Sitting in my old lab in Roa, I watched the hologram Sprite projected over the table as our castle in the sky was assembled brick by brick, occasionally reaching into the projection magic to adjust or change something. "You're sure the inner levels will be fine?"
"Of course, master!" Sprite nodded, leaning against the table beside me, close enough that I could feel the warmth of her body and smell her scent—both magically generated as she was still not entirely physical yet, but she was getting good at spoofing human senses. She was determined to have herself a real, biological body soon and between her and Sylphie working on it, I was pretty sure they'd have one within the year.
"The magic should hold just fine, but just in case it fails, the pillars I've made throughout the levels will act as structural supports and bear the weight of the upper levels," she went on to explain.
A new hologram sprang up beside the exterior view, showing the four interior levels in question. They covered entire square miles of area and, at the moment, looked like large caves with evenly spaced pillars placed throughout them connecting floor to ceiling—completely clear pillars that looked like glass, and would, when they were finished, radiate soft, warm light during the day cycle and cool simulated moonlight during the night cycle. At the moment, all of them were full of trees and grass, but little else, as we hadn't started growing anything in them—we were still setting up the environments.
Each of those floors was our attempt at solving the problem of self-sufficiency for a town-to-city sized population. Miles and miles of farmland enclosed within the heart of Laputa, where we would grow our crops and raise livestock. Each level had enchantments for climate control, light generation for day/night cycles down to the phase of the false moon, rain, wind, and more all to simulate real world conditions as closely as we could. They were also all running on a separate season. The top floor ran concurrent with the current season in Fittoa, which was just now entering summer. The next one down was three months ahead, going into fall. The next, another three months ahead, into winter. And the last, another three months ahead, heading into spring.
Sprite would babysit the minutiae of the day to day environmental stuff, but we were pretty sure that it was going to be self-sustaining and she would only keep an eye on it to make sure something didn't screw up somewhere. As for the farming, several of the families who would be coming to live in Laputa would be handling it, and getting paid well to supply their crops to the rest of the flying castle-city—though it'd probably be more accurate to call it a flying island, given just how large it was. Between our work ensuring the place had healthy, fertile soil taken from outside to work with, the farmers tending the crops and flocks, and magic to handle future soil fertility and other issues, we were estimating yields not seen in even the most fertile of the Central Continent's lands—all coming in year round, thanks to simulating seasons to ensure that we could keep growing at all times.
There was another factor there that I was holding off on for the moment, but would handle within the next day or two. As much as Sprite handled, and as adaptable as she was given she could think for herself and learn new things, outside of her specialized field she was more of a generalist. It was the same reason we used wind spirits to control the flight on our vehicles still—they were just better at it because it was what they did naturally. So, I would be doing a bit of summoning and calling up some lower-to-mid level earth, water, and nature spirits to help with everything. Earth spirits to help manage the soil. Water spirits to keep the water clean and evenly distributed. Nature spirits to help grow the crops more quickly and keep out unwanted species, like weeds. And all of them to improve their various fields with magic, hopefully improving things further.
"And the insects?" I asked, looking over the complex network of spells enchanted into each of the pillars and nodding in approval as nothing stood out as egregiously wrong.
Sprite zoomed in on the upper floor, highlighting several locations in the trees and in spaces between plots where crops would be grown. I raised an eyebrow at the familiar sight of artificial hive boxes. "I've begun importing bee colonies and building hives. They're an even mix of honey bees and bumblebees, so we can collect honey and have effective pollination. Also! I've isolated them by region, using spells to keep them contained!"
I raised an eyebrow. "Why?"
"A few reasons. Firstly, to keep them on task and from fighting each other. We don't want them destroying rival hives. We also don't want them wasting time pollinating too wide an area per hive. This way, the ones assigned to the area we're using to grow corn only pollinate the corn, which increases the efficiency at which the corn is pollinated, and the only thing within the area aside from the corn will be plants to keep the bees stocked with food—wildflowers and other things."
I nodded and Sprite smiled, before continuing. "Secondly, because we want the honey to be made specific to whatever was in the area. Honey takes on a bit of the flavor of whatever nectar was used to make it, so by keeping them isolated, we can have distinct flavors of honey. This area for apple trees, this area for pears, this area for bardius plants, and so on. Then, we can sell different varieties of honey inside and outside of Laputa. Also, the elves and dwarves were especially interested in the idea, for either making mead or wine."
