Amazon Apocalypse 5: Chapter 43

“You have uncovered a truly impressive artifact, my lord,” Mimiko said.

“No, it’s a fascinating enchantment! The artifact is of little relevance,” Reluna said. The two soon went back to glaring at one another.

“Thanks, ladies. Did either of you find anything interesting?” As soon as I spoke, I had both their attention again. They were both eager to show me what they’d found, and soon there were two piles of artifacts before me.

I poked through them both, careful not to show any undo surprise toward either of them. I knew that if I declared one or the other superior, their little competition would grow far more heated than it needed to be. Eventually, I’d need them to put things to rest, but for now, having the two of them both ready to give me a hundred and ten percent at all times was rather useful.

So I didn’t give either of them the satisfaction of winning. I placed a hand on either of their heads and congratulated them both.

“Nice job, girls. I’m sure everyone back in Crownhill will find these things rather useful. You two should sell them at the Obelisk. I imagine both of you could use some spending money.”

Neither seemed thrilled with that pronouncement, but I sure was. I’d already picked out what the best stuff was, and if they sold their findings on the Obelisk, I was sure to bid and win everything I was interested in.

We left the golem headquarters, and just like that, one of the biggest threats plaguing my mind for ages had been dealt with. There really wasn’t much to it, now that I was B-Grade. If I had tried this back when I was C-Grade, that would have been a grueling battle where I had to bring my entire army along for every stage of it, culminating in a final battle on the same scale as dealing with the Torchdragon.

But as the saying goes, power changes everything.

Once I was satisfied we’d taken everything worth taking from the underground facility, I left it behind for a future project. Thankfully, the Obelisk up front wasn’t as picky.

You have claimed this Obelisk! Would you like to add this Obelisk to your trade network?

I selected yes, and suddenly, we could buy and sell from it.

Mimiko and Reluna sold their things, much to my congratulations. I also bought all the old architect artifacts, though I was certain most were little more than trinkets and foodstuffs. Maybe it was junk, but that didn't mean it couldn't become my junk.

“Wow, ladies, so much of your stuff sold so fast! People knew a good thing when they see it, huh?” I chuckled.

“Ten thousand points! I’m rich!” Mimiko exclaimed.

Reluna tilted her nose in the air. “Modestly well off at most.”

Truthfully, I’d paid them each ten thousand points, so Reluna had earned the same as Mimiko. But I kept that to myself.

***

Sir Sandon was still warming Sir Trellis up to us, so I let that project sit on the sidelines for a bit longer.

I debated going off to wipe out the dragon hatchlings, but that would end this integration stage right away, leaving the survivors I’d just encountered in a tight spot. I’d hold off on that for at least a few days.

Most of those survivors would likely abandon their tree houses for apartments back in Crownhill. Those that didn’t would be forced out when monsters started showing up now that the golems were no longer patrolling the area.

I felt a bit bad about that. This was one of the few places after the integration where people could live without fighting. Defeating the golems meant that was no longer true. Perhaps I would have to get Governess operating these golem factories sooner rather than later. In the mean time, I’d send out a few quests to have people patrol this area for monsters. The tree house survivors would likely be very impressed with other survivors and the great power they wielded. The sight of adventurers from Crownhill might inspire them to pick up some more levels for themselves.

Those plans would call for a trip back to Crownhill, which was something I’d been planning, anyway. Thanks to the lady at my side, I had a few council meetings in store.

I glanced at Reluna, who was staring up at me with a bright smug smile and happy eyes, like she expected me to praise her at any moment.

“Alright, let’s save the dragon hatchlings for another day. I’m afraid it’s back to Shard King work for me. I understand you made a few policy changes in my absence, Reluna?” As I looked at her pointedly, her smile only seemed to grow wider.

“Indeed. The task was mighty, but I refined your realm in many ways using all my wit and skill. No doubt you were overcome with delight the moment you saw the improvements. I also made your home much cozier. I was at the top of my class for interior design, you know.” Reluna placed her hands on her hips with pride.

