We take an [Eternal Gate] back to the main hall, but then Almaria walks up to the leaf elevator instead of the portal to her office.

"May we take the elevator instead, Your Highness?" she politely requests.

I hum and question, "Sure. You enjoy using them?"

And she smiles sweetly. "Of course. Such great enchantments deserve to be appreciated once in a while."

I casually hum again and nod as we step onto the wide leaf-like platform, the golem trio following close behind. Then Almaria feeds mana to a cute, glowing, blue flower, and the leaf immediately begins to ascend, quickly accelerating to an impressive speed, but we don't even feel it as an anti-grav enchantment seems to fully dampen the G-force involved.

Man, this could make space travel way easier…

"The view is quite nice," Almaria quietly remarks, taking me out of my amazement at the ingenuity of this enchantment, and I notice that she's staring out through the long, long, long window.

"Indeed, I love high places, even since before becoming a weredragon," I casually follow up.

We're currently going up the main "stalk" of the castle, and the view slowly opens up as we rise above the height of the Shells separating the various areas of the castle grounds. And once we enter a branch, we get high enough that we can see the inner and outer circles, where the mansions for guests are located.

I prefer gazing at the inner gardens area because the inner and outer circles aren't made to be as pretty as the gardens with their rows of mansions. It's nice to be in the guest mansions, not look at them. Though, the mostly empty streets have an eerie but charming air that isn't found anywhere else in Escanso.

And after a short moment, Almaria continues with a wistful tone, "This castle is a small Paradise on land, Your Highness. I'm glad that you find my services useful because I love working here."

I nod cordially at the droopy-eyed elf. "I'm glad that you're happy here. You're a good help, and you even entertain my 'unusual' requests," I affably reply, and I sense Yunia's heart tighten in joy at the words of her mentor.

Almaria's bespectacled eyes turn sly as she remarks, "This is the most 'unique' request I've ever been given, but it's also been the most fun."

"Happy to hear that you're happy," I happily hum.

And her tone gains a subtle teasing flair. "But it's my husband who fears things the most. With your reputation, he fears that you'll steal me from him."

"He can rest assured. I don't deal with married women. Widows, on the other hand…" I composedly reply and smirk.

"Now he'll fear that you'll kill him!" she exclaims and chuckles softly.

"Isn't that lovely of him? He believes you're worth killing someone for," I casually reply with a playful, dreamy tone.

But she sharpens her gaze at me. "And what do you believe?"

I stay silent for a short moment and smile coolly as I come up with a retort. "I believe in divorce before murder."

And she laughs out loud, covering her mouth with her hand in a very lady-like way. "You don't deserve to have such high 'Charisma,' Your Highness."

"Well, I'm certainly not famous because of my jokes…" I coolly state and puff out my chest proudly.

She readjusts her half-circle glasses as she holds back her laughter, then gives me a short lecture, "Humor is a straight road to a woman's heart. I'm surprised you have so much success if that's the kind of jokes you're capable of."

But I know very well the path to the fertile female fields that I've plowed so many times before. "I merely tickle the submissiveness in women, then follow up with a very good time, ensuring they come back."

"Yes, that does make sense," she hums with a nod.

Then the elevator arrives at her office, and we get off.

We walk down the corridor, which has been personally embellished by her to the point that it's almost as beautiful as the corridor dedicated to our lineage. I think she purposely made this corridor just a little less beautiful than ours as a way to show respect.

It does smell pretty good here, though.

At the end of the corridor, we reach her office, and at its center is a garden patch where three green bodies lay, surrounded by flowers and grass. The bodies have no facial features, but they still have recognizable characteristics.

One is a loli with short curly brown hair and thick thighs, the second is a thinner loli with long white hair, and the third is Bimbo Yunia. The curly loli, Ted's Body, has slightly bigger pillows, cute little mounds comparable to Lina's, but they have more puffy and adorable bits, while the blonde loli, Suzy's body, is perfectly flat but has more gentle and innocent curves than Ted's.

Then I notice something peculiar. "Wait, I recognize those bits and that flower. Jarn's body is a little too similar to Hana's. How did you do that?" I curiously question Almaria.

