Chapter 69 - The Existence Proof of a Creation Soul (3)

Homunculus. It is a name for an intelligent being born from human hands, resembling a human.

It is said that God created humans in his own image.

Therefore, there was a perception among mages that creating an intelligent being resembling a human with human hands was, in a magical sense, reaching the divine realm.

Perhaps because of this meaning, the creation of a ‘perfect’ homunculus was a long-cherished wish that many mages on the Arche continent aimed for.

And thanks to that trend, various homunculi were created and had melted into the daily life of the Arche continent.

There was nothing more suitable than a homunculus for simple manual labor or the role of an attendant.

But a long-cherished wish is a long-cherished wish precisely because it is an unreachable state.

No matter how skilled a mage was, the creation of a homunculus was nothing more than the creation of a doll resembling a human.

Their abilities reached the level of humans, or even exceeded them… but they hit a limit in injecting human ways of thinking and emotions.

This was because the various emotions and thoughts derived from human joy, anger, sorrow, and pleasure could not be reproduced with magic circles or enchantment formulas.

Due to this characteristic, homunculi were generally not classified as people.

People's perception was probably closer to that of a machine.

However, there was one who had taken a small step towards that great achievement—creating a homunculus close to a human. He was Tyrion Ortega, the Master of the Magic Tower.

Yes, Tyrion created a homunculus that was infinitely close to a human.

Unlike the doll play of other mages, a homunculus that could truly perform emotions and thoughts of its own will.

Of course, the homunculi born that way did not show a completely human level of emotional state, but at least their level of thought could be matched.

This was thanks to Tyrion's unique method of not directly weaving the algorithm of emotions and ways of thinking with magic circles like in other homunculus creations, but by creating a pseudo-soul and having it inhabit the body.

Tyrion called the soul that inhabited his homunculus, including this process, a ‘creation soul.’

Creation soul research. It was certainly a huge footprint that would be of great help in future homunculus research…

Tyrion did not announce this to the academic world.

The reason was simple. To Tyrion, the homunculus was not a goal, but a means.

A means to perfectly imbue a homunculus with Origin Magic.

Anyway, did such a great study be completed overnight?

No. Tyrion created and eliminated countless lives to create a homunculus with perfect humanity.

The Star Seeker, Arien Ortega, was the culmination of that. Perhaps because she was judged to be complete as a single personality, the girl was recognized as a human.

As the one and only success.

And, as the daughter of Tyrion Ortega.

But great success is always accompanied by an innumerable number of failures.

And, Stella was one of those failures.

***

“You are… a homunculus, you say.”

Arien muttered so, her eyes wavering more than usual, then asked the girl who had identified herself as Stella.

“…What does the word ‘sisters’ mean? Does it mean we were created by the same master?

By the hands of my father… Tyrion Ortega?”

At that, Stella nodded slightly. It was an unmistakable sign of affirmation.

“…A question. Your claim that you are a homunculus created by my father has a logical flaw.”

“Yes, go on.”

“First, if you were a homunculus created by my father, you would not be able to escape his control.”

That was a clear fact. Tyrion, who had created a homunculus infinitely close to a human, was pathologically obsessed with controlling it to prevent it from moving outside of his expectations.

But.

The answer that came from Stella was quite different from what she had expected.

“I was once a discarded body.”

“…Discarded, you say.”

“Yes, because I couldn't become the one and only perfect homunculus. That was you.”

“……”

Arien's chest stirred. She still didn't know the reason.

“The prototype homunculi, including myself, were meant to make you a homunculus with ‘perfect potential.’”

There was no basis for the stories the girl who identified herself as Stella was telling.

“And when it was determined that you were the homunculus with that perfect potential, we were discarded.”

It would be more persuasive to say that it was a nonsensical story made up by piecing together various information.

“…For a homunculus, being discarded means the erasure of existence. The fact that you exist like this right now is, in itself, nonsensical.”

Arien tried to unravel the conversation with her own knowledge and reason.

But, the answer she heard was…

“Yes, I was on the verge of being discarded and disappearing. But I was saved by God.”

The girl’s voice was clear and bright, as if she was only telling the truth.

“……”

As Arien was a believer in reason and logic, it would have been right to cut her off here, saying there was no basis for her words.

But she couldn't.

Why was that? She herself did not know.

Perhaps it was closer to her body rejecting the possibility that the girl in front of her was lying.

“…If what you say is true, there is no reason for you to be friendly to me.”

“Huh?”

“If your life was sacrificed solely for my sake, it would be right for you to resent me.”

