Artificial Children

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We entered the Inn, and I jumped onto the bed when I finally saw it, saving the merchant inside my shadow storage.

POMF!

"Hahh… An actual good bed… And it's so comfy!"

"You don't even feel physically tired. Why are you implying you were?" Asked Lucifer.

"Well, shut up already! I can enjoy whatever I want, you know?" I asked.

"I feel like this whole trip has been just pure nonsense." Sighed Lucifer.

"You're my Undead, so you do what I want! Now, rest on your bed,"

"Fine…"

Lucifer sat on the bed.

"Hmm… Well, it is comfortable, I have to admit," He muttered, as he fully rested over it and even stretched his legs.

"I could get used to this,"

"See?! Beds are good! I used to laze around on my bed all the time," I said.

"When you were alive, Maria?" Asked Emeraldine.

"Erm… Yeah,"

I don't even remember what I did when I was alive in this life, but I liked to laze over a comfortable bed while reading and eating snacks in my previous life… I was such a lazy person. I am thankful I have a ghost body, so I don't actually feel physically tired, or I wouldn't do half of the things I do. Though I still get mental exhaustion.

"Hahh~ Anyways, let's get to business," I said as I kicked Lucifer out of his bed.

"Oi!"

"Sorry, but we got babies to take care of now."

I opened my Shadow Storage and took two little kids out of it; these weird kids were the ones we just rescued by chance. I don't know why I keep getting into trouble like this, but here we are with some chimera kids. When I checked their status, what I got surprised me. They were not even a normal race but were called "Homunculus" instead. Does this means they were made through alchemy?! Is this Full Metal Alchemist now? Will they be called according to Sins? I hope not. That would be a big copyright infringement.

"They're homunculus?! By the gods… to think that such experiments are real… these kids were made through forbidden Magic and Alchemy…." Muttered Emeraldine.

"Do you know anything about it?" I asked as I watched the two babies sleep.

They looked to be around 7 or 8, so for me, they were babies.

"Homunculus… Yes, I know. I've heard from places, and I've read it from books. They existed in the past and were living beings of humanoid appearances made completely out of alchemy. It is like creating life… It is said they're made with using the power of a Philosopher's Stone— a malefic stone made out of the souls of hundreds of innocent people," Emeraldine explained.

"Yikes. And why would they even make them to begin with? What's the purpose behind it? As soldiers? As warriors? Just as puppets? Toys? I remember that guy saying these kids were his "items" and his properties… Was he a crazy scientist type of guy?" I asked.

"He was probably their creator… Those monsters that came to capture them were something similar to Homunculus, perhaps. They were Chimeras made using materials and alchemy… They were perhaps a more primitive way of creating homunculus life,"

"Yeah, they could have been that. I remember that they were not dead. They were both alive. Even the skull-faced wolf… the one that created them, is also proficient at using Death Magic because the souls these chimera possessed were those of people," Lucifer added.

"Good observation, I think the same. The purple slime had the soul of a person too, and so did the wolf chimera. But both of their minds were warped and made insane…." I said.

"Most likely because they couldn't adapt to their new bodies and felt their minds being warped through it… We all felt their souls being those of people and not native to a monster… Whatever made them is a skilled Necromancer, an Alchemist, and perhaps a Life Mage too…." Said Lucifer.

"What kind of guy could be so talented? Oh well, maybe he has the tools to do it without needing all of those Skills. Or perhaps he has assistants with different talents doing the work for him. Who knows?" I muttered.

"Well, what's important now is to check on these kids and see if they're alright," Said Lucifer.

We ended up looking at him.

"What? I-I am only worried because you've already got us into this mess!" He said shyly.

Well, Lucifer had a sweet spot for children as he let the kids in the goblin village climb his dragon body, and he even told tales to them. Sometimes he event went into the wild with them and protected them while showing off his power by hunting big boars and then giving the meat to their families.

He's deep down a good man and also has a father complex as he acts very fatherly.

Maybe because he was…? He did say he once had children.

"Alright~ Anyways, what do we do? They're still sleeping… I am not so good with the living. Can you tell me anything, Emeraldine?" I asked.

"Hmm… I think they're fine for now, but we should bring a pot with warm water and wash their bodies a little bit. They're so nasty and smelly…." She suggested.

"Wouldn't it be better for them to just wake up?" Asked Lucifer.

"Right… Let's see…."

We tried waking up the kids for a few minutes, and after insisting for a while, they slowly opened their colorful eyes.

"Huh?"

"Ah… W-Where are we?!"

The boy didn't see us saving them, so he was pretty scared at first, but the girl explained everything to him. We chose not to ask them anything for now because they were too tired, so we told them that they were in good hands. I then brought them to the bath with the token I got for a copper coin through my shadow storage.

Arriving there, we bathed them with Partner and Emeraldine, and the elf healed any tiny wound she missed before. Also, I noticed the two kids had strange crystals stuck to their chests… what could they be? They emanated a strong and dark presence.

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