Structure : Reunion
With days passing into weeks, the long winter plaguing Sharia gradually gave way for Spring. There was still a layer of snow covering the ground and many roofs, but a few patches of green grass and flowers had started to break through the thinner banks.
While most of the citizens of the Magic Triumvirate were breathing a sigh of relief, tensions were high in the Western District. Amalie was far from the only one to have gotten pregnant during the mating season. Thus, the moment the first beast woman went into labor, the others followed.
Over the span of seven days, a total of thirty-three beast women went into labor. While this might not sound like a lot, it was a nightmare when you considered that the average 'litter' size was 2-3 for cat people and 3-4 for dog people. There were also no qualified doctors among the Beast Race present within Sharia, so things quickly spiraled out of control with no one in charge.
In the end, despite their best efforts to preserve all the mothers and their children using herbs, Detoxification, and Healing Magic, there were still a heartbreaking number of deaths. Five of the expectant mothers ended up succumbing to labor complications. If that wasn't tragic enough, nearly a quarter of the newborn beast children ended up passing away from things like negligence and lack of care.
The sad truth was that most beast people were terrible parents. Back in the Great Forest, newborns would generally be handed over to older and more experienced members of the tribe rather than being reared by their parents. Most of the beast people in Sharia were also adapted to tropical climates. With the maximum Summer temperature reaching 15 degrees, it was far from the ideal environment to raise children.
What caused Paul and girls like Xiangling to feel broken inside was the knowledge that more than half of the children weren't expected to survive the first year. Those that did would struggle immensely during their youth as their instincts would cause them to lash out at others or simply wander off to explore. Because of this, several would end up being killed in self-defense, while others would invariably be snatched up by kidnappers to be sold into slavery.
When Paul first learned the 'truth,' he couldn't help asking Amalie why she had ever come to the North. He was surprised to learn that she had been born there, roughly twenty-nine years prior. With the shortest route to the Great Forest requiring her to travel more than 14,000km, she simply never had the means to leave.
The most painful thing about Amalie's tale was that Esme was not her first child. She was simply the only one that had survived and managed to stay with her mother. Excluding her current triplets, consisting of two boys and a girl, she had seven other unaccounted for children. Some had died from exposure and other causes, while the others had simply disappeared one day, never to return...
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Though he was usually very proactive about 'increasing his mana,' Paul's discussion with Amalie left him feeling sullen and reflective. Even with Ei and Eula flanking him, their voluminous breasts cushioning his arms, he just wasn't in the mood.
Worried that Paul was bottling things up unnecessarily, Eula asked, "Want to talk about it...?" in a soft and soothing tone.
Though his first instinct was to refuse and say everything was okay, Paul didn't say it. Instead, he waited nearly three minutes before muttering, "I both love and hate this world...it's so beautiful and filled with wonder, but the circumstances of the people that inhabit it are just so fucked up..."
Nodding her head, Eula exhaled a subdued sigh before nestling closer to Paul and answering, "I understand what you mean...there are times when I wish I could just purge all the Nobles of this world..."
As a scion of the Lawrence Clan, a group of Nobles from Mondstadt, Eula had strong views regarding how Nobles should carry themselves. She had lived her entire life trying to redeem her clan, so these past few years had been especially challenging for her. There were too many injustices in this world that needed addressing...
Returning a nod of his own, Paul's gaze briefly shifted to Ei as he thought about the amount of damage she could do if unleashed on the world. She was easily an Emperor-Ranked Swordsman, and, thanks to a quirk of the IOF, she was practically immortal. Even if she was somehow killed, it only cost 1000AGC to resurrect her. If he just holed himself up somewhere and deployed the Archons, Paul was fairly certain he could eventually conquer the entire world...
The problem with conquest was that it generally created more issues in the interim. They could eventually build back, but it would take decades to restore the peace. To that end, it was better to influence the people in control than to replace them outright.
"Once we reunite with Ninnguang and the rest, we'll see what she has to say on the matter. After that, I just need to invoke the remaining Archons, and we'll have a lot more options moving forward..."
"Mmm...I also believe that's for the best..."
Punctuating her words, Eula snuggled as close as possible to Paul before closing her eyes. She felt like there was more they could be doing, but, at the same time, she understood she lacked the foresight required to make such decisions. Her duty was to protect and safeguard Paul, so unless he ordered her to take action, she would continue to follow and support him. The more convoluted stuff could be left to women like Ningguang and the Archons.
