Mushoku Impact

"What troubles you, Master?"
"Can't I just be thinking about nothing...?"
"..."
"It was just a joke, Eula...please don't apologize..."
"I see...I'll remember that..."
"..."
Suppressing a sigh, Paul just closed his eyes, the soft feeling of Eula's inordinately developed thighs helping to calm his turbulent mind.
Nearly five years had passed since Paul was first given access to the Intersection of Fate. Since then, he had summoned a total of 33 out of a purported 108 'characters'. Eula, the icy-blue-haired tween letting him use her lap as a pillow, was one of Paul's more recent summons. She was also one of only two people to attend him during his final year at the Academy, so Paul was nervous, excited, and a little afraid to return home.
As fate would have it, Barbara ended up being the person to accumulate the most Constellations among the people Paul had summoned. She was now at Constellation 4, and, due to her mastery of the Regeneration Spell, she could even give Jean a run for her money.
Before Paul set out for his final year at the Academy, Barbara had gotten into a pretty tense squabble with Ningguang, Jean, and a few others. She eventually calmed down, but Paul could still remember the frustration and pain in her eyes during their last parting.
"Is it too late to run away...?"
"Master Paul is not the type of man who flees from his troubles...however, if you wish to go, I will open a path..."
Placing her gloved hand on his head, Eula gently combed her fingers through Paul's unkempt brown hair. Her perpetually stoic expression didn't change, but there was a definite tenderness in her golden eyes.
"Mmm...if I wasn't certain that Barbara and the rest would hunt me down, I might have considered it..."
Imagining the angry face of Barbara after she had tracked him down, a faint shiver ran through Paul's body. Once she had obtained her second Constellation, it had become difficult for him to keep up with her. Since the effects of a Constellation compounded previous boosts, C4 Barbara was a 'monster' that Paul had spent the last years training to overcome.
"Did you catch a chill? Shall I warm you with my body...?"
Having long grown accustomed to such requests, Paul replied with a lazy, "Maybe later..." before rolling over so that he was now facing Eula. A very faint shade of pink spread through her cheeks, but that was generally the limit of her expressiveness.&nbsp;
At least when she wasn't angry...
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After a six-day journey, made shorter by the addition of several highways, Paul emerged from his carriage with a wry smile on his face. Not because Ningguang had gathered nearly half the Estate to greet him, but because Lynette, his self-assigned assassin/bodyguard, appeared from below the carriage with a ghastly pale countenance and a visible trail of snot coming from her left nostril.
"You wouldn't be so cold if you stayed inside..."
With lightly furrowed brows, the grey-haired cat girl responded with a curt, "Shut up..." before 'reluctantly' accepting the coat Paul had been proffering toward her.
Turning back to face Ningguang, who now resembled a young girl closer to the age of twelve than ten, Paul whispered, "You get more and more beautiful each time I see you..." as he made his way forward to kiss the back of her hand.
Giggling in amusement, Ningguang offered a soft, "Six out of ten..." before retracting her hand and linking it through Paul's left arm. Then, in an even softer voice, she delivered him a metaphorical punch in the gut by asking, "Have you made your decision...?"
Instead of responding to Ningguang's question, Paul looked around at the veritable army of incredibly disciplined Maids, Butlers, and uniformed staff members. There was a thin layer of snow covering some of them, but they didn't so much as shiver as he passed.
"How are Philemon and Aubert? I was hoping to see how much they had matured these past ten months..."
Squinting her eyes, a knowing smile developed across Ningguang's face as she answered, "Two-year-olds have no place venturing outside in frigid temperatures...fortunately..."
Timing her words just as a team of Maids opened the front doors of the Estate, Ningguang added, "That's what the entrance hall is for."
"Brother Paul...!" "Uncle Paul...!"
With their mothers, Valentine and Flute, remaining inside, two little boys, one with light brown hair and the other a deep shade of burgundy, ran towards Paul. Ningguang had already released his arm, so Paul was able to kneel in front of the remarkably similar duo, deftly snatching them in his arms as he asked, "Did you miss me?"
While the two boys laughed due to Paul picking them up and spinning them around, Valentine stepped forward to whisper her usual, "You've returned to me, my Little Sun..."
Adopting an even wider smile, Paul promptly set down his two younger brothers in order to welcome his mother's impending embrace. A year or two back, this would have meant consigning himself to having her either bend down or pick him up by his head. Now that he was just over 148cm tall, 17cm shorter than his mother, Paul was at the 'perfect height' for her to both embrace him and press his face into her bosom.
