As I suspected, talking to the White Snake kami yielded little of value. He was a minor deity, closer to a Fae in terms of divinity, and only concerned with his shrine and the dwindling number of adherents and their belief. Still, they did promise that should I succeed in reinvigorating the shrine, they might be able to contact some of the higher kami of the snake family, who would know more.

Well I was going to do it anyway, so some added incentive never hurts.

Putting all the new information I had gleaned aside for now, it was time to finish consolidation of our Territory. Back at our Anchor, the Silo was surrounded by a tide of glowing ether. Defeating so many elite monsters, to say nothing of the large bounty of ether we had gained absorbing the Territory of the Raven Knight, had pushed us over the hundred thousand ether we needed to upgrade the Territory to Rank 3. We were practically drowning in riches. I opted to upgrade, only to hit a snag…

Damn, it won’t let me upgrade while there is still something in the build queue, as everything shuts down while the Territory is in the process of upgrading…

The Kobold Mine was not an issue, as that had just a few hours left to go before being complete, but the Rank Three Silo still had a bit over sixteen days left. And since I was leaving for home the day after tomorrow… there was only one answer. I quickly hardened my heart and rush-built the Silo, only to discover the efficiency had gone WAY down compared to the Rank 1 rush builds from earlier. They could be sped up 100% with the initial cost, but at Rank 3, 100% of the initial cost (in this case 20,000 ether, or the cost of one oracle for the White Snake…) would only achieve a 33% time reduction, in this case thirteen and a third days. Yeah, I thought before ether always being in demand seemed a little odd, but with ever growing costs, build times and worsening efficiencies, gathering ether in sufficient quantities will become a nightmare…

Still, there was no other way, so I dropped the twenty thousand, and with a bright glow of ether being sucked into it the Silo expanded, and it now had a bit under three astral days remaining. Our ether reserves were now just too low to upgrade the Territory, but over the next few astral days our Ether Spires and the new Rhyming Tree should push us over the top…

That left some other tasks to do. Firstly I made sure Shaeula’s wyrmscale mail was undamaged, I had to replace a few broken scales and torn wires. Next I had to spend some time replacing a whole section of mine. That just left me needing a weapon, since my spear was ruined. Sorting through the materials we had, I settled on using a wyrm-fang for the spearhead, and another branch from the Rhyming Tree. The work was painstaking and very tiring, and over the several hours of intense concentration it took, the Kobold Mine Rank 4 Special completed, and as a side bonus the Kobold Den upgraded to a Rank 2 Special, as the population of kobolds living in our Territory had expanded quite a bit.

Finally finishing my spear I began to test it out. The balance was different to my previous one, making my movements rather clumsy, but over the next few hours I quickly worked out its quirks and was passable again. Wiping silvery sweat from my brow I turned to find Shaeula watching me, several restored weaselkin behind her.

“Not bad indeed-indeed.” Shaeula approved. “You are growing more skilled. You would make a passable warrior in times of old.” She walked over to me, patting my shoulder gently. “I have been looking at the Barracks queue and if we wait to upgrade until we leave for your home, then many of my kin will have been returned to us-us. Our forces will be rather light to defend the Territory in our absence, but I suggest leaving the snake in charge. If you leave our defence to Grulgor… well, I shudder to consider it-it.”

She did in fact shudder, which was rather cute. Yeah, I forgot that if we queued in the Territory Anchor upgrade it would lock the Barracks as well. Good thing I waited, more luck (or perhaps Fortune) than judgement though…

“I’ll do that.” I agreed. Our forces would consist of the kobolds, who could barely be counted, Grulgor and his remaining trolls, which were strong fighters but tactically useless, and the White Snake kami and his surviving kin, plus the Kamaitachi and the weaselkin we could restore in time. It was definitely on the scant side, but it was all we had to work with. Hopefully with all nearby threats now neutralised, it should be enough for now… Yeah, no way the Raven Knight will recover from those injuries quickly, and his forces were decimated. We should be able to hold him off if he returns, I hope…

Feeling exhaustion throughout my whole being, as the frenzied battle and struggle for survival had been followed by some tough crafting, I called over our leaders and assigned our defence strategy going forwards, before returning to the Material, spent…

********

Upon waking up I squinted my eyes at the sunlight streaming through the window. Beside me Shaeula was still asleep, snoring gently. Getting up quietly so as not to wake her I glanced at the clock. It was still early, though I could still hear people coming and going outside the apartment.

