The cold frontier with a few scattered bits of snow on the very edge of the mountains required Robin to change into a thick coat, leather boots, mittens, and earmuffs.
She drowned another potion and shivered in the biting cold scanning the lush greenery some concealed by the snow and a few large jagged rocks protruding at the very edge where the mountain began. As her eyes trailed up to the tip of the mountain she realized the utmost top was concealed by a few hazy clouds. This could have been another Mt. Everest back on Earth and would make a good tourist spot.
She took one more glance at the snow capped-mountain and followed Quinn into a makeshift shed.
In contrast to the numbing coldness, the inside of the shed provided a comforting warmth from the amber lights. Her company this time was Vulcan the castle blacksmith. His beard was bushy and long, a staggering difference compared to chef Jacques’ own handlebar mustache and had arms bulky enough to crush a man’s head between it. He adorned a brown leather apron with a few unusual tools protruding out from the large middle pocket, wondering what interesting uses he may have for it. He wasn't very tall for sure considering he was a dwarf?
“Good day Miss,” he greeted, the thick beard moved slightly as he spoke.
“Good day.” She replied sitting opposite of Vulcan.
Vulcan took out an assortment of crystals some the size of a grown man’s palm. They resembled the same kind of color and oddity like the magic stones she had experimented just not long ago. Like uncut gems, a bit of faceting would allow the inclusions and other flaws to be cleaned away, forming a natural gem.
Vulcan pointed north, her eyes trailing to where the thick index finger directed. “The mountains Miss brings in one of the largest mines, but better inside is laden with an inconceivable number of uncut magic stones like these.” He held the large uncut gem in his hand tossing it around. “As I was scoping around the area, I noticed a large magic leyline. I was lucky enough to stumble upon an unusual indicator; a glowing vein among a few slabs of rock, that led me to the small opening of these veins.” He leaned back, letting out a loud hearty laugh.
This was an incredible discovery however, magic stones did not really hold much use for Robin until a later date. Considering her brother’s castle had their own mining operation, and garden for the sake of materials, it wasn’t really necessary, but more is never enough. Greed alluded her, much like many humans viewed enough is never enough.
Her initial goal was to see if there were any interesting mineral deposits like iron, coal, and copper. However, even those materials were not needed, because the castle would provide these raw materials as long as she hunted them in the mini-dungeons. Having another outlet as a source of resources may benefit productivity, especially if she planned to make technological innovation.
In the end, her brother's castle was more valuable than the mine itself as it provided unlimited resources at the expense of a bit of time. However, the mine still had its uses, like refining them into effective magic stones and reselling them for a higher price. Robin hoped to use these magical ores to create a more eco-friendly fuel that her future country would rely on, so they would not ever have to suffer the same problem like global warming and sudden rise in price levels due to a drop in fuel and resources.
She chuckled at the thought. How could a business minded person have time to think about the environment, yet she felt compelled to protect this unblemished world. Maybe the natural beauty urged her to preserve it.
The nagging problem still remained in her mind. If the castle did not have a replenishable source for these raw resources, the magic stones will automatically dry up much like steel, gold, and other resources. It was logical to assume that each refined magic stones held their own amount of mana like batteries and would require recharging from a person's own mana pool if it ever ran out. They would be re-usable for sure, but it was almost like a hassle to constantly recharge them if the main energy came from mana holding individuals.
No matter. This issue could be dealt with later. As long as she knew what the land provided and an effective way to use the raw resources, not much else mattered for now.
“I’ll trouble you to start dispatching a few capable servants to help start the mining of these precious ores. They’ll be very useful in the near future, so stocking them out right now will provide extra inventory reserves.” With that, Robin took her leave again, this time heading towards the East.
At her arrival, Robin was a bit disappointed to see a sea of endless trees. The mountains from before stretched up as long as the Himalayan mountain range, with the west side where the large freshwater river resided cut through the land. A large forest covered a bit of the pathway where the river laid but with the East side, Robin could only see the path to be a densely packed forest after forest.
“Master, we’ve cleared a path for you.” Quinn gestured toward the only pathway leading to nothing. Well, it was very hard for Robin to view that far with her terrible vision, but what was noticeable was the number of trees that had been cleared for just one long endless path. As if it wasn’t imposing enough, the towering trunks of the trees were neatly stacked on top of one another resembling the kind you see at the lumberyard, enough to provide a continuous fireplace throughout Russia's long winters.
She made a mental note to teach her companions about the importance of environmental science after she got back because they were wasting precious resources. At least the towering pyramid of thick tree trunks could be used for building new dwellings or they would rot.
