When they entered the Cradle, they appeared in David's tent.
"Give me a second, you two. I need to check something."
Tomoe and Mio just nodded and stood in place, waiting for David.
David sat on his bed and closed his eyes.
'Chaos-chan, can you show me the current Dimensional Quest status?'
[Sure!]
[Dimensional Quest: Moonlit Intervention]
[Franchise: Tsukimichi - Moonlit Fantasy -]
[Primary Objective(s):
- Rescue the Highland Orc Tribe -- Completed
Demons are masquerading as the dragon Shin to terrorize the orcs. Expose and defeat them, earning the tribe's loyalty and Tomoe's attention.
- Save the Rembrandt Sisters
Similar to the original plot, the sisters are afflicted by a magical curse. You can earn the Rembrandt family's gratitude—and possibly a new ally or heroine—by curing them and confronting the parties involved.
- "Fix" Tomoki Iwahashi
Tomoki is a corrupted hero who misuses his charm ability. Humble him through battle, charisma, or emotional impact—changing or replacing him as the world's chosen hero.]
[Optional Objective(s):
- Flirt with Mio Without Getting Eaten -- Completed
Charm her without becoming a snack (literally), and maybe earn her loyalty.
- Outsass the Goddess Bug
Verbally outplay her in a divine argument, cause her to ragequit a conversation, or make her accidentally gift you something out of spite.
- Set Up Makoto with a Girlfriend
Help the poor guy sort out his love life by giving him wingman support.
- Intercept Tomoe's Drama Addiction -- Completed
Introduce her to modern anime or movies through memory-sharing or illusions. Get her hooked, earn big favor, and maybe make her cosplay.]
[Entrance Reward(s): Ability: Sakai]
[Completion Reward(s): Subsystem: Sovereign's Link]
'Hmm, so far so good. I'm working on getting the Rembrandt sisters healed next which should be fairly quick as well. I don't think this quest will take too much time if I'm being honest. The time-consuming part is really just the travel.'
[That's because you're cruising through everything since you know what'll happen. I guarantee that if you didn't know the plot, it'd take you much longer.]
'I mean, obviously, but why would I wait for things to happen when I can just quickly take action and fix things? If I were to say which objective would take the longest, it would be setting up Makoto with a girlfriend... That guy has no confidence in himself.'
[Can you blame him?]
'No, not at all. I'm actually glad it's an optional objective because I'd prefer him to naturally find a girlfriend by himself, whether that's in this world or back in our home world.'
[Are you still thinking about bringing him back with you?]
'Of course. If he really wants to come back with me, I'll be more than happy to take him. If I could, I'd bring the hero Hibiki back with me as well, but she's probably stuck in her hero mode and wants to save the world. Ugh, the situation pisses me off, but I won't do anything. I'll probably just throw her a power-up of some type before leaving.'
[I can already imagine the chaos you'll cause in this world's storyline... I love it, hahaha!]
'Of course you do...'
David chuckled inwardly at Chaos-chan's attitude and then opened his eyes.
"Alright, all done. Let's find a place to set this new tower up," David said as he stood from his bed.
Tomoe looked at him with a raised eyebrow. "Tower? What kind of tower?"
David walked to the entrance of the tent and said, "The kind that lets you kill shit and get rewarded for it," before walking out.
[Just so you know, there are also puzzles. It's not just 'killing shit'.]
'...Can't you let me have that one? It sounded kinda cool...'
[Pffft...]
Chaos-chan had to hold in her laugh so as to not make David feel bad.
'Rude ass... I'll put you in the damn corner like a naughty child.'
[Child?! Just wait until you see my full form! The term 'child' will be the last thing you'd think of!]
'Hmm... With your voice, I just can't picture it.'
[...]
After that brief bickering, Tomoe and Mio also exited the tent and took their usual spots at David's left and right sides respectively.
The view outside the tent was spectacular.
Highland Orcs, Elder Dwarves, Alke, and Mistio Lizards were all working together in harmony, building and repairing houses.
There were already more than 20 houses that were brought over from the Highland Orc tribe's village and construction had already begun on several more.
With the current number of residents, it was progressing at a rapid pace after only a couple of hours.
The Highland Orcs and Mistio Lizards were helping the Alke build houses in the nearby mountains while the Elder Dwarves were taking on a wide range of jobs in both construction and repair.
Some of the Elder Dwarves had also started working on creating equipment in a few forges that were brought over from the Elder Dwarves' previous location.
There were even a few of the Mistio Lizards tilling farmlands and guarding the village from any outside threats.
David, Tomoe, and Mio were pleased with how quickly everyone began working.
"Didn't I just meet everyone a few hours ago? How did they start working so fast? They won't think I'm treating them like slaves, right?"
Emma and Komoe arrived out of nowhere with Komoe jumping onto David's back and hanging on to his neck.
