Following my unfortunate but totally justified killing of that adventurer, my party and I explained the situation to Melanie and Gerard with help from some of the adventurers in the guild hall. Gerard gave me a very severe lecture, which I politely sat through, but in the end the matter was settled without further incident.
Levi's group pulled us aside after that, and wanted to sit down and discuss a few things. First, Levi told me his whole backstory as a spy with the Empire. Most of it was expected after what I'd already heard earlier that night, but I was surprised to hear that he'd actually infiltrated the Elven Kingdom and made it all the way to Avalon. Apparently, empathy for the elves was no small motivator for him defecting.
They also had questions about how to get in touch with us – apparently we have a reputation for being absentee adventurers. They were curious about our living situation, especially Leo, but I declined to elaborate. I told them that we didn't live nearby, and that they wouldn't be able to send us messages. I promised to solve our communication issue soon, and we agreed to visit them at least once per week in the meantime.
After some discussion, we concluded that the soonest a hostile force from the Empire could reach Elmesia is after the planned elven nobles' meeting. So, I decided to take a several-day vacation back in the Elven Kingdom and spend it however my friends wanted.
With all the time-sensitive construction finishing, it was finally time for the wolf-kin laborers to return to their own village. As her vacation request, Zara asked me to teleport them home and spend an afternoon being hosted in their village. So, I finally made good on my promise to the wolf-kin, and we celebrated their children's safe return from the slavers with some festivities.
Despite my protests, all Alto wanted to do was spend the time together doing magic research. Remembering how serious she'd seemed about getting stronger, and knowing how much she loves learning magic, I relented. She'd already learned the basics of shaping magic into forms that react with matter, so it was straightforward to teach her magic sense, forcefields, and silencing spells.
I convinced Alto that a game of hide-and-seek in the woods with Zara and me would be great practice for magic sense and silencing spells. To say that they got competitive....well, it feels like that's making light of it. Still, that's a story for another time.
During the daytime at least, Nina wanted to spend our vacation together at the rec center playing every variety of game. That is, until she got bored and solicited me to help Percivil finish a new type of large game table. I decided that air hockey would be the easiest to accommodate on short notice.
I worked with Percivil to build the tables to my specifications using wood, and I alchemized a glass covering over the actual game surface. For the players' mallets, we also constructed those out of wood but gave them fine cloth linings on the bottom. For simplicity, the pucks are where all the magic happens…literally.
I had Percivil make dense wood pucks with one flat face and one slightly concave face. Then, I alchemized a small part of the puck cores into copper, and I imbued them with an enchantment that creates an extremely thin forcefield on the flat side of the puck. This gives the pucks the frictionless effect needed for air hockey. Naturally, this design makes calling it air hockey a misnomer, but I'm stuck in my Earthling ways.
I made the enchantment such that the forcefield size and strength are fixed, and additional magic just 'charges' the puck's spell to continue for a while without continuous magic investment. Keeping the enchantments limited to the pucks makes it easy to store them behind the game counter for safekeeping, and have patrons check them out like with the pool balls.
I didn't think any game would excite Nina more than pool, but...she was absolutely crazed over the air hockey tables after they were installed in the rec center. She's already competitive by nature, and I think the fast-paced play style of air hockey versus pool just brought that out even more.
She began challenging random elves in the rec center, to the point that it became kind of uncomfortable. So, I spoke to Alara and proposed an air hockey tournament with a series of bracketed matches. Alara was supportive, and even suggested adding prizes for the top-placing contestants.
The final matches of the tournament drew large crowds, and it ended up being such a huge success that Alara declared the tournament was going to be a regular thing. Nina was thrilled, and immediately suggested holding pool tournaments as well. Alara agreed, and now there will be alternating weekly tournaments of pool and air hockey at the rec center.
During Ilina's nightly sleepover after my meeting with the Elmesia council, she learned about my vacation plans. When I asked her how she wanted to spend the time together, she was quick to suggest a private hot spring visit. Since I felt like that wasn't reasonable to request in Eden, we settled on finding one in Gelrod's Pass. We ended up doing some shopping alone in Avalon first and making a whole evening of it.
On the final day of my vacation, I was at a loss for how to spend it. Since I was going to build a train to there soon and publicize it, Nina suggested making use of the beach she found while it was still private. Any reservations I had about the idea quickly disappeared when Nina mentioned wearing one of the bikinis she'd seen around Eden's hot springs.