"Mmm...my cheeks are no longer cold..."
Hearing her son's remark, a bell-like laugh emanated from Valentine's throat as she held Paul's head tighter and whispered, "Rascal..." in an affectionate tone before eventually releasing him.
"How was your journey back? I hear the conditions of the road have improved tremendously these past few months..."
Directing her gaze towards Ningguang, Valentine made it clear who was responsible for their Region's recent improvements in infrastructure. The costs had been immense, but Ningguang had managed to get the Royal Family to bear the burden by transferring ownership of the various mines she had discovered to the King. Of course, Amarant had been the one to broker the deal, but he did so with Ningguang's coaching.
Returning a smile, Paul surprised his mother with a chaste kiss on the lips before releasing her from his own hold and saying, "It only took six days, even with the snowfall. Offering the villages tax exemptions in exchange for helping to maintain the roads was a stroke of brilliance..."
Directing his gaze to Ningguang, Paul surprised her by extending his hand and guiding her to stand in line with him. Then, for the first time in front of one of his parents, he placed his hand on Ningguang's waist, pulling her a little closer as he said, "I have a very capable fiancee..."
Though she was well aware of the arrangement between Ningguang and her husband, Valentine's eyes practically lit up when she heard Paul refer to the remarkably capable and breathtakingly beautiful girl as his fiancee. If not for the presence of several servants and staff, she might not have been able to suppress the girlish squeal threatening to escape her throat.
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After freeing himself from his increasingly excitable mother, Paul made his way to his father's study without an escort. He was keen to meet with the people he had summoned from the Intersection of Fate, but there were a few matters he wished to discuss before all hell broke loose.
*tok* *tok* *tok*
"Come on in, son. I've been expecting you."
Opening the once heavy door, Paul was a little surprised to find his father standing in front of his desk rather than sitting behind it. In his hand was an astonishingly expensive bottle of wine, a vintage so rare and valuable only Kings and successive generations of the Notos Family knew its taste. More specifically, the Lords of House Notos...
"Father..."
Waving his son over, Amarant's expression was solemn as he placed his hand on Paul's shoulder and said, "I'm proud of you, my boy...even if not by your hand, you have already done more for the Milbots Region in these short five years than I have in my past twenty. While it can't be officiated until you produce a viable heir, I intend to announce my retirement during your forthcoming birthday celebration. If you accept this drink, then from that moment onward, you will be the Lord of House Notos..."
Instead of waiting for Paul to take it himself, Amarant picked up the glass, proferring to his son as he said, "Take it..." in a firm tone.
Inhaling a deep breath, more to suppress the sour feeling in his nose than anything else, Paul accepted the glass and answered, "It was my greatest fortune to be born as your son. Thank you, father...and I accept..."
Following his heartfelt words, Paul downed the scantily filled cup of wine. The taste was actually beyond terrible, but he swallowed the entire thing in a single gulp.
Preempting any response Paul might have given, Amarant stated, "Tastes like piss mixed with spoiled grapes, doesn't it?"
Offering a wry smile, Paul replied, "I couldn't have said it better..." before setting the glass on the table and asking, "Got anything more 'recent' to wash it down?"
Adopting a rare smile, Amarant's leafy-green eyes glistened as he walked around to the back of his desk and pulled out a silver canister, explaining, "That little Beast Race girl is a genius in the art of mixing. I had her throw together a little something special for us this morning..."
Placing his hand on the canister's lid, Amarant hesitated a moment before removing it to reveal a haze of cold mist. A fragrant aroma of alcohol and fruit immediately permeated the entire room, its fragrance, alone, enough to stir the hearts and minds of men.
"Even once I retire to the Capital, promise you will send me at least one, no, three bottles of Diona's Brandywine to me..."
Raising his brows, Paul replied, "I'll send ten." before asking, "You intend to retire to the Capital? Isn't it a little...early?"
Pausing before he could fill his and his son's glasses, Amarant's smile faded as he answered, "After seeing how well Philemon and Aubert get along, I have decided to take Flute as my Second Wife. Once I pass the Lordship to you, I will move to our residence in the Capital so that your younger brothers may enroll in the Royal Academy. Their talent may not compare to yours, but I believe they can become competent Knights or Mages. Two-year-olds being able to use Beginner Level Magic is beyond extraordinary..."
