CH.372 Meeting the Prime Minister
<span style="font-weight:400">And so, a few days after Unika’s evolution, the day I was to meet the Prime Minister came. Thankfully he was first and the wrist watch trap detector/jammer was ready, so I just had to have HomeBase make me one and add the installs.
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<span style="font-weight:400">At first, the idea was just to add Trap Jammer to the watch and I optimized it for that, but after I had made it, Laura realized it could take a second install, as long as it was trap rted and rmended that I add Metal Detector as well, so I did.
<span style="font-weight:400">The watch had a mithril housing and strap, while the insides were mostly made from a steel alloy that was close to stainless steel, but they were coated in this strange stuff that my Homunculus the Alchemic Being has inside his body.
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<span style="font-weight:400">It is something akin to oil that keeps metal parts, or any parts really, from rubbing against each other, but it also doesn’t wear out, so it is perfect to make sure the watch will never jam. And having ess to that kind of material, that doesn’t require HomeBase, does make me want to hire an alchemist that could synthesize that material. Because God knows Wilma already has too much on her te and she isn’t an alchemist in the first ce. I should also get someone that can make potions while I’m at it. I wonder where I could find someone like that?
<span style="font-weight:400">I would say I’ll ask the PM for that, but I honestly won’t. It just isn’t worth bothering him with something like that. Maybe I should learn alchemy myself? … probably not a great idea. I still have to dedicate time to other things.
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<span style="font-weight:400">My meeting with the Prime Minister took ce in his manor in the capital. It was quite the impressive building, easily the biggest home I’ve been in. Sure it doesn’t match up to the Royal castle or anything, but it is still a massive house.
<span style="font-weight:400">I of course arrived in my carriage, but unlike previously, this time I had a horse pulling it. I mean, I just tamed Rani, so making her draw my carriage is an obvious choice. Molly was acting as my coach, by the way. She volunteered, so I didn’t even consider anyone else.
<span style="font-weight:400">Also, let me be honest here, Rani wasn’t actually pulling anything. Molly was using the magic engine of the carriage to drive it, Rani just had to walk in front and look important.
<span style="font-weight:400">At the entrance to the manor, a man I wasn’t expecting was waiting for me. I mean, why would the Prime Minister be outside waiting for me? Sure the weather is nice, but still? He is a Duke for crying out loud, and he is just waiting outside. Who does that?
<span style="font-weight:400">After the carriage stopped, I didn’t even wait for Molly to open the door for me, but hurried out of the carriage myself. I needed to know why the PM was waiting for me.
<span style="font-weight:400">“Morning, mister rising star.” The Prime Minister joked as I got out.
<span style="font-weight:400">“Good morning, Your Excellence.” I responded. “... may I ask if you were waiting for me?” I asked carefully.
<span style="font-weight:400">“Ah. I suppose I was. Though to be honest, I was more so waiting for that.” He said, as he pointed at my carriage.
<span style="font-weight:400">“... why?”
<span style="font-weight:400">“You know, I’ve heard some interesting things about your carriage, like how it is a lotrger on the inside. I wanted to see if that is true.”
<span style="font-weight:400">“Of course. Please,e and have a look.” I quickly said. Why do I have a feeling just seeing my carriage isn’t going to be everything? I just … for some reason I feel like I’m about to have a customer for a custom carriage.
<span style="font-weight:400">I showed the Prime Minister the insides of the carriage, and also exined its other functions, like the magic engines that made it move, the defensive barrier it had, the spatial expansion and the ability to levitate the box above the frame to negate any rocking.
<span style="font-weight:400">“How was this made? Actually, who made it?” The Prime Minister asked.
<span style="font-weight:400">“... I’m sorry, but that is a secret.” I told him. I thought about telling him, but I really don’t want to open a carriage manufacturing business. I have to make them with HomeBase and they can get a bit costly. And I’d also have to supply the mana to all the magic engines and other stuff using the HomeBase linking magic stones, and I’d rather not give those out. If they get out into the world, someone might use it for something not so nice.
