Ringo, Eva, and Hila received their equipment, and Bradd received his payment. Soon after, he began packing his belongings, even his worn-out wooden shop was taken away, all crammed into his space bag.
The old man with the long beard and garish blue cloak, holding a staff and wearing a pointed wizard's hat, followed them as if he were one of them.
Well, now he really was.
Ames seemed a little strange getting this subordinate out of nowhere, but she'd had enough time to get used to it, in the end, she just pretended not to care while Aesop was quietly arguing with Bradd about buying some winemaking supplies.
The materials Aesop wanted were all expensive and rare, so Bradd, who had been willing to talk at first, ignored the old man outright, pretending not to see him.
Aesop rolled his eyes, in the end, he had to bring his own materials to negotiate, and only then did Bradd agree to negotiate with him.
Hila, on the other hand, was still wearing her armor. It was more because the armor simply didn't want to come off her, and besides, the power of both sides seemed to strengthen each other, so Hila didn't insist on taking it off.
Eva, on the other hand, was glaring angrily at her own compressed armor, which refused to come off. She wanted to punch that idiot monkey, her anger evident. Ringo shook his head, hoping to help Eva when she regained control of her armor.
-Shall we go back to Austin?- Aesop asked, as if he were thinking about something. -I seem to have forgotten something when I went there.
Ringo's eyes blinked, slightly surprised, he hadn't felt Aesop's gaze on him, but he sensed that this must be of some help.
Sure, Ringo himself only pretended to nod briefly, but focused on his conscience, he had thought that the time had finally come.
They went to a teleportation circle, and when the employees saw Ames, they were almost scared to death. When the woman asked to be sent to Austin's castle, no one dared refuse. Even without a visa, Austin had already made it clear that Ames could use all public services on the planet, including freely traveling to and from the castle.
The moment the group appeared at the entrance to Austin Castle, Ames's eyes blazed with ferocity, a greenish energy flowing fiercely as the entire Austin Castle seemed to tremble.
-Austin... what the hell do you think you're doing?- She asked furiously, protecting the group behind her, especially Ringo.
Austin appeared hidden from the void where Ames was staring. He wasn't surprised by Ames' reaction, instead, he smiled and spoke. -Why don't you ask Ringo himself to explain?
Ringo, on the other hand, had felt the change within him as soon as he entered. There was no premonition, no special effects, not that Ringo could sense the spells of a Grade S mage. Only Ames, who was there, could perceive something, and that was the reason for the woman's fury.
However, at that moment Ringo already had his eyes closed, the evolutionary polymer working at full force, fusing that part which should have been one from the beginning.
He could feel a slight struggle, like an involuntary movement, but it was trivial, it only took a moment, and the parasite was completely swallowed.
Whether it was Ringo or all of his clones, they all paused for a moment, experiencing that unprecedented mental clarity.
Ringo opened his eyes, the smile on his face growing fiercely, a loud, lively laugh heard throughout the great teleportation hall, attracting the attention of his companions, Austin, and the passing mages.
-Austin, I owe you one for this.- Ringo said excitedly. He could feel that it wasn't just about getting rid of a parasite, but about getting rid of something that was holding him back and transforming into a self-contained existence.
His soul was stronger, his mind seemed incredibly clear, he couldn't even remember ever having such a clear mind before. It wasn't a matter of increasing the volume, but of improving the quality, a simple piece that was fitted greatly increased Ringo's spiritual power.
Those who knew him could see that his smile had widened a little at that moment.
Austin simply smiled, feeling pleased inside.
Ames looked between the two, confused, and finally asked. -Can someone explain to me what's going on?
-Remember the soul parasite?- Ringo explained. -Austin helped me get rid of it.
Ames seemed to finally understand what was happening, her energy slowly subsiding again, though she was somewhat annoyed that Ringo hadn't mentioned it to her.
Ringo noticed and gave him a wry smile. -Sorry about that, I couldn't leave any clues unanswered, so I didn't tell anyone.
Ames just snorted slightly, looking away as if she didn't care, but Ringo knew she did care, he sighed, knowing he'd have to fix this later.
-Wait, so you finally got rid of your desire for that wretched woman?!- Eva jumped excitedly in front of Ringo. -Can we finally kill her?
Eva smiled happily, but deep in her eyes, there was an extreme desire to kill. It wasn't just her, Hila beside her was already clenching her fists. Although she didn't feel as much hatred for the woman as Eva did, she still hated what Emma had done to Ringo. For a woman like Hila, killing her was completely normal.
Ames, on the other hand, had a different mindset. She wasn't from a backward planet. What Emma did was truly awful from their perspective, but for Ames, she had seen far worse in her hundreds of years of life. Besides, Ringo himself didn't seem to share that view, so why bother?
If he wants to kill her, he'll do it himself, if not, there's no point in stressing about it.
So, from the beginning, Ames just watched with curiosity, wanting to know what Ringo would do.
Ringo looked at the two women and shook his head. -No, I've already forgiven Emma.
The two frowned at Ringo, especially Eva who wanted to argue, but Ringo raised his hand to Eva.
-I don't expect you to forgive her, but Emma is incredibly useful to me, she has made extraordinary contributions to Hell and will continue to do so.- Ringo said purposefully.
He no longer felt that desire to be with Emma, but that didn't diminish her potential, keeping her knowing she was loyal, whether out of guilt or any other reason, was far better than simply killing her to alleviate some hatred he didn't even have.
At most, Eva, Lena, Hila, and Melissa would be satisfied for a while.
Ringo also discovered something after assimilating the parasite, he has an extremely adaptable physiology. He didn't know before why he couldn't have children, but now he did.
It was the parasite, he didn't want to have children with other women, not before Emma.
It didn't interfere with Ringo's normal life, but in the brief moments when Ringo's mind was overwhelmed by hormones, when his mind was less lucid, the parasite acted, inactivating Ringo's 'seed'.
For a moment, Ringo didn't know what to say.
The instinct to propagate his lineage was still strong, he had been trying for so long that he thought the problem was with him, without ever discovering the reason, but now he knew where the problem lay.
For a moment, he didn't know what to do with this information. Should he impregnate his women?
Just thinking about it made him intensely want to try, but he quickly gave up, it wasn't the right time. His children would be even more powerful when he and his wives reached Grade S.
Sighing, he decided to leave it aside for now.