Two horse like apparitions galloped out of the dark mist, pulling a sinister looking carriage behind them. Their hooves were engulfed in blue flames matching their equally fiery manes, while their eyes glowed in a bright neon blue. It took a while for Robin to clearly recognize they were a pair of nightmare stallions from one of the various mounts available in Afrein.
“Please,” Quinn gestured her into the carriage, before wearily passing by the imposing horses. Unlike other normal sized horses using the scale from a field trip she took during her elementary school years, these were far bigger in size and had bulging muscles. If one were not careful or incurred their wrath, a kick from their hind legs would be the death of an adult man.
In an instant she made herself comfortable inside the carriage seats before her body jolted, lunging forward until her face collided into the chest of Quinn.
“Shit. Are you alright?” Robin quickly removed herself from Quinn. The amount of force created by the sudden movement of the carriage caused her to jerk from her seat. The forehead buzzed slightly at the hard impact of Quinn’s breasts and the size didn’t help ease the force behind the impact either.
“There is no need to apologize, Master.” She showed a reassuring smile, before knocking against the walls of the compartment.
The blurring background from the windows of the compartment slowed comparably to allow for a much comfortable travel.
When the arrived at the destination, a familiar scent of saltiness hit her nose. The air was wet with the sounds of waves rolling in and out of the sandy beach. Compared to the inland, the beachside resembled that of Massachusetts during a cloudy day. The small cliff-like ledge from where they stood allowed a panoramic view of the oceanic scenery, unblemished by human intrusion.
Brother, look! Come look at this crab! It looks funny!
Her eyes softened at sudden reappearance of her distant memory. The biting nostalgic sentiment ached, wanting to travel back in time and experience the small unique things in life with her brother again.
Slowly, her body descended down from the ledge, uncaring of any sharp jagged rocks protruding on the side. Her shoes sunk a bit into the soft sand, before slipping them off to feel the softness cradling her feet.
Wiggling her toes, a small smile rose from her lips. The waves created a nice loop, breaking against the beach before ebbing away back into the ocean. The hypnotic sounds seduced her as she approached closer until the wetness touched her toes.
Brrr. The water is so cold, brother. I can’t stand it. Hey, wait!
Her eyes trailed after the image of her younger self, running blissfully away from her mischievous brother. Her younger self laughed out loud as she splashed water back at her brother.
The aching became more prevalent, and Robin unconsciously touched the place where it throbbed in a phantom pain. She continued walking down the shoreline only stopping to pick up a small clam.
Quinn watched her Master comfortably from the sidelines fading into the background. She felt it was necessary to provide her space, whenever the tell-tale signs of longingness and shadowy shimmer reflected in her eyes. So she stayed quiet until one day, her Master would be willing to tell her. For now, she could only watch as a stranger.
Unauthorized usage: this narrative is on Amazon without the author's consent. Report any sightings.
The beautiful coral color stood out pleasantly against the dusty gray wet sand. She couldn’t fully understand why looking at the small shell brought an inexplicable melancholy.
We collected a lot of shells! I’m gonna put them up on the wall and the ceiling!
She swallowed thickly, a constricting sensation forming in her throat.
Aww...I can’t keep the shells, because I’m stealing the homes of the crabs?
“Yes, because if the crabs don’t have homes, they’ll be sad. And I’ll be sad.” She softly whispered, tracing over what her brother’s words. The stinging of her nostrils burned, but not as much as her eyes.
She ran over her thumb against the coral colored shell wiping away the wet sand.
Can I keep at least one then?
The shell distorted in a blur, the beads formed from the corners of her eyes slid down her cheeks, before slipping into the sand leaving a dark circular imprint.
How beautiful.
Quinn couldn’t help but think. What she lacked, her Master had. She envied the topic in which her Master showed such tenderness and care a contrast to her constant brooding expression that seemed to be permanently tattooed on her face. Even if she smiled, it held a forced contemplating sentiment; unsure and deliberate.
For once, the waves became a lovely lullaby drawing Robin into the sea of memories: deep, cold, and suffocating. The small coral colored clam laid inside loosely in her palm, while Robin desperately crushed the rising heartache, before treading over to the shed. The redness of her watery eyes hid nothing.
Warm air surrounded her the moment she took a step in the same exact shed she had met Vulcan in, but instead was greeted by a blue transparent almost gelatinous figure. The blue blob had a visible green core and slowly molded itself into a young female frame while remaining in its blue viscous form.
“Greetings, my liege,” the form spoke but its mouth did not move an inch. Understanding Robin’s puzzlement it offered, “I am speaking telepathically. Please ignore my inability to mimic human vocal cords.”
“That’s fine. However, I find it surprising that there was a coast near here," she forced out. Her voice was shaky and the intent to cry still remained deeply rooted. She gave a light cough to clear her throat and occupied her thoughts on more pressing matters.