Even as Arien continued to speak, Stella did not bat an eye.

“Even if I were to think that I was one of those who were used, there is no reason to show friendly feelings, even if you feel pity.”

A logical grasp of emotions. Those were the assets Arien had gained by poring over various books.

“But you are showing me friendliness. That is not logically correct.”

And when Arien finished speaking… Stella just smiled.

“Huhu.”

Just innocently.

“I told you, we’re sisters.”

With an expression that had not a hint of resentment or falsehood.

“How could I resent my sister.”

The girl smiled.

“…Ugh.”

The Arien of before would have rejected it with a single stroke.

There was no logic in Stella’s words. From a rational point of view, it was right to see it as a contradiction. Or that she was lying.

But Arien had come to realize. That a heart devoid of logic certainly existed.

It was a fact she had learned while being with Rain, learning about emotions from him.

Thump.

At that moment, Arien’s heart skipped a beat.

“Arien, you may not remember… but we are sisters. Sisters who can understand each other and be there for each other.”

The word ‘sisters’ coming from Stella’s lips kept piercing her heart.

Was this the feeling of lost things returning to her heart one by one?

“Let’s go together, Arien.”

Stella reached out her hand to Arien. With a very gentle touch.

And, with a slightly nostalgic touch.

Where to? That was unknown.

But this much was certain.

The topic of emotion, which Arien had been trying so hard to explore and stimulate… was being greatly shaken by the girl in front of her.

And that Stella had the clues to her past, which Arien had wanted even to the point of accepting an unfitting instruction.

“You don’t have to do painful things anymore. You don’t have to try to understand things you don’t know.”

You don’t have to try to understand the human heart, which was so elusive.

“You can just be as you are. That alone is enough for us to connect.”

Yes, this was right. Even if she accepted the girl’s proposal now, it wasn’t as if she was betraying her father, Tyrion Ortega.

Thus, she rationalized it. It was a decision unbefitting of the person named Arien Ortega.

Originally, she would have refused. That was the procedure in .

But, the girl had learned about the irrationality of emotions while being with Rain Enlight.

She had become aware that that irrationality could also sprout within herself.

Unlike in the original work, at this point, she had come to yearn for emotions more strongly.

And that made her rationalize herself.

Those factors came together, and Arien was shaken.

Yes, this situation could perhaps be said to be Rain’s fault.

Of course, no one could have predicted that such a situation would occur.

Anyway, for those reasons, just as Arien was about to reach out her hand-.

“Miss Arien!!”

From the direction of the entrance where Arien had come in, a boy’s voice was heard.

It was the voice of the boy who had made the girl, even subconsciously, crave emotions.

***

I have to hurry. If I’m too late, Arien might reject Stella and go straight into battle.

If that happens, the factory will explode, and I’ll regress again.

It wasn’t a painful loss, but it was certainly a troublesome matter.

That’s why I ran and ran.

Swish-!

I cut down the illusion of the homunculus blocking my way.

Pang-!

I deflected the incoming magic with the ability of 『Spellbinder』.

Cut, deflect, run.

Cut, deflect, run.

Running through the abandoned factory at night, I ran with all my might.

And finally, I arrived. In the distance, I could see Arien and Stella.

“…Huh?”

But the situation was strange. It looked as if Arien was reaching out her hand to Stella.

‘There was no scene like this in the original work.’

She was supposed to reject Stella’s words based on reason and enter into battle.

She was supposed to regret that decision of rejection for a long time, agonizing over what would have been the right thing to do.

But the atmosphere was somehow strange.

“Haa, haa…”

Was it because I had been running without a break? I was out of breath.

But, I still raised my voice and called out to Arien. Because I had to.

“Miss Arien!!”

And, at my call…

“Rain… ssi?”

Arien looked back. Unlike her usual self, her expression showed emotional turmoil.

‘What happened?’

Confusion grew in my mind. The current Arien wouldn't have made such an expression.

But there was no time to be confused.

In this situation where Arien was wavering towards Stella, I had to stop her somehow.

‘But how?’

The originally expected development was to inform Arien, who was about to attack Stella, that it was a trap.

But… what words would be needed to persuade Arien, who was wavering towards Stella?

I had never thought about that.

“……”

I don't think I'm very eloquent.

In this short moment, it's impossible to come up with a single phrase that would move someone's heart.

That's why, I.

Reach.

Just reached out my hand and spoke.

“…Let’s go, together.”

An incredibly crude phrase.

But it was also a phrase that contained my sincere feelings.

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