Author Notes:
So, as many of you would have no doubt read the announcement this point, Mom and I are in the middle of the moving house scramble, right now. It's why the release of this new OBOM chapter got delayed for so long. As a matter of fact, I don't even think I can release new chapters for RM and GSS at a reasonable rate in the short future, there's just so many things I have to account for all of a sudden, and that's with me already having a do-or-die mentality even before the eviction notice came in.
For those of you who didn't remember, I did mention how July is gonna be a month of pain for me. I think I giving myself a prophecy, huh?
That said, there's a silver lining after all. I am hereby offering thank yous on behalf of my Mom to Private ChaosOmega98 and Private Jeff James. These two are my newest Patrons and they, alongside other compassionate readers and friends, have supported or are on their ways to support Mom and I in our most unstable time.
Again, I give my most sincere gratitude to all of you.
As for those who are will to pitch in to help us both despite my inability to repay you all fully, you can visit either my Patreon or Paypal to make your donations. I also have a Discord server if you have things to ask me there. Any amount of contribution will be most cherished.
https://www.patreon.com/Heartbreak117
https://www.paypal.com/paypalme/Heartbreak117
https://discord.gg/cVZxJ29ruh
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I put the Rover to a full stop, making sure to apply the handbrake so the Rover won't slip down the gentle curve of the hill. Leaning on the backrest, I sigh gently, turning to look at the patch in the side of the hill that Aurea and I spent so much time making into our home on Eden island. Even from my position in the driver's cabin, I can see the perimeter wall and barricades I painstakingly built being encroached by the vines I planted before my departure northward.
"That's a nice plot you have there." Sapientia suddenly peeks over my shoulder from one of the co-driver's seats, looking at the home Aurea and I haven't gone back in a while with a degree of appreciation... Don't ask how I can infer that from those unfocused eyes of hers.
"Yeah," I nod with my lips quirking upward slightly. "It's cool. It's cozy. Near a river, if you need a dip. There's also a kitchen... All things considered, Aurea and I will miss this little place we built."
In my head, I can hear Aurea speak up. [Indeed, Umbra, there ain't much to it, but it's still the home that sheltered us.]
Sapientia hums knowingly before suggesting. "In that case, do you mind if I rent this out of your hand? With a bit of gardening work, I imagine this abode will make for a fine weekend retreat."
"Now, ain't that a surprising offer?" I give Sapientia a side glance. "I thought you would revert any change we made to the terrain or something."
Sapientia shrugs. "If anyone comes knocking, I can just say that this place was my doing to host Mother Arcadia, and that we have decided to clean up the wreckage at last. No one will know your existence."
"Alright, I'll bite." I nod before continuing. "Well, if you really are serious about that renting part then..."
I turn to Reizen, who is occupying the last co-driver seat. "Say, wanna check out our first home?"
Reizen replies instantly.
"Yes. I would like to see the life Aurea, and you have prior to meeting, Umbra."
I giggle, replying as I unlock the door. "Well, it ain't much, but it's honest living. Come on out, and let me show you what we did to the place."
I step off the Rover, and with Reizen and Sapientia in tow, I move toward the outermost perimeter wall of the alcove home. I start introducing the place, even though Sapientia should already know everything about it, given her insinuation that she has been watching me for a while.
"What you see is a deep alcove in the side of the hill. The alcove didn't seem to form naturally, so I hazarded a guess that it was formed by something, a munition of sorts, striking the hill to form it. Reizen's existence lends some credence to the hypothesis..." I start saying as I search for the entrance to our home, now covered with lush bushes and vines.
With a nostalgic expression, I give Reizen and Sapientia a tour of the alcove, with Aurea chiming in some tidbits here and there that I relay to the two. I show them the stove I dug, the spot where I pitched a tent in the first few days, where I hung the lamp for illumination, and the work that went into making the naturally camouflaged, multi-layered walls and barricades in case of a dangerous predator afoot.
I can swear that I hear the Alpha sneezing right outside, by the Rover. But yeah, time flies in my explanation and in my retelling of the experiences Aurea and I have had, how we met Alpha, and so on. When the sun starts going down, Sapientia suggests that she and Reizen should live a night just like Aurea, and I did in the alcove home. The Ember Goddess cites the reason that she needs to have a feel of the place she is supposed to rent out before signing whatever contract there is. Reizen seems quite keen on the suggestion, so do Aurea and I, really. But frankly speaking, I call bull on Sapientia's reasoning. The Ember Goddess only wants to try out a new living experience, that's all.
Still, ain't nothing wrong with having a goddess that is so down to Earth, or in this case Arcadia, as an amicable friend.
