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Fel

Fel woke up the next day and immediately resigned to her thoughts, recalling her summon's stories about his world. She spent nearly the whole day questioning everything he could tell her, or at least the things that wouldn't devolve too much into a tangent. She was enraptured, and now understood how her grandfather might have felt toward the last summon.

Not only was his world completely without magic, but they apparently had a mastery and understanding over things that made her world seem like they were fighting each other with dirt. The technology he described sounded like they were using magic, but after some analogies she was speechless.

It was no wonder she was beaten, because it was like he was fully armored and wielding a sword, while she was chucking dirt at him completely naked, and oblivious as to why she wasn't winning. She didn't even have the concept of what he was working with, much less how it worked. And if his people had an understanding of the laws that governed the universe, then he really was a mortal with the power of the gods.

But Leo seemed to dislike that he even had the ability to wipe out a kingdom with casual effort, saying that having that ability was like walking around with a fully armed nuke at all times, which wasn't helped by the fact that he refused to tell them what a nuke even was.

So he created strict limits on himself, never wanting to compromise his morals by abusing his ability, something that she had already done with heavy regret. That was why she didn't even attempt to probe into how his magic worked, because she didn't trust herself with that kind of power.

Even as amazing as Leo himself was, Fel was even more fascinated by his race. From how he described them, they seemed so weak physically, but she deduced that they made up for it with pure endurance. That whatever tragedy, disaster, abuse, horror or crippling injury they experience seemed to push them further. Any other race would have probably buckled in one form or another against such complex problems he described, but it's like they grow from hardship, conflict, and self-inflicted problems.

She now understood why he gained so much so quickly, it was practically in his blood to constantly progress and self improve. Combine that with his desire to better her world to be like his, and he won't stop until he succeeds in some form or another.

The woman stretched as she sat up from her bed, yawning before her expression became thoughtful. “Seems like I might have really grabbed onto an amazing opportunity. Might even see the council fall within just a few years, if we survive.” She mused aloud to herself, drawing out a smile at the idea.

After getting herself ready for the day, she went to talk with Vesta about what Leo wanted them to do next, as well as give her the bag of gold.

Entering the empty war room she saw the former major sitting in a chair in front of the main table, and as Fel walked over to her she could see that the shamed major wore a slightly mournful expression.

A sly smile crossed her face as she approached, knowing that she had a few things from Leo that would brighten her mood. “Morning major, why so down?” She said a bit playfully.

Vesta deadpanned at Fel as she tapped her fingers on the table. “Ve-staaa forget it, and you know damn well why. We're not going to be able to sustain ourselves after two or three more days, so unless you have fifty gold hid-” She was cut short by an abrupt sound of chiming metal echoing throughout the room.

The dragoness crossed her arms with a grin, her tail whipping happily as she did so. “A hundred gold gift from our new leader, and his exact words were go nuts.” She remarked with self satisfaction.

The previously dour selarin grew wide eyed before a joyful smile spread across her face. “If this is the level of generosity to be expected from him, then the little thorn might not be so bad after all. Any more good news, or is he just our new financial backer?” She asked as she joyfully started counting the gold.

Fel gave her a nod, and turned to lean on the table. “Plenty. First he told us to start rebuilding our web of informants, then to start securing nearby villages. He said that since they no longer need to pay a tax on what they produce to the town's lord, then we could start benefiting from it, but he told us to lower it to show some good will and make them compliant.” She explained while leaning against the table with her arms crossed.

Vesta breathed a sigh of relief. “Good, so he's not an impulsive dumbass.” She remarked with a smirk.

The comment made her roll her eyes, not entirely agreeing with the description. ‘I wouldn't say that… But I guess I'm no different…’ She mentally conceded, but would be reluctant to openly admit it, at least for a while.

The old major straightened her posture, taking on a more professional air. “Okay, so I guess we're going to start expanding then. After we deal with the academy, when should we be expected to take the next town?”

Fel shook her head and told her the complete shift in plans. “We're not going to. Telnar is going to secede from the rest of Selaria.”

Vesta stared speechlessly at her like she had grown another head. “Okay, I assume there's a plan there that doesn't have us invaded by every other kingdom and harassed by slavers…?”

Fel shrugged, not fully understanding his plans too, but knew that a summons power was in his knowledge, and he had that in abundance. “He's going to apparently arm your soldiers with enchanted weapons that have many times more power than a crossbow, and with as many times the range as well as fire multiple times without reloading.”

The large selarin was visibly speechless as the information sunk in, before a devilish smile crossed her face. “He does that, and I think we would even be able to take you down in a fight.”

The prideful dragoness was about to retort, but realized that she might have a point, and that such a weapon would level the playing field for all other races if they wanted to resist the dragons.

