After returning from Skyrim, Duanmu Huai finally had a chance to relax for a while.
The Inquisition he had established within Imperial territory was steadily expanding, and for him this continent had already become a fine world for recruitment. On the other hand, after witnessing firsthand the destructive power of a starship, the Guardians' civilization had also placed orders with him. Clearly, the Tower Council had decided they needed at least a fleet of Guardian warships to protect their star system's safety.
Fortunately, the Cabal hadn't possessed warships like mine, otherwise one shot would've flattened the Holy City. There'd have been nothing left to fight over.
"Good, everything's going smoothly."
Sitting behind his desk, looking at the report in his hands, Duanmu Huai nodded in satisfaction. His trade with the Guardians wasn't conducted in money. With the Empire collapsed, there was no unified galactic currency, so he used a barter system: he would use his Void Shipyard to manufacture the warships the Guardians needed, while they would provide him with the necessary resources multiplied by XN.
After all, Duanmu Huai himself needed to build a fleet.
The problem was, the Guardians were poor. Though they had restarted mining facilities on other planets, they had little to spare. Their order amounted to only a single Sword-class frigate, one Viper-class missile destroyer, and one Lunar-class cruiser.
It couldn't be helped. Imperial warships had originally been powered by Machine Spirits. After gaining Astartes tech, Duanmu Huai had rebuilt them with automated systems to reduce manpower requirements. Even so, a single warship still needed half the crew it used to.
That wasn't a problem for him—he had more than enough Dolls to operate them. But the Guardians had no such workforce and would need time to train crews. Most importantly, their entire population wasn't that large.
Currently, his Inquisition fleet included the Queen of Glory flagship, two Lunar-class cruisers under construction, and the mighty Wan Yi Dreadnought he had captured from the Cabal—powerful enough to obliterate a star system. At last, his fleet was taking shape.
As a side note, he had completely remodeled the Wan Yi Dreadnought. Aside from its core—the stellar-destroying main cannon—everything else was torn out and replaced with macro-cannons, lances, and layered close-range flak batteries. At this point, it was less a warship than a mobile fortress.
In exchange, Duanmu Huai had acquired one of the Guardians' core technologies: Reconstitution.
It needed some clarification. What the Guardians used as "teleportation" was not teleportation at all.
In combat, it was common to see a Guardian pilot a shuttle to an enemy ship, vanish from the cockpit, and appear inside the target. At first, Duanmu Huai assumed this was some kind of space-warp teleport.
But after speaking with a Ghost, he was shocked to learn it was not teleportation—it was Reconstitution.
The process worked like this: when a Guardian reached their destination, the Ghost disassembled them completely. Strictly speaking, at that moment the Guardian ceased to exist—they were dead, you could say. Then the Ghost reassembled their data at a new marker, reviving them.
So it wasn't teleportation at all. It was disassembly and reconstitution.
In fact, summoning their vehicles used the same trick. Otherwise, how would they pull a full-sized hoverbike out of thin air in the middle of the street?
Of course, this had limits. Guardians could do it because they were bound to Ghosts by Light. A normal person disassembled in this way would stay dead, no revival possible.
But to Duanmu Huai, this was an open window!
Light was just another form of psionic energy. If psionic energy was abundant, he could use the same trick. Soul Walkers anchored world fragments into real space to stabilize the Warp, preventing overheating and distortion. Now, aboard the flagship, Duanmu Huai had already anchored fragments of Manaria and Nirn. That meant within the flagship's field, space was stabilized both in realspace and the Warp.
In that zone, he could unleash psychic power freely without risk.
And that meant he could reconstitute ships endlessly within range!
Don't underestimate this. It was how Guardians revived themselves. Within this field, even if his warships were destroyed, they could be restored at full strength—just like the Guardians.
Of course, normal ships couldn't—because they needed human crews. The reconstitution process worked on matter but not living beings. But his ships were operated by Dolls, which weren't alive. So there was no problem.
The Queen of Glory was an exception, but even so, the ability to reconstitute his fleet was an enormous advantage.
In the game, many players had thought of trying this, but it was impossible. Ships needed crews, and Inquisitors couldn't make AI. With humans aboard, disassembly and reconstitution were wasteful. But now? Duanmu Huai didn't have to worry.