Though he was initially a little surprised to hear that Amarant would be taking Flute as his Second Wife, Paul quickly regained a smile as he said, "That's excellent news, father. However, there was something I wished to discuss with you before you go traipsing about in the Capital..."
"Hmmm? Out with it, boy."
Taking the opportunity to fill the two glasses, Amarant nearly spilled both when Paul said, "I intend to go on a pilgrimage to the Sword Sanctum and train there for two years."
After reaching Advanced Rank in the Water God Style, Paul felt as though his progress had slowed drastically. Augusta told him this was because he was still growing, but he also speculated it was an issue with affinity. Paul had trained like a madman, yet even after besting one of the Saint Ranked Instructors in two out of ten matches, he only had a basic grasp of Touki.
Paul knew the actual reason for his stunted growth was his secret training with Visions, so he wanted to journey to the literal Holy Land of Swords to 'purify' himself. He also needed to go there if he wished for Ei and the rest to receive official titles, so Paul wasn't ready to 'settle down' just yet.
Since he had also dreamed of going on a journey to the Sword Sanctum in his youth, Amarant couldn't blame his son, a far more talented swordsman than he, for wanting to do the same. He also wasn't planning to depart for the Capital until the boys were nearing their fifth birthdays, so while Paul had initially expected him to protest, Amarant just shrugged his shoulders and said, "If that terrifying little lass of yours gives her permission, I have nothing else to say on the matter. Now, stop stalling, and let's drink. If you keep interrupting, I may actually punch you..."
Without waiting for his son to respond, Amarant emptied nearly the entire contents of his glass in six large gulps. When he was finished, he exhaled a loud sigh similar to a drunken Yakuza, stunning his already slack-jawed son to silence...
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Parting with his father, Paul was prepared to return to the East Wing but found his path blocked by a petite girl with cerulean blue eyes and muted, golden-blonde hair.
Though his body briefly tensed due to the girl appearing just after he left his father's room, almost like she had been trying to jump scare him, Paul quickly regained his smile as he said, "It's good to see you, Barbara."
Seeing Paul spread his arms, a bit of the severity in Barbara's expression faded away as she obediently stepped into his embrace, saying, "I missed you..." in a sincere yet melancholic tone.
"I know...and I'm sorry for leaving you alone so often..."
"Mmm..."
Nestling her face into Paul's chest, an action made easier by the fact she was nearly twenty centimeters shorter, Barbara surprised Paul by quietly muttering, "It's okay...I realized how selfish I was back then. I'll probably get jealous in the future, but I'm a little better now..."
Hugging the petite girl a little tighter, Paul nestled the lower half of his face into Barbara's hair, kissing the top of her head before pulling away to say, "You've grown..."
"Speak for yourself..."
Raising her head, Barbara stared into Paul's face as she asked, "How are you so tall? Aren't girls supposed to hit their growth spurts before boys?"
Adopting a faintly wolfish smile, Paul teased, "Who knows...? I've always been a big boy..."
Though it took her a moment to understand the hidden meaning within Paul's words, Barbara's cheeks blushed a faint shade of red as she softly muttered, "Naughty..." However, the thing that stood out most about this was the faint smile on her face.
"I'm certainly getting there..."
Emphasizing his point, Paul lowered his hands to the small of her back, just above her butt. She had a stylish tailcoat and was covered in several layers of fabric, but the proximity of his hands to her butt was enough to cause Barbara's face to turn bright red.
Unfortunately, while he was half-tempted to take things a step further, Paul punctuated the encounter with a fleeting kiss before releasing his hold on the befuddled beauty and saying, "We should head back. If I'm not mistaken, you snuck out to meet with me sooner, right?"
Lowering her head and averting her eyes, Barbara muttered, "Ningguang isn't the boss of me..." in a pouty tone.&nbsp;
"Barbara..."
Extending his hand for the pouty Knight Princess to grab, Paul waited until she did before beginning to lead her down the hall as he said, "Ningguang is doing her best to ensure the success of our mission. While I understand your reasons, try not to butt heads with her too much...okay?"
Having already reached a secret agreement with Ningguang, Barbara just nodded her head in response to Paul's words. She had been permitted to become one of the first people to accompany Paul when he ventures out into the world. The penultimate decision was Paul's to make, but Barbara refused to believe Paul would set out on a long journey without her. If he did, she would just follow him of her own accord...
