"Master, we only have half a month left, but we no longer have enough materials to produce a sufficient number of devices. The highest-grade devices consume somewhat more materials. Although the total production cost of each one is only thirty huayuan, the money we have left needs to be spent on other materials for developing new equipment, so for now we can't use it to purchase materials for the gaming devices. If we want to manufacture those gaming devices, we'll need more money... so..."
Chu Lian sat on the research institute's only sofa, watching the girls move back and forth as they busied themselves with the various machines. Just as she was inwardly marveling at how hard they were working, Mo Li came running over with a book in her arms and spoke somewhat hesitantly.
"I understand. Money will be coming in soon. Just focus on your research and don't worry about anything else. I'll come see all of you often, so you don't have to worry that I'll forget about you. You should know that the only reason I didn't visit before was because I was unconscious for ten days, not because I'd forgotten you."
Chu Lian reached out and helped straighten Mo Li's slightly disheveled clothes as she spoke softly.
"I understand. Master, you have to take care of your health. Everything we do is for Master. If something happened to you, then all of our efforts would become meaningless."
"I'll remember that. Go get back to work. You don't need to worry about me." Chu Lian gave her a gentle smile and agreed to her request. She had always tried to do exactly that, but sometimes plans simply could not keep up with fate. Those accidents were not things she had wanted to happen.
"Mm. I'll definitely design a game that makes Master completely satisfied." Clenching one small fist and adjusting the glasses on the bridge of her nose, Mo Li turned around and went back to work.
Chu Lian sat there holding a cup of black tea, her gaze fixed on the girls' busy figures. "People always say a serious man is the most handsome, but I think a serious girl is beautiful too."
"What is Master thinking about?" The mature woman in magical robes reached out from behind with both arms wrapped in black silk gloves and embraced Chu Lian around the neck as she asked softly.
"I was just thinking that whenever someone becomes serious about something, they become incredibly attractive." Chu Lian gently leaned her head backward against a chest no less abundant than Luoying's, enjoying its softness.
"It feels comfortable, doesn't it?" The thought that her ample breasts could make Master comfortable delighted her immensely. In a way, this could also count as something she was giving to Master.
"Mm. Every time I come here, I always end up leaning against one of you to rest." Chu Lian tilted her head up and gazed into the girl's emerald-green eyes as she murmured.
"Is it exhausting outside? I always feel that whenever Master comes to us, aside from needing something from us, it's also because you're trying to escape all the disturbances out there." Among the twelve girls, Liusu could be considered the most mature, intellectual, and knowledgeable.
Compared with the other Witches of Book, her most obvious advantage was her astonishingly precise analytical ability. She could almost take fragments of a story that had been scattered into countless pieces and reconstruct them into their original form.
That talent made her exceptionally meticulous in everything she did, and she was also the one who produced the most polished work. Every piece of written content had to pass through her hands for review and revision before it could finally be entered into the game.
It would not be an exaggeration to say that she was the core supporting the narrative of Dreambound.
Although Chu Lian possessed even richer theoretical knowledge than she did, aside from explaining a few things at the beginning, Chu Lian had handed nearly everything else over to her.
In truth, Liusu had performed far better than Chu Lian had expected. She truly lived up to being a race naturally sensitive to literature. It was astonishing.
Precisely because Chu Lian knew how meticulous she was, she was not surprised that Liusu had discerned one of the reasons she came here. Perhaps she was the sort of person who naturally became a considerate older-sister figure.
As for whether Chu Lian wanted to confide in her, that was something she would only know after they talked.
"Yes and no. The outside world is wonderful. It's just that sometimes it can be rather frustrating." Chu Lian gently shook her head and gave an answer that was not really an answer.
"I see. It's all right. As long as Master wants to, Liusu will always wait here for you. It doesn't matter why you come here, because that's what we exist for." Leaning a little closer, Liusu spoke in a soft voice. As she looked at Chu Lian's profile, she felt an impulse to kiss her.
But all this time, the furthest they had ever gone with Chu Lian was holding her. They still did not dare do something like kissing her.
Even that shameless Luoying had only dared to hold her while losing control of herself, without attempting anything beyond that. For Liusu, who hid her desires far more deeply than Luoying did, actually acting on such an impulse was still a little too soon.
"You girls really shouldn't think so little of yourselves. Even though I summoned you, you're still individuals in your own right. Even if you rely on me to live, that doesn't mean you should think of yourselves as unnecessary. My life is more wonderful because you're in it, understand?"
Chu Lian reached up, brushed aside the long white hair covering Liusu's cheek, gazed into her emerald-green eyes, and gently caressed her soft face as she spoke in a low voice.
