Ugghhh… I'm tired. I also feel as though I have a slight stomachache, but a massive headache. I'll need to drink some water or something. I don't think Fish can do it for me right about meow. Slowly getting up, I painstakingly began to get dressed. This is too much effort for yours truly. Tonight is the shipment night. There's absolutely no way that I'm about to go off drinking with Roy and Veronica this time around... Not with this feeling that I have. Besides, I need to Fish tonight after the shipment; so I really need to do the shipment quickly. I wonder how the others are feeling. I don't really remember going to sleep last night, but here I am. I was thinking such things as I finished getting dressed and began to make my way through the Throne Room.
On arrival, I noticed that my Hallowed Gate was still open… I'd better cancel it. If I recall correctly, I opened it in front of the Wailing Keep. It's not a bad place, but it's definitely not necessary to have it there constantly. I'd prefer to have it open in the Throne Room. Two gates for this one. Oh my gosh! What if I put the gate to be blocking the opposite end of the Throne Room?! Then, I might just hop through the combo gate… Fly past the punch fountain, and through the other gate! I could massively reduce the time spent flying through here! We're doing it. It's happening, people. I've got a good feeling about this. And so, I flew to the entrance of the Throne Room before casting a new [Hallowed Gate]. Yosh!
Entering the Kitchen, I made sure to grab myself a glass of water. After drinking it, I simply refilled it and did so once more. I ended up drinking two and a half glasses before I even made my way into the Dining Hall. I realized that no matter how much I drank, it would not quench my thirst… But it might have worsened my stomachache. This sucks. It's my fault for drinking so much, but it's Georgia's fault for selling such high quality Rum, and the resident's fault for agging me on. I can't be the only one to blame here, people!
On entry into the Dining Hall, I almost blew chunks. There's a lot of Fish on the platter, and I want none of it. Mr and Mrs Scarecrow, alongside Wendel are performing one of their original songs. I'll just take a seat and listen for a little while. Looking around the room, it would appear that we have a new seating arrangement. It makes sense, I guess. We're now filling over half of the middle table with all of those living here. There are 80 chairs per table, mine included. I'm excited to see it filled, but after it does; we're basically going to feel obligated to sit at two different tables… Unless we get the number of residents just right. I suppose that I could easily house some Goblins in the basement, but it wouldn't be fair to the rest of the Goblins. I can only fit so many. Besides, I certainly can't afford to be feeding very many more individuals given how reckless I have been with Fishing as of late.
Thankfully, I'm not the only one who appears to have been better. Many of the others seem like absolute train wrecks as well. I'm not the only one skipping the dish tonight. Goblin Funk appears to be attempting to force the food down, as a certain Goblin Shaman gives him a death glare... He's strong. I couldn't do that right meow, even if I tried. Cetilla's picking at a piece of common Fish, but she's barely touched the plate. Budget Dragon is probably the most fine one among us all. He's getting seconds, and I want to throw up just by looking at him. On second thought, I want to leave this Dining Hall right this instant. I can't eat, nor do I really have the time to spend just sitting here. It's a shipment night. This one must procure Coin.
"Tonight, is a shipment night for the Cat's Costumery Clothing Brand! I will be venturing into Reygid once more, but I have no intention of staying there for a majority of the night. It will be a quicker trip, so I don't ask that any of you come along with me." [Nero] took a stand before he proclaimed while taking a glance at Cetilla, then Goblin Funk, and finally Budget Dragon.
"But why?!" [Cetilla] barked hysterically after dropping her fork.
"We're short on Fish. I need to get the shipment over with as quickly as possible if I'm to return here and place a new Hallowed Gate at the waterfall." [Nero] confessed while shrugging his shoulders.
"Why not just place the Hallowed Gate and then come back? We can wait for you at the Vellisroi Estate!" [Budget Dragon] begged the question before exclaiming happily.
"..." [Nero] averted eye contact.
"..." [Cetilla] glared at the Witch of War.
"Fine. You can go to the Vellisroi Estate, I'll handle the shipment and waterfall… And then I'll return to be able to bring you home when ready." [Nero] groaned while he began to fly away.