And the mature elf readjusts her small half-circle glasses as she answers categorically, "Her Highness Hanafuria isn't very concerned with how well clothed her body is during training. I assume that's one of the reasons why the Lordsguard enjoys training with her, a dragonkin, of all people."

Yes, dragonkin are infamous sparring partners because they have problems going easy on others. But going back to what's important, Hana's increasing indifference towards clothes is honestly hot as hell, so I don't feel like punishing her for this transgression, this time.

I approach Jarn's body and inspect it closely. Even her flower and landing strip are authentic replicas of Hana's. "You have a good eye for detail," I honestly praise her.

"It's hard to not pay attention to Her Highness Hanafuria…" she quietly replies, sounding a bit guilty.

I'd like to tease her for it, but I'm too curious about the bodies, so I soberly ask, "Can the golems wear these bodies?"

And she immediately recovers. "Yes, the bones have been set, and the skin is thick enough to hold everything in place. Just don't do any strenuous activity to not wear down the muscles as they haven't finished growing."

And I raise an eyebrow at her questioningly.

But she sincerely insists, "I'm serious; it would set back my work."

So I shrug. "Okay. And how about the faces?"

"Unfortunately, I'm not a talented sculptor, so I wished to consult with you before making any attempts. Their bodies can be easily modified if you're unsatisfied with their appearance or desire something new, so I can give them faces if you wish."

I nod in agreement. "You may. It's a bit creepy to keep them faceless. If you want inspiration, you can look around at a brothel and find a bubbly, curvy halfling for Ted's body and a gentle, frail-looking dwarf for Suzy's body."

Her playful mood returns as she smiles and jokingly complains, "Oh, my husband will be very happy to know where my work is taking me."

"Take him with you," I suggestively suggest.

And now it's her turn to fall silent for a moment as she searches for a retort. "Perhaps merely looking won't hurt," she tentatively states.

"That's my philosophy with Hana's exhibitionism," I calmly agree.

She clears her throat and changes the topic, "Let's have the golems test the bodies, shall we? I believe it'll take them a while before they can actually move with dexterity."

A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation.

"Indeed," I hum and turn around. "You three can come here and practice with the bodies when you're free, which will most likely be at night when we're asleep."

"As you wish, Master," they answer in unison.

Then they finally begin testing. Jarn has to compress her body to reduce its size before she can enter while the doll golems fit snugly inside the chests of the lolis, making me wonder if I shouldn't just remake Jarn to be like the doll golems and have her use a tall battle-body. The golems have thick, reinforced steel skeletons inside their stuffing, so it isn't like they're fragile.

But Jarn thinks otherwise, "Using a battle-body would lower my aptitude for melee combat, and having a varied set of specialized bodyguards is safer than all of us golems being the same."

Oh, well, if you say so…

I observe Almaria work for a short time, and she begins coloring the bodies. I get a bit energetic thinking about how they'll look, so I soon leave to not bother the droopy-eyed Officer with my boundless desire.

With that handled, it's finally time to check on the Raki. So I open a [Gate] back to Nono's and Petra's lab, scaring the shit out of them as a detail of heavily armored Companions pours through, but we're just passing by, and if I stay near Nono for too long, I'll want to Ravage her again.

"Hello, sorry for the surprise, and goodbye," I cheerfully greet. Then we leave the two stunned researchers behind.

The word that I was in the Institute before lunch has clearly spread because the Head of the Division comes to meet with us as we walk down the corridor to the lab.

"Your Highness," he politely greets and bows, making the sunlight shine on his bald gray head. He's a lizard-fish-hybrid-something Chimera that looks rather odd, but his set of pointy, sharp little teeth is kind of cute.

"Seigneur Whakan," I reply in kind after reading his name through [Sense Soul]. I'd forgotten what he was called… or maybe I never memorized it to begin with.

Then he straightens and smiles, showing his shiny teeth. "We're eager to show you our progress."

And I grin back. "And I'm eager to see it."

"Then follow me, if you please."

