Chapter 170: Does a Clone Count as Part of the Mother-Daughter Combo? (1)
Frederica, though a master alchemist, was exceptional in potion crafting and homunculus creation, not in combat. Her physical strength was no more than that of an average girl.
So now, as I had her pinned against the wall, her feeble attempts to push me away were futile. She strained herself, trembling, her arms shaking as she tried to shove at my chest, but she had no chance of escaping.
"If you keep this up, I might just kick you. Are you ready for that?"
She tried to act tough, bringing her knee up as if to strike my groin, but it trembled visibly, betraying her fear. With her physical ability, even if she did manage to kick me, it'd be nothing more than a slight annoyance. And with my body pressed so close to hers, she didn't even have enough room to deliver a proper blow.
"Ahh…!"
"Hmm~ You smell really nice."
Type 1, Frederica's current body, shrank back, her entire posture defensive. Still, she couldn't resist sneaking glances at me to check my expression, her fear obvious.
'Well, that should be enough.'
I'd only been messing with her a little, my body overheated and playful. I wasn't the type to force myself on someone who truly resisted. Unless, of course, I lost control again due to something like the earlier potion side effects.
No matter how aroused I was, there was no joy in forcing myself on someone unwilling. So, with a grin, I stepped back and let Frederica go.
"It's just a joke."
"A… a joke?"
Still crouched and trembling, Frederica stared at me with wide eyes. I raised both hands in a gesture of surrender to assure her I meant no harm and stepped back to give her space.
"It's hard to call it a joke when your lower half is so blatantly… obvious."
"Well, we've had quite the eventful day, haven't we? Surely you can overlook this much."
"..."
"Unless it's something like potion-induced side effects, I don't force myself on anyone unwilling. Sure, I might push a little when someone's just playing coy, but if they really mean no, I stop. Otherwise, I'd just be trash, wouldn't I?"
Take Erin, for example. She might act a little bratty and pretend to resist, but she always accepted in the end. Her refusals weren't genuine, more like playful pushbacks.
Thud.
I let myself drop to the floor, sitting down to try to calm my lower body. Circulating my mana, I deliberately drained some energy to subdue the tension in my groin.
"You can ignore me and focus on tidying up before getting some rest."
Even after hearing me, Frederica sat there with her head hung low, trembling slightly.
"…Since earlier…"
When she finally spoke, her voice was low, almost inaudible.
'Wait… is she actually mad?'
The lingering potion effects, combined with the boost from Frederica's saliva, had heightened my energy and mood, so I'd played around more than I should have. But thinking about it now, I realized how intimidating the situation might have been for her.
Trapped in a sealed room with someone stronger than her, someone who'd already acted inappropriately earlier… she must've been genuinely scared.
Even now, her trembling wasn't entirely from anger but also from suppressed fear.
"Since earlier, you've been poking at my pride… haven't you?"
"Ah… uh… I'm sorry."
I couldn't argue.
Looking back, I had to admit I'd crossed the line several times. First, I'd caused chaos earlier with the potion's side effects, putting her in an uncomfortable situation. Then, after she'd calmed herself, I'd broken the flask containing her original body. On top of that, instead of just fixing the issue, I'd teased her relentlessly.
Each of these actions chipped away at her pride, making her feel powerless in the face of someone younger and seemingly treating her as a helpless girl.
Frederica was a legendary figure, the hero Frederica Endymion, and here I was making her feel small and weak.
"I-I worked so hard on this body! And yet you… you don't even get hard looking at it?!"
'Wait… is that what this is about?!'
I was stunned. But then it hit me—earlier, when I'd shifted my attention to No. 3, Frederica had reacted with a mixture of relief and frustration.
It seemed she wasn't just upset about me treating her lightly—she was also offended that I didn't seem physically interested in her body.
At the time, I'd thought, Why is this old man acting like this? But after learning her original body was female, I replayed our conversations in my head. Slowly, everything began to piece together.
"Ah."
I realized I'd effectively been insulting Frederica all day.
To someone like Frederica, who clearly took pride in her femininity despite her detached demeanor, I had implied—no, outright stated—that I wasn't attracted to her. I'd struck directly at her pride as a woman, repeatedly brushing her off. And now, after skirting around the issue all day, I'd pushed her to the breaking point by retreating at the last moment.
"No, that's not what I meant—"
"Earlier, you said you weren't attracted to me! You even said you preferred No. 3!"
"That was… Look, I misunderstood earlier—"
"Shut up! Your tongue's been wagging nonstop!"
Did Frederica even realize what she was saying at this point?
"Look at this! A slender waist! Breasts impossibly soft for a body of this size! Hips perfectly developed to the necessary proportions! For a first attempt at making a body, it's practically flawless! And unlike Type 2 or Type 3, this body was even designed for sexual intercourse! So why the hell—?!"