They seem pleased with themselves. They were able to out-think me. I suppose that I really didn't look at all the options before coming to my conclusion. It can't be helped. I feel absolutely sick right now, and I want this night to be over with. If it weren't for the Coins awaiting me, I would probably still be in bed right about now. I'm going back to the Throne Room to begin with separating the clothes… But first, I'm going to add new pieces to the pile. Flying through my Hallowed Gate, I made my way to the combo gate in Halloween. This thing is handy~
After reaching the Throne Room, I decided to turn around and go to the Treasure Room for some extra Candy. I procured 8 buckets of Candy. There are 16 buckets still full, but there are jars as well. I should fill the buckets with the Candy from the jars later. I should also remember to return Clive's bag this time. It seems cheaply made to me, but it might hold some special value to Clive. It's better to be safe than sorry. I wouldn't want to get on the bad side of my one Cheetahkin friend, who happens to also be my business partner. It's strange. I technically own half of all profits made by the business, deducting staff wages; but I'm not exactly owning the company per say. I'm just the supplier. A very reasonably paid supplier, who is paid exactly the same as the actual business owner. He could theoretically choose to stop purchasing my shipments, and begin business ventures with other suppliers… Or he could also just stop selling only my products and begin to branch out to more suppliers. That would seriously hurt my profits, considering that Reygid as a whole seems to only desire spending roughly 20 to 30 thousand Silver Coins per month in his store. I doubt that he would, but it's a possibility.
I was mulling those thoughts over as I began to make pieces of clothing while aiming for level 20. I might as well just begin with selling level 20 pieces. I'm beginning to feel at ease about our war potential, even without already granting level 30 pieces to the Monster Knights. Well, technically; I gave them all free reign to pick some clothing last night… So some of them might already have some level 30 pieces. It's going to be fine. I just need to focus afterwards. I'll buy more Candy if I must. You know what? I'm going to buy more Candy regardless. Yeah. Selling the upwards of level 20 pieces is going to bring in a whole lot more profit, I think. I made the conscious decision and announcement that we would be selling level 15 to 20 pieces at a raised price. They're special. They cost me more Candy to produce, and so they will cost more to purchase. By selling them, I'll be able to raise incentive for those pesky nobles to send me more Coins. They probably already all have level 14 outfits, those guys. I need to give them something else to throw away their wealth on. Something better. Just slightly better, though.
And so, I devoured all of the 8 buckets worth of Candy; before I produced a decent pile of potentially level 20 clothing. After finishing with doing so, I called on Wendel to help block entry into the Throne Room. She's not very pleased, on account of my Hallowed Gate near the entrance already kind of blocking vision… But she doesn't understand! What if someone entered the gate and decided to exit Halloween through the other gate?! I would be absolutely exposed! We can't have that. There's nothing less respectable than seeing a leader in the nude, crawling around massive piles of clothing… As if they just can't decide what to wear, whatsoever. It would be the worst. I can't be that kind of leader. Not to mention, I'm in a child's body. Gross. No one wants to see me naked, aside from maybe a few disgusting perverts hanging out in low end Taverns. Those guys… I shuddered just by thinking about it!
I was thinking such things as I got undressed, and began the extremely tiresome task, after I ignored the Weeping Angel's unwillingness. She's always got a problem, unless it's regarding me assigning her a new song. She just can't be pleased, okay?! If I keep tossing her songs as if they're Candy, we'll run out of songs on the Scaraoke machine monster and then everyone else will be livid with me. They deserve songs too, Wendel. You're not the only one that wants to be an idol! I'm more like the show host, or the producer. I'm also a wicked teacher for choreography. Wicked, as in I just kind of expect them to figure it out as they watch me whip and nae nae all over the place. I'm the worst kind of dancing teacher, probably. The type that everyone respects, but also kind of hates learning from. They enjoy the dances, after they learn them. Dancing was never meant to be easy, okay? They must work for perfection. I won't hand them fame on a silver platter unless they hand me immense effort... Nyah!
Perhaps I can try counting the number of windows in the Throne Room... Yeah! Lets do that... Never mind. There are exactly as many windows as there are sets of armor. Jeez. What can I do?! This is so boring! At least Wendel is singing from the other side of the Throne Room… That's kind of nice, but I can't clearly make out every single aspect of the song. I'm too far away, and she lacks a microphone. I'd tell her to go and fetch one from the Arcade, but I have a feeling that it won't be possible to bring them through the Hallowed Gate. Wailing Keep Sama abhors theft, so Halloween Town Sama probably does too. It's a shame. I promise, I'll return it; sir. So, if counting and proper music are off the table… What am I left with? I could try talking to someone, and having them forced into facing another direction? It's a possibility… Who should I pick?! Blindfolded tea time with the True Halloween Cat~ Any takers?!
