Chapter 158: Irene ; Flying Ships

"Irene?!" I subconsciously exclaim as I look at her petite figure.

Irene just beams a smile as she strolls over and embraces me.

Before I can ask her anything, Tiffania who's behind me questions in a startled tone,

"You have a daughter?!"

"Well," I respond while ruffling Irene's hair, "Her circumstances are a little unusual."

That's right - unusual. Irene claims to be my daughter, but after being called "father" by various other girls that are obviously not my "biological" daughters, I'm starting to think of other possibilities.

Perhaps, she's just calling me as such because I created the System? That's highly likely to be the case, but, why won't she just call me "creator" as Saturnus does?

Shifting my focus back to reality, I find Tiffania nodding her head as she mutters, "I see."

Hm... From the looks of it, Tiffania believes that Irene is an orphan and I must've taken her in. I'll let her believe whatever she wants to, as it isn't that important anyway.

What surprises me is the fact that the two of them have yet to question why and how Irene is here.

"Pardon me," I say while getting up from the bed, "I want to have a word with her in private."

Matilda and Tiffania both glance at each other before nodding as confirmation.

And so, I lead Irene out of the cottage, to somewhere our conversation won't be heard.

The moment we're far enough, I turn to look at Irene in the eyes and inquire,

"Why are you here?"

"Because I thought that it would be useful for me to-"

Not letting her finish her words, I squint my eyes and say in a commanding tone,

"Don't give me that crap. What's the real reason?"

Irene is a little shocked as she lowers her head and says in a somewhat disheartened tone,

"I just missed Father."

Just as I thought. The last time she 'materialized', all she did was stay as close to me as much she could at every given moment. Am I spoiling her too much or am I just that good of a parent?

Whatever, I can't let her stay in such a saddened state.

Thus, as a proper parent, I get on my knees and hug her small bkdy and whisper into her ear,

"I'm sorry if that came out as a little aggressive. I just wanted to know if you missed me as much as I missed you."

"Really?" Irene voices in a slightly trembling tone as her melancholy gets replaced by delight.

It seems like this confirms my notion of Irene being more emotional when she is in a physical body.

I caress her cheeks and kiss her forehead before stating with a smirk on my face,

"Of course."

Getting back up on my feet, I say in a solemn tone,

"Soon, a multitude of men will arrive in this place. Let's head back to the cottage for now."

Nodding her head, Irene holds my hand as the two of us walk back.

As soon as we step into the cottage, I'm dumbfounded by the sight of Matilda genuinely laughing.

So, she does have a 'natural' side to her, huh? I wonder if Tiffania knows about what Matilda has been doing in Albion.

"It seems like you're enjoying yourself despite us being in such a dire situation."

My words seem to interrupt their fun as Matilda turns her head and scoffs in an irked tone,

"Dire? You, the one who wiped out an army on his own, in a dire situation? Is this supposed to be some kind of joke?"

"Oh?"

"Don't 'oh' me. Every time a soldier opens their mouth, it's to speak of your 'valiance' and 'blessed' being."

For some reason, Matilda seems to dislike me quite a bit. Have I done anything to warrant such treatment?

Hm… Nothing at all. She's just acting like this because of her character, I suppose.

"Forget all that, do you want to endanger Tiffania's life?"

Understanding what I imply, Matilda has a serious look on her face as she asks me in a serene tone,

"What do you suggest we do?"

Shrugging my shoulders, I say in a certain tone,

"There is no problem at all."

As the two girls look at me with confusion all over their face, I walk over and use Norse Magic to form a gateway connected to one of the rooms in Albion's castle.

"In you go," I say while pointing at the gateway.

Matilda looks at me hesitantly for a few seconds before taking in a deep breath and passing through the gateway while dragging Tiffania along.

Seeing that the two of them have both safely left the area, I turn around to look at Irene and say,

"Now it's up to the two of us."

Irene just nods and doesn't utter a single word as she meekly abides for my next actions.

A little perplexed by her attitude, I ask,

"Are you not going to ask me why I'm fighting despite being able to get away easily?"