"Because all of us belong to Master. So when Master worries, we worry. When Master is troubled, we're troubled too." Of course Liusu could tell that Chu Lian had just played with her wording, but she was still extremely happy because it proved that Master truly cared about them.
"Once this game is finished and we've earned more money, I'll find somewhere to build an incredibly tall building and create a paradise. I'll summon more of your kind and other creatures so everyone can live together. When that happens, you'll be able to come into contact with the outside world too. You'll be able to bask in the sun, stand in the rain, and follow me wherever I go. So for now, what's important is doing your current work well. You don't need to overthink anything else."
Chu Lian rubbed her cheek and saw her own reflection in Liusu's pupils, calm and serene.
"I really did come here partly to clear my head. Life outside can be chaotic sometimes, complicated sometimes, and sometimes even I don't know what I'm supposed to do, so things just end up like this. But it's fine. When I'm here with all of you, I feel very peaceful." Murmuring softly, Chu Lian stared absentmindedly at Liusu's face.
Seeing Master stare at her that way made Liusu happy, but even more than that, nervous. Did I do something wrong? Is Master angry with me?
"You girls... No matter how many times I tell you that I won't get angry with you, you still end up worrying about whether I'm angry. I was wondering why someone as gentle and intellectual as you would write the kind of erotic novels Luoying mentioned. Do you really want to lick Master's feet that badly? Or do you like being bullied?" At this point, Chu Lian's question was basically outright teasing.
She merely wanted to see how these girls would react when she flirted with them herself.
Liusu's face abruptly flushed crimson. Her eyes looked like a reddish-green reflection trembling across a clear lake, faintly moist. She murmured under her breath, deeply embarrassed, but because Chu Lian was her master, she felt that she had no choice but to answer.
And so, under Chu Lian's curious gaze, she spoke in an extremely soft voice. "Because I like, like, like, like Master so very much. Every time I go to sleep, I keep thinking about Master, and then my panties get wet on their own. I don't know how else to deal with that longing, so I started writing it down."
"Mm. At first, what I wrote was a very proper adventure story. Master and I fought side by side, and even imagining it made me excited. But later I realized that writing things like that couldn't satisfy those desires at all, so I started writing things that went deeper and deeper."
"Eventually, it turned erotic. Whenever I wrote those scenes, I kept wondering what kind of treatment I would want from Master if we really did something intimate. The more I thought about it, the more my imagination wandered, and then all kinds of scenes started appearing."
"And in the end... I realized that the scenes where I submitted at Master's delicate feet were the ones that made me... made me... react the strongest... The feeling is strange, but I long for it and like it very much..."
Chu Lian maintained an expectant expression while listening to Liusu explain the reason, but inwardly she was furiously complaining,
She's definitely a masochist, isn't she? A mature woman who looks so strong-willed and gentle is secretly a masochist? That's way too unexpected. But why does everyone around me like feet so much? Chu Chu does, Xiu'er does, Nana and Lux do too. Even Ayase and I...
Naturally, Chu Lian would never say any of that aloud. She knew that getting Liusu to explain the specific reason had already taken a great deal of courage. If she interrupted now, she would only discourage her. The girl was at a moment when she needed encouragement, and Chu Lian would never deliberately do something so hurtful.
"I see." Stroking Liusu's cheek, Chu Lian pondered for a moment. "If... if Liusu does a very good job, then Master will reward you by letting you kiss my feet."
Chu Lian herself did not know what had possessed her to say that, but she did know that for some reason, she suddenly wanted to tease Liusu a little.
"It's a promise! Master, just wait! I'll definitely do an excellent job!" The moment Liusu heard Chu Lian's words, she brightened immediately. Without even asking what Chu Lian's standard for "good" actually was, she hurried back to her workstation. Ignoring the strange looks from the other girls around her, she threw herself into her work.
For the reward, for the chance to kiss Master's delicate feet, I absolutely have to do well.
Watching her retreating figure, Chu Lian shook her head with a helpless smile. Were her words really that powerful? Although Liusu had regained her energy, it seemed Chu Lian had also created another problem for herself.
At this rate, Mo Li and Luoying would probably come asking for rewards too. And naturally, the other girls could not be left out either, or else she would be favoring some over others and creating unfairness.
"Forget it. I got carried away for a moment and ended up doing this, so there's no taking it back now. Whatever happens later, I'll deal with it then. Yawn... I'm getting sleepy. I'll nap for a while first." Chu Lian blinked several times, but in the end she could not withstand the drowsiness overtaking her. She lowered her head onto the table and slowly drifted to sleep...