"..."
"..."
Panting and red-faced, Frederica suddenly froze. She must have just realized the implications of everything she had shouted in her heated rant.
"Wait… what did I just say?!"
"I find you attractive! I'm very attracted to you! So please, calm down."
"F-Forget what you just heard! My mind's just muddled because my original body is exposed! Yes, my pride may have been slightly bruised, but it's not like I was thinking anything weird! Not at all! And—"
Her frantic excuses only confirmed my suspicions.
'So she's been holding onto that all this time, huh? What a petty old lady!'
And to think, she was still bothered about when I'd first asked for No. 3 instead of her. That was literally the first time we'd met! She's been stewing over that for this long?
"And why were you even looking there on my original body?!"
"Well, you said you'd extracted eggs to make clones, and I got curious…"
Honestly, I usually wouldn't do something like that. But since homunculi don't react the same way as humans, it felt more like inspecting an object than anything inappropriate. My curiosity got the better of me.
"I didn't have children—I just extracted eggs to make clones! I've never even held hands with a man because of my condition!"
"Ah… I see…"
So, Frederica had been a virgin for 300 years. Considering Delphine, an elf, was still a virgin at 110, it made sense. But Frederica had lived for far longer, entirely without men, even after becoming an adult.
"Forget it! Just forget everything! When you leave here, I'll give you a memory-erasing potion to wipe this entire day from your mind… Ahhh!"
Frederica's breathing became erratic, and her eyes started spinning. She was clearly overexcited, and in the sealed space with limited oxygen, her hyperventilation was only making things worse.
At this rate, she might faint or choke. I had no choice but to step in. Moving behind her, I gently supported her body, wrapping my arms around her chest and holding her steady to prevent her diaphragm from spasming further.
"Alright, calm down. Just take your time. We're stuck here for 12 hours anyway; there's no need to rush through everything right now."
"Hic…"
A small hiccup escaped her, and I could feel her chest heaving beneath my hands. It seemed she was beginning to calm down. If I hadn't intervened, she might've spiraled into full-blown hyperventilation.
As I held her close, waiting for her to regain her composure, her breathing gradually steadied. But then, I noticed something odd—her breathing had taken on a new rhythm, more shallow and quickened, but not from panic.
"Is… is what I'm feeling against my backside… what I think it is?"
"Yes… It's exactly what you think."
Being so close, with her soft scent filling the air and her subtle movements brushing against me, it was hard to maintain any semblance of restraint.
After a moment of silence, Frederica hesitantly broke it with a cautious question.
"...Does this body… arouse you?"
"Yes."
Though, if I were being honest, it wasn't just the body.
'Her reactions are so cute right now, it's actually more arousing than her original body or No. 3.'
The truth was, with alchemical techniques, anyone could craft an appealing body. What mattered more to me in this moment was Frederica herself—her flustered, vulnerable demeanor and the way her pride had been shaken just enough to reveal a side of her I'd never seen before.
"Can you… tell me what exactly arouses you?"
"Well, for one, your scent is intoxicating."
"That's just… a biological response! I mean—ah, I shouldn't say more."
"And honestly, your reactions are incredibly cute."
At that, Frederica went quiet, lowering her head further into my arms.
'Her face feels hot against my arm… Is she blushing?'
Maybe everything that had happened today had awakened a sense of femininity in her she'd long forgotten. Or perhaps my relentless teasing had stripped away her usual defenses, leaving her more self-aware of her own charms.
Even her speech patterns had shifted. Normally, she spoke with the tired drawl of someone far older. But now, her tone was charged with emotion, making her seem desperate and… dare I say, adorable.
"Shall I let you go now?"
"I think… I've calmed down."
I released her, but Frederica didn't move away. Instead, she stayed right where she was, our bodies still pressed together, with her hips resting against me.
"Now that I think about it… You didn't… release earlier when the potion had you all worked up, did you?"
"No, I didn't. And, well… it's been rather uncomfortable."
The intense arousal from the mutation potion was still lingering, leaving my lower body painfully swollen.
"Waiting 12 hours like this… would be difficult, wouldn't it?"
"Quite."
I could handle it alone if I had to, but knowing Frederica was here made the idea of relieving myself in the corner feel… awkward.
"In that case… would you like me to help you?"
"How do you mean?"
Fidgeting and clearly conflicted, Frederica turned to look up at me. But when our eyes met, she averted her gaze, her focus shifting instead to her original body lying nearby.
"That… that body… could we use it?"
The moment the words left her mouth, her expression froze, realizing what she'd just suggested.
'She didn't mean to say that, did she?'
Still, it wasn't like I was going to refuse. If she was offering, why would I turn her down?
"In that case, I'll gratefully take you up on the offer."
Ziiip.
Before she could change her mind, I swiftly unzipped my pants, freeing my fully erect cock.