After eating some sweets with the kids and getting some things I needed, we returned to the mansion. Then I asked Nova to make some maid-type humanoids too, to take care of the kids. They will teach them everything the kids need to learn, but I guess they don't need to learn much, seeing they are now connected to the server, and they can get any information through that connection. Then I went to the alternate dimension, and when I went to check, I found that the kids had gotten some upgrades. They have monstrous strength, and due to my mana link, they can use magic limitlessly. They have different personalities, so maybe their likes and dislikes may differ. While thinking about it, the manufacturing unit had manufactured the maids to take care of the kids, and there were new shops, bakeries, and factories to make food that children might like, including sweets, bread, various types of jam, cookies, pastries, ice cream, chocolates, and fruit juices. Then I returned with the maids.
When I returned to the mansion, everyone was waiting in the meeting hall. I named the maids Pia and Sai and introduced them to the others. Then the maids went to the kitchen to help with the dinner preparations. After that, I also sat down on a sofa, and the kids surrounded me—except Ai. She just sat beside me, and the others sat either on my lap, arms, or clung to me.
Then Celestine and Princess Seyra asked about the humanoids—how I made them and in such a short amount of time. Well, it did take some time to make them, and the reason you feel like it was done in less time is because the time flow of the alternate dimension and the real world are very different.
"What do you mean by that?"
"Well, it's like the time here is quite slow in comparison to the alternate dimension."
"How much exactly?" asked Saito.
"You can say that 1 minute in the real world is equal to 1000 or more years in the alternate dimension, and it depends on which region you're in. Like, we were in the factory which manufactures humanoids—then it would be like 1 minute of real world equals 3–4 days in the alternate dimension. It is different in each region. We were there for approximately 19 days."
"Wait, what do you mean? Are you saying if we stay there even for a minute, we can become 1000 years old or more than that if we had left that area you took us to?"
"Yeah, but the time in the alternate dimension doesn't affect a person's age much. I have built it that way."
"May I ask you something then?" Zoya, Self, and Celestine raised their hands together.
"Yes, what is it?"
"What is it that the time is different from region to region?"
"Well, it depends on which facility is in that region. Like, if you're in a region that has crop farms and herb farms, then it takes months to harvest them. That is why, to shorten the time period required and harvest them without issue, we need the system like this."
"But I don't think that we stayed there for 19 days."
"Oh, that is because the part we were in has a different time flow. We didn't enter the zone in which the manufacturing of the humanoids was happening."
"So, according to you, for us there it was only a few minutes or hours, but it took...
but we spent 19 days in the alternate dimension?" asked Saito.
"To be precise, yes."
"Then doesn't that mean it can affect a person's sense of time?"
"Well, it can affect more than that. It can cause some dangerous damage to them."
"Wait, and you took us to that kind of dangerous place?!"
"Relax. It's not like it will happen the first time. It only affects normal persons, while it won't affect me, Saito, or the humanoid kids."
"Wait, then you are admitting that you two brothers are abnormal?" said Princess Yuki.
"Princess, please don't twist my words like that. What I meant to say was that we both are not affected because we're a bit different from normal humans.
And in normal human terms, we call 'a bit different' as 'abnormal'."
"Then are you admitting that you agreed to get engaged and married in the future to an abnormal person?"
"Wait, don't twist my words now!" said Princess Yuki.
Then the conversation of us being abnormal ended at that.
Then Princess Seyra rose up.
"Ryo, I have made up my mind."
"About what?"
"I choose you as my husband."
"Wait—what?"
Then Celestine jumped on me.
"M-Me too! I too want him as my husband!"
This time, every kid hugged me, including Ai.
it showed that they won't give up their dad to other people...
Then everyone kid shouted in unison, "You aunties can't have our daddy! Daddy belongs to us, not you!" Saito was holding his laugh, Mili laughed loudly, while Zoya, Self, and Princess Yuri were covering their mouths, maybe trying not to laugh. Princess Seyra and Celestine looked as if their souls had left their bodies.
"W-w-we are not that old! I am only around 16!"
"And I am 20 at most, so stop calling us aunties!"