"How much honey are we talking?" I asked, curious.
Sprite blushed a bit. "Between all four levels? More than the entire honey industry put together. And since ours will be higher quality and have distinct flavors, we'll probably corner the market. Everyone's already excited at the idea of specialty products made using it."
"So, we're going to corner the market."
Sprite giggled. "Yep! Tea, as well! There's no way we'll be able to use all the tea we can grow. We can and should stockpile a bit, but the rest, we can just sell for pure profit."
I chuckled. "I guess you've been hanging around Ariel too long, if you're trying for the economic victory over the rest of the world."
The spirit beamed a happy smile, before shrugging. "It would be boring if we just took over the economy using our mountains of gold. I wanted a challenge, and a way to further help the family. I'll be working with Sylphie to make better bees soon—ones that will recognize humanoids and know not to sting. No stinging, more honey, faster, more efficient at their jobs."
"And what if those get out into the wild?" I asked, not wanting to introduce an artificially engineered, magically created invasive species to the rest of the world. I already had enough problems worrying about potential escapees or survivors of the MOUS project since it was possible a few could have survived the teleport disaster…
Sprite shook her head. "They'll be bred with a homing sense, so they never leave Laputa, even if they move around within it—and if we can manage, they'll be predisposed to making their hives in existing boxes for them."
I thought it over for a few moments before nodding. "Sounds good. So, about the defensive arrays—"
The door behind me opened with a soft click, then closed immediately after. "Rudy, husband~."
I looked up from my work, sending Ariel an amused look. "You always use that tone when you want something."
The blonde queen rolled her eyes. "Yes, I suppose I do. I haven't heard you complaining about what I want when I use it," she murmured, narrowing her eyes at me and resting a hand on her belly—just beginning to get round with her pregnancy.
"True," I allowed, chuckling. "What's up?"
She glanced at Sprite, then back to me as she moved up and gestured at the table. The holograms of the interior of Laputa disappeared, replaced with an aerial view of the Asura Kingdom. It zoomed in on the eastern wall, along the border with what was commonly known as the Conflict Zone on the other side of the mountains—specifically, a section of wall southeast of Fittoa and Roa. As it got closer, I saw people scaling the wall with ladders and, on our side, a small army gathering.
Frowning, I asked, "Are those bandits?"
"If they're caught, they'll claim to be bandits, yes. But the reality is, they're regular troops from one of the neighboring kingdoms," Ariel explained as she pulled out one of the chairs and sat down beside me. "For years, the kingdoms have fought over the area. Long enough that we just call it the Conflict Zone now."
"Why? What's the big deal, aside from the usual desire to expand?" I asked, moving behind her and putting my hands on her shoulders, squeezing and rubbing them in the way I knew she liked.
My fourth wife sighed, leaning back into my hands and tilting her head back to rest against my chest. "It's an area covered in forests and land much like Asura, ripe for farming. It's absolutely full of resources and monsters, at least three dungeons that we know of, it's in the eastern half of the center of the continent, and it's the size of Asura."
"Gotcha," I nodded. "Whoever takes it will be rich and in a hundred years, probably equal to Asura at least. So, why are there soldiers coming over our border, and what's the ask?"
"We don't know why they're here," Ariel shook her head. "That's what I need you to figure out."
I looked at Sprite, who frowned. "Something is keeping my magic from getting closer, master. I can get light, because few people really know how to block that—not without making the area they're in dark. I can't get sound or project my other magic closer than a half mile radius. So I can't just reach in, grab them, and deport them by force."
Blinking, I turned that over in my mind for a moment. "That sounds bad. I'm assuming you can still laser the fuck out of them?"
"Mm!" Sprite nodded. "It wouldn't be quite as effective once it hit whatever barrier surrounds them as the mana based reflection and focusing channel would stop there, but the laser itself would keep going. That close, there wouldn't be much difference in output, really."
"I need you to head down, determine who they are, why they're here, work out how they're blocking Sprite, and then engage in a little of that 'diplomacy' you love so much," Aerial sent me a smile.
"You say that like it doesn't turn you on every time I do it," I murmured into her ear as I leaned down and kissed her.
