A/N: I might be unable to update further until the coming weekend. I've been extremely busy and tired and am not getting time to work on this fic. Stay strong until then and I'll be back as soon as I can, hopefully with a renewed vigor. Thanks for your continued and generous support, my dear little piggies. :)
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We landed on my personal island after the long trip which didn't feel that long because we were enjoying it so much. It was close to evening, with the sun slowly setting down.
And even before we landed, my companions already had a look of complete surprise on their faces.
I could understand why, though.
In front of our eyes laid the most majestic and fantastical (even for a literal fantasy world) view any of us had ever witnessed or even imagined.
The large island which was once filled with nothing but wild nature now had a massive parameter in the center on which laid a grandiose and magnificent set of beautifully crafted structures and eye-catching machines. The parameter was tastefully and fluently divided into sub-sections, each containing a certain attraction.
The center had the Amusement Park itself, partitioned into 2 regions. One filled with over 5 dozen rides ranging from the simplest of them like the various carousels (Merry-Go-Rounds) to some insane roller coasters to ginormous ferry wheels to rides that even I didn't know the names of. There were magical and sci-fi-looking rides that intrigued even me when I was checking the progress reports.
It was surrounded by a well-placed multitude of stalls offering toys, gifts, food items, and even games you see in carnivals. All of it was crafted in Eris' facilities, so I didn't have to buy them from elsewhere. There were other things of interest as well, like the Mystical Haunted Mansions, Mirror houses, etc. It was an amalgamation of various amusement parks and carnivals, with an interesting touch of both fantasy and sci-fi.
The other half was an adjoint Water Park beside it which in and of itself was a grand park with its own sets of dozens of rides, stalls, and other attractions.
Behind it, near the mountains lay the Recreational Section where a bunch of resorts were situated, divided by affordability and features. Though even the lowest one was close to a 5-star hotel. And near it, the slightly Japanese-themed bathhouses were situated. I doubted anyone in this world had seen such stylish-looking buildings, one of which was over 30 stories tall, so they were in for even more surprises. This region would also garner people's attention for sure… assuming they could ever stop looking at the absolutely stunning central Amusement Park region itself.
On the left and right sides of the park, there were open parks and artificial forests with exotic flora spread aesthetically.
It added to the magnanimity of the park and was unlike the wild forests and grasslands due to its unique design and the sophisticated structures placed within and around it. I could see a small forest filled with Sakura trees and then another filled with green bamboo grass, both of which were grown with the seed reserves I found stored in a section of the laboratory during the initial search and…
'Hm? Is that a shrine? I didn't know there was supposed to be a shrine here as well. I must have missed it in the report Eris sent me. Or maybe she kept the information vague to surprise me?'
I wondered, while casually looking at the red and black structure situated over 2 KMs away that seemed to be very in place within the bamboo forest.
Eris for some reason believed that I was into Japanese culture. In reality, I just talked about them because of their inclusion in anime, manga, and LNs that I had read. And as much as Japan intrigued me, it was mostly for its cuisines and weeb-related stuff.
'Guess I'll check that out too. I wonder if she also placed some sort of Japanese god's statue or is it one of those godless shrines?'
Finally, in front of the Amusement Park, there was a rather minimalist park that simply provided a grand entrance to the actual attraction and some small buildings that could act as rest houses in case the travelers were too tired. It linked the area that was reserved for "Airship parking". Over 2 dozen medium-sized airships and almost 100 smaller ones were laid there dormant, ready to act as the semi-guided traveling vehicle, hopefully, the default and preferred mode of transportation because it would make things simpler for me and Eris. The park was equipped with carefully crafted and designed robots with an AI good enough to do their assigned jobs. Even the security was mostly done using Sentinels which had been assigned as guards.
This was the passion project I and (mostly) Eris had built. Something I had been giving a large portion of my time for months and Eris even more so. Enough to make me attached to it. And I could proudly say this.
It was fucking magnificent. My and Eris' Utopia, the Wonder Island.
There was a grand entrance right in front of us with the words 'Utopia' written in bold Red and Black accent colors.
I clapped, causing the two blondes to come out of their stupor and look at me. Though, Olivia's mouth was still O-shaped and even Angelica couldn't help but look flabbergasted.
"So! What do you girls think? Pretty amazing, right?"
