CH98 Heading back upstream.
In the depths of a mansion's basement, a magical girl named Alex toiled, sewing balloons, while above, on a floating island, a toddler slime girl observed a disgraced noble family. Alex, attempting to inflate a balloon-shaped bubble for her toy airboat with hot air, met with little success. Initially, the linen fabric proved too heavy for inflation. Undeterred, Alex spun a tighter, thinner thread and wove it into a smaller, less gapped fabric. Still, the balloon remained limp even when held over a candle. Her next attempt, a larger fire, ignited the flax, leading to a bucket brigade of annoyed maids extinguishing the blaze.
Alex's ambitious aerial endeavor was shadowed by self-doubt and the critical stares of experienced craftspeople. The notion of a mere cloth balloon lifting a toy boat seemed impossible, yet she clung to the goal of at least making it taut against the vessel. Even this basic task eluded her, causing frustration. The disdain from craftspeople for her lack of formal shipwright training gnawed at her. This sparked a question: if shipwrights built boats, who held the knowledge to construct airships? The answer remained a mystery, further fueling Alex's resolve to unlock the secrets of airborne travel.
“How many more times do you have to start fires before you learn to be careful, Miss Alice?” One of the very-alike maids chided.
“This is the first time.” Alex retorted. “When did I start a fire before?”
“The whole courtyard got charred thanks to you.” The maid curtly replied.
“That wasn’t me. That was the fire clan.” Alex didn’t accept the blame.
“Yes it was the fire clan who started the fire.” The creepy maid paused. “But if it wasn’t for someone bringing magical combustibles in the manor then they wouldn’t have been so tempted.”
“Mistakes were made.” Alex deflated. “I just wanted to come and see what life was like in the kingdom. If I had known the fire clan imps were so greedy I would have done things differently.”
“Of course, miss Alice.” The maid formally replied, returning to formality with a hint of scorn.
“How are things going with the evacuation?” Alex seized the chance to steer the conversation in a different direction.
“Over the past few weeks we have gotten most of the residents and their belongings out.” The maid reported. “Though some people have a lot of junk and your particular abilities have been adding to the demand for cargo transportation.”
Indeed. Every few days, the barge arrived, and people would bring Alex rusted tools or tarnished, corroded items, hoping for a transformation. With a generous application of feather-dusting, things that seemed destined for the scrap heap or smelter became like-new once more.
“Is that a bad thing?” Alex tilted her head. “Having more tools and materials can only help people with their professions.”
“It delays things.” The maid intoned in her unfeeling voice. “The other day some adventurers came into town. They were annoyed from losing some of their party trying to find the 100 year old ginger. They came into the guild and got belligerent when the guild leader was out and there were no imps in town. Like normal, they figured they could be as abusive to any humans that were not claimed by other demons.”
“Oh no, why wasn’t I notified? Did anyone get hurt?” Alex had apparently been too engrossed in making a toy airship for Lily and missed something important.
“There was no reason to disturb you, miss Alice. Cecil, the vice guild leader, took care of them.” The woman coldly reported, standing perfectly straight.
“Silly hundred year old ginger.” Alex shook her head. “You’d think there was a fortune of gold hidden in the forest. Those imps can’t even verify its existence.”
“Certain aged plants can greatly increase their cultivation.” The maid explained, like Alex was stupid. “The imps have short lifespans if they cannot tier up. So they tend to take huge risks for potentially great rewards.”
Fufi nodded in agreement. “She’s right. Imps will go crazy for cultivation resources. Higher tiered demons also will but they are less likely to rush headlong into danger because they don’t have a lifespan somewhere in between a dog or a cat.”
Alex considered the information. “It makes sense when you put it like that. It seemed wasteful to have bonfires going all around the outskirts of town to me. But maybe those fire clan imps don’t see it the same way. Though considering how bare the landscape is outside of town, why do they even come here? You’d think after a point they’d rather avoid coming to this world because there is not much to help with their cultivation.”
