Gacha Kingdom Building

But since that took so long, I assumed we wouldn't be able to find that woman's workshop today. There wasn't enough time remaining to do a thorough search.

Since things were like this I didn't protest Isabella's group decisions even when that meant going back to the line we had just abandoned.

There was nothing we could do since Edmond was very intent on visiting that workshop.

I knew I was going to be idle anyway and that the chances of meeting that woman in a popular workshop were quite low, so I started sending messages to the girls to look out for a tall woman with sharp eyes wearing a suit.

Some of them might've misinterpreted what I meant by this, but I made sure to tell them this wasn't a high priority... and that I wasn't chasing skirts.

As I expected, this lax attitude didn't provide us any leads, but we had plenty of time and opportunity in the next days so there was no need to interfere with the girls' fun.

Still, before the end of our first day in Rodky ended, there was one more matter to take care of.

Mia: "…It's been bothering me for a while, but… Those flames are… familiar. Right?"

Miwen: "Hm? What do you mean?"

Mia "You know exactly what I mean! Just look at that! It's obviously Claire!

What is happening over there?"

Frankly, I had no idea.

There was a black workshop with a ridiculous chimney near the center of the city.

For quite a while flames have been soaring to the sky from that chimney.

Their power is always impressive. They are visible from far away and it's even possible to feel a bit of their heat when we are at a reasonable distance.

However, that's not what's most interesting about them.

What caught my attention more than anything else was their behavior. Once they reach a certain height they disappear for a while and then explode in what looks pretty similar to massive fireworks in the sky.

The first time I saw that, I immediately associated it with Claire, but she only answered me with a "Don't worry, I'm having fun!".

And knowing her...

Mia: "…That only makes it more worrisome."

Pretty much.

Which is why I asked her reins for help.

Miwen: "I know. Licia went there and took a look for me."

Mia: "…And?"

Miwen: "She said Claire made a like-minded friend. And that she wants to stay the night today."

Mia: "…Oh. Great. We'll not have to look for that woman's workshop then. There won't be a single one remaining tomorrow."

I wish I could deny that, but the chances are unsettlingly above 0%.

Still, I wasn't too worried about it.

I know those two well enough. They were probably being crypt on purpose to keep me on my toes.

If anything, I was happy that she was having a fun day off since she's been working quite hard for a while now.

And also… Claire is not as gullible and trusting as Ellie and Lily.

It's actually quite hard to get one up over her, and even if one manages to, there's a high chance she'll break through anything using power alone.

And so, I decided to focus solely on the situation we found when we rejoined the queue.

Lily: "…Ah."

I wasn't sure whether or not I should blame Isabella's [Darkest Star] for this.

Seeing Lily being all uncomfortable and awkward due to the command I gave all the girls to pretend they didn't know us was just too lovely to call bad luck.

She was doing her best to do what I told her, but she'd steal glances at us and pay attention to the conversation from time to time.

It was too hard to resist... I started to approach her one step at a time.

For each step I took closer to her, she took one to get that away from me.

However, due to the nature of the line we were in, there was nowhere she could run to. She's quite awkward by nature, and not wanting to disturb the other people, she eventually tripped and fell to the ground.

Miwen: "Are you alright, lady?"

Lily: "Ah… Y-yeah… I… I'm fine… Sir…"

Mia: "One day you'll get what you deserve."

Miwen: "You're saying I can get more than this?"

I was pretty happy already, and Lily was one of the few girls I felt guilty after teasing, so I eventually helped her out.

I also told her she didn't have to pretend anymore.

Ordering everyone was a little excessive. I did it just to be sure but thinking back on it, there was no need for Lily to hide her identity.

Simply put, there's nothing worth hiding about her in the first place.

Lily is not a combatant. With her, what you see is what you get.

She was also pretty bad at covert operations. Her attempts at not drawing attention only made her more suspicious.

Edmond: "…And this is…?"

Miwen: "She's my… Minister of Agriculture."

Lily: "E-eh?"

Mia and Isabella both let out a chuckle since they knew the inner workings of the Kingdom.

Lily on the other hand seemed confused and concerned.

This was the first time that I had ever referred to her with such a title.

By all accounts, she's just a plain and simple farmer.

However, either due to the prince and the saint's dismissal of my words earlier or the desire to see her even more flustered, I decided to show off a little and make her and the Kingdom look more impressive.

It was also a fitting title for her. The others have been keeping a few plants and they often help her, but...

She's the Kingdom's farmer. Everyone else is just extra hands for her when it comes to farm business.

Playing with her while we waited in line was quite fun, and the time ended up passing way faster than I expected.

We headed inside the fanciest workshop yet, and since Lily was so interested in it, I already had a pretty decent idea of what was inside.

The main research of this place seemed to be... magic directed towards farming and tools.

There was a lot to look at, but the tools were definitely the most interesting to me.

As expected, they all seemed quite fancy, but also... fantastic.

