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C132: HOMUNCULUS HORSE SHOW
News about Zoth Syra completing the homunculus horse arrived after about a month.
“
A synthetic horse made by magic?”
Demon King is groaning with a dissatisfied look.
Hold up, you actually came back here after a month?
“I must see this for myself as the owner of my beloved horse Black Flame, whose semen was used to create a magical being.”
“He’s lying. He can never contain his excitement when it comes to anything horse-related,” says Mrs. Astres, whose face shows that of someone who cannot completely understand their husband’s hobby.
“Looks like we have quite the audience here. How admirable.”
Today’s perpetrator, Zoth Syra, finally appears, with Platy as the principal offender.
“Being graced by your presence in the unveiling of my masterpiece today is a great honor. May you mortals reflect upon the happiness of witnessing my divine work.”
“You’re so pompous. Boo.”
“Pompous, indeed. Who do you think you are? Boo!”
Zoth Syra ignores the booing from Platy and me and continues her speech.
“Before I unveil my masterpiece, I will enlighten you people about the fundamental theory behind homunculi!”
“Wowww. I just LOVE knowledge I don’t need.”
“We didn’t ask for such a messed-up and complicated process. Just hurry up and show us the finished product already.”
We started getting carried away with our booing.
“Quiet. You’ll realize my genius the moment you understand the theory behind it. All right, let’s start things off with a basic question; does anyone know what a homunculus is?”
Spoken like a true scientist acting self-important.
“Homunculus is a pseudo-living being brought to life by pharmaceutical magic. You can say that it’s the same as the dungeon monsters spawning from condensed mana, in a way.”
“We’ve already heard of that before, boo.”
“But unlike monsters that are created by the mysterious laws of nature, homunculi have zero basis to be created from scratch. They don’t have information that can act as the blueprint for life. Saint, however, called them genes
”
Hence, Zoth Syra takes the genes from existing organisms and creates artificial ones based on them.
Moreover, it uses more than one type of gene. Research on creating more powerful lifeforms based on successfully fusing the strength of each is also underway.

Or so how Zoth Syra rambled.
“Otherwise, there’s no merit in creating life with magic.”
“Does that mean the homunculus horse that you’re about to show us today is a mix of two species?”
“Exactly. Using the genes from the demon king’s prized horse as the main ingredient, I added various genes from other lifeforms to make a stronger individual. Well then
”
Zoth Syra smirks.
“I’ll spare you any further detail and introduce my masterpieces to you!”
You’ve already gone into a lot of detail; stop contradicting yourself.

Wait a minute.
‘Masterpiece s ?’
“Behold, Creation Number One: the armored homunculus horse!”
A horse emerges from the stage wing with a clippity-clop of its hooves.

Wait.
Stage wing?!
Why prepare a grand stage just for this presentation?
Anyway, the homunculus horse finally shows up

An armored horse?!
What is up with his body? It’s entirely covered in armor!
It’s not like it has been equipped with it; the horse itself is the armor!
“This creation of mine is the result of combining the genes of the horse with the genes of a fish monster called Dinichthys.”
“Dinichthys is a fish monster with a body covered in a hard shell, so it inherited that characteristic.”
How can you be so calm explaining all of that to me, Platy?!
“The defense power of the armor-clad Dinichthys is said to be the most powerful among the sea monsters. The armored horse that has inherited this will be invulnerable to any attack.”
I tried imagining it

A battlefield between enemies. Myriad arrows shot in the sky like rain and a towering line of spears. The horse gallops head-on, disregarding the countless sharp objects it comes across, still unscathed. Its natural armor intercepts every attack!
“That’s not it!”
That’s not it at all!!!
All I wanted was a means of transportation that would let me move faster both in and outside the farm!
A peaceful purpose!
Who says I want to wage war?!
“We don’t need any military power here! No attack power, either! And minimum defensive power is only desired!”
“Huuuuh?”
Zoth Syra is displeased with my objection.
“Amazing! What a fresh concept!” says Demon King beside me, utterly impressed.
“You didn’t fancy the armored horse? Oh well. Let me introduce to you Creation Number Two: the tricky homunculus horse!”
Tricky?!
What’s with the worrisome sound of that name?!
Another horse appeared once again from the stage wing, but it actually looked pretty standard compared to the last one.
But one trait that even an untrained eye can spot
 Is the fact that its body is small.
It was more like the size of a pony than a horse. Any trace of its genetic father, Black Flame, was utterly gone.
“What’s so special about this horse?”
“Hah-ha-ha! See for yourself!”
When Zoth Syra stroked the horse, its surface became jiggly.
It’s as if its texture is that of pudding or jelly. It’s hard to believe that it’s a mammal.
“Eek! What’s that?!”
“That looks gross!”
Both Demon King and I are baffled.
“The genes used for crossing were from an octopus monster, Spring Tentacle! Its body is made up of spring-like muscles, allowing it to bounce anywhere. Tricky indeed!”
The tricky horse was unleashed to give us a demo, leaping just like a spring.
Just by seeing it jump around, maybe calling it a bunny would suit better? Or a frog, or even a grasshopper. Anything jumpy.
And then

“Ah! It stuck itself to the building’s wall!”
“It also inherited the suction cups from Spring Tentacle. It is an octopus, after all. It can stick to surfaces just like that.”
It then kicked the wall and jumped sideways.
A three-dimensional orbit!
Quite the tricky move, and it is seemingly hard to catch it even if you tried!
“That’s not it, either!!!”
What I want is a simple and harmless means of transportation! I don’t need any superpower that comes along with it!
“If we use this horse in combat, we’ll be able to form a versatile ambush force!”
Don’t let your dreams overtake you, Demon King! You just destroyed the Human Kingdom; where else do you plan to fight?!
“What? This is a no-go, too? Your standards are so high.”
“It’s your visions that are too high!”
Our goals are not in sync at all!
“Anyway, this is actually all part of my plan. The next creation I’m about to introduce is the one built to carry you!”
Huh?
So, what were the first two horses supposed to be?!
After some cocky explanation from Zoth Syra, the third horse that appeared was

“Sorry for the wait, Master!”
For some reason, Veil showed up.