Godfather: House Of Ainz Ooal Gown
Chapter 4: Experiment On Perspectives : Part 1:
The Deceptively Childlike Elf
Momonga appeared in the 6th floor in a flash of light. He took a moment to appreciate the pleasant smell wafting from the trees, their color a lovely green, he couldn't see a single old tree for as far as his eyes could see. In front of him was the 20 meter high Gigantic Tree, the home of the dark elf twins. The twins were already waiting for him outside, knowing that he can't enter their home because of the small door, they wore brown and green pajamas and fluffy slippers. They immediately ran up to him seconds after he had appeared, both having detected his presence through their race's superb senses.
"T-Thank you for answering our request, d-dad." Mare stated after he and his sister hugged their father's waist, stuttering and shy as usual.
"No problem, Mare." Momonga ruffled his hair a bit and then turned around.
"Create Greater Item." Three normal-sized beds appeared literally out of nothing, complete with sheets, futons and even covers. "Now, we can have our sleepover."
When he turned around, he was surprised to see them frowning, at least Aura was while Mare had a downcast look.
"Dad, you said you will sleep with us." Aura whined, crossing her arms over her chest and pouting. Momonga took a moment to understand what she meant before sighing and casting Greater Break Item to destroy the beds before creating a new large bed in their place.
"Is this good enough?" He asked, raising an eyebrow. The twins brightened and jumped on the bed, slightly surprised that it was bouncy and very comfortable, which made them glance at other and share a quiet giggle. Momonga smiled, pleased just by the fact that he was able to make them happy. He climbed on the bed and situated himself between them, causing the two to latch on to him and lay their heads on either side of his chest.
"Dad?" Aura whispered.
"Hmmm?"
"Do you love us?"
"Of course, I do. You two and the dwellers of this Tomb are the only ones I truly care about. Who else is there for me to love?" The Vampire smiled a little and ruffled both of their heads.
'My only friends are most probably gone after all.' He thought solemnly.
"D-Did mom l-love us t-too?" Mare asked, his eyes downcast, avoiding Momonga's crimson eyes.
'Mom? Chagama-san? So, my hypothesis was correct, she did program them to believe that me and her are their parents. Why did she do that, though? Could it be a prank? Chagama-san was kind of playful and childish, after all. That explains Aura's attitude and words towards Shalltear. '
"Yes, she loved you greatly. I can't remember a time when she didn't gush over how adorable and perfect you two are." The two elves grinned in elation, but then they grew sad once more.
"Then why did leave us? Where did she go?" Aura wondered aloud, the amount of pain in her voice almost taking a physical form.
'Shit, I've got to find a way out of this.' Momonga panicked internally, even though he appeared quite composed on the outside.
"She didn't leave you. She was planning to come back, but we got transported to this world before she could."
"T-Then, we will never s-see her a-again?"
"For all we know, she might have been transported with us here." Momonga proposed a specular, not wanting to crush the children's hopes.
"We can find her then, right, dad?" Aura inquired, the hopeful proposition of her father bringing her cheerful spirit back to the surface.
"Yes, I promise you we will search for her." Momonga smiled back.
"D-Do you m-miss mom too, dad?"
"I do, I miss her more than you can imagine. Your mom was my companion, we were happy together." The Vampire replied to the dark elf boy. He chose his words carefully, wanting to make understand from his words that he and their creator were actually married. He knew that he can't even imply that the reality they believed in as if it was religious scripture was false and pretty much destroy them on all levels, from the spiritual all the way to the physical. He needs to tread carefully with his words around these two specifically.
'Bukubukuchagama-san, if only you knew how hard your innocent prank made my life.' He pretty much grieved internally. Meanwhile, the twins were already tearing up, thinking that the love story of their "parents" is the most tragic and beautiful they've ever come across.
"However, it wasn't nice what you said to Shalltear, Aura. Shalltear may not be your actual sibling, but she's my daughter as well. You two should be kinder to her and the others." He reprimanded them, although not in a stern fashion.
"Ok/O-Ok…" They lowered their gazes guilty, Mare wondering why did he get scolded too when he didn't even do anything. Though, he did think like Aura but he doesn't voice his thoughts that much, so he guessed that's why he was getting scolded, his father must have known what he thinks of the other denizens of Nazarick.
The three chatted for a while until Mare finally asleep with his back facing Momonga.
"Your brother fell asleep quickly, are you tired as well?"
"Nah. Mare's always been a fast and heavy sleeper, he does nothing but sleep all day! What a lazy brother I have!" She shook her as if in disappointment, though she was smiling at the lightly snoring figure of her brother.
'Really? That's an information I didn't know before. Poor Mare, it will be hard for you to get a girlfriend or get married if you spent the rest of your life sleeping all day long.' Momonga vowed to get Mare out of that habit by any means necessary, the boy's future love-life is at stake, although it is doubtful that he will ever have or even want that, it's still good to stop him from being too lazy in general.