Seeing Eula close her eyes, Paul was compelled to plant a kiss atop her head. Then, noticing Ei staring at him with a blank, almost pitiable look on her face, he afforded her a kiss before hugging both of the buxom women close...
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With Amalie's renovated bakery serving as the de facto heart and soul of the Beast Race community of Sharia, the single mother of four didn't have to worry about caring for her kittens on her own. She now had the support of an entire community at her back, and, thanks to the efforts of Paul and his Party, businesses within the Western District were beginning to thrive.
Taking advantage of the agreement he made with the Mayor, Paul had convinced a few of the more above-board merchants to open up shop in the Western District. The caveat was that any business operating in the Western District was not allowed to make use of slave labor. Instead, Paul greased the palms of a few tanners, carpenters, and blacksmiths to teach the Beast Race community their respective trades. In exchange for their tutelage, the beast people they trained would apprentice and work under them for a few years without pay. To further sweeten the deal, Paul made it so that anyone participating in the apprenticeship program would receive up to two meals a day from Amalie's bakery or one of the growing number of restaurants in the area.
Since the Beast Race didn't care about things like money, very few people had any complaints about the arrangements made by Paul. They knew he was looking out for them, so they readily complied even when he ordered them to build things like a school, a hospital, and a training dojo.
One of the detriments of Beast Race society was that they rarely focused on things like education. Paul knew he couldn't change that, but he could still create a place where their children would be relatively safe while they learned skills that would make living amongst humans much easier. At the very least, he wanted them to be able to read, write, and perform basic arithmetic so they wouldn't end up being scammed every time they tried to purchase something.
Fortunately, it only took Esme and a few other children demonstrating their ability to use Magic to convince the few naysayers within the Beast Race community. The rest were convinced when Paul informed them that he and Ghislaine would personally teach the older students skills such as swordsmanship, close-quarters combat, and archery.
In the midst of these changes, Paul was pleasantly surprised when Lisa showed up one day, accompanied by a beautiful woman with somewhat unruly golden hair, lime green eyes, and a dark purple outfit accented with black and purple feathers.
"Fischl? Is that you...?"
Though he was tempted to remark on how much she had matured, the things Paul had heard from Lisa made him reluctant to do so. His situation had caused him to become pretty shameless, but there was a time and a place for everything.
Returning a faint yet friendly smile, Fischl softly replied, "The fates have blessed me this day. To behold the countenance of mine Master, we are without the words to fully express our merriment."
Feeling more at ease when he heard Fischl's familiar speech pattern, the tensions in Paul's body relaxed as he spread his arms and inquired, "Is it okay if I hug you...?"
Adopting a noticeably broader smile, Fischl replied, "But of course. Mine is the vessel of my Master's passion. We have long anticipated the day of our Master's tender affections."
Though she spread her own arms, Fischl made no attempts to close the distance between her and Paul. Instead, she waited until the latter drew closer before wrapping her arms around his body and resting her head against his chest. Paul had treated her kindly during the ten months they spent at the Milbots Academy, so, even though she had experienced a lot these past few years, she still had a bit of fondness for him.
Feeling how slender and delicate Fischl's frame was, Paul couldn't help feeling concerned as he asked, "Have you been eating enough?" before supplanting, "How about you and Lisa join me for a meal? I'm pretty sure Xiangling is in the bakery around this time."
Answering in Fischl's stead, Lisa replied, "I actually need to get back to the Guild. I only came here to show Fischl around. Now that I have, I'll be leaving her in your capable hands. Have fun."
Without waiting for either of them to respond, Lisa promptly departed the construction site of the hospital Paul had commissioned. She had already informed Paul of everything Fischl had experienced during her early days as an Adventurer, so it was up to him to mend any lingering damage to the young Prinzessin's heart.
Fortunately for Paul, Lisa had also apprised Fischl of his actions since his arrival in Sharia. After her traumatic experiences as an Adventurer, Fischl had deserted her persona as the Prinzessin der Verurteilung. The people in her present world were far harsher than even the worst people she had dealt with in her past life, so she was forced to mature.
Upon learning that Paul hadn't changed since they were children, Fischl decided to regress to her Pinzessin persona, not for herself, but to keep him from worrying.
After following Lisa's departure with his eyes, controlling his gaze to stare at her back rather than her butt, Paul extended his hand to Fischl, smiling as he asked, "Shall we alight for lunch, mein Prinzessin?"
Regaining her smile, Fischl linked her hand with Paul's as she replied, "As you will, oh Great Champion of the Boundless Abyss. Where you go, I, the Prinzessin der Verurteilung, shall follow."
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