Chapter 164: But the only way to get one will likely be to stealthily abduct it

The body double was super helpful.

Thanks to it, I could do various things in faraway places, all while remaining in the village.

Sure, we had roads that allowed us to travel quickly, but given the size of the whole village at the moment, it was still troublesome to go from place to place.

However, if I stationed a body double at various key points beforehand, I would be able to go there instantly whenever necessary.

Ideally though, I wanted the doubles to become able to decide and act on their own, without any help from me at all.

To that end, they must first experience and learn all sorts of things. Fortunately, the knowledge that each double has acquired was shared to the others, speeding up the whole process.

The result––

“Huh? How is the village chief here? I swear I saw him walking in the other direction just a while ago…”

“Say, isn’t the village chief acting a little strange today? Like, his responses are, how do I say it, awkward, I guess…”

“Actually, you know what, I feel like I’ve been seeing an awful lot of the chief lately…it’s almost like there’s many of him…oh, what am I saying, there’s no way that’s the case…”

“Hey, I just saw something! There were two of the chief! Their face, their physique, everything, it all looked the same! Does the chief have a twin!?”

––the villagers were confused.

I guess I should have warned them about it beforehand, huh.

And when I did tell them about the doubles, their responses were ‘I see’, ‘So, it’s like that, huh’, and ‘just what you’d expect from the village chief’ as though they understood things right away.

Shouldn’t you, I don’t know, be more surprised?

“The chief multiplying is amazing, but it’s not something that’ll surprise me anymore.”

“I mean, if we get surprised by this, we’d get surprised at every little thing you do.”

“Will everybody…will every home get their own Luke-sama now?”

They pretty much told me they developed a tolerance for surprises.

And then, as though brushing it all aside, some expressed to want their own double of me. I had no idea what they would use it for though…

“*(A copy  of Luke-sama!? I-I want one…! But the only way to get one will likely be to stealthily abduct it…haa, haa…)*”

For some reason, Millia was breathing hard.

I didn’t know what it was about, but I felt like it would be better if the body doubles kept their distance from her.

Afterwards, I once again stationed the doubles and let them act independently.

Much like before, I had instructed them to contact me if the villagers requested something from them or if they just had any concerns. Apparently, my doubles and I could communicate over long distances through a telepathic link of sorts that was not unlike Satin’s.

Also, I could easily locate the doubles anytime on my map since they were represented by a star.

“If you have trouble in making a decision, feel free to ask me, ok?”

“““Understood.”””

<<I did say to contact me if you’re having a problem on a decision, but…>>

A double had contacted me.

<<Anyway, what’s it about?>>

<<I don’t know whether to accept or decline the request asked of me by some women of the village.>>

<<I’m gonna need you to be more specific. Actually, it might be better to hear about it myself. I’m transferring my consciousness to you right now.>>

I transferred my consciousness over to the double and soon realized what a mistake that was.

I should have looked where on the map the double was beforehand…

“…eh?”

What I saw upon assuming control was a warm, steamy room. The visibility in there wasn’t great. And yet, I still could still see many naked bodies.

Yes, it could only be that place: a public bathhouse. Worse yet, the double wasn’t in the men’s section. Rather––

“Village chief, let me wash your back.”

“No, let me do it.”

“Hey, you two, don’t go stealing a march on me. I’ll be the one to wash the chief’s back.”

The ones talking in front of me were some of the adult women in the village. Although I could only see the half of their bodies that wasn’t submerged in the water, I could tell that they were totally naked.

“!?”

What am I(the double) doing here? And why am I (the double) also naked and in the water!?

<<I didn’t know which one of them I should allow to wash my back. Or is it better to not choose anyone?>>

<<That’s not the problem! In the first place, why did you enter the women’s bath!?>>

<<Huh? But they said it’s alright for the village chief to enter the women’s bath…>>

It’s not alright!

“Well, we’re all here, so why don’t we all wash his back?”

“That’s an excellent idea.”

“Oh, huh? Village chief…?”

As soon as I could, I got out of the bath and escaped.

“Aw!”

“Ohh, what a cute bottom he has!”

“Please wait a moment, chief!”

No, I won’t!

I then built an underground tunnel and exited the women’s bath through that.

Evidently, the body doubles still had a lot learn…