Then Princess Yuri looked at the kids and said,
"Kids, remember to call us sister."
"Why aunty?" said Marin.
It looked like Saito would burst while holding his laugh because his face was red as blood. Then I explained to the kids to not call any lady 'aunty' if they are not really your aunty. Some ladies don't like that, and even if they are related to you, this still applies.
"Then what should we call them, Daddy?" asked Ai.
"Yes," then again everyone in unison, "Aunties, what should we call you?"
Saito laughed loudly, not able to control his laughter any longer. Then every one of his fiancées, including Princess Seyra and Celestine, said,
"What is so funny about this, Saito?"
Saito flinched and covered his mouth, still holding his laughter. Then Saito said,
"Look, they are just kids. It's not like you can blame them, so drop it. You can explain to them yourself later."
"A-alright," everyone agreed.
Then Princess Yuri spoke,
"Say, Saito, what did you feel about Seyra's and Celestine's confessions toward you?"
"About that, w-well, it felt like a line from a show I used to watch, where they call monsters like 'I choose you!' and then the name of that monster... it made me remember that."
"What are you talking about? Are you talking about some stage show? But I don't know any shows like the ones you just described."
Saito started saying,
" He meant that he felt like they were not confessing their love, but instead choosing him without any consent or something like that, right Ryo?"
"Y-yes, right. I nearly forgot that they don't know that we and Saito are not from this world..."
Then the princess and Celestine said again that they wanted to marry me. I had no idea what to say, so I asked for some time. But the kids hugged me even tighter—their strength was no joke, seriously.
Then Mary came and said that dinner was prepared.
There were several dishes: roasted beast meat with herb sauce, creamy mushroom soup, grilled vegetables, soft-baked bread with butter, and a fruit tart for dessert. The kids had their own special dishes: lightly seasoned rice, steamed veggies, sweet stew, and honey-glazed buns.
Pia and Sai were looking after the kids. Today's meal felt better than before. Previously, it always felt like something was missing—like it lacked spices. But this time, that wasn't the case at all. Even Saito noticed it.
Everybody asked who made today's meal.
"It was Pia and Sai," answered Mary. "They helped the other maids as well, while preparing the meals for the kids."
Saito then asked, "Where did you find the spices?"
"I grew them. The maids have access to the storage that keeps them, so they might have used them."
One of the maids asked, "Are we allowed to use them for adult meals?"
"It's not wrong. I did give you access to the storage so you two could prepare meals. There's no issue," I said.
After the meal, I asked everyone not to tell anyone about the kids or any humanoids. It might cause trouble.
They asked, "What kind of trouble?"
Saito answered, "If they find out that they are humanoids, they might ask for the method to build them—or worse, kidnap them to experiment and find out how they were made."
"Well, it's not like that's possible," I added. "The moment any humanoid is opened or tampered with, it will be teleported back to the factory. It doesn't matter if the humanoid wants it or not. No anti-magic or mana field can stop that. Technically, there's no way to reverse-engineer or copy my humanoids. I have a plan B for every possible situation..."
Everyone agreed to keep it secret.
But I had a bad feeling. I didn't know why... or maybe I did.
There was someone who had been listening to our conversation and keeping an eye on us from the moment I arrived at this place.
After everyone had left and the kids were asleep, I told Saito about it and followed the person who was spying on us. I had already sent many drones and spy units to trail the target. They were flying above.
It was the head maid—Mary.
"Ryo, do you know where she's going?"
" Yes and i think maybe you do, Saito?"
"I do."
After some time, she arrived at a mansion where several carriages were parked. Judging by the appearance, it was a gathering of nobles.
We entered silently.
Inside, Mary knelt before someone and said, "My lord, I have news. Shall I report?"
"Yes, speak."
"The person named Saito is currently engaged to the crown princess."
"What!? He is engaged to the crown princess? Are you sure?"
"Yes, I am certain. I have seen Her Highness arrive with her carriage multiple times. She even lives there. Also, the second princess and the court mage wish to marry Saito's brother."
"But aren't they commoners?"
The nobles began discussing among themselves.