'Ok, since the sentimental one fell asleep, it's time to conduct my experiment; I want to find out what Aura thinks and verify if the NPC's Karma values can change or if they're fixed.'
"Aura…"
"Yes, dad?"
"What do you think of humans? Be honest, I want to know what you really think. "
"Humans? Nothing, really." The elf girl shrugged, as if not even interested in talking about the subject.
"Nothing? You don't hate them?" Momonga asked in slight surprise.
"No." Her answer was straightforward and to the point.
"You love them, then?" Momonga pressed on.
"No." She shook her head.
"Can you elaborate on what 'nothing' means?"
"They exist. I don't love nor hate them, I simply acknowledge their existence." From Momonga's point of view, it appeared that Aura is really not interested in humans in any way, shape or form. She sounded and looked bored just talking about them.
"Hmmm…. Can you tell me your opinion of them?"
The girl's childlike demeanour suddenly shifted to complete seriousness, the expression on her face and her posture giving the feeling of maturity, as if she suddenly grew several years older than her actual appearance.
'Eh? She can become serious in a such a way? I guess I misjudged you, elf twins. Now, introduce me to the hidden side of you, Aura. Is it possible that Rubedo is also not as childlike as she seems to be? Well, that's a question for another time.' Momonga thought.
"Humans tend to overvalue themselves. They think they're the race that matters. If you feel empathy, it should be for us, if you feel like you should help, you should start with us, that's how they think. They always think they're special, chosen, look at how smart we are, look at how advanced we are, look at how we persevered through adversities, our honor, our valor, our this and our that, they never stop. It never crosses their minds that elves and other races have those same qualities, there's nothing special about humans, but they thinkor should I say believe they're special, they're the ones who deserve help, they're the ones who deserve mercy, as if they're entitled to it." The girl grumbled, yet Momonga focused on what she's saying, not the superficial childish mannerisms; realising now that her mind is much older than what she's programmed to act like outwardly. He nodded for her to continue, running his hand up and down her back.
The elf girl lifted her head from his chest and looked at her Magical Beast Fenrir pet, Fenn, a frown marring her usually cheerful face. The giant black wolf with bright fur slept under a tree not far away from their bed.
"A human will get offended if I cared more about Fenn's safety than theirs. Why should I care about them more? What makes them better and more important than Fenn? Because they're more intelligent? Because they can speak? Because they have a family to go back to? Or are their souls worth more than his? Who made that rule? Why should I, an Elf, adhere to it? It baffles me how humans arrogantly designate which species' life is more important than the other, and at the same time they detest that a species like Demiurge's designates them at the same level of a sheep, their brains unable to understand nor comprehend the fact that devils are using the same logic as them. " The girl then went back to resting her head on Momonga's chest, her sensitive ears not picking on any heartbeat since her father's race didn't have such a thing.
" So you agree with Demiurge's views of humans then? " Momonga decided to probe evn further, wanting to make sure if Aura's alignment is still the same as it was in YGGDRASIL.
" I don't agree with him. I don't believe humans are below me, it might be because we're both humanoid creatures. But, I can see where Demiurge is coming from, his species is stronger, smarter and can be more advanced than humans can ever hope to achieve, why does he have to respect them? What compels him to do so? Why should he be amazed by them? What's there to be impressed with? Furthermore, he's not from their species, so why should he abide by their beliefs? Lions eat the cups of other lions, Sharks rape their females to impregnate them, a black widow kills her mate after mating, predators kill their preys in cold blood, humans are capable of understanding that these acts can't be classified as good or evil because those creatures are from a different species, a different set of beliefs and practices, then why should demons abide by your beliefs? Is it as simple as "they're intelligent"? "They're capable of communicating"? "They understand ethics"? Why did you presume the ethics of your species should be universal? Who gave you the right to impose them on Demi-humans, Humanoids and Heteromorphs? Why do you assume your beliefs have the higher ground? On what basis? You're weaker and maybe even less intelligent than some of them, if the animals I mentioned before were more intelligent, I wonder if the humans will try to force their beliefs on them, I bet they will, they're that kind of creature. If they're already doing that amongst themselves, they'll do it to everyone else. " The girl balled her small fist, she was getting a bit angry.
"Hmm…. In your opinion, why do humans think that way?" Momonga was actually very interested in hearing her perspective now.
"Pride."
"Oh?"
