[Thirty fourth day]
A day after the battle between the merfolks, everyone made a full recovery.
The two who fainted during after the fight got the explanation from the others and soon bought their own things.
"A dagger set, an S&W K22, and a short blade?"
"I get the first and the third, but how will Veronica use the revolver when she hardly possess mana at all. No offense"
"I am sure that master has thought of something for me"
"That's right. This sweet baby is capable of storing bullets formed from mana. Meaning, we can charge it once the bullets are all used up. This is a sort of emergency weapon"
Veronica knelt down as she received her gifts.
"I will be going to the forest to train, master"
"Okay"
While trying to hide her smile, Veronica quickly went out after bowing to Tony.
"By the way, where is Aldo?"
"I'm sure he is doing something weird again"
[A small beginner
[The density of mana in the air has increased by 0.6%]
Seeing the announcement from AQA, they all went out to see a four story tower outside of the castle on the east.
"Hey guys"
Aldo greeted them with dead fish eyes.
"Don't just "Hey guys~" us! What is this?"
"Well, I needed my own space for magic circle creation. I don't wanna make the castle explode so I built this"
"That cannot be the only reason why you would spend four hundred points for something like that"
"Fine. I needed my own space, okay. Besides, it would be much better for me to be here since I'm the one in charge of scouting the foggy area of the north. I need a place where I can focus"
"A place that is a kilometer away from the castle?"
"Yes"
With his sound reasoning the others could not say anything else but leave him be.
"Father, why did you not told them about the real reason why you decided to stay away from them?"
Aldo junior asked in curiosity.
"Because there is no need for them to know about it so soon"
On the fourth floor of the magic tower, the 'toy' he bought which was a firefly golem possessed the resentful spirits and had an ego of its own after trial and error.
"What I am doing right now is akin to committing taboo. Why should I get those guys caught up in this when this is my plan"
Aldo continued his experiment on purifying and programming the souls in the orb to create a new life.
"For the time being, go and oversee the road construction. And make sure not to tell them anything about this, or about what we found in the desert. Do you understand?"
"Yes, father. I swear that they will not know anything about it"
The gargoyle then stood up and went away to accomplish the tasks that was given to him.
...
South of the castle, a huge farm was built by the combined efforts of Anise, Lexi, and Marco.
A systematic farmland with proper water system was built to support the future rise in their numbers.
"Now that I think about it, Anise, do you not feel anything about the merfolks that attacked us?"
"Not at all, Sir Marco. They are the ones who attacked us first for trivial reasons as they jumped towards their own conclusions. However, for a big tribe like them, I am sure it is only a matter of time until other tribes near them will deduce the fact that they have lost against us"
"So there is a high possibility of them banding together to attack a potential enemy, even if it means to team up with those they have bad blood with in order to get rid of a common enemy?"
"Yes, Sir Marco"
"Then we will have to prepare much more before that time comes"
The land rumbled for a short moment as an enermous lime tree sprouted.
Its shadow was enough to cover the ten chicken sheds they just made.
"Magic sure is convenient"
The two went to where the tree was and saw Lexi asleep.
"Seriously, he doesn't have to push himsefl too much"
Feeling that Lexi felt like a burden due to the events the past few days, Marco could not help but feel that he was lacking in some way for letting such a thing to happen.
"I will take him somewhere else where he can rest. I'll be back shortly. Also-"
"Do not worry Sir Marco, I will not push myself too hard"
He then carried Lexi, bridal style, back to his room.
...
In the west, houses were being built by the trolls under Persephone's command and roads were being built by rock golems under Aldo junior's command.
"Aldo junior"
"Yes, lady Persephone?"
"How is Sir Aldo, controlling a dozen of golems remotely? As far as I know, he doesn't have the mana to do such magic from a distance"
"About that, even I do not know about it. Father once said that he is creating a system from within that enable the golems to do anything they are told to do as long as the commands are made of simple words"
"That is amazing. I did not know that there was such a way to use magic"
"Father said that it was a language that allows him to instill a temporary ego to an inanimate object. Unfortunately, father do not have the power to make them endlessly. They all disappear after an hour or two.
Speaking of father, where is Sir Leon? I think it has been quite some time since I last saw him?"
"Oh, master is busy interrogating the spy that Veronica captured the other day"
"Whoever it is, I pity them. When it comes to the dirty work, I'd say that Sir Leon is the best among the five masters"
"Lerum!"
A troll came up to the two and saluted.
He then pointed towards the finished product for Persephone to judge whether it is sturdy enough or other adjustments has to be made.
"I will get going now then"
"So will I, my lady"
The two slightly bowed to each other and then went off to do their own jobs.
Meanwhile, in the underground basement of the castle that is now being used as their prison after the 'spectator' was caught...
"You sure are one persistent bastard. Even when I used your weakness, you still won't talk, huh"
Leon has been extracting information from the demi-human as to why he was watching them with the intent to dominate the winner.
"Wow, you sure are going at it, huh"
"Why are you here?"
Leon glared at Tony.
"This whole place belongs to us, is there any reason why I can't be here?"
"....."
"Don't worry, I'm not so weak minded that I would be bothered seeing you covered with blood after having 'fun' with him"
"Will you just tell me why you are here?"
"I will be taking over the rights of questioning him. Also, you should question the other one next door"
"They are awake?"
Tony nodded.
"Fine. Just make sure not to touch the ones I've used, okay?"
"Just go already, you psychopath"
Leon then reluctantly go to the other prison cell where the surviving merfolks were being held captive.
"Just like beastkin, there is a wide variety of demi-humans but are harder to tell apart as their appearances are similar with each other"
Tony pulled out a leather bag filled needles.
"That is why that psycho mistook you for something else. That doesn't matter, since I already know what kind you are from"
He then soak the end of each needle in a solution that Veronica and Persephone made.
"I hope you would be able to give me what I want before you die, you half orc"