<span style="font-weight:400">“Are you certain? I know many nobles that would love to have one.” The Prime Minister said.
<span style="font-weight:400">“Yes. Mine was made in return for materials from an SS-rank monster, as well as the materials for the carriage itself, so I don’t think he would even agree for just money.” I lied.
<span style="font-weight:400">“What monster would that have been?”
<span style="font-weight:400">“A world treant.” I lied again. Well, I do have world treant materials, so I could have given some away, so they can’t really verify my lie.
<span style="font-weight:400">“I didn’t know you had taken on one of those. Is this another case where you didn’t report it?”
<span style="font-weight:400">“... so you know about the Fenrir? Well, whatever. No. I actually didn’t report it because I found it outside the Kingdom’s borders. It was deep in the Ever forest, so I didn’t report it.” I exined.
<span style="font-weight:400">“I see.” The Prime Minister said, as he exited my carriage. “Let’s head inside, shall we.” He said, as he led the way. He then turned to a house servant and gave him an order. “Show the coach where to park the carriage.”
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<span style="font-weight:400">He brought us to a smaller dining room. It honestly looked like it wasn’t usually used as a dining room, but had been turned into one for our luncheon. That was just going off the decor. Most dining rooms have cabs filled with tableware, this room had none. Most dining rooms had separate doors for servants to bring in food, including doors from which food cards could be pushed in, this one only had regr doors, and just two at that.
<span style="font-weight:400">I took a seat opposite to the Prime Minister, and after just a bit, a few maids began bringing food into the room. Just some basic appetizers and some drinks.
<span style="font-weight:400">I let the Prime Minister lead us into our first bites and tasted the meat that was our appetizer. And to my surprise, it was raw meat. And I meanpletely raw. And fresh as well, likely from an animal, well a monster actually, ughtered today. But the surprising part is that no one actually eats raw meat. I’ve never seen or heard of anyone doing it, so why would the Prime Minister be doing that.
<span style="font-weight:400">Well, it tastes good, so I don’t mind. Let’s just hope I don’t get parasites, or I might have to look if I have cards that can get rid of them.
<span style="font-weight:400">“Do you enjoy it?” The Prime Minister asked.
<span style="font-weight:400">“Yes, it is quite delicious.” I answered honestly. “Though I really didn’t think Your Excellency would offer raw meat.”
<span style="font-weight:400">“Yes, it isn’t something most do in this Kingdom.” He admitted. “I learned it when I was visiting the Empire. Raw meat is somewhat moremon there, especially with some beast-folk.” He exined. “Also, please feel free to call me Roy.”
<span style="font-weight:400">“As you wish, Roy.” I confirmed. “Please just call me Brian.”
<span style="font-weight:400">“Of course, Brian. Now, I do have a few more questions, if you don’t mind.”
<span style="font-weight:400">“Go ahead.” I allowed it.
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<span style="font-weight:400">The questioning started with how I gained my System Support. For that, I made a slightly altered truth about how I got it from eliminating a rogue dungeon to which core I snuck to. I mean, that is how I got my SS, but I didn’t sneak in. I just appeared there.
<span style="font-weight:400">Naturally Roy asked if I think anyone that eliminates a dungeon will get the System Support, to which I said I think I was a special case. I then exined to him some of the things I heard from Aulis during our first meeting. How the dungeon I eliminated was prophesied to give birth to a lesser behemoth and how Alice was supposed to take it down, but I got in the way when I eliminated the dungeon. And because of the potential future of that dungeon, it was more powerful than your average dungeon, thus resulting in the System Support being born inside of me.
<span style="font-weight:400">That of course led to Roy asking about the true Behemoth that did appeared, to which I gave the same lie I used with the genderbent Hero’s party about the ‘curse left by the Demon Lord’, and about how the protection the Goddess gave against it running out of power, thus allowing for the ‘miasma blobs’ to appear and give birth to SS-rank monsters.
<span style="font-weight:400">“And why wasn’t any of this reported earlier?” Roy asked.
