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Fel

Fel woke up the next day and immediately became deep in thought, as she recalled Leo's stories about his world. She spent nearly the whole day questioning every detail she could, or at least the things that wouldn’t devolve too much into a tangent, and she was enraptured. She could now understand how her grandfather might have felt, as she recalled all that Leo told her.

Not only was his world completely without magic, but they apparently had a mastery and understanding over things that apparently made her world seem like they were fighting each other with dirt. The technology he described sounded like they were using magic, but after some analogies she was speechless.

It was no wonder she was beaten, because it was like he was fully armored and wielding a sword, while she was chucking dirt at him completely naked, and oblivious as to why she wasn't winning. She didn't even have the concept of what he was working with, much less how it worked. And if his people had an understanding of the laws that governed the universe, then he really was a mortal with the power of the gods.

But Leo seemed to dislike that he even had the ability to wipe out a kingdom with casual effort, saying that having that ability was like walking around with a fully armed ‘nuke’ at all times, but then refused to tell us what a nuke even was. So he created strict limits on himself, never wanting to compromise his morals by abusing his ability, something that she had already done with heavy regret.

Even as amazing as Leo himself was, Fel was even more fascinated by his race. From how he described them they seemed so weak physically, yet were so enduring. That whatever tragedy, disaster, abuse, horror or crippling injury they experience just seemed to push them further. It's like they grow from hardship, conflict, and self inflicted problems.

Fel now understood why Leo gained so much so quickly, it was practically in his blood to constantly progress and self improve. Combine that with his desire to better her world to be like his, and he won't stop until he succeeds in some form or another.

Fel sat up from her bed, and wore a contemplative expression. “Seems like I might have really grabbed onto an amazing opportunity. Might even see the council fall within just a few years, if we survive.” She mused aloud to herself.

After Fel got herself ready for the day, she went to talk with Vesta about what Leo wanted them to do next, as well as give her the bag of gold.

Entering the empty war room she saw the former major sitting in a chair in front of the main table, and as Fel walked over to her she could see that she wore a slightly mournful expression.

A sly smile crossed her face as she approached, knowing that she had a few things from Leo that would brighten her mood. "Morning major, why so down?" She said a bit playfully.

Vesta deadpanned at Fel as she tapped her fingers on the table. "Ve-staaa forget it, and you know damn well why. We're not going to be able to sustain ourselves after two or three more days, so unless you have fifty gold hid-" She was cut short by an abrupt sound of chiming metal echoing throughout the room.

Fel crossed her arms with a grin, her tail whipping happily as she did so. "A hundred gold gift from our new leader, and his exact words were 'go nuts'." She remarked with self satisfaction.

Vesta grew wide eyed before a joyful smile spread across her face. "If this is the level of generosity to be expected from him, then the little thorn might not be so bad after all. Any more good news, or is he just our new financial backer?" She asked as she joyfully started counting the gold.

Fel gave her a nod, and turned to lean on the table. "Plenty. First he told us to start rebuilding our web of informants, then to start securing nearby villages. He said that since they no longer need to pay a tax on what they produce to the town's lord, then we could start benefiting from it, but he told us to lower it to show some good will and make them compliant." She explained while leaning against the table with her arms crossed.

Vesta breathed a sigh of relief. "Good, so he's not an impulsive dumbass." She remarked with a smirk.

Fel rolled her eyes, not entirely agreeing with the description. ‘I wouldn't say that… But I guess I'm no different…’ She mentally conceded.

Vesta straightened her posture. "Okay, so I guess we're going to start expanding then. After we deal with the academy, when should we be expected to take the next town?"

Fel shook her head. "We're not going to. Telnar is going to secede from the rest of Selaria."

Vesta stared speechlessly at Fel. “Okay, I assume there's a plan there that doesn't have us invaded by every other kingdom…”

Fel shrugged. “He’s going to apparently arm your soldiers with enchanted weapons that have many times more power than a crossbow, and with as many times the range as well as fire multiple times without reloading.”

A devilish smile crossed Vesta's face. “He does that, and I think we would even be able to take you down in a fight.”

Fel was about to retort, but realized that she might have a point, and that such a weapon would level the playing field for all other races if they wanted to resist the dragons.