With that in mind, I decided to grab a yellow ninja belt from the pile of level 7 pieces; and went off towards Wendel. While hiding behind the Hallowed Gate facing her back, I threw the ninja belt as far as I could muster… Which ended up being directly behind her. After that, I told Wendel that she could send someone in to spend time with me; so long as they wore the blindfold beneath her feet before they entered through the combo gate. It's all coming together, meow… After scurrying along back by entering through the Hallowed Gate and making use of the combo gate myself… I began to sort the clothes once more. I wonder who's going to show up? I hope someone shows up. There could be nothing more depressing than throwing yourself a mystery tea time, open to the public... Only to have no one show up.
After around half an hour of me sorting more clothes, it finally happened. It's Christina, the Corocdae! Wait… Stop! Look away! Nyah! Oh my Hunky Beefcake… She has two sets of eyes… She's only wearing it on the top set… I'm meow ducking behind a pile of clothing. This couldn't have gone any worse. She's the one individual who could possibly mess this up for me! I decided to lob an orange tee shirt from the mystery pile at her as far as I could… Which ended up around 15 feet in front of her. I'm starting to get self conscious regarding my lack of throwing ability. Then again, it was just clothing; right?! They're too light to throw, right?!
"Put the shirt over your Crocodile eyes!" [Nero] frantically screamed at the top of his lungs while sweat began to drip from his forehead.
"...But then I won't be able to see?" [Christina the Corocdae] shot back while tilting her blinded head, revealing way too much of the skin that her alleged sea weed hair previously covered.
"...Thats the entire point!" [Nero] hysterically shouted after taking a moment of silence for his virgin eyes before turning his head to the side in attempts at averting his own vision.
"But I came to speak with you…" [Christina] remarked with an irritated tone of voice.
"Okay, we can talk… But still! I'm totally naked right now and I don't want you to be capable of seeing me!" [Nero] barked back without making eye contact.
"Alright, well… I'm blinded." [Christina] snarled.
"Okay~ Did you have anything in particular to come and speak with me about?" [Nero] sighed before asking as he began to continue with arranging clothing.
"Well… I was originally going to come with Penny, but Wendel said that only one would be allowed through at a time." [Christina] admit while shrugging her shoulders.
"That's fine. If you want, I can go and give Wendel an extra piece to help blind Penny so that she can come too?" [Nero] stated before offering with a smile.
"...Yes, please do." [Christina] accepted the offer after a moment of silence.
"Okay~ I'll be right back." [Nero] proclaimed happily as he grabbed an extra white ninja belt from the mystery pile.
"Don't keep me waiting." [Christina] said in a haughty tone of voice.
Yikes... She can be rude sometimes. I just remembered. I'm meow flying towards the Hallowed Gate. After approaching, I peeked my head out from behind it and threw the new ninja belt towards Wendel. Then, I told her that she could allow Penny through so long as she wore it over her eyes before stepping through the combo gate. I heard Penny excitedly squeal... But I'm flying back. On arrival, I began to sort more pieces of clothing as I informed Christina that I had returned and that Penny would be joining. A few moments later, the blinded Pixie with way too long of a blindfold appeared.
"I'm here~" [Penny the Pixie] excitedly sang out to announce her arrival to the blinded Corocdae.
"Ah… Good. I haven't told him why we came yet, would you like to do the honors?" [Christina] sighed before happily asking Penny.
"Yay! I'll do it!" [Penny] replied in a joyous tone of voice before continuing.
"So, we've been doing a lot of thinking… And we've come to a decision..." [Penny] explained to the Master of Time while making numerous hand gestures.
"I'm assuming that this is regarding whether or not you will stay here at the Wailing Keep?" [Nero] asked while continuing with his work. To which, the Pixie gasped.
"How did you know?!" [Penny] asked, as if exasperated to have been figured out. To which, the Corocdae and Halloween Cat both sighed.
"On account of how much we enjoyed the festival, as well as how comfortable it is to live here… We've decided to stay." [Christina] confessed to the Catkin.
"Wha?! I thought you said that I could tell him!" [Penny] gasped before crying out.
"You were taking too long!" [Christina] snapped. To which, the Pixie began to pout.
"I can't help it! It's a big decision!" [Penny] shot back while crossing her arms and turning away from the Corocdae.
"Okay, so... You're staying. Moving along, I guess that it's time to fill you in exactly on how being a Halloween Clansmen works... So that you can begin deciding whether or not you wish to do that as well." [Nero] chimed in with a smile as he threw a new pair of black clown pants into the level 20 pile.
"Okay~" [Penny] sang happily, clearly forgetting about her previous mood.
