, and then plug them back in, but that wasn't exactly a surgical procedure. As for modifications, I have tested those one Percival and Raven Boy (back when he was still on my shit-list), and I was fairly confident that I could fix both the Oath of Legacy and Integrity, given enough time and some intact examples to work with.

However, that wasn't my job. As I had said numerous times in the past, I wasn't funding our Research Division for fun. Both the homunculus project and the draconic bloodline revivification one were already near the finish line, so it was damn time this investment would start paying dividends as well.

But speaking of the other projects, I metaphorically uncrossed my eyes, so that my vision was once again beholding the 'surface level' of the world, and I walked back to the mad scientist's side.

"I see you've done some work on receptacle number six."

"Yes. How does it look?"

"You might want to reinforce the outer layer a bit, but otherwise looks solid."

He picked up a clipboard and a pen.

"What do you mean by 'outer layer'?"

"The interaction zone between the mana channels and the conversion arrays."

"Oh, I see. What about the reverse-flow restriction valves? I theorized that they might be responsible for the…"

For the next half an hour or so, we discussed the Oaths in detail. While our terminology didn't exactly line up, we could more or less understand each other, and I told him about what I'd seen to the best of my ability. At last, it was time to return to the other workshop, so I raised my hand to cut the conversation short.

"I'll better head back. Do you need anything else?"

"No, thank you. If anything, I think you just gave me some inspiration about how to circumvent the stuck locking mechanism on the equipment interface and—"

"Glad to head it," I interjected and took a step back. "Keep up the good work. As for you, Kiddo…" I was about to say goodbye, and I just noticed that she'd been suspiciously silent for a while now, and when I walked over, I couldn't stop myself from looking stumped and whispering, "Is she asleep?"

"Ah, yes. She often does that during the examination," the beak-masked man told me with a chipper voice.

"Isn't she going to catch a cold at this rate?"

"I usually turn up the thermostat whenever she's here, but if you feel it's not enough, I can raise the ambient temperature even more."

Maybe because I was already used to it, but I didn't notice that the air was particularly warmer in here. I couldn't hurt though, so I whispered, "Please do so."

"Understood."

With that, he headed to the other end of the room (presumably to the location of the thermostat), while I quietly left the workshop, trying not to wake my sister. As soon as I was outside…

"Huh. It really was much warmer in there."

I quickly closed the door behind me and returned to the Transcendent Reinforcement Phenomena Research Group's workshop, where the experiment was just about to reach its crescendo. Not that you could tell at a glance. Grand Elder Xinji was still tied to his standing metal bed, with all kinds of esoteric energies swirling about him, and the Research Society members were sitting at a nearby table and poring over some graphs, yet at the same time Naoren and Rinne were standing in a corner and animatedly discussing something, while Oadango girl was… playing Uno with the princess, Galatea, and Ichiko. With the foxy Miko holding her cards, as the little dragon had to remain stationary.

Not exactly the epic, nail-biting scene one would expect from a historical breakthrough experiment, but maybe I just set my expectations too high.

"Kihihi! Welcome back boss," Fred greeted me first, so I headed over to their side.

"Hey. Is it okay for Xiao to play around during the procedure?"

"There is no need to be concerned about such things," Steampunk Kid responded in his stead and vaguely gestured towards the girls around the experimental apparatus. "The device is only reading the girl's manametric signature during the treatment and imposes it upon the recipient. She merely needs to remain in place until the process has successfully run its course."

"O-ho-ho. In retrospect, we should have considered providing entertainment for the child ahead of time. Thank goodness for Galatea's quick thinking."

"Never mind that," Fred interjected and got up from his chair. "You're just in time, boss! We're on the cusp of the penultimate moment! It's any minute now!" He walked over to my side, and then conspicuously stood behind me. "It should be perfectly safe, but I'm still glad that you're here, boss! I feel much safer already!"