‘Okay, definitely grabbed onto an amazing opportunity…’

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Leo

Leo was once again waiting for the architect in the inn's dining area as he worked on a stun rifle system in his sketchbook, because he was pretty much finished with the design for the acceleration rifle.

Leo’s acceleration rifle had a simple reusable cartridge that could hold a total of nine objects up to about an inch in diameter, and used a slightly convoluted runic system of separating and loading the next shot fired. Thankfully he worked with a modular mindset, so the cartridge system was almost completely detached from the main weapon system. This enabled the rifle to also have a bolt action sub system, which hopefully future-proofed the cartridge from messing up or breaking out in the field, so the soldiers could still fire without it.

The inside of the barrel was made frictionless to help prevent any debris from jamming it, as well as keeping any unconventional ammunition from damaging the insides too much. The entire weapon lacked almost any mechanical parts, being nearly solid. The only exception was the trigger, which had its own tiny system with a spring and hard trigger to activate a rune. He could have just had a simple rune to tap, but there were just some feelings that couldn't be replaced, and one of them was the little rush of dopamine that accompanied the sound of a trigger being pulled.

The launching system itself was fairly straight forward, having an acceleration equation that affected any object inside the barrel.

Leo also designed a failsafe system into the weapon that could trigger all the runes to be dispelled or locked. He wanted the system in place so that if his rifles were stolen by someone, then they would just be walking around with a hunk of wood and iron, even though it would take god knows how long for them to decipher the meaning of his runes. Having the failsafe also gave him some options, like creating wireless triggers or hard capped operational zones.

Leo was happily sketching away when he felt a tap on his shoulder, it was Elaria who pointed toward the inn's entrance.

Leo’s eyes went a little wide at the woman that was approaching them. It was definitely the architect, because she was most definitely a tiefling.

She was nearly six feet tall, with smooth scarlet skin and bright yellow eyes. Large, thick, and devilish horns protruded smoothly from the rim of her forehead, and became rigid while they tapered and flowed back above her long jet black hair. She had a very long tail at about six and half feet long, it was thick at the base but tapered off with a slightly thick and almost heart shaped tip at the end, which seemed perfect as it added to her somewhat demonic look.

She had brown knee high stringed boots, tight gray pants, and a down cut frilled shirt that was overlaid by an ornate jacket that stopped just below her wide hips, which seemed to make her perfect hourglass figure pop.

As she approached, Leo couldn't help but think of her as a bard straight out of some fantasy concept art.

‘This is real, this is not a dream, and I am not tripping out in my apartment right now….’ Leo mentally repeated to himself as the stunningly beautiful woman arrived at their table.

The woman bowed deeply, as some of her silky strands flowed from over the shoulder to her front. “Lord Leo I assume? My name is Sciesch Freatathay, and It's a pleasure to make your acquaintance.” She said in a sweetly honeyed voice with a foreign accent that he couldn't place, which sent an arousing shiver up his spine.

Leo slightly gulped, as the alluring woman checked boxes that he himself didn't know he had. ‘I swear to god, there better not be ‘any’ translation necklace fuckery here.’ He thought with a tinge of desperation.

Leo chuckled a little awkwardly. “The pleasure is all mine, especially since you're the one to design my new home. I hope you had a safe journey here, and please, just call me Leo. I prefer not to use titles.”

Rising from her bow, Sciesch casually flung back her loose strands of hair, and looked over Leo with careful consideration. “As you request Leo. My travel was smooth and uneventful, so I was able to complete the designs for your estate, with a few of my own personal alterations. All I need now is your approval, so the guild can start requisitioning the labor and materials.”

Leo noticed something missing from the conversation. ‘Huh, she doesn't look to have a trace of sexual interest for me. Damn that's refreshing. Hopefully Elaria doesn't talk to her.... Wait what am I saying?’ He shook the prospective thought to continue the conversation.

Leo smiled warmly, and gestured for her to take a seat. “Alright, let's see them.” He requested and She nodded, but still looked like she was appraising him, though it seemed more analytical than anything else.

Taking a seat next to Leo, Sciesch pulled out some rolls of paper, but only unfurled one onto the table. The large sheet had a birds-eye view of the estate from an angle. The area was large and flat, and had six buildings spread around, with the area being encircled by a twelve foot stone wall.

