World of Women - World of Women – V5 – Chapter 10

“If you are going to go on a journey, then we need to do this through the proper channels.” Kemala stated.

I had woken up the next morning to Mako giving me a blowjob. This was her favorite way to wake me up. After I finished, she had breakfast and brought it. It wasn’t much, just some fruit jam, biscuits, and tea. She had been complaining that I needed to be on a healthier diet since I wasn’t as young as I used to be. While I was sitting at my breakfast table and reading a newspaper, Kemala arrived, slapping down an itinerary that I had no intention of reading.

I scratched my cheek awkwardly. “Um… I was thinking that this journey needs to be low profile. This isn’t something that I want others to learn about.”

“That’s the beauty of it.” Kemala moved closer, pushing the open binder in front of her toward me. “By loudly announcing your movements, no one will suspect anything.”

I glanced down at the front page, and a single phrase caught my eye. “Clyburn’s Grand Tour.”

“The world has wanted to meet you for a long time,” Kemala spoke excitedly. “You’re world-renowned, and while you’ve had some contact with nobles and politicians from other countries, you’re still a mystery to the mass populace. Few people even know what you look like, but some idolize you. Most commoners in other parts of the world would do anything just for a chance to see you.”

“I’m not a celebrity, Kemala.” I made a strained face.

“No, you’re better than that. You’re an influencer.” She spread her hands like she was unveiling the term to me.

“Influencer… you say…”

“At your word, there are women who give everything. Why did you think there were so many countries willing to offer us advantageous trade negotiations?”

“They wanted access to our men?”

“They had men of their own, and believe it or not, most women in power aren’t exactly excited by the prospect of more men being born unless they come from their womb. The reason they fawned over you so much was because they were terrified of you. You overthrew Amaryllis’s government. That country has only declined in the last twenty years. It may have been a small country, but how many other people could claim to have single-handedly overturned a nation, let alone founded another?”

I thought back to the words Dia had spoken earlier. I hadn’t exactly left things easy for her. I could understand why she was so desperate. I just wished she had done things the other way around. She should have told me everything up front before we slept together. Then again, I hadn’t bothered to ask.

“It’s not that impressive…” I tried to wave it off, feeling once again like my past was overshadowing my present.

“Then, there was the advancement in technology over the last decade. Magical runes, new devices, some say you single-handedly revolutionized the world. If you crooked a finger, you could form armies with your words. To have that much power, it’d make any country nervous. If you endorsed a product, they would buy it. If you favored a politician, they’d be elected. You’ve bottled all of that influence for twenty years, and now is the perfect time to go public.”

“You think so?”

“I know so.” Kemala declared. “I have been thinking about it for a long time. I have had these ideas planned for a while, but given your temperament at the time, I didn’t think it was the right time to bring it up.”

“And now is a good time?”

“You’re leaving now. You need a cover. If you snuck aboard some airship and smuggled yourself into other countries, you could cause an international incident. Commoners may not recognize you, but you’re far too recognizable among the elites. If you were seen, most wouldn’t hesitate to snatch you up, especially if your whereabouts are not known. If you’re on a tour going from country to country, then no country would dare plot against you. If they did, they’d earn the ire of every other country waiting to receive you.”

“Except, at that point, I’d be watched all the time.”

“Exactly… if you went straight for the demon lord castle, people would figure out there is something there. By doing a tour of eight countries, no one would guess your true intentions. As far as the demon lord castle, we could probably use a body double. This would give you the time to do what you needed to do.”

“A body double?”

Kemala grinned and then reached up a clapped her hands. A moment later, a person walked into the room. I raised my eyebrows. They had dark hair, were about my height, and were wearing the same kind of suit I liked to wear. Their facial structure was even similar. The only major difference was that it was a girl!

“Who are you?” I asked.

The girl took a step forward, speaking in a hefty voice as she tried to make herself sound deeper. “I am Clyburn Bornholdt!”

I rolled my eyes. “I mean, really?”

She straightened and she spoke in a higher voice. “My name is Samantha.”

“So, Doppel gangers exist in this world.” I shook my head as I looked at her carefully. “I guess you would look like me from a distance. I could probably use magic to correct your voice. Ash could probably give you some pointers as well.”

“So, you’re willing?” Kemala leaned toward me happily.

“You… have my attention.” I agreed reluctantly. “I suppose a body double would make things a little safer.”

“I spent a long time and a great deal of effort finding someone. I initially search for a male, and I realized my problem.” Kemala explained. “She’s had some body modification to look like you, well, a female version of you.”

“I can see that. As long as we can use magic, I can make the disguise perfect. Just hope there is no powerful magician that will be able to tell.”

She shook her head. “You’re being far too cautious. Most people haven’t seen you, let alone up close, so they’d have no clue what you look like in the first place. Even if she did nothing, few women have enough familiarity with men that they’d be able to tell the difference. If anything, they’d just think you were a bit prettier than the rumors suggested. If you used magic, no one would ever assume any magic used wasn’t some protection to keep you safe.”