And so, as I continued with my work; I explained the joys of becoming a Halloween Clansmen. By the time that I had finished with my explanation, a considerable amount of time had passed… Mostly on account of the Pixie and Corocdae interrupting me senselessly. I couldn't help but feel a little disappointed. I had originally hoped that someone would come in here, just looking to spend time with me. I suppose that I'm too intimidating for many of the Wailing Keep residents to warrant wanting to actually befriend? It might be my fault. I feel like I avoid the residents quite often, on account of me being too busy. I should start holding tea time more often. Really get to know everyone, and be on good terms with them all; you know? Yosh! I'm still glad that they chose to stay, though. I wouldn't have been happy if we lost the Pixie among the Bandsmen. Her voice is way too unique. She's got a talent, and we're in desperate need of it. They left me after I finished explaining, and so I'm alone once more.
Another 20 minutes went by, and I did not gain any more visitors. I did, however finish arranging all of the clothing. Getting dressed once more, I asked Wendel to bring over the blindfolds that they had used before I added them to the piles. I thanked Wendel sincerely, and then I made my way to the Dining Hall. Cetilla's playing the Safari Card Game with Vana again. Once again, Vana is upset with me for stealing her practice partner… But it's literally her own fault for always practicing on shipment nights. Besides, it's not like they're the only ones here. Mary, Cindy, Luna, Cyclozard, Fred, and Daphne are also all here; watching the game. They can participate, just as well as Cetilla can. Granted, Fred and Daphne very rarely show any emotion. They're probably quite difficult to verse against. I know that I struggle when playing against them, at the very least. Cindy is also kind of the youngest appearing one among us, so she might not be a very good opponent. She's cute, though. Cetilla took my offered arm, and joined me on my Broom.
I decided to ask Cosmo and Wanda to try and find Goblin Funk and Budget Dragon. I told them to bring the two into the Throne Room, and asked them to tell the two Cat Crewman to wait there for the new gate. We're meow off to go and count some Coins in the Treasure Room. We're going to need five carriages tonight, so we're getting 400 Silver Coins. Not 250. Why? I want to overpay, as an effort at currying favor from Roy. I want to start forcing him to pay his slaves. I'll even pay them for him, if that's what it takes. I can't stand to see one of the most wealthy Catkin families in Reygid going down such a perilous path. Especially considering that I literally need to see them do it, as I continue to rent out their carriages.
After counting the Coins as we placed them into buckets, we ended up with four full buckets, and one additional bucket over halfway full. Not too bad. I then grabbed Clive's bag and threw it over my shoulder. I also grabbed the bag that the Candy Man had so graciously given to me. I want Candy, meow! Not that I can get any right now, on account of the store being closed; but it should help me with carrying my Coins back home. Let's go! Setting off, we flew west. The Wailing Keep is honestly kind of close to the border of the Beastkin Kingdom. It's directly east to the Gate Fort, with only a little bit of forested area separating it from the grassy clearing leading to the Beastkin Kingdom. Due to that, reaching the Beastkin Kingdom really only takes me around a minute or two. Getting to the Vellisroi Estate takes me around 10 minutes, if I count the two minutes spent actually getting to the Beastkin Kingdom. It's not too bad of a journey. It's pretty convenient.
After knocking on the door, just 30 seconds later; we were met with a familiar face. It's Celine. She's way too good at her job. Following her through the home, I found out why. Roy and Veronica weren't very deep into the mansion. Directly on my right, after entering; we were led down a set of stairs to find a private… Indoor sauna. I'm jealous. The two older Catkin are both wearing towels, and talking to some other probably wealthy individual. He's an Armadillkin. I recognize him. It's Rodgin. He's the same guy that owns that one weapon shop which failed to carry Lanterns. I say probably wealthy, because I can't tell. If he fails to meet the needs of his customers, how can he possibly be wealthy? That's my stance on it, anyways.
"Cetilla! How are you, darling?" [Veronica] called out to her daughter with a smile before jumping to her feet and embracing her.
"Well, well, well… Kid, what are you doing here?" [Rodgin the Armadillkin] greeted the Witch of War as he rubbed his chin.
"Now, now… Rodgin, Nero here is one of my daughter's esteemed friends. He comes here often to do business with me." [Roy Vellisroi] shot the Armadillkin with words. Or, you would think he did; judging by how Rodgin reacted.
"Whaaa?!" [Rodgin the Armadillkin] gasped in disbelief.
"Hmph. Roy, I need to speak with you in private." [Nero] said while gesturing for the Catkin to follow him.
"Oh? Sure, let's go speak in the study." [Roy] replied as he took a stand and began to follow Nero out of the door.
