After a full day of "work," Cao Ye returned and decided to take a bath.
Before being transmigrated, Cao Ye had grown up in an ordinary household where showers were the norm. Now that he had the means, he had come to enjoy soaking in a bath.
Submerging his entire body in warm water felt incredibly relaxing.
"Lord Cao Ye~"
"Hm?"
Inside the bathtub, Cao Ye heard Chun Ji's voice. When he opened his eyes, he saw the fox girl wrapped in a bath towel, looking shy yet alluring.
"I've come to serve you during your bath~"
Cao Ye didn't believe a word of that.
Ever since the two of them crossed the final line, he had discovered something interesting—perhaps influenced by her time in Ishtar Familia, Chun Ji had become surprisingly enthusiastic about intimate affection.
"Well then, come over."
He couldn't help laughing.
She was the one who had come on her own, yet she still acted shy as if she had been forced.
Splash—
As a residence in the upper floors of Babel Tower, the room was naturally luxurious.
Even the side chamber had a small bathing pool easily large enough for several people.
When Chun Ji entered the water, her fair skin slowly turned a soft pink, though whether it was from the warm water or something else was hard to say.
Cao Ye pulled her gently into his arms.
At this moment, he felt completely satisfied with his life.
He had money.
He had beautiful companions.
He could draw from the gacha every few days.
And his strength was steadily increasing.
Life couldn't be more comfortable.
"I'll wash your back, Lord Cao Ye."
"No need for that. Since you came to me yourself, let's just stay like this."
"Lord Cao Ye—!"
Her surprised cry echoed through the bath as the atmosphere in the room quickly became… rather lively.
Two Hours Later
Cao Ye eventually carried the now sleeping Chun Ji out of the bath.
Whatever had happened in those two hours… was best left unsaid.
He placed her gently on the bed.
Cao Ye himself wasn't sleepy at all.
Instead, he headed straight for his workshop.
The research on spatial rings was basically complete.
Now he wanted to focus on something new:
Cursed corpses.
After the previous battle, he had developed several new ideas.
"If I use nothing but Black Mud to shape the body… could I create a cursed corpse that way?"
In the next moment, the Black Mud manifested beside him.
Under Cao Ye's control, it slowly gathered together.
Bit by bit, it formed the structure of a new cursed corpse body.
After that, Cao Ye took out a high-grade magic gemstone he had purchased for 20 million valis.
It was the best gemstone available in Orario.
Even rarer ones existed—but those were practically impossible to obtain.
He began pouring his magic power into the gem, engraving complex spell formulas onto it.
Just like a human heart, this gemstone would serve as the core.
For cursed corpses, the core functioned like their heart.
As long as the core remained intact, the body could be repaired.
But if the core was destroyed—
The cursed corpse would be finished forever.
Still, Cao Ye continued refining it.
Under the effects of Item Creation and Mystery, inspiration flooded his mind.
His magic power flowed endlessly.
The core became more and more perfect.
The Black Mud condensed further.
Eventually, a small figure began taking shape.
Finally, in pursuit of creating his most perfect work—
Cao Ye connected the creation directly to Imaginary Space using Imaginary Magecraft.
"Nice to meet you, Traveler. I'm Paimon! Paimon is happy to meet you!"
The familiar voice.
The familiar pose.
The familiar greeting.
It was as if the character had stepped directly out of a game.
Floating in front of him was a tiny, adorable companion.
"You can talk?"
Cao Ye stared in shock.
He had intended to create a small floating helper, and he had indeed given it the power of Imaginary Magecraft, since its intended role was purely supportive.
But he had never expected it to actually speak.
"Of course Paimon can talk!"
Paimon puffed her cheeks angrily and hovered in the air.
"Did you think Paimon couldn't talk?!"
"No, I mean… you have your own consciousness?"
"Of course! Don't treat Paimon like an idiot. Paimon is very smart!"
A thought suddenly appeared in Cao Ye's mind.
A suddenly mutated cursed corpse.
He had accidentally created something extremely rare.
Looking at the lively little Paimon floating before him, Cao Ye's first reaction wasn't excitement.
It was regret.
Why had he made Paimon?
If he had created someone else instead…
Wouldn't that have been like getting a free waifu?
Characters like Jean, Keqing, or others—
That would have been amazing.
Seeing a figurine come to life would have been incredible.
"Traveler… you seem to be thinking something very rude."
Paimon narrowed her eyes suspiciously.
"Ahem… of course not."
"Paimon, you're the creation I personally made—my most perfect work."
"I cherish you very much."
"Really?"
Paimon stared straight at him.
"Really."
Although Cao Ye had some small regrets, he genuinely did like Paimon.
"Alright, Paimon believes you, Traveler!"
As a mutated cursed corpse created by Cao Ye, Paimon trusted him like a daughter trusting her parent.
"By the way, Paimon, what abilities do you have?"
"Traveler, weren't those powers given by you? Why are you asking Paimon?"
"Well… just tell me."
"Paimon is the Traveler's personal guide!"
"Paimon can use Imaginary Magecraft, communicate with Imaginary Space, and Paimon can fly."
"Hm… that's about it!"
Cao Ye scratched his head.
When creating her, he had never intended to give her combat abilities.
Now he felt that was a bit of a pity.
"Later I'll buy some magic swords for you."
"When necessary, you can cast spells from the back."
"Magic swords?"
"You'll understand later."
Explaining now would be complicated.
But once he got magic swords, everything would make sense.
Still…
Unexpectedly creating an emergency food mascot like this felt strangely amusing.
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