As a response to my inquiry, Irene shakes her small head and states,

"I have no right to question Father's decisions. Father is always right."

Intrigued by the way she worded it, I ask in a teasing manner,

"What if I asked you to marry me?"

Not even a split-second passes as Irene replies,

"It shall be done."

Looking at her expression and the way she's speaking, one would think that she's just an emotionless doll.

However, due to my enhanced senses, I can tell through her slightly disordered breathing and hastened heartbeats that she's not like that.

Speaking of which, I have yet to know about Irene's age.

"Irene, how old are you?" I directly ask her.

Hearing my question, Irene takes a few seconds to think before replying,

"I don't remember."

"You don't remember the date I 'created' you?" I say, hoping to compel her into providing me a proper answer.

However, instead of what I expected, an appalled look appears on Irene's face as she continuously mutters, "I don't remember when Father created me."

Ugh. I should get more familiar with how emotions work.

Shaking my head, I intone in a low voice,

"Codification."

Immediately after the system board appears, I take a look at the amount of energy left - 36%.

Yeah, my abilities might be insanely powerful, but they still consume a great amount of my energy.

"Father," Irene, who seems to have regained her clarity, calls out.

"What is it?" I ask while turning my head to look at her.

"Father wanted to see the amount of energy left, right?"

"Yes, why?"

"Father can ask AI to know that instead of opening the system board every time."

Oh. Such a simple thing hadn't crossed my mind before?

Well, I do tend to think of the more complicated things while ignoring the simple stuff, so it's reasonable that something like this would happen.

Nevertheless, this will come in handy in a battle as I will be able to keep track of my energy without anything blocking my sight.

Now that I think about it, I wonder if there are other simple things that I have yet to consider…

---

It seems like they're finally here.

"Get ready, the enemy is approaching us from the sky," I say.

Using Clairvoyance, I find a huge ship that is carrying a great number of armed men while slowly flying toward our location.

"And here I was wondering why they took almost an hour to get here…" I mutter to myself.

"Irene, will you be fighting with me?" I ask Irene who's currently sitting on my lap.

"Of course!" she enthusiastically replies.

Looks like she was looking forward to something like this.

Anyway, this battle would've been a lot easier if I had more energy, as I would've simply used the same tactic I used to destroy the giant machine.

Now, however, I must deal with this matter more carefully, as a simple mistake could cause me some trouble.

Focusing back on the flying ship, I find something interesting.

From the looks of it, the one that is leading this assault is a beautiful lady with long black hair.

Her eyes are purple and there are two black streaks under them. She's wearing a purple attire that increases the charm she exudes with her overall attractive body.

I will be taking her out first, to disrupt the order among the men and then easily take care of things from there.

As I walk out of the cottage with Irene by my side, I prepare to fly into the sky, however, something odd occurs that thwarts my plan.

Two other ships have abruptly emerged out of nowhere on the sides of the ship that I was targeting.

Although the two new ships are smaller and carry fewer men, they're still annoying.

Not to mention the fact that I wasn't able to perceive them until they 'appeared'.

Was it due to Invisibility? Are they using some kind of magic to do that or is it something else?

Either way, this is extremely problematic.

There is a chance that there are more of these ships, and some could be on their way to attack someplace at this very moment.

"Gabriel," I mutter.

[Yes, Father?]

"I have important information that needs to be taken seriously."

[Is there a problem, Father?]

"Indeed. Our foes own flying ships. Not only that but the said ships can block the perception of outsiders, rendering them invisible. It's unconfirmed whether this is due to some kind of magic or artifact.

"You are to be on guard until I'm back, and make sure to share this data with the others."

[Understood.]

Having settled that, I say in a teasing tone,

"Looks like you're going to be fighting today, after all, Tiamat."

[[I'm not surprised.]]

"I will reward your efforts, so think of what you seek and I shall give it to you as long as it's possible and doesn't go against my principles."

[[A reward, huh?]]

Seeing her not say anything else, I state,

"Be prepared for sudden materialization."

Examining the woman once more, I find her using some orb to examine the ground directly below the ship before giving orders to the men.

"I wonder how strong is she…"