To which, the Armadillkin nearly lost his wits; but we're leaving. Following the nearly nude Roy to his study made me feel a little bit more than uncomfortable, if I'm being frank. It certainly didn't help when we were walking up the stairs with him in the lead, as his towel fell down and he needed to bend over to pick it back up. It's a good thing that he has fur. I might have been scarred otherwise. I probably would never have returned here if it weren't like that. Even so, I'm quite shaken. I saw too much. After reaching the study, I took a seat and shuddered at the memory.
"So, I take it that you're here for more carriage renting?" [Roy] asked as he took his seat.
"Well, yeah. I would like to rent 5 carriages for 400 Silver Coins, but I would also like to ask something rather personal." [Nero] confessed while placing the buckets on the table.
"Personal?" [Roy] asked while furrowing one of his eyebrows and raising the other.
"It's about your own weekly income." [Nero] replied bluntly with a stone cold face.
"...My weekly income?" [Roy] asked for clarification while tilting his head slowly. To which, Nero only nodded once.
"...It depends, I guess. Most fruits and vegetables take longer than a week to grow, and my farm isn't just growing one type. We grow different foods depending on the season." [Roy] replied while rubbing his own chin.
"Then what about on a yearly basis?" [Nero] asked while removing his sunglasses and placing them down on the table.
"Hmmmm… If I absolutely needed to say? Depending on the quality of each harvest, roughly… 3000 to 5000 Gold Coins each year? Somewhere around there." [Roy] pondered the thought for a few moments before making a hypothesis. To which, Nero simply glared at him as an eye began to twitch.
...What? Excuse me, Sir... You can certainly afford to pay your freaking slaves! This guy is making more Coin than me! By far! Why should I feel obligated to pay his workers for him if it's like this?! If my weekly earnings were completely stagnant at 10000 Silver Coins per week, I would be making a little over 500 Gold Coins per year. This isn't nearly enough! How can I possibly hope to steal a suitable portion of Coins from the economy of Reygid if just one noble family is potentially bringing in up to freaking 10 times what I am?! They probably haven't even freaking noticed their market dipping! I'm beginning to get a cold sweat. This is serious. How can someone earning so much, not be paying their workers?! My efforts are laughable!
"...Roy…" [Nero] groaned.
"Is there a problem, Nero?" [Roy] asked while raising his eyebrow once more.
"Roy. Did you know, that regular… Non enslaved workers… They're more than happy with even just 300 Silver Coins each week?" [Nero] repeated his name before begging the question. To which, the Catkin's eyes went wide.
"...300?" [Roy] repeated the number, as if dumbfounded.
"YES! 300 Silver Coins per worker! Remove their chains, pay them, and treat them kindly!" [Nero] screamed as if exasperated.
"...Nero, I have around 50 slaves. To pay my workers that much... I would be losing around 750 Gold Coins every year." [Roy] explained after a long silence.
"That's absolutely fine, considering that you're guaranteed to be making over 4 times that number." [Nero] replied coldly.
"Nero, you're asking way too much of me." [Roy] said bluntly.
"...I'm not asking. Feel more than welcome to relay this to your King, but if I continue to see enslaved individuals within this Kingdom for even just 60 more days… I will set them ALL free, before I remove them from this Kingdom. I will even go so far as to execute your King. Now then, if you would like to continue our excessively low costing deal… I'm more than willing. If not, I will take my leave and see you in 60 days." [Nero] declared with a straight face.
"..." [Roy]
"..." [Nero]
"...You're going to regret this, you know?" [Roy] replied after around 3 minutes of silence.
"I don't care. This is absolutely unacceptable behavior. I pay my workers, yet I earn around a sixth of what you earn; even on your worst of years. Let me make one thing clear to you, Roy. I will liberate this continent. In this entire world, there are at most… 7 other individuals that can stand on equal footing with me. To my knowledge, not a single one of those individuals is on this continent; making it my responsibility to clean it up. This continent is a mess, and my next cleaning task is going to be this Kingdom. Why? Because I almost like this Kingdom. I'm kind of similar to a Catkin, so it makes sense to pay preferential treatment to these lands. My prime issues with this Kingdom are your King's lack of respect, and the immense amount of individuals enslaved within it." [Nero] declared boldly before he took a stand and began to reach for his buckets.
"...Wait. I'll supply you with your carriages on account of you holding Cetilla's favor… But are you absolutely certain that you intend to go down this path?" [Roy] stopped the Witch of War before begging the question.
