NOVPUB**Hey guys, probably gonna have longer chapters for a few days since I will be busy IRL, so DON'T PANIC! **
"This is my eldest Sister, Clara," Aoni said offhandedly, already imagining the mountainous stack of papers waiting for him in his office. Thankfully, he had a proper secretary in Ellewen, who didn't have to be trained in his organization methods and would have already no doubt sorted the most important documents atop the pile.
"Yes, of course, Miss Clarissa may choose any of the available rooms of her liking; however, please be aware that Lady Charlotte already has a designated room. Apart from hers, you are free to pick as you wish." Bowing gracefully before excusing herself, Ellewen informed, leaving behind a void of confusion for Clara.
Not because of anything she did, but because of two particular details.
"Hold up, why is Char a lady but I am miss, and what the heck, how come she gets her own room?" Clara complained while dragging Aoni to her chest and practically strangling him in the process.
"AcK Accck Cl…CLARA, CHIILLL!" He cried while being swept off his feet and dangled off the ground like a child.
"First, you abandoned me multiple times, then you allowed Ant and Char to come visit, then you went off to college, and now I come to find out that not only does Char have a title but her own room!" she said as the pressure on Aoni's skull amplified to the point he began turning purple.
"Yo..ou…"
"What's next, am I going to find out that this pretty elf maid warms your bed and is my new sister-in-law?"
CRASH…
"Sorry, milord. I dropped a plate." A loud crash from the kitchen and its subsequent apology gave Aoni enough time to free himself from Clara's dreaded clutches. However, he knew damn well what had happened in Ellewen's mind; after all, she was a wedded woman with a child.
"Will you knock it off, woman!" Aoni screamed before jumping up and chopping Clara in the head with enough force to cause her knees to buckle.
TWACK!
"GASP, YOU HIT ME! NoooOooO mY BaBy BrOtHeR iS rEbElLiNg!" Clara cried, dropping onto her butt dramatically and acting as if her world was crumbling around her.
"Knock it off you freaking hooligan! You'll have your own room too, and the only reason Char is called Lady, is because she acts like an Auntie to little Faelar, its about RESPECT, and right now, you don't have that shit, especially when you are acting worse than the kids that live here." Aoni huffed before grabbing Clara, tossing her over his shoulder, and storming up to his office.
Once there, he dumped her onto the ground, pointed aggressively, and warned her not to act up or cause a commotion like earlier.
It had taken him months to make sure Ellewen was comfortable in her job, considering maids were generally expected to do exactly as Clara had stated, and by bringing that topic up again, he didn't doubt her mind would once again return to the first few weeks after she'd been summoned.
---
Leaving Clara to mope in the corner of the room, and settling down at his desk, Aoni quickly went through the multiple papers, filling him in on everything from resource gains, uses, and allocation, to wage payouts, and down to how many beast tides and their contents occurred in his absence.
For the most part, nothing was out of the ordinary, due in part to the chain of command he'd left in place each time he headed back to Terra, along with the wage system.
So long as people had the means to fill their bellies and occupy their time, there wouldn't be any chaos.
Pair that with the laws he'd established, and things were running extremely smoothly, with the only hiccup being damages caused by the Floof-Duo.
That's right, Glacia and Blixt were number one on the charts for breaking and destroying property thanks to their roughhousing and hyperactivity.
Unfortunately, due to their age and the fact that they hardly listened to anyone but him, it was difficult to keep the duo in check in his absence, but luckily, there was a very aggressive mama wolf that did the job…well enough…
"*groannn* I swear ima a grind their skulls into oblivion this time, seriously, six fences, one of the docks, and one two… seven gardens destroyed." Leaning back in his chair, Aoni massaged his temples, drawing Clara's attention; however, upon remembering she was supposed to be good, she quickly went back to twiddling her thumbs.
"Whatever, I'll deal with it later," picking up one of the most important documents, Aoni's eyes scanned the lines of elvish text.