Mary continued, "This person, Ryo, and Saito both have affinities for every element and can use all kinds of non-elemental magic. Ryo, the brother of Saito, has built different types of human-shaped golems. No one can tell if they are humans or golems. These golems can use magic and teleportation. I've also heard that the kids Ryo has are golems too—almost human in every aspect. I tried to kidnap them today by adding drugs to their food, but the maid Ryo assigned to them didn't move an inch. I'm not even sure if the drugs can affect golems."
The room fell silent.
Then one of the nobles broke the silence.
"Wait… if what you're saying is true, then if we confront the king and demand he hand over those golems and the method to build them, we could build an entire army!"
Just then, I got a signal from the spies. Saito and I stepped forward, undoing our concealment spell.
I cut down every person there in half—Mary included. I even accidentally sliced the mansion in half.
Saito froze.
"Wait! We were supposed to capture or interrogate them!"
"We can't," I said coldly. "If they know about the robots, they have to die. I despise this kind of people."
"Then what will we say to the king?"
"You don't have to worry about that."
The next day, both princesses and Celestine were in the palace. The nobles were in an uproar.
"The demons have attacked our kingdom! We must do something! Those were the most important nobles of our kingdom!"
"Silence," said the Prime Minister.
He stood and addressed the assembly.
"The nobles who died last night were traitors to this kingdom. They were executed on the spot. They had been running a slave auction house, stealing national funds, killing civilians, and committing countless heinous crimes such as:
Human trafficking
Illegal magic experimentation
Using orphans in black-market rituals
Selling cursed items to foreign nations
Conducting forbidden summoning
Poisoning rival noble families
Enslaving demi-humans
Creating underground fight rings with kidnapped people
Bribing court officials
Killing witnesses and investigators
Smuggling relics to enemy nations
Sacrificing citizens in blood rituals
That is why they were executed on the spot. We even have the names of the nobles who are present here and supported these crimes.
They will now be punished by having their ranks lowered—or stripped entirely of their titles."
After that, most nobles were thrown in prison along with their families.
But many still remained...
"So that's why you killed them on the spot?" asked Saito.
"You knew about these things, right?"
"Yes. I'm the one who gave them the reports."
We were in the audience hall under our concealment spells. After everything was done, we were guided to the meeting room. Everyone was present there as usual. We also took our seats.
The kids were playing inside the alternate dimension, and the maids were taking care of them.
"Ryo, Saito, I thank you for yesterday's report," said the king. "We were unaware that the maid we had provided you was actually a spy working for Count Balzer. But how did you find evidence that even our special units couldn't uncover?"
"It was Ryo, not me," said Saito. "I had only accompanied him."
"I have my means," I replied calmly.
Then I asked something.
"Your Majesty, may I ask you something?"
"Yes. What is it?"
"Are you perhaps aware of the truth behind the Church… and the real reason why the Saint is sacrificed in every generation?"
"What do you mean by 'real reason'? Everyone knows it's to protect the world," said the Queen.
"That might not be the case," said the King quietly.
"What do you mean by that, Father?" asked the princess, surprised.
"I've had my doubts since my youth," the King said. "But no one has ever witnessed the sacrifice of the Saint except for the Pope of each generation."
"So, Ryo, what is it that you know about them?"
"Well," I began, "while I was investigating them, I found out that the Church holds influence under every nation. They support all types of crimes, including enslaving non-human races, all in the name of their god."
"This generation's Saint is currently in Belfort. They claim that the Saint must sacrifice herself to protect the world. But the real reason for the sacrifice is that it grants divine power to the Pope who is present at the time.
"As you know, Saints can perform miracles using divine power. But the Church is falsifying this fact, making it look like a selfless sacrifice, when in truth, it happens in every generation to empower the Pope."
Silence fell over the entire room.
Finally, the King spoke.
"It's not like we can interfere with the Church. They hold power equal to—or in some cases, greater than—my own. It's the same in every nation."
"I know what they do in the name of religion," he continued. "But the people… the people may not believe us. They blindly follow religion without questioning whether it's right or wrong."
He sighed deeply.
"I once thought—maybe their god was thesame…"