"They are all very excited to begin making the Cradle their new home, young master. Thanks to Tomoe-sama transporting a large amount of buildings, tools, and resources from the Elder Dwarves' camp, everyone was able to start working immediately," Emma said matter-of-factly.
David held Komoe's arms so she wouldn't fall while they were now being led by Emma up a large hill.
"A large group of orcs even took the initiative to begin building a manor for you."
'Mmm, I know where this is going...'
Emma stood at the top of the hill which was more like a cliff if looked at from the other side and pointed down below.
"You can see their progress so far."
David and the others arrived at the top of the hill and looked down the cliff.
There were at least 16 foundations with multiple wooden posts, large logs, bags of what seemed to be cement, and a big group of Highland Orcs and Mistio Lizards transporting materials and working on construction.
"Wow..."
That was all David could say as he looked down at the construction site. The total cleared area looked to be at least 15,000 square meters.
"Emma... Are they building a shopping mall? Or maybe a castle with a football field in the backyard?"
Emma raised an eyebrow at that question.
"Eh? Shopping mall? Football field? I'm not sure what those are, but they're building your manor. Of course, there will also be rooms for guests, meetings, banquets, large kitchens, bathrooms, and various other rooms. Essentially, they want to build you a home that you won't feel the need to upgrade in the future."
David slowly nodded as he tried to wrap his head around it.
⟪ I thought my penthouse suite was impressive, but only a little more than a week after having it, I have people building me a damn castle?! ⟫
He sighed and slowly rubbed his temples.
⟪ Whatever, at least Marin will think it's cool. Should I hire maids? Should I link the door to my penthouse suite to an entrance to this manor? Or maybe I should link the door to one of the spare rooms to an entrance to the manor...? Ahhh, whatever. I'll think about it when I go back to my own world. ⟫
David turned to look at Emma and saw her smiling as if expecting praise for what was being constructed.
"...Haaa, alright, it looks good. You guys are doing a good job. I just didn't expect it to be so damn big!"
Emma furrowed her brow. "Young master, you are the ruler of this land. Obviously, your home should be the biggest and most luxurious!"
"Hahaha! Emma, don't look at me like that. I know you're trying to sound intimidating, but it's too funny! Bahaha!"
David burst out laughing seeing Emma trying to look strict, only to end up looking like a cute little pig girl who didn't get her way.
"Young master!" Emma retorted.
"Okay okay, I'm sorry, haha! It's fine, I'll go with whatever you decide. After all, I chose you to basically be the manager of this place, right? Just do whatever you think is best and I'll go with the flow."
Emma looked out at the construction site and smiled.
"Ah, now that I think about it, how did they get the cement? And how did they learn how to make those foundations?" David asked.
"Tomoe-sama recorded a lot of your memories whenever you'd come back to the Cradle to sleep and some of them were TV shows about how things are made, so we watched them and learned from it."
David slowly turned his head to look at Tomoe.
"You did what?"
Tomoe looked like she got her hand caught in the cookie jar.
"Young master, you were gone for so long and I couldn't watch what I wanted! Thus, I had no other choice than to take them while you slept! I even cut some crystals into plates to record the good ones!"
David just shook his head. "It's fine, but I'd at least like to know ahead of time, okay? That way I'd know if certain knowledge were to spread and I wouldn't be so confused."
"So you're not mad?" Tomoe asked.
"No, it's fine. Now that I know you're doing it, I'll be prepared. If you're teaching people certain things that could affect the Cradle though, I'd like to know."
Tomoe put her hands on her waist and laughed, "Wahaha~! Fear not, young master! I'll only spread useful knowledge! Your dirty secrets will never be known to anyone but me!"
David just stared at her flatly before looking down the cliff and watching the residents work, though he did still complain.
⟪ What dirty secrets?! I'm very open about everything! Well, everything in this life at least. Nobody needs to know I reincarnated, it wouldn't do anything except bring everyone's moods down. ⟫
"I'm actually glad you found us, Emma. I have a tower that I need to place and would like your opinion on where would be best."
Emma put her hand on her chin and seemed to think for a moment.
"Is the tower going to be a central part of the Cradle? What use does it have?"
David spent a few minutes explaining the uses of the tower and what possibilities it holds as well as what can be gained from it. He also told them about the fact that dungeons will start appearing in the wild outside of the main village area and what to expect.
"Hmm... I think it should be placed in the center of the territory. While it includes various trials, this Dimensional Gate Tower will also be a central hub of transport across various dimensions, right?"
David nodded, "Right. It gives the ability to create dimensional gateways anywhere in the Cradle, but it will also allow us to create dimensional gateways inside the tower itself."
"I think it would make a good landmark in the center of the territory and its easy accessibility would help those who want to get strong without going too far."
David smiled and started heading back to the center of the main village.