"What… What is this place? It is even more grand and gorgeous than I had imagined."
Angelica finally uttered, only to glance back at the beautiful scene in front of her. From the ground, the place looked even more majestic than some of the castles in this world.
"It is… like a place from fairy tales. But even more wonderful. To be able to come to such a place, I am truly honored… Wait… How much would a place like this cost? 1000 dia? 2000 dia? No, maybe 5000 dia?! Awawawa… I-It can't be more than t-ten thousand dia, c-can it…? Uuuuu~… Oh, it's making me light-headed."
Olivia seemed like she would faint from the overwhelming emotions she was feeling right now. It was mildly amusing to see her first words being the estimation for its price though.
I wondered what she'll think if I said she could come here for free at any time since she was my first friend. Would she be flustered profusely or just faint from surprise? Hmm, she'll probably downright refuse my offer because it would be "too much" for her.
Anyway, she did have genuine concerns about its price. Normally, such a grand place would be a pipedream for anyone below a certain amount of wealth. It's just that, even for the normal public it won't be anything TOO exaggerated for the time being.
Eris and I had prepared the first iteration of the fee charts for both the VIPs(Those who get a Black Card from me and can access most of the features and attractions of Utopia) and normal guests(Those who get a white card from me and can access about 70% of the entire Utopia) who'll surely flock to this place even after the initial 'free promotion' phase is over. It might be my overconfidence and pride clouding my judgment and making me over-evaluate, but I was sure this place would 100% attract everyone, even the people at the top of this world. Yes, I was planning to open it even for other countries, but that was a plan for the distant future.
If I persisted, given time, I would make this place an iconic landmark that'll go down in the history of this country and maybe even the entire archipelago. But that would take a long amount of time, an amount that I wasn't certain I would be here for.
Oh well, that's something to think about for the future. Right now, I had a park to Beta test along with my two female companions.
"Well, then. We've been standing in the parking lot for almost 20 minutes now and it's going to get dark soon. We should start the tour tomorrow morning and for now, instead, head directly toward the resort. This park is so big that I doubt we can explore even the Amusement park section in a single day. Luckily, for the next 3 days, we are the first and only guests of this park. Let me show you my life's greatest accomplishment(made almost entirely by Eris and her subordinates)."
And with that slightly cheesy line and a cheeky smile, I took the two still-surprised girls to the main entrance.
…
The gate we passed through was big enough to easily fit multiple giants.
I idly thought as we passed through the parking lot and then the first and second layers of security which we just skipped because I was the fucking king of this place! Muahahaha! … Ahem, anyway.
As we passed the gate, which was the final layer of security that scanned people for artifacts and weapons, and the actual park finally came into full view, I paused and turned to look at the girls silently following me, looking around in amazement.
Spreading my arms and making a grand pose, I spoke with a hint of glee and pride.
"Ladies, I welcome you as our first two guests to the one and only place in the world: Utopia, the Wonder Island."
With that as a cue, behind me, a grand and beautiful firework show started and various confetti were flung around us, soon followed by harmonious music playing in the area naturally creating nice background music, all seemingly out of nowhere.
The mix of neon and fluorescent lights that now adjourned everywhere, the pleasant music, and the overall colorful and magical atmosphere, while the sky was darkening with a beautiful hue of orange and blue-grey colors made it seem like the entire park had suddenly come to life.
"Let's have a blast!"
No, I didn't plan for this grand opening. Definitely not. I was just "beta testing" the features already installed here. Heh.
(Reference Images)
***
After 3 days of living the best life ever, exploring the myriad of attractions in Utopia, the three of us had to go back to the academy.
The reason was my mandatory attendance in the royal palace.
I had been prepared for what they could throw my way already, so it honestly wasn't that big of a deal. Though, Olivia and Angelica, whom I had gotten even more acquainted with over the 3 days of 'beta testing' the park facilities, seemed to be slightly nervous. Angelica even came personally to my room one night to assure me that she had my back in case something goes wrong.
That was cute.
I simply smiled at her adorable gesture.
Now, I couldn't just tell them I already knew it was nothing problematic because I had gotten that information from my spy drones. So, I could only give them a vague sense of relief with my calming words.
As for what the king wanted with me… it would be a mildly interesting conversation, I supposed.
I was looking up to the new title and a possible meeting with the queen.
***
-End of Arc 1-