I came out at the same time as the previous day and headed down the tunnels. My people were smiling nodding at me with looks of trusting eyes. Hmm, I recognize them as my people. Am I becoming a genuine leader? Hopefully, this won’t impede book time. Word had gotten around about my plans and what had happened with Guye. I wasn’t sure why he had told people, but people were less weary around me, so I guess it was a good thing.

I had thought they didn’t like me or were scared. It turns out it was just them being shy and feeling undeserving well, according to Guye. It would probably have been best to look into that more, but I was unlikely to get the time.  Maybe I can get someone to write a book about it. That reminded me I hoped he would be there today. I wanted to tackle the medical care situation in Astraville.

Feinna was around one bend on a morning walk. She blushed as I waved to her and scurried away. I would have to wait till she got the book done to talk to her, but I was so excited to read it. I almost couldn’t wait and wanted to read what chapters were available. It would be tough, though, to wait for new releases.

The counselor meeting room was a lot less hectic and disorganized than it had been before. They must have calmed down and learned to work more efficiently. That was good because it was stressful walking into that mess every morning. I saw Guye and nodded to him, but didn’t see Highthorn or Liz. I was glad Guye was doing better and was already back. Now I just needed to find out where the Valwrecks went.

“Has anyone seen the Valwrecks?” I asked the room.

“Yes, Lady Astrid, they are moving out stacks and stacks of supplies from your library. They said they would try to come around later but thought you’d want the book copying going.” Dontas said to me as he was rifling through the mess of papers.

Yes, book production is extremely important, well at least to me. “That is good. We can deliver our first load of trade goods and leave a real mark on the kingdom.”

“Yes exactly, that’s what we need to do to get our image better. Mais updated me on your position on earning profits from our goods and it is simply wonderful for our image. I can capitalize on it to make ourselves seem better than the kingdom. People will surely flood over here.” Kobric stated with his arms wide open.

My teeth moved back and forth wanting to grit out of anxiety. I didn’t want too many people coming here at once. “Ugh, wouldn’t there be too many people if we did that?”

“No, I doubt anyone above the lower class will move here. We still have no real amenities and can’t safely go outside,” Minnitte said.

I sighed in relief. There was already so much to do before I could read. So unless people were dying I wanted to start reading new books. The way the otherkin are being treated, though it is highly likely they were suffering as we chatted. There was no way I could have a clear mind to read with things like what Guye went through or what those book club brats were doing.

“Since Guye is here, let’s discuss the medical situation. Any thoughts Guye?” I said, turning to him and giving him a nod.

“Well, we recently got the Medy Mushy, so things have differently improved but nothing on the same scale as a healing gem.”

Yes! I knew the name would catch on. “That is good. How would we get ahold of a healing gem? If we could get one, I could replicate,” I said confidently. My ability to recreate and clone artifacts was very proficient. I had to learn how to do that after I kept breaking things in the library and dungeon. It kept taking relics into the dungeon with me while exploring it.

“We could get one after the initial sale of the book and your Mushies. It would be life-saving to our town even if you can’t replicate it.” Mais said, looking over a paper with lots of numbers on it.

“Good, let’s do that. In the meantime, I will make a bunch of healing potions. To hold us over.”

Everyone’s eyes lit up in agreement. It seemed like they stopped being shocked by my capabilities, at least till I did something ‘overpowered’ again.

“The only issue then is what to charge. Once we get the stone. People that have a healing gem can charge a lot of money since they are walking healing potions.”

“Medical should be free. That is another lesson I learned from my books. ‘Your people can’t work if they are unable to due to being disabled.’” I said, using a deep voice at the end to replicate the author of “Strong Leadership For Strong Leaders.”

Everyone nodded in agreement. It seemed they were on board with keeping basic needs free or as cheap as possible.

“Yes, but what about getting people to do it?”

“Oh, we should still pay people for the mana they use. We could also cover their time as well as provide security. We can pay for it out of our profits, at least until I see how many I can make. I could just set up a healing room every so often.”

“Yes, that will work. We could add one per zone,” Minnette replied.

How many zones was she thinking we would need?

“That is marvelous, Lady Astrid!” Guye said, seemingly extremely relieved. Then he stared at me in awe. Well, looks like I did something good again. At least the entire room wasn’t staring at me this time.

“I propose in the meantime we add healing rooms throughout our current space, but also to the new areas. To ensure easy access to healing.” Minnette said.

Everyone nodded, then I said, “I agree.” I didn’t want them always taking my word as law. I knew even if I told them not to they would. So unless I needed to push something through, I wanted others to vote in earnest. It was especially nice that they were accounting for my abilities. I liked to just have a plan to follow, not have to make them all the time.

My stomach nibbled at me a bit, reminding me it wanted to be kept satiated. “Let's break for a snack. Are there any new recipes from the Mushies or are there any local dishes anyone has?” I said, looking around the room.

“We didn’t think you’d want to eat with us.” The Meeri said.

“Why not? I want to try as many dishes as possible in the world. As well as read all of the books. Nothing like a good meal to get into the reading zone.”

“Have you tried calamity beast yet?” Dontas asked.

“No, isnt that what the nobles love?”

“Yes, but we got tired of it and your Mushies are new and well from you, so our stock of calamity beast may go bad soon.”