The woman shivered, her nipples visibly going hard in her dress. "I love it~," she whispered back, tilting her head to give me better access to her neck. "So will you?"
"Sure. I'll take the Roxy—"
"The Roxy and Sylphie are busy, but it's fine! I've brought a new ship up. The Lilia," Sprite supplied, and I nodded.
"Then I'll take the Lilia and head down, then have a chat with them." Pausing, I looked to Sprite and asked, "This barrier or field or whatever won't fuck with the ships, will it?"
"No, master. The enchantments do all of the work, except directing them," she shook her head.
"It can't dispel you or interrupt your summoning, can it?"
Sprite tilted her head this way and that for a moment, before shrugging. "I'm not sure. We would need to get one of my nodes closer to tell. If it does, it would only be temporary. It wouldn't banish all of me and I could reestablish my connection to you as soon as you were out of it."
"And what if it banishes the wind spirit driving the airship?"
"That's why we put in backup manual controls, remember?" she smiled. "If the spirit directing it is banished, it should just come to a stop and hover in place until you take the helm and move it."
"Then I'd just need to summon another wind spirit once I got it out of range," I mused. "Assuming that's what happens. Okay, let's go."
"Wait!" Ariel sat up, turning to me as she did. "There's one more thing I'd like to ask of you while you're there, Rudy."
"Go ahead."
The blonde sent me a smile. "Resolve the Conflict Zone."
I raised an eyebrow. "Yeah? Is that why you want me to engage in a little American diplomacy?"
"Yes," she nodded enthusiastically. "Shirone, Kikka, Sanakia, and Asura have been fighting over it for too long. It's time to end it. And now, we can. I want it. Shirone sits right on the equator. I want everything north of the road from East Port, all the way up to the Red Dragon Mountain Range in the north, including the coastal land trade route—from the border of the Shirone Kingdom to the mountains."
Sprite brought up the map and highlighted the area in question. "Alright. We can knock down a few of those mountains dividing the eastern and western halves of the continent to make roads directly through the forest and use the stone to build a wall around the whole damn thing. It'll give us some extra resources too, so that's good. What do you think? Build a few cities and towns while we're at it and offer to resettle people?"
"Exactly so," Ariel agreed with a nod. "One city on the east coast, halfway between Shirone and the mountains would be good. Another in the center of the former Conflict Zone. Farming towns and trade hubs around it. Maybe another on either side of the path through the mountains. Sprite can find volunteers looking to make some money and I'll speak to some of the remaining nobles to see if they have sons and daughters who want to expand their families that way."
"Okay. I'll do it. Question though. What do you want me to tell the other kingdoms?" I asked.
Ariel's blue eyes met my green and she leered. "Do what you do best, husband."
I chuckled, leaning down to kiss her lips. "Got it."
"Mmf~," Ariel moaned into my mouth. "All this talk about diplomacy got my motor running. We've got time for a quickie before you go, right?" she asked, wagging her eyebrows and reaching up to pull the top of her dress down, exposing her pale, perky titties capped in pink nipples.
I lifted her from the chair and dropped her ass on the table, moving between her legs as she spread them for me. "For my wives? Always."
"Mm… Say it again, husband. Tell me you love me," she whispered, taking my hand and squeezing it tightly as she pulled it between her breasts.
Leaning in, I rested my forehead against hers as I trailed my free hand up her smooth thigh, pushing her dress aside as I went. "I love you, Shizuka. Wife."
She beamed happily and kissed me eagerly. "I'll never get tired of hearing that, and knowing you mean it," she murmured against my lips.
"I don't know. You look like you could use some more convincing," I grinned, pulling her body flush against mine.
Ariel giggled, nodding quickly. "Convince me, husband."
It was some time before I left for the Lilia, but it was time well spent.
Looking down from the deck of the Lilia, I took in the forms of the men moving about on the ground a mile or so away, going about their preparations to make camp for the night. Beside me, Lilia herself squeezed my hand as she looked into the spell in front of us acting as a telescope to see them.
Tents had been set in orderly lines, spaced evenly to allow for foot traffic and their individual cooking fires. Nearby, there was a second camp, composed of what looked like camp followers—men and women who weren't part of the military but provided services to them. Armorers, smiths, cobblers, hunters, and even a group of prostitutes. These had their own wagons, which had apparently come through one of the nearby gates along the trade route, instead of over the wall like the people trying to sneak in.