"I don't intend to go down this path... I WILL go down this path. Your King has 60 days to clean his mess of a Kingdom, or I will do it for him and take his life while I'm at it. Every single worker needs to be without shackles, and with a weekly pay of no less than 200 Silver Coins each week. I won't budge on that number. If the price of food in the Markets rises due to workers being paid, I will still clean this Kingdom. If your King tries to stand in my way before the 60 days are up, I will execute him regardless. I'll be back for my buckets soon." [Nero] replied coldly, as he continued on his way out of the room while carrying the two empty bags.
And so, I'm off. I know the way to the carriages at this point, so I don't really need Celine at all. I've been to the study before. I can do this! I didn't intend for that conversation to take such a drastic turn, but he forced my paw. I won't tolerate this audacity much longer. I simply can't. I don't have it in me to turn a blind eye to this indefinitely. I have a feeling that the King might react before the 60 days are up, and try to shut down my endorsement with Clive. Even so, I would honestly prefer to go and sell clothing to Humans or Elves if this is how it's going to be. If he shuts down the Cat's Costumery Clothing Brand here, I'll execute him right before I bring it elsewhere. I don't care. I'll take Clive and his staff with me if they're in danger. Otherwise, Clive will just need to settle with reverting his store back to its original ways.
Leaving the mansion, I made my way to the stables and began to pull the carriages to the road; one by one. It ended up taking me around 5 minutes. Cancelling my gate, and opening it once more; I began to haul them into Halloween. After the second carriage, Goblin Funk and Budget Dragon appeared. They're going to the mansion. After procuring the final carriage, I went through the combo gate and then closed it before reopening it once more. Meow! Cosmo, Wanda, Fred, Daphne, Mr Scarecrow and Mrs Scarecrow! I call on you! Around a minute later, they all appeared before me.
"For the first carriage, I want these level 1 clothes added to the front left… These level 2 clothes added to the front right… These level 3 clothes added to the back left… And these level 4 clothes for the back right. For the second carriage, I want these level 5 clothes added to the front left… These level 6 clothes to the front right… These level 7 clothes to the back left… And these level 8 clothes to the back right… For the third carriage, I want these level 9 clothes added to the front left… These level 10 clothes to the front right… These level 11 clothes to the back left… And these level 12 clothes to the back right… In the fourth carriage, I want these level 13 clothes in the front left… These level 14 clothes in the front right… These level 15 clothes in the back left… And these level 16 clothes in the back right. For the fifth carriage, I want these level 17 clothes added to the front left… These level 18 clothes added to the front right… These level 19 clothes added to the back left… And these level 20 clothes placed in the back right." [Nero] explained while pointing to each of the piles as he mentioned them.
Well, they're on it. Talk about a stressful evening. Declaring war AND making a shipment. I should really learn to just handle one thing at a time. I wonder how the King will react? I'm almost certain that mass slavery is only an issue in the Beastkin Kingdom, so it's not as though he can appeal the issue to other Kingdoms while looking for sympathetic allies. It might be prevalent in the Human Kingdom, but it's hard to say. I really haven't spent enough time there yet to know for certain. I don't believe that slavery is even an issue in the Demon Kingdom, not that the Beastkin would ally themselves with the Demons regardless. The Demons just have a whole lot of tortured individuals. Not that torture isn't bad, but they're two completely different hurdles to overcome. I don't know why the Demons resort to torture, and frankly; I'm scared to learn the reason. Those guys caused the sorry state known as the Lost Kingdom. They can do it again. I'm not ready to face them. I was mulling over such thoughts as the Scarecrows handled filling the carriages. It took around 10 minutes for them to finish, and so I'm now on my way back to the Beastkin Kingdom.
After flying for around 6 minutes, I arrived at Clive's establishment. Descending to the ground, I closed my Hallowed Gate once more, before opening it yet again. Pulling the carriages out onto the road one at a time took me around a minute or two. It wasn't so bad… But it did attract quite the crowd. Closing it again, I decided to call on the Scarecrows to protect the carriages as I opened the doors to the Clothing Store. On entry, cheers arose from the staff. They love me at this point, but after they went outside and found that I came alone; they seemed disappointed. Is Goblin Funk really that influential?! Ugh~ I'll lose if I think about it. And so, I explained to the staff how to receive this week's shipment. Doing that, returned their excitement. It's probably because we're selling level 20 pieces this time. That's right~ We're upgrading the shelves. You have new merch! Making my way inside, I was met with Clive and led up the stairs into his office.
"So, how was the week?" [Nero] asked with a smile.
"It was a record breaking week. I'm sure that the new merchandise will help improve profits, too." [Clive the Cheetahkin] replied while opening a drawer and taking out the ledgers before he handed them to Nero.
