"Become girls?" Uten and Saten ask in unison, tilting their heads in mirrored directions. I almost laughed out loud at the sight, but hold myself back, since I have to remain serious and stern right now. After all, they need to be taught a lesson. "How?"
"I see... nobody was there to teach you what you really are... Well, let's start with the fact that we're not gods." Even if by these villagers' definition, we would be considered something like that. "We are from a species called Crawling Chaos." I hope they don't ask me what exactly a Crawling Chaos is, since aside from supposedly being some kind of cosmic horrors, I don't really know either.
"Ohh~" They make with awestruck expressions.
"There are two ways for us Crawling Chaos to change form." I remember how my mother taught me soon after I first woke up in this world. To think I can impart knowledge onto my own children using the very same method in which I was taught... "The first is through consumption. Things we eat will get dissolved inside our bodies and the genetic material will enable us to perfectly replicate their appearances in life."
"What is... jennettic material?" Uten and Saten ask with difficult expressions. Huh, so that's where I have to start explaining?
"Genetic material is the basis on which every living being is constructed. It's the blueprint of life." Or something like that. I don't really know myself, only what I learned and retained from school. "Here, let me show you."
I stretch out my hands and shift the surface of my body around, causing my simulated clothes to disappear. I'm actually standing in my full naked glory in front of my children right now, but at this point we're far beyond such things. Bursting forth from my back are black angel wings, while my body shrinks slightly and my breasts grow bigger; I fully turn into Hestia. Of course, I don't know my face looks right now, since there are no mirrors, but I used her genetic template, so it should be right. And now that I took on her form, I feel like seeing the real deal again...
The twins look at me with wondrous expressions. Saten apparently forgot that his member has just been bitten off, but since we Crawling Chaoses don't really feel much of any pain - aside from when we're burned, I think - it doesn't seem to cause him any problems. They exchange a glance and look me up and down, with their eyes clearly stopping on my breasts and the important bits below.
"Eyes up here." My voice pulls them out of their trance. Is this the nature of a Crawling Chaos? I did have a lot of such urges at the academy, once I was able to settle down in a peaceful environment. Considering the fact that they're being treated with respect here, I'd say they never had experienced any real hardships and were left alone with their libido. There was nobody to teach them that they had to keep it in check, like Senka did for me. Who knows what would have happened, if I had completely let go of myself back then.
"I-It's just that we have never seen a woman's body before." Their flustered expressions are kinda cute. "How do we do that?"
"You should know from instinct, when I tell you that you're now in possession of the template for this appearance." They have ingested Hestia's genetic material through my saliva, when we kissed earlier. After all, my currently only - and preferred - method of replicating an actual working female body rather than a fake human form is by utilizing her genetics as a base. So they can either use that or try with visual information alone. "You should know how to use it."
The twins seem to be looking into themselves for a while and come to a realization. Then their bodies shift and their skin tones takes on the same as mine, as they sprout wings and their chest grows out. However, they seem to stop midway; their height is around the same as Kamii's, their wings are too small to allow for flight and their chests, while larger than Aurelia's, are nowhere near Hestia's.
"It seems that we don't-
-have enough mass for it." Uten starts and Saten finishes his line. Or her, at this point. They replicated Hestia alright, but apparently only her form when she was around their own physical age. So this is how she looked when she was younger? "We're sorry that we couldn't do it properly, mama..." They look up at me with tearful expressions, but seeing two naked loli-Hestias before me like this is too much.
I pet their hair in a comforting gesture and lick my lips.
"We still prefer a male form..." Uten and Saten say as they get dressed. I sit up from the carpet and stare at them in shock. How could my offspring ever want to be male? Especially after the pleasure they just experienced in female forms!
"Did you not like it?" I know they did, because their voices were quite loud and not at all subdued, despite the fact that the windows are only covered with transparent cloths. In other words, all the villagers heard what we did in here without a doubt. Well, I don't really care, since I don't have to justify myself in front of any of these people, and I'll teach these two that they can do the same. Although, maybe they already think that way.
"No, don't get us wrong-
-we really enjoyed it-
-and we would love to-
-do it again with you..." They bounce back and forth, and it's kinda tiring to follow the conversation that way, but it's so cute that I can overlook it.
"But?" I press the topic, since Saten trails off without bringing the big turnaround.