So, I extended the invitation for a beach party to all my non-human friends, and the guest list ended up being surprisingly long. My party, Ilina, Klaus, Alara, Cara, Percivil, and even Queen Elira and King Dargo decided to come. I asked if elven royals could attend such a time-consuming and remote gathering, but Elira just glared at me and made a sarcastic remark about being owed a vacation for 'dealing with certain people'.
Thus, my vacation ended with a memorable celebration, surrounded by the people I've grown closest to since coming to this world. Now, though, it's time to get back to work.
Currently, it's the morning after our beach bonanza, and I'm sitting in the mansion's family room with Alto, Zara, and Alara – Nina is already at the rec center, and Cara got dragged along somehow. The nobles meeting is in two days, and before then I have two train systems to build and a special side project to start.
"So, first order of business…Zara. Now that I've given you a few days to think, what would you like for your second spell ring?" (Mizuki)
Zara nods eagerly.
"If it's possible, I want that strange fireball spell of yours." (Zara)
That makes sense…it's pretty much the only ranged offensive spell I can give her without creating a new high-energy radiation-based spell. I'm...terrified of that being used, so I haven't told anyone explicitly that it's possible.
I nod at Zara with a smile.
"Sure, that should be fine. Let's meet after this and we'll sort it out." (Mizuki)
"Thank you, Mizuki. I'm looking forward to it." (Zara)
Zara remains outwardly calm, but there's the hint of barely contained fervor in her eyes.
I nod at her approvingly, then I turn to Alara. She gives me a surprised look and watches me expectantly. It's time to make her day. But quickly…I have my own plans that I'm excited about.
"So, Alara…second order of business. The wolf-kin have returned home, and I'm sure Zara can't continue being your full-time bodyguard indefinitely. Have you given any thought to replacing her?" (Mizuki)
Alara sighs deeply.
"Well, as I'm sure you're aware, Zara isn't actually replaceable. She's already a strong physical enhancer, but with her sword skills, her lightning weapon, and your spell rings, she's probably stronger than any elf except Ilina and Alto. In addition, I couldn't trust anyone else as much in these private meetings." (Alara)
She makes some good points. Ones I've already thought of, so I have a good solution.
Alara looks a little frustrated. I give her a mischievous grin in response, and she narrows her eyes at me nervously.
"Yeah, you're in a tough spot. So, how about I give you two spell rings? One for being so reliable these past few weeks, and another to replace the protection from Zara you'll eventually lose." (Mizuki)
Alto and Zara roll their eyes in amusement at my dramatic reveal, but Alara jumps up in surprise.
"Mizuki, honestly!? This isn't another one of your cruel jokes, right!?" (Alara)
"Fufufu…no, I'm completely serious, I promise. As far as I'm concerned, you've earned it. So, what two spells do you want?" (Mizuki)
A giddy smile appears on Alara's face.
"I have given this much thought! I would like the physical enhancement that you gave Ilina, and the invisibility that you've given the others." (Alara)
That will definitely keep her safe, but…what a predictable skill choice. I sigh in amusement, then nod at Alara.
"Consider it done. You can join Zara and I later to collect them. Now then, regarding the new train systems…do you know where on the coast you'd like the western train system to end? I'm assuming you'll want it to be relatively close to that beach and have suitable land for a port city." (Mizuki)
Alara turns serious and nods.
"Yes, about a half hour walk south of the beach we visited, there's a sandy embankment that I think would serve as good foundation for a port. If you could end the railway near it, so that there can be an Eden-sized city between the train station and port, that would be wonderful." (Alara)
Straight to the point…that's fine with me. I nod my acknowledgement.
"Sure thing. I'll make that train system tonight, under the cover of darkness. Tomorrow I'll visit Wellick, Cara's capital city, and plan out the northern train system. So, is there anything else we need to discuss?" (Mizuki)
I look around at everyone's faces, and nobody says anything. Noticing this, Alara grins widely.
"No, it seems not. So…how about those spell rings?" (Alara)
I shake my head in exasperation, but I'm hiding an amused smile under it. I can't pretend that Alara isn't growing on me. Sometimes, I can almost forget that she tried to kill me…life's a funny thing.