Chapter 221

[Area Notification. Nefertiti has obtained a Class designation.]

That's the noise they heard, the unique sound of tinkling bells that is generated when an interface is first created. But it shouldn't be possible. System interfaces rarely activate before puberty, and certainly not to infants who can't sit upright. 

But there's no denying that Nefertiti has activated a class. She can even be scanned with everyone's interface. 

[Name] Nefertiti 

[Race] Demon Queen 

[Class] Mimic

[Level] 1

"You gave birth to a Demon Queen? No wonder I couldn't identify her. Nobody ever sees infant royalty before the Royal family can change their true form." The midwife gasps.

"Should we expect trouble then? Is there even a Demon Kingdom around here to be concerned about?" Lickity begs for answers with tears in her eyes. 

"They're on the other side of the continent. I don't think they'll trouble you, but if word of a Demon Queen gets around, they might become forceful about trying to adopt her. Born Queens are rare. Usually, the Queen is just the King's wife. But for someone like her, being given command of things will increase her power; it's a racial ability for Demon Nobles and Royals. The more she's in charge of, the more powerful she will become. So she would be the natural choice for a marriage alliance if she agrees."

"And if she doesn't?"

"Then they'll gladly find her another King to marry for their family to gain influence. Remember, she will gain power as she gains authority, so a forced marriage would encourage her to overthrow her husband and make him a Puppet. Which they'd rather see happen to other countries and not their own. They're very nice people; I met them a few years ago when they toured the coast looking for Demonic volunteers to join their Kingdom."

"They wouldn't kill her, right?" Lickity is in full panic mode until Nefertiti laughs, drawing her attention. 

"Not if they could in any way avoid it. She's just too valuable to them. Harming her or anyone of her species is a serious crime in their country."

That's a significant relief to the overstressed mother. At least she didn't have to worry about wealthy and powerful demons coming to kill her youngest daughter for what she is. 

"What's the Mimic Class?" Cixelcid asks, inspecting his daughter, happily checking the ring she equipped that now adorns her finger. 

There's a moment of silence, as nobody knows before Cain comes up with a solution. "Let's ask Arial and Red. They might know, they do run the Skill Book Library."

[Red, do you know what a Mimic Class is?] Cain sends, trying not to give away too many details. 

[Oh, Mimics are fun. They're like your Supporters; they take on a specific form or the abilities of a class they've recorded. Once they get a few levels into improving their skill mimicry to include book skills and personal knowledge, they can start taking on other people's forms. Did you meet one? They're hard to pick out because the inspection function will show them as not having a class when they're imitating the look of an average citizen.]

It's a good thing they found out now then, instead of letting her grow up to become a Prankster of some sort, pretending to be something or someone else to mess with people. 

[Thanks for the info. I happened to find one that wasn't transformed. I'll come to visit next time I'm back in town.]

Cain turns to Cixelcid when he's finished talking to Red, filling him in on the details. "As we should have guessed, she will be able to shapeshift, but like my Supporters, she will be able to mimic other people's skills. So she will be able to take on almost any role or disguise once she's familiar with them."

Lickity gives a tired laugh, looking at her youngest child. "Why do I see that becoming a serious issue in the future?"

"I'm sure it will be fine. It might be years before she discovers her abilities. If we guide her towards the path of responsibility gently, she will be a sweet and caring young woman, I'm certain of it." Cixelcid reassures her in a gentle voice doing his best to hide the fact he's also concerned about a newborn gaining a class. 

The midwife looks like she is going to say something about Demon physiology but censors herself. Opting instead to send Cain a private message. [If she levels up, she will gain intellectual maturity and class abilities instantly, as well as allowing her natural form to grow up by years in only a few days. That's how it is for everyone who gets a class before puberty.]

Cain can tell right away that letting him know that was a mistake. His Companions can see messages sent to him, as the system considers them part of him that way. Their messages are also transmitted through him, being tagged with their name and [Cain's Companion]. Nemu, in particular, has a mischievous look that Cain doesn't trust one little bit. 

