Rei, Orchid, Orchis, and Apollonia walked together to the Palace of Elijah Chelm. The palace was huge and gave them a clear view of the entire city. When they arrived, Rei got straight to work. He used the power of the Primal Beasts to fix the ruined city and protect it.
First, he used Yggdrasil's power. He repaired every broken and cracked building, bringing them back to how they used to be. The city, once full of ruins, started to look new again.
Next, he used Tiamat's power. He cleared away all the sand from the nearby desert that had gotten into the city and buildings. The streets and structures were now clean and free of sand.
Then, Rei used Leviathan's power. He created a big, clear lake in the middle of the city. This gave the people a reliable source of water, so they wouldn't have to struggle to find it anymore. Rei also used his magic to make sure the water stayed clean and fresh, with a system to keep it pure automatically.
Finally, he used the Rose Queen's power. He made the city beautiful, covering it with flowers and decorating the buildings. Orchis had suggested this because she wanted to start a trade market to attract people from other islands. The city's new look would definitely draw visitors.
With the help of each Primal Beast's power and Orchis's ideas for the city's layout, Rei completely changed the city in just an hour. What was once a ruined and looks like a deserted place was now a thriving, beautiful city.
In the center of the city was a large, clean lake for everyone to use. Rei made sure the water was always fresh and would stay clean on its own. The city was no longer a forgotten ruin—it was now a lively and welcoming place, ready for people to visit.
"Ugh..." Suddenly, after the repairs were done, Lyria almost collapsed. Luckily, Rei caught her just in time.
"Lyria! Are you okay? What's wrong?" Rei panicked, seeing her like this.
"I'm fine," Lyria said with a small smile. "It's just... this is the first time I've used Primal Beast power constantly for so long. My head feels a little dizzy."
"Lyria, you should rest inside the palace for now. Rei, can you take her to a guest room so she can recover?" Orchis suggested.
"Sure. Let's go, Lyria," Rei said. Without waiting for her reply, he picked her up in a princess carry and walked into the palace.
The palace, now fully repaired, had many empty rooms. With Orchis as the last member of the royal family, there was no one else using it.
With Rei and Lyria gone, only Orchis and Apollonia remained outside the palace. Orchis looked out at the city, amazed by how much it had changed in just an hour. The power of an Astral commanding Primal Beasts was truly incredible.
For some reason, Primal Beasts commanded by an Astral were much stronger than usual. Orchis could feel it—when Rei commanded them, their power increased dramatically. Was it because Astrals, as their creators, had a stronger connection to them? Or was it something else?
"I didn't expect to see the city repaired like this," Apollonia said, gazing at the transformed city. "It reminds me of our childhood."
"Yes," Orchis replied with a sad smile. "It's just too bad my parents aren't here to see the city become so beautiful again." She thought of her parents, who had died because of Freesia's schemes.
"But I'll make them proud," Orchis said firmly. "I'll become a queen loved and praised by everyone." She turned to Apollonia. "Will you help me, Apollo? It won't be easy with just the two of us for now. We'll need more people, but..."
Orchis paused, thinking for a moment before continuing. "Rei and the others won't stay here forever. They have their own journey. So, I need someone by my side to help me."
Hearing this, Apollonia immediately knelt before her. "Of course, my Queen. I'll stay with you."
Apollonia kneeling and Orchis looking at her marked the beginning of this empire. From this day forward, the City of Mephorash would become known as one of the most advanced cities in the Phantagrande Skydom.
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After that, another day passed. Everyone gathered together to discuss how to make money for the city.
"Does anyone have any ideas?" Orchis asked, looking around the room.
They were in the palace's meeting room, brainstorming ways to improve the city's economy.
Of course, no one said anything because no one really knew how to build an empire or even make money, except for doing their job as Skyfarers.
Djeeta didn't know anything about it because she had only lived on a small island her entire life with Vyrn before starting this adventure.
Lyria was the same—she had spent her life confined to a room, reading books, and sewing or creating clothes as her favorite hobby.
Io was still a little girl who only knew about magic.
Basically, everyone was useless when it came to this kind of planning. At this point, they were just there for emotional support.
"I'm curious about something," Rei suddenly said, raising his right hand. "I remember you said this empire used to have a lot of Automaton Golems that your father and mother used to protect the city, right? But where are they now?"
"Yes, in the past, this city had many golems protecting us," Orchis replied. "But with no one to maintain them, they ran out of energy and stopped moving. Why do you ask?"
"Hmm," Rei murmured, touching his chin as he thought deeply. To be honest, with his creation power, he could just create Rupie coins himself, and the empire wouldn't have money problems. But that would definitely cause inflation, so he decided against it.