I liked my lips, thinking of various recipes I could make with the new meat. “If those nobles like it, it must be good. Yes, I will have it. I can also store the rest in my dimensional storage bag. We can sell it or do something else with it later. Food shouldn’t go to waste.”

“Dimensional storage?” Mais asked, looking interested.

“Ya, it’s a spatial magic spell from ‘Bend The Dimensions To You’,” I said, trying to sound nonchalant. “I will add it to my list of things to create, but if I could somehow create a gem for it. The transportation of goods would be much better for merchants. Food spoilage is never good.”

I thought about it a bit more before saying, “It’s easy enough to do, but you would need a constant flow of mana based on size. There isn’t enough ambient mana in the world to hold the spell. Those calamity beasts have done a real number on the mana flow in the world. Ley lines can only do so much.”

They seemed enthralled by what I was saying. It was likely informative to them, but I didn’t have enough evidence or knowledge about calamity beasts to really say anything substantive.

“Let’s go get food, though. I am getting hungry.” I said, leaving the room.

Firth ran ahead of me. “Let's go to your kitchen on the Mushie farm. Dontas can go get the meat and meet us there. We can just walk slow.”

“Okay, but update me on all the new books that are being written that you know of on the walk,” I said, wanting to be updated on all the new books I would get to read.

“I have been keeping track of that.” Lukais said, walking up next to me before speaking again. “There are a few books being written about people’s experiences here. Some hunters are writing manuals on hunting the calamity beasts and weapons. I think there are a few people writing about what knowledge they have from working inside of the corporations. There are many more nonfiction books being written.”

“Anything fiction?” I asked, hoping to be sucked mentally into other worlds. It would be cool if I could actually hop in and experience it, but that sounds like a lot of work to create dimensions of stories. I should add that to my long-term list of things to do.

“Yes, there are some romance stories being written. Feinnas' started the trend after you said you were excited to read hers. There are also some adventure books and fictionalized views of what the old world was like before the calamity and even further into the past.”

I was enthralled by what he was saying, only getting more and more excited about new books. We managed to take almost an hour to get to the mushy farm, talking more in depth about each book. Dontas was just handing off the meat to the snow-white bear-eared cook as we arrived.

Everyone looked at me as we approached the cook on the grill. My stomach rumbled anxiously at the thought of them watching me eat, but these people were my people and I pushed down the feeling by rubbing my stomach. Don’t eat fast, Don’t eat fast, Don’t eat fast!

The cook on the grill nodded to me and threw the meat on. The aromas instantly filled the air and my nostrils. I stared, almost drooling, as the flames licked the meat. He threw spices on and rubbed them in as they wafted over. They tingled my nose. Wow, they must be strong!

Thin cooking marks started to line the meat. Just when I was about to say something, he pulled it off. Whew, he didn’t ruin it. He threw it on a plate and tossed some grilled veggie mushies off to the side of the plate.

I pushed down my stomach, trying to growl like a tiger. The meat was almost too me. All I had to focus on now was not devouring it in record time.

It was handed to me with some cutlery; the aromas assaulted me as it came closer and closer. I cut into the meat; the juices burst out, and I quickly pulled the bite into my mouth so the juice wouldn’t escape. It was satisfyingly savory with a kick of spice. This really hit the mark. It made me consider raising calamity beasts as cattle for a moment before I tossed out the idea due to how it may look to others. They would probably think I was raising an army. Speaking of an army that will have to be on the list eventually. SOOOOO much to do. Not enough time to read.

The grilled veggie was rather tasty as well. It would be exciting to see how they would change up the culinary world here. I managed to eat at an appropriate pass in front of everyone. I let out a heavy breath. “Ahhh, that was superb. So delicious”

People started to line up behind me, likely to order what I had. I was glad the meat wasn’t going to go to waste. We could always go get more if needed. I needed to get rid of the calamity beasts anyways.

“We should make a recipe book,” Peri suggested.

“A mushy recipe book would be great! We could sell it with large orders!”

“Lady Astrid, I thought of an idea for our book trade,” Firth said.

“Yes, go ahead.”

“Well, we should put a line in the front that it is an allowed copy and that any unauthorized copies will be treated as an offense to you.”

I thought about it for a moment. “I am okay with that until we are more self-sufficient and have a way to keep up with bigger merchants. But really, I want knowledge free to all.”

“Yes, that’s right. You are the Godd- Lady of Knowledge,” Guye said, stumbling over his words. I almost wanted to give in and let them call me goddess, but I still needed to get a handle on the kingdom, corpos, and church first. I sighed, thinking about the to-do list. It used to be filled with books to read.

“Speaking of knowledge. Any word on Elder Mezzis.” I said, not minding discussing meetings in front of people. It was good that they would be kept informed and see how we interacted.

“Yes, she said she would be the first in line to come here. She has made a few plans. She also says she is bringing presents.” Firth said, informing me.

I still felt kind of guilty. She really was trying to help in the background.

“You all grab yourselves some food. Then we can go get the mine cart setup.”

They looked slightly panicked.

“What's wrong?”

“We didn’t bring the designs,” Firth said, speaking for the group.

“I will go get them. I already ate while waiting for you.” the Dontas said, heading towards the stairs.

I got in line for a second round as we waited on Dontas to retrieve the plans. Everyone tried to step aside, but I simply replied with, “I still need time to digest.”