Waking up, I quickly set about doing my morning routine, just because I have a lot I need to get done doesn't mean I can skip out on my exercises. After having breakfast, I went out to make more innerspring and pocket coil frames, using my magic to the fullest extent to speed the process along. I coiled metal wire for around an hour before I figured it was late enough to head to the materials shop to look for down feathers, cotton, and some other materials I am running low on.

I was able to find everything I was looking for, thankfully, and was even able to get the down feathers and cotton in huge quantities. I found another fibrous material that has similar properties to cotton, which comes from a plant-type monster, that I was able to get a huge quantity of as well. I was well aware that I didn't have anywhere near enough of any one material to make the futon-like mattresses, but I was hoping I could manage by combining the materials to stuff the futons with. To be on the safe side, I was planning to make a magic tool that would make zippers, putting zippers on the futons would allow me to change out the filling if it didn't work as well as I had hoped.

The mattresses, futons, and cushions could wait until later though, as it was time to start working on demolishing the other buildings. I went directly over to the land I had purchased and noticed that, once again, the people from the lower-income area had completely cleaned the lot where I had left materials. First, I walked around using Presence Detection and Magic Detection to see if there was anyone that hadn't moved yet and noticed that the only ones left were the old couple. Then, I set up barriers covering the two cleared lots plus the now vacant lot that William moved from, before starting to clear out and dismantle the former smithy.

I was able to completely break down the old smithy in about an hour by not trying to conserve any mana before moving to the other vacant property, setting up the same barriers, and also dismantling that building. Drinking a mana potion, I was able to finish the second building in a little more than an hour and decided to use the cleared area to turn the other trees I had into lumber. By the time I had finished making the lumber, it had reached lunchtime, and I was feeling quite hungry, so I decided to make a cheeseburger for lunch. Mincing the meat by hand was quite annoying, so I ended up pulling out some metal and making a grinder, thinking it would be nice to make a magic tool version as well.

After lunch, I went to check in on the old couple and found them struggling to move their furniture, so I offered them a hand. It took only about 30 minutes to help the couple move using my item box, and I was then able to dismantle the final building. When I had finished, I went to find the same old man as usual, to get the lots cleared of the remaining materials and debris. Being that it was earlier in the day than usual, he brought a group of people along rather than having me show him over and then getting him going to gather the people later. I had to drop the concealment barrier so that they could see what to grab, and I gave them some copper coins and meat as a thank-you for always working so quickly and thoroughly.

While the guys were clearing the empty lot, I was designing the inn and landscape and answering the questions of people who passed by and saw the now empty lot. While I was making the design, I realized I was going to have to move some of the sewer connections and fill in the wells, digging new ones in other locations. To accomplish the task of moving the sewer connections, I called on Gnome after setting up the concealment barrier again. It took some negotiating, but I was able to get Gnome to aid me in not only moving the sewer connections but also the wells, adding a couple more, and positioning them near an underground river that Undine had helped us locate.

After getting the help of Undine and mostly Gnome, I made covers for all of the wells and began preparing the foundation, digging two different basements in the process. Next, I laid down bricks to outline the building, using magic to connect the bricks to make a solid wall as I went. Once I had the first layer down, I shifted my attention to finishing the basement pillars that would support the whole inn. Because the inn was going to be far larger and hold far more people than the Cat's Paw, I had to make sure the foundation was very solid and even began the magic circuits on the basement floor, running them up the walls and pillars before creating a new floor, covering the basement.

Upon finishing the floor covering the basement and drinking another mana potion, I used Neutral Magic to float bricks over to line building up the exterior wall without me having to touch a single brick. When it got a few feet tall, I cast Earth Magic to connect all the bricks into a solid wall and then repeated the process until the first-floor exterior wall had been completed. Next, I repeated the process to build the load-bearing walls on the main floor, adding a few stone pillars and arches in what would be the inn's lobby, wanting to make it feel open and spacious. I had to stop the construction there, so I could continue etching in the magic circuit connecting all of the circuit lines to be sure there was no loss in efficiency, as this would determine the safety of the completed structure.