Anyway, Reizen helps me set up a tent and a blanket in the alcove for the three of us, whereas Sapientia pulls a duster out of nowhere and starts cleaning the interior of the alcove of all dust and grime. Eventually, I start doling out suitable tasks for Reizen and Sapientia to do to get the alcove perfectly habitable again. Reizen doesn't have to be said; she is composedly enthusiastic about having things to help me with, but Sapientia the Ember Goddess herself? I am actually quite surprised when she accepts the menial task with enthusiasm. Being the one to personally do the menial things, according to Sapientia, is a rare and liberating experience. It gives the Ember Goddess a precious hands-on view of the mundane aspect of society that she may know, but is not familiar with.
An oddball of a goddess, she is, but Sapientia is my oddball, I guess.
Eventually, nightfall comes, and we now have a lamp overhead and a stove radiating warmth as we all tuck inside the safety and coziness provided by the tent and blankets I got on hand. Of course, because there are three of us physically present now, the original single-person tent in the Military Survival Kit isn't big enough, so I have to bring out a five-person tent with design harkening to the nomadic tribes of old. It's a bit too big for us, but at least it still fits the inside of the alcove, and it's quite sturdy, too.
While enjoying a meal, Reizen, Aurea, and I review the Map Module and the topographical information that Sapientia shares. It's unfortunate and annoying that we can't share the System with Reizen, hence the Map Module is completely invisible to our partner. Sapientia has her hands tied with this one, so we have to make do with Sapientia pulling out a physical map copy and placing it under the lamp light for Reizen to visually inspect.
"While I would like to guarantee that absolutely no risk will be posed on whichever path you take..." Sapientia starts with a wry 'what can you do' smile. "That's an impossible thing to promise. Rogue monsters, tribes, and weather phenomena exist. They have been there even before you two even strayed into Eden. Mother Arcadia and I can ensure smooth weather and tidings, but we can't stop some random riffraffs from finding you two easy prey. That will risk a violation of our own laws and triggering unnecessary escalation and queries. I highly doubt you two will want those things to happen, right?"
"Though, it's not like I wouldn't do it if you two request it, especially if some powerful unknown intercepts you. It's just the paperwork is a bit of a pain." Sapientia adds, to which I say.
"Well, it's not like we will actively seek any of these noted entities out for hostility. With only the two of us and a small boat, we will only engage in exploration, and maybe self-defense at most."
"I sincerely wish that it will work out as you say, Umbra." Sapientia nods. "I am but a prayer away, remember that."
"We will, thanks, Sapientia. Moving on," I reply. "Given what Sapientia has shown us, we have four cardinal directions to pick from, each with its own pros and cons."
I point at the map that is crudely spread on the uneven surface of the blanket beneath us. Reizen and Sapientia lean in as I use my index finger to cross out a horizontal line in the upper half of the map. I say.
"Each direction features its own island chains and large landmasses, but I cross out a Northern expedition because it will bring us closer to the Southern portion of the Known Region of the world. If we are to build up a power base to achieve what you want of us, Sapientia, then we can't have people of your Theocracy or Viola forbids some lowly pirates from poking their noses in our secret. If we're to make our faction known to the rest of the world, we will do so in strength and in style. Any objection or question?"
I can feel Aurea shaking her head cutely in our shared mental space; Reizen and Sapientia mirror her action unknowingly in the outside world. I nod, continuing.
"Without the North, we're left with the South, West, and East. However, I will cross out the West as well with the same reason I did with the North. There are undiscovered tribes and nations in the West, places still unknown to the Theocracy and the rest of the Known Region, but they can pose the same amount of trouble if we are to set basecamp there. And this means..."
"Only the South and East remain viable options." Reizen finishes the sentence for me when I look at her.
I snap my fingers. "Bingo~!"
Sapientia to my side hums ponderingly. "I must admit, Mother Arcadia and I never thought about such nuances before until you said it. For what we ask you to do, going North or West will be a fruitless endeavor."
"And you were supposed to be a Goddess of Wisdom." I roll my eyes before putting a hand on her shoulder. "I think you were stuck in the point of view of a Goddess of the Theocracy. While you may be able to call the Theocracy off and let us develop in peace, much like what you said earlier, you can't do the same to other nations easily, right?"
Sapientia admits it easily enough. "Indeed, such was an idiotic oversight on my part. I have grown too accustomed to being an unchallenged Divine that this finer consideration is quite novel and nostalgic for me. I have much to learn and improve upon."
"You do just that, Sapientia, and you may not need us around for long." I say casually before getting the topic back on track. "Anyway, the South, goodness gracious, the South..."
Sapientia chuckles, seeing how Reizen and I appraise the information attached to the Southern stretch of the map.
"Mother Arcadia provided the resource map herself, and yeah, the Southern island chains are literal mother lodes. You will have everything you need there and then some."
