The new Madam was a rather mysterious woman.
The reason for describing her as "rather mysterious"—a phrase as odd as "relatively healthy"—was, of course, because of her origin.
For Al, as long as he was willing to pay a sufficient price, his mother—the "Supreme Eagle," the "All-Knowing Mother," the "Only One," the "Holy Trinity"—would give him the answer if She were willing.
Of course, that "willingness" depended entirely on fate.
The explanation Al received was this:
Some secrets, once known or revealed prematurely, would create immeasurable variables in the future, shattering the world's current trajectory that the All-Knowing One held. This would cause Her to lose ground against Tzeentch in their struggle over the infinite possibilities of fate and the Trinity.
Hearing such a serious reason involving the Goddesses themselves and the river of time across past, present, and future, Al naturally had nothing left to say.
Even now, he could not fully grasp the exact situation between the "Four Mothers" and the "Four Gods"—those eight Chaos Powers.
His only understanding came from what the Four Mothers had told him at the very beginning:
They had split from, or were born out of, the old Four Gods before the End Times. They represented the same four emotional directions but were relatively gentler, controllable, positive, and aligned with the side of Order.
If they won this cycle of the End Times, they could completely break away from the old Four Gods, start their own household, and become an independent system. The Four Gods would become the Eight, Chaos would enter an era of grand confrontation, and the mortal worlds teetering under corruption could finally pop the champagne... at least, the world Al was in could.
Al knew well that these stories were half-truths—or perhaps entirely true—but there were still massive, crucial truths he was forbidden from knowing.
However, while Al was ambitious, he knew to act within his means. Currently, his relationship with the Four Mothers was a triple bond of Agent, Partner, and Thigh-Hugger.
The heaviest weight among those, of course, was the "hugging the Goddess's beautiful legs" attribute.
Therefore, he would not attempt to peer into the secrets behind the great upheaval that would overturn countless worlds when his own strength was still far from sufficient; that would be seeking death.
He maintained his stance to the Four Mothers: he would rather emulate the Iron Reaver and end his own life—terminating the Gods' manipulation of his destiny—than be a puppet on a string. Yet, this didn't conflict with hugging their legs, playing the filial son, and ruling the tribe as the "Everchosen and Shared Son of the Four Mothers."
After all, Sigmar hadn't sent him a hundred Battle Sister big-sisters, titled him a Prince of the Empire, granted him imperial rites, or ceded half the nation's land to him as a fiefdom while appointing him Generalissimo of all military forces.
Moreover, his arrival in this world was inextricably linked to the Four Mothers. Al had been tied to the ship and forced to be its captain. If he wanted to jump ship, he had to be prepared for the fate the Four Mothers threatened him with—the end a "fake" Everchosen pushed forward by four rebels would face if he lost.
Of course, seeking answers didn't always result in catastrophe. In cases where the specifics were unknown to Al, the All-Knowing Mother determined which secrets could be revealed.
Al tried to ask his "cheap" Mother Goddess about Sigmar's current state. The All-Knowing Mom told him that if he developed nine hundred spellcaster followers and ninety thousand mortal believers, and retrieved a certain Elven artifact that sank with the Great Vortex of old Ulthuan and remained buried in the undersea ruins, She would reveal Sigmar's status.
Al could only walk into the store, rub his hands, take a casual glance, fall in love with it, move closer, take a non-committal look at the price tag, and then turn and leave.
That had a price; it was something he could work toward.
But when Al asked about the new Madam's secret, the Goddess flatly told him that he didn't need to pursue it; the secret would come to him naturally.
If Al proactively destroyed this destiny, it would lead to unpredictable consequences for his conquest of Estalia.
This spooked Al so much that when he sent people to investigate the new Madam's background, he repeatedly warned them not to look too closely, which left his subordinates utterly confused.
Wasn't a more thorough investigation always better? For the Everchosen, it was the opposite.
Even then, Al only dared to do this after harassing the All-Knowing Mom to confirm it fell within the normal range and wouldn't damage the so-called "established causality."