"Great! In that case, let's go set it up!"
Emma and Tomoe nodded and started to follow David while Mio stared at Komoe in jealousy before following along as well.
⟪ I wonder how Toa is doing? I hope she's alright. With what she went through, it wouldn't surprise me if she had some serious trauma after all of that. Maybe I'll give her Mils Ace's 'Land of Repentance' so she can watch him suffer a deathless torture for eternity... Eh, maybe not. If she knows I partially did it for her, she might fall in love with me and that definitely can't happen. ⟫
...
Toa and Rinon had just gotten dressed after their bath and were now dressed in new, clean clothes that Emma had provided them when they arrived earlier.
Toa's face was flushed red which caused Rinon to worry.
"Onee-chan, are you okay?! Your face is bright red!"
Toa quickly coughed to hide her embarrassment and just waved her off.
"It's nothing, I'm fine. The bath was just very warm, that's all."
Rinon looked at her weirdly, recognizing that cough as her trying to hide something poorly.
"Anyway, Rinon. What do you think of David-sama?"
"Eh? Onii-chan? He's very nice, right?"
Toa nodded her head fervently, "Yes! Also, he must be really strong to be able to kill all of the criminals in Zetsuya and rescue us, right?"
Rinon took a few seconds to process everything and then just stared at Toa with a sly smirk.
"Onee-chan, what do YOU think of Onii-chan?"
Toa stuttered, "W-What do I th-think? I asked you! I-It doesn't matter w-what I think!"
[Rinon] 'She's so easy to read...'
"Well, I think Onii-chan is wonderful and I'm very grateful to him for saving you."
"H-Haha, right?! I can already tell his land is going to be much more peaceful than where we've been before. I realized that I don't have the strength necessary to find our family's dagger and I should just focus on getting stronger first."
As if David could hear what Toa was thinking...
⟪ Now that I think about it, Toa was only in the Wasteland looking for her family's dagger that was lost in a fight with Tomoe. The Highland Orcs found it and then gave it to Makoto. Should I tell Makoto to give it to Toa since it's a family heirloom? Maybe it would cause Toa to feel grateful toward him and she'd start to have romantic feelings for him? That would be a quick way to get him a girlfriend. Plus, Toa is definitely a beautiful woman so he wouldn't be against it, right? ⟫
It must be said that David has no idea Toa is included in the list of women who can hear his inner voice, nor does he know that it's active right now.
This is due to Chaos-chan doing what she likes to do best: cause chaos.
A myriad of emotions were flowing through Toa's mind at this moment.
Joy, relief, shock, excitement, embarrassment, and attraction.
She was happy and relieved that the dagger she suffered so much for was so close to her, though she was shocked that she heard it right when she was talking to her sister about it.
She was excited to finally get it, though she was embarrassed when she heard David say she was beautiful. This, along with everything else that happened in the last couple of hours, caused her to feel attracted to David, her savior.
[Toa] 'Why does he want to push me off on Makoto-san? He said I'm beautiful, but maybe he's just not attracted to me?'
Toa was drying her and Rinon's hair while they both sat on a bed. She had tried asking Rinon if she could hear David's voice earlier in the bath, but she wasn't able to.
That was when she realized that she could only listen to his voice, but couldn't say anything about it.
"Rinon, if I somehow got the dagger, what would you want to do then?"
"I'll follow Onee-chan wherever she goes, no matter what."
Toa smiled and didn't say anything else, thinking about her plans for the future.
...
A few minutes later, David, Komoe, Mio, Tomoe, and Emma arrived in the center of the main village, an open space about 700 square meters big.
Before David did anything else, he used earth magic to flatten the area to make sure it was level.
He then opened up the CMI and selected the option that would allow his voice to be transmitted to everyone living in the Cradle.
"Attention, residents of the Sovereign's Cradle. In the center of the main village, I will be placing a tower called the Dimensional Gate Tower. This tower will not only connect to various worlds in the future, but it will also contain monthly challenges that offer rewards which will make you stronger."
David then spent a couple of minutes explaining what the tower was, what it did, and what could be earned, just like he did with Emma.
"If anybody wants to see it being placed, I will wait for ten minutes before doing so. It's not mandatory, but I figured some people would want to see. Anyway, sorry to bother you and thank you for listening... Carry on."
Immediately after he finished, he disabled the voice transmission in the CMI and closed it, only to find Emma crossing her arms and staring at David.
Before she could speak, David went first, "If you're going to say something about how I should act and speak more like a leader, I will later. I don't want people to think I'm intimidating or anything like that, I just want them to be able to relax here. I'll figure out a good balance eventually, okay?"
Emma snorted, "Hmph, it's good you know."
⟪ Yikes, Emma can be scary sometimes. Now I know how the Makoto in the anime felt... ⟫
David created a simple wooden chair and pulled Komoe off his back and set her on the ground before he sat in the chair.
