Hearing my sudden thought message, Nina sits up abruptly and looks at me in bewilderment. I sigh internally. She hasn't been paying attention to this meeting at all. Maybe from now on, I should give her the opportunity to excuse herself beforehand.
"Fufufu…sorry Mizuki, I was deep in thought about the ideas presented here today. Did you ask me something?" (Nina)
Oh, my ass you were!
"Yes, my Lady, I asked if you'd like to leave Alara, Art, Percivil, and Zara alone to the rest of the city planning for now? I know you have other matters to attend to." (Mizuki)
I sense immense relief from Nina…guess she was pretty bored.
"Oh…yes, good idea! Let's depart." (Nina)
I nod to Nina for show, then we rise and say our farewells to the rest of the group and prepare to leave the room.
[Zara, there's no rush, but come see me when you have some personal time. I have a gift I'd like to give you.] (Mizuki)
I see Zara nod subtly to me, then Nina and I depart from the room. Outside, I wait until nobody is watching and then teleport us back to the mansion. Nina immediately groans loudly.
"Mizuki, that was so boring! You were all just discussing things to do, there wasn't even any scheming!" (Nina)
I nod sympathetically.
"I know, I'm sorry you were bored. From now on, I can make up an excuse for you to skip such meetings, if you want? You could go do something else while they take place, like the hot spring, a guild job, or exploring Alara's territory for interesting things in your dragon form." (Mizuki)
Nina's eyes go wide.
"Truly, Mizuki? Would that be okay with you? I don't want to abandon my mate, but…those suggestions sound far more fun than the meeting we just had." (Nina)
I smile and nod at her affectionately.
"Yes, I wouldn't want my mate to be bored if it's unnecessary. Any time you want to be excused from a meeting like that, you can just ask. If I need you to attend anyway, I'll tell you. Don't think about it as abandoning me – that's what the Dragon Bond is for, right? We're always connected." (Mizuki)
Nina flashes me a dazzling smile that is somewhere between relief and gratitude, then she jumps over and hugs me. She's really cute when she's like this, so I smile and hug her back involuntarily.
"Thank you, Mizuki! You're right, we're always connected." (Nina)
She maintains the affectionate hug in comfortable silence for quite some time, then I remember something.
"Oh, right…Nina, I was supposed to ask you if Ilina and I can have a date together tonight. Would that be fine? Ilina says 'please'." (Mizuki)
Nina pulls away thoughtfully, then smiles and nods at me.
"Yes, that is okay with me. Fufufu…you always come back from her very enthusiastic to see me, so I'm looking forward to you returning tonight. Just remember my rules." (Nina)
I roll my eyes at her, but I nod obediently, nonetheless.
"Understood. So, I never asked…how did your reception in the Elven Kingdom go when you arrived on the train?" (Mizuki)
Nina's eyes light up excitedly.
"The elves were excited to see us, and they were curious about your strange device…err, the train. I had Alto and Alara answer them as much as possible. They seemed skeptical of how fast they were told that it traveled. I cannot blame them, since it can move as fast as me!" (Nina)
Yeah, bullet trains are no joke. Alto is kind of on the high end of the magic power spectrum, but still, 400 kph is absurd. I'm very proud of those results.
"I'm glad they welcomed you warmly. What kinds of questions did they ask about the train, other than what it was and how fast it could go?" (Mizuki)
"Hmm…mainly they wanted to know if they'd be able to ride it, was it safe, when it would be available to use for travel to Alara's territory, how much it would cost, and if there would be normal roads to her territory." (Nina)
Oh, I didn't even consider that they might want normal roads, too. I guess merchants already have horses and carts for private transport, and they won't like being dependent on trains. If we want to attract their business to Alara's city, we'll have to build them a road or give them a good alternative.
Maybe a separate set of cargo railcars, which can be leased for exclusive and dedicated use by them. That's something to ponder.
"Those are fair questions. What answers did Alara give them?" (Mizuki)
Nina looks like she's trying hard to remember.
"I believe Alara said that the train would be the only easy way to travel to her territory for a long time, since roads are slow to be built. She assured them that the train would be open to all elves for an affordable price. She also said they could use it as soon as the hot springs were ready, and she hoped that would be in the next week or two." (Nina)
Wow…so she really did go with my affordable transport idea, huh? I also think her timeline is reasonable. Nice, I was worried for nothing.
"Alright, thanks for answering my questions, Nina. I have something you'll find boring that I want to do before I visit Ilina, so is there anywhere you want me to take you first, or anything you want from me?" (Mizuki)
Nina shakes her head happily.
"No, I will explore the western territory, so have fun with Ilina. Fufufu…make sure to come home with plenty of energy." (Nina)
She winks at me as she says the last part, then walks off towards the mansion exit. I stare at her affectionately as she goes, then shift my focus to coming events. I grin stupidly.
"Fufufu…life is pretty good these days." (Mizuki)