Robin quickly drowned the potion for the fear of suffering another side effect. Only when she could feel her bowels and mind calm considerably, did she heaved out a sigh.
It seemed the others were not even affected in the slightest.
How enviable.
“Master, welcome back.” Greeted Quinn. A few sharp sucks of air came behind the trio. If she had not addressed Robin as Master, they may have assumed Quinn was the master of the residence.
They way she elegantly carried herself showed an enormous comparison to how Robin casually walked. Robin took noticed how she changed her previous white flowing gown to an open high to low gown. There were golden accents trailing from her shoulders until it reached the ends of her pelvis. Her deep violet hair was tied in an intricate braid and it made Robin wonder why she decided to dress different compared to all the other times.
She decided not to think too deeply into. “I’m back. As requested, could you please guide our guests into the baths and then take them to the banquet after,” instructed Robin before leaving the courtyard.
Expecting for Quinn to lead the newly arrived guests, Robin was a bit surprised to see violet-haired woman trailing after her.
As if noticing her Master questioning, Quinn quickly spoke up, “I have already prepared a few capable servants to escort our guests. I find them more suited for these kinds of job.” Of course, those were not her real intentions, rather she wanted to spend more time with her Master, knowing she would be gone indefinitely after attending some irrelevant magic school.
Taking a peek at her face to only find no facial change, Quinn internally sighed. She didn’t want her Master to think she was forcing her job onto someone else or a bit sticky.
Besides her Master’s intentions to go abroad, she recalled her other goal in building a country. The thought greatly excited her, and she dreamt of standing beside her Master as she commanded the whole country and its subjects. It was enough to make her drool of all that power and prestige effortlessly in the grasp of their hands.
They made a sharp turn and arrived at the grand library, where the higher echelons had quickly saluted upon seeing their Master’s appearance.
Startled at the imposing sight, Robin quickly regained her composure and sat down. Her heart continued to thumb in anxiousness under such pressing stare, enough to give a normal person an anxiety attack. She also took noticed how they were dressed in a similar fashion like Quinn with eye-catching and almost militaristic themed clothes like faux fur over their shoulders and plenty of gold accents.
If Robin were to simply describe the type of clothes they were wearing, it was similar to the overly lavish costumes from concept arts of famous artists. Well, they were because Robin knew they were a pvp ranking reward from the top 100 global players.
She frowned. Her older brother had spent too much time over the course of his treatment playing video games. She should have kept a better eye on him, knowing he may have been addicted. But now, she was not at his side and could only disperse those thoughts away.
“It’s nice that you all gathered here.” She swept her gaze across the room before continuing. “You’ve already heard that I’m planning to build a country; the faster the better, and before I can do any of that, I need all of your cooperation for this large-scale project.”
“Yes!” Their voices synchronized perfectly reflecting their amazing loyalty.
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Taking out her notes, Robin began explaining, “There a few kingdoms scattered around this continent. Our job is to absorb them if possible.” She pointed at the enlarged map from the projector.
The magical and almost steampunk like projector allowed the map to be absorbed to create a more accurate depiction of the continent. However, this map only showed the continent she was currently residing and the places she had already been. The rest were undiscovered, covered in a gray haze and would eventually be cleared upon discovering them.
“In the next month, I’ll be in Xaexaviel attending their magic school. As for why, it's because school is the breeding ground of ideas, exchange of ideas, and a better way for me to get more exposure. During this time, Dorian and Quinn will oversee all operation regarding the castle. Also, the slaves that I purchased in the nearest town will be the first generation citizens in our newly founded country.”
She then turned to where Xaexaviel laid, only for it to be concealed in a hazy gray cloud. Robin was not worried, because one of the books she purchased from the eccentric book owner had the map included on the very back. She carefully ripped the page out and fed it into the apparatus. In an instant, the kingdom and all its inner roads were clearly displayed for the group to see.
She drew a large red circle around the kingdom. “This will be our first target.”
“Declaring war is not an option,” assert Robin. She shook her head assuming they may have the idea in mind. She was raised civilized, or at least to an extent. The concept of war was a moral line that Robin did not want to really cross over unless needed. Furthermore, many valuable resources would be consumed by the process, and curtail the guilt she may face knowing full well her brother disliked violence, wars, and upheld questionable justice.
She’d rather avoid suffering the same guilty conscience from when she had framed the previous CEO, trying to fool herself that it was all for the sake of her brother. War also meant an imaginable sum of resources being wasted and money. In the end, war would decimate an economy, not that Robin’s side would have to worry, but the citizens would suffer the most their hatred directed at her, the perpetrator. Plus, Robin had very great examples during her time on Earth about wars; mostly fueled by oil and other natural resources. Just thinking about the amount of PTSD patients, even potential rebellions, or terrorist shifting behind the scene was enough to bring a gigantic headache.
“Declaring war and finishing them off will only create hostility and lag behind research. If I am correct, many mages’ lives will be wasted along with many men coming from impoverished families and they are very important. Any intellectuals in this continent are important if they can bring benefits. I think the best way to apprehend Xaexaviel is to infiltrate the inner circle,” explained Robin.
“Of course Master. We will follow your every order.” Most of the servants had already assumed war was the best possible choice, but it seemed their Master had more plans.
The pointer then traced back to their residence. She outlined the surroundings, “Before continuing, I want to assign a few people to search the area and bring me detailed information on the natural resources. I hope to see if there is any fertile land and convert it into a large plantation where resources used to make commodities can be cultivated. As for why I want these commodities, it is to create a large company that will serve as a pathway to infiltrate the inner circle of Xaexaviel.”
Her eyes landed on the torn book, the golden crown gleaming under the sunlight. It exemplary the nearest kingdom practiced monarchy with a few other branches of primary powers at the very top. It made it susceptible to bribe and take root in their affairs like parasitic worms. Controlling their economy seems to be the best bet as for now.
This is starting to be morally ambiguous.
It was probably an understatement, but she would observe how the higher echelon played in their respective roles. If they were corrupt as she guessed they were, she'd gladly get rid of them and absorb the kingdom into a more centralized power. Oppression proved to be worthless if it caused a stalemate in ideology, individualism, and new intuitive ideas to take birth. A great example may have been George Orwell's 1984, however, power should still be centralized in order to keep a firm hold of order.
Robin quietly pondered in her head and continued to go over the plan she had in mind. She decided to figure it out later when she actually reached that point, but for now, she wanted to create a main shop located in the capital and a smaller shop outside of the capital. It would be the first parasitic worm to take root in the kingdom and she devised a list of goods on a separate whiteboard.
Goods
1. Health Potions
2. Mana Potions
3. Chocolate, Coffee, Tea, Sweets, Alcohol
4. Other potions
5. Apparel
6. Paper & Pens
These unusual commodity offered, will definitely attract the inner circles and maybe gain the support from the nobles.
As for Ibaraki and Moei, in the next month from the time she would depart for the school, they will be completing all sorts of quests for the Adventure Guild. There wasn’t much to worry about them, as they were very capable. They both excelled in physical combat and also magic given their levels and had been enhanced many times by her brother.
For the development of the country, she requested Quinn to find assign a group of scouts and record details about the surroundings and the resources it provided. Quinn had recommended Blair a fellow elvish summoner for her amazing affinity towards nature. She could summon high-level guardians from the earth element and they would be able to reshape the land if necessary. Furthermore, Robin tasked her to find a way to cultivate coffee beans, tea leaves, cotton, and cacao beans in the greenhouse for greater yield.
For now, Robin decided to check up on her guests.