A brand new day started in Apollo's camp as Apollo run around the base to increase his stamina, following Daisy's training program.
"One! Two! Three! Four!"
""Four! Three! Two! One!""
"One! Two! Three! Four!"
""Four! Three! Two! One!""
Far in front of him, the girls were distancing themselves from him as they completed the fifth lap after having passed him four times before he could finish his first one.
It was completely unfair for a normal human to compare themselves with any servants. They may have similar look but their bodies were completely different as Apollo already knew.
He knew it, but... he knew it, but!!!
"This still makes me frustrated!"
He didn't care that they were better than him, but being aware that he was holding them back made him feel guilty like never before.
This was not some high school sports where losing was just part of the game. This was a War were their lives were at risk and he would never forgive himself if any of them died completely due to his fault.
As he arrived back to the door of his Palace, finishing the first lap, a happy voice greeted him from inside.
"Master! The chocolate is ready!"
Melissa, the maid who took Alice's place as a cook after her death, appeared by the door holding a bowl of chocolate in hands.
"Thanks Ali-no, Melissa. Great job!"
Her identical appearance and gestures made Apollo mistake her for a second, but before finishing talking he noticed his own mistake and corrected himself.
Even though the two bases added together had now over a hundred servants working for him, Apollo continued the tradition of naming each servant with a unique name.
This was his way of remembering himself that each life mattered. Those servants were not a number but individuals depending on him to survive. This gave him a sense of responsibility that not only weighted on his conscience but also helped push himself in working harder to improve.
"Now separate them into cubes so that we can later distribute them around the base."
"Yes, Master!"
"I'm going to another lap now. Keep up the good work."
"Master as well! Fight!"
Pushing aside the fatigue and pain to the back of his head, Apollo smiled at the innocent cheer of the maid holding chocolate, rising his closed fist as a sign that he would give his best, as he turned around and started to run through the same circuit that he had just completed.
--//--
Noon arrived and almost every servant, aside from those in guarding or patrol duty, gathered themselves in front of the Palace to have their lunch.
Today's lunch was fried fish from the newly made fish farm, accompanied by different vegetables produced on the farm. There were still not many sauces but Melissa was working hard to solve this problem, taking some time everyday to make some cooking experiments with the vegetables that were left from the lunch.
After everybody arrive, they thanked for the food and started their meal, as they talked and laughed exchanging stories between themselves. Most of those stories were quite innocent, telling about a flower that bloomed in the forest, or some new fish that was discovered while fishing in the river, making Apollo wish that these peaceful days would last forever, even though he knew it was just wishful thinking on his part.
As Apollo finished his lunch, Rose approached him with the report that needed his attention.
"Master, we are out of iron again..."
"Didn't we increase the number of miners to twenty? Are the mines already exhausted? If so, this will be a problem, as I have no idea how to search for iron on these mountains..."
"No. That's not it. The problem is that because as we added more silver dwarfs to our army's roster, our mineral consumption also multiplied."
"To the point we are running out of metal!?"
"Unfortunately yes, as we also have to consider the metal needed for all weapons and S.o.W.'s that we are producing..."
"Then we have to increase once again the number of miners."
"That's also not possible as the mines are already working at maximum capacity."
"How about we make a new team and have them take turns mining? One group would mine during the day and another during night."
"We are already doing this..."
"What!? Really!? How come you never reported this to me?"
"It's a maid failure if we have to bother Master for little things like this!"
"I'm happy you are thinking of me, but please do warn me next time."
"Understood."
"Hmm... Leilani, the equipment that they are using, is it the best we can make?"
"Unfortunately yes. Despite upgrading the factory to the third level, no new mining equipment became available..."
Seeing Alyssa waving her hand on top of her head, Apollo allowed her to speak.
"Alyssa, do you have any suggestion?"
"How about we use the drill robots from the abandoned mine?"
"Yeah, as expected it's about tentacles again...wait!? What!? What drill robot!? What abandoned mine!?"
"The ones covered in dust in the mine half way between Negi's old base and our second base. The place I fell after we lost the battle against the Oni as we tried to ambush them."
"The place you fell!? Why did I never heard of any of that!?"
"Eh? Ah!!! Hmm.... Because I forgot to tell? At the time there was all that problem because of the poison, and then later I was too busy storing the new samples of vines I found. Ack!"
Pound!
Without a single drop of pity, Apollo dropped his fist over Alyssa's head.
"You, really! Damn, I can't believe this!! Next time you see something like this, report it right away!"
"Owowowow... All right... I will do as Master says."
"Now, guide us to this abandoned mine!"
Wasting no more time, Apollo called Bacon and together with Alyssa, Rose and Leilani, the group rode Bacon to the place indicated by Alyssa.
"Hmm, it should be right ahead..."
As the group approached the place, they saw a clearing with the ground covered in vines.
"Over there, Master! The tentacles!"
Hearing Alyssa mention the vines, Bacon approached carelessly, but on the moment she stepped in the middle of the clearing, the vines were unable to support Bacon's weight, making the whole group fall on the hole.
"My tentacles! Nooo!"
Boom!!
Everything happened too fast! Due to the surprise Apollo closed his eyes, and as he opened his eyes again, he saw himself being carried by Rose, while Bacon stood behind them in an odd position with her head facing the floor and her fangs preventing her finishing her fall. As for the other girls, they were spread around as they had fallen from Bacon's back, but luckily they were not quite hurt.
"Bacon, you klutz! Look at what you have done to all my tentacles! Ouch!"
As Rose put Apollo back on the floor, he didn't wait a second before pouncing his fist on Alyssa's head.
"They are not tentacles, they are vines! And why didn't you tell us about this hole!?"
"Eh? I told you, didn't I? That I fell over here. If I fell, it meant it was a hole, right? Or else, how would I fall? Ouch!"
(...That may be true but I will never admit it!)
"Shut up and guide us in!"
While Bacon transformed back to human form, Alyssa took the lead before Apollo pounced her head again getting up to show the way, pointing at the open tunnel that was now in front of them.
"Here's the abandoned mine. Come in, let me show you around!"