"... but we still prefer to be on the attacking side." Speaking in unison, they look down at me with an expression that suggests they might want to continue what they tried to do at the beginning. After all, they both turned into their previous male forms while putting on their clothes.
I see, they must have inherited that from me. I think the same was true for my mother, although she did become the wife of the demon lord, who was known for having a strong libido and a massive manhood that could literally destroy weaker females. In either case, it seems that it's ingrained into a Crawling Chaos' instincts to be on the penetrating, rather than the being penetrated end. We are tentacle monsters after all - so we have to fulfill all the associated clichés.
"Then you have to find someone else for that." I won't indulge their urges in that regard. I know it may seem unfair that I got my way this time and put them on the receiving end, but I'm their mother, so they have to listen to me.
Wait, that makes it seem like I forced myself on them using my status as their senior. Leaving aside the fact that among humans it would have been really wrong to do what we just did, I didn't force them to do anything! They wanted to do it, so I gave them the condition to be in female forms. That was all.
Huh, why did I feel the need to justify myself just now?
"But... the villagers..." The twins start, but I immediately interrupt them.
"If they don't want it, go look somewhere else. I intend to leave here eventually. And I intend to take you along." I haven't decided when to leave yet, since I still have no idea how I can get back to the Demon Continent. These villagers don't look like they have any contact with larger cities and most likely don't even know about anything that's outside their hunting and fishing range. Before I figure that out, I'll have to stick around here; it's better than wandering aimlessly and trying my luck at finding a city.
"L-leave?" They look intimidated by the thought of a larger world outside the one they're familiar with and exchange uneasy glances with each other. It's cute alright, but I'd prefer if they grew a pa- oh wait... "You only just came here."
"I didn't-" Oops, I was about to say that I didn't come here to find them. It's true, I didn't actually know they were here - in fact, I didn't even know my arms had turned into actual sentient beings. But I don't think it's something I should be telling my own children, since it'll make it seem like I don't care about them. I won't be as seemingly heartless as my mother was, who abandoned me to a dangerous place to test my abilities and resolve, and ate all her children that were rebellious. Then again, I don't want to talk badly about my late mother; she did her best, after all. "I'm from a place where others of our kind exist."
"Others like us?" Uten and Saten tilt their heads. Wait, they might misunderstand in thinking that there are others exactly like us. Currently it's very likely that these two and I are the only Crawling Chaoses left on this planet. What I meant was that we're counted as demons, and that we don't stand out too much among them, unlike with humans.
"Not exactly like us, but others who don't look like humans. They are demons, like us." I explain and they look at me in awe. Unlike with me, being a reincarnated person and all, they shouldn't have any preconceptions about what demons look like.
"Dee-mons?" As expected, they don't even know what the word means.
"Tell me, do you have a map of this nation?" I change the subject just as I change the surface of my body into clothes. Staring at me in blank amazement, the twins forget to answer. "Eyes up here." Feels like déjà vu.
"What is a nae-shun?" They ask innocently, but it just serves to bring my tension down. I kinda expected it, but being told this so explicitly is disheartening nonetheless. Sighing, I try a different approach.
"Alright, do you know about any cities around here?"
"What is a city?"
"Huh?"
"Hm?"
In the end, it turns out that these two villages, called Aoranam and Ototawa - Awhina's and this one here respectively - are the only settlements they know about. In other words, to these villages, the outside world might as well not exist. And they seem to prefer it that way. I can understand their sentiment; seeing a grander picture only results in ambitions and politics. The lifestyle of these people here is very simple and carefree, something I can appreciate; I experienced a week of such a life, and it soothed my weary soul. If I had arrived in this place first, and without the condition of returning to the demon castle within two years, I might have just settled down here.
"Ok et aw ienét om et irakáh!" Awhina's voice at the door rouses me from my deep thoughts.
"Ea, iek et ereáh iam uotát." Uten and Saten respond to her right away.
"Hm, what is it?" I turn to the twins and ask. I really don't like the fact that I don't understand a single word while these two are fluent in this language.
"The feast is ready."
Huh? Is there something to celebrate today?
"As thanks to the God of Storm-
-for not destroying the village-
-we are holding a sacrificial feast." They do it again and switch between each other while talking.
Wait, God of Storm? Don't tell me it's actually Zenlith, Lord of the Sky!