"So, that's them?" I asked, and Sprite nodded.
"Most of them, master. They've sent scouts out, of course, but those have left the area of effect around the center of the camp. I can deal with them at any time, now."
"Alright, we'll hold off on that until after I've dealt with this group." Turning, I gave Lilia a peck on the lips. "I'll be back in a bit."
"Very well, master Rudeus," she smiled, leaning against my chest for a moment as her other hand pulled me into a hug. "I will have dinner ready by the time you return."
"Thanks, Lilia." Returning the hug, I kissed her again, my hand trailing down and squeezing her plump ass. "I don't say it enough, but I appreciate everything you do for me."
"Mm. I know," she nodded.
The hatch leading to the deck opened and Aisha came running out, latching onto the both of me. "Big brother~! Me too!"
Laughing, I put an arm around the little redhead and hugged her as well. "Of course. I couldn't deny my little sister anything she asked."
"Don't say that. You'll spoil her," Lilia scolded, sending her daughter a stern look.
"Hehe! Too late!" Aisha stuck out her tongue at her mother, before looking to me. "Besides, I don't want anything too bothersome. Just more time with Rudy!"
I considered her for a moment before looking to Lilia. "This could be a good chance for her," I pointed out softly.
Lilia frowned, looking between me and Aisha, who had perked up at the words. Biting her lip, Lilia asked, "Are you sure?"
"We're not going to get a better chance than this."
Lilia closed her eyes and took a deep breath, before letting it out in a sigh. "I had hoped she could remain innocent a little longer."
I nodded, then leaned in to speak into her ear. "If she's going to be my maid the way you want, she's going to need to be able to defend herself and everyone else if the situation calls for it. You know that part of that is getting over the hesitation."
"I know," Lilia murmured. "We used to send our students out to cull bandits for exactly that purpose, at my family's school. But it was usually when they were older."
"I think we both know Aisha is a bit exceptional."
Reaching out, Lilia ran her fingers through Aisha's hair. Finally, she nodded. "Take care of her."
"I will," I promised, before looking down to Aisha. "You ready?"
"Yep!" she chirped, grinning up at me and taking my hand.
I led her towards the edge of the deck as Lilia turned and made her way inside and Sprite's projection disappeared. Stopping at the railing, I looked down at her. "We're probably going to have to kill a lot of people. They aren't going to go down without a fight, and if you give them a chance, they will kill you."
"But you'll be there—"
"I'm not going to step in," I shook my head. "You have to handle it yourself. Because what if I'm not there next time? I need to know you can take care of yourself."
Aisha blinked, her eyes going wide, before she frowned and nodded. Seeing she looked about as prepared as she could be, I lifted us both up and flew down towards the camp. We drew a bit of attention as we set down, people looking up from their work as they noticed us. A few of the smarter ones drew their weapons and began advancing, convincing their comrades to do the same.
"Good evening, gentlemen," I greeted. "My name is Rudeus Greyrat, emperor-level elemental mage, and king of the Asura Kingdom. It seems you've gotten lost and crossed over our wall, into our country. Is your commanding officer around? I'll need to inspect your travel papers—"
A man poked his head out of a larger tent than the others, turning and locking eyes with me. He went white as a sheet before turning and running for the wall. "Kill him! Kill him!"
"Well, that's rude," Aisha muttered, letting go of my hand.
"A bit," I agreed as the men rushed at us. "Go fetch him for me."
"Okay big brother!" she grinned, launching herself at the closest men between her and the fleeing officer. She swung her hand and a blade of wind whipped out ahead of her in an arc, and where it hit men were blown apart in a spray of blood.
There was no hesitation. She didn't slow down. Didn't stop to engage them, just dealt with them in the fastest, most efficient way she had available. Nor did it look like there was even a shred of remorse for what she'd done. I had sicced her on a target and she obeyed.
I think Aisha may be a bit more different than we thought, I mused for a moment, before lifting a foot and stepping as the men charging me got within stabbing range. The ground around me for a hundred yards turned into a quagmire of quicksand and flash-heated razor blades and spikes of glass. Men, tents, and equipment sank below the surface, the soldiers screaming as they fell and were shredded.
