Chapter 82

Gazel, Rimuru, Elwald, and Artoria were there sitting around discussing Rimuru's placement into the demon lord council. It was strangely scarce for such an important meeting. The only other people there were Ellen and her adventure group. Most of the questions and discussion came from Elwald's side. Gazel had already long known that Rimuru wasn't evil, in fact, he was already in a sort of festive mood. He spent most of his time drinking various types of liquors and alcohol. 

Artoria just sat there with her eyes closed waiting for Erald to finish his talking. This entire thing was just Erald asking a bunch of questions to Rimuru. At least it was better to get this out of the way instead of dealing with this later. And she considers it lucky that there are so few people here. The last thing she needed was for Veldora to be here. However, she didn't need to worry about that since he was probably off enjoying the festivities just like everyone else was. As for Diablo? Who knew? Probably only Rimuru.

Just as Artoria felt like she was about to die of boredom and words, Shuna came by with a cart full of cakes, bread, pastries, and milkshakes. Artoria's eyes lit up. "Finally! I was thinking of leaving, but it seems I have something to distract myself with."

Shuna stopped by Artoria's side and started serving her. Whether it was some slices of cake, pie, or other treats, Artoria ate it all. "Did you make this just now, Shuna?"

"Yeah, I did. I figured you'd be bored, so I made all this. Something to help you pass the time until you could talk to that elf person you were talking about."

"I appreciate it, Shuna." Artoria said as she started eating her second cake and drinking a milkshake.

Rimuru looked over and was already sort of used to Artoria's appetite. As for Gazel? Well, he just needed to see it for himself. The last time Artoria came over, he allowed her to eat somewhere for free as a show of hospitality for an important guest. Which he later realized was a mistake, considering some complaints he got and just how much it cost. Erald also saw this and was slightly stunned for a short time.

"What are you looking at, Erald? You should take a picture if you want it to last longer. And no, I'm not giving you a piece and don't you dare tell Shuna to bring you something." Artoria spoke in a firm voice letting Erald know that Shuna wasn't a servant.

Erald got the message from her words as he looked at her wearily and with slight caution. "Why do you seem hostile towards me?"

"I'm not hostile, I'm just speaking firmly. Anyway, are you done speaking to Rimuru? Can we finally move on to negotiations, cooperation, and possibly an alliance and whatnot?"

Erald thought about it and decided that he had seen enough from Rimuru. He thought he might as well get to know Artoria better and try to understand her. It was obvious from his observations that having some kind of friendship or cooperation with this empire was one of the best options he could take. "Yes, I feel confident that Rimuru here is not evil. But why do you seem so fixated on homunculus bodies and the knowledge about homunculi? Do you plan on going around in a homunculus body?"

"Like what you do? With all due respect, Erald, I don't plan to walk around in a homunculus body for 'safety'. If people want trouble with me, then by all means, I invite them to find out what will happen, but I'm not looking for trouble, I'm just looking out for me, Shuna, and my nation." Artoria said as she kept eating. It was sort of clear that she didn't care if she got the knowledge or not. Besides, if she really wanted, she had other ways to get what she needed. Whether it was sending someone to covertly get it or through negotiation, which is what is happening right now. 

"Then why do you want this knowledge?"

"That's personal, and before you say anything, I'm not going to tell you. All you need to know is that I'm learning alchemy in tandem with homunculus bodies. If you don't give me the knowledge, that's fine, I'll just learn it myself. The knowledge you have will only serve as a platform for me to get a boost."

"You probably know that the knowledge I have of homunculus bodies is vast. You truly want to know everything?"

"No, not everything, just certain things."

"Can you tell me?"

"Hmm, I need knowledge of more than just…making a body. Do you have anything related to creating life from homunculus bodies?" Artoria said this nonchalantly as she kept eating her cakes and pastries, not noticing or caring to notice Gazel's and RImuru's faces of interest. 

Eald eyes widened slightly in surprise at her request. "What? Creating life? You mean creating a fully independent being capable-"

"A person, yes. No need to go so deep into it, Erald. It's not that serious. All of us here know what I mean. So, do you have the knowledge I need?"

"It's not that I don't have it, but that is something complex. Not a lot of people tend to delve into that, and the people who do, give up on that idea. I don't really know much myself. It's all just theoretical."

"Only theoretical? Hmm, not much to work with. Wait a moment…huh. I've been thinking about this all wrong." Artoria had reached a sort of epiphany.

"What?"

"Nothing."

"Can you explain?"

"No. Anyway, if you want cooperation with my nation, you can talk to my buddy Rimuru here. I recommend just a basic pact or whatever. At least until all the festivities here are done. Which will probably last….about a month at most." Artoria got up, ready to leave.

"A month?" Erald was a bit surprised. What kind of festival lasts a month?

"Yeah. Well, there will be a small break in between, but things will pick up again. Our citizens can get sort of crazy. But hey, there's no festival like a tempest festi-...forget what I said. Just finish up so y'all can enjoy the festivities." With those words, Artoria left, leaving Rimuru on his own. She decided to leave it like that. She knew that Rimuru had unknowingly got a very good deal with no time limit. So, he can do it again.

/\\//\\//\

I've figured it out. I forgot that this world's homunculus is different from the homunculus I'm thinking about. Homunculus in this world is made to be a vessel for a person's soul body. The homunculus I'm thinking about requires a more magical and alchemical process. I knew about the alchemy part, but I forgot about the magic or magecraft part. So, this needs to be a combination of magic, alchemy, and some biology. It sounds complex, but magic has me covered. I'll also need to try to fix some problems that come with the homunculus I'm thinking about. Specifically, the short lifespan and the accelerated growth. 

I just need to do better than Morgan…alright, that may be a bit difficult, but not impossible. Wait, but that would mean having to…do…the…"Merlin Method." because Morgan was able to do it because she cast a spell on Artoria when she consummated her marriage with Guinevere and extracted...'Yikes.' that was all I could think when I remembered just what it might entail. 

I have some learning to do, but one step at a time. No need to bite off more than I can chew. I still need to get married first. I wonder what will happen because I think marriage does something special.