“That is easy to answer. They do it because it is safer.” The maid answered. “Their home plane is very cutthroat. While there are cultivation resources there, for the vast majority of the lowest tiered cultivators the only way to tier up is through proving themselves by killing the other demons.”
“How can a society not kill itself out if they have to live like that?” Alex thought the demon plane was a living hell if it meant kill or maybe die of old age in a single decade.
“I don’t know the details, but many different demons come into this world all the time. Whatever is going on there, population decline likely isn’t one of the things.” The maid explained. “You’d have to go to the demon queen’s palace to get concrete answers but the demons that come here get dismissed by failing their contract more than anything else.”
“Their contract?” Alex spoke aloud. “One of them said something about that.”
“Yeah, it is very simple. The demon queen lets them stay in this world in exchange for making humanity suffer for whatever reason.” The maid waved a hand, like this was a boring subject.
“What about higher tiered demons?” Alex pressed the maid anyway. “I’ve seen three tier two demons so far. One was an ice user, and two were from here. One was a fire user and the other… I’m not sure but they were non physical.”
“The majority of tier two demons are former imps that were able to cultivate enough to break through to the next level of cultivation.” The maid gave the best answer she could.
“And higher?” Alex pressed.
“Tier 3? I’m not sure. Though I think that the kaiju in the capital is a tier 4 demon.” The maid sounded more like she was guessing. “You’d really have to talk to someone more directly connected to the demon queen to get reliable information. This is just information that we’d all get by keeping an ear open to stories travelers tell.”
Fufi changed the subject. “I think that is enough about this. Did you see the maid outfit Alex created?”
The flamingo headed over and pecked at a maid outfit hanging on a workstation.
“Oh yeah, it wasn’t too hard to do. There are patterns down here for making maid outfits.” Alex picked up the outfit and held it to the maid’s chest. “It has the added benefit of not being cursed as well.”
“I’ll have to respectfully decline. Mistress gave us these uniforms and we’ll continue wearing them until otherwise ordered.” The maid curtly replied.
“But this black and white dress gives a better bonus to cooking and cleaning.” She smiled sweetly. “Look at all the frills. If you wear this you’ll be so cute. Fufi helped me design it.”
The maid just gave a stoic, annoyed look to the magical girl.
“What happens if you never see mistress Yvne again?” Alex pressed.
“We are to await one of her heirs to claim the title.” The maid said.
“And if her children don’t come and seek you out?” Alex asked.
“We’ll default to the orders of local aristocracy.” The maid replied, sounding like she didn’t care.
“Hmm, so would a baroness in a neighboring province do?” Alex was forming an idea.
“Yes, though they would have to have a class recognized by the system.” The maid emotionally intoned. “A true maid would not serve a fake noble.”
“Well, it should only take a couple more weeks to get everyone cleared out.” Alex told the maid. “Perhaps mistress Ki might make use of your services.”
“This is acceptable.” The maid confirmed.
Weeks flew by. The townspeople and tribesmen settled into an efficient routine. River trips became faster, and barge loads increased once they mastered managing the draft. Alex's suggestion of adding a large fan to the barge was dismissed; it would need to be massive, far exceeding the airboat's fan, and they cautioned against on-the-fly design modifications.
Shifting her focus from boats, Alex continued experimenting with balloon designs. By the end of the evacuation, she successfully created a sizable balloon capable of carrying a small basket with a single stuffed animal. Clockwork dolls were too heavy for the tools at hand to create a large enough balloon, suggesting Charlotte might be able to create the necessary fabric.
After the last person relocated, Alex and Fufi took a starlight drift to Aqua's place. Alex suspected other nereids were involved in ensuring the river operation ran smoothly and spying from their hidden aquatic spots.
During the journey, Alex encountered another surprise that nearly injured Fufi. While skimming through the swampland, a bump knocked the light and tall bird backward towards the spinning propellers. Fortunately, the boat wasn't fast, unlike Earth's engine-powered airboats, allowing them to avert a worse outcome.