"Do you have an idea?" Djeeta asked, her expression curious.
"I have a few ideas involving your deactivated golems," Rei said. "But are you okay with me using them?"
"I don't mind at all," Orchis said. "In fact, I'm glad the golems can be useful instead of just lying motionless in the palace."
"But what do you plan to do with them?" Apollonia asked. "They're just basic combat golems—big and not equipped for anything else."
"Here, let me show you something from my memory," Rei said, standing up from his chair and clapping his hands together.
He remembered the magic Loki had used to show him the attack on Amalthea Island. Thinking about how Loki had cast that spell, Rei tried to mimic him—the way his mana moved, the structure of the magic, and the concept behind it.
Everything went smoothly for Rei. He recreated the magic quickly, likely because Loki's magic was Astral magic, and Rei, as an Astral, could use it too.
Moving his hands in a circular motion, a blue magic circle began to form. As he expanded his hands, the circle grew larger. Then, raising both hands, he moved the magic circle upward, creating a blue holographic screen that floated above the table in front of everyone.
Rei let his memories flow into the blue holographic screen. The screen flickered to life, like a window into his past, and everyone watched in awe as the scene unfolded.
The memory showed a world unlike anything they had ever seen. The sky was a vibrant blue, with small birds flying freely. A gentle breeze blew through the trees lining the sidewalk as Rei walked along. Vehicles—strange, metallic carriages without horses—zoomed past on the road, their engines humming softly.
Everyone gasped. They had never seen anything like it. The buildings were impossibly tall, reaching high into the sky, their surfaces gleaming in the sunlight. People walked past Rei, dressed in neat, unfamiliar clothes—suits, dresses, and uniforms that looked nothing like what they were used to.
Rei in the memory kept walking, his steps steady and calm. The scene shifted as he approached a building with a colorful sign. It wasn't just any café—it was a maid café. The sign displayed cheerful, anime characters, and through the windows, they could see waitresses dressed in frilly maid outfits, serving customers with bright smiles.
The group stared at the screen, completely stunned. Maid cafés, tall buildings, vehicles that really different from sky realm—it was all so strange and fascinating.
"Huh..." Rei murmured as he watched the scene play out.
Maybe showing his visit to the maid café to Djeeta and the others was a bad idea. Especially since the screen now showed his past self glancing at the maid's thighs and even asking one of the staff to do a 'Moe moe kyun' over his fried rice.
He could feel the atmosphere in the room growing colder and colder as the screen continued to display his past antics at the maid café.
"Well, this is eno—" Rei started to say, trying to turn off the magic and make the screen disappear. But before he could, Djeeta on his left and Lyria on his right grabbed his hands, stopping him.
"What are you doing, Rei?" Djeeta's voice came from his left, calm but with an edge that made him nervous.
"Yeah, why do you want to turn that off? We still need more reference," Lyria added from his right, her tone sweet but somehow terrifying.
Hearing their voices, Rei shuddered. And then, to make things worse, he felt something pinching his thighs. Orchid, who was sitting on his lap, was pinching him—hard.
Orchid didn't say a word, but her actions spoke volumes. Meanwhile, Djeeta and Lyria continued to stare at him with unsettling smiles.
Rei froze, realizing he was in a very, very dangerous situation.
"Ahem—sorry to interrupt you three, but I'm sure there's another reason why Rei showed that to everyone. It's not just about the maid outfits, right?" Apollonia said, stepping in before the situation could spiral further.
Finally, Djeeta, Lyria, and Orchid stopped their intimidating behavior, and Rei was able to explain his plan for the golems.
With his creation power, Rei planned to transform the golems into maid girl figures. These transformed golems would serve as attractions, drawing people to the island. Combined with the city's newfound beauty and stunning scenery, Rei was confident the island could become a popular vacation spot, much like the Auguste Isles.
But that wasn't all. Rei also planned to reshape the surrounding desert, transforming the entire island into an entertainment hub. The remaining golems would be repurposed as staff to support the island's operations. If there weren't enough golems, Rei could simply create more using his creation power.
Once everything was ready, Rei would visit Sierokarte and ask her to spread the word to her merchant friends. With her help, news of the island's transformation would reach far and wide.
Everyone agreed with Rei's plan, and they began discussing their tasks for the next day.
After the meeting, Rei found himself being dragged away by Djeeta and Lyria, both wearing unsettling smiles. Orchid stayed behind as the two girls told her they needed to "borrow" Rei for a while. They disappeared with him for the rest of the day, the others immediately know what happened to him and all they can do just smile when Orchid asking them where Rei is.