We enter the hangar, and a Space court mage (Mara is too tired to come) pulls out seats and a table for us so that we may talk while observing the engineers as they work on the Raki.

They've altered its shape a bit. It was very simple at first, like the MiG fighter plane that looks like a tube with triangular wings, but now it's a bit rounder and sleeker, resembling the Dragon-class airplane of the Chimera. It's actually faster than before, and the new shape comes from repeated wind-tunnel testing rather than them referencing the old Chimera design.

They've also painted it black and added the silver horns of our heraldry to its wings, which is cute, but this model is still only for testing, so it's just a bit of ass-kissing.

I, of course, pull out a standard set of warm not-earl-gray tea with cookies to accompany it, and Whakan happily partakes in snobbish tea-drinking with me.

"We have discovered a certain problem with the Raki's construction," he begins after taking a sip, and I give him an inquisitive look to prod him to continue. "At full speed, the airplane is too maneuverable, to the point that the wings destroy themselves as the various shearing forces tear it apart."

Damn, I didn't think Materials Science in this world would be so far behind Earth's…

Then he follows up with the crux, "We can, of course, enchant it with [Reinforce], and it'll survive the turn, but that drives up the cost considerably, and our directive is to bring down the cost as much as possible to sell it to commoners."

I stare at the engineers using [Manipulate Metal] to weld together the plates of the plane as I affirm, "You're correct. Lowering the speed is also not an option since its purpose is to be as fast as possible."

"And your other directive is to also use as little magic as possible."

I nod, then turn to the shiny, bald Chimera and suggest, "Now that we're back, I think I can have Lina and Aoi aid you in that. They're researching metallurgy, and I know it's possible to make lightweight metals strong enough to survive the turn."

If I remember correctly, aluminum and titanium alloys are very important for earthling aerospace research, and we're still far from carbon-fiber being viable in this world, so they'll have to do.

Be brightens up, showing me his set of shiny, pointy teeth again. "That would be wonderful. The Raki is almost ready for commercialization; we just need to solve this last problem. Otherwise, we'd be selling suicide chambers to our clients."

I chuckle softly and agree, "Indeed. Without speedometers, even an experienced pilot might unknowingly make a turn at too high a speed and destroy their plane by mistake."

"Speed-what?" he blurts out confusedly.

"Speedometri. A tool to measure the plane's speed. It should be similar to how the wind-tunnel testing works; the faster the plane, the stronger the air pushes into an intake, and the more that the weight is pushed back, but it has to be miniaturized so that it can fit in the plane."

His eyes lose focus and start to twitch as he rapidly comes up with ideas. "Huh… may I… write this down?"

"You may."

He pulls a magic pen and paper out of his [Item Box] with a *poof* and promptly starts writing down my idea as well as a sketch of how it might work. I think it might require more than just an intake that pushes a needle back, but now's not the time to think about that.

"What else do you have to report?" I question once he finishes his quick drawing.

He promptly stores it back in his [Item Box] and continues, "Just one last thing. We've been reducing the size of the gem that powers the Raki, and we believe we've reached the smallest size possible for this speed. The gem is one of the most expensive components, so that alone drove the cost down quite a lot."

And this pleases me greatly, but there's one last thing I need to check up on. "Excellent. Now, what about that idea about recreating the supersonic javelin thrower?"

This time, he remains impassive because his report isn't positive. "There have been some… crude experiments, but nothing much so far. A cannon creates only one explosion, but to use it as a means of propulsion for an airplane requires continuous explosions, so it's something we won't be able to properly study while we're busy with the Raki."

Yes, I should've expected that and I don't know enough about jet engines to help them more, so this project will have to be shelved, but not for long.

It's time to begin expanding. "Well, then I might have good news for you. We've received a lot of funding from the Imperial Army, even after the incident with Junior General Reinhold, so we'll be expanding the Institute, and we'll need a lot of people to manage the new divisions that I want to create."

Whakan's reaction is one of tentative hope. A lot of money means a lot of expectations, and a lot of people means a lot of work. He may not be the best choice for a general manager for the Institute, and he seemingly doesn't want a strictly managerial position, but he's an aristocrat with connections, and people who want to get involved with the Institute will definitely flock to him.