Was… he pulling my leg, I wondered. However, before I could ask, my attention was suddenly grabbed by a different situation unfolding. And no, it wasn't the lights around the old Eastern Draconian building up for a dramatic finish.

"Leonard-dono!"

"Wait, Lady Rinne! Listen to me!"

Naoren tried to stop her, but she ducked out of his grasp and skipped over to my side. She was back to her usual ensemble of the purple pantsuit and her sword, Onikiri, hanging from her shoulder, but her features were also unusually flustered.

"Leonard-dono, please tell Rinne about the bees!" she practically shouted the moment she arrived at my side, startling Fred so hard he nearly fell over.

"The what now?"

"The bees!" she insistent with pure desperation. "Ichiko-neesan said that they have something to do with babies and Rinne… Rinne already held hands with Naoren-san! Is Rinne pregnant?"

I narrowed my eyes at her, then at the thoroughly mortified Feilong patriarch, and finally back at her.

"Mountain Girl? How old are you?"

"L-Leonard-dono! It's not proper to ask a maiden about her age!"

"… Okay, then let's put it this way: You finished high school. You went to college. You have a freaking teaching license, and you don't know how babies are made?"

"But… that has nothing to do with bees," she insisted, sounding vaguely sulky. "Is there really a bee yokai Rinne doesn't know about that gives people babies? Or was it a stork yokai? Maybe both. Ichiko-neesan said it's how it works, so it must be something that Rinne just doesn't know about, but if it's true, then Rinne could already be pregnant out of weld-lock! It would be a great dishonor, and…"

"Calm down. Just calm down, okay?" I chided her, and she finally fell silent. "It's just a misunderstanding. I'll…" I took a deep breath, unable to believe I was about to say this. "Once we're done here, let's all sit down with Ichiko and Xiao in tow, and I'll explain the birds and the bees, okay?"

"Understood." She let out a long breath, as if I just took a great weight off her shoulder, and then suddenly reached for the hilt of Onikiri. "And then, we'll hunt down those dishonorable yokai, right?"

I didn't deem that worthy of an answer, but instead I turned to Naoren and sent him a 'Your taste in women is weird, man…' kind of look, to which he responded with a 'Hey, don't put this on me!' type of squint. Yet, before we could continue our non-verbal communications, there was a sudden ding. The kind you would hear when the microwave oven was done heating your food, and it was followed by a series of clanks as the restraints around the Grand Elder automatically opened and he floated down.

The long sleeves of his robe and his beard both fluttered as his whole body was buffeted by swirling purple gusts of smoke infused by blue sparks of electricity. Then, he opened his eyes, aglow with a bright blue light, and let out an ear-piercing cackle.

"Hahaha! This is truly a miraculous effect! I have broken through my bottleneck, and my cultivation has soared by leaps and bounds! I have become the carp that leapt over the dragon's gate! My dantian is brimming with the awesome fury of our ancestors' true eternal fire! I am invincible! I am indomitable! I am—"

"Tone it down, you muppet! You're scaring the kids!" I cut in with a strategic slap at the back of his head, and the old man stumbled forward.

"You dare!?" he responded reflexively, only to turn around and immediately freeze when he saw my eyes. Or rather, when he didn't, because I activated my Leoformer and donned my Lion Knight armour.

"I dare. So, are you calm yet, or should I dare again?" He remained silent, and then soon the lightning-infused smoke around him dissipated and he awkwardly cleared his throat.

"Ah, yes. This senior might have been a bit—"

"Wild Card!" Ichiko exclaimed in the back.

"Can I get down now? My legs are tired," Odango Girl whimpered, shifting her weight from one foot to the other.

"Leo, help! Should I play a reverse card here?" the princess pleaded, while Galatea stoically continued to play the game.

As far as historically significant moments were concerned, this wasn't exactly as monumental as expected, but… maybe it was for the better. God as my witness, I have experienced more dramatic moments than I even wanted already, so I was fine with some bathos every now and then.

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