‘Okay, definitely grabbed onto an amazing opportunity…’

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Leo

Leo was once again waiting for the architect in the inn's dining area as he worked on a stun rifle system in his sketchbook, because he was pretty much finished with the design for the acceleration rifle.

The acceleration rifle had a simple reusable cartridge that could hold a total of nine objects up to about an inch in diameter. It used a slightly convoluted runic system of separating and loading the next shot fired, but thankfully he worked with a modular mindset, so the cartridge system was almost completely detached from the main weapon system. This enabled the rifle to also have a bolt action sub system, which hopefully future-proofed the cartridge from messing up or breaking out in the field, so the soldiers could still fire without it.

The inside of the barrel was made frictionless to help prevent any debris from jamming it, as well as keeping any unconventional ammunition from damaging the insides too much. The entire weapon lacked almost any mechanical parts, being nearly solid.

The only exception was the trigger, which had its own tiny system with a spring and hard trigger to activate a rune. He could have just had a simple rune to tap, but there were just some feelings that couldn't be replaced, and one of them was the little rush of dopamine that accompanied the sound and feeling of a trigger being pulled.

The launching system itself was fairly straightforward, having an acceleration equation that affected any object inside the barrel, as well as a rotational rune to eliminate the need for physical rifling, which caused him to have a few mental arguments on whether it should even be referred to as a rifle.

There was also a failsafe system designed into the weapon that could trigger all the runes to be dispelled or locked. He wanted the system in place so that if his rifles were stolen by someone, then they would just be walking around with a hunk of wood and iron, even though it would take god knows how long for them to decipher the meaning of his runes. Having the failsafe also gave him some options, like creating wireless triggers or hard capped operational zones.

Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon.

Leo was happily sketching away when he felt a tap on his shoulder, it being Elaria who pointed toward the inn's entrance.

He had an idea of the race that was coming, but that still didn't stop his eyes going a little wide at the woman that was approaching them. It was definitely the architect, because she was most definitely a tiefling.

She was nearly six feet tall, with smooth scarlet skin and bright yellow eyes. Large, thick, and devilish horns protruded smoothly from the rim of her forehead, and became rigid while they tapered and flowed back above her long jet black hair. She had a very long tail at about six and half feet long, it was thick at the base but tapered off with a slightly thick and almost heart shaped tip at the end, which seemed perfect as it added to her somewhat demonic look.

She had brown knee high stringed boots, tight gray pants, and a down cut frilled shirt that was overlaid by an ornate jacket that stopped just below her wide hips, which seemed to make her perfect hourglass figure pop.

As she approached, Leo couldn't help but think of her as a bard straight out of some fantasy concept art.

‘This is real, this is not a dream, and I am not tripping out in my apartment right now…’ He mentally repeated to himself as the stunningly beautiful woman arrived at their table.

The woman bowed deeply, as some of her silky strands flowed from over the shoulder to her front. “Lord Leo I assume? My name is Sciesch Freatathay, and It's a pleasure to make your acquaintance.” She said in a sweetly honeyed voice with a foreign accent that he couldn't place, which sent an arousing shiver up his spine.

The slightly shaken man gulped, as the alluring woman checked boxes that he himself didn't know he had. ‘I swear to god, there better not be any translation necklace fuckery here.’ He thought with a tinge of desperation.

He chuckled a little awkwardly at being a bit socially off kilter, the woman literally having an otherworldly beauty. “The pleasure is all mine, especially since you're the one to design my new home. I hope you had a safe journey here, and please, just call me Leo. I prefer not to use titles.”

Rising from her bow, Sciesch casually flung back her loose strands of hair, and looked over him with careful consideration. “As you request Leo. My travel was smooth and uneventful, so I was able to complete the designs for your estate, with a few of my own personal alterations. All I need now is your approval, so the guild can start requisitioning the labor and materials.”

The observant man noticed something missing from the conversation, something that had been present in virtually every woman he'd spoken to since arriving on this world. ‘Huh, she doesn't look to have a trace of sexual interest for me. Damn that's refreshing. Hopefully Elaria doesn't talk to her... Wait, what am I saying?’ He shook off the prospective thought to continue the conversation, chastising himself for being such a horndog now that he was in a relationship.

Leo smiled warmly, and gestured for her to take a seat. “Alright, let's see them.” He requested and She nodded, but still looked like she was intently appraising him, though it seemed more analytical than anything else.

Taking a seat next to him, Sciesch pulled out some rolls of paper, but only unfurled one onto the table. The large sheet had a birds-eye view of the estate from an angle. The area was large and flat, and had six buildings spread around, with the area being encircled by a twelve foot stone wall.