“Heh, I guess you’ve convinced me. Send her to Syph and Brianna. They’ll be taking control of my security.”

“Does that mean you’ve agreed to the tour?” She asked eagerly, waving the body double Samantha away.

I took a sip of my tea. “I already said I’m listening. You mentioned eight countries. I take it you already have an idea of where we’re traveling?”

“It’ll be a two-month tour, a week in each country. Throughout that week, you’ll have various activities, a couple of events, a show…”

“A show?” I frowned.

“Relax… we’ll hire a writer and you’ll have a teleprompter. You just need to read the words. You’ll give some kind of speech, and then afterward you’ll shake hands, take photos, and sign autographs.”

“Alright, what counties are we talking about then?”

“The first country is the Guare islands.”

“A tropical place?”

“They’re renowned for their lush beaches.”

“Are you picking the spots for me, or yourself?”

“Master! My thoughts are always on you.” Kemala complained with tears in her eyes.

I chuckled and patted her head, something I hadn’t done for a long time. She blushed but returned to her binder.

“Next, Stoana.”

“That’s a mountainous area, right?”

“Yes, they have a lot of snow peaks where people can ski and sled. It’s a popular resort destination.”

“You’re selecting places for a vacation.”

“That’s not it, Master! It’s just that locations that master would find the most reception at are also places that people often go for vacations.”

“I understand.” I sighed. “I suppose there would be no sense in my going to a third-world country or something like that.”

“Exactly, Master.” Kemala piqued up. “The next place is the Republic of Trilor.”

“They’re a big country.”

“Yes, they have five states and their landmass makes up about 1/5th of the world’s available space.”

I was hardly that worldly. If I still lived on Earth, I would have been one of those guys who embarrass themselves when asked what the capital of a common country was. I did know that there were two powerhouse nations in the world, the Republic of Trilor and the United Lands of Flora. They were opposed to each other. The Republic of Trilor believed men belonged to the state, while the United Lands believed that men had free autonomy. This was also the conflict that played out in about every other nation, as well as Amaryllis before our succession.

“Nippon.”

“Ah! I always wanted to go to Japa- ahem… Nippon.”

“I thought you might like that one.”

One of my girls and her child came from Nippon. The map of this world was not different from the map of my world. Nippon existed where Japan had been, and the culture and people weren’t much different. As far as Amaryllis, we were located in the area around Eastern Europe. Matahari was south across the sea, the sea Valiant was currently a part of. Matahari would have sat somewhere around Egypt.

Although the locations could be matched, the subsequent cultures and people didn’t necessarily. For example, Stoana would be around the Alps, and while they did have ski-ing and resort towns, the people were darker skinned and the culture was closer to gypsies. The Guare was an island chain off of Italy, but the people were black. Italy also had some other name now, and there was no Rome or catholic church. The Republic of Trilor was most of Asia, engulfing Russia, China, and most of India. It seemed like our journey was going to have us head north and then continue east.

“I take it… United Lands of Flora is next?”

The United Lands conquered all of what would be the Americas. The five territories would be the rough equivalent of Canada, America, Central America, Brazil, and then the rest of South America.

“You’d be correct.” Kemala smiled. “If we tried to do one superpower without the other, it would make a statement and cause trouble for Valiant.”

“Zoskar is next…” She looked down.

“That’s the country…”

“Yes, I know.”

It would be the country with the demon lord’s castle. Strictly speaking, Zoskar was a rather small country without a lot of flair. There would be no real reason I’d be going there.

“I thought it’d be the last country.”

“It’s less suspicious if it’s in the middle.”

“It’s suspicious either way.”

“Not if you go for humanitarian aid.”

“H—humanitarian?”

She nodded. “Hold a few babies, raise a few million. It will appear to the world as you stopped there for charity reasons.”

“I guess that’s fine then, except that it’ll be my body double, right?”

“There wouldn’t be an easier country to fool than a third-world country will little access to media to fact check.”

“That doesn’t make me feel better.”

“Next is Diremire.” She tried to change the subject quickly.

“That one sounds familiar.” I scratched my chin.

“It’s the country you were supposed to spend a year abroad before you ended up in Matahari,” Kemala responded, blushing slightly.

Had I not been on that trip, I never would have ended up putting put in the body of Caleb, and then I never would have met Kemala. It was strange how the world all seemed to snap together eventually.

“It’s very similar to Amaryllis,” I stated.

“Ah… y-yes…” She bit her lip.

I shook my head. “It’s fine, what’s last?”

“That…” She flipped the paper back and forth.

If I didn’t know any better, I’d say she lost the name, but Kemala was always on task. She wouldn’t make a mistake like that easily. It was clear to me that she was reluctant to say her last name.

