Chapter 42: Social Manipulation

While Nio dealt with her problems, her clone handled everything for her in the theocracy — studying, deepening ties with Stelaria, and stealing valuable war intelligence.

She discovered many things, flawlessly carrying out the mission as Nio’s clone. But Nio made one mistaken assumption: just as the clone sends information, memories, and everything it sees and hears to Nio, Nio involuntarily sends the same to her clone.

That is how the [Faceless] magic maintains coherence between the data and facts of both Nios, to avoid the classic problem of the real Nio saying something and the clone later not knowing it, ruining the spell’s function.

But this led to the current situation. Stelaria stares at Nio with a mix of shame and anger as she throws her into the bathtub.

"Sorry, big sister... I don’t know what came over me," Nio says, looking down at her dress and panties covered in a viscous fluid. Nio’s memories caused the clone to have the same physical reaction as her, despite the absurd distance between them.

"Shut up. Just... damn it, stop causing me problems. You’re a saint and an adult — why do you act like a child sometimes? As if the endless questions weren’t enough, now even this kind of thing."

"...I’m not your maid, you know." Despite her tone of disapproval and saying she is not a maid, Stelaria promptly grabs soap and cleaning supplies to help Nio.

"Can we continue the lesson here? I’m interested. War is so fascinating. You’ve taught me so many things I never imagined worked that way. I always knew war moved the economy..."

"But the fact that it moves healthcare, leisure, even retirement and harvests twenty years in the future is fascinating. I didn’t know people who never even took part in a war could retire earlier by exploiting contribution loopholes in the law." Nio had learned a great deal from Stelaria, because she is truly skilled and knows war well — things Nio would never have known, even as a skilled player.

Things that in practice are very different from games, and that she is absorbing like a sponge.

"We can continue, yes... at least you learn. I suppose it’s better to have you asking too much than to have some fool who needs simple things repeated over and over." Stelaria tries to see the bright side.

’The real Nio would like to know why we react like this...’ the clone Nio thinks for a few seconds. She then touches her intimate parts and raises her hands, seeing that the thread does not dissolve even in water.

"Stelaria, why do I have this?" Nio asks Stelaria, who begins to rub soap over her body.

"...Haa... I’m not a dragon, you know. Don’t you have parents to teach you?"

"No."

"...Fine. I’ll explain it only once. That stuff is something we call [Dragon Gel]. Dragons produce a lot of it, but only females..."

"It’s so they can lay eggs. If I’m not mistaken, in humanoid dragons like you, an egg can be sixty to eighty centimeters — larger than a human baby and quite wide. In bestial dragons, it’s even bigger."

"So they need a very viscous and slippery fluid to travel safely through your body and be protected."

"However, because of the size and proportions, dragons produce a lot of it. And you can’t get it off with water. Normally it disappears after many hours in contact with air, because it dries."

"But it takes a long time. It’s easier to dry it with fire magic, since dragons have highly fire-resistant skin and the liquid can evaporate. But it has to be fire magic, because normal fire doesn’t get hot enough."

"Why is it so viscous?" Nio asks, not understanding, as she moves her fingers and watches the substance cling between them.

"It’s because it protects the egg. For example, if you’re above the ground, the egg won’t just slip and fall out of nowhere. It stays slightly ’stuck’ in the liquid. It also protects it from dirt on the ground, debris, rocks, or insects."

"It also protects it from thieves. A single strand is viscous, but dragons don’t produce just one strand — they produce liters of it. You can’t even move it without enough strength to tear through this slime." Stelaria explains seriously to Nio, like a mother teaching her daughter.

’Interesting... but kind of gross...’

"Thank you for teaching me. So I just have to wait and it’ll dry, right?"

"Yes... something like that. Though to begin with, why were you thinking about eggs? This shouldn’t leak out if you weren’t having thoughts about it. Tell me the truth!! I’m going through all this trouble to help you — the least you can do is be honest." Nio thinks deeply for an answer. She is uncomfortable with her own body, but that is not an answer.

"..."

’Stelaria, despite being a slave, is far too autonomous... and she hides things from me and doesn’t answer my questions about state secrets...’ Nio watches Stelaria wet her hair with water, rinsing the soap away.

"So?"

’Girls... girls...’ Thinking deeply about the game, Nio finds a good option. She turns and pushes Stelaria onto the floor, mounting her stomach, her viscous fluid dripping onto Stelaria’s clothes as she spreads her wings completely, droplets falling to the ground.

"Big sister..." Nio touches Stelaria’s stomach, rubbing against her as she begins to cry.

"P-Please don’t hate me... I-I was having lewd thoughts a-about you... I-I’m so impure... e-every time you deny my requests... I-I feel so lost. I feel like... y-you don’t trust me."

"S-So I end up having weird thoughts... I-I didn’t want to be a problem for you... s-so I didn’t want you to think I-I’m a problem you need to dispose of."

"I-I thought if I had my little eggs, you would have mercy on me." Nio’s crying causes Stelaria to have a nosebleed, because she "broke" the indirect "contract."

Her duty is simple. She has the sole duty of satisfying the desires Nio imposed on her, and making Nio cry goes against that, which causes Stelaria to have a nosebleed — as if her brain were melting.

Stelaria’s rational mind tries to say it is Nio’s fault, but her enslavement changes the "label." It is a "Divine Punishment." She is being punished for making this magnificent girl in front of her cry.

"..." Her blood flows nonstop from her nose, beginning to form a puddle on the floor, approaching the level of a dangerous hemorrhage that could kill her.

"S-Sorry, Nio... i-it’s m-my fault." The survival instinct fights alongside the enslavement to make Stelaria give in. She takes the blame. Nio is not crying because she is manipulative — of course not. Nio is crying because Stelaria made a mistake. That is what her mind deduces on its own.

"Y-You’re not wrong, impure, or inadequate... I-I just didn’t think I should teach you certain things!! B-But I’ll teach you!! They’re just questions, right? I-I’ll teach you whatever you want!!" She speaks nervously, her skin pale from blood loss as she cries in pain before Nio.

The logic of the scene is simple. Nio is a problem. Nio does not even show concern for Stelaria’s bleeding. Anyone watching would notice. But Stelaria’s mind sinks into her duty, ignoring this "logical flaw" happening to her. After all, all that matters in this moment is surviving.

"R-Really?" Nio asks with tears and a falsely hopeful gaze.

"Y-Yes!! Yes!!! R-Really!!"

"Then you were wrong? You’re the one at fault and I’ve always been right?"

"Yes!! I’m wrong!! Y-You’ve never made a mistake." Stelaria grows dizzy from the blood loss, beginning to faint.

"...Then I forgive you. You’re pardoned for hurting me, Stelaria." Nio assumes the role of a merciful victim as she gives Stelaria a sweet smile. Stelaria’s vision darkens, and she faints.

"...Hmmm... I wonder what caused that nosebleed. That’s a lot of blood. I didn’t even know someone could bleed that much from the nose." Nio, unaware of the exact effects she had on Stelaria’s brain, finds it strange but ignores it, climbing off Stelaria, viscous threads connecting her intimacy to the blood-soaked girl’s clothes.

"Well, she’ll survive, so I won’t get involved in that." Nio enters the water, frustrated by how drenched in [Dragon Gel] she is, completely ignoring that she nearly killed the girl in front of her.

’The crying act I used with some of the girls in the game still works well. Girls are so easy to fool. Cuteness, tears, and manipulation always work when done by someone adorable.’ She slides into the water, confident in her exaggerated performance, as the information she gained is transmitted to the real Nio.