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After reaching his section of the Estate, Paul was surprised to find the only two people waiting for him were Diona and Razor.
"Ah. Master Paul. You're back. Welcome home."
Though he had gotten used to Razor being a tomboyish girl with wild, remarkably long grey hair and carmine eyes, Paul couldn't help smiling wryly as he asked, "How have you been, Razor? Keeping the plantations free of pests and rodents...?"
Nodding her head, Razor maintained a completely serious expression on her face as she answered, "Razor kill big monster. Master's Lupical gives Razor big reward. Lots of meat."
Raising his brows, Paul looked to Barbara and Diona for a more detailed explanation. The latter had a characteristically pouty expression on her face, but she still explained, "A boar with Wyvern blood came down the Red Dragon Mountains. Razor was the one to deal the killing blow, but a lot of us worked together to weaken it with our bows."
Understanding that Diona was fishing for a compliment, Paul made an impressed expression as he remarked, "Wow. Excellent job, Diona, Razor. I'm proud of you."
Since the 'bestowal of praise' was one of the conditions that not only allowed but 'mandated' him to provide head pats, Paul punctuated his words by caressing Diona's and Razor's heads. The latter lacked bestial features, but her animalistic nature caused most people to regard her in the same light as a member of the Beast Race.
Grabbing Paul's wrist to stop him from retracting his hand, Diona squinted her eyes in satisfaction as she explained, "We're still working on the feast to celebrate your homecoming. For now, you should head to the bath and get yourself cleaned up. You wreak of alcohol and sweat."
Chuckling dryly in response to Diona's opposing words and actions, Paul answered, "Will do." before waiting for her to release his hand of her own accord. She would never admit it, but Diona 'really' liked having her head, back, and pretty much every part of her body caressed. The only notable exceptions were her tail, butt, and a few other dangerous areas Paul had never dared to venture.
"You coming along?"
Exhaling a sigh, Barbara shook her head and said, "I'm supposed to be preparing for the feast as well. I just couldn't wait to see you, so I snuck out when no one was looking."
Nodding his head in approval, Paul extended his hand to caress Barbara's head as well, saying, "Good girl..." before planting a kiss atop her head. An awkward smile developed across her face, but she didn't attempt to slap his hand away. Instead, she directed him to caress her right cheek as she said, "I'll see you at the feast..."
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With no one accompanying him, Paul started to wonder if he would be taking a solo bath for the first time in five years. It was a little strange to consider, but, ever since he had summoned Xiangling, there had always been at least one girl accompanying him in the bath. Now, the thought of bathing alone just felt...wrong.
Fortunately, at least one person had nothing to contribute to the feast preparations. Thus, when he entered the bathhouse to find Ei waiting patiently for his arrival, Paul wasn't even remotely surprised. What did surprise him was the presence of Eula, Lynette, Xinyan, and a ponytailed girl with pale, strawberry blonde hair and golden eyes.
"Ei, Xinyan, Yoimiya...it's good to see you all. Not that I'm not equally pleased to see the two of you..."
Directing his last couple of words towards Eula and Lynette, just for good measure, Paul managed to avoid inadvertently offending both. Eula was a 'very serious' girl who, if he were being perfectly honest, reminded Paul a little of Drax the Destroyer due to how she interpreted everything literally. As for Lynette...Paul honestly hadn't figured her out just yet. She was a lot like Diona, just...cattier...
"Welcome ba-"
Before Ei could return Paul's greeting, Xinyan interrupted, asserting, "It's about time you showed up, Paul! We haven't even entered the bath, and I'm already starting to get a little pruney. Let me guess; Barbara tracked you down, didn't she...?"
Instead of answering Xinyan's question, Paul began to unbutton his tunic, noting, "Your hair has grown a lot since we last met, Xinyan...it suits you."
Losing much of her bravado, Xinyan became markedly more bashful as she combed through the fringe of her bangs and muttered, "Well...you're the one who said I looked better with my hair down..."
"Mmm...if I remember correctly, I said you looked charming with your hair down and badass with your hair up. Either way, you look great..."
Feeling her face heat, more so due to Paul stripping than his actual words, Xinyan quickly turned around, hands cupping her fiery red cheeks as she remarked, "Geez, Paul...you really learned how to talk these past couple a' months..."
Directing her gaze to Eula and Lynette, Xinyan asked, "I wonder if you two had anything to do with it...?"
Before Eula could respond with one of her trademark absurds, Ei injected herself back into the conversation by calmly asking, "Master, may I have the privilege of washing your body?"
