Chapter 102: Visitors from the Demon Control Union

"Pretty much. Young man, are you really that interested in my thighs?"

"What? I don't understand what you're saying, my lord?"

Rod decisively played dumb.

Hera was amused by his expression.

"You don't need to pretend in front of me. Last night, the commotion between you and the succubus tree spirit wasn't unheard of. The wolf-woman over in the Oak District happened to be cultivating under the moonlight and nearly rushed over to slaughter you both."

Ah—

Last night's cabin did seem to be a bit closer to the Oak District.

"Sorry. I'll try to be more careful in the future."

"No harm, no harm. Days in the forest are always boring. I love using 【Mi Fa Vision】 to watch you couple for entertainment. This whole month I couldn't see a thing and it bored me to death. That elf is a dull one too—she can amuse herself perfectly well on her own."

"Huh?"

Rod looked up at the scorpion woman in astonishment.

He saw her stick out her tongue and lick her own sensual lips?

"Well? Want to give it a try with me?"

"I-I guess that's not out of the question?"

Hera smiled.

Then she flipped over and kicked him flat on his face.

"Dream on! A mere little fellow at the Sixth Tier."

She landed lightly and pulled a small notebook out from between her enormous Bai Tu.

"This is a gravity-type spiritual technique. Learn it when you have time—it should suit you quite well."

By the time Rod got up and turned around, her figure was already gone.

He couldn't help feeling a little lost.

Miserable—teased by an Eighth-Tier scorpion woman.

He picked up the small notebook. A faint fragrance drifted from it, and a trace of warmth lingered in his palm.

【Gravity Well】

【Details: Creates a localized gravity anomaly zone, pulling surrounding objects and creatures toward the center point, dealing damage and restricting their movement.】

At noon.

Vivian finally woke up. Rod handed her the broken branches of the Emerald Banyan to deal with.

The tree spirit had plenty of experience with such things, so there should be no problem.

He also gave her the gift—a few seeds of rare plants.

She was quite pleased with them, and her obedience shot straight from 84 to 88.

Perhaps because her personality was the simplest, her obedience was always the easiest to raise.

Chris had wandered through the forest for most of the day and seemed to have startled little Tom, who had come into Lin Zi to hunt.

"Speaking of which, what do you banshees eat to survive?"

Tally, who had turned into the head cook, posed the question while preparing the meal.

Chris thought for a moment.

She said, "Actually, we don't really need food like humans do. We just stay near intelligent beings and automatically drain their life force. For ordinary people it might have an effect, but for the two of you it's no different from a mosquito taking a sip of blood. If I had to eat something, I'd lean more toward black or white flowers."

It sounded more like a symbolic preference than an actual dietary need.

As for her automatically draining life force, Rod had known that long ago.

Basically every kind of spirit or wandering soul has this passive ability.

"I see. Your eating habits really are as strange as a golem's."

Tally said.

"Golems? Do those things eat too?"

Rod had always assumed golems were magical creatures similar to gargoyles or enchanted puppets, manufactured by You Shi Fa.

Later, after reading a daily trivia column in the Snow Hill Evening News, he learned that the original meaning of "golem" was "an unfinished, unshaped human."

"Of course golems eat elements. Maybe it's because their souls are incomplete—these things actually have no gender, can you believe it!"

Likewise, because their souls aren't complete, their intelligence and mental resistance are very low, and they're often controlled by mages. That's why many people assume they're magical creatures.

"Then how do they reproduce? I remember golems are a nationally protected species and strictly forbidden to be killed."

"God knows." The succubus shrugged.

After lunch.

Rod had originally planned to have a relaxed round with Tally and then take a nice afternoon nap.

But the spiritual breeze told him someone had come into the forest.

If Pan Ni hadn't blocked them, it was most likely someone from the Demon Control Union or the witch Dimia that Lady Kali had previously approved.

Before long.

Rod spotted a lady carrying documents.

She was dressed in something like a business suit from Earth, with a circular emblem on the chest of her top.

Her attire was neat and crisp, her brown hair pinned up at the back of her head, and a pair of frameless ladies' glasses sat on the bridge of her nose.

A pair of fluffy ears drooping down on her head also made it clear she wasn't of the human race.

This lady had spotted Rod, who was already waiting, from a distance.

She paused, then asked, "Are you Mr. Rod?"

"I am."

"Hello, Mr. Rod. My name is Sharon, an external investigator and analyst with the Magic Control Union. May I take some of your time? I'd like to ask about the special ritual that took place in the Death Desert."

Rod had long been mentally prepared for this and made a gesture inviting her to sit.

Sharon took out a small notebook and wrote something in it.

"Thank you for your cooperation. Then may I ask—"

She began asking questions: the time the incident occurred, an initial description of the sand tornado, the magical elements and reactions, environmental changes, and the response measures taken.

Rod answered each one in turn.

Only now did he realize that Lady Kali had refused to answer any of her questions at all, which had caused her investigation to grind to a halt.

"Then may I ask what your feelings are regarding this magical disaster? Or rather, do you have any guesses about this disaster?"

"I think it's a plot by the Igo tribe. As everyone knows, beyond the desert lies the Extreme West."

Rod simply laid out all his guesses.

After all, the Magic Control Union was a major organization; when it came to an incident of this magnitude, it was best left to their professionals to handle.

"Alright, understood. Thank you again for your cooperation. Would you mind waiting a moment and coming with me to the Magic Control Union for a check on whether you've been mentally controlled and to test your mental resistance? You know, anything involving the Igo tribe has always required this."

Rod didn't care one way or the other.

He had this kind of check done once a year during his physical examination.

The very first time, he'd nearly been scared to death, constantly worried his transmigrator identity would be exposed because of it—but in the end, it hadn't been.

Getting the chance to visit a big place like the Magic Control Union was more than he could ask for.

The two moved on to the Willow District.

At this hour, only Little Little Bangde was on duty.

She happened to be curled up in a tree dozing, and upon hearing the movement, she smiled and greeted the two of them.

Rod couldn't help worrying that this might end up wearing out the little horse girl.

Maybe he should just bring Pan Ni over instead.

After all, she was a corpse—she could definitely take a beating.

Meanwhile, Sharon took out a black device that looked like a suitcase.

According to her, it was an instrument for detecting malignant spiritual factors—the Magic Control Union's latest product.

"Huh? It dropped this much?"

She looked around, seemingly trying to find the cause of the change.

Until she spotted the willow trees in their magically modified, healthy state, she then said delightedly:

"Miss Dimia and that elf young lady's modification succeeded?"

(End of chapter)