For the moment, Neffie seems to be quite content in Cain's arms, looking around with great interest, as if her vision isn't that of a newborn at all. She's taking in everything around her with interest, the glow of her golden eyes varying in intensity based on what she's looking at, until her eyes land on Vala. She looks back and forth between Vala and Lickity repeatedly, as if comparing them, which makes her mother laugh. 

"I'm a Succubus, and she's a type of Wrath Demon. We might both smell like Demon, but we're not quite the same." 

"MauhabggraNommma mu." The tiny Demon nods her head in understanding as if someone should have understood the noises she made, despite them coming out more like a long tonal wail.

"She's smart as well. I think her mind developed well beyond that of an infant before she was born." Mythryll suggests, getting a close look at the golden eyes of Nefertiti. 

The Elf gets a bit too close, and with a gleeful giggle, her hair is captured by the tiny Demon, who promptly puts it in her mouth. 

"Oh no, you don't. Hair isn't a food product." Cain admonishes before the room suddenly has Razor Grass growing all over the floor. 

"So, about her not understanding her abilities for a few years. I think the estimate might have been a little off dear husband." Lickity says with a meaningful glare at Cid as if he can and should fix this. 

But really, what can he do? Nefertiti's ability is not hurting anyone; the baby Demon Queen doesn't see anyone here as a threat. She's reaching for the grass, so Cain sits down with her, letting her grab and chew on the long green foliage. 

"I have a somewhat radical suggestion. Since she's already using her abilities, why don't we slightly level her up? It will increase her Stats by default, moving her intelligence from toddler to a level more capable of understanding complex issues." Cain suggests, skipping over the part where the midwife said it would make her grow up in an untimely fashion. A Succubus grows up far more quickly than a human, so her sister won't be too far behind. 

"The girl is a Mimic; if she figures out her transformation type ability, she will be able to take on adult forms right away, which would be a disaster if she snuck outside with the IQ of a two-year-old."

"I suppose. Just not too far, alright? I don't want her missing out on the joy of childhood because she's too high level to play with the other kids."

Cain nods his agreement and sends the little Demon Queen a group request, unsure if she will even be able to accept it. Neffie flails all four of her tiny gray arms as if trying to smash the notification blocking her vision before gurgling in joy as it disappears.

[Nefertiti has joined the Raid Group.]

[Class Quest Rewards Calculated. Base Reward 2 Lieutenants, 1 Commander, Known Forms. Additional Completion Award to be collected.] Completion Award 10 skill points. 

That's pretty good. Ten levels of skill point just for winning against the man who tried to kill him? The system truly is Benevolent. 

[Collect Completion Award now or Spin for a chance of random upgrade?] Y/N

Oh no. Ten skill points are impressive, but some of the things he's gotten from that random spin have been beyond broken and mind-blowing. But is he willing to give up skill points? 

[You know you want to. Nobody needs to know what you risked, spin the wheel and say it was the Award all along.]

For a Legendary Demon, the Oath Breaker gives surprisingly good advice. Who else would know that there could have been more to the reward even if he gets a random lousy outcome? He's still getting the Lieutenants he was promised and a Commander, which he assumes is one of the last two skills in the General side of the skill tree. 

[Random Completion Award Selected. Good Luck.]

Cain internally bursts into laughter at that. Good luck? That's system speak for 'I'm about to do something strange and unexpected to you.' 

He internally laughs even harder when he realizes 9 of every ten spaces on the wheel extending high into the sky in front of him are black forfeit squares, and it is waiting for him to give it a spin. There are spots for S and A-ranked random skills, a Mythic Rank Class-Exclusive skill, a level 7 Bunny Kin Slave, and Unlimited Apples for his life that he can see among the hundreds of other options on this giant wheel. 

He gives the wheel a solid spin, wanting to get as many revolutions out of it as possible for a genuinely randomized outcome, and he can hear laughter echoing back at him. Either the system enjoys these spins as much as he does, or he just did something monumentally stupid. Misha will hurt him if he randomly wins a slave girl as a Quest reward. 

[You know you want fluffy bunny ears. You can't lie to us.] 

Hmm, that's not a bad idea. The thought of Nemu's reaction to her position as the fluffy companion being challenged by a bunny is hilarious.. Cain is so distracted by the thought he doesn't immediately notice when the wheel starts to slow down.