Her eyes glided to where an open window laid unintentionally zoning in at the dark blue sea and the rolling waves. The saliva lodged in her throat traveled its way back down the moment she swallowed and attempted to come up with any significant use of the ocean.
The ocean allowed sea travel, salt to be harvested, fish and other marine life to be consumed. If she remembered clearly, the ocean also helps act as an air conditioner during the day and heater during the night from her biology class in high school. It was a good indicator to for the development of a settlement and to see changes in the weather patterns. Of how Robin recalled the amount of knowledge was a contribution of her own hard work during her high school, and college years.
“I did not consider such amazing uses of the ocean, Master” the slime figure spoke, startling Robin from her thoughts. “What is biology and high school?” it asked.
“Oh! My apologies for startling you, Master. I should not have intruded on your thoughts.” The makeshift brows curved as a way to express its regrets.
Robin became a bit nervous, at the slime's ability. Its gelatinous figure was one thing, but reading a person's inner thoughts were another, especially if the mind held the person's insecurity, fear, and almost everything.
“N-No need. I was just startled, but what I thought is true.” Robin quickly nodded, a slight slip of her character. “Salt is another good commodity to harvest from the water, and easier than producing normal table salt. As for the type of marine life, I still don’t know what dwells in this region.” She hoped her explanation masked her hidden turmoil, to convey respect for the slime and to prevent it from prodding into more of her thoughts.
“Oh! I see.” The gelatinous form stretched its arm and pulled out multiple metal buckets with its tentacle-like forearms. “I caught all these near the beach. There were multiple unusual creatures living in these large indents filled with water.”
The slime knew for sure, and so did Quinn with them both providing brief telepathic exchanges. However, Quinn reminded it to be respectful, and the slime did not prod any further considering its curious nature.
As for Robin, she assumed the slime was probably referring to tide pools, a natural habitat supporting an abundant number of diverse species. However, it didn’t bring in anything beneficial in such medieval times, but the species that lived there contributed to the food pyramid that could lure in potential seafood.
Robin took a look in the buckets. The first bucket seemed to be what resembled sea urchins, but they dimly glowed in a blue light. The faint glow may have been the product of mana, but nonetheless still like sea urchins back on Earth except slightly larger and its needles gleamed dangerously. At least sea urchins were edible, therefore, it had a purpose to be eaten, with extreme caution and care for the needle-like spines.
The next bucket contained mussels, tightly enclosed from its predators with the same faint blue light. It was also edible, but starfish were not in the next bucket or the next five buckets until the sixth one.
A lobster larger than any she had seen before stared at her with its large bulging eyes. It was her favorite seafood and witnessing its enormous claws bounded by a magical restraint unintentionally elicited a gulp. It was magnificent with its beady eyes staring threateningly at Robin, and the long antenna twitched as if trying to convey its agitation.
I found tonight’s dinner.
The color remained the same, except the purple glow surrounding the poor thing and its exoskeleton had sharp extensions. The slime flipped the lobster over revealing the multitude feelers and the soft almost translucent abdomen. Its small feelers wriggled in an attempt to be turned back upright, however, Slimy curious of the unusual creature started to poke at the meaty abdomen.
“This creature is quite a peculiar Master,” Slimy said, continuously poking at the poor lobster making it writhe in helplessness. Death and served on a silver platter seemed to be its bliss compared to it being vigorously poked and prodded by Slimy.
As for the slime's new name, Robin decided to name the slime like creature Slimy, because why not.
Actually, the lobster was a bit similar to something she had seen before, but Robin could not pinpoint from where. She decided to ignore it for now and assigned Slimy to harvest the ocean water for its sea salt. It was actually an idea she remembered when watching a Y**T*** video along with other weird unrelatable videos that turned out to have more uses in this world.
“I’ll go back for now, but choose a few people to help you harvest sea salt. Just simply boil a bucket of sea water until the salt crystals remain at the very bottom.” With that Robin left, boarding on back on the carriage.
“Tired…”
She plopped down on the sofa, weariness washing over her whole body, but when she glanced at Quinn’s unwavering posture she straightened herself. Quinn worked harder than her, which was unacceptable for Robin to say she was tired.
For an instant, the memory of the beach flashed in her mind and as fast as it came Robin had already forced the memory down. What had been a happy moment now remained a painful memory of the past that longed to be revived.
“Tea is served, Master.” Quinn elegantly placed a cup of steaming hot tea in front of her, the floral fragrant instantly clearing any signs of exhaustion and a great distraction. Gray clouds started to settle and in a few moments drizzles fell from the dark clouds.
Smooth static erupted in the quiet room before the slow jazzy music from the gramophone played in the background. Quinn must have turned it on, and accompanied nicely in this calm rainy atmosphere.