Nodding his head in affirmation, Paul replied, "Sounds good." as he tossed his tunic into a nearby bin and started to remove his black undertunic. He noticed an oppressive silence promptly descend upon the changing room but pretended not to as he stripped off his undertunic, exposing his bare and increasingly muscular form. He still had a lot of room for growth, but he was filling out remarkably well...
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After entering the bath, Paul had Xinyan and Yoimiya apprise him of what they had been doing the past ten months while Ei awkwardly washed his body and periodically got soap in his eyes.
Though both girls had continued their training, their reliance on Visions and general lack of hostility towards others meant Xinyan and Yoimiya were improving much slower than the more battle-oriented members of the group. Xinyan had even given up the claymore entirely, inspired by Barbara to specialize in something radically different than her past self.
Fortunately, much like Barbara, Xinyan had also obtained quite a number of Constellations. In fact, alongside Yaoyao, Yanfei, and Fischl, she was one of the few who had awakened her third Constellation.
With a fair amount of guidance from Yanfei, Xinyan had learned how to use a Catalyst. More importantly, she had already mastered most of the Beginner and Intermediate Fire Magic Spells. She was still struggling to master Chantless Casting, but her increasing familiarity with a Catalyst was helping.
A stark contrast to Xinyan, Yoimiya had decided to immerse herself even deeper into her specialty, firework production. Fireworks were frequently used during festivals in the Asura Kingdom, but their quality was poor due to a prohibition that prevented the research and study of propellants such as Black Powder. The Royal Family didn't want people experimenting with explosives, so unless you belonged to an extremely hazardous unit within the Royal Military, you would never be allowed access to black powder or the production method for fireworks.
Fortunately for Yoimiya, one of the people Paul had summoned was none other than Albedo. She had also memorized all of her family's production methods, including the formula for high explosives. It took the better part of two years, but she had recently developed a commercial-grade version of dynamite that was currently being used in a few mines Ningguang had failed to disclose to the Royal Family.
Though she still practiced with her bow, much of what made Yoimiya an exceptional archer was related to her Vision. Paul had been exceptionally lucky in regards to his summoning of Archons, even managing to secure a Constellation for Zhongli, but he was still missing four of the Seven. Until he managed to summon Murata, the Pyro(Fire) Archon, Yoimiya was just an ordinary, albeit very, very talented archer...
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"When do you plan to tell him? If you won't, I'll have to..."
"Hmm..."
Turning to look behind her, Zhongli, now appearing as a young girl closer to fourteen rather than ten, locked eyes with the bronze-skinned, dark-haired girl standing behind her. Their respective golden eyes glistened for a few moments, almost as if they were about to attack one another, but it only lasted for a fleeting moment as Zhongli answered, "Soon. I just didn't want to place an even greater burden on our Master before he was ready. Once he crosses the line into adulthood, I will broach the subject at the earliest possible convenience..."
Nodding her head in approval, the bronze-skinned girl stated, "Very well, Morax. I will continue to entrust this matter to you. However, should you fail to inform him before he summons Murata...well, just don't expect me to pick up the pieces..."
Squinting her eyes, Zhongli could feel her right index finger twitching with the desire to manifest her spear. Instead, she remained silent for several seconds before answering, "I'll keep that in mind...Lady Kusanali..."
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With Amarant's recent return and Ningguang not wanting to leave her projects untended for 8-10 weeks, Paul's scheduled tour of the Region was canceled. Instead, he spent his vacation much like his time at the Academy, primarily focused on training and interspaced by periods of borderline philandering.
When Amarant first saw Paul's progress in the Water God Style, he was genuinely surprised. Even the average Knight was only an Intermediate Rank Swordsman, so while Paul was technically still a Beginner, being at the precipice of Intermediate Rank at seven years old was incredible. He might have already become one if Augusta didn't have significantly higher standards than the average Instructor.
Fortunately for Paul, Amarant didn't compare him to any of the girls he had summoned. If that were the case, he would be near the bottom of the barrel. His physical strength and endurance were even higher than Jean's, but if the two of them were to fight, she would trounce him 99/100.
Among those Paul had summoned through the Intersection of Fate, the only people he could reasonably contend with were Barbara, Xinyan, and Yaoyao. Xiangling could have been among them, but ever since she had attained her second Constellation, she was nearly as strong as Jean. The latter would win all of their spars, but the fact it was close at all said a lot about the power of Constellations.