“I was overcome with something, no doubt...” I chuckled darkly, and Reluna cracked open the corner of her eye. She seemed a little worried for a moment, but her confident expression soon returned.

We returned to Crownhill, where I gathered the council and had them go over in detail each and every one of Reluna’s reforms.

“Well... first, Reluna had us all wear bright uniforms. She said they were important,” Frank shrugged.

“And you just let her?” I asked, glancing at Reluna, who wilted under my gaze.

Frank shrugged. “Sakura made us wear worse on team building day.”

“They were a bit silly, but we have a lot of tailors in the city and only so many people to buy clothes. I considered it an economic stimulus package,” Margaret said.

“I think all the bronze castings and fine metalwork looks good!” Reginald said, a little defensively. I took his opinion with a grain of salt, considering that he and his people did most of the smithwork in the city. He was naturally a big fan of all the Renaissance-esque decorations Reluna had commissioned.

“Okay, fine. I get with the new outfits, paints, and decorations. They do give Crownhill a bit of a bright undertone.”

“And magic street lights,” Reluna added.

“We already had street lights,” I replied.

“But now they’re magic!”

“Does that add anything?” I raised an eyebrow at Reluna.

“They would keep working for a few hours even when not connected to your conduits of electrical power?” Reluna suggested.

“You mean the power lines?”

“An ignoble name for a source of great power, but yes.”

I pinched my brows together. “Alright. I guess rigging the new lamppost to work of magic as well as electricity is pretty useful. It’s good backup in an emergency or if we run short of monster cores for the mana-to-electricity converters. Still, I want the lamps to produce normal colors. No more flashing purple strobe lights at night. Got it?”

Reluna nodded, but now she was looking more hopeful.

“Now, cobblestone streets? Whatever happened to the pavement?” I asked.

Margaret spoke up this time. “Besides the aesthetic appeal, cobblestones should wear better in the long run. The problem was always the labor of installing them, but your walking mannequins did it for free.”

“And the street signs? The banners?”

“Cultural imports from the Omikyr. Technologically, their culture was from the dark ages. A few are adjusting to our more modern conveniences, like coffee and vending machines. Likewise, some of our people have found they prefer giving their shop a more medieval look.” Margaret shrugged.

“Fine. People can do what they want. It’s just... I was surprised, is all. There’s only one thing I really had a problem with, and that’s the whole imperial thing. When I showed up here, everyone started calling me Emperor. I can let everything else slide, but I’m putting my foot down at being emperor. I may be Shard King as far as the System is concerned, but for my part all I want is a cozy manor and a valley to call my own. You guys can call me to help deal with an apocalyptic threat or if law and order starts breaking down, but I don’t want to be sitting on some throne day in and day out hearing petitioners.”

“We understand. It’s just tough. Those of us from Crownhill get your meaning well enough. Even most people from Earth. But we can’t think only of Earth. A large portion of the city came from Themyscira, where they know only queens, lords, and emperors. The same is true of the Omiky. Miss Reluna told us much of the broader universe, and democracies are foreign concepts. Just integrating the Omikyr has been troublesome enough. It’s far easier to simply tell outsiders you’re our emperor. It’s the only thing that’s easily understood. The problem is bad enough now, but it will only get worse as we meet more non-humans and form peaceful bonds of friendship with them.” Margaret held her hands up apologetically.

I pinched my forehead again. “Ugh. Alright. If you all think calling me emperor will help us solve more integrations peacefully instead of with slaughter, maybe it’s for the best. At least for a while. But I don’t want things getting weird. I like walking the streets without an entourage of guards or people begging for state reforms. Make it clear that day to day rule is done by an elected council.”

Frank held up a hand. “Does this mean you’re not building a Forbidden City up on that mountain of yours fit for an emperor?”

“What?”

“A big palace to store your ten thousand concubines. You know the type.”

“Ten thousand? No way, kill that.”

Next to me, Reluna pouted. “It would have been very regal. And roomy. Your castle was starting to get crowded.”