With the magic circuits etched into all the walls, floors, and pillars, I began powdering and mixing magic stones and crystals, increasing the magic stone ratio a little compared to what I had used for the Cat's Paw. With the powdered mixture ready to go, I began filling the etched magic circuit lines, melting the mixture into one seamless crystalline pattern. By the time I had finished filling in the circuit lines, it was almost time for me to call it a day, so I quickly made a ceiling for the first floor, carving the magic circuits into it as I went before heading home.

When I got home, I made a zipper-making magic tool, having another magic tool making a sturdy cotton duck-weave canvas cloth while I was at it. At this point, I had to make long wire strips and cast molds for the zipper sliders and tabs. Once the preliminary steps were completed, I fed the cotton canvas strips and metal strips into their designated sections of the magic tool before starting it with mana. While the magic tool was running, I made the sliders needed for the zippers, both made out of brass. I also ran the magic tools to make more thread, cloth, and felt, while I made new magic tools for making thicker thread and cloth, wanting ones that could make canvas cloth while keeping the other magic tools free for making the usual thread and cloth.

After dinner, I continued running all the magic tools while making more innerspring and pocket coil frames. I decided to also try making a futon before bed, cutting and sewing the newly made canvas material, adding a zipper on one end before stuffing the multi-fiber/down feather mix, and sewing the top and bottom with a certain distance between the two layers to keep it from bulging out due to the stuffing. When I finished it and tried laying on it, the comfort level was higher than anticipated, so I planned to make more just like this for the inn.

The following day, I picked up where I left off, finishing the second and third floors before lunch and starting on the extra tall fourth floor that didn't cover the entire third floor. At lunch, I had to follow through on the promise I made during negotiations with Gnome and make a bit of a feast using cheeseburgers as the main course. I also had to provide a small barrel of mead to the greedy spirit, but I still believed the result was worth the price, as it would have taken me two days to complete the work on my own. After lunch, I finished the fourth floor and spent the remainder of the afternoon filling in the magic circuit lines and running pipes for water and sewage.

As with the previous days, I spent my time, until going to bed, working on producing innerspring and pocket coil frames. The main difference between this evening and the three previous evenings was that I made a design pattern and a few tools for making more futons. I realized that even using my magic to the fullest, there was no way I could complete the number of cushions and mattresses I was unable to order from Jay's store by myself while also making the futons. The next morning, I first went to the merchant's guild to sell the idea to them before heading to a large tailoring shop to put in an order, handing them the pattern, tools, and cotton canvas material I had made. I, of course, told them I had sold the design to the merchant's guild, so if they wanted to make more in the future, they would have to pay for usage rights at the guild.

After finishing my business with the tailoring shop, I went to the construction site and decided to work on the horse stable, courtyard, and other exterior amenities. When I finished the exterior amenities, I began working on the wooden interior frame plus the window and door frames. Because I had made the lumber ahead of time, I was able to frame the inside of the entire building and make the windows and doors, installing them before the end of the day. In the late morning tomorrow, I was due to go to the merchant's guild to interview potential staff, so I would have less time to work on construction tomorrow. I was beginning to wonder if I was going to be able to finish the inn in one week like I had told Livia, I did say 'roughly one week' though, so an extra day or two would still be on time.

Instead of the usual, I was building a lot of magic tools for the inn tonight. I would be able to pick up some of the more generic ones in-store, but I was making multiple new types of magic tools along with many unique forms and modified versions of existing magic tools to fit the design of the inn. My favorite ones to make were enormous crystal chandeliers for the lobby and penthouse suites. There were other magic tools that I would have to make onsite, but I wanted to complete the majority of them ahead of time to expedite the process. The most challenging magic tool I made was actually a new version of the water heater magic tool that utilizes magic stones as fuel and magic crystals as an amplifier to reduce the needed mana.