Since they are working hard, I guess I should too. Silently, I opened up the work I had remaining for Shiro and began to race through it, my fingers blurring over the keyboard, yet each tap gentle and quiet, only making a whispered clicking. Damn, gaining four levels has pushed me even further, I think I’m nearing the limits of what the computer can handle in terms of input…

While I was working on this I had a second window open to roulette, and perhaps because my fortune had improved by a couple of points, even without the blessing of fortunate winds I didn’t really have any scares, quickly amassing a tidy sum. Which of course is perfect, as I have something I need to buy today. I’d have to waste money getting it done as a rush job, which was poor planning on my part, but I could bear the expense.

After a couple of hours Shaeula stirred, blinking her amber eyes blearily at me. “Master, you are awake? After our fierce struggle you should have taken more rest-rest. Exhaustion is the enemy of success.”

“I know.” I stifled a yawn. “But we don’t really have much to do other than relax over the next few days. Tonight we’ll enter the Boundary briefly to queue the upgrade, then it’ll be some fun in my hometown. I’ll catch up on my rest then.”

Shaeula shrugged, then got out of her futon, heading to the fridge. Gulping down some juice she asked me what was for breakfast, so I threw us together a quick meal.

“So, today I want to do some shopping for a few things we’ll need for our business trip.” I told her, piquing her interest. “We’ll head out around lunchtime, I want to finish off as much of the work as I can for Shiro before we leave, and if you can give me your blessing, I can profit at the same time.”

As the green glow enveloped me I continued to spin, greedily increasing my initial stake, relying on increased Fortune to carry me through…

********

The noon sun was beating down as we left the apartment. Shaeula was wearing one of the summer dresses I had bought her, looking very pretty. I was in my usual thrown-together ensemble, and beside her I looked rather shabby.

“So, we are going shopping now?” She asked, excited.

“That we are. We’ll catch the train a few stops, there is a store I need to visit, and…” as I explained our plans for the day a door opened, and a pale and dishevelled-looking Karen-chan poked her head out at us.

“Oh, you two.” She said listlessly.

“Karen, you do not look well at all-all.” Shaeula said concerned. “Do you need any assistance?”

“Oh… no, no. I’ll be all right.” She said, rubbing at her eyes. “I’m just… not feeling up to work today. I did phone them and let my boss know, but… he wasn’t happy…”

“If you aren’t well do you need me to get you anything? We were headed out to get some last-minute stuff anyway, so we can pick you up medicine or supplies no bother.”

“I appreciate that.” Karen-chan forced a smile. “But I’ll be fine. I’ve just been working too hard…”

“In that case, why not come with us-us?” Shaeula said. “Akio will treat you to something delicious, and that will improve your mood and your health-health!”

“Not that I mind…” I rapped my knuckled lightly against her head in rebuke. “But if she’s called in sick, her boss wouldn’t be happy to see her out and about. She might get in trouble.”

“… you know what, I’ll take you up on your kind offer.” Karen-chan said. “Who wouldn’t want to spend time with a cutie like you Shaeula? Besides…” she smiled a little, which was a relief, as she really did look awful, though I was too much of a gentleman to say so. “… it isn’t every day I get to hang out with such a charming young man.”

Charming? I guess my charm DID go up several points overnight…

“So, where were you planning to go?” she finished, and after I explained she nodded in relief. “Yeah, that’s nowhere near my workplace so it should be fine. Besides, if you are buying that you just need the eye of an experienced woman. Give me a few minutes to fix myself up…”

********

An hour later we were in a decent enough mid-tier tailors, where I was getting measured, trying not to squirm under the gazes of Shaeula and Karen-chan.