"Great. Please remember to sell level 15 to 20 pieces at a raised price. I was thinking double or even triple the expected price?" [Nero] exclaimed with a smile, to which Clive nodded.
Looking at the ledgers, I started to wonder why Clive even takes the time with making it so detailed… I'm just going to skip over to the juicy bits, regardless. He said it was a record breaking week, and boy; was it ever! We raked in 38910 Silver Coins this week! This is incredible! Not only did we finally hit the 30000 mark, we almost hit 40000! Of the 6 pieces of level 1 clothing in stock, we sold all 6 to make 180 Silver Coins. We also sold out on our 5 level 2 pieces, bringing another 300 Silver Coins in. For our level 3 pieces, we had 25 of them in stock. Only 16 sold, bringing in 1440 Silver Coins. For our level 4 pieces, we had another 25 in stock, and 14 sold to bring in 1680 Silver Coins. Level 5 pieces had 25 in stock, yet again. 17 of the level 5 pieces were sold, making 2550 Silver Coins. We sold 13 of the 24 level 6 pieces in stock, earning us 2340 Silver Coins. There were 24 pieces of level 7 clothing, and 16 of them sold to earn us 3360 Silver Coins. Of the level 8 pieces in stock, we sold 17 to rake in a total of 4080 Silver Coins. For level 9 pieces, we had 30 in stock; and 13 sold to earn 3510 Silver Coins. Among the 27 level 10 pieces, 18 sold to bring in a whopping 5400 Silver Coins. There were 11 level 11 pieces, and 8 sold to make us 2640 Silver Coins. We sold 9 of the 12 level 12 pieces to earn us 3240 Silver Coins. For our level 13 pieces, we had 12 and 7 sold to bring in 2730 Silver Coins. Last but certainly not least, our 13 level 14 pieces all sold to bring in an eye catching 5460 Silver Coins. I'm stunned. I'm absolutely blown away! We're definitely going above the 300 payment bonus this week for each employee. Let's make it 500. We really did do that well. We can afford this.
"Wow~ This is fantastic... I would like to make a special bonus to the employees this week. Let's pay them 500 Silver Coins each. They deserve it." [Nero] declared with a smile while he gave the ledgers back to the Cheetahkin.
"Understood. I wholeheartedly agree. Deducting the payment, will leave us with… 17705 Silver Coins each." [Clive] replied with a smile as he began to separate some Coins with Alchemy.
"Oh! That reminds me. I brought your old bag with me this time around. You can have it back, I have this other one to use. I'll go check up on the mystery pile, and inform the staff of their bonus." [Nero] said as he placed Clive's bag onto the table before handing Clive his own to fill it with.
"Alright~ I'll make sure that it's filled properly. Here, take your 17 Gold Coins first. I wouldn't want them to be in a bag filled with Silver Coins if I were you." [Clive] sighed before he handed Nero his new Coins.
"Thank you~" [Nero] thanked as he began to place them into his black leather boots. To which, Clive gave a strange look before sighing as he continued to count out Coins.
And so, I'm on my way downstairs. I put the Coins into my boots because I don't think I can fit them all into my collared shirt pocket. It is what it is. I need a new way to carry my Gold. This wont be very comfortable if I'm walking, but thankfully… I'm usually flying. I was thinking such things until I came across the crowd of staff, currently awaiting the announcement in anticipation.
"I would like to congratulate you all to a week well done. This week, has been our best sales week; by far. You all brought in a record breaking 38910 Silver Coins. To commemorate such high earnings, Clive and I have decided to pay you all 500 Silver Coins this week. Keep it up, and this pay will be permanent… Or even higher. You've earned it." [Nero] declared with a smile before he tipped his hat forward and did a slight bow.
And so, the staff is exceptionally happy. Two of them may or may not have began to cry tears of joy. One of them may or may not have hugged me as he did so. I'm touched. Literally. Stop it! I might cry too, you know?! After a few moments, I made my way to the mystery pile room and found that there were only two mystery pieces. After getting undressed and figuring out where they went, one of the workers appeared and may or may not have saw me nude. She ran away after we made eye contact, but I'm almost certain that she saw way too much skin. She should have known by now that I do this over here… Jeez! Getting dressed once more, I returned to the storefront and was met with Clive carrying my bag. Thank you~ After bidding them all farewell, I was back on my way. Opening the Hallowed Gate once more, the Scarecrows helped me with pulling the carriages back into Halloween before I returned to Reygid and closed it again. The crowd is still here from earlier. I think they just came to see the show. My gates are impressive, after all. Not to mention my Scarecrows. They're impressive and exceptionally rare nowadays, thanks to me. The Scarecrows stayed behind in Halloween after we finished with the carriages.