"Certainly. Pride is innate in every species, everyone has it, elves, humans, demons, dragons, whatever. That's why the notion of perfect coexistence is impossible and amounts to nothing more than a beautiful bedtime story. Dragons, humans and any other species who makes it to the top gets drunk with pride and think that since they were the ones who made it to the top, it must be because their ideals, beliefs and practices are the correct ones, therefore everyone else must be wrong, otherwise they should've made it here with us, and so our word applies universally. If a human killed a dog, would they get executed for that? No. Why? Because humans and dogs are not the same, a human's life is worth more and is important simply because they're a human while that is just a dog, if the dog did it they will kill it, but if a human did it, they get imprisoned for a time and that's it. If a human was in a situation where they have to save either a cat or another human, they'll chose the human, because a human is a superior and more valuable species than a damn cat, they're more useful, too. Why is it okay to slaughter a cow or cut down a tree to eat? Because humans need to survive and those species are inferior anyways, it's better for them to die than humans, you can't eat other humans because that's supposedly evil, they're your equals, how could you do such a thing? If only cows had more strength and intelligence, they would've forced the humans to negotiate or stop their slaughtering of them, that's the only realistic way to gain respect as an equal. If you happen to lack the strength, intellect and/or a use, what is there for the strong to respect about your species? That's exactly why humans think animals like Lions are cool, they have strength and that demands respect. You can't simply rely on compassion either; assuming that all species have that is nothing short of stupid, otherwise, why do you run away from a predator?" She chuckled, the tone more than slightly disturbing to the ears.
"Hmm…" Momonga kept silent, his face pensive and eyes cold.
"What makes me want to burst out laughing, is that while this is common human logic, they're still baffled and enraged about the Demi-humans and Heteromorphs thinking about them as nothing more than food, why is that? Pride once again:" They're looking down on us! They don't respect us! They don't think as highly of us as they ought to be! We're much more than food!". Really? You're the one who has to prove that, you're weaker and sometimes even less intelligent, prove that you're useful, you're smarter than a cow, aren't you? After all, if a cow was just a bit smarter, it could have started to tow the fields by itself to show its usefulness, saving it from the knife at least until it gets old and can't tow anymore. Those other species think of you the same way you think of cattle, it doesn't matter to them that you can communicate. Would it have mattered to you if animals and plants can talk or not? Would you have left them alone and starved yourself to death or not made use of them just because they can communicate with you? I doubt you would stop. Domestication of animals is basically a fancy word for slavery, you know? So, if you're not strong enough to fight back, not smart enough to negotiate or find a strong ally, not useful enough to be spared from becoming a dish on a dinning table, what you believe doesn't matter to your betters, the same way cattle's beliefs don't matter to you. Demi-humans and Heteromorphs are just like Lions and Wolves, no matter how much you scream: "This is wrong!", even if the lion can understand you, you'll still get eaten anyways, they simply couldn't care less what a human, a species just a bit better than a mere cow thinks. Humans, and I'll admit, even elves and the rest of the Humanoids, no, all creatures, are nothing more than hypocrites with selective reasoning. This act is good when we do it to that group of creatures, but the same act is bad when that other group of creatures does it to us, even though they're using the same logic we used. Every species is capable of convincing and presenting themselves as the ones in the right when it suits their interests or the victim when necessary. " The girl burrowed her face deeper against his chest, staying silent after her speech.
'Are all these animal analogies and comparisons a result of her being a Beast Tamer?'
" It sounds like you do hate humans, Aura. "
'Did her Karma value change after we came to this world, perhaps? It would be bad if it did, then I wouldn't be certain on who to send on what mission. Solution's whole mission will be jeopardised if her Karma changed for whatever reason.'
"No no, I was just explaining what Demiurge may think. I really don't feel anything towards humans, as long as they don't bother me, I won't bother them. I won't go out of my way to hurt them, but I don't feel any obligation to help them either. Though, I refuse to allow anyone to lecture me about what's right or wrong according to them, that's nobody's business. " She declared resolutely, balling her fists once again.
" Even me? " Momonga asked with curiosity rather than anger or worry.
" Of course not. You're an exception, Dad. You created me, who else besides you has the right to give me a lecture? " She immediately lifted her head to look up at him, sporting a rather cheeky grin.
" I see, thank you, Aura. But, tell me, what would you do if we located a place here where different races live together in harmony? "
" I will scoff at the obvious farce. " She answered as soon as he finished his asking, as if the question itself was offensive.
" Farce, you say? " Momonga's fascination and curiosity increased to double.
"Such a society will never be free of repressed prejudices and stereotypes, favouritism and schemes. They could have decided to live together because:
They're ruled by powerful creatures who can force them to coexist peacefully, or a powerful army at least. Take out that individual/body and watch the allegedly attuned country descend into civil war.
They have a common enemy who will wipe them all out if they didn't coexist in order to combat it.
They were fleeing from something or were searching for a place with better resources and opportunities to live in.
They love their homelands so much that enduring coexistence with inferior races is way better than having their beautiful, advanced nation ravaged by war.