My mind returned to the enormous amount of furniture Bridget, Sakura, and Myrina had already looted while on the campaign. And all the stuff they would continue to loot while I was gone. Not to mention all the stuff up for grabs in that abandoned Architect city under my estate. Maybe I really did need the extra room.

“On second thought, keep the Forbidden City plans active. I’ll want to look them over though. Maybe we'll just downsize the plans a bit.”

“Huzzah!” Reluna cheered in excited delight.

***

“No-zzah...” Reluna moped a few minutes later in shoulder-slumping shame when we were back at my castle. I’d returned home with her and Reluna. While she’d successfully fended off my official protests, there were some unofficial ones I wanted cleared up.

“You moved my tools, Reluna! My sacred tools. I’ve had that barn for years and have things laid out exactly how I like them. Hell, most of those tools I inherited from my father and grandfather. You can’t just move a man’s tools around.”

As I pointed, gestured, and shook my head, Mimiko stood right behind me and repeated most of the gestures in tandem, as though she was just as disappointed in Reluna as I was.

Reluna wilted under my tirade. “But I labeled them for you...”

Her lips curled into a pout, and my stern expression rapidly melted. Maybe I was just too soft, but a cute expression shouldn’t melt my heart so easily.

I probably would have ignored it as mere acting if it wasn’t for my high charisma stat. But thanks to it, I could tell that Reluna felt genuinely remorseful and that she really had been trying to help in the best way she knew how.

Berating her too much felt a bit like bullying a confused puppy. I didn’t have the heart to do it any more than I already had.

“Yes, your labels are useful. I’m sure I’ll get used to them soon. And I saw you didn’t move around my most important stuff.”

“D-do you at least like the new decorations in the castle?” Reluna asked.

“I... suppose I do. They’re cozy. Just not what I was expecting.

“Huzzah!” Reluna said though she sniffled a little as she did so. “Then allow me to grant you the full tour.”

And so Reluna led me around the castle and my estate, pointing out all the changes she’d made, which were quite extensive.

I’d been a little annoyed at just how much she’d made herself at home here when she was a guest, but from the way she talked, she seemed to think of me and the other girls the entire time while doing her renovations.

“I raised your tower up to surpass mine. None should overshadow the lord of the land. That is tradition,” Reluna said wisely.

“If you say so. I don’t know what I’ll do with all the extra rooms, though.”

“Nonsense. Powerful wizards like you accumulate things. Even more so if they are adventurous wizards like you.

Perhaps Reluna was right. I had a lot of junk sitting in storage. If I unraveled all my extradimensional pocket spaces, I could probably fill a parking lot with all my junk.

I still planned to keep as much of my stuff as possible in the portable mystic realm I’d picked up during my adventures, assuming some A-Grade didn’t destroy it while searching for the pillar I’d disassembled and scattered across it. Hopefully, it was still there for me to pick up again when I returned to Ladwick. But for now, these rooms in this tower of mine might work decently.

Reluna’s tour took me through several new workshops, where most of my missing stuff had gone. The shelves were lined with my belongings, and the workspaces were crafted with much more thought and planning than I would have expected. Governess had built the workbench and shelves, but Reluna had clearly spent a while giving exacting instructions to make something that resembled the artificing workbench I’d gotten used to using in Mucaria.

“So....”

“I like them very much, Reluna. Thank you. What do you say we put these new workbenches to the test and put together some new talismans? Then maybe we’ll take a trip for loot and adventure. Sound exciting?”

“Huzzah!” Reluna yelled, this time full of cheer once more.

“I can’t believe she isn’t getting punished...” Mimiko grumbled, arms crossed.

"Indeed. Truthfully, I was half hoping for one." Reluna shrugged, and a bit of a flush covered her cheeks, though she covered it up quickly.

<Outline>

So, I spliced most of this chapter in later after I saw Reluna wasn't quite going over how I wanted. I might edit this section out if I end up making extensive changes to her previous scenes. For now though, this is the conversation I think people wanted to see. The original plan was to just skim over it in exposition and move on to the next major plot point. It would have been something like "I spoke with Reluna and the council about the recent changes and which ones they were going to be allowed to keep."