[Host, I have a doubt.]

"Your entire existence is a doubt, but sure, ask away."

[...since Milarel can influence minds, why can’t she bring Joan under her control? Wouldn’t that solve all the problems?]

"How long have you been with me?" Aiden asked, sighing. "Over two centuries, and you’re asking such a dumb question? If I could just tame the heroes, why did I go through the trouble of killing them?"

[Host, but you did tame some heroines—]

"Yes, people who lacked a moral compass were easier to tempt," Aiden continued. "Joan isn’t one of them. In fact, she’s the one most troublesome to corrupt. That’s why I killed her in the Otherworld."

It was true. Back on the Otherworld, most heroes weren’t acting on righteousness, but for the sake of the rewards they’d get after defeating the demon king.

Hence, they weren’t after justice, but personal agendas. As long as Aiden played his cards right, most of them either joined the demonic side or were killed if their abilities were lackluster.

However, Joan was different. She wanted the demons dead because of what they did to the temple she lived in. All priestesses were either killed or taken advantage of.

Once ruined in the eyes of the goddesses, they abandoned the former priestesses. The women were shunned from society for something they didn’t have any control over.

Hence, Joan was filled with anger against the demons. She was fighting monsters even before she awakened as a heroine. Corrupting someone like that was next to impossible. Hence, Aiden killed her as soon as he got the chance to.

"The only reason Milarel could manipulate Karina was because of her weak will," Aiden continued. "Joan isn’t like that. Hell, if Joan had found Karina before Milarel, they’d vow to kill me together."

[I see...]

"Also, why the fuck are you asking me these things? You’re the system, you should be answering my queries, not the other way around!"

[...]

Just as Aiden was about to enter his unit, a voice interrupted him.

"Um.. S-Sir! Can I-I take some of your t-time?" Lina called from the other end of the corridor.

"Lina, how can I help you?" Aiden asked, smiling.

"I-I need your h-help with something..." she said, beckoning to the workshop.

Aiden shrugged and followed her along. He had barely entered the place when a heatwave washed over him. It was the first time the workshop actually felt like a workshop.

The hearth was on fire with scrap metal melting in thick cannisters. Hammer and anvil, everything had been used to make something.

Aiden realized it must be the reason Lina called for him. However, no matter where he looked, he couldn’t see anything that she had made. Instead of dwelling on it, he just asked her about it.

"So, what seems to be the issue? Do you need more materials to make corrosion bombs?"

As he asked her the questions, Lina’s cheeks flushed, and her feet kept fidgeting. Something was on her mind, but she was too nervous to say it out loud.

Just as he was about to tell her not to waste his time, Lina fervently shook her head.

"I-I already made t-them," she said, pointing to the crate next to the anvil. "I-It’s a job quest that’s t-troubling me."

She opened her tab and showed it to Aiden. Unlike others, she couldn’t evolve her class by earning exp. Instead, there were some class-exclusive tasks she must complete.

"Make a requested item. What does it mean?" Aiden asked. "Do you want to ask me what I want?"

Lina nodded, but then shook her head, displaying another screen.

"I a-already took a task l-last night," she stammered. "I went to y-your unit to ask you, b-but you weren’t there. Miss Karina o-opened the door, so I-I just asked her."

"And?"

Lina couldn’t say it out loud and just pointed at a particular section on the displayed screen.

"Create a... butt plug!? Karina asked you to make this?"

A strange feeling overloaded Lina’s brain, and she couldn’t even meet Aiden’s eyes anymore.

"You don’t have to make it if you don’t want to," Aiden mumbled, scratching his head. "I’ll talk to her about this—" 𝐟𝗿𝐞𝚎𝚠𝐞𝚋𝕟𝐨𝚟𝐞𝕝.𝕔𝕠𝚖

Before he could speak his mind, Lina extended her hand towards Aiden. Even he got awkward after seeing it. It was a butt plug.

The base material was clearly metal, he could tell that much from the weight of it, but the surface was something else entirely. Despite looking like metal, it was soft and squishy.

It held its shape completely when he wasn’t pressing on it, but responded to direct pressure with just enough give to suggest it wouldn’t be entirely unpleasant against skin.

As awkward as holding the thing was, Aiden couldn’t help but notice the craftsmanship of the darn thing. There were no rough edges or visible seams where the metal base met the rubbery body. She had clearly put a lot of work into making it.

But there was something else that took him by surprise.

"This is entirely made of metal, right?"

Lina gave a single nod without looking at him.

"Then, you can change basic properties of a material?" he asked, pointing at the rubber-like body.

Lina nodded again.

"Damn, that’s impressive."

Lina’s ears went completely red when he praised her. But Aiden didn’t even notice it. He was way too absorbed in the implications of her skills.

It made sense how she could create a corrosion bomb for waste materials. She probably enhanced the toxicity of the waste food to the point it turned corrosive and then altered the properties of the used plastic so it could contain the acid without burning through it.

Aiden felt like he had hit the biggest jackpot since returning to Earth. Someone who could manipulate the properties of materials was worth their weight in gold!

"Ahem," he cleared his throat before continuing. "Don’t worry, I’ll give it to Karina. That’s what you wanted me for, right?"

Lina closed her eyes in embarrassment before pointing at the holographic screen again.

"What’s with the small font? Are these terms and conditions?" Aiden squinted and leaned in. The next second, his eyebrows shot up in surprise. "...test out the finished product yourself!?"