<span style="font-weight:400">“I had no reason to report it.” I told him honestly. “Currently, I am the only one that can deal with the miasma blobs, outside of direct influence from the Goddess. Even if I told you, what could you do about it?” I asked.
<span style="font-weight:400">That got the Prime Minister thinking, but I didn’t give him too much time to think, as I had other things I wanted to say.
<span style="font-weight:400">“There is more. When I first got my System Support, I was a bit too trusting with it. That is because of the time I spent living with the only human contact I had was with people I really trust, so I didn’t consider the possibility of the people around me being … evil. Had the Watchman family been different, I could have been taken advantage of, and things could have gone very differently.” I exined. “Because of that, I have been holding back on sharing news about things that are a threat to the world atrge. And besides, people knowing that random miasma blobs can just appear along with SS-rank monsters might cause mass panic. It isn’t exactly my idea of a good time.”
<span style="font-weight:400">“I see. I understand your reasoning.” Roy said. “But next time, I would prefer to know.”
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<span style="font-weight:400">As our lunch kept moving on, I got to taste some other interesting foods. Most of them being something notmonly eaten around the capital, at least from what I know about the capital. And here I thought Roy is the Prime Minister and not some sort of tourism minister.
<span style="font-weight:400">Eventually I got a good chance to give my gift to him, and other than the trap detecting, and disabling, wrist watch, I also gave him a TinaWood dungeon goodie bag. Aka. a magic fanny pack with some fabric rolls.
<span style="font-weight:400">That led to our next conversation topic.
<span style="font-weight:400">“Just how many of these did you prepare before you left Alewatch?” Roy asked. “From what I’ve heard, you have given out at least 4 of them after you arrived in the capital.”
<span style="font-weight:400">“Who knows? Maybe 10? Or 20?” I teased. “Or maybe I just take my ultra fast airship and visit TinaWood dungeon whenever I need one more.”
<span style="font-weight:400">Of course the truth is that I just made them with HomeBase. All of that stuff is quite cheap, and doesn’t take creation energy to make. Just miasma and mana. If I make the magic fanny pack special, like making it waterproof and usable underwater, or increase its capacity, then it will cost a bit of creation energy, but otherwise not. The thing about my airship, or spaceship, was just to remind Roy that I can easily travel there and back in a day if I want to.
<span style="font-weight:400">“Ah. Of course. I sometimes forget about your … are they summons or airships?”
<span style="font-weight:400">“Both.”
<span style="font-weight:400">“Yes. I do forget them. I do wish to get to ride in one at some point.”
<span style="font-weight:400">“My services can be bought. Well, not yet, but I’m working towards having a mapping system that doesn’t rely on special powers, and once I do, I will start offering rides.” I told him about a potential future n. I just have to have someone with Card Summoner and they’d be able to operate the ships. And I can even make a real version of one of my B.E.S. ships if I use a ton of HomeBase resources. And if I simplify one, cutting away all the features that are only needed in outer space, I can probably make one for a much more reasonable cost.
<span style="font-weight:400">“Well, I’m looking forward to it.” Roy said.
<span style="font-weight:400">“You won’t have to wait that long.” I told him, as I got a letter out of Storage and gave it to him. “This is an invitation toe to HomeBase’s grand reveal. It has the details for when I’d like to have you picked up. You will ride in one of my ships to get to my Home. … if you wish to ept that is. Please send your response and preferred pick up spot to the Sawyer manor, or hand it to Cressida. She will make sure I’ll get it.”
<span style="font-weight:400">“Thank you. I will attend, as long as I don’t have anything I can’t write away from my schedule.”
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<span style="font-weight:400">After dessert, our luncheon came to an end and I left. A quick ride to the Sawyer manorter, and beaming the three of us back to HomeBase, I was finally able to really rx again.
<span style="font-weight:400">I thanked Molly for her services, spent some time showing affection to Rani, and then I got some training in.
<span style="font-weight:400">Another day done. A few more and I’ll meet the Royal Knight Captain, and soon after that, HomeBase’s grand reveal.