Some of the tools had simple effects such as restricting or draining mana in an area to help with managing and improving soil quality.

But others had effects that I wasn't able to understand conceptually like improving the quality of cultivated items the moment they are taken from the ground through green magic.

Since Lily understands quite a lot about this and seemed very enthusiastic about the tools I wanted to assume they weren't a scam.

The workshop was also pretty close to the center of the city, but…

Just to be safe I decided to maintain just a little bit of skepticism to balance out Lily's gullibility.

As a side note, I also respected Edmond's decision to visit this shop.

I had an inkling Albert was the one who convinced him, but it was still nice to see a prince giving this type of thing the attention it deserves.

Workshop Owner: "Your skills and your level… as well as your mana… It's been a while since I've seen someone so promising."

Lily: "Eh? T-thanks… But uh… I'm just normal…hehe…"

…!

Workshop Owner: "Not at all! With your keen eyes and skillset, you'd make a magnificent assistant!"

Lily: "Ah… But I…"

Workshop Owner: "Please, consider it carefully, missy. It's a rare opportunity, and I can guarantee you'll learn a lot."

Yeah… No way in hell.

Miwen: "Lily, I'll pay you double to stay with us."

Lily: "E-eh? But you only gave me an allowance for today…"

...Shit.

I thought it was fine to just buy whatever the girls wanted since we hadn't yet established an economy in the Kingdom so I wasn't exactly paying them anything aside from our shared funds...

Miwen: "Oh, I know. Isabella will give you all her allowance then."

Isabella: "Excuse me?"

Miwen: "You never paid us for your lessons."

Albert: "...That's not true. We are paying you more than any servant."

…

For a moment I forgot that her brothers were here…

They closed my only way out, and all the while, Mia was having the time of her life seeing me struggle with the curse she placed on me without even using magic.

Lily: "Ehehe…"

Even Lily seemed to be joining in on the fun.

Still, this was a serious matter to me.

It's not possible to overstate how crucial Lily is for the Kingdom.

No matter the price, I'd be willing to do anything to convince her to stay with us.

Lily: "Well, I'm thankful but… I have to take care of Mimi and Lili and the others too, so… I'm sorry, I can't accept your offer."

…The cows… and the other animals…

They saved me.

I guess I shouldn't be concerned in the first place. Lily doesn't care for money or status.

She spends a lot of time playing with the animals and taking care of the fields.

Every morning she wakes up and takes care of them with a big smile. I'm pretty sure she's one of the happiest citizens in the Kingdom.

Workshop Owner: "I see… That's a shame, but… Here. I'm sure you'll be able to make good use of this."

He grabbed a few small eggs and a… well, a bigger egg. But the big one was clearly not organic.

Also… the big egg was one of the most expensive items in the already fancy workshop.

Lily: "N-no… I'm grateful but… This is too much… I can't accept it…."

Workshop Owner: "Don't worry. I've already given up on selling it. I'd rather give it to someone who'll make good use of it than have it rust on the shelves."

Lily: "Then… Thanks!"

Oh…

Maybe I was too quick to judge him.

Even his sinister grin seemed like a gentle smile now that it was next to Lily's.

Cassandra: "Are we not killing him…?"

Miwen: "It'll depend on what what those are. If they make Lily sad we'll cut his head off."

Just the thought of someone hurting her or the animals and plants she cares about makes me furious.

That innocent smile of hers is too radiant and sincere not to protect.

Workshop Owner: "Oh, how menacing~"

...This place... is filled with monsters.

I should really be more careful.

Workshop Owner: "No need to worry, young man. I stopped hurting others a long time ago. That egg is the result of a long research combining two opposing elements, fire and green magic. A girl like her will certainly draw out its true value."

...That's rich.

While the workshops here all have overpowered mages, I could at least see the level of all of them.

This guy was above 110... And while he seemed somewhat old... if I'm to believe he changed his mind about killing others, he sure must've taken his sweet time to come to that decision.

Miwen: "...I just hope for both of our sakes that it makes her happy. Forget about hurting her, if she gets even a little bit disappointed with the effects I'm coming for you."

Workshop Owner: "Oho~ Your eyes tell me I shouldn't take this lightly."

Miwen: "Not at all. Feel free to take it as a joke."

Makes my job easier.

Workshop Owner: "My instincts were telling me you're very caring toward others, but... I wonder if it's a good idea to give you this?"

A seed...?

Workshop Owner: "Hoho~ Quite a lively spirit you have there. It was the right choice after all."

MVLeMpYr-only

Before I could even take a proper look at it, Apollo ate the seed from the old man's hands.

Truth be told, I really didn't like this old man. He gave me the same vibe as the Merchant.

But it still felt like a waste to not even check what the seed was supposed to be.

Miwen: "Well, if he's giving it for free it must be worthless..."

Apollo: "...!"

Aw.

He seemed really angry... kept pecking me even after we left Rodky.

Apollo is usually pretty chill so this made me think that the seed was poisonous or something.