The following morning, as I was getting ready to head to the construction site, I noticed the Sonic Eagle I had summoned was very slowly making its way toward town. Finding the slow speed odd, I cast a Clairvoyance spell to see what was happening. What I saw caused me quite a surprise as there were three wagons slowly making their way toward Gale, carrying mostly heavily injured adventurers. I could tell that my dad had already used the elixir I sent him because his armor was missing in places, but his body looked uninjured. This development caused me to change my plans for the morning, as I called the Sonic Eagle back and went to my workshop to make more elixirs. In total, I made 30 high-grade elixirs before the Sonic Eagle reached me.

Leaving my workshop, I headed to the adventurer's guild slipping through the lobby and going straight to Revna's office. I knocked twice before opening the door, not waiting for a reply, and walked in to see Revna looking at me in shock at my lack of manners.

"Sorry, I didn't think this was something that could wait. I had sent some potions and a letter to my dad with a summoned Sonic Eagle, but I guess my dad didn't have paper or something because he didn't send a reply. Figuring that someone would show up with paper at some point, I left the eagle summoned there, but today it came back. I wasn't able to get a clear image because this is a summon, not a tamed monster, but two to four wagons are making their way toward town filled with injured adventurers, some even missing limbs," I told her almost in only one breath.

She stared at me wide-eyed for a long while before finally being able to say something. "Are you sure about what you just said?" She asked me in a serious tone.

"I wouldn't joke about something like this, and I wouldn't have come here if I wasn't sure of it," I replied just as seriously.

"What of your father?" Her voice sounded somewhat pained when she asked me that.

"The Sonic Eagle wouldn't have come back to me if he wasn't on one of those wagons. I believe he wouldn't be injured though, as I had sent him a top-quality elixir among the other potions," I said, being sure to not sound worried at all.

"Hah~… That is quite a relief, I'm not sure how I could have apologized for sending him there if he didn't come back alive. This is quite the problem though, we have three elixirs that we have purchased from the Guildmaster of the merchant's guild, but if there are more with severe injuries, we'll have to give preference to those who can make more money or can be of more use to the guild," She first sounded relieved, and then depressed about what was to come.

"I have a meeting with Livia soon, so I will ask about elixirs to see if she has or can get more today. At the rate those wagons are traveling, they probably won't make it here until evening, maybe not until nightfall. I would guess that they sent ahead a messenger as well, so I expect you will get more specific news around early afternoon," I told her without letting on to the fact that I am the one making the elixirs and have more than enough with me.

Upon finishing my conversation with Revna, I headed to the construction site to work on the grand entrance until it was time to head to the merchant's guild. I arrived at the guild a little ahead of schedule, asking to meet with Livia before doing the interviews. Granting my request, Livia had the receptionist lead me back to the usual room, where she was already awaiting my arrival.

"Did something happen? If it wasn't something important, you would have just waited until after interviewing the candidates," She asked as soon as the door shut behind me.

I then told her about the heavily injured adventurers being brought to the city as well as the conversation I had with Revna this morning. I then provided her with 30 elixirs I had made and told her to bring back whatever didn't sell or she didn't want to buy. I come to the merchant's guild so often that there was no reason to have her deliver them to my house or anything. Livia led me to the employee candidates after our unplanned meeting, but the room she led me to was not the usual one, it looked more like a large conference room with a small stage at the front and rows of chairs lined up facing it.

The number of applicants in the room was far more than I had expected, there must have been 60 or so people. I looked over at Livia, who just smirked at me and said that the manager candidates were in a different room. Wanting to get this done quickly, I asked a few questions of the crowd while using Detailed Appraisal on each of them, writing down the names of each into three columns on a piece of paper I had pulled out from my item box. The columns were the hire, maybe, and don't hire lists, mostly based on what I got from Detailed Appraisal. I was surprised to find a spy among the group, though he didn't seem dangerous, but rather, just an informant.

