Chapter 26
Dismantling the entire system took time, and many of his assistants and workers left him. Although they didn't say anything in front of him, he could hear them whispering behind his back.
"That man...dismantle everything...give up everything?"
"Son of...I was getting paid so much…"
"I don't under...it was perfect."
...am I going to find a new employer?"
Many of them cursed him behind his back, while others were simply confused at his sudden actions. But he would not be swayed by others, and released as many of his employees as needed, completely shutting down the factory.
The equipment, he simply destroyed in the field with a few lightning bolts, even though Caster offered to help destroy them, and quite eagerly at that. He would bear the burden of his own mistakes and take that responsibility himself, instead of letting someone else take it from him. He still had his pride after all. Seeing the tubes and transparent cylinders melt and twist under the intense heat of the electricity left him satisfied, even if he didn't show it on his face. After they were twisted beyond recognition, he transmuted the materials into organic materials that burned easily, and scattered the ashes across the grassy field.
"Huh, you liquified them? Th-that's horrible! Come, we have to bury them somewhere suitable!"
Caster found the remains of some of the young girls that he had yet to utilize, and persuaded him to bury them properly. Since he didn't really have anything on hand to store their liquid corpses, he was going to use one of the cylinders to serve as their coffin, but Caster immediately rejected that idea.
"Idiot?! There's no way they'll rest in peace in that!"
He bit back a retort that they were already dead and didn't have feelings, instead using his alchemy to turn a piece of the soil into solid stone in the shape of a rectangular box, and poured their remains inside.
"May you rest in peace, nameless souls." Caster bowed to them and closed her eyes, granting them a proper final rest as she clasped her hands together and prayed for them. Grunting in effort, he shoveled soil into the stone box, and transmuted into stone as well, sealing the coffin for good. Caster sank her staff into the soil slightly, and closed her eyes to focus. A soft golden light lit up the surroundings as the sun dipped below the horizon, the orange rays mixing with the golden aura around her. All around the box and on the soil on top of it, pink flowers sprung up in an instant, coating the floor in a small pool of pink petals. Taking a look at the makeshift grave, she appeared sad even as a small smile graced her face. Atrum stared at her, then at the flower-laden grave.
"Let's go, we still have the young girls still alive to deal with."
"Ah, that's right. Alright, let's find them a new home!"
She quickly regained her cheer, a bounce in her step as Atrum followed behind her.
They descended into the bowels of the now empty workshop and headed for the former assistant's quarters, now housing the young girls originally meant for the system as raw materials. They were all terribly weak and confused, having been fed nutrients through tubes the whole time and kept drugged to ensure their cooperativeness. Now, they sat silently on top of the beds, neither happy nor sad, instead more like docile sheep on a farm.
When Caster opened the door, they barely reacted, with only a few glancing her way.
"Girls, it's time to find you new homes! But first, let's get you fed and clothed properly, as well as a good night's rest." Her positivity was unabated by the gloomy atmosphere that permeated the entire room, but none of them even so much as blinked.
"Hmmm? You know, there's hot food waiting for you upstairs, and it won't be so good if it goes cold, right?" Once more, there was no reaction.
At this point, Atrum couldn't stand watching from the side any longer, and pushed in a cart with a cauldron of steaming soup and enough bowls for all of them. Taking a ladle from the cart, he thrust it into Caster's hands.
"Just give them the bowls of soup and let them drink from it. They're still numb from the drugs administered to them, but give them food and they'll automatically eat it by instinct." Caster stared at him incredulously for a moment.
"What? You expect me to scoop it for them and personally hand it to each girl? Don't be ridiculous, I already prepared the soup and pushed it down here, it's your turn to be useful now, Servant." Saying this, he turned away and haughtily turned up his nose in typical magus fashion.
"Ah, no, it's just, I didn't expect Master to be so thoughtful. I wouldn't have thought of bringing the food down here and feeding them." Caster smiled brightly as she said this, and quickly went to the cauldron to start scooping the soup for the girls.
"Hmph, it's only to be expected of a genius like me." Still, he couldn't help but feel something in his heart when she praised him. He leaned back in the doorway and watched her hand the bowls to them one by one.
Suddenly, he felt a warm presence on his leg. When he looked down, he saw one of the girls leaning on his leg, eyes shut as her chest slowly went up and down, shiny black hair fluttering around his pants as her small head rested on his knee.
"Fuh, hah, fuh, hah." She slept without a care on the leg of her former captor, the man who days ago would have sacrificed her without hesitation for mana crystals (QP).
"Oy, don't fall asleep on my leg." When she gave no reaction to his warning, he slowly knelt down and gently put his arms under her back and legs, lifting her feather-light body into the air.
"At least sleep in a bed or you'll hurt your back…" He muttered under his breath as he carried her to one of the bunk beds, carefully laying her on the mattress and smoothing the hair out of her face while putting a pillow under her head and adjusting it until he felt she was comfortable. On the other side of the room, Caster looked at the scene, and her smile grew brighter.