After choosing to leave, they regretted it.

Apart from still not being able to cook very well, he can handle other housework perfectly, and can communicate with outsiders for a few minutes without revealing obvious flaws.

The built-in magic storage mechanism allows them to operate at low power consumption for two months even when their owners are too far away to directly supply them with magic power.

It can be said that traveling at home, going out... is not right.

In short, Alicia will definitely not be asked to do the housework.

The reason for letting her come back early was that we felt that she had paid too much in the Royal Capital Incident and that she should let go of the matter of Aize and have a good rest as she pleased.

So, he was actually sweeping the floor?

Isn’t that putting the cart before the horse?

Not to mention the previous sentence, if you think about it carefully, isn't that putting yourself and the puppet on the same level?

What? The life of a puppet is also a life?

What Omnic Crisis?

Think about the last Tafia riot, this guy was also overly aggressive and didn't care about his own safety at all.

Maybe deep down, I really think of myself as a thing.

Aize didn't know how to persuade her for a moment, so he decided to stop her first:

"Anyway! I'm not really asking you to be a maid, so you don't have to sweep the floor...or do any other housework!"

"This...this is..."

Unexpectedly, the pink-haired girl suddenly burst into tears:

"Does this mean... that I've been abandoned?"

Chapter 19 Backhand

Aize's understanding of Alicia's thinking mode developed gradually.

When we first met, I naturally thought that she was too naive and gullible because she didn't understand the evil nature of human nature.

Later, after witnessing her slightly outrageous actions in the Tafia incident, I began to wonder if this guy had a dependent personality disorder.

By now, it was certain that this child did not fit into any known model.

The ability to easily and fundamentally change her body has left her with no sense of identity and little concern for her own life and safety.

It can even be said that she does not consider herself a living creature at all.

If you say she is a maid, then she will identify herself as a maid, nothing else.

That's why she so seriously puts herself on the same level as the puppet—both are "things."

It seems ridiculous at first glance.

But when he thought about it carefully, Aize really felt that this was a bit sad.

But there is nothing we can do.

All previous attempts to help her establish self-awareness have failed. As long as the general premise remains unchanged, he does not think that changing the track will work.

If we don't fundamentally understand what kind of existence she is, the situation will probably not change.

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry—I'm wrong! There's something wrong with me, so..."

Alicia's body twitched and she was about to cry out loud.

A group of people in the kitchen also stopped what they were doing and all turned their eyes to him, as if Aize had cheated on him.

It was such an unjust death.

"Come, come here."

Aize walked up to her, grabbed her wrist, and without saying anything, pulled her towards the back door, into the quiet alley behind the restaurant.

Then, he put on a very serious and earnest expression:

"Alicia, do you know why I didn't let you continue working as a maid?"

The pink-haired girl nodded slowly with a look of fear on her face.

"Uh, because... I didn't finish my work?"

Aize gritted his teeth:

"Wrong! Because I have a more important task for you!"

Since there is no way to change the current situation, I will make use of it and stabilize her situation.

It's better than worrying and crying all day long.

"Next, I'm going to leave Tafia for a while. During this time, you will stay with Anna. Whether you help or do something else, you must ensure her safety!"

The pink-haired girl blinked in confusion, then panicked in another sense.

"Protect Anna? Why? Is she in danger? Is anyone trying to harm her?!"

"No, she's safe, but there might be people who hate half-bloods who might attack this store. You have to do everything you can to prevent this from happening without killing anyone!"

"Yes! I don't quite understand it, but I get it!"

Although there were doubts about Anna's identity, it was definitely not to the extent that she needed protection.

The reason for saying this was simply to give the sisters some time to spend together in the name of an order, so that Alicia, who had fought desperately in the Royal Capital Incident, could rest for a few more days.

As for this imperial expedition, Aize actually wanted to take her with him at first, but after thinking it over again and again, he gave up this decision.

Because the situation is too unclear.

Previously in the capital, although the situation was dangerous, Heidi had the home advantage and was expected to get support from Charlotte, so the risks could be predicted to a certain extent.

Not this time.

An expedition is a complete away battle, and we cannot expect strong support. If intelligence is leaked, the enemy's strength may increase significantly.

Besides the demons, there is also Rosalind, a destabilizing factor at the level of a nuclear bomb, within the human race. The risks and prospects cannot be assessed at all.

Therefore, instead of putting all his strength into it, Aize would rather keep a backup plan that can be mobilized at will.

then--

"There's one more thing you must remember."

"Yes! Please speak!"