Once I had the list filled out, I thanked everyone for showing up and said I would call them into a separate room for individual interviews. We then walked out of the room, where I informed Livia of those who didn't make the cut and for what reason, while also telling her that one of them was a spy. As expected, she was extremely surprised to hear that there was a spy among the applicants and asked me how I knew. I had no way to answer her question without giving away that I had an appraisal skill that works on people, so I told her I had Character Appraisal and Goods Appraisal, rather than telling her I had the much rarer Detailed Appraisal.

Livia gave some instructions to some guild staff before taking me into the room with the manager candidates. As with the other applicants, I used Detailed Appraisal first thing to get a basic idea of the three people in the room. One man and two women stood up from a table to greet us as we walked into the room. When I got to the third person, the second woman, I froze up while reading her details. I coughed, trying to play it off, and sat across the table from the three candidates. At this point, Livia took the initiative to introduce the three of them and why she recommended them each for the position, followed by the three introducing themselves.

From the left, there was a beastkin man in his mid-forties named Stephen who used to manage a small inn that was destroyed during a stampede before he came to Gale. Next was a woman in her early fifties named Dorothy, who used to own and manage a restaurant in the capital before she sold it and moved here to be near her grandchild. Last was a woman who appeared to be in her late twenties to early thirties, when, in fact, she was much, much older, named Gena, who used to work in a government office. I asked them a few questions about their work history, goals, salary requirements, and whether they would need a place to live. I had mostly figured out how I wanted to proceed, but I first had to ask Gena something important. Not sure if she would want to speak about it in front of the others, I asked to speak with her alone, but Livia said that interviews had to take place with a guild member present outside of extraordinary circumstances.

Not sure what to do, I turned to Gena, who seemed to guess what I wanted to talk to her about and said it was fine. I then asked the other two to step out for a minute, as it would be easier than having the three of us move to a different room. Once the other two were out of the room, I turned to Gena and asked her about what I needed to know directly.

"Sorry if this sounds rude, but why is an Alraune hiding her identity and looking for a job at the merchant's guild in Gale? I know that your race is actually of fae origin, but your race is still classified as demonkin, which are typically not found in human-controlled lands," I was a bit blunt, but there was no easy way to ask this question.

"I've been living among humans for a few hundred years now, and I have no intention of returning to Phantasm Island. I've enjoyed my time here, but one can not live here for free, and for obvious reasons, I can not do anything to bring attention to myself. I'll leave and change my identity again, but first, can you tell me how you found out?" She didn't hide anything and was prepared to disappear to continue her peaceful life.

"That's simple, my appraisal skill level is higher than your inhibitor magic tool. That's quite a rare item though, it's a dungeon-made artifact, right? Regardless, it would be a bit inconvenient for me if you were to run away and change your identity, so I'd prefer it if you would stay and come work for me," I answered her question and asked her to work for me.

"You want to hire me, even knowing what I am?" She asked, seeming confused.

"What you are, makes no difference; who you are and what you can do, is what matters to me. You don't have a problem keeping her real identity a secret, do you, Livia? I'll bring you a couple of Golden Vine Snails and some Spirit Tree leaves to compensate for the inconvenience," I answered Gena before turning to Livia to confirm that she would keep the secret.

"Are you bribing me?" Livia asked in return.

"Nonsense, I'm just providing an inconvenience fee along with a gift that can make a great-tasting herbal tea that does wonders for stress and stomach aches," I answered with the brightest smile I could give.

"Hah~, if you can guarantee she is safe, I will forget everything I heard. However, if necessary, I will inform the duke or even the king that you were aware and hiding the information from me and the kingdom." Her answer told me everything I needed to know.

"I knew you'd come along. Well then, let's call the other two back in so I can explain what I want to do. Hopefully, everyone will be fine with my decision," I said, this time, with a genuine smile.

ShadowWolfGuild

Just Cero being Cero...

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

A special thanks to Yeuromain, Gareth, and Kuba 15 for the support