Alex consoled the bird after the near-miss. “Sorry Fufi, I guess I didn’t give safety enough thought when we were making this. I should have built a cage around the propellers. When we get back. Make sure to stay in the front so you’ll get knocked into me if something like that happens again.”
Alex apparently overlooked another difference: Fufi's feet were more like a duck's, not the 'X'-shaped harpy claws Alex possessed, meaning Fufi couldn't clamp down with talons.
They eventually reached the grotto, home to the reclusive gnome and serving as a base for the nereids overseeing this part of the kingdom.
“How are things going Aqua?” Alex greeted the water nymph with a curtsy.
Aqua grinned and curtseyed as well though she didn’t have a fancy magical girl outfit on like Alex did. “They are going well. Ki gave us some new seeds to plant. We’ve been trying them out and have caught some imps. This is one that can fit a whole imp in its petals. Professor Copperpot has been turning them into pigs.”
“So um, yeah. I’m guessing you know that we have got everyone cleared out from Yvne’s barony. I just wanted to know why none of the other nereids said much or gave me some warnings. It was a bit of a near thing. I almost got turned into a maid.” Alex crossed her arms.
“Ah, well I didn’t want to discourage you.” Aqua giggled. “Sure your plan to bait the demons into breaking the accords was a bold one with a lot of risks but it worked out in the end. As for my cousins, well they are shy.”
Alex glared at the fey. “It wasn’t my plan to do that at all. I just wanted to check out the town and head back the same day.”
“But why did you make the enchanted armor to sneak Fufi into the kingdom then?” Aqua tilted her head to the side.
“Hmm, it sounds like there might have been a bit of a misunderstanding.” Aqua shrugged, but the corners of her lips tilted upward.
Alex got the impression that Nereids liked drama. She didn’t take the bait. “Is there anything else I should know?”
Aqua looked serious and stated. “Winter is coming.”
“Yeah? It has been fall for over a month now. Does this region have particularly harsh winters?” Alex didn’t get why she was sounding so serious, or if she was just pulling her leg.
“I guess Ki hasn’t told you.” Aqua frowned. “The tree nymphs are part of the summer court.”
“I’m not sure what that means. Is there going to be trouble?” Alex ran a hand through her hair.
“You see, trees lose their leaves and go to sleep, and so do wood nymphs.” Aqua made a gesture. “And when the summer court sleeps the winter court awakens.”
Alex gave her a look. “Are you trying to be obtuse?”
“Let me finish.” Aqua pouted. “You have no patience for drama. I’ll just say it straight then. The summer before this one, Sakura was in charge of the summer court. This year that changed. Arguably, Ki is in charge of the summer court in this area now.” She paused, but not too long this time. “A dryad is a very respected creature in fey culture. They are the human equivalent of clergy. Their trees are waypoints for souls passing to the afterlife.”
“I still don’t follow.” Alex wasn’t sure where this was going.
“The point is that a dryad made a decision not to have humans in the forest.” She eyed Alex. “But a nymph who is going to be going into hibernation made a different decision. But the winter court is not bound by the summer court. However, they respect a dryad much more than a nymph. Maybe Ki is a baroness now but it is not nearly as prestigious as being a dryad.”
“Do you think they’ll turn everyone into shrubbery?” Alex paled.
“The winter court punishes transgressors with ice, but probably they will do nothing if the wilds are not at risk.” The blue skinned woman continued. “But if harboring humans looks like it is going to cost the forest, don’t expect them to pay that price. They already are misbehaving, but Ki and the rest of the nymphs are being patient.”
Alex looked to Fufi who nodded gravely.
Aqua laughed playfully. “Oh, that reminds me. Merumeru wanted me to come visit but said I had to dress like her if I wanted to. Do you think you could make me a matching outfit?”
Alex felt whiplash from the rapid change of tone from the Nereid. “Um sure. I should have the materials to do that in the cart. Well maybe not the boots. You’ll have to find your own cobbler.”