In the following days, developments happened quickly. Occasionally, one of the wolf-kin would not like receiving orders from an elf, and there'd be drama, but Zara's presence remedied their attitude very quickly.
Surprisingly, most of the remaining wolf-kin no longer complain about their new skills being useless – they are as prideful about their work as they are about their strength.
With the massive elf and wolf-kin labor force, construction of the neighborhood in the southeast housing quadrant is almost complete now. It would have been finished already, but Alara and I asked them to divert some labor to constructing the rec center and building Kara's and Cera's new house. Both of those projects just completed, however, so the neighborhood will be finished soon.
A couple of days ago, Alara came sheepishly asking for more money for all the work, so I just gave her the whole spare box of platinum coins I'd made and told her to 'go nuts'. She's been in much better spirits since.
The opening day workers were just contracted for a few days. However, since we've offered above-rate pay for all the jobs, and they saw how successful Eden was, almost all of them quickly asked to become full-time employees.
Several of them even wanted houses in the neighborhood, and Alara offered to let them move in immediately and pay with interest-free installments from their jobs. Now they basically worship her as a boss.
When Nina returned home the night of the opening, she brought enough orc tusks to make ten sets of pool balls. Since, Percivil has managed to make the matching pool tables, ball sets, racks, and numerous sticks. For the tables, he ended up using a very fine, thin black leather as the felt, and some nice rope for basic table pockets. The table itself is a solid wood, and the balls had to be hand-painted.
While the tables were being completed, I got to work on writing up the rules, and I made sure to include that magic use was forbidden – I plan to make that a standard rule for all these games. For pool, I wrote rules for two-person 8-ball and 9-ball, and three-person cutthroat.
After that, all the pool tables, equipment, and rules sheets were moved into a dedicated room at the rec center, and we opened it to the public. We decided to charge five copper per table per hour and keep the balls behind the service counter otherwise. Fees were tracked with a series of numbered tokens and hourglasses.
Percivil also completed a collection of reversi boards, which I again wrote rules for and were moved into a dedicated room in the rec center. We're keeping all souvenir item games in that room, with demo versions near the corresponding service counter.
After pool and reversi, Percivil moved on to checkers and ski ball. He claimed that he'd be able to replicate ski ball with nothing but wood crafting and stone ball synthesis from Nina, and that checkerboard preparations wouldn't take long either.
Sure enough, just yesterday, checkerboards were added alongside reversi in the souvenir game room, and about six ski ball tables were set up in the rec centers largest room, where we plan to add foosball and air hockey tables later.
Nina absolutely loves the rec center, and she has spent all her free time there outside of helping Percivil with the games' construction – she seems to like pool the most so far. Everyone else seems to love the rec center, too, because Eden has been a constant flux of people since it was completed.
Two completely full trains per day are still dropping off visitors, and the inn is almost at capacity. Alara had Kara start posting the number of inn vacancies on the train when she picks people up from Avalon, which I thought was wise.
The were some new employees hired as well recently. Percivil requested several elven craftsmen to help with cranking out replicate versions of the board games, so he could focus on developing the more exclusive items. The inn needed more staff as the visitors there grew, and its kitchen needed another chef.
Importantly, one of Kara's waitressing friends visited Eden and loved it. Kara was quick to alert us of her interest in living and working here, and the friend, Serina, became Cera's new caretaker for ten times the daily pay of her old waitressing job.
Alara generously promised Serina that she would be given another good job when Cera was grown, if she wanted it. Alara also allowed her to do a payment plan on one of the neighborhood houses to expedite her move. Everyone seems happy with the arrangement.
Since we'd been relying heavily on Kara for train operations, Alara has been sending Nina and I candidates regularly to interview. Thankfully, we found an older 50s-looking elven man, Uril, who Nina and I both approved of. He is more interested in getting to chat with people and operate the train than the actual pay, which is kind of wholesome. He and Kara now split the operation times for the train.
Finally, several of the invited guests have purchased land in Eden for their businesses. Ulta and Kudra, as well as several other guests I didn't speak with, bought street-side property. Kudra also bought lakeside land and commissioned a house to be built there.
Toki and Koda, the father-son farming pair, ended up buying large stretches of land near the railway to begin farming. Also, another guest that is apparently a rancher did the same to raise cattle.
With the influx of agriculture and livestock to Eden's economy, I added five cargo-only railcars to the end of the train under the cover of night, so that transportation of goods could proceed unimpeded.
One of the other guests from Alara's invites is apparently a big-time merchant. He negotiated with her to rent exclusive use of one of those cargo railcars for shipping his goods into Eden. He also purchased a street-side lot, and he plans to build a general store here.
