Chapter 223

Cixelcid calls out his Lieutenant right away, and two identical forms begin to appear. The system must restrict the Cloning of living people as Lieutenants due to their permanent nature, but it clearly doesn't restrict Cloning of Summoned ones. 

What he gets are two black-haired, pale violet-skinned Succubus Maids. The outfits are black linen with white aprons, just short of knee length with puffy skirts. The white blouses have heart-shaped cutouts to show their cleavage, and a thick leather collar with a fanged mouth emblem in silver adorns their necks.

Most notable, though, are the large black handled swords strapped to their backs. They're not just maids, they're combat maids. 

"Greetings, Commander. We are known as Hilda and are here to serve in any way needed." They say in unison, and Cid smiles, seeing the perfect way to play this one off with Lickity. They've got new triplets, and he brought maids. Surely she can't entirely blame his fetishes for this one?

"Welcome, Hilda. I am Cixelcid, newly appointed Commander of the Darklight Host. Welcome to the city of Montauk. My first children were just born so things might be hectic for a while."

"Fear Not. As Succubus Royal Guardians, we have the necessary skills to raise and train powerful noble children." The Hilda twins respond, then give each other a giddy smile and a high five. 

A gurgling noise comes from the next room and one maid vanishes, reappearing seconds later with Neffie in her arms.

"How did you do that? Can Royal Guardians teleport?" Cid gasps. 

"Oh no, it's a skill called [Unobstructed Tasks]. It just makes us harder to notice when we're working. We love kids, you see, and you've got a baby Demon Queen here for us to play with."

"I'm glad you're enjoying yourself. What other skills did you manifest with?"

"Minor single-target healing, cure poison and cleanse debuffs, and a variety of Succubus developed melee combat styles. We can also use wind and water magic at the cantrip level, but that's mostly only useful for cleaning and keeping drinks hot and cold."

"So you are maids?" Misha asks as Hilda bounces Neffie in her arms. 

"Yes and no. While we're often assigned Lady's Maid or Governess type tasks, we're personal Bodyguards. This particular outfit is a form of camouflage in the Succubus Realm since it's so popular."

"Excellent. Lickity will need the help, and the kids will need Guidance. Plus, you've got a powerful Summoning ability as Lieutenants."

Neffie is staring at Cain again with that intense look, and he prepares to grab her if she sets Hilda on fire. But after only a few seconds, she stops and gurgles happily before everyone in the room can feel the magic concentrating in her tiny body. 

"Oh no, you don't. No summoning in the house." Hilda says, booping her nose and breaking her concentration. 

"How did you know?" Cid asks, perplexed. 

"She's a Mimic, focusing on the Puppet Master. The only ability she could use of his at level seven is a Summoning spell. Plus, the feel of the spell is familiar, like the spell that Summoned us."

"Looks like I made you Commander just in time. You'll need a full-time Lieutenant to keep your children out of trouble. But she's growing fast, isn't she? She's bigger than she was fifteen minutes ago."

"I think so too. We should measure her. Do we have a scale?"

"There's a kitchen scale that goes up to ten kilos for measuring ingredients. And we can measure her on the door frame. That's how we always did it when I was young." Char suggests from the kitchen. 

"Where do we measure to? The top of the head, the horns or the ears?" Hilda asks, looking down at the baby Demon, who gives up on another attempt to Summon Golems without getting caught. 

"Top of the head, I think. That way, kids with spiky horns and small bodies don't look bigger on the recording." Hilda suggests while carrying Neffie to the kitchen door frame. 

The infant seems surprisingly compliant, standing quietly as Hilda holds her against the door frame to have her height marked. The little smirk she has lets both Cain and Hilda know that she's up to no good, though. 

Precisely what form of no good becomes apparent when two small Clay Golems in blue overalls holding wooden knives appear before her, and the baby Demon Queen begins giggling. 

"Clay Golems? Not what I expected at all." Hilda comments while picking one up, much to Neffie's dismay. 

"The ability to change their form comes later, the class wasn't intended to be obtained until level 200. That's the only option she's got at level 7."

The assembled Guild leaders watch to see what the baby Demon has in mind with the summons or if she just wanted to see them for herself despite the warnings about Golems in the house. 

Hilda moves her to the living room, setting her down so she can sit up in the corner of the couch. That gives Neffie the chance to call her Golems over and pick her up. They're off and running; Neffie held up between them and headed for the stairs. 

Giggling fills the house as Hilda chases the runaway infant until she finally corners her at Laura's room. They can't reach the doorknob to get in, and Neffie hasn't thought to put herself down so that one of them can jump, so they're trapped. 

"Did you want to play with the Dragon, is that it?"

"Raagh Raagh." Yep, she wants to play with the Dragon. With a demon's sense of smell, there's no way she could mistake the differences between species, though Cain is quite sure she hasn't seen Laura in her Dragon form yet. 

Hilda manages to convince her not to bother sleeping Dragons and dismiss the Golems, so she doesn't have to destroy them for being in the house, bringing things back to relative silence for the next few minutes. 

It's a good thing that girl will grow up fast because a toddler with a system is utter chaos. 

"Now that we've all had our fun. I think it's time I returned to the Castle and revisited the dungeons. It's a wise idea for me to get a lot more levels, now that I know about that Class Quest for Puppet Masters to kill each other. A higher-level Lord Path Puppet Master with close combat skills could be a real threat. We're just lucky this one was an impatient idiot."

"I'll come with you." Mythryll and Misha say at the same moment, while the others nod in agreement that Cain has a point. 

"That's 3 of us then. You know where to find us if you need to." Cain informs the Guild, this time bringing all of his Companions with him.

He's planning to farm the Seraphim dungeon until he hits level 180 and gets all of his Summons tripled in numbers. After that, a trip to the continent's western side is in order. Most of the dungeons and wild monsters there are supposed to be between level 200 and 300, so he should be able to make rapid progress both to level 200 where he can pick a Unique advanced class with the token he got, and beyond that, to start getting class skills. 

Stepping out into the desert sun makes Cain's whole body feel energized like he's in the middle of a good meal. He removes his shirt as they walk, letting more sun hit his skin, and Misha gasps. 

"Have you seen yourself since the change? You look mostly the same, just a little bigger and buffer, but under your shirt, everything is covered in tattoos."

Cain can't see all of them, but what he can see is an epic retelling of his past battles. They start just above his elbows; the right arm is a scene from the fight for the troll hill. He looks heroic and mighty with his bow drawn, firing down into the Ogres at the bottom of the stage. His Companions and group surround him, with Dragons flying up by his shoulder, finishing the design. 

It's all done in black and gray, but it looks so realistic he can almost imagine it coming to life again. 

"I wonder how it chooses? If this manifests your memories, how does it know what will be important to you later? Or maybe it can change when you experience new things?" Misha wonders, examining the back piece that Cain can't currently see for himself. 

"I'm just happy I made the cut. See here we all are in the battle against the Pirates with me at the helm." Nila jokes, poking a spot on Cain's side. 

"Hey, no, put your shirt back on." Misha suddenly shouts while Nemu begins to laugh.

"Why, what's up? The sun feels good on the skin like I absorb energy from sunlight."

"There's a large nude of Misha, artfully displayed on your left shoulder. You should see the look on her face in the tattoo, pure lust." The Felian teases while Misha covers the offending shoulder with both hands. 

"Fine, I'll cover it. You can make that face for me later in private." Cain equips his shirt with a wink at the blushing brunette, her face already bright enough that he can't see a change in reaction to his comment. 

"Now, let's get in this dungeon if I can't suntan."