Mythran's Master Of All

Ren woke up that morning and was pretty happy with the way things turned out. He actually got a good night's sleep despite not being in bed the whole time. Maybe snuggling with two nearly identical women was growing on him. He wasn't sure if that was a good thing or not and chuckled mentally; but, he wasn't going to complain about it. He was tempted to see if Narhilda was just as ticklish as Nathalia, but he figured it was better if he didn't know. Being as it was morning, his body reacted the way that any man's body does when they wake up; Little Ren made an appearance and could potentially make a nuisance of himself if Ren wasn't careful.

Good morning, Teepo. Ren thought. Anything happen?

“No, everything is good.” Teepo said from the hallway.

Thanks for always looking out for me.

“It's what I do.” Teepo said and chittered in laughter. “You apparently need someone to do it.”

Boy, do I! Ren thought in amusement.

The blanket had moved down enough that Ren noticed it was Narhilda that he had snuggled in behind, and not his fiance Nathalia. He wasn't sure if he could do anything about that, considering they were all huddled so closely together anyways. It was mostly his fault for not checking properly before getting into bed; but he shrugged, as it didn't really matter much. Ren loved them both, and had agreed to comfort Narhilda if she needed it. He eased his hand away from Nathalia's grasp over her abdomen, and she stirred slightly.

“It's time to get up.” Ren said to the two sleeping beauties.

“Just five more minutes.” Nathalia whispered.

“Mmm... yes... five more minutes... Thern.” Narhilda said as she wiggled slightly against Ren, who froze. Now he really didn't know what to do. If Narhilda thought he was her dead husband, then Ren wasn't sure what else she would do with him so close; but, then he remembered the last time this happened and took Teepo's advice again.

I hope this works. Ren thought, then stroked Narhilda's neck and she giggled.

“Don't do... that.” Narhilda said, still half-asleep. “We can't... do anything... with our daughter... in the bed.”

“Then you better get up and make breakfast.” Ren whispered in her ear. “Or I'll keep going.”

Narhilda moaned appreciatively. “It's... really tempting... but we agreed we wouldn't... until she got her own room...”

Ren slid back away from her, giving her space to move. Narhilda turned to him with her eyes still partially closed, and gave him a quick kiss on the lips.

“Keep the bed... warm for me... sweetheart.” She said, then rolled away and climbed over her daughter and out of the bed. Narhilda stumbled to the door of the bedroom. “I really could use... a few more minutes of sleep...” She said as she opened the bedroom door, then turned back to the bed, bleary-eyed and blinked a few times. “The food will be ready... in half an hour.” She said and left the room.

That was close. Ren thought, then slid across the empty space to spoon behind Nathalia. She grabbed onto his arm again, and held him close. He kissed the back of her neck and she turned her head to him with her eyes still partially closed, just like her mother's had been.

“We can't... mom... in bed...” Nathalia whispered.

“She's making breakfast.” Ren said. “We've got half an hour.”

“That's not enough time.” Nathalia smiled as she opened her eyes.

“It's enough to please you... I think.” He said. “I may have to skip a few steps, though.”

Nathalia chuckled as she woke up fully. “I believe I can deal with my disappointment.”

Half an hour later, they went out to eat breakfast and saw Narhilda as she stretched and yawned. Ren and Nathalia sat down with her mother and enjoyed another great meal. Ren thanked Narhilda for going through all the trouble of making meals all the time, and she laughed.

“I enjoy it, dear.” Narhilda said. “It's my passion. If you weren't here, I'd be making it all regardless.”

“Well, my stomach and I want to thank you anyways.” Ren said, and grinned. She laughed, and Nathalia joined her. After a minute, she turned to Ren.

“What are you going to do today?”

“I've got to work on the Keep for a few hours, but I'm nearly out of cement powder.” Ren said. “I wonder if I can hire the carts again?”

Nathalia smiled. “Now that the edict has been canceled, I'm sure there's a few businesses that will jump at the chance to earn some more money from you.”

Ren's eyes widened. “Oh, I should get those windows first!” He said and stood up. “If I can finish the Main House today, Ereka will have a nice place to work.”

“Ren, just get Ereka to order them.” Narhilda said.

“How?” He asked.

She opened her mouth to speak, then closed it. “You're right. We'll need to hire a couple of messengers.”

Ren smiled. “You'd better look into getting a healer or two as well. Find out what their requirements are, and I'll have a medical building built beside the Main House.”

Narhilda sighed. “Ren, you've taken on a lot more than only one person can handle.”

He smiled and walked over to her. “That's why I'm really glad that I found such wonderful women to take care of me.” He gave her a kiss on the cheek. “I can drop these little ideas of mine off on you and I don't have to worry about it anymore.”

Narhilda snorted a laugh as Ren went to Nathalia and knelt by her to give her a kiss on the lips. “I'll be back with the windows soon.”

“I'll go out and feed Princess if you want.” She offered.

“That's okay.” Ren said. “It'll just take me a minute.” He said and gathered up some food. He kissed her again, and left the kitchen. He noticed the little stone pen he'd made for the baby fire elemental on the small table in the main room and went over to it. He took out several small scraps of cloth, deactivated the fire runes, and dropped the cloth inside. The fire elemental barely had the cloth inside itself and it was gone.

“A little too easy for you to eat, was it?” Ren asked and it's color changed slightly. He took out a scrap piece of spider silk cloth that he still had, cut it into little squares, and dropped one into the pen. The baby fire elemental picked it up and shoved it inside its body and nothing happened. It hunkered down and burned really bright for a moment, and the square was a little smaller. It repeated this several times and eventually the square disappeared.

“How was that?” Ren asked. “Tasty?”

The fire elemental's color changed slightly and Ren sprinkled a pile of squares around the pen.

“Don't try to eat them all at once.” Ren cautioned. “If you had that much trouble with a single square...” He shook his head. “...take your time with them.” He activated one of the bricks so that there would still be fire inside the pen, but it didn't cover the whole area. “Have fun.” Ren said and left the house with Teepo flying over his shoulder.

*

“I had another dream about your father.” Narhilda said when Ren closed the front door.

“Really?” Nathalia asked. “That's the second or third time now, isn't it?”

Narhilda nodded. “This one felt even more real than the last one.” She said. “When I got up, I could have sworn I kissed him good morning.”

“The poor pillow!” Nathalia said and laughed. “I bet you slobbered all over it!”

Narhilda threw a dish towel at her daughter and laughed, too.

*

Ren took a deep breath and smiled. I think this is going to be a great day! He thought and went into the stable to feed Princess. Once that was done, he went to the gate and opened it. Teepo had already told him it was just Wohrum standing guard.

“Good morning, sir.” He said.

“Morning.” Ren responded and shut the gate behind him. “Can I ask why you're here so early, and alone?”

Wohrum chuckled. “Of course, sir. Since there's 4 of us, we broke up the shifts into three 8 hour ones, then each man gets every second day off.”

“So...” Ren started. “...there will always be someone on guard duty, but also always under-strength.”

Wohrum's face froze as he realized what Ren was saying. “Sir, we thought that as long as someone was here...”

Ren shook his head. “We'll just have to hire more people to make up the difference.” He said. “There shouldn't be any more trouble; but, I don't want only a single guard here to deal with anything that might come up, if it's necessary.”

“Sorry, sir.