'Only six of my summons applied for upgrades. Did I make the goals too high?'
The paper was a detailed application from four of the Varnithm and two wolves who racked up enough Mirian (Elvish Dollars) to qualify for an upgrade using their progress points.
Initially, he'd planned on following the same logic as he had with Nyria and Glacia: If they need power-ups, they get them. However, with how many summons he now had under his charge, if he did so, there wouldn't ever be anything left for himself. Thus, he made it so that any summon could exchange currency for power-ups.
Obtaining said currency was already a challenge in and of itself since one had to take on missions at the mission hall or turn in resources, but with how generous Aoni tended to be and the fact that he basically made the currency himself, meaning there weren't limits on it, the flow was fairly stable.
Dive down into the lake and gather some Energia Crystals, money.
Kill a beast, and money.
Harvest monster corpses and turn in the parts, MONEY.
Baby sit the younger summons…you guessed it, MONEY!
Capitalism was in full swing in Aoni's territory, and even the guards who hung out in the fort all day got a wage, so in a sense it wasn't really THAT difficult to get an upgrade or two out of him.
Not to mention whatever they did, his Summons brought in a constant flow of progress points, so in a sense, he was never really broke.
Yet even with all the opportunities Aoni presented his subjects, only six had taken advantage of them, leaving him wondering if something had gone wrong while he wasn't present.
{'Elle, can you come to my office for a moment?'} Bearing that thought in mind, he put out a call to his ever-trusty secretary/maid, who arrived within seconds of being called.
"What do you require of me, milord…" she said with a bow before eyeing Clara in the corner of the room with apprehension.
"Question about the Upgrade Allocation for this month: How come only six have come forward?" Aoni asked, completely ignoring the strange interaction between Elle and Clara.
"That…" pausing because she was unsure if Clara was allowed to hear what she had to say, Ellewen looked to Aoni for approval, which he gave in the form of a nod, before continuing.
"That's because the majority of our population has already maxed out their most important items, and with how close everyone is, it was a joint decision to allow others to take their place, as is the case with the Wolf Packs."
"Sigh…but didn't I already wave off that notion?"
"Indeed, milord, however, everyone feels indebted to you thanks to our living arrangements, so aside from working to earn their keep, we want to make sure that everyone gets a turn."
Leaning forward, placing his right elbow on the desk and resting his face in his hand, Aoni fell silent for a few moments, then sighed loudly again.
"Fine, I understand unity and all that, but so long as everyone is still doing their best, there's nothing to worry about. It just means I can bring in some more summons. Primarily additions to the wolf pack, and maybe a new batch of creatures."
"Oh? Which ones are you planning on going with milord?" Smoothing out a ruffle in her dress, Ellewen was pleasantly surprised to hear about new members of the family being added.
Shifting his posture and rubbing his eyelid, Aoni thought about it for a moment, then spoke.
"I was thinking of creating a squad for Nyria; they would need extra training and such, but it'll give her something to do since I know she's been getting bored lately, even though our Territory has expanded."
"Oh? That's a marvelous idea, milord, I know that Lady Nyria has been quite restless as of late since she has to watch everyone venture out of the barrier while she stays back, so giving her someone like-minded would be a welcome addition."
"So no progress on that front, I see…"
"Unfortunately, not, milord. Although Faelar has tried getting Lady Nyria to leave, she refuses each time…well…" Exhaling through her nose and chewing on her bottom lip, Ellewen appeared to be about to say something else, yet she stopped for some reason.
"Elle, you know you can speak freely about what's on your mind?" Noticing her caution, Aoni asked with a tilted head.
"Milord, it's not for me to say, but I do hope you can set aside part of your schedule to spend some quality time with Lady Nyria; she has something to speak with you about, yet won't actively take that final step to do so."
"Hm? Let me guess, girl talk, no boys allowed kinda subject?"
"Indeed, milord, that is why I said it's best to spend some time with her; hopefully, then Lady Nyria will open up about this topic to you."