Paul was leaps and bounds ahead of the other children in his world, but he still had a very long way to go to be considered powerful. To that end, he asked Ei to oversee his and pretty much everyone else's training. She had nothing better to do, so Paul ended up training even harder while on vacation than when he was back at the Academy. After all, he didn't have to hold back or conceal his true power back at the Estate, and, much like Ei, he had nothing better to do...
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"Ningguang..."
"Yes, my Lord~?"
"Remind me how I ended up in this position..."
"Mmm...we were talking about what you thought my best feature was back in your world. One thing led to another, and now we're here..."
"Right..."
Though he would be lying if he said it wasn't surprisingly comfortable, lying back with Ningguang's thighs wrapped around his neck gave Paul the impression she was about to strangle him. He might have asked her to if they were much, much older, but it felt incredibly borderline considering their current appearances. It didn't help that Ganyu was currently seated on his lap...
"I think I should be going soon..."
"Oh~? Is there some important matter that requires your attention? And here I thought we had both cleared our afternoon schedules in order to spend some...quality time together..."
Flexing her still-developing but already firm thigh muscles, Ningguang elicited a low grunt from Paul as he instinctually grabbed them. Before she could continue teasing him, however, Ganyu suggested, "If Master Paul is uncomfortable, we should stop. This was supposed to help him relax and enjoy himself, not add to his stress..."
Since Paul could easily pry her legs apart or order her to stop, Ningguang didn't release him from her thigh hold. Instead, she began massaging his head and hair, muttering, "He is just being obstinate and a little dishonest with himself...isn't that right, Master~?"
Prying Ningguang's legs apart, Paul gasped before drawing in a series of deep breaths. His face was more than a little red, but that was currently the least of his concerns as Ganyu uttered a meek, "Oh..." before blushing up to her ears.
"Yeah, no...this is no longer borderline. We're way, way over the line. Let me up."
Though she hoped Paul would just go with the flow and let his 'instincts' take over, Ninnguang promptly released her hold and scooched back to let him lay flat on the sofa. The movement caused Ganyu's face to turn a much brighter shade of red, but she calmed down pretty quickly once she Paul lying with his eyes closed, willfully trying to calm himself...
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"I assume you invited me here for a reason other than simply harassing me...?"
Amused by Paul's sudden standoffishness, Ningguang covered her mouth to suppress a titter before answering, "You'll be returning to the Academy in a few days. We need to discuss who will be attending you and whether or not we should use the Intersection of Fate. There are presently 95,512 Asura Gold Coins in our private coffer. I need roughly 65,000 for my plans, but the remaining 30,000 can go toward bolstering our forces."
Since this was his first time hearing how much gold they had, the cogs in Paul's brain briefly stalled. Given how much Ningguang had spent, he half expected their funds to be running low. 95,512 was roughly 43,000 more gold than he had left her with...
"I mean...I see no reason not to? But what did you mean about who would accompany me? Aren't-"
Interrupting before Paul could finish, Ningguang explained, "While you are well within your right to play favorites, other girls need a chance to spend time with you. If you stick with the same four girls for the rest of your stay at the Academy, the others will begin to feel neglected. You will also have trouble picking the best people for specific jobs, prioritizing those you are comfortable with over the people most qualified."
"..."
Though he could understand what Ningguang was saying, Paul couldn't imagine Barbara, Xinyan, or Xiangling being okay with a long separation. Jean would probably be okay, but the other girls had really bonded to him during their stay at the Academy. If he was being completely honest, he had grown attached to them as well...
Seeing the problem, a melancholic sigh emanated from Paul's throat as he muttered, "Barbara is going to throw a tantrum..."
Nodding her head, Ningguang replied, "Most definitely." before shrugging her shoulders and adding, "Unfortunately, such is the hand we have been dealt. No matter how much she desires to keep you to herself, we need to prioritize the group's unity. We are no longer individuals fighting to obtain happiness for ourselves. We are a conglomerate with the penultimate goal of saving one world so that we can restore another..."
Placing her hand over Paul's heart, Ningguang's expression softened as she said, "You are the lynchpin that holds everything together. It will be difficult, but you need to have a heart strong enough to endure the stress of more than a hundred people's ambitions. People like Ganyu and myself will do our best to help share your burdens, but there is only so much we can do without infringing upon your autonomy..."
