"M...my skin... I feel so good"
The mother immediately embraced the baby, who seemed to be trying to resist 'without' hurting her.
The tribal wise woman beside them had gotten into a position of worship, muttering prayers.
The essential words that caught Sanguinius's attention were the mention of various titles of the deceased former Primarch.
'...Am I on Baal?! No, this could be one of the two moons.'
He still lacked too much information.
But that wasn't his priority concern.
Sanguinius had literally almost lost control of a simple spell like healing, when he was certain he had mastered this spell at maximum level.
'How?!... I just wanted to use my Holy Power for simple healing...'
Yes, at that moment, he thought he had lost his powers and lowered his guard while using them.
However, this couldn't explain such a brutal loss of control over such a basic spell.
After a moment of reflection, while drinking breast milk that had suddenly become delicious, he finally understood the immense danger of using his powers in this world.
Sanguinius no longer had mana, but he now had the Warp itself as an energy source.
Something he should only use in case of absolute necessity, since he possessed no real knowledge about managing it.
'A user of Warp energy or simply a psyker, is a danger without strict control.'
The voices and whispers he had perceived when using the spell, just before his slight loss of control... were those of the Ruinous Powers.
Demons.
A psyker is literally a potential portal between the Warp and the material world.
That's the secret of their power, a power that goes against the natural order of the physical world.
But... it's not without consequences.
They are all potential portals for Warp entities, who desire to invade the real world and devour souls.
This has led humanity to view psykers in an extremely negative light... A reaction that Sanguinius understood perfectly.
"It's not like the witches of Salem on 21st century Earth, who were victims of suspicion and superstition. A psyker left unsupervised won't just lose his soul for real... he can cause the loss of an entire planet."
Thus, he had to avoid using his magical or sacred powers as much as possible.
While he was thinking about all this...
The tent opening opened again, and a man accompanied by the elderly woman who had left earlier entered.
The man wore strange attire, but Sanguinius was able to understand the nature of the equipment at a glance.
'Radiation protection'
In inhospitable worlds like Baal or its two moons, it's common to observe such outfits.
But still, they're not all in perfect condition.
"So, this is the child?"
The man approached casually, but stopped when about to grab Sanguinius.
His gaze was no longer focused on the child, but on the mother.
Unlike people physically marked by radiation, she had no trace of this common curse on Baal Secundus.
"H...How?!" he said, holding the woman's wrist for a more precise examination.
The mother wanted to speak, but the wise woman recently kneeling in prayers spoke first.
"S...she healed herself, after childbirth"
She was lying and the mother knew it, but she affirmed her words.
Of course, the chief was skeptical.
But what could he do?
He leads a small tribe with a limited population, and the elderly woman is the only one with knowledge in this matter.
'Especially since we lack women'
On Baal and its moons, only the law of the strongest rules.
The chief had long understood that the strongest is the survivor, not the physically best.
Otherwise, his big brother would have remained chief.
'Despite everything, these two women are certainly lying to me...'
"This child is destined for a bright future, he seems to have received the blessing of the Winged Father," he said in a dignified tone.
He released the woman's grip, before finally catching Sanguinius in his arms.
"I, Kaelen Morda, commit to guiding him on a just path."
Translation: I'm adopting him.
The mother and the midwife immediately understood that they had been outmaneuvered by the cunning spirit of the tribal chief.
But that day, no one really knew the truth behind the blessed child announced to the tribe's elders by the Helix-Memorant woman.
...
"Your suggestion is inadmissible!!!"
After Sanguinius's departure, there was a meeting in the old abandoned castle outside Axel.
All participants in this meeting wore Inquisition masks from Ryu Han Bin's world, except for two people.
One was Sanguinius's clone, who had obtained the administrator title thanks to his quick and ingenious vision of things.
The other is the clone who brought the invaluable creation skill for the endless work in the proxy clone group.
"Come on, come on, my brother... the original is no longer here," declared the administrator with his 'bureaucrat' smile.
"We must give him ALL the necessary support, BUT continue to innovate."
The subject of the clone meeting was simple and dangerous.
Yes or no, should they give up using Trust?
'The original is gone, if we continue sending letters to Axel pretending to be him...'
The administrator had to reassure Sanguinius's women through letters, to avoid weakening the relationship built by the original.
After all, a simple letter is better than complete silence for an indefinite period, right?
Of course, this is an initiative not mentioned by the original.
He decided to do it because he deemed it necessary.
However, the idea ran into a problem.
Trust.
If the administrator pretends to be the original through letters... there could be consequences.
Using the skill related to manipulation is forbidden on the two women and close ones without the original's agreement.
So, this created this gathering.
Yes or no: should Trust be rejected?
On one side, the faction wanting to passively benefit from Trust's power.
And on the other, the administrator and his colleagues.
These desire to maintain the original's relationships as priority, and power second.
Neither party is wrong.
Because Sanguinius had technically given the clones carte blanche, especially those active in the Konosuba world.
A rebellion?
They are all him!
There's no chance of self-betrayal, and he kept the AI chip knowledge to himself.
He'll just end up absorbing if there's a weird phenomenon... but that's impossible.
The current scenario was born precisely for his good.
"I don't refute your words, but all the clones tasked with eliminating the Demon King's generals have been absorbed... our individual statistics are... dependent on Trust."
Yes, ordinary clones are as strong as over-trained athletes, or even more.
Thanks to Trust, their strength has remained above ordinary natives.
However, the original has always received the majority of Trust.
Why?
Because he's the one perceived by the peoples.
The others only have Trust from people who perceive them very often.
This continues until now.
'Despite the millions of numbers on our wrists, the original takes everything.'
Something that never bothered anyone... until today.
"So what? The world is at peace and our fortress is almost finished... we could even aim for the multiverse ourselves without the chat group."
For the administrator, Trust belongs to the original.
And them?
'Don't they want existence anymore? Don't they want to see "ourselves" at the top anymore?'
Unknown to the administrator, the clones opposed to his idea had tasted power.
Some of them are famous adventurers in other regions, and others even have other administrative identities.
They haven't sullied their original with their acts nor betrayed, because they've always fulfilled their role.
They just think they can continue on the path of individual power, to better help the original.
The opposite of the administrator, who advocates unity.
Two factions were created in just a few days of the original's absence.
Both want to help, but each wants to do it through a different approach.
Trust and the original's family were just the trigger, which laid bare the ideological differences born with the purpose of serving.
"You're not wrong... but, I propose a simple way to settle the situation."
Administrator frowned, because he had a bad feeling facing the clone's resolute expression.
"What do you suggest? Because you don't seem disposed to back down," declared Administrator without his bureaucratic smile.
A rare situation.
"The original... no, we've believed in the law of the strongest for a while, haven't we?"
No one answered, but the atmosphere in the meeting room was quickly saturated with mana.
"You're proposing a fratricidal battle?"
"No... that would weaken the original and that's against our final objective."
The two men stared at each other, before leaving their respective chairs.
There was no need for a speech or a more elaborate exchange of words.
He is him, and vice versa.
Everyone understood.
There will be a duel.
Only the hardest fist is right.
After all, they had seen the original's words to Archer.
The dead don't complain.
"I really hope I won't have to kill myself hehe." Despite his laughter, the administrator's eyes weren't laughing at his little joke.