They realized continous fighting may cause their different settlements to perish, but I'm sure if one of them got a bit more power, they will try to dominate the rest in this scenario, 'more chances of my settlement coming out victorious without perishing from the war with the others', is what I believe they'll think. There are way more reasons, and I highly doubt one of them is: "Let's stop fighting, sit around a campfire and sing a song about friendship because that's the right thing to do, yay!", unless we got transported to a children's comic book world or something."
" Hahaha! I guess you're right." The Vampire laughed out loud, yet in a very composed and dignified manner at the tone and imitations she used to describe that last part." But, don't you think that's better than nothing?"
"I really don't care whether it's better or not, but I suppose it is. However, those conditions are far from being called harmonious."
"You do have a point. Say, how do you know what comic books are?"
"I stumbled upon one that Mare borrowed from the Ashurbanipal Library earlier and read it."
"You read books?" He was actually surprised by that.
"I do! I was bored, too…" The girl shot up to a sitting position and pouted angrily, crossing her arms over her chest. Momonga smiled and dragged her back down, patting her head gently, vaporising her annoyance immediately.
"Sorry for the offence, young Bella." He apologised with complete sincerity, he was really just surprised and didn't mean to make fun of her.
"None taken! Anyway, the comic was neither here nor there, it was laughable how the author pretty much forced the story to end how he it wanted to. No so-called "good guys" died, the "bad guy" got defeated, everyone suddenly started kissing the nearest person to them and made random couplings, all the races united behind the heroes' party and forgot about their grudges and years of political schemes just like that, every "good character" who experienced sadness for even a single second was happy at the end, and every "bad character" got punished somehow someway , and everyone lived happily ever after. Unrealistic and forced, but I don't fault the author for it, that's what fiction is for, right? conceptualising the impossible and wandering what if that's what reality was like. World peace is the impossible wish of the naive who never saw the real world, it's as impossible as Shalltear's chest growing, regardless of how much she wished, worked and prayed, it will never happen. " She scoffed.
'And you think your race's existence is realistic? You're also imaginary, but I guess now you are -in fact- real.' He thought with amusement.
"But, the hero and his friends defied the impossible and made it happen because of their trust in each other and firm belief in what they were doing, the right thing." He said with a rather serious tone.
"Screw that nonsense!" She hissed and actually slammed her fist on his chest, but he didn't even feel it like she expected, any creature below level 30 would've died just from that miffed punch. The girl was beginning to get tired and sleep was quickly overcoming her.
"Hahaha! You're getting too riled up about this." He was simply trying to goad her, but her reaction was so aggressive that he couldn't help but laugh.
"Dad~! Stop… teasing… me… ~." Her eyes were trying to blink the sleep away, but she was already drifting. Her words were becoming slurred and slow in pronunciation.
"Ok, I'll stop. Looks like you finally got sleepy…." He pulled the cover over her as she turned on her side, assuming the same sleeping pose as her twin. "Go to sleep, young Bella. I thank you for entertaining my questions for as long as you did."
"No… thank you… dad." With these words, the dark elf girl finally fell asleep.
'So, this is what a neutral being thinks like. She believes not a single species, sect or even her own kind has the proverbial moral high ground, they're all even, all hypocrites, she implied that she believes that about herself as well. It's scary, too logical, so dismissive of even the possibility of the existence of universally accepted good or bad, which is true, what humans and demons think is good is so far apart that it's not even possible to call it a comparison, angels lack pragmatism but humans are capable of it, no angel will ever do something they consider evil to achieve some hypothetical and uncertain greater good, but a human will do it. But still, her thinking process is so detached from ideals and firm beliefs, mocking them even, looking at reality for what it is, not what it should be, this is even deeper than pragmatism. Will Omega have those same thoughts? I don't have a reason to believe she wouldn't, she's neutral, too. It's uncanny to imagine a human being thinking in such a fashion, without any conscious or even subconscious bias, believing that morality is malleable rather than fixed and that no race has a legitimate claim over it, not even hers, it is truly an interesting outlook. I wonder how Demiurge and Rubedo will answer these questions, if I get the answers of those two, I will have a rough idea about the thinking process of all the NPCs since I would've asked one from each alignment. Right now, I have what the neutral NPCs think, including me; I agree with a lot of what Aura said, but I'm not sure if it's Suzuki Satoru or Momonga who's agreeing with her. Let me stop here, if I dwelled too much on that, I'm sure I will end up insane, in the literal sense. ' Momonga thought, stopping himself from overthinking dangerous things that can destroy his sense of self. After a few minutes of simply being content listening to Mare's light snore and Aura's even breathing, he decided to go outside and take a look at this new world he got transported to.
' I hope they don't wake up suddenly before I come back. ' The Vampire teleported to the surface.
TBC…..
Next Chapter:
Chapter 5: Experiment On Perspectives: Part 2:
A Human Village, The Artistic Fiend And The Honorbound Benevolent Angel
Average Diablo Disconnect.