Chapter 465, Section 464: Some things are unavoidable.
In Inanna's room, the wand lay alone on the carpet.
Nearby, a pink Puji and two bluish-gray Puji were huddled together, forming a small circle.
"So you really are Puji!" Number Four, who had witnessed Inanna's transformation, was full of surprise. "What was that form just now? Was it an amazing disguise? How could it grow so big?"
“It’s a transformation spell,” Number Ten explained.
"So that's how it is!" Number Four suddenly realized, but then a new question arose, "But why did you turn into a mushroom servant? And the name 'Pink Puji'... Don't you have an official number bestowed upon you by the mushroom master?"
A touch of sympathy unconsciously crept into its thoughts; there were even fellow mushroom people who couldn't get a number—how pitiful!
Number Ten chose to remain silent. It was too lazy to explain to Number Four, that "Pink Puji" was likely the name the Bacterium Master used to address this special being.
Anyway, the oracle from the Bacteria Lord only required her to protect him, not to have a good relationship with Number Four.
"Number 10, Number 4..." Inanna softly repeated the names the two Puji had just given, her heart filled with curiosity, "You... seem a little different from the other Puji?"
"Other Puji?" Number Ten used the detection skills in this mushroom body with some unfamiliarity and sensed the ordinary Puji outside. He immediately understood what Inanna meant. "Those are just tentacles extended by the Mushroom Lord. We are the Mushroom Clan with independent will."
"Mushroom Clan... does the 'Mushroom Master' refer to the leader?" Inanna continued to press.
"How dare you call him 'boss' like those mushroom servants!" Number Four immediately corrected, straightening his posture. "Calling someone 'Master' is a privilege of our mushroom clan!"
Inanna felt both fondness and curiosity towards the two lively and distinctive Puji in front of her, and asked one question after another.
Most of the time, it was Number Ten who answered with concise and clear thoughts. Except for parts that the Bacteria Master had explicitly requested to be kept confidential, it almost satisfied all of PinkPuji's curiosity.
Whenever Number Four shows a tendency to say something wrong, Number Ten always interrupts it at just the right moment.
The three of them, one pink and two green, chatted enthusiastically for quite some time, until suddenly, approaching footsteps echoed from the hallway outside the room…
...
"Alama, is there anything wrong with the new arm that the regeneration potion induced?" Lorenzo's voice came in before he even entered the room.
He strode into the room and pulled a potion with a shimmering green glow from the inner pocket of his mage's robe. "I've concocted a new nutritional supplement that should help speed up your recovery. For you warriors who specialize in physical training, the recovery process after injury is always much more complicated than for us spellcasters..."
His voice gradually lowered as he sensed something was off about the atmosphere in the room.
Alama sat alone in the shadows of the corner, her head bowed in her palms, like a statue, unresponsive to his arrival.
Lorenzo frowned in confusion, walked over to his old friend, and leaned closer: "Hey, what's going on with you now?"
Alama slowly lowered her hands, raised her head, and stared blankly into Lorenzo's eyes.
Lorenzo never imagined that he would see such... existential confusion and despondency in the eyes of this tough guy who remained unfazed even when besieged by a demon army.
“I suddenly realized,” Alama’s voice was hoarse, carrying a weariness that came from being drained of all energy, “that I am a complete and utter failure as a father…”
Alama's words brought Lorenzo a slight sense of relief.
It turned out to be a trivial family matter, but he was afraid that Alama had suffered some irreversible injury.
"Why do you say that?" Lorenzo sat down beside him, trying to comfort him in a lighthearted tone. "Didn't Inanna do a good job this time? Although she had to rely on external forces, she was the one who rescued us from a desperate situation. That's much better than my two troublemakers at home who are always causing trouble!"
“I just… went to look for her,” Alama’s voice was hoarse, “and found her secretly in the room… following… following…”
Seeing Alama's embarrassed expression, as if his worldview had been devastated, Lorenzo instantly understood and gave her an "I get it" look.
He patted his old friend on the shoulder and advised him in a tone of someone who had been through it all:
"Sigh, children grow up, and some things are inevitable. When I first discovered my eldest son was having an affair with the maid who took care of him, I was just as furious, but thinking about it later, young people are hot-blooded, and it's not such a heinous crime. Tell me, who has your niece taken a fancy to? Is it that adjutant named Warren who came with her? If it's him, I think it's acceptable. That young man may lack connections, but he's capable, and quite handsome, with eight-tenths of my charm back in the day. You could find a suitable time to have a good talk with them and formalize things..."
"It's a Puji!" Alama abruptly interrupted him. This usually resolute and composed man was now on the verge of collapse, his voice trembling. "I saw her... she turned herself into a pink Puji! She was huddled head-to-head with two other Puji! Why did she turn out like this?!"
Lorenzo's expression of understanding and relief froze instantly. His mouth opened slightly, and he uttered a bewildered syllable: "Huh?"
...
On the other side, Inanna also suffered a heavy blow.
"What should I do..." She sat on the bed, hugging her knees, her long pink hair falling down, obscuring her face full of frustration.
Conditions within the valley are extremely limited. Being able to live in an independent house is already a special privilege for a commander. As for facilities such as door locks, they are simply out of the question.
The moment Inanna heard footsteps outside the door, she knew something was wrong. Like a startled rabbit, she pounced on the staff on the ground, trying to undo the transformation before the other party entered.
But in the end, he was a step too late and was caught red-handed by Alama who pushed the door open.
Fortunately, thanks to her improved shapeshifting skills, she can now at least change her clothes along with her appearance.
Otherwise, if he were to revert to his original form naked in front of his father Alama... the scene would be unimaginable, a hundred times worse than it is now.
But the current situation is enough to make her feel ashamed.
When Alama saw her in her Puji form huddled together with the other two, although she didn't say anything, the moment her expression froze and the slightly swaying back as she left made Inanna clearly realize that something terrible was about to happen.
Beside her, Number Ten was consumed by deep self-reproach—it had seriously failed in its duty.
It felt that after being reborn, it should immediately adapt to its new physical skills. If it could master those reconnaissance methods, it would not have made such a basic mistake as before, where it only discovered the people outside the house.
Fortunately, the other party was not hostile. If it had been an enemy, the mission that the master had just given might have failed!
"This kind of mistake... must never happen again!"
Number Four, on the other hand, couldn't understand why Pink Puji was so frustrated.
After Inanna briefly explained that "it's terrible to be seen looking strange by your father," Number Four suddenly remembered the lofty status that the Fungus Lord had just bestowed upon them.
"We are the embodiment of the Great Puji's will! We are the glorious Mushroom Clan!" Its thoughts were filled with sincere pride. "How can we hide like this? Let's go and explain things clearly to those non-mushrooms! Let them know how noble your identity is!"
As it spoke, it extended its mycelial tentacles, wanting to pull Inanna out to clear her name. However, upon seeing her human hands, it clearly hesitated for a moment. The mycelium paused in mid-air for a moment, but ultimately, suppressing its slight disdain for Pink Puji's "non-mushroom form," it gently wrapped its arms around Inanna's wrist and led her outside.
Number 10 immediately followed behind, ready to step in and prevent Number 4 from causing any trouble.
(End of this chapter)
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