“So, he’s really got ripped, hasn’t he Shaeula? Is he working out to impress you, you think?” Karen-chan giggled.

“I can hear you, you know.” I said dryly.

“That’s what makes it fun Akio-kun. Anyway, you really must be doing well for yourself if you are getting suits tailored, even at somewhere like here. And paying rush fees too…”

“Yeah, business is looking up, and we have to dress to impress the clients.”

“In that case, what about poor Shaeula here. I know she looks like a beautiful doll in everything she wears, but shouldn’t she have a suit too? I notice they have a ladieswear department here too…”

Shaeula’s eyes brightened at the thought of new clothing, so I was unable to say no. Thinking of the damage to my wallet, I was glad my luck was so good this morning…

The rest of the time in the tailors’ passed quickly, Shaeula and Karen-chan being hustled off by an older woman to get Shaeula measured, and by the time we were done I had ordered a pair of suits for me, along with shirts, cufflinks and ties, as well as sunglasses and a couple of watches, as well as a pantsuit and a suit with a skirt for Shaeula, along with all the accessories and shirts she would need as well. I also got myself a few casual outfits off the shelf to boost my anaemic wardrobe. Coupled with the rush fees on the suits to have them ready in a week, which was half again as much as the suits cost, I had gone WAY over budget. Still, we got a bit of a discount from the very large sum we spent in total. The staff’s bonuses are probably secure this month… My morning winnings were almost completely swallowed up. Still, I’m ahead of target, and there’s still a bit over a week to go…

“But spending so much money and still living in our run-down apartment block…. The lifestyle doesn’t fit.” Karen-chan sighed.

“Well, the work came suddenly, so I’ve been focussing on doing what needs doing first.” I deflected. “Anyway, I hope it wasn’t too boring for you spending your afternoon here.”

“Hardly. It isn’t every day I get to see someone looking as cute in a suit as Shaeula. She could definitely go pro modelling. And you aren’t so bad yourself either, are you? But if you really want to make it up to me…” she winked. “… how about you treat me to a late lunch somewhere nice? Advising you on what suits is hungry… and thirsty work.”

Since Karen-chan seemed to be feeling better I could only shrug, and we headed off to a nice nearby eatery. If it improves her mood, it’s a small price to pay.

********

Once we saw Karen-chan home I spent the rest of the evening working on Shiro’s game, leaving Shaeula to play games of her own and watch anime. It was getting on for eleven at night when I finally finished her work, and if it was anyone else, I’d leave it until the morning to send it, but knowing her there was no way she was asleep.

I was proved correct when moments later my phone rang. It was of course her.

“Hey Aki. I can’t believe you did it all so fast. There was a ton of work there. Are you trying to impress me? Well it worked, but I still won’t date you, I promised to only date a billionaire with Hollywood looks, so too bad so sad for you! Still, I’ll let you take me out for a drink to celebrate. You can bring that cutie who I can hear laughing in the background too, I’d love to meet her. Cute girls are justice after all.”

I stifled a sigh. This girl was decidedly not cute. “I only wanted to clear it all as I’m away for a while. As for going out for drinks you just want someone to carry you around when you collapse. But… and I do mean but, if you behave yourself I can organise a night out with some of the old Uni gang when I get back. At least that way Hayato-san can take some of the blame when you crash and burn…”

“Hmph, how rude. Being all tsun with me won’t win my heart, you’ll have to try way harder… and be way richer!” she retorted, and we went back and forth for a while until she was done. Putting down the phone and ignoring Shaeula’s sarcastic comments, we entered the Boundary briefly.

Finishing off the Silo upgrade with a few thousand ether, we queued in the Territory Anchor upgrade to Rank 3, which was a hundred astral days. It was going to be a stressful period, but doing it now made the most sense. Checking my Territory with Appraisal, I noticed that the penalty to Ether Spires and other passive buildings was even higher than last time while the upgrade progressed. If that trend continued…

Oh well, no time to worry about it now. Returning to the Material after going over our defensive plans one last time, Shaeula and I went to sleep, to recover our energy ready for our trip to my hometown tomorrow…