Leo raised an eyebrow at the number of buildings, remembering his original request for three. “Why are there six?” He asked curiously, but not really upset because it looked a hell of a lot better than what he imagined.

Sciesch shrunk in at the question, her hands retreating from the table and into her lap as she quickly looked away. “Well my Lor- Leo, I thought that three seemed to be way too cramped for an estate. Dividing the staff quarters would relieve any indoor congestion, as well as other utility and work areas.” She answered with some fear mixed into her voice.

The human sighed, knowing that her behavior was probably from her dealings with some other difficult clients, not at all too different to how some introverted digital artists he knew back on earth acted. It was best to let the professionals do what they were good at instead of threatening their pay while breathing down their necks for every little detail. Maybe an overall critique is fine, but nine times out of ten you'd receive better quality work if you let them do what they want.

‘Although punishment and threats are probably harsher in a medieval fantasy world…’

“Sciesch, calm down. I'm not angry, nor am I going to harm you in any way. I've only become a lord because I bought all this land, I have no affiliation to any actual nobility, so please act like I am just any other person.” He told her with a calming tone while he laid a comforting hand on her shoulder.

The tiefling looked a little taken aback, and searched his expression for any hints of deception, but visibly relaxed after the moment passed. “As…you request Leo.” There was an instance of relaxation there before she resumed her professionalism.

He wanted to ask her to drop the formalities as well, but he chose to let her get comfortable at her own pace, because she seemed like a good natured person. “Alright then, tell me what each building is for. And I assume that this is all still within the agreed upon budget?”

She nodded, the action being almost unnaturally smooth. “Of course, I distributed the building materials and number of rooms, so the cost won't be affected.”

The first building was a single story barracks that could house forty guards, It was closer to the estates entrance and had an enclosed training area.

The second building was the servants quarters, a single story building that could house thirty and was positioned close to the main manor house.

The third was a trade center that was next to the main road leading directly to the manor house, which was a two story building that housed ten.

Fourth was a workshop and large storage, it was large but housed only five and was positioned to the back of the manor house.

The fifth was the guest house, which supports five.

Lastly was the main manor house, which holds up to fifteen people and has a variety of other rooms.

The extra rooms included a library, wine cellar, private study, workshop, a large dining room that doubles as a ballroom, and even an indoor pool.

Recalling his comparatively shitty little apartment back on earth, he couldn't help but let out an impressed whistle at his new home. “And all this fits within the budget? I assume it's because these numbers are for maximum occupancy, like two to four per room in the servant and guard buildings?”

Sciesch smiled at his reaction, her tail perking up slightly with a bit of pride. “Of course. I've made sure to effectively use all the materials and labor capacity.”

The thoroughly satisfied human leaned back in his chair with a cheerful expression, thankful for not having to live in the fallout shelters that selarins call homes. “Alright then, I think you've designed me the best home I'm ever going to have the pleasure of living in. Thank you for all the effort you put in, I really do love it.” He said while giving her a pat on the back.

Sciesch smiled proudly as her tail swished back and forth. “Thank you for the praise my lor- I mean, Leo.” She corrected as her formal demeanor melted a bit.

Leo chuckled because of how quickly she was getting comfortable with him, which made the meeting feel more normal than any he's had since arriving. “So I'll see you after tomorrow then. I need to check the area tomorrow and make sure that everything is clear.” He told her and received a simple nod as she got up from her seat.

Leo mentally winced, as he was putting off that particular task. ‘Mostly because it's not clear…’ He thought guiltily.

The voluptuous woman bowed and turned to leave, but halted, turned back, pulled a small bag out of her ample cleavage, and tossed it to Leo, who went a little wide eyed at the display. “That is the rest of the gold payment for the contract.” She told him, but paused to give him a curious once over again.

“If you don't mind me asking, what is your race? I think I've seen or read something that's at least close to you, but I can't quite put my finger on it.” She questioned with her head cocked slightly, and a finger on her lower lip thoughtfully.

The human closed his eyes and shook his head with a chuckle, knowing that visually he was more or less a mish mash of a bunch of races according to Allis. “You probably never heard of them, but I am human.” He answered, and opened his eyes to a visibly shocked woman.

He immediately frowned, as the familiarly human feeling of knowing exactly when you fucked up hit him like a truck. ‘No…’ The thought trailed off in a form of abject disbelief and denial.

The previously composed and professional woman looked like her legs were about to give out. “Y-yor-you're a-” She stuttered while turning a little pale.

‘Noooooo!’ His thoughts screamed while he quickly put up a sound barrier.

Sciesch took a deep breath and yelled out the one thing that nearly made him pull out his hair in frustration. “A summon!?”

“God damn it!”

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