"While you're in the store, if you encounter..."

Aize leaned close to the pink-haired girl's ear and whispered a few words quickly and quietly.

"Hmm... Hmm... Hmm... Okay, I'll remember that! Don't worry, even though I don't quite understand it, just leave it to me when the time comes!"

Alicia kept shaking her head, then patted her chest with a smile, and the depressed mood just now disappeared without a trace as if it had never existed.

This guy really prefers orders rather than nice words.

What a masochist...

In short, Aize nodded with satisfaction:

"Okay, that's it. I'm leaving now. You should go back to the store. Anna and the others are too busy!"

"Yes!"

The girl saluted vigorously, then turned and ran towards the restaurant's kitchen entrance.

Through the open door, one could vaguely see her spreading out her tentacles and, without the aid of any tools, crushing the hard ice into powder with astonishing efficiency.

The human-shaped ice crusher is really convenient.

In short, with this, the things that needed to be done in Tafia came to a temporary end.

Finally able to go back to sleep.

"Hmm~Wu——"

After stretching his limbs vigorously, Aize waved at Anna, turned around and left, walking back towards the house at the corner of Noble Street.

As soon as they arrived at the door, the entire house opened its doors automatically as if it had life. More than a dozen puppet maids who stayed here to do daily work also came outside and lined up in two teams to bow and welcome them.

The scene was terrifying.

It’s just the title of Master... Never mind, I won’t complain any more.

He nodded at the puppets:

"Well, I'm back. Where's Weir?"

"The master hasn't come back yet. She asked us to tell the master that she has some things to take care of and will be back in a while."

Standing at the head of the queue, the head maid, who was deliberately designed to look like a giant with white hair, red eyes, bowed deeply.

"Does the master have any instructions?"

"No, no, I'm just going to rest for a while."

"Yes, I understand."

In such an environment, Aize walked into the house.

Outside the door is a fantasy world with scorching sun and various ancient and luxurious buildings.

And the moment you cross the threshold, you will enter a completely different world.

All kinds of furniture with plain colors, clear edges and corners, neat workmanship, as well as furniture that is unheard of in this world and too high-tech compared to the medieval style, are spread all over every corner of the field of vision.

Coupled with the air conditioning coming from the floor and the cool and comfortable temperature, just looking at it, Aize's fatigue was suddenly relieved a lot.

After all, for him, this is "going home" in a double sense.

It’s a pity that Villian is busy, otherwise I would have felt that way even more.

Aize sighed and walked into his room.

He turned on the magic-driven "electric" lamp, drew the curtains to block out the glaring and scorching sunlight, then plopped down on the armchair by the window and took a deep breath.

For a moment, I felt as if I was in another world.

The construction of this house took about a month from the initial conception to the final actual completion, and it can be regarded as the result of the joint efforts of the two.

But after that, the time I stayed there was pitifully short.

It would be nice if I could have some real free time.

Thinking of this, Aize slowly closed his eyes.

----------

Enchanted weapons, as a technology monopolized by the church, not only have great religious significance as a symbol of blessing from the Supreme God, but are also an important means of generating income.

The production is limited and everyone wants it, so just pay more.

As for those forces that have bad relations with the church, they have to crawl as far away as possible and have no chance of getting it even if they pay money.

Therefore, for Aize, the biggest obstacle to expanding the Knights is not the usual personnel problem, but these difficult-to-obtain powerful equipment.

Before going to the royal capital, he used his connections to obtain a batch in a manner almost like smuggling.

These valuable equipment were temporarily stored in the armory of the Tafia military camp and were protected by the Yan family to prevent any dirty hands from taking advantage of them.

At this moment, Villian is here.

On the table in front of her were dozens of enchanted weapons of various types.

And the sword she made for Aize.

Faced with this pile of things, the witch lady, who is always calm and at ease, is scratching her head.

"To integrate so many different techniques into such a small object, mutual interference is undoubtedly an unavoidable problem... Alas, the experience gained with super-large main battle puppets cannot be fully reused."

In the previous competition, the most critical strengthening technique implanted in the weapon did not work properly.

After spending some time checking again and again, I finally determined the cause.

It's not too difficult to repair it.

"Increasing the length of the blade by five centimeters... No, three centimeters should be enough. Using the armored dragon marrow to add two additional circuits should resolve the conflict. This way, the strengthening technique can be activated normally... No, the feedback might be slow, but if we connect them in series..."

Integrating such a complex structure into such a small system was a first for Villian, so it was normal for problems to arise.