Leo raised an eyebrow at the number of buildings. “Why are there six?” He asked curiously, but not really upset because it looked a hell of a lot better than what he imagined.

Sciesch shrunk at the question, her hands retreating from the table and into her lap as she quickly looked away. “Well my Lo- Leo, I thought that three seemed to be way too cramped for an estate. Since dividing the staff quarters would relieve any indoor congestion, as well as other utility and work areas.” She answered with some fear mixed into her voice.

Leo sighed, knowing that her behavior was probably from her dealings with some other difficult clients. “Sciesch, calm down. I'm not angry, nor am I going to harm you in any way. I've only become a lord because I bought all this land, I have no affiliation to any actual nobility, so please act like I am just any other person.” He told her with a calming tone while he laid a comforting hand on her shoulder.

Sciesch looked a little taken aback, and searched Leo's expression for any hints of deception, but visibly relaxed after the moment passed. “As you request Leo.”

Leo wanted to ask her to drop the formalities as well, but he chose to let her get comfortable at her own pace, because she seemed good natured. “Alright then, tell me what each building is for. And I assume that this is all still within the agreed upon budget?”

Sciesch nodded, the action being almost unnaturally smooth. “Of course, I distributed the building materials and number of rooms, so the cost won't be affected.”

The first building was a single story barracks that could house forty guards, It was closer to the estates entrance and had an enclosed training area. The second building was the servants quarters, a single story building that could house thirty and was positioned close to the main manor house. The third was a trade center that was next to the main road leading directly to the manor house, which was a two story building that housed ten. Fourth was a workshop and large storage, it was large but housed only five and was positioned to the back of the manor house. The fifth was the guest house, which supports five.

Lastly was the main manor house, which holds up to fifteen people and has a variety of other rooms.

The extra rooms included a library, wine cellar, private study, workshop, a large dining room that doubles as a ballroom, and even an indoor pool.

Leo let out an impressed whistle at his new home. “And all this fits within the budget? I assume it's because these numbers are for maximum occupancy, like two to four per room in the servant and guard buildings.”

Sciesch smiled at his reaction, her tail perking up slightly with a bit of pride. “Of course. I've made sure to effectively use all the materials and labor capacity.”

Leo leaned back in his chair with a cheerful expression. “Alright then, I think you've designed me the best home I'm ever going to have the pleasure of living in. Thank you for all the effort you put in, I really do love it.” He said while giving her a pat on the back.

Sciesch smiled proudly as her tail swished back and forth. “Thank you for the praise my lor- I mean, Leo.” She corrected as her formal demeanor melted a bit.

Leo chuckled because of how quickly she was getting comfortable with him, which made the meeting feel more normal than any he's had since arriving. “So I'll see you after tomorrow then. I need to check the area tomorrow and make sure that everything is clear.” He told her and received a simple nod as she got up from her seat.

Leo mentally winced, as he was putting off actually holding up that end of the deal. ‘Mostly because it's not….’ He thought guiltily.

Sciesch bowed and turned to leave, but halted, turned back, pulled a small bag out of her ample cleavage, and tossed it to Leo, who went a little wide eyed at the display. “That is the rest of the gold payment for the contract.” She told him, but paused to give him a curious once over again. “If you don't mind me asking, what is your race? I think I've seen or read something that's at least close to you, but I can't quite put my finger on it.” She questioned with her head cocked slightly, and a finger on her lower lip thoughtfully.

Leo closed his eyes and shook his head with a chuckle, knowing that visually he was more or less a mish mash of a bunch of races. “You probably never heard of them, but I am human.” He answered, and opened his eyes to a visibly shocked Sciesch.

Leo immediately frowned, as the familiarly human feeling of knowing exactly when you fucked up, hit him like a truck. ‘No….’ The thought trailed.

Sciesch looked like her legs were about to give out. “Y-yor- you're a-” She stuttered.

Leo’s face grew visibly worried as his eyes widened. ‘Noooooo!’ He thought as he quickly put up a sound barrier.

Sciesch took a deep breath. “A summon!” She yelled in surprise.

“God damn it!”

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