Chapter 289: Crown of the Mundane and Divine 『 Part Three 』
「 Through inquiries with several researchers, Stelle learned of a figure named "Molten Cheese Tart" who held significant influence among the staff.
He was Ms. Ruan Mei's number one follower, having gathered a large group of people in the station who respected and adored Ruan Mei. Furthermore, this "Lord" was not someone one could meet on a whim; only by harboring a pious heart and plastering "hearts" all over the places Ms. Ruan Mei had once passed would this Lord be willing to reveal himself.
Although it felt a bit perverted, this elusive "Molten Cheese Tart" did indeed pique Stelle's interest. After plastering hearts over a corner where Ruan Mei had once walked, Stelle actually sensed movement behind her.
She turned around, only to see an unidentified creature resembling a Tartjump onto the table and emit a cute "woof woof woof" sound.
"Uh… this guy…" Stelle's brain went a bit blank for a moment. "Is this the little lifeform Ruan Mei cultivated?"
A researcher popped up from beside her, bowing respectfully to the "Tart": "Greetings, Molten Cheese Tart!"
Stelle: "?"
Noticing that Stelle was still standing there blankly without a single gesture of respect, the researcher hurriedly urged her: "You! Why are you still dazing out? Oh, you don't understand the Lord's language? No matter, to deal with this situation, we have specially modulated a Synesthesia Beacon!"
After activating the special Synesthesia Beacon, Stelle could indeed understand the Tart'slanguage. It bounced up and down, proud and excited: "Wah-kaka—I am a genius, a genius among geniuses!" 」
「 ..... 」
〜Fullmetal Alchemist World〜
"How was this accomplished? Her creation possesses not only a soul but also intelligence…"
Edward gazed up at the "Tart" on the Light Screen in disbelief. This little lifeform was certainly worlds apart from a "human," yet it possessed human emotions and thought patterns. Even if this were her only achievement—Ms. Ruan Mei would absolutely be a scholar praised by everyone on the continent.
"Brother, 'Equivalent Exchange' is merely the law of our alchemy. In the vastness of the universe, perhaps they do not need to adhere to this principle,"
Alphonse reminded him from the side.
"I know, but the composition of life is not merely matter; more importantly, it is the 'soul'."
Edward pushed open the window, looking at the two pots of flowers on the sill.
"If it were a plant, I wouldn't be surprised, but the greatest difference between plants and animals is the soul—Ms. Ruan Mei's ability to create intelligent life means she has deconstructed the 'soul'."
At this point, the brothers fell into a simultaneous silence. The wounds carved into their souls during childhood began to ache faintly.
Back then, they had used Human Transmutation to resurrect their mother, gathering all the materials required to construct a human, yet they failed to realize the weight of a soul was far beyond what the two of them could bear—ultimately, this event became the source of their tragedy.
"Brother, do you think there exists a possibility?"
Alphonse suddenly asked:
"That Ms. Ruan Mei didn't 'create' a soul for this little animal, but rather extracted a human soul and placed it inside it?"
"Impossible,"
Edward denied instinctively.
"How would that be different from that guy who used his own daughter to make a chimera? Ms. Herta would absolutely never work with that kind of person on research."
"Besides, Alphonse… aren't you underestimating the members of the Genius Society a bit too much? For this lady who wishes to become a 'Star God', I'm afraid 'creating life' is merely the least noteworthy of her achievements—look at the expressions on those researchers' faces; they show absolutely no surprise. They're probably used to it, right?"
—
「 After Stelle deactivated the Synesthesia Beacon, Molten Cheese Tart's voice turned back into "woof woof woof."
The researcher beside her simply took up the role of translator, pinching his throat to speak: "Molten Cheese Tart says: 'Ms. Ruan Mei has finally noticed this genius!'"
"There is a longing called the Creator. To the world, you are just one person, but to me, you are the entire world—Ah! Ms. Ruan Mei!"
"..."
Stelle rubbed her forehead; these delirious quotes about Ruan Mei were making her head buzz.
Seeing that Stelle had no reaction after listening, the researcher began to pull a long face. Hands on his hips, he started to suspect Stelle's identity, believing that not only did she fail to express allegiance to Molten Cheese Tart, but she might also be a spy for the Bean Paste faction.
"You heartless little snack." Stelle crossed her arms, looking at it coldly.
This remark gave the researcher a start. He explained that while Molten Cheese Tart looked full of passion, it was actually very sensitive inside, constantly engaging in a flavor competition with Bean Paste solely to gain Ms. Ruan Mei's approval.
"But there is one thing I don't understand. Lord Molten Cheese Tart is so excellent, why can't he get Ms. Ruan Mei's approval? He truly craves her love…"
"What kind of love?"
"I can't explain it clearly either! I don't even know where the end of the universe is, so how would I know what 'love' is?" 」
「 ..... 」
〜Delicious in Dungeon World〜
Marcille clutched her staff, her brow furrowing tighter and tighter. Watching Molten Cheese Tart bouncing up and down in front of the researcher, her long elven ears twitched uneasily:
"Mm, I feel like Ms. Ruan Mei's behavior isn't very good… She doesn't seem to care about the mental state of these little guys, does she? It feels quite pitiful."
"To Ruan Mei, although they are lives she created herself, they are also failures—if she frequently invested too much emotion into failures, she probably wouldn't have today's achievements, right?"
Chilchuck said while organizing his backpack.
Marcille puffed out her cheeks:
"…You make it sound like Ms. Ruan Mei is very cold-blooded."
"That sort of thing doesn't matter at all, does it? If they are failures…"
Senshi pulled a gleaming, sharp knife from his pack,
"Just eat them directly. I see those little guys look very much like food, seemingly cultivated in the appearance of pastries—the taste should be quite good."
"HEY, HEY, HEY!! How can you eat them!? They're so cute! And they have intelligence, can think, and can speak! No matter how you look at it, they don't seem like something you can eat, right?"
"Does having intelligence mean they can't be eaten?"
Senshi took out the slime he had dried beforehand and began cutting it into sections, preparing to cook.
"There are many such monsters in the dungeon, and we've eaten quite a few of them."
Senshi slowed his movements slightly:
"We don't know yet if a creature like Molten Cheese Tart can reproduce. If they can reproduce, we could even fence off a laboratory area in the space station specifically for breeding… Being able to utilize these experimental failures feels like it would be quite nice, no?"
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