Of course, the system wasn't flawless. Guardians, though immortal, had a weakness: if their Ghost was destroyed, their next death would be permanent.
Similarly, if the Queen of Glory, serving as the projection core, was destroyed, no other ships could be reconstituted. In essence, his flagship acted as a colossal Ghost.
Once the two Lunar-class cruisers were finished, it would be time to return to the Starter Village. By his calculation, time was still on his side—hopefully he wouldn't return to find the place had already gone up in flames.
Currently he commanded more than ten thousand Night Watch, three thousand warrior souls from the Oblivion Realm, and two thousand Guardians… more than enough to counter a Chaos assault.
Click—
As Duanmu Huai was considering his next steps, the hatch opened and Odile entered, carrying a pot of tea.
"Master, please have some tea."
"Oh, thank you."
Duanmu Huai looked up, nodded, and she poured cups for him and Olgis, then set the tray down and quietly stood by.
"…Tell me, don't you have anything else to do?"
He sipped the tea, watching her curiously. After returning to Manaria, Ann and Guleya had gone to report to their fathers. Odile, as his personal maid, had remained with him.
But to be honest… this so-called maid was practically useless.
The warship had maid-Dolls for cleaning and cooking. Odile's entire routine consisted of waking him, bringing meals, brewing tea, then standing silently nearby.
After a while, Duanmu Huai even suspected she was the real Doll.
"Serving my master is my duty."
"…Right."
Her calm reply made him shake his head. He hadn't spent much time with her, but he could understand why that duke's son had shown no interest.
To be fair, Odile was beautiful—slender body, pale skin, silky black hair. She could fight too. Any ordinary man would be attracted at first sight.
But over time… her inner self was empty.
The other girls around him each had their own charm.
Ann was bright and cheerful, a source of relaxation and joy.
Guleya was quiet and reserved, yet gentle and caring.
Lorena was full of energy, running the corridors and greeting everyone.
Bambi was as cute and clingy as a kitten.
Even Feline was amusing, always wandering with travel guides in hand, lost in daydreams.
And Olgis—she hardly needed mentioning.
But Odile? She felt like a background NPC in a game, with only canned lines.
"Hello, traveler."
"I'm admiring the garden."
"Thank you for your concern, traveler."
And nothing else.
To Duanmu Huai, the others all had their own flavors, but Odile was as bland as dried fish.
Even Mia, the artificial angel, was more interesting—her sweet, lazy tone made it seem like she took nothing seriously. That, at least, was something.
If he had a choice, he'd never marry someone like Odile. Beautiful but utterly dull.
Just imagining a life with such a woman every day…
Well… succubi are better, I'll admit.
"I've got work to do. You should go rest."
He dismissed her. She bowed silently and left.
Click.
As the door closed, Duanmu Huai sighed and looked at Olgis.
"Honestly, that lady is troublesome. What do you think?"
At his question, Olgis turned a page of her book.
"Too much fear, too little confidence—that is cowardice."
"…Olgis?"
"Yes, Master?"
"Read less of that self-help philosophy junk. It'll rot your brain."
"But aren't these books written by humans?" Olgis raised the volume. Its title was How to Be a Better Person.
"Eighty percent of books like that are nonsense."
He rolled his eyes.
"Almost no one actually lives by what they preach."
"But humans call them philosophers and publish their sayings?"
"Most philosophers died miserable deaths. Think of it as a collection of lunatics' final ramblings."
"But it all sounds very reasonable."
"Only sounds reasonable."
He smirked.
"Anyway, what's your view on that lady?"
"My view…"
"Yes?"
"I think if Master weren't so frightening to look at, she might be easier to talk to."
"…Thanks for the heartfelt honesty."
It wasn't the first time his most trusted Doll had stabbed him in the back. He was used to it.
"And besides that?"
"Hm…" She paused, considering.
"…Make her your woman?"
Pfffft—!
Duanmu Huai spewed tea everywhere.
"What kind of nonsense is that?!"
"It's in the books. The arrogant young lady who is forcefully claimed by the hero, instead of hating him, falls in love with him. Humans are truly bizarre."
"…Wait, what books are you even reading? Where did you get them?"
"They belong to Miss Lorena. She found them in the library."
"…Great. A cleric reading that stuff. Perfect."
Clearly, he'd need to sort through the recovered books more carefully in the future.
(End of Chapter)