297 Slowly but Surely

By the time that Aethisia, Sari and Yiksa returned from their hunt, the foundation was being laid for the floor of the giant pit I had dug, the efficiency boost from my new skills doing me wonders as I worked and worked.

That meant that I would have... probably a third of the foundation completed for now, and I say that because I could likely go deeper and deeper with how reality warping my System tends to be.

For now though, this single level into the earth was more than enough, and it was already an upgrade from the house that we used to live in back at the clearing in Geard Forest, which was both sad to think about and amazing to see the progress from then to now.

Rhefia and I were sitting side by side waiting for the concrete to dry, the Deerkin telling me a story about a River Goddess who got pulled into a messy love triangle with a Forest Goddess and a Hunting Goddess, the three eventually finding themselves deeply in love with one another after a long period of extremely dark plots against one another.

It was... a story that I wasn't sure I was keen to ever hear again, but it was an interesting one to think about as we waited for the concrete to dry.

The three hunters brought over their haul, dropping two deer carcasses and three horned bunnies behind us like tribute, which made me smile as I stood up.

"Not bad~! So, while you're here, what do you think of this wall style? Do you think it'd be better in blue or red, or perhaps in a darker gray?"

I walked them over to the first part of the house that I had 'built', showing them the different walls and asking them what they preferred... and having to sigh as they all shrugged, uncaring of what it looked like.

"Thanks... go back to the camp and prepare for dinner, alright? We have a few things to talk about as well."

Sari furrowed her brow as she glanced at Rhefia, who just shrugged as she handed Aka over to her Dama, the kit yawning before sleepily smiling at Sari, who rolled her eyes at the lazy kit.

Giving them all a kiss, I waved them away and dropped into the pit, setting up the metal rods for structural integrity before pouring out some more concrete over them, which was kept in place by the wooden walls that I placed inside as well, slowly finishing this portion of the basement.

While that was happening, I began to prepare for a new version of supports for the roof of the basement / flooring for the first floor, which would look like what mineshafts tended to have since that would leave the middle of the floor available to be used, creating a more open space.

For this to work and still look good, I wanted to measure everything out and make sure it would have a solid appearance that wouldn't make my eyes bleed whenever I was down here, so I got to work doing that and marked out the spaces that I would be placing the supports, before doing some planning in regards to what would hold the ceiling up.

Creating a lattice work, I nodded at Rhefia when she told me that dinner way ready, the Deerkin still sitting over the edge of the pit and watching as I began to swiftly construct the remainder of the 'shell' for the basement, placing down the supports and nailing in the beams of wood between them to create something that looked almost like a pergola, though that was changed quickly as I began to hammer in the floorboards and encase the entire thing in wood.

With that now done, I had a thirty by ten rectangle of wood that was a foot out of the ground - in other words, a deck.

The next order of business for me was to turn this deck into a house, installing the walls and finishing the 'shell' of the first of two floors that would be above ground, though I was still debating whether or not to do an entire second level above the first...

Stylistic reasons primarily, since I could always expand downwards however far I wanted...

But it was now all done, and took in a deep breath as I looked it over one more time, nodding to myself and feeling proud of all I had accomplished over these last few days.

When I was done admiring my handiwork, I accepted Rhefia's arm and walked back towards the campsite, Ehretia nestled against my chest while Ipoala walked beside her Dama, the little Robinkin slowly getting used to her short legs.

Sitting down, I was greeted with a feast as always, the Doe that Rhefia had haphazardly picked up showing her worth as she presented a platter of steaks, grilled corn, sautéed vegetables, salad, and noodles covered in a thin garlic sauce.

A meal that was certain to fill anyone up was placed on my lap, and I eagerly dug in, taking bites of the pinkish meat that oozed flavor with each stab of my fork, followed quickly by a mouthful of seasoned corn on the cob...

Heavenly, and even more so when it came with the knowledge that I had completed a lot of work during the hours of this day, and doubly so when I knew that pleasure awaited me after this meal.

During it though, I ate most of my fill - and sneaked a few leaves of lettuce to Ehretia - before I began to tell the three women who were hunting all day about the offers that the Duchess put forth.

"Duchess Poinset visited again today, and she had three things to say after handing me the medallion for the other plot, which we now own. The first two were... simple. One, she wants us to sell her bushels of tea herbs each month for a set price. So lemongrass, tea, mint, chamomile, ginger... anything that we might use to brew tea, she wants some. That seems simple enough honestly, and I wouldn't mind the income from sending out herbs that we would already be growing.

Secondly, she was curious if we wanted to take an investment in a wine brewing business from her. She funds it and spreads word about it, and we pay her a cut after each month - I would guess that's what she would want, anyways - from the wines that we sell at locations she helps us purchase. A... backer of sorts, is what Duchess Poinset wants to be for us. Someone who does no work for the actual product besides marketing it to others, as well as fund it. In return, we give her some of the profits for her backing."

I trailed off and looked at Aethisia and Sari, since they were the two to show more emotion at what I said; Yiksa just nodded thoughtfully, before shrugging as she left it up to me.

"I... why not? It's risky, but it would be a great source of revenue and give us quite the backing. That comes with a target, of course, but surely she would protect us from harm as best she could, no? I mean, it'd look bad if she let 'her people' suffer when they work for her?"

Sari frowned, her eyes flitting over to Rhefia as she said "Maybe, but the problem is prolonged exposure with her could get our Deerkin over there revealed. Duchess Poinset might not be the strictest or most fanatical believer in the entirety of the Nobility, but she wouldn't just ignore someone who is a criminal like Rhefia. She WOULD do something about her, so... that is a larger, more prominent risk."

We all silently nodded, before Aethisia asked "We... can still make the wine anyways, right? Even if we don't have her backing..?"

I stared at my white haired daughter and rolled my eyes, though I nodded as I said "We will be, since wine is something useful to have around. Though, this means we'll have to have more conversations about this now..."

Sighing, I stroked Ehretia's hair for a few moments before saying "Well, the last one was this: Duchess Poinset wants to hire me as her secretary. I'd go in a few times a week for some decent coin and help her with her mundane work, and perhaps meet with other Nobles or rich merchants to... soothe their nerves. We'd have to talk about what she wants exactly in that regard, but... yeah. And honestly, I was thinking about accepting it..."

Silence fell over the campsite again as everyone mulled over my words.

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Sorry for the late upload, power went out from just before noon till dusk, so I had no internet and all that jazz...

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