After all, if he ignored it, his heart would itch and he'd fear a backstab; but if he checked, what if he actually found something?
He could only go through the motions for psychological comfort. Just like now, as the new Madam knelt before the boy's knees, working hard with her red lips and fragrant tongue to serve the boy's spear, Al didn't worry about her suddenly trying to pull a "Western Xia Queen" move. [Legend says the Queen bit off Genghis Khan's genitals, leading to his death.]
With one hand pressed atop the new Madam's head, amidst her thick, glossy black hair, Al tilted his head back. His throat opened slightly as he stared at the palace dome, his hips thrusting forward.
"Nngh..."
A white, turbid stream erupted into the back of her throat.
The Madam was choked, coughing uncontrollably. Because her mouth was obstructed by the member, she looked quite distressed. Al hastily withdrew his spear and stood behind her, lightly patting her back.
"Ne-next time, I'll tell you in advance..."
Al felt guilty and apologized sheepishly.
The new Madam coughed for a while, covering her mouth. After serving the boy with towels and blankets, she departed.
Al relaxed for a bit, then picked up his paperwork, simply lying on his throne while several maids stood by his side.
"Dammit! I need more talented people!"
After reviewing government affairs and various conflict cases for a while, Al grew irritable. This was after Misha had already processed and filtered them; the difficulty was already simplified compared to what was initially sent.
A population of over two hundred thousand was not small. Furthermore, after their recuperation, they would need to expand and contest the nation. Doing so without a proper system of laws and records was incredibly difficult.
Compared to a game where a click of a finger puts technology on track, starts the construction of civil and military buildings, and spawns elite troops in two turns, Al realized in reality how annoying these matters were.
Many things couldn't be accomplished just by issuing an order, having it passed down through layers, and receiving feedback.
The Beastmen were loyal enough. Thus far, bolstered by faith and having not yet faced the "temptation of the city," they could manage to be "upright and law-abiding" compared to human bureaucrats. However, the number of Beastmen capable of such tasks was tiny. Al even had to pull his scions out of the military camps and stuff them into various regions to learn and handle administration.
After all, with no war to fight, keeping these "superhuman" Sons of Al in the barracks was a waste of their lifespans, which were ticking away...
Thinking of this, Al suddenly had an idea.
The hardest part of the administrative system and national structure wasn't creating it, but the fact that even if the system were perfect, the tribe lacked enough manpower to implement it.
If possible, could he modify his fast-growth scions slightly? Remove the combat requirements and replace them with longer lifespans or administrative talents?
He immediately went to find the Four Mothers.
Three of the Goddesses ignored him. Only the Loving Mother patted Al's head, approving of his victory over the enemy vanguard and the indirect elimination of the destruction fifty thousand Greenskins would have caused.
However, Lileath suddenly appeared. With a smile in her eyes, she mentioned to the boy:
The Goddess had a reserve of talent within the church in Bretonnia, and... among the Elves of Ulthuan who worshipped the Moon Maiden and Ladrielle, there were those willing to follow the divine will, leave their comfort zones, and make a name for themselves in the outside world.
As long as Al nodded, he could instantly have a group of high-quality talents with proven faith, ability, and loyalty...
She looked exactly like a predatory older sister tempting a little boy with a 3060 or 4090 graphics card.
Al could not deny that he was tempted.
His strategy for the faith of the Four Mothers was one of balanced development and simultaneous advancement. He didn't favor one side or allow one to become too powerful, as this best maintained unity among the four camps that were naturally prone to hostility, nipping any signs of division or enmity in the bud.
At the same time, to prevent everyone from fully converting to Chaos and becoming a fanatical, xenophobic crusading army, he had even preserved the faith of the All-Father in the cracks of his society as a tiny, transparent minority.
If he introduced Lileath's influence... it wouldn't matter. The Four Mothers were quite tolerant of other gods.
Aside from their genocidal attitude toward Myrmidia, they showed no signs of hostility toward the worship of the All-Father, Sigmar, or Manann. To Al, the Four Mothers' malice toward Lileath was more akin to the annoyance of someone trying to hitch a ride and take a slice of their future cake.