"Will the god be attending?" This question would have seemed really strange to me before, but at this point I know that "god" is just a name for some powerful beings in this world.
"That depends on whether it's a satisfactory feast or not." Uten explains.
"But we have never seen the God of Storm before, so it's unlikely." And Saten adds.
I guess it makes sense. Unlike what they told me about Rangi, it sounds like the God of Storm is a more universal being with actual godlike powers, such as control over the weather. For a being like that to descend to the mortal plane just because a tiny fishing village is holding a feast in his honor would be asking for too much. I mean, how many villages are doing the same right now? He couldn't visit every single one.
"Orohoh iam! Auk eat iam et auta o et upút!" I hear Awhina shout in excitement outside the door, as she bangs on it. The twins exchange a perplexed glance with each other and then turn to look at me.
"I-it seems that the God of Storm has arrived." What a convenient coincidence!
Let's see this one, then. If it's Zenlith, I won't even let him raise an eyebrow in surprise and immediately swallow him. I'm sure I have enough mass to survive an explosion from the inside now - and I can layer the dragon armor on my insides - so I'll deal with that when it happens. The first order of things upon seeing any god should be to stop them from attacking or running away.
"Let's go see this so-called god, then." I walk ahead of the twins, who seem quite reverent of him.
"Iatéhwakáhw eok, auta iun." The villagers repeat this chant as they stand around a large wooden platform, on top of which a lavish feast has been prepared. There are tons of foods and I've eaten many of them before when I stayed with Awhina, so I know that those are really tasty.
On top of the platform sits a woman. So it's not Zenlith, huh? A headband adorned with ornamental beads and many large feathers keeps her extremely long and voluminous sky blue hair out of her elegant but sharp face. Her skin is white as the clouds and she wears a pure white version of the outfit Awhina wears most of the time. But aside from her hair and skin color, she doesn't look especially different from the villagers, or even divine. She actually reminds me of Hestia's color scheme.
I climb up the steps to the platform, which the villagers are keeping a respectable distance from. They're treating her completely differently from Rangi, and even Awhina seems to revere her, but I don't give a flying fish about status in this world.
"Hawawa?! What are you doing, mama!" I hear Uten and Saten call out to me with flustered voices. That "hawawa" was really cute just now, oi!
"Hey, do you speak my language?" I stand before the seated God of Storm - though it should be Goddess of Storm - and ask her casually. From close up I can see that her eye color seems to be ever-changing, slowly shifting through the hues of the rainbow.
"Kakaka! Eh itiámat ehakáhw." She looks up at me with those mesmerizing eyes and grins. It seems she doesn't actually mind my way of addressing her, although I don't know what she's actually saying; it seems she doesn't speak my language. " E eáakáhw ana uahá ik ot oréw." Holding up a wooden cup filled with an alcoholic-smelling liquid, she seems to invite me to drink with her.
"You don't have to tell me twice." Long forgotten is the fact that I'm underage and wouldn't be allowed to drink normally. I think the last time I thought about this was when Gram offered me a beer in the evening after I met Rolan and his party. I sit down and take the cup, before downing its contents in one go.
"Kakakaka! Eh iap aik ik unót i et ahàk!" She laughs and comments, so I guess she's happy that I drank the offered liquor.
Since I'm currently using all the facilities of a human - or rather, Fata - body, I have proper taste buds and can feel the burning sensation of the alcohol flowing down my throat. This must be some really strong brew, since it begins to take effect almost immediately. Well, I can always just change my body's composition to completely negate any intoxication, if it becomes too much. But for now, I'll just enjoy the warm feeling rising up from my stomach.
Hm, why are the villagers looking so shocked? Awhina seems to be awestruck by my actions more than shocked, though. Uten and Saten are shivering in their... bare feet, I guess. Man up, you two. Aren't you also considered gods here?
"M-mama, what have you done!" They ask me in unison and seem to be really scared.
"Hm, what did I do? She invited me to drink with her, didn't she? So all is good?"
"Those who step up to Tahiri, God of Storm, challenge her to battle. If she accepts, she will give the challenger a cup of Oripiaw as a confirmation." They describe what I just did perfectly. Don't tell me I just unwittingly started a fight with a god? "Once the cup is emptied, you commit to fighting her to the death."
Huh?!
