The days leading up to the Airship were busy yet slow, the sheer amount of work making the morning and afternoon go by quickly before we slowed down for the evening, and where I would usually indulge in some of the oldest relaxation techniques in history with Crima, now I was meant to keep to myself instead.
That was also beneficial to me though, since I had more time to spend actually planning out the various things I wanted to do in more detail, and I also spent some time chatting with Evelyn too each night, discussing some potential trades and ideas with one another as we got closer to the arrival of the Airship, which...
Well, I was anxious over, but Evelyn seemed confident in her ability to earn a large amount of money instantly, which wasn't surprising considering she started this venture with deeper pockets than all of us new Ranchers, and on top of that Evelyn was smarter than most people expected thanks to her haughty attitude.
She was... cunning in that regard, always making sure to subvert people's expectations and utilize her wit to lull them into a false sense of security with her rather arrogant and snobbish personality, only to then display her intelligence and earn herself a deal that was usually something impossible to get.
It was entertaining to witness, but being on the end of her cunning was a bit... different, and not something that I wanted to ever have to experience ever in my life, which was why...
"Are you certain, Hildegarde~? Are you certain you don't want to make a bet with me about our rankings come next week~? Not feeling too confident?"
Smirking at me, the purple haired Noblewoman tried to goad me into accepting her bet to see who would place higher, but I simply shook my head and smiled back at her as I replied "It's not a manner of confidence, Evelyn, but instead that I know for a fact that you'll earn more than I will this week. You grew a lush yield of tea! The money you'll make from that is more than I will make from simple wheat, corn, and the potatoes that I have, even if the wheat is incredible!"
"And~? Maybe you're underestimating how valuable wheat can be?"
I rolled my eyes at the Noblewoman, causing her smirk to twitch as she realized I wasn't going to be goaded into taking her unfavorable bet thanks to wounded pride, and she already knew that there was little she could try to do to sway me via monetary rewards either, since we were both going to be operating lucrative Ranches.
So she just sighed and pouted at me instead, her purple eyes growing slightly wet as she went with a different approach, though that too failed right away as I raised a brow and said "Evelyn, I'm not making a bet for this weeks placements! It is a guaranteed loss on my end! Was there something else you wanted to chat about, or was that it? I need to finish making dinner for everyone..."
"Anything else..? Hmm..."
Stroking her chin, the Noblewoman looked at her mirror and idly began to fix her hair yet again, before she said "When are you going to come over? I can send an Airship to pick you up anytime, I just need to know when."
She glanced back at the ball and raised a brow a time this time as I blushed slightly, the reminder of what she wanted from me - to breed as many of her Demi Human's as possible - turning me on quite a bit after these days of relative celibacy, and that made me miss the hungry gleam in her eye as she stared at me.
"Um... probably after this egg is out of me..? So middle of next week perhaps?"
"Alright... I'll call again tomorrow then, Hildegarde?"
"If you want to, Evelyn... good night."
Smiling at her - and trying to hide my blush - I listened for her reply before turning the Communication Crystal off, ending the call between us and letting me sigh in peace as I leaned against the table, feeling somewhat exhausted.
It was nice talking to her, but it was also a mental struggle to deal with her whims sometimes, and today was one of those days; however, even then, I still appreciated this contact from another Human, especially since it was someone I cared about and considered a friend.
One that I wasn't aware was currently pleasuring herself after our call, but I would figure that out when I went to visit her soon.
So after a few moments of quiet rest, I went back inside and got dinner ready before taking stock of what we had, getting a list ready for tomorrow and heading to sleep early so that I wouldn't miss the arrival of the Airship.
We had a lot of things grown already, ready to be shipped out tomorrow and sold to the government, which would entitle me to some funding that I could either wait to receive physically next week, or spend now with the person who arrived tomorrow with the Airship for things that I would then receive next week.
Like I had said, I had a few things I needed to get, and the first on that list was some saplings, then I needed some other seeds for the various smaller fields I wanted to till out, and then I need to get some materials for the house repairs.
On top of the clothing I needed to request for everyone, so there was that too...
That morning, I just went around and didn't do much besides some basic caring of the plants, like pruning and watering, all while I kept my eyes on the sky, waiting for the arrival of the Airship.
I didn't need to wait long, and eventually I found the same Airship that carried me here drifting through the clouds, alongside another, larger Airship that was classified as a storage ship, something meant to carry large quantities of goods from one place to another... albeit slowly.
They both drifted down towards my landing pad, and I walked on over with Crima in tow, the two of us heading up to greet our visitors properly... and greet some acquaintances too.