On a personal note, Cara's presence in the city has been much appreciated, and we've grown closer during her time here. With Nina so preoccupied by the game developments in Eden, Cara and I have spent more time together than I was expecting. She's been very helpful with suggestions around Eden, based on her own experience running a territory, and I'm starting to feel a decent amount of trust towards her.
With the city development passing time so quickly, I hadn't noticed that my 'summons' to the Ralzen Empire by Emperor Belmod was approaching. From what I can tell in the letter, I'm supposed to arrive there tomorrow.
It's not clear if my full party must come, just Nina and me, or just me. However, the letter does use plural verbiage, and refers to 'my party', so I'm guessing all of us are permitted if not desired.
I'm currently sitting in the mansion conference room with the core members of my party. I asked Cara to give me time with them alone, and everyone else was already busy. I've just finished updating them on my trip to the guild several days ago and everything I learned while there.
Alto is intently reading through the stack of mail I gave her. Nina was pouting that she didn't get any, but she cheered up once I told her that hers filled an entire room.
"Fufufu…so, this human emperor claimed you as his subject and demanded that your party appear at his summons tomorrow. That is foolish, even by wolf-kin standards." (Zara)
Nina nods in amusement.
"Agreed, Zara…just as foolish as his ancestors, it seems." (Nina)
Alto looks up from her mail towards me with a serious expression.
"So, Mizuki, what do you intend to do about this summons?" (Alto)
Fair question…the letter sounds antagonistic and heavy handed, so I feel like appearing for the summons might result in an incident. On the other hand, not going will undoubtedly put us, and especially me, on the Empire's shit list.
I guess, so long as everyone in my party keeps their cool, the emperor is unlikely to be immediately hostile towards an S-rank party. I think going is worth the risk.
"I think I should go. This country's illegal slave trade was disrupted in a flashy way when I rescued you and Zara, then our S-rank party was endorsed by the Elven Kingdom. Now that we've gotten an angry letter from this emperor demanding our presence, I doubt they're unrelated. I want more information about how complicit the Ralzen Empire's leadership may be in the allegedly illegal slave trade. My only concern is whether to bring you and Zara." (Mizuki)
Alto looks up from her mail in surprise.
"The Ralzen Empire would love nothing more than to have the elves and our kingdom for themselves. If not for Gelrod's Pass, I imagine we'd already have faced an invasion attempt. We may have better magic, but their sheer numbers are dangerous. More importantly, I'd like slavery to end one day, and the Empire is the root of it. So, I'm going Mizuki, and it's not up for discussion – this is exactly why I joined you." (Alto)
Before I can comment on Alto's ludicrous disregard for her own safety, Zara joins the party.
"I would also like to join you, Mizuki. They freely kill, capture, and enslave my people, including our children. They treat us like pets or livestock they're entitled to. If this journey of yours may help change that even a little, do not force me to wait here. I will talk with Lady Alara about my leave of absence." (Zara)
Jeez…not both of them. I sigh deeply, then look between them in exasperation.
"Do you two really have no regard for your own safety? You just told me how hostile this place will be to you." (Mizuki)
To my surprise, Alto and Zara give me puzzled looks, then glance at one another and start laughing.
"Our safety? You're joking, right?" (Alto)
"Fufufu…Mizuki, I don't understand joking at such a serious time." (Zara)
What the hell are they on about now!? Even Nina joins in.
"Fufufu…now ladies, you know Mizuki worries about his friends." (Nina)
That was…surprisingly nice of Nina. Alto shakes her head in exasperation.
"Mizuki…not once since we became friends have I experienced fear for my safety in your presence. All I worry about is how you're treated and whether your secrets will be exposed if you're forced to protect me or others. I know that if someone tried to harm us, the only graves dug would be their own." (Alto)
"Fufufu…anyone who opposes you is foolish, Mizuki. My safety is a non-issue." (Zara)
They really shouldn't put that much faith in me. Sure, I'm strong, but I'm not a god. If I make a mistake and they're killed…that's it. I can't bring back the dead or rewind time.
I give them a very serious glare.
"Listen to me, both of you. I'll bring you with me, because you made your reasons clear and it's not my right to deprive you of those ideals. However, never assume that you're untouchable with me. I'm not all-powerful or all-knowing, and I can make mistakes. So, never let your guard down…please." (Mizuki)
Alto and Zara give me surprised looks, but they nod their agreement. Good, that's one concern addressed, at least. I sigh deeply, then smile at them all.
"Well then, I guess we're going to see Emperor Belmod tomorrow." (Mizuki)