"Become girls?" Uten and Saten ask in unison, tilting their heads in mirrored directions. I almost laughed out loud at the sight, but hold myself back, since I have to remain serious and stern right now. After all, they need to be taught a lesson. "How?"
"I see... nobody was there to teach you what you really are... Well, let's start with the fact that we're not gods." Even if by these villagers' definition, we would be considered something like that. "We are from a species called Crawling Chaos." I hope they don't ask me what exactly a Crawling Chaos is, since aside from supposedly being some kind of cosmic horrors, I don't really know either.
"Ohh~" They make with awestruck expressions.
"There are two ways for us Crawling Chaos to change form." I remember how my mother taught me soon after I first woke up in this world. To think I can impart knowledge onto my own children using the very same method in which I was taught... "The first is through consumption. Things we eat will get dissolved inside our bodies and the genetic material will enable us to perfectly replicate their appearances in life."
"What is... jennettic material?" Uten and Saten ask with difficult expressions. Huh, so that's where I have to start explaining?
"Genetic material is the basis on which every living being is constructed. It's the blueprint of life." Or something like that. I don't really know myself, only what I learned and retained from school. "Here, let me show you."
I stretch out my hands and shift the surface of my body around, causing my simulated clothes to disappear. I'm actually standing in my full naked glory in front of my children right now, but at this point we're far beyond such things. Bursting forth from my back are black angel wings, while my body shrinks slightly and my breasts grow bigger; I fully turn into Hestia. Of course, I don't know my face looks right now, since there are no mirrors, but I used her genetic template, so it should be right. And now that I took on her form, I feel like seeing the real deal again...
The twins look at me with wondrous expressions. Saten apparently forgot that his member has just been bitten off, but since we Crawling Chaoses don't really feel much of any pain - aside from when we're burned, I think - it doesn't seem to cause him any problems. They exchange a glance and look me up and down, with their eyes clearly stopping on my breasts and the important bits below.
"Eyes up here." My voice pulls them out of their trance. Is this the nature of a Crawling Chaos? I did have a lot of such urges at the academy, once I was able to settle down in a peaceful environment. Considering the fact that they're being treated with respect here, I'd say they never had experienced any real hardships and were left alone with their libido. There was nobody to teach them that they had to keep it in check, like Senka did for me. Who knows what would have happened, if I had completely let go of myself back then.
"I-It's just that we have never seen a woman's body before." Their flustered expressions are kinda cute. "How do we do that?"
"You should know from instinct, when I tell you that you're now in possession of the template for this appearance." They have ingested Hestia's genetic material through my saliva, when we kissed earlier. After all, my currently only - and preferred - method of replicating an actual working female body rather than a fake human form is by utilizing her genetics as a base. So they can either use that or try with visual information alone. "You should know how to use it."
The twins seem to be looking into themselves for a while and come to a realization. Then their bodies shift and their skin tones takes on the same as mine, as they sprout wings and their chest grows out. However, they seem to stop midway; their height is around the same as Kamii's, their wings are too small to allow for flight and their chests, while larger than Aurelia's, are nowhere near Hestia's.
"It seems that we don't-
-have enough mass for it." Uten starts and Saten finishes his line. Or her, at this point. They replicated Hestia alright, but apparently only her form when she was around their own physical age. So this is how she looked when she was younger? "We're sorry that we couldn't do it properly, mama..." They look up at me with tearful expressions, but seeing two naked loli-Hestias before me like this is too much.
I pet their hair in a comforting gesture and lick my lips.
"We still prefer a male form..." Uten and Saten say as they get dressed. I sit up from the carpet and stare at them in shock. How could my offspring ever want to be male? Especially after the pleasure they just experienced in female forms!
"Did you not like it?" I know they did, because their voices were quite loud and not at all subdued, despite the fact that the windows are only covered with transparent cloths. In other words, all the villagers heard what we did in here without a doubt. Well, I don't really care, since I don't have to justify myself in front of any of these people, and I'll teach these two that they can do the same. Although, maybe they already think that way.
"No, don't get us wrong-
-we really enjoyed it-
-and we would love to-
-do it again with you..." They bounce back and forth, and it's kinda tiring to follow the conversation that way, but it's so cute that I can overlook it.
"But?" I press the topic, since Saten trails off without bringing the big turnaround.
