“So, when do you think you’ll be back, bro?” My sis asked me. She and Eri were seeing us off, the helicopter having returned to take us back to Tokyo in style. Though she’s wearing our school uniform, Eri too, which after yesterday… makes me a bit embarrassed. Remembering the time I’d spent in Eri’s room, I hoped I wasn’t blushing. As my eyes met Eri’s, she grinned, perhaps understanding my thoughts.
“You look a bit flushed bro, I hope you aren’t coming down with something.”
“Yeah, just the lighting out here.” I deflected unconvincingly. “As for when I’ll be back… I definitely want to make it out here more often, if only to keep an eye on you all and your training. Eri’s in charge of any trips to the Boundary you do, so listen to her instructions and stay safe, don’t overextend and get cocky, all right?”
“Wow, yeah, I get it, no need to keep telling me.” Aiko pouted. “I’m not going to put myself in any danger. I can’t level up anyway, so there’s no point.” She crossed her arms under her chest, a little irritated.
“Don’t be like that.” I patted her head, surprising her. “I’m looking into ways my allies can grow stronger as a priority, and of those, you are number one!” ignoring her quiet murmur of “Thanks, bro. I do appreciate it…” I turned back to Eri. “If you need anything at all, you can call Karen-chan. And if anyone has any problems with their emerging chakra networks, call me right away, and Shaeula and I will rush over somehow. Shaeula thinks it should be fine, she’s had plenty of practise and her skills are improving, but we can’t rule out a problem happening somewhere.”
“Don’t worry, I know.” With that, she held out her arms and we hugged and kissed again, for the fifth time this morning. As we separated, Eri flushed and breathing heavily, she smiled at me seductively, before turning to Shaeula. “Look after Akio, all right? I’m jealous that I can’t be with him all the time like you can yet, but… I have the memories of my birthday to hold close, so I’ll survive for now.”
“Have no-no fear, I shall allow no harm to come to him!” she said proudly. “I shall also keep him warm at night.”
“Wow, Too much information there.” My sis said, as she was saying her goodbyes to the noble girls. Aiko and Motoko-san seemed a lot closer after yesterday, Natsumi-san too. “Just go already, or you’ll be late for school.” she said to the girls.
“Fine. I’ll call you later.” I promised, and with a final hug and kiss from Eri, I boarded the helicopter, the other girls following me in. As it took off I could see Eri and my sis staring up at us, before we were out of sight, heading back towards Tokyo. This time though, I wasn’t seated next to Shaeula, but Motoko-san and Natsumi-san were sandwiching me.
Uh, these seats aren’t exactly huge. Sure, the cabin here is very nice and seats six, but if there are actually six here, it’s a bit cramped… indeed, when I was sitting next to Shaeula, she was small so it wasn’t a problem, but Motoko-san and Natsumi-san were tall for girls, so their legs, now clad in the long black skirts with red trim of their elegant school uniforms, were pressing against mine. Deciding to ignore it the best I could, I took a drink Shaeula had retrieved from the refreshments’ bar and spoke. “Well, sorry about this weekend. I don’t think it went like you hoped, did it? You didn’t get to spend much time with me at all.”
Surprisingly enough it was Hinata-san who answered, shaking her head. “No need to apologise. After all, it was us who decided to come along at such short notice. Besides, it was far more productive than I expected.”
“Yes.” Motoko-san agreed. “It was fascinating hearing many stories about you from your family and Eri-san. I now understand you a lot better. Besides…” she looked at Shaeula. “I think we are more aware of what it means to have this power, and the potential it holds.”
As Shaeula grinned proudly, I pondered that. I guess she told them more about the Boundary? I’m still torn on just what to do with the shrine maidens and nobles I’ll be training. Unless we find a way to level them up, their gains will be modest, but if we do… that means they’d have to fight. Motoko-san and Natsumi-san were one thing, they were eager to use their combat arts, but girls like Hinata-san, or Marika-san from back home… I’m torn… I’m not sure what the right choice is. But for now, we’ll just get them trained until they have a functioning chakra network. We can decide later, when everyone, me included, has a better grasp on our needs and wants.
“You seem deep in thought.” Motoko-san said, and I snapped out of my reverie.
“Yeah.” I admitted. “Coming clean to my family was hard, but I guess it’s a weight off my shoulders. Of course…” I smiled wryly. “… now I worry about them in an entirely different way. I think it’s best for everyone to be stronger, but it doesn’t come without risk, or sacrifices…”
“Kondou Kazuo, right?” Hinata-san said, surprising me.
“You know about that?” my eyes widened in surprise. “That’s… well, it isn’t something I think young girls like you need to know about.”
“You’re wrong.” Hinata-san shook her head in disagreement. “The night this Haru girl was murdered… I think Kazumi and I were at the same party. We saw him… his gaze creeped me out, like a dead fish, some sort of soulless shark. It could… could so easily have been Kazumi and I dead at his hands.” She shuddered.
“Indeed.” Onoue-san looked me in the eyes, for once her gaze not entirely hostile. “If I am to be bodyguard to Hinata-sama… I need to be able to face these new threats. I was confident in my skills, that I could handle the typical thugs and low men that accost girls of the nobility… but my confidence is shattered. So… I’ll endure it. Any training, any battles, if it means I can keep Hinata-sama safe.”
“I too!” Natsumi-san declared. “It is presumptuous of me to declare I would protect Motoko-san, I’m a bodyguard in name only, more a student than anything else but… if anyone dares to try and hurt Motoko-san, I want the power to destroy them!”
“My life is dedicated to the spear, sword and bow.” Motoko-san declared. “I dreamed of passing them down to my children, safeguarding them for future generations. But… if they could actually be relevant, useful, in this modern age… there could be no greater joy for me.”
“I don’t have lofty ambitions to fight, like these three.” Hinata-san finished. “But… I’m a very curious girl. At first, I thought all of this was a joke. Magical powers, strange people.” She snorted. “Then you, Shaeula and Eri-san appeared, as if to prove me wrong. Now…” she paused, thinking, before finally saying what was on her mind. “… I need to know just how far this can go, what uses these powers can be put to. After all, I want to not just be accepted as a daughter of nobility, from the direct line of Takatsukasa house, like my cousin Sakura, but to be a great noble in my own right. And this… this is an opportunity I would be a fool to squander.” Her smile was breath-taking, ambitious and proud.
I guess I’ve misjudged them. Girls raised the way they were, so strictly and nobly… it’s no wonder they have strong wills and spirits. I guess they’d have to have, to endure all the restrictions and obligations they are under.
“You see now?” Shaeula asked me, smiling smugly, a drink in her hand. “You try to coddle people too-too much, especially young females. They are all resolved, for they are not-not fools, to spurn this chance. If they can get what they want, while giving you… suitable… compensation, why would we refuse them?”
“Indeed, I am prepared to pay the required price.” Motoko-san said, resolute.
What price? All I’m looking for is the support of Tsumura-san right now… I shook my head. There was no point thinking about it too much. It had been a long and eventful weekend, yet still a break from weightier matters. Taking a sip of my drink, I idly gazed out of the window and watched the scenery go by, while listening to the girls chatting away with each other and Shaeula. Yeah, back to the grind when we reach Tokyo. There’s my Territory, the opening of the training school, and so much more…
********
After we returned to Tokyo and Shirohebizumi shrine, the noble girls departed, again by helicopter. Apparently Hanafubuki academy had a helipad, though it was only for emergencies. Seriously, noble schools are something else.
“All right then, we’ll check in on Karen-chan, then the training school, then it’s time we made sure our Territory is progressing properly.” I also need to make a call to Hikawa-san. It’s time to start… wait a minute, there’s something odd about the shrine… The ether density around us was significantly higher than before. It was still noticeably weaker than the Boundary, by an order of magnitude or more, but likewise, it was easily an order of magnitude higher than Nishimorioka.
“It is quite pleasant.” Shaeula grinned. “I always find the mortal realm so starved of ether, it makes me a touch-touch uncomfortable. This atmosphere is far-far more appealing.”
Is this an effect of owning the Territory both here and in the Boundary? I was building an Ether Density Anchor Spire too… out of curiosity I tried to manipulate my aether externally, and it was far easier, as I flicked a coin with it into the long grass with only modest effort. Internally there was little difficultly at all, as boosting my strength temporarily only took a little more than it would in the Boundary.
“We need to check out the training school.” I said suddenly, and Shaeula nodded, following me. We quickly crested the hill and saw the tall building, the outer surface being painted by a large number of workers, already half-done. The power of money. The cost is painful, but if you throw enough people at a project, you can achieve wonders. I guess I deserve praise for stimulating the local economy as well. Most of the heavy machinery was gone, only a few smaller cranes left, probably for disassembling the scaffolding when the final touches were done to the exterior, and instead there were numerous flatbed trucks, each packed full of gym equipment, furniture and other necessities. Workers were busy unloading them, and I got a chuckle seeing four burly men holding a set of weights and dumbbells I had custom-ordered from a shop I found online. There’s no point me training with normal weights anymore. If I’m going to grow, I need to get excessive…
On seeing us wandering over, the foreman approached us, smiling broadly. “Oshiro-san, good to see you! We’ve almost entirely finished the exterior. It’s been a pleasure working on this project with you, we normally do larger high-rise buildings, but… it’s certainly bold using so many men to rapidly construct a smaller building.”
“Well, when you need something done quickly, I always say use the professionals and go all out.” I bowed politely, returning his greetings. “It looks good. If I’m satisfied, there might be more opportunities for us to work together again in the future.”
“Oh, you’ll be satisfied.” He promised, booming out a hearty laugh. For a Japanese man the foreman was a real bear, giant and a touch overweight. “It’s all done to spec, I promise. Why not go in and take a tour? There’s still a ton of people working on the interiors, but the major elements are finished. Even the pool is full and working. I’m jealous, it’s a real nice one!”
As we made small-talk I let him guide me inside. The floors were bare, as carpets and matting were the last things scheduled to be laid down, as we didn’t want the many workers ruining them. Still, the lift was functional, so we took it down to the lowest basement level. Stepping out, Shaeula grinned at me, and I knew why. Yeah, the ether is even denser here. This will be the perfect place to train. The Boundary To Material Connection was placed close to here in the Boundary, so it was working as advertised.
“Here’s the pool. Olympic-size and heated. Very nice.” He smiled. “They had to fill it and the reservoirs overnight, but since it didn’t involve noisy machinery the neighbours didn’t complain. In fact, we’ve had a load of people on night-shift over the weekend finishing the plumbing, electrics and broadband connections. Damn, this was a good job, I’m going to miss it…”
The floor above held saunas, massage rooms and changing rooms for both males and females, as well as some gym rooms. The final basement floor, just below the surface, was full of gyms, including the special high-spec rooms reserved for those of us who managed to accumulate enough stats to break human limits. People were quickly connecting up bikes, rowing machines, cross-trainers, weight-machines and other gear. Even buying all this stuff wholesale, ignoring the custom orders… my wallet burned…
“Have no fear.” Shaeula noticed my wistful expression. “I shall-shall win back all of your expenditures in due time!”
“That’d be nice. Well, with the ten million dollars we got, we are still well in the black… even so…”
Back up to the ground floor entrance, this time we took the stairs. There were six floors, and the first was offices and waiting rooms, while the second held a large training hall and areas for archery, kendo and more. The third had gaming rooms and rest-rooms, as well as a fully functional kitchen large enough to prepare food for dozens of people. Then there were a series of apartments on the fourth and fifth floors that people could stay in if they wanted. Finally, as we reached the top, there was an impressive penthouse-style area, which could accommodate some important guests, and also had a permanent suite for Shaeula and I. The furniture hadn’t been completely moved in yet, and the floor needed finishing, but over the next couple of days everything would be finalised.
“The view is pleasant.” Shaeula said, staring out of the window towards Tokyo proper. Since we were on top of a hill, and now six floors up, we could see a fair way.
“I bet it looks gorgeous at night.” I agreed. “Well, we have our little home now, but if you want, we can stay here too any time.”
“Now-now I am starting to feel you are treating me more like I deserve.” She chortled. The foreman was watching quietly, an amused expression on his face while we flirted. On seeing that I decided to finish up.
“Everything looks good. When you are done, go see my secretary and sign off all the paperwork. I’ll let her know I’m satisfied.”
“Great, great!” he said enthusiastically, as we descended the stairs once more, heading out into the morning sunlight. Once the customary business platitudes were exchanged, I headed for Karen-chan’s office, and on opening the door I was greeted by a surprising sight.
“Uh… Hashimoto-san, good morning. What brings you here?” I asked my ex-neighbour, who was sitting at a desk, a steaming mug of tea to hand as he was staring at a computer screen, an expression of concentration on his face.
“Well, this is … difficult.” He scratched at his neck awkwardly. “I guess I should call you boss now? Watanabe-san was gracious enough to hire me on. I hope that isn’t a problem?”
Well, no, of course not, but… “No, I have every confidence in Karen-chan, she can hire whoever she likes as long as the work I need gets done, but… didn’t you already have a job?”
“My company was going under.” He admitted. “Besides… my daughter, I want a job where she can be proud of me. At my age it’s hard to start again, so… I grabbed this chance.”
I see. Before I could say something, Karen-chan popped her head out of her office, followed by Tanaka-san, another down-on-his-luck resident of my old apartment block. “It’s like a reunion for my old home in here.” I smiled.
“Hey, Akio-kun.” Karen-chan ignored my comment, smiling. “Well, since you emphasised loyalty over anything, I thought reaching out a hand to them would get you that.”
“Yes, definitely” Tanaka-san was nodding ferociously. “I’ll not pass up this opportunity. I thought I was finished!”
“… Besides. I wanted to show someone else the kindness you showed me, when you took a chance on me.” She declared, looking down, embarrassed, which was surprisingly cute for an older woman like Karen-chan, not that I was stupid enough to say that out loud.
“Well, great. In that case, work hard you two, and there’ll be bonus money and promotion prospects for everyone!” I declared, trying to motivate them. “Introductions are in order, I guess…”
After introducing Shaeula to Tanaka-san, he was rather amazed at her foreign beauty, but promised to accommodate any requests she made, especially since she was my… no, one of my girlfriends. When I explained that my other, Eri, would likely be in touch for help with things, he was shocked, while Hashimoto-san merely shook his head, saying that he had “expected no less from someone who had turned his life around.”, which surprised me again. I expected a bigger response.
“Oh yeah, here’s some stuff you asked for on rates of unexplained deaths, missing persons and more.” Karen-chan handed me some documents. I was busy, so I only glanced at them, but the report seemed detailed and just what I was looking for.
“Great job. I’ll throw a bit in the bonus pot. And speaking of… can I get someone to pull information on all the elements you can find? I don’t care how theoretical or sketchy it is, but obviously verified sources are better.”
“Watanabe-san wasn’t kidding when she said we would be fielding weird requests. Still, it’s far better than the carp my old boss put me through.” Hashimoto-san shrugged. “so… do you mean, like… chemistry? Hydrogen, Oxygen, that sort of thing?”
“No, I mean… like fire, water, air… also Chinese ones like metal and wood. Light, darkness… anything like that.”
“I… see.” He replied, and at his confusion Shaeula laughed heartily. Hashimoto-san and Tanaka-san looked nervous, since I was the one paying their wages, but Karen-chan quickly lightened the mood.
“Another weird request I see. One day you’ll tell me just what these are all for, right? Tanaka-san, you get on it. You can get Hashimoto-san to help if it gets too much. Still, just think, strange requests mean more bonus money, right?” she winked, and at that the tension disappeared. Oh, while I’m here… might as well get a head start on it, save my sis the trouble…
I pre-emptively asked Karen-chan to pull data on all the sports-related Universities in Tokyo, including their entrance exam requirements, rankings and more. She promised to get it all sent to my sister as soon as possible, along with any other useful data. “All right then, great. Oh, one last thing, can you contact Hikawa-san, his details should be on file, and say that this evening we can start the first stage of our training?”
“Hikawa-san, got it.” Karen-chan nodded.
“Great, in that case, Shaeula and I are heading home. If you need anything, just drop us a text.”
A few minutes later we were relaxing on the couch in our home, cold beers in hand. “Well, that was a surprise. But I guess I understand where Karen-chan was coming from. It feels nice to help people. But putting that aside, shall we see how things are going in the Territory? We have time before the shrines gather this evening.”
Once we had finished our beers we entered the Boundary, Hyacinth and Shaeula’s maids quickly noticing our appearance and scurrying over to take care of us. First, I noticed that my Territory had expanded, several new areas brought under my control. Well, I guess with a ten kilometre radius, we have large swathes we can capture. “Right, I’ll check the build queues. Nice! The Anchor Spires are done, and we’ve picked up a nice amount of ether to use…”
One Ether Spire had upgraded to Rank 2, and a day had been shaved off the next spire. That queue stood at forty-five days for the remaining six Ether Spires to Rank 2, and the Boundary To Material Connection likewise.
The Throne of Heroes Rank 2 still had thirty-nine days remaining, but I was barely able to contain my excitement at the ability to appoint two more heroes. I had mostly decided who I wanted, but until it was finished things could always change.
The other two queues had indeed finished their Anchor Spires, leaving one queue working on Silos and Elemental Silos, with fifteen days remaining, and the final queue was working on Defensive Emplacements, with fourteen days left.
Yeah, time is still the bottleneck, even with four queues. Right, so I have just over 110,000 ether… everyone had been working hard in my absence it seemed, and the upgrades had also increased my income. I also ended up getting quite the excess from slaughtering those fiery ants with Eri. “I guess it’s time to rush-build and free up some space.”
Since the Emplacements were only Rank 1, at a shade under 9,800 ether, they were completed. While I was at it, I rush-built two Rank 1 Barracks at the shrine, as well as one at each of the other three key locations I wished to defend. This cost a further 25,000. With 75,000 left, I decided to build the second Throne of Heroes I was allowed to, at 50,000 ether and ten days. I could shorten the time, but it was expensive for the gain, so instead I spent my last 25,000 upgrading the two Barracks I added at the shrine to Rank 2. The queue I had cleared was now back at thirty days, and I was poor again, but with the Emplacements I felt a bit more secure, and the extra troops from the Barracks would allow us to expand faster while defending in greater numbers.
“Right, how about we get in some training?” I asked Shaeula. “I’d also like to see if there’s been any progress in our other projects.”
“Indeed.” Shaeula nodded. “I would like that. I do not-not begrudge Eri her time with you, but it feels nice to be together again.” so taking her hand, I led her out into Shirohebizumi shrine proper…