"Mage!" someone yelled, before pointing a staff at me and chanting for a fireball.
I pointed a finger at him, drawing a stone from the ground and turning it into a bullet, before super-heating the inside and firing. His body exploded into chunky salsa, fragments from the fist-sized bullet taking out the people around him. "Thanks for stating the obvious."
Launching myself off of the platform of solid ground I'd left below me, I created a series of ice lances as I ascended and took aim. I fired and where the lances struck, men were pinned to the ground, before the ice expanded, blossoming outwards into spikes from within their bodies, leaving behind a bloody mess. It was really just cleanup after that, as I occasionally checked in on Aisha to make sure she was doing okay.
Apparently, her idea of taking care of the problem had been to disleg the officer who had been fleeing, cutting him off at the knee—whatever she had used leaving behind two cauterized stumps as he wailed on the ground. Then, she'd launched herself into the men around her, using our aerial sword style to flit between them and cut them down—where she didn't simply use wide area magic, such as sending spikes up from the ground, or more sweeping wind blades.
I finished picking off the last of the ones that had tried to flee, then waited for Aisha to finish. When she was done, I made my way over and knelt down, checking her over for injuries. She giggled, squirming as I poked, prodded, and felt to make sure she was fine. "Sprite, can you check her over?"
There was no answer and I frowned. Pulling out my phone, I saw it was dead. Looking up towards the ship, I saw her projection floating in midair, hovering at the edge of whatever field was disrupting her. I pointed to the phone and she nodded, gesturing for us to come back. I gave her a nod and turned away, putting the phone back in my pocket as I did.
"I'm fine~!" Aisha whined, finally having had enough and brushing my hands away. "They never even got close."
Studying her, I asked, "How do you feel?"
"I feel fine," she sent me a smile. "Why?"
"No bad feelings about all of this?" I asked, gesturing around.
The little redhead scoffed. "They were assholes and they tried to kill us first. Besides, you told me to, so it's fine!"
I opened my mouth to argue that no, it wasn't fine, before sighing and shaking my head. Standing, I patted her on the head. "Okay. But if you change your mind and you want to talk about it, I'll always make time for you."
"Mm!" she nodded, grinning. "So, we gonna go ask that guy what's going on?"
"Yup," I nodded, taking Aisha's hand and making my way over to where the man was now sobbing on the ground. "Hey asshole, knock that shit off. I've got questions and you've got answers."
His eyes were wild as he looked up at me, the tears replaced by fear. "He was right! You're a monster! You, you have to be stopped!"
"Who was right? And what did you do?"
"God! God will reward me for killing you!" Fear shifted to determination and I felt his mana shift, condensing somewhere in his chest. Reaching down, I grabbed his shirt and used my touki to rip it off, exposing his chest—and the mass of scars that had been cut into it, but looked like they had been healed over with magic, leaving behind some kind of written formula for an enchantment.
"What the fu—"
"DIE MONSTER!"
I grabbed Aisha and threw up a shield, launching us away as the scars suddenly glowed with the light of mana being released. A moment later, a concussive thump rattled my bones as he exploded. A glance back showed a dissipating fireball and little else.
"Who the hell convinces someone to turn themselves into a suicide bomber?" I muttered, as Aisha squirmed around and looked to see what had happened.
"He was insane," she shook her head. "Right? God doesn't talk to people."
I started to agree, only to frown as Sprite popped into being beside us. "Yeah, sure," I murmured, shifting my gaze to the hologram. "So? What happened?"
"We were temporarily cut off and the version of me on the phone was banished, but everything is fine now." Frowning, she looked over towards where the corpse was, before holding up a hand and conjuring a hologram of his chest and the patterns carved into it. "This could be trouble. I don't like it, master."
"Yeah, I don't either," I agreed. "Think you can work up a way to neutralize it?"
"Maybe?" she looked unsure. "It's too simple for what it did. Like there's something missing."
Studying the scarring, I asked, "A part on his back or something?"
Sprite considered, then shook her head. "It's not connected though. It's more like… a summoning enchantment, but not one I've ever seen before."
Humming, I nodded. "Looks like we'll need to hit up Millis and Ranoa for information then. Let you scan through their libraries and see what you can find."