And so, I flew to the Vellisroi Estate. On arrival, I called upon the gate once more and began to pull the carriages into the stable. One by one. I spent around 5 minutes doing so, and on completion; I returned to the Wailing Keep through the Hallowed Gate, before closing it a final time. I placed the bag of Silver Coins into the Treasure Room. I'm meow going to the waterfall! Those Fish won't catch themselves without Hallowed Gate Sama! I sped through the Throne Room, and made my way into the Kitchen. I'm grabbing a few Fish to eat raw. My appetite is back, and I'm freaking starving. As I began to eat them, I flew back to the Foyer, and out of the Wailing Keep. I caught a glimpse of a great many residents spending time by the fireplace. Wendel and White Beef Lady were even performing one of their original songs. Fun. Cindy came to greet me. She's wearing a mini Chef costume. She's so cute, that Cat Crewoman; her! She'll grow up to be a fine Catkin. I have a nose for these things. I ended up speaking with her for a couple minutes before Rita came along and stole her from me. They're going off to play.
Okay! Waterfall! Let's go! Flying to it was uneventful, but it gave me some more time to eat my Fish; so I'm not complaining. It took me a few minutes. On arrival, I cast the new Hallowed Gate, right before I called on Vivian and Edward to watch it for me. They know what to do. Thanking them, I made my way back towards Reygid. I honestly don't feel enticed to spend very much time with Roy right now, but I'm going for my Cat Crew. Three members are there right meow. They need my protection, I think. I doubt that Roy would do anything that might lead to Cetilla being captured, but I can't say the same for Goblin Funk or Budget Dragon. I just don't know. That's what was on my mind as I flew there. After knocking on the door, around three minutes later... Celine arrived to lead me through the mansion. As it turns out, they're all just drinking on the patio. The one with beautiful flowers adorning it? That one.
It appears as though Roy kept our little talk a secret. No one is asking me about it, anyways. He's not even treating me poorly. I'm going to avoid getting hammered, to be honest. You can't be too safe. I'll just have one or two glasses of Wine. Tops. Veronica is still trying to get me drunk, but I'm not having any of it. I know her ways. I can say no if I want to. I have willpower, okay?! Strong, hard earned… Willpower. Veronica is also trying to convince me to come along with her on some trip to the Casino one of these nights. Honestly? I accepted the offer. I'm not going to go and gamble, but I would like to find some more decks of Safari Cards. Cetilla's jealous, and so she's declared that she will be joining us… But it's really not like that, Cetilla!
We also spent some time talking about our brave adventures of the continent. Veronica is all about that life, apparently. Back in the day, she too was an Adventurer. Apparently, she even went so far as to explore the Savage Lands of the north. Even I haven't gone that far yet. From her tales, I learned that there are Mammoths, Sabertooth Tigers, Yetis, and even Polar Bears up there. Wow... I want to go! Now I'm the one who's jealous, I suppose. There's a Human Tribe up there, and a Snow Elf Tribe... But they're all savages… According to her, anyways. I don't know what it is about Veronica, but I don't feel like I can take everything that she says at face value. She's a tricky one, that Christmas Catkin.
After around two hours, we went back inside and began to play the Safari Card Game. There was one extra rule, though. If you lost, you drank. A whole glass. Thankfully, you got to choose your liqueur. I chose Wine, on account of it being the easiest to go down. By the time that dawn had arrived, my companions were all beyond their wits. I'm taking them home. I'm practically carrying them out of the mansion. Budget Dragon is the most capable among them, so he's not being carried... Thank the Hunky Beefcake.
Exiting the mansion took us several minutes, but we made it. Reaching the road in front of the Estate took us a great many more minutes. I needed to walk in order to help them, and it was highly uncomfortable due to the Gold Coins in my boots. I have so many regrets. I should have just left them in the Treasure Room. I was able to obtain my Candy buckets back from Roy though, so I'm happy about that; at the very least. Cancelling the Hallowed Gate, I cast a new one and brought my Cat Crew back home. I even helped bring them to the staircase leading into the basement. Sadly, they will need to find their way from this point on. You can't pay me enough to walk down those stairs, sir. I won't do it! And so, I'm returning to the Treasure Room. On arrival, I began to get undressed before I hopped on into bed and cast [Daily Candy]. I left the buckets on the floor. I'll fix it tomorrow, I swear! Good morning...