"... but we still prefer to be on the attacking side." Speaking in unison, they look down at me with an expression that suggests they might want to continue what they tried to do at the beginning. After all, they both turned into their previous male forms while putting on their clothes.
I see, they must have inherited that from me. I think the same was true for my mother, although she did become the wife of the demon lord, who was known for having a strong libido and a massive manhood that could literally destroy weaker females. In either case, it seems that it's ingrained into a Crawling Chaos' instincts to be on the penetrating, rather than the being penetrated end. We are tentacle monsters after all - so we have to fulfill all the associated clichés.
"Then you have to find someone else for that." I won't indulge their urges in that regard. I know it may seem unfair that I got my way this time and put them on the receiving end, but I'm their mother, so they have to listen to me.
Wait, that makes it seem like I forced myself on them using my status as their senior. Leaving aside the fact that among humans it would have been really wrong to do what we just did, I didn't force them to do anything! They wanted to do it, so I gave them the condition to be in female forms. That was all.
Huh, why did I feel the need to justify myself just now?
"But... the villagers..." The twins start, but I immediately interrupt them.
"If they don't want it, go look somewhere else. I intend to leave here eventually. And I intend to take you along." I haven't decided when to leave yet, since I still have no idea how I can get back to the Demon Continent. These villagers don't look like they have any contact with larger cities and most likely don't even know about anything that's outside their hunting and fishing range. Before I figure that out, I'll have to stick around here; it's better than wandering aimlessly and trying my luck at finding a city.
"L-leave?" They look intimidated by the thought of a larger world outside the one they're familiar with and exchange uneasy glances with each other. It's cute alright, but I'd prefer if they grew a pa- oh wait... "You only just came here."
"I didn't-" Oops, I was about to say that I didn't come here to find them. It's true, I didn't actually know they were here - in fact, I didn't even know my arms had turned into actual sentient beings. But I don't think it's something I should be telling my own children, since it'll make it seem like I don't care about them. I won't be as seemingly heartless as my mother was, who abandoned me to a dangerous place to test my abilities and resolve, and ate all her children that were rebellious. Then again, I don't want to talk badly about my late mother; she did her best, after all. "I'm from a place where others of our kind exist."
"Others like us?" Uten and Saten tilt their heads. Wait, they might misunderstand in thinking that there are others exactly like us. Currently it's very likely that these two and I are the only Crawling Chaoses left on this planet. What I meant was that we're counted as demons, and that we don't stand out too much among them, unlike with humans.
"Not exactly like us, but others who don't look like humans. They are demons, like us." I explain and they look at me in awe. Unlike with me, being a reincarnated person and all, they shouldn't have any preconceptions about what demons look like.
"Dee-mons?" As expected, they don't even know what the word means.
"Tell me, do you have a map of this nation?" I change the subject just as I change the surface of my body into clothes. Staring at me in blank amazement, the twins forget to answer. "Eyes up here." Feels like déjà vu.
"What is a nae-shun?" They ask innocently, but it just serves to bring my tension down. I kinda expected it, but being told this so explicitly is disheartening nonetheless. Sighing, I try a different approach.
"Alright, do you know about any cities around here?"
"What is a city?"
"Huh?"
"Hm?"
In the end, it turns out that these two villages, called Aoranam and Ototawa - Awhina's and this one here respectively - are the only settlements they know about. In other words, to these villages, the outside world might as well not exist. And they seem to prefer it that way. I can understand their sentiment; seeing a grander picture only results in ambitions and politics. The lifestyle of these people here is very simple and carefree, something I can appreciate; I experienced a week of such a life, and it soothed my weary soul. If I had arrived in this place first, and without the condition of returning to the demon castle within two years, I might have just settled down here.
"Ok et aw ienét om et irakáh!" Awhina's voice at the door rouses me from my deep thoughts.
"Ea, iek et ereáh iam uotát." Uten and Saten respond to her right away.
"Hm, what is it?" I turn to the twins and ask. I really don't like the fact that I don't understand a single word while these two are fluent in this language.
"The feast is ready."
Huh? Is there something to celebrate today?
"As thanks to the God of Storm-
-for not destroying the village-
-we are holding a sacrificial feast." They do it again and switch between each other while talking.
Wait, God of Storm? Don't tell me it's actually Zenlith, Lord of the Sky!