"I can't get into Millis," she winced. "I've already tried. The same effect is now up over the city. I can see them though, and what I see worries me. They have troops mustering and those outside the barrier all have the same effect around them—but there's some kind of multiplicative effect. Being nearby someone using this array expands both more than double what it should be. So as the army grows, the effect grows larger. I've had to move the drone circling Millis away because the field expanded large enough that it was getting close to disrupting it. There's good news though. I can now detect and measure the effect directly! So no one can sneak up using it."
"Well, that is good," I nodded, before grabbing Aisha and lifting into the air. "Let's get out of here. I want a shower, and then we need to call the others and let them know."
"Good morning, gentlemen," I smiled in greeting to the three men. The king of Shirone stood on a green lawn holding a club of some sort and looked to be involved in playing a sport of some kind that reminded me vaguely of a cross between golf and polo. The king of Kikka was currently sitting on his throne and holding an audience. The third, the king of Sanakia, sat astride a horse and had been in the middle of a hunt from the look of things.
All of them tried to speak at once, in various degrees of outrage at the interruption, but a gesture from me silenced them on their ends. I waited for them to figure out what had happened. It didn't take long, with the king of Shirone figuring it out the fastest, as he'd been through this before with Roxy. He fell silent as well and waited. Finally, the other two showed looks of alarm as they got the message.
"That's much better." I turned to the king of Shirone. "My wife Roxy tells me you helped her out when your son caused some trouble for her. You have my thanks for that."
"O-of course," he stammered, nodding jerkily.
"Now, while King Shirone may know who I am simply because he hosted one of my wives in his court for a time, it would be rude of me not to make the introduction. I know how royals and nobles just love throwing around titles and such. Don't like doing it myself, but if it gets me what I want," I trailed off with a 'what can you do' shrug.
"My name is Rudeus Boreas Greyrat, Emperor-level Elemental Mage, and king of the Asura Kingdom. Now, it's my understanding that the area north west of Shirone, east and south of the Red Dragon mountains and to my country's east, has been disputed for some time. I'm here to tell you all that as of today, you can consider the so-called 'Conflict Zone' resolved. I've claimed it for Asura and emptied it of troops. Your troops are unharmed, beyond the wounds they sustained in combat in the Eastern Asura region, and we're transporting them home to your individual kingdoms. As for Eastern Asura, I've erected a border wall to discourage future attempts at fighting over our land. This is a courtesy call to let you know that anyone attempting to scale, burrow under, or destroy the wall will be killed. Traders are free to pass through the gates, at no price. However, the troops of other nations are not welcome. Any attempt to send troops will see them killed as they cross the border. If more than one hundred troops from any of your nations attempt to cross our border, I will come visit you personally, and we'll be having a much more pointed conversation. Now, are there any questions?"
I un-muted them and grinned into the uproar that followed. Above each kingdom, lightning flashed across the sky and struck near each king—coming in through the window to strike the floor in front of the king of Kikka, who was indoors.
"As I said. Emperor-level Elemental Mage. Do not argue with me." They paled and I nodded. "I'm not a monster or a tyrant, and my wife, Queen Ariel Anemoi Asura, did not send me here to conquer you. That's not to say I couldn't do it if I wanted to. I could. Just as easily as I could destroy you. That's not a threat, it's simply a statement of fact. I have spells that could wipe your kingdoms off the map in a flash of light like that," I snapped my fingers and they flinched, "and then rebuild them inside of a month."
Looking at each to make sure they understood, I continued, "Thing is, I don't want to. I'll respect your borders and the laws of your kingdoms within your respective territories. All of our current trade deals and the like stand unchanged. The only thing that's changed is that we're done fighting over Eastern Asura. In the long run, this will save us all money and manpower and, if you're willing to hear me out, I have a proposition for a way to make us all filthy rich off of the area and share the wealth, instead of my country taking it all. I'd be happy to take all of the money, and I'm sure that'd make my people happy as well, but neighbors make a community, and happy neighbors make for a happy community. This will be better for all of us if we can all get along and say we all came out with a profit. So, who wants to make some money?"
The three kings looked at each other hesitantly for a moment before the king of Shirone spoke up. "What did you have in mind?"