The one person that I have in mind to manage it all is Prince Looklwind Krunigrihir, the dull-looking Prince. A mathematician like him would be the perfect choice to standardize and organize all the different Divisions. He even seemed interested in the Institute, so when we meet with the Realm Travellers in the Sky Lands, I'll look for a way to recruit the gnome Prince… and possibly also "build relations" with his Pixie sister.

Anyway, I'm actually impressed by how fast Whakan's teams have been improving the Raki. But when you can shape or weld metal by hand or with just your thoughts, creating prototypes becomes extremely easy. The biggest constraint in this world is manufacturing things cheaply.

But while the Light Planes Division has had a lot of success, the Transport Division is still mostly just on paper. They've improved the Chimera propeller design using the wind tunnel, but they need more guidance on where to take the research next, so I give them the task of creating a troop transport that's faster and cheaper than just putting a [Fly] gem on a boat and calling it a day.

The visit was quick since it was mostly just them reporting to me, so now I have some time to kill. Yunia reports that we'll be holding a party for nobility to celebrate our victorious return, which means that most of my evening will be taken up by ass-kissers, sword-suckers, and tail-lickers.

It's been a while since I've talked to my gilf in private, so I make my way to the temple.

Meanwhile, Yunia and Ciel begin the ceremony to bury Azador's ashes under a venerable High Tree reserved especially for knights. The elven gondolas silently slide across the surface of the lake, barely disturbing it as they move through [Weaverism].

Nobody is wearing anything fancy as, per Rupegian beliefs, we're born naked, and we die naked, so wealth should never be displayed at a funeral service. There also aren't many people present this time as the ceremony is for Azador's family, so it's just them and his closest friends.

His widow, a stern-looking elven grandma who looks just as tenacious as her late husband, stares at his body with a faraway look. Azador's face looks peaceful, and the red flowers in his white beard have been revitalized, giving him the same air of a dignified retainer that he had in life.

His son, a fully grown man sporting a perfectly trimmed silvery beard, stares at Yunia's back instead, and his eyes seem hopeful rather than those of one who's mourning.

When they arrive at the High Tree, Yunia and Ciel turn around and scan the present audience. Their eyes fall on the mother and son pair with whom they're sharing a gondola, and the elven Queen solemnly begins her speech, "Friends and family of Sir Azador Curol, we're here today to bury the brave and loyal knight who died in service while fighting a malicious army of nobles who controlled the heinous Katasko mercenary company, now destroyed, and his death avenged.

"He served until the end and has earned a long stay in Paradise, and now his descendant will take his place. Samaiel Curol, will you take the pledge that your father and your ancestors have taken? Will you serve the Ryder Lordship until your body gives in and your descendant takes your place?"

A knight serves the Lordship, not necessarily the Lords themselves, so they're only obliged to serve us as long as we remain Lords.

"I will," the determined man eagerly replies, a daring smile on his magnificent elven face. Knights are a different bunch, and even though I greatly appreciate their service and loyalty, I simply don't understand how they can be the way they are.

Yunia's emotions run wild with both pain and pride, but she must continue the ceremony, so she steels herself and composedly declares, "Then you and your family shall come under our tree, and the succession of your descendant will be guaranteed through servitude."

Samaiel kneels and lowers his head, then earnestly gives his pledge, "I lack the extensive experience and respect of my father. There's simply nobody who can replace him, nobody with his knowledge of this beautiful town, but I'll do my utmost to live up to his legacy!"

"Welcome to the Lordship, Sir Samaiel," Ciel coolly replies. Then she casts [Materialize], revealing Azador's satisfied spirit as he comes back to the land of the living one last time, but it only lasts for a brief moment before he's gone.

His widow sighs softly, her tense posture relaxing as a wistful look appears on her face while her son looks as if he's bursting with energy. It's still surprising to me how fervently loyal our retainers are, and I pray that I never grow indifferent to it so that we can live up to their expectations.