"Will the god be attending?" This question would have seemed really strange to me before, but at this point I know that "god" is just a name for some powerful beings in this world.
"That depends on whether it's a satisfactory feast or not." Uten explains.
"But we have never seen the God of Storm before, so it's unlikely." And Saten adds.
I guess it makes sense. Unlike what they told me about Rangi, it sounds like the God of Storm is a more universal being with actual godlike powers, such as control over the weather. For a being like that to descend to the mortal plane just because a tiny fishing village is holding a feast in his honor would be asking for too much. I mean, how many villages are doing the same right now? He couldn't visit every single one.
"Orohoh iam! Auk eat iam et auta o et upút!" I hear Awhina shout in excitement outside the door, as she bangs on it. The twins exchange a perplexed glance with each other and then turn to look at me.
"I-it seems that the God of Storm has arrived." What a convenient coincidence!
Let's see this one, then. If it's Zenlith, I won't even let him raise an eyebrow in surprise and immediately swallow him. I'm sure I have enough mass to survive an explosion from the inside now - and I can layer the dragon armor on my insides - so I'll deal with that when it happens. The first order of things upon seeing any god should be to stop them from attacking or running away.
"Let's go see this so-called god, then." I walk ahead of the twins, who seem quite reverent of him.
"Iatéhwakáhw eok, auta iun." The villagers repeat this chant as they stand around a large wooden platform, on top of which a lavish feast has been prepared. There are tons of foods and I've eaten many of them before when I stayed with Awhina, so I know that those are really tasty.
On top of the platform sits a woman. So it's not Zenlith, huh? A headband adorned with ornamental beads and many large feathers keeps her extremely long and voluminous sky blue hair out of her elegant but sharp face. Her skin is white as the clouds and she wears a pure white version of the outfit Awhina wears most of the time. But aside from her hair and skin color, she doesn't look especially different from the villagers, or even divine. She actually reminds me of Hestia's color scheme.
I climb up the steps to the platform, which the villagers are keeping a respectable distance from. They're treating her completely differently from Rangi, and even Awhina seems to revere her, but I don't give a flying fish about status in this world.
"Hawawa?! What are you doing, mama!" I hear Uten and Saten call out to me with flustered voices. That "hawawa" was really cute just now, oi!
"Hey, do you speak my language?" I stand before the seated God of Storm - though it should be Goddess of Storm - and ask her casually. From close up I can see that her eye color seems to be ever-changing, slowly shifting through the hues of the rainbow.
"Kakaka! Eh itiámat ehakáhw." She looks up at me with those mesmerizing eyes and grins. It seems she doesn't actually mind my way of addressing her, although I don't know what she's actually saying; it seems she doesn't speak my language. " E eáakáhw ana uahá ik ot oréw." Holding up a wooden cup filled with an alcoholic-smelling liquid, she seems to invite me to drink with her.
"You don't have to tell me twice." Long forgotten is the fact that I'm underage and wouldn't be allowed to drink normally. I think the last time I thought about this was when Gram offered me a beer in the evening after I met Rolan and his party. I sit down and take the cup, before downing its contents in one go.
"Kakakaka! Eh iap aik ik unót i et ahàk!" She laughs and comments, so I guess she's happy that I drank the offered liquor.
Since I'm currently using all the facilities of a human - or rather, Fata - body, I have proper taste buds and can feel the burning sensation of the alcohol flowing down my throat. This must be some really strong brew, since it begins to take effect almost immediately. Well, I can always just change my body's composition to completely negate any intoxication, if it becomes too much. But for now, I'll just enjoy the warm feeling rising up from my stomach.
Hm, why are the villagers looking so shocked? Awhina seems to be awestruck by my actions more than shocked, though. Uten and Saten are shivering in their... bare feet, I guess. Man up, you two. Aren't you also considered gods here?
"M-mama, what have you done!" They ask me in unison and seem to be really scared.
"Hm, what did I do? She invited me to drink with her, didn't she? So all is good?"
"Those who step up to Tahiri, God of Storm, challenge her to battle. If she accepts, she will give the challenger a cup of Oripiaw as a confirmation." They describe what I just did perfectly. Don't tell me I just unwittingly started a fight with a god? "Once the cup is emptied, you commit to fighting her to the death."
Huh?!