Since she would be attending the magic school, she’d have to assign Quinn as the pseudo-ruler to keep away any unwanted attention. In short, Quinn would be like a puppet ruler while Robin would be planning in the shadows and quickly explained the brief idea to her.
Quinn nodded in understanding because placing such a troublesome role on her shoulders required a great amount of trust between them. Robin was a bit worried Quinn would have denied the request but was glad she accepted it. In reality, it may have been a way for her to avoid distractions and preventive measure to remain safe.
On the other side of the spectrum, Quinn was absolutely delighted because playing the role pre-assumed Robin’s most trusted aid was herself.
“You seem quite happy about this…” muttered Robin. Her brows furrowed and rested her chin on the palm of her hand. “You do understand, that it would mean assassination attempts in the future, political delegations, and being monitored by the masses,” she listed.
As if her posture isn’t straight enough, she seated herself even more rigidly, a proud expression making its way up Quinn’s regal face. It reminded Robin of a soldier taking orders from their generals; never questioning them or thinking for themselves.
“There is no need to worry about me, Master. I will complete this task dutifully and I swear it on my honor and name.” She gracefully placed her hand on her chest swearing into allegiance.
Robin felt bad, but if it made Quinn happy she’ll let it slip. She was kind of using Quinn, but it wouldn’t be deemed as being used as long as precautionary measures would ensure her safety. Or maybe it was her own selfish excuse however, part of her wished they would think for themselves sometimes. Maybe that way the seeding guilt would die.
“As for the shop…, I hope to assign someone who is rather cunning, and business-minded handling the affairs in Xaexaviel. Furthermore, they would have to be beautiful and excel in coaxing.” Robin requested.
She tasked Quinn to search for any servants that fulfilled these requirements and asked to send them to Robin when she found them.
But for now, Robin decided to check up on Cain, and then start the foundation process with the fellow castle advisory.
While walking down the halls, her feet guided her to the unison sounds of school children speaking English making her pause in her tracks just outside of the door.
“Ah, Master, please do come in.” Cain stopped his lessons and bowed in greeting. She did not realize she had opened the door for a glimpse and scanned the room finding it to be a large makeshift classroom dragging her gaze towards the beautiful handwriting scribbled on the blackboard.
“How is the educational program going?”
Cain pushed up the thin wire spectacles, “Splendidly. They are all well-behaved and starving for education. The second batch of students will be coming in within the next thirty minutes. As for the materials covered today, I’ve taught them a few basic arithmetics, discipline, counseling, and now English.”
Robin hummed in delight at the progress but paused realizing teaching science was more of a heresy in the world of magic.
Science was a fickle matter to teach in a world filled with magic, but still possible in the future. Physics may come in handy, but that required a higher degree of mathematical understanding. Teaching English was not a problem since Robin hoped it would be the main language used for all communications and because Robin knew English the best. It didn’t mean other languages were forbidden and in fact, Robin encouraged a variety of other languages to be learned at a later date.
“Keep up the good work,” she praised, before whispering something into his ears, “Please refrain from drinking the blood of the students and give them frequent breaks with snacks to refill their energy.”
A small sinister grin crept up from the vampire’s face before disappearing, “As you wish, Master.”
Before she took her leave, Cain handed her a brown cardboard-like notebook. She scanned through the pages while walking down the hallways. It contained slaves grouped in their academic capabilities as well as their names, age, and race ranging from dark elves, beastkins, humans, and demons.
So far, Cain has been doing very well at his job, and Quinn was also exemplary nearly tending to her every need.
I should give them a raise, but will they accept some metal as an exchange? Maybe I’ll impart Cain on my modern knowledge and Quinn...
As she was pondering over her thoughts, another idea occurred to her?identification cards.
Her steps became brisker, heading to where the castle advisory laid. It was where upgrades were available, crafting unusual miscellaneous for events, and summoning low-level monsters to high leveled monsters. It was located next to the castle dungeon where players could kill monsters for their usable drops and carcasses with a fee and refresh time.
“Hellooooooooo! Masssssttttteeeeeeerrrrrr!” The singsong voice penetrated the dark room with the bright spotlight randomly moving around until it landed glaringly at Robin.
She winced at the sudden blindness before bright colorful confetti blew from all corners of the room, and the whole room lit up again. A dark flash stuttered across the room and the figure tumbled in continuous flips before perfectly landing like a trapeze artist enough to gain perfect 10s in the female gymnastic competition.
“Welcome, mademoiselle. What can I do for you today?” the young gentleman asked, kissing the front of her hand. She didn’t even realize it until the light feathery sensation fluttered across her hand, instinctively pulling back away from the eccentric man.
It seemed the castle did have a few particular servants that stood out.
But out of all castle advisories, why choose him, brother?