Preempting Paul's question, Ningguang's voice became a sultry purr as she susurrated, "Don't ask questions you don't want to know the answer to...for the sake of both our worlds, I don't mind becoming a monster..."
Though it was more of a last resort than anything else, Ningguang had plans to relocate Paul to one of the most isolated regions in the world. If he died, every single one of her plans would fall through. They would also lose their chance to restore their world, so if it were up to her, she would lock Paul away, assign someone like Ganyu to take care of him, and just send out the Archons to crush anyone who got in their way. It was, after all, the most 'efficient' method to guarantee the success of their mission.
Fortunately for Paul and the world as a whole, the agreement they made with the God of the Boundaries prohibited them from interacting with the world in a way that contradicted the Champion's will. Paul effectively had the final say in everything, so unless he gave her permission and ordered her to take him away, Ningguang had no choice but to play nice...
Feeling a bone-deep chill run through his body when Ningguang purred in her ear, Paul elected to take her advice and avoid asking what she meant by infringing upon his autonomy. Instead, he asked, "Did you already have someone in mind regarding who will accompany me...?"
Nodding her head in affirmation, Ningguang revealed, "If we don't access the Intersection of Fate, I was thinking of sending Yaoyao, Diona, Minne, Rosaria with you. I had originally planned to have Lilia accompany you as well, but I want her to be here when the children are born."
"Are you sure? Rosaria and Yaoyao I can understand, but Diona and Minne would struggle quite a bit within the Academy..."
Moving her hand from Paul's chest to his abdomen, Ningguang casually rebutted, "That's only because you're considering having them enroll as students. Most servants attending the Academy remain in their Master's quarters or work within the surrounding town. Even if you just have them stay home and keep the house clean, Diona and Minne would be beyond ecstatic just being able to help you..."
"Right..."
Recalling how Diona would cuddle up to him despite reacting with hostility whenever he tried to pet her, Paul could see what Ningguang was getting at. As for Minne, well, members of the Beast Race were just 'programmed' differently from humans. They were remarkably impressionable and had a habit of imprinting on those who showed them kindness. Their tribe was like one giant family, and anyone who had earned their trust was regarded in a similar light.
"And what about the IOF? Did you have anyone in mind...?"
Though this was her first time hearing Paul refer to the Intersection of Fate as the IOF, Ningguang immediately understood what he meant. In fact, she intended to use it herself in the future as it was better to avoid referencing it directly.
"Truth be told, I'm at my wit's end with just myself, Ganyu, and Xingqiu. I'll be able to manage, but things would become much easier if you managed to acquire even a single additional member of the Qixing..."
After seeing how hard Ningguang worked these past eight weeks, Paul no longer questioned her smoking habits. He genuinely had no idea how she was able to manage it, but he supposed it was that drive that allowed her to become the youngest Tianquan in the history of Liyue.
"Then we'll keep going until we get one or reach 27,000 gold spent. Sound good...?"
Though she understood 27,000 gold was nowhere near enough to ensure a specific person, Ningguang had high hopes. Paul had only accessed the Intersection of Fate 270 times yet had managed to acquire an additional Archon and the exact person he needed to treat his mother. He had also managed to obtain her, so it wasn't an overstatement to say his luck was exceptional.
Walking her fingers up Paul's body, Ningguang whispered, "Let's make a deal...if you manage to obtain a member of the Qixing, I will stop trying to wear down your defenses until your tenth birthday. If you fail...well, you'll at least be able to relax once you return to the Academy..."
"..."
Resisting the urge to hit Ningguang with a 'bruh,' Paul briefly considered her offer before shaking his head and saying, "Though I can be extremely hypocritical at times, I've learned never to tempt fate. The last time I let myself be baited by this kind of compromise, I ended up having my face sucked by an insatiable kissing demon..."
Though they had even made out a few times at this point, Paul was still recovering from the awkwardness he endured during his previous gacha spree. If he agreed to Ningguang's proposal, he might not even make it to his birthday before someone 'pounced' on him. Considering her status as a member of the Beast Race, there was a good chance it would be Minne.
"Let's just grab the others and do a normal summoning..."
Since it was ultimately Paul's decision, Ningguang didn't try to force the matter. Instead, she briefly shifted her gaze to Ganyu, who, after a brief moment of confusion, nodded her head and said, "I will return shortly." before rising to her feet and speeding off to gather the others...
...
..
.

Chapter 42: MI42: Time Passes in the Blink of an Eye