"However," Reizen interjects with a frown. "The majority of the Southern chains are deep in the cold regions of Arcadia. Perhaps too cold, even, for a region not even near any of the poles."
At this, Sapientia turns sheepish. "Well... That's because a sibling of mine tends to pick the region as a place to sleep. She can be quite cold-blooded."
Reizen and I level her a look, while Aurea in my head remains confused. "You don't say."
"I assure you, she is quite harmless if you pass her diplomacy check. I can even write a letter of recommendation for you?"
"Right... Either way, the South being so cold means that we may not be equipped to tackle the region. Perpetual winter is not something to be taken lightly." I say before turning knowingly at Reizen. "But then again, we have Reizen here."
Under my gaze, Reizen tilts my head, wondering why I am looking at her with a meaningful gaze. I chuckle at the stoic confusion she has for an expression.
"Well, don't we have all the materials from the Voyager? If we combine the technologies of both our worlds, we should be able to figure out a way to harness the resources that are locked beneath the ice of the South easily enough. Off the top of my head, I already come up with one such plan. The flesh is weak, so while not one relies on the certainty of steel and machinery to do the job for us?"
Reizen perks up. "You mean robotic technologies?"
"And Artificial Intelligence as well." I add before smiling. "If we can get it right down to the finer details, we should be able to set up a Base of Operations that can house the Voyager's AI, Iris. I imagine that, with her help, we can control a substantial amount of mining bots to do the heavy-lifting for us. In fact, we may be able to automate a lot more things in the Base of Operations and not just resource extraction, thanks to Iris. Granted, we will need to invest a lot of the stuff we scavenged into the Base. Hopefully, we will have enough to go around."
"That..." Reizen pauses meaningfully as she maintains her gaze with mine. "Thank you... And yes, given the degree of customization the GAD Module offers for both construction vessels and bases, I imagine we should be able to achieve what you envisioned, if we can work out the math. But have we made up our mind to settle in the South?"
"Well, not like we will colonize all of the Southern island chains right off the bat?" I say. "There are places in the South that are just outside the edge of the cold zone. I reckon we can settle in one of those places first to set up a Base of Operations. After we have done harnessing the local resource nodes and built up an expeditionary force, we can think about exploring the Southern patches."
"Sounds like a plan." Reizen nods in acceptance.
Sapientia, being left out of our spiel, interjects from the side. "Aren't you ignoring the East?"
"The East is for normies." I shrug. "Not as many resource nodes as the other three directions, although still quite substantial on the grand scheme of things. And while not as proliferated as the North and West, there are scattered sovereign territories around. And from my personal experience, Eastern dynasties don't play ball with newcomers, at least not easily. The cold region in the South is actually a blessing in disguise, honestly. It means there will be only one party with whom we have to play diplomacy in the future."
"Bold. And fair enough." Sapientia rests her case, contented that I have worked out a proper plan, meaning there's hope for the future for her.
That contented expression of hers is shattered when I suddenly throw a curveball.
"Back to what Reizen said, the matter of working out the math to have the System construct our desired Base of Operations. Well, don't we already have a living calculator here, Reizen?" I say, smirking knowingly in Reizen's direction.
To her credit, Reizen actually understands what I want her to do just with a glance. Immediately, Reizen scoots over to lock down Sapientia by putting her hands on the Ember Goddess' shoulders. It's at this point that the unfocused eyes of the Ember Goddess start swivelling between us in realization.
"Wait... Wait a minute! You want me to work even though it's my day off!? I object!" Sapientia displays a devastated expression, as if she's just experiencing an unforeseen betrayal from us.
"Objection overruled!" I reply immediately. "Think of it this way, the faster you can finish the calculations, the sooner we can depart from Eden, the better the rapport between us will be."
"B-But aren't we already friends!? Friends don't make each other work on a day off!" Sapientia struggles in Reizen's hands, although we all know it's more of a playful attempt. Reizen isn't powerful enough to handle a Divine, after all.
"Who says we can't be more than friends?" I raise an eyebrow, speaking calmly, continuing the playful script.
"Hey! You said it yourself, not me, alright!?" And suddenly, the Sapientia that insists on being off the clock sits all prim and proper. "Overtime, here I come~!"
To this suddenly hyperactive Ember Goddess that looks as if she has struck gold, Reizen and I can only look at each other with exasperated sighs.
[... Huh?] Aurea is still cutely clueless as I ever.
[Mou... Don't bully me... B-But, what's going on?] Aurea asks in another bout of confusion.
[Nothing. It's just that this Goddess is so helplessly repressed.] I reply wryly.
The rest of the night proceeds in a fruitful manner.
Though the Ember Goddess is surprisingly handsy when she sleeps, much to Reizen and my exasperation.