“Where does this all end?” I demanded.

“A-amaryllis.”

I blinked. I had thought she was going to say Matahari. It definitely would have been within Talitha’s character to find out about these plans and use her daughter to get her way. Yet, Amaryllis seemed to hit me differently.

“It’s fine…” I responded after a long silence.

“Is it?” She asked worriedly.

“I think it’s suiting… to end this where we started.” I sighed.

Kemala frowned. “What does that mean? Have you heard something?”

“Dia stopped by. She was at the party last night. She left early on.”

By the time I had gotten back from that intervention, Dia was already gone. Even her airship had left. If she hadn’t left me a message, I might have taken offense. It didn’t mention anything about Amaryllis or the policies. It was surprisingly flowery and sentimental. She told me she loved me, and she told me the name of the baby when it was born, Devon. Admittedly, if we hadn’t connected just last night, my reaction to Amaryllis would have been radically different.

“She was with the Amaryllis delegation, yes?” Kemala looked at me carefully.

“She is the prime minister of Amaryllis.”

Kemala’s eyes widened. “This… I should have known this!”

“Relax.” I held up my hand, keeping her from standing. “I think her keeping this secret was intentional. If you knew Dia was the prime minister, I don’t think any of you would have let her near me.”

Her face reddened. “I’m sorry, it appears that we failed you. I knew Dia was part of the delegation, but the name of the president is Diana, I didn’t realize she used a nickname.”

“It’s fine. The pair of us have come to an understanding.” I replied.

“You don’t mean-”

I nodded. “The world is changing, and I need to change with it or get left behind. The tour you’ve suggested is perfect. In the end, we’ll announce a reconciliation with the Amaryllis. After that…”

I stopped, looking away.

“After that?” Kemala asked.

“I’ll be leaving,” I responded.

“Leaving?” She blinked. “You mean, you’re going to return to Valiant?”

I looked up at her and then gave a smile. “Of course, what else could I mean?”

She let out a sigh of relief. “In that case, I will start the plans soon.”

“I also have some things I need to get done.”

After Kemala left, I put up a do no disturb sign on the outer knob and closed my door. Most of the girls would acknowledge my privacy when I used that, although some more than others. I sat on the bed and opened the nightstand drawer. After fiddling a bit with a few buttons, a hidden compartment clicked open, and I pulled out a notebook.

I opened the notebook and flipped through it, page after page. Every page was covered in various magical runes. It was the language of magic for this world. When I reached the final page, the top had something written in the common tongue.

“Lilith Project.” I read the words, letting out an exhausted sigh.

With all the knowledge shoved in my head, plus my experiences from another world, I helped create countless artifacts. Most of the time, my involvement had been minimal. I’d simply tell others about a device that I knew could exist, and then I’d sketch out a few rudimentary runes that could get it running. It was then others who would design, refine, and ultimately create the products that we exported. The writings in this book were something else entirely. These were my creations, a series of spells and concepts that could cause shockwaves across the world.

If everything I had done up until the formation of Valiant had been the summation of the years before it, then this book was the summation of the years since. I ripped out the final page, the one that said Lilith Project, and then put the rest back on the nightstand. Perhaps, it would have been better if I burnt it, but I couldn’t bring myself to do that, even if that would lead to horrible consequences in the future. As for the other part, I moved to my desk and carefully folded it up.

I pulled out my stationary and started writing. I spent some time perfecting what I wanted to say, but when I was finally done, I folded the letter up and placed it in an envelope along with the sheet I had pulled out of my notebook. I sealed it, and after I was done, I opened the door, removed the sign on my door knob, and then pulled a chain which caused a bell to ring. A maid who wasn’t Mako approached, and I handed her the letter with orders to mail it out.

That was merely the start of my planning. All in all, Kemala’s tour would take a month to start. She took over the project entirely, scheduling with every country and setting up the daily itinerary. She had spent years becoming good at doing such things, so I allowed her to work. In the meantime, I spent my last month in Valiant with my girls.

I tried to give attention to everyone. Hannah, and by extension her daughter, still tried to get me to impregnate her early, but I had made an agreement to do it when I got back, and I planned to stick with the plan. Talitha remained the entire month, planning to return with her children when I left for my trip. She wasn’t pleased that her kids would leave unpregnant, but I promised I’d visit Matahari too after the trip.

Talitha and Mom were surprisingly getting along better, and I had to satiate both women. I also had my sisters who became increasingly demanding, and that didn’t even touch upon Lyra, Cornelia, or the other girls who had grown used to my frequent company only to realize that I wasn’t going to be around for the first time in memory. There was a feeling of anxiousness permeating the air, but also a sense of excitement. A month passed by quickly, and soon, I was standing in front of an airship floating in the air.

“You ready?” Kemala asked as she directed some women to carry my bags.

“I’ve been waiting for this my whole life,” I responded, a subtle smile on my face.