He flicked his hand and created a blockade around where the tower would be placed and then started his ten minute wait.
While he waited, a large crowd gathered in the area, chattering with each other in anticipation.
Among the crowd, Makoto was standing next to a few Highland Orcs and talking to them about what they were building. Those Highland Orcs were some of the ones working on David's manor which intrigued Makoto, making him want to watch and help with the construction.
Toa, Rinon, the elf, the dwarf, and the human were also all standing together and talking with each other about their plans for the future. Now that there would be ways to get stronger, they were excited to challenge the trials in the tower as well as explore the surroundings and clear the dungeons.
After ten minutes had passed, David stood up and got rid of the chair.
David raised his hand and amplified his voice with mana rather than using the CMI this time.
"Alright! I'll be placing the Dimensional Gate Tower now! Everyone, get ready!"
"UOHHHH!!!"
Everyone cheered and stared at the empty spot in anticipation.
'Chaos-chan, give me the reward now, please.'
[You got it! Use the hologram and place it where you want!]
A hologram of a large tower appeared in David's vision and moved according to his thoughts.
He moved it into the center of the open area and thought, 'Confirm!'
As soon as he confirmed the placement, a massive tower started growing out of the ground, causing the surroundings to shake violently.
The tower kept growing until it stopped at a height of 44 meters, piercing the sky.
The tower was dodecagonal with large greyish-white bricks. It was 10 meters from one side to the other with large ornate windows demarcating each floor, going up to show that the tower had ten floors.
The top of the tower was smooth and flat. There were gold details around the window and the large 4 meter tall double doors. There were rounded stairs leading up to the door as well.
It seemed to give off a holy aura and rather than looking intimidating, it felt very comforting.
(A/N: Image of tower in chapter comments.)
When the tower was fully out of the ground, the shaking stopped and everyone stared at the tower in awe.
On the outskirts of the village, there were countless ruins and caves that had suddenly appeared out of nowhere, inviting others to explore them.
Under everyone's anticipatory gazes, David strode toward the tower, walked up the steps, and pushed open the doors.
Unlike what it showed on the outside, the inside of the tower looked much bigger than it should.
Each floor was 6 meters in height and 24 meters in diameter with stairs that lead to the next floor on the side. There's a crystal chandelier hanging from the ceiling and wall candles spread out next to fancy dimensional doors, a white marble floor, and a large holographic screen on one of the walls.
Aside from the entrance door and the door leading to the next floor, there were a total of sixteen doors. Each door had two windows above them which would light up if the doors were already in use.
(A/N: Image of interior in chapter comments.)
The holographic screen displayed the number '1' and showed a diagram of the current floor as well as where each door leads to.
Each door looked the same, including the door on top of the stairs that led to the next floor. David walked through that door and appeared in a similar room with the only visible difference being the holographic screen that displayed '2' and a different floor diagram.
David nodded to himself and went through the door that leads back down to the first floor before walking up to one of the doors that led to a challenge zone.
When he got close, a screen similar to the big one on the wall appeared in front of it and showed what the challenge was and the difficulties available.
[The Grinning Carnival]
[Description: A chaotic test of sanity, where everything is a trick or trap. Solve games made by malevolent clowns to get a reward.]
[Objective: Win three deadly "games" in a row.]
[Difficulties: Normal, Hard, Hell, Nightmare, Chaos]
David read the information on one of the doors and smirked.
'There's really not much information, huh? I suppose it adds to the challenge. Do any of these challenges repeat themselves?'
[Yes, to allow for future strategizing, there will be repeatable challenges.]
'Interesting... I can't wait to see what people get from here. What floor do the Dimensional Gates start appearing on?'
[They start on the fourth floor. The first three floors are for challenges only. The first floor has a mix of random challenges, the second floor focuses on combat, and the third floor focuses on logic. However, the rewards pull from the same pool no matter the floor.]
'I see. Well, this will be beneficial to the Cradle's residents for sure.'
After exploring a bit, David left the tower and saw Mio and Tomoe standing by the entrance while everyone else just stared at him, wondering if they could explore the tower.
"For anyone that wants to explore the tower, feel free to do so! The first three floors are challenge floors and the rest will link to other dimensions in the future!"
David waved his hand dismissively at everyone, letting them know that they could go into the tower now if they wanted to.
When David was walking away, he spotted Makoto again and decided to talk to him.
⟪ I should use this chance to tell Makoto about the dagger. Then, I should start heading to Tsige. I'll run this time though, I don't need to wait around for any events anymore. ⟫
Deciding on his plan of action, he slyly let Mio and Tomoe know what he would be doing next and walked toward Makoto.
⟪ Hopefully he's okay with giving up the dagger, I plan on creating a transforming weapon for him, heheh~. He should be pleased with it. ⟫