Chapter 473 Let Your Mothers Pick



"Sister Justinia... Why does it seem like there's more cursed items than actual useful stuff here?" I asked after we went past the twentieth cursed item that I pointed out.

The King gave me a wry smile, "Like I said... This storage serves both as a vault for powerful weapons and also as a safe to keep these cursed weapons away from endangering the lives of others."

I looked at her incredulously, "You store the cursed items and the non-cursed ones in the same place?"

"Not by choice... I would say that my predecessor... Specifically the one who built this Armoury in the first place, had a penchant for collecting any enchanted gear they could find. They didn't care if the item was cursed or not and just dumped it in here. It was only later that we started making these cases to store them properly."

So one of the Kings was a hoarder... Good to know.

Just for the record, I'm also something of a hoarder myself, so I know how that feels.

What do I hoard? Well that would be telling wouldn't it?

"So where are the actual good ones?" I asked, looking at the massive hall in front of me.

Seriously, I thought the Armoury would just be the small room we had entered at first but then she guided me to another flight of stairs that led down to a gigantic hall that was ten, maybe twenty, times the size of the previous room.

It almost feels like this hall was built first before the palace on top of it...

The King looked in the same direction as me, "Well... The thing is that the artefacts here aren't stored with the intention of any of them being taken out again back then. We are still in the midst of cataloguing every item in the Armoury but there aren't a lot of people with the [Analyza] skill to speed this up."

"And you know all the effects of all the artefacts in this Armoury?"

"Oh, definitely not. I only remember a few of them and I use my own [Analyze] skill on those that I don't know."

"Just how many artefacts are there here?"

"Hmm... If I had to give an estimate, I think around a thousand to five thousand?"

"That many?"

"As I said... My predecessor was a hoarder. Actually, quite a number of these 'artefacts' are just small trinkets with rather common enchantments but they are still collected anyway. There's even things here that have the same enchantment but just on a different item."

Geez... If you're going to collect so many things at least keep track of what you've at least taken...

"So do we just walk through the hall until we find something? This is going to take days..." I muttered.

The King chuckled, "Fufu, there's no need to choose one today. You can always just come back another day and take your time to pick one, though I would request that you at least bring Tiara to visit us when you do."

So it's already a given that Tiara would definitely be moving into our home huh? Well... It's not like we are lacking space in our home anyway so having one more person in our home wouldn't matter.

I was just about to suggest to the King that coming back tomorrow might be a better idea until I heard a pair of voices coming from the other side of the hall.

"Ara, ara? Is little Levia suggesting that I don't even know my little one that well?"

"Fufufu~ Not at all~ I was merely suggesting that another point of view is needed to keep things fresh~ Always having the same things would bore someone out pretty quickly, after all~"

The King and I both shared a look, realising who those voices belonged to. We then headed in the direction of the voices and sure enough, Mother and Queen Levianne were there seemingly locked in an argument amongst the artefacts.

"Mommy?" I couldn't help but call out to her in confusion.

The two women turned to me, their eyes lighting up the moment they saw me.

"Ara, ara~ There you are, my little one~ Is my dearest, cutest child still looking for a suitable artefact for yourself?"

I nodded slowly, wondering why the two of them were even here.

Queen Levianne quickly took a step towards me, "Fufufu~ In that case, how about I guide you around, Aster? I can give you some recommendations if you like~ I know some interesting artefacts down here~"

Mother quickly interrupted her, "Ara, ara? If my little one needs a guide, little Justi is enough, no? Or else I could be my child's guide too~"

"Fufufu~ there's no need for Madam Nilm to trouble yourself with this~ You can just enjoy the party and allow us to take care of little Aster instead~"

"Ufufufu~ I'm afraid that I would rather stay with my little one since the party is pointless without my little one there~" Mother giggled, moving herself behind me before wrapping her arms around my chest.

She then pulled me towards her until my head was smushed in between her bosoms while her chin nuzzled the top of my head.

Queen Justinia actually puffed up her cheeks to pout at Mother but Mother simply ignored her in favour of cuddling me.

I decided that not commenting on it would be the best choice so I simply changed the topic, "Umm... So are there any good artefacts around here that are suitable for me?"

""Oh there is!"" Both Mother and the Queen spoke up at the same time.

The two women looked at each other and I could see the invisible lightning spark between them.

I'm almost afraid to ask them what artefact they had in mind.

As though on cue, both of them suddenly pointed towards one part of the hall at the same time.

"Mama found a ring--"n(-o)(V))e(.l)(b--1/)n

"I found a ring over--"

The both of them suddenly stopped when they realised that they were thinking of the same artefact.

All of a sudden, the animosity between them disappeared and they even showed each other a smile.

Ok... That's a sign that it's really good, or really bad for me and I'm half sure that it's the latter...

At that exact moment, Mother shifted from behind to move to my side instead so that she could wrap her arm around my right, allowing the Queen to come forward and take my left arm for herself.

Err... What's going on? Why are they suddenly on such good terms when they were still arguing not even a minute ago?

"Right this way my little one~"

"Yes, yes~ Follow your Mamas!"

"Ara, ara~ Don't push your luck too much, little Levia~"

"Fufu~ This is fine isn't it? Aster can have more than one Mama~ Besides, I'll be her Mama soon anyway~"

"Ufufufu~ I think you mean 'Mother-in-law', that's different, little Levia~"

"Ah, but calling me 'Mother-in-law' is such a hassle, isn't it? Aster can just call me Mama!"

"Ara, ara~ As long as you don't have my little one calling you 'Mommy' I suppose~ Ufufufu~ Very well, I shall allow it~"

...

I peeked at King Justinia at the side and she simply gave me a look of helplessness.

Don't give me that, one of the women dragging me along is your wife isn't it? Don't act like you can't do anything about this!

No, no, don't give me that look that's basically asking me to just put up with it! I already feel like I'm being offered up as a sacrifice for this!

"Hmm... I think I have some sweets I recently received as gifts from some visiting dignitaries from Shendhala Oligarchy... I wonder if there's someone who might want to taste them?" King Justinia muttered not so quietly.

Ehehehe~ Sweets~ I want~

"Ara, ara~ Is little Justinia also aiming to become my dearest child's Mama too?" Mother asked with a slight tilt of her head.

The Queen also gave the King a knowing smile, "Fufu~ You don't need to leave yourself out, Justi~ There's space for one more, isn't there?"

Mother turned back to look at the Queen, "Ufufufu~ Like I said earlier, little Levia, try not to push your luck too much~"

Great, they're back to arguing again... And I don't even know why...

No, no, I get they are arguing over me, but just why?

While I was still wondering, the two of them led me to a specific display case that held a golden ring resting on top of a velvet pillow within said case.

It looked like a relatively normal ring and there weren't any jewels or other decorations on it, so at first glance it did not look like it had anything special about it.

I looked up at the two women, intending to ask them what the properties of the ring were when the King let out a groan behind me.

"Eh? What... What's wrong, sister Justi?" I asked.

She sighed, "That's... The Cursed Ring of Sexual Sustenance... It err... Makes the wearer be able to subsist on just having sex with others... But it will also increase your libido by five times... Which doesn't actually go away since it also removes your refractory period and instantly makes you ready to go another round after finishing one..."

I was just about to ask why Mother and the Queen would lead me to this ring when I realised Mother had already taken out the ring from the display and slipped it onto my finger.

What...