The Simulacrum

~Chapter 144~ Part 2

Dinners at the Dunning household had been… hectic as of late. It was to be expected; even if we only counted the 'official' members of the family, our numbers swelled to five in the blink of an eye. Add in our semi-permanent guest, my girlfriends, the class rep, and the Faun on duty (ignoring poor Rabon would've been rude), and suddenly we were looking at nine people around the table. There were Christmas family reunions smaller than that, and if Mountain Girl and Ichiko weren't busy somewhere else, it could've gone even higher than that.

Luckily, now that the Angie route was resolved… No, that's not the right word. Ruined? Too harsh. Prematurely concluded? Let's go with that.

Accurate verbiage aside, the point was that since the route-ending climax was no longer hanging over my head, there was no need to rush the homunculus project anymore. Since it could be paced out a bit more, it meant the strain it put on my finances lessened enough that food expenses no longer had to be taken into account. Not that feeding half a dozen people was cheap, but considering I was backed by two-and-a-half supernatural superpowers, the alternative would've been just plain embarrassing.

But talking about the homunculus… I was a bit torn on what to do with it. When I commissioned my science team (I still couldn't believe I could unironically say that), I was hedging my bets a bit, but since the Deus problem was currently under control, I figured I could safely go all in on Plan B instead. Except, even if I did, I wasn't sure how I would use it. That was something I still had to think about, but I had a feeling the topic would come up in discussion again, so let's shelf this thought for later.

Speaking of discussions, it was getting a bit late, but we decided to continue the previous meta-talk with the girls, and returned to my room. As soon as we did, Judy guided me to the bed and had me sit down, before taking a seat on my legs.

"Chief. Please give Judy-bot some oxytocin."

"… Just say that you want to cuddle, would you?" I grumbled even as I put my arms around her, only to pause a raise a brow. "But wait. Isn't oxytocin the 'snuggle-hormone'? Does a Judy-bot even have hormones?"

"Don't nitpick me."

For emphasis, she pinched my cheek, eliciting a giggle from Elly, who was in the process of climbing onto the bed and draping herself over my back, as usual. Meanwhile, the class rep was giving us an odd look, but after the discussions of the last couple of days, we were all used to her presence and reactions already.

"I didn't think we would still have to enact anti-harem countermeasures this late in the game," Judy continued to gripe, and Ammy, who was in the process of pulling my swivel chair over, nearly stumbled.

"I told you it was just miscommunication! I didn't mean it that way!"

"Don't tease Ammy too much," my other girlfriend chided her, cutely poking at Judy's cheek with a finger, and she soon relented.

"Fine." While her expression said 'I'll be keeping an eye on you', my dear assistant soon glanced away from the class rep and looked at us. "Where were we before dinner?"

Considering Judy's memory, I was sure she only asked out of courtesy, and Elly answered without missing a beat.

"We finished talking about the retcon, and we just started on what we can expect in the future when Penny told us that dinner was ready."

"That's right," Ammy added on and sat down in the chair she set in front of us. "I wouldn't say we're finished on the topic of this retcon, but we can continue that line of inquiry on a later day."

Judy shifted in my lap to get her phone out, and even Elly moved to sit next to me instead of sticking to my back. Once everyone was in position and ready, I raised a finger to signal the start of the serious business. By some standard, at the very least.

"Let's make sure we're all on the same page first. I already told you how the plot was supposed to go, with Angie getting taken over, acting as the second act low-point before the third act climax with the power of love saving the day."

"Yes, yes," the princess nodded repeatedly at my side, and Ammy followed suit. Judy was only looking at me impatiently, but as the class rep just demonstrated, miscommunication was dangerous and it was best to make sure we were all clear on the situation.

"All of that is out the window at the moment and effectively irrecoverable."

"Question!" Ammy interrupted me, raising a hand for attention. "If it's a problem, can't you just alter the past again to change it?" It took her a second to notice my subtle glare, at which point she self-consciously cleared her throat. "I don't mean you should, I'm just curious if it's possible."

"It is, but it would be ridiculously counter-intuitive. While I veritably screwed up the original plot, the cat is already out of the bag with the Emergents, and I can't change that."

"Right, the extra-Simulacral entities." The class rep adjusted her posture, crossing her legs and pondering for a while before she continued. "But even so, you said destiny's original plan was really important, wasn't it?"

"It was about those 'Submerged Ones', right?" Elly chimed in, face brimming with curiosity.

"Kinda, but not really."

My response naturally didn't engender lots of confidence, so I inhaled deeply and tried again.

"Disclaimer: this is still based on partial information, so take it with a pinch of salt. The idea is that these Submerged One things, related to the Emergents, are linked to or in some way part of the Simulacrum. The Simulacrum itself is designed to produce stimulation, probably for them, and it's achieved through drama. Are we clear on that?"

"More or less," Judy noted, sounding a touch disinterested, but I barreled on.

"The point is that the Plot existed as a crucial element of this framework, but it was also part of the scheme between other-me, or maybe pan-conscious Narrative-me even, and the Crowned Coalescence, and something big was supposed to happen once said Plot was concluded."

"You already told us about that," Judy spoke up, now getting distinctly impatient.

"I know, I just want to make sure everyone understands the situation."

Meanwhile, Ammy raised her hand again.

"Do you know what this 'big thing' was supposed to be?"

"No, not really. It must've been related to the Emergents or the Simulacrum as a whole, but even other-me wasn't one hundred percent clear on the plan."

"But you changed the past, so that plan cannot come to fruition," the class rep concluded, and I hastily shook my head.

"That's the thing; it still can, but it's going to be tricky. You see, the criteria for the completion of that plan wasn't 'the Plot has to end this way', but more like 'there has to be a Plot, and that plot has to wrap up conclusively'."

"T L semicolon D R, the Chief is saying that so long as we uphold something resembling a plot, the world won't end overnight."

"… Dormouse. Did you just seriously TL;DR me?"

Instead of a proper answer, my lovely (if currently slightly prickly) assistant stuck out her tongue. I understood why she was impatient, considering I had discussed this with her beforehand, but it was still cold.

"Then what?" Ammy continued, seemingly ignoring our understated argument. "You said that once destiny's plan concludes, it would cause some kind of upheaval. Couldn't that also be the end of the world?"

"You see, Chief? That's why I didn't want you to bring up this topic yet," Judy grumbled in my lap, and I was very, very tempted to point out that she had the same reaction when we talked about it the first time. For now, I let slightly hypocritical lions lie and focused on Ammy.

However, that momentary break was enough of an opening to let Elly speak up, and she gave an optimistic spin to things, as usual.

"Why would it? In romance stories, the conclusion is when the couple gets together, but it doesn't mean the story is over. And there are after-stories too!"

"She's on the right track," I joined in even while giving my other girlfriend some extra snuggles so that she would hopefully stop being sullen a bit sooner. "I sincerely doubt that we would've seen a giant black screen show up with the letters 'FIN' written on it and smother the island the moment the Plot was over. Whatever the Crowned Coalescence is planning, it's related to the Emergents, not us."

"So you're saying that the machinations of these god-like entities are beyond us, and we shouldn't concern ourselves with them," Judy summarized, already sounding less grumpy. Yay for oxytocin.

"Kinda. We can't fully ignore them, but for the moment, our focus should be on the Simulacrum's inner workings, and how to keep everything running."

"With drama?" the princess interjected, and I automatically nodded.

"Yeah, with drama. I think we're good for the moment. The climax we just survived provided more than enough of that for the time being, and while my retcon cut a couple of threads short, we still have a couple of side plots we can rely on to tide us over for a while."

"How long?"

I considered Ammy's question for a while, and gave her a pessimistic estimate, as usual.

"I'd say we can coast for a few weeks. A month at most. It should be enough to get the political situation under control, and then we can start working on the capital P Plot for the finale."

"We?" the class rep blurted out, and it drew an amused chuckle out of the princess.

"Of course! You're part of the team now."

"That's… I mean, don't take me wrong, I find these discussions intellectually stimulating, but I'm not sure I'm up for the task."

Seeing her suddenly act so timid made me roll my eyes.

"Hey, it's not like anyone ever asked me if I wanted to be part of this whole madhouse."

"Me neither!" Elly chimed in out of the blue, sounding oddly happy about it.

"I was bribed into it with sandwiches," Judy joined next, and after a meaningful beat, she added, "No regrets."

"Oh. Sorry."

I didn't know why Ammy was suddenly apologizing, but that whole consideration was pushed to the side when Judy poked my side to get my attention.

"What are the sub-plots?"

"The what? Ah, right. I just mentioned those. Since Percival is still alive, his plot has to be concluded. There's also the situation in the Elysium, though that would probably resolve itself given enough time at this rate, and finally, Crowey and whatever upheaval is currently going on in the Abyss."

If we stretched things a little, I figured we could also add the will-they-won't-they romance shenanigans between Naoren and Mountain Girl. It wasn't a big thing, but beggars couldn't be choosers, and her denseness could theoretically lead to some rom-com situations that could provide enough drama to tide us over a little longer.

"What about Bel of the Abyss?" Ammy interjected out of the blue, and the three of us blinked in unison.

Right. While she was let in on about 90% of things, I never quite found the right moment to explain the whole 'Bel thing' to her. It caused a few holes in our descriptions of the recent events, but thanks to the retcon providing me with a convenient excuse to explain any discrepancies, she hadn't raised a fuss until now. Was this the right moment to let her in on the secret?

Honestly, no. The meta stuff was one thing, and it was another one of those cats that couldn't be stuffed back in the bag anymore, but at this point, I needed to keep a tighter rein on who would know about Bel's true identity, especially since I had some serious plans for the character. After all, I'd been building him up as the big villain for quite a while now, and with Deus being knocked down from arch-antagonist to the grouchy grandpa living in Angie's head, it would've been prudent to keep my cards even closer to my chest as usual.

"He's a wildcard, but he'll probably play a major role in the events to come."

In response, my girlfriends gave me diametrically opposed looks. Judy's narrowed eyes said 'Uh, he's planning something shady and overcomplicated again, isn't he?', while Elly's sparkling gaze told me 'Yay! Leo's scheming something bombastic again, isn't he?'. As much as I hated to admit it, they were both right, but again: cards, close to chest.

"So you have to arrange a new plan, as the new destiny, while he's still on the loose."

Ammy's whisper prompted a soft chuckle out of me, and I adopted a mysterious tone.

"Who knows? Maybe he will provide us with a ploy we just need to play into in the future?"

"You can't do that!" I was just about to drop some more hints, but the way Ammy raised her voice in a near-panic made me shut up at once. She grabbed the corner of her glasses and furiously tweaked them, clear evidence that she was worked up, and she spoke in a voice that bore no disagreement. "You said he started causing chaos because you threw the tracks of destiny, or routes, or whatever you called them, off their planned direction. Isn't that why his appearance always led to things getting out of control? Like what he did during the Draconians' tournament? You told me that was clearly set up and planned out by destiny, and yet he very nearly completely ruined it. What if he does the same to your plans when you act in the stead of destiny? It could be a disaster!"

"I mean, if you put it like that—"

Before I could finish, she interrupted me again, even more vehemently.

"If anything, you should try to capture or kill him as soon as possible!"

"Whoa! Easy there, class rep. Don't get so worked up."

My dear assistant sent me a 'you made your bed, now you lie in it' kind of look, but then her expression softened with a sigh and she came to my rescue.

"Let's not overwhelm the Chief. He has a lot on his plate already."

"But didn't he just say that we have a month at best before we have to come up with a new conclusion?"

I wanted to point out how she was now using 'we' without any reservations, but Elly beat me to the punch, though with a different observation.

"That's only true for the current side-plots, right? We can make more of those! Like when we went to the hot springs. We can do something similar, like… um…" She thought long and hard but was seemingly drawing a blank, so she turned to my other girlfriend. "Judy? Support?"

"We're going to have the school's sports festival in May."

"Right! That's one of those tropes!"

"But that's more than a month away," Ammy pointed out, but my dear assistant remained undaunted.

"We're also going to have spring break at the end of March. We can organize another group activity, and that should generate enough of the Chief's drama to keep us going a bit longer."

"Wait, I know it!" Elly exclaimed, one hand high in the air and the other grabbing my shoulder. "I know that trope! Beach episode, right? Right?"

"I… don't want to disappoint you princess, but I think it's going to be a bit too cold for that." My draconic girlfriend's expression withered at once, so I hastily added. "We can still go to the beach. Maybe we can look at the baby seals or something."

"Oh, that sounds fun too! But… If it's going to be too cold here, why don't we go somewhere else?"

That… actually wasn't a bad idea. We had been stuck on Critias since the very beginning, and while we had people coming to the island from the outside, we never ventured past its shores. Was the rest of the world simulated properly? Would things truck along normally on the island while we weren't here? My gut told me the answer to both of those questions was 'yes', but there was a difference between second-hand (or, considering it came from other-me, not-quite-first-hand?) knowledge, and seeing things with my own eyes.

"That sounds lovely, but let's discuss it again when the time comes," Judy steered the conversation along, and turned back to Ammy. "The point we are making is that there are many ways to generate drama and buy us time to push the grand finale of our, or rather, Joshua's plot back until we are ready to write, direct, and star in it."

Elly joined in with a confident "Agreed!", leaving the class rep no other option but to acquiesce.

"Understood. I still think we should focus on dealing with Bel of the Abyss, and… Speaking of side-tracks, I have asked Grandfather about the Grimoire. He was skeptical, but he said he would let me inspect the Grimoire Key soon."

"You see. That's another sub-plot we can work with." I unconsciously flashed a smile, and then a beat after, I shook my head. "Let's cross that bridge when we get there. Why don't we focus on smaller things for now? Stuff that we can do while things are still a bit tumultuous on the island."

"Such as?"

Hearing the princess's prompt, Ammy's mind immediately switched tracks, and she pointed at me.

"I have a proposal. I've read your preliminary observation notes on the 'Placeholders', and noticed that you stopped them a while ago."

"Yeah. We didn't quite have the time, and there didn't seem to be immediate benefit to any further experiments."

She accepted my excuse and moved on.

"I understand that, but I think we have a new angle to investigate. You said these 'Submerged Ones' are part of the Simulacrum, but your understanding of them is still vague. Could they be related to the Placeholders?"

"A fair question." Judy turned on her phone with renewed interest. "What makes you think that?"

And with that, the rocky start of the discussion was over, and we moved on to more productive topics, such as how to experiment with the common folk of the island. Ethically. That was important.

Yet, my heart just wasn't in the conversation. Not because it wasn't interesting, and based on the class rep's proposal, I was sure we would soon engage in some rather wacky tests that may or may not serve as yet another side plot, but there was something I just couldn't get out of my head. As embarrassing as it was to admit it, after everything that happened over the last couple of days… heck, make that weeks, I was both mentally and physically exhausted, so as much as it irked me to admit it…

"I could use a beach episode."