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Chapter 357: Soleil Steps Into The Tower

「The doors… The doors are already so weather beaten it’s not good, it’s not good at all… 」
Soleil looked like she was clinging to the floor. Faramir placed a cushion beneath her face. Alright, whoever gets bothered first is the loser.

「But there’s a roof, you know? 」

The stairs protrude outside the tower and it doesn’t have any railings. I built a wind break and a lattice extending from the eaves to the floor on the space on the topmost step, right in front of the door. While the island is usually calm, they say it turns into a storm when the spirits go wild so the lattice and windbreak provide added protection, so I’d rather not open my doors and step into an open space upstairs landing with no walls.

「Soleil-sama, we are still at the entrance as of the moment. 」
Faramir blandly commented.

「MiLord, this is from Gardener Charles. He wishes to place this plant in a corner here at the entrance. This plant blooms with plenty of small white flowers, and it doesn’t have to be watered often, the spray from the canals is enough. May I place it here? 」

Auro lifted the flowerpot and showed it to me.

Numerous thin branches with soft-looking tiny leaves stretched out of the big pot. The parts where the branches separate are wrapped in tendrils, so maybe it’ll grow longer enough to climb the lattice?

「Thanks, I’ll leave it to you. 」
Unlike Auro, who completely ignored Soleil’s weird behavior, Kiel helped Soleil up. How gallant.

「Let’s go inside? 」
I called out to Soleil, Faramir, Auro and Kiel.

「Uwuwuw. Hang in there, my stomach — no, my heart! 」
Soleil was anxiously mumbling something.

She entered the entrance hall while being supported by Kiel. The entire second floor is a hall.

The floor was made out of pure white marble, and a few white fish spirits lived in it. They already settled here by the time I noticed. If they’re in the mood, they will probably show themselves to those who can’t See. The shadow of Blue Lizard-kun’s tail also appear on the walls from time to time, after all.

A chandelier crafted by the Earthkins hangs from the ceiling. I added magic circles similar to the ones I put on the spirit lamps on them. The walls are also adorned by spirit lights that have a similar pattern to the chandelier.

The majestic staircase came to view right upon opening the door, and it led to a corridor that encircled the hall. The handrails were also a work of art designed and crafted by the Earthkin. A carpet with the classical design of burgundy and gold covered the stairs.

Well, I’m not really sure if that design is considered classical in this world, but I had the carpet custom-made in Es with patterns and colors particular to that area. It was woven by a possessed weaver who was helped by her spirit night after night, so it cost a pretty penny. Well, it’s worth every gold coin since the quality is really good and it was also delivered fast — uh, fast, I say, but well, it’s something I ordered even before it was decided that the Earthkin would remodel the tower.

Stately doors leading to the rampart corridors stood on both sides of the hall, and they were bolted by a bar so heavy that even a man can’t lift it up by himself. Chairs and chests that served as tea tables were arranged symmetrically on both sides of the staircase. They were all made by the Earthkin, naturally.

I requested them to keep things simple so that the tower won’t be decorated too gaudily, but I did tell them that a bright ambience is prioritized just for the hall, so this floor might be lavish compared to the other rooms. It was quite lavish, unimaginable for a tower covered in heavy stone walls.

「Uwuwuw, can I lie down again? 」
「Please refrain from doing so. We are still in the first room. 」
Soleil’s upper body started to sway as Faramir escorted her attentively.

「It is magnificent and wondrous, truly a worthy residence for MiLord. 」
Auro’s impression.
「It’s plenty enough to intimidate any guests that will be invited here. 」
Kiel’s realistic opinion.

「Speaking of guests, what’s up with Lady Roza? 」
「She wanted to negotiate the sale of fabric, but I already refused. I want to avoid any deals that won’t pass through Nalluahdid, no matter how high the profit will be. Besides, Faramir and Kiel had been investigating Lady Roza’s transactions so far; she has several shady deals with unnecessary accommodations. That woman isn’t simply doing business; she probably has an ulterior motive. 」
Soleil recovered immediately when we started talking about work. She furrowed her brows slightly, seemingly in thought.

Faramir is understandable, but even Kiel investigated her? That muscle-brained guy!?

「It appears that she seemed to have been observing the security and defense routes of the castle and the island, so I politely sent her away. 」
Auro said.

「I see. 」
Yeah, as I thought, maybe they wanted to drag us in their plans to counter Shrum, that kingdom where the heroes are? If we naively thought it’s just a business deal and went along with it, they might push us into war. That’s no joke.

「Did something happen? 」
Soleil seemed puzzled. I don’t normally stick my nose in when it comes to trade matters, after all.

「Good timing, there’s something I’ve been meaning to confirm, so let’s hear the answer together. 『Seabird-kun, come out now. 』 」

『Hey Boss! You can listen to me anytime you want. 』
Seabird-kun appeared upon hearing my summon. He had been contracted to me since then, and I told him to continue receiving orders from Lady Roza too.

They’ve been working him to the bone with only a miniscule amount of mana apparently, so he’d become a lot more agreeable and pleasant after I 【Liberate】him and agreed to give him mana from time to time.

I thought we’d be chatting, but it turned out that Seabird-kun’s voice can’t be heard by folks he had a low affinity with, although they would still be able to see him.

「He’s a spirit I met recently, and he brought news about Lady Roza. 」
『I’m counting on you. 』
I quickly get to business, ignoring the four stupefied people — ah, Faramir is expressionless as usual, and Auro is smiling — standing beside me. Seabird-kun fluffed his feathers and stuck out his chest.

「The Azure Spirit Island’s location is perfect. The security is pretty strict, but I’m sure we can infiltrate them and switch the workers bit by bit. We can even take the residents by the beach as hostages if worse comes to worst. I’ll check if that approach is feasible. 」
Seabird-kun opened his beak wide, then like a ventriloquist, a woman’s voice resounded. It was a bit low and had a quite powerful tone.

So that’s what he meant by sending voicemail, it’s literal!!

『How is it, Boss? That’s my ability!! 』
『It’s amazing, I was a bit shocked. Thanks a lot. 』
『All good! 』
I gave Seabird-kun a bit of mana as thanks, and he flapped his wings and flew away. Seems like he took a liking to the lattice room near the sea, so he probably went there.

「So that’s it. From now on, stop communicating with Lady Roza, please. 」

「…Okay. 」
「I understand. 」
「Yeah, I got it, but what a sneaky technique that was. 」
The trio replied while Faramir bowed her head wordlessly.