Along with Paige, Mary, and the doctor, Cain's group returns to the Manor in Long Fang Valley. For Misha it is a practical matter, but the others are more interested to see what exactly a full service spa facility inside of someone's home might look like.
"You are back earlier than expected. Did something come up with the King?" Kone asks when she sees them all coming through the travel circle.
"Not as far as I know. We just decided to transfer Misha back here for the duration of her pregnancy, so the others have come to assist her and keep her company." Cain casually drops the bombshell news on the Spirit Folk girl.
"Oh, that makes sense. No, wait. Did you say Misha's pregnant? I get to be a big sister?" Kone cheers, grabbing Misha's hands and spinning them both in circles.
The size difference is not nearly as significant as it once was, but Kone still views herself as a generation younger than Misha, who has a more mature personality. The actual age difference between their body's appearances isn't that large, but in this world, that doesn't mean much. The more critical factor is how old you consider yourself.
"Nobody else knows yet; we wanted to settle in for a minute before we told the rest of the Guild. You remember the chaos when Lickity first announced she was pregnant." Misha tells her excited friend, struggling to regain her balance.
"The pregnancy status is interfering with her System. It's pretty common for humans, so try not to be too rough." Dana, the doctor, gently reminds everyone.
Kone silently mouths the words "not too rough" while wagging her finger at Misha. That makes everyone who knows her laugh, but Dana just had a confused look on her face as she struggled not to think about what they might mean.
Cyrene and Kone are on the same page today and immediately begin making plans to renovate the room next to Cain's bedroom in the Lord's suite into a proper nursery for twins. So little is known about Ancients that they don't know when to expect them, so the ladies are getting a head start.
Daisy is incredibly excited about the prospect of getting to make more baby clothes, but for now, that will have to wait. It's more than just colors; she doesn't know what they'll look like when they're born.
"What are your plans now? Playing the house husband and idle Duke?" Princess Paige asks Cain, who had been watching the chaos with a smile of amusement.
"Not likely. I've got Summons farming dungeons on my behalf right now, so once I get the final skill of my class tree, I'll be starting to hunt for a way to advance classes again. I'm not sure exactly what it will take to trigger a fourth advancement class, but I haven't come this far to give up and stagnate." Cain shrugs.
"That makes sense, but I suspect you'll be needed here more often than not, even with the advantages of all the Puppets."
Cain laughs at the understatement. Twins of an unknown species? There's no way he will not be needed at Misha's side reasonably often. But he can probably work around that and not end up stuck at home.
Cid and Lickity both put everything on hold for the triplets. Still, with an array of fully customizable puppets available, Cain sees his duties as more of a moral support role than being physically necessary to help raise the kids.
Even if he wanted to help, he would have to study the topic first since he knows exactly zero about raising kids. If he was left in charge, they would likely become even more uncontrollable than Neffie.
For now, though, Misha is in the very early stages of pregnancy and is almost drowning in positive reinforcement. Everyone is excited to see more children in the Guild, and speculation on what sort of remarkable abilities they will have runs rampant through the Guild.
Cain knows that eventually, someone will get to the obvious conclusion. His physical transformations seem to entirely change his body's biological species. So whatever form he was in, mixed with humans, should be the species of Misha's child. With an allowance for the Dark Gods' blessing that she carries, which might be turning the children into Demons.
Since the doctor said baby tentacle monsters, the day in question was one in his more human sized ancient form. Cain doesn't think Misha has realized that yet, but it could be entertaining when it dawns on her.
Though it's also possible Cain and King Aggramor are both mistaken about the forms, and his children would all be Ancients no matter what species he appeared to be. That would be a real buzzkill to Aggramor, who is quietly hoping that Cain will help bring back a few of the long-lost primordial Demon species.
All day long, the Echoes race each other through the Dinosaur dungeon, feeding Cain with highly buffed experience levels. Even with so many additional beings Summoned, the gains are slower at these levels than they were before level 200.
It could be mostly related to the dungeon, but even the two in Munan weren't any faster with the same level difference. The only thing to be done for now is to wait for the Echoes to do their work and write up a few skills for the other Guild Members.
Relaxing in a comfortable chair on the upper levels of the pagoda, Cain gently pets Cyrene while he has his eyes closed, going through all the possible skill options that might be useful to others.
[Animal Training] is a generic life skill that anyone can learn. The materials are also simple and inexpensive to grant an Apprentice level of skill, so Cain makes two hard copies, one for Neffie and a second for the Guild Library.
That's precisely what the little Demon was after and it gives her a base of knowledge to work with as she studies the most effective ways to train her dinosaur eggs into viable mounts.
They also have the materials to make a hard copy of [Bonded Mount] which Cain decides is better given to Cixelcid than left out in the open where just anyone could get at it.
It's likely to be the most viable way to make their Carnivorous Cavalry when the time comes, but first Neffie must put in the hard work to train up her dinosaurs and learn a healthy level of responsibility instead of taking the easy way out.
"Will you be okay Adventuring without us? If I'm going to stay here with Misha, you'll be all alone while you look for ways to advance your class." Cyrene asks during a refreshment break between skill books.
"Of course, I'll be alright. If I'm getting lonely, I'll Summon a copy of you to cuddle with." Cain teases, making the Lamia pout.
"Oh, don't be like that. It's like anyone else going to work, only I can make enough money without needing to go anywhere, so I will go hunting for a way to improve myself instead. Just like you put in all that work to get used to having sight and friends and a more appreciated life."
Cyrene considers that for a moment. "If I asked for a favor, do you think you could do it?"
"That depends on the favor. You know Misha will need you with her, so if you want to continue being my favorite belt, it might be a problem."
"No, what I was thinking was to start an outreach program for the locals around the Guild Houses to help improve the reputation of the Darklight Host."
That doesn't sound like a problem. More outreach and a better reputation for the Guild would help smooth things over and grow Port Nefheim. Lack of a credible reputation is the biggest hold-up in getting a travel circle location linked to Tortuga, after all.
Of course, what Cyrene has in mind is no ordinary 'alms for the poor' outreach program. No, if she's going to enlighten the Central Continent to the benevolence of Master Cain, a simple bit of assistance will not be nearly enough.
They need to learn to believe in his benevolence wholeheartedly, and that will require something much grander than a bit of financial assistance. But that requires the locals to have both knowledge of and trust in Cain. So first, she must lay the foundation of goodwill and then she can start reaching out to the lost souls who have been deprived of his light.
"I think the first thing we should start with is sending some Guild members to cities where we don't have a presence. Some of the members have been looking to get out and see more of the world, and if they can help a few people along the way, it's even better. A Guild reputation for leading groups through dungeons would gain you much support among the people." Cyrene suggests.
Once he hits level 290 and his skills are upgraded, he will have to change the [Benevolent Leader] Guild Skill. After the change, the lowest powered Summoning option would be six selections from the Lesser Golem group that will come out as Epic Quality versions of their previous self no matter who summons them.
"Wait just a day or two. Once my skills upgrade, the Guild Members will have much more powerful summons to work with." Cain decides, deliberately leaving out the details to see how long Kone can resist trying to force the answer out of him.
Other than Mary, who is a Puppet Master, Cain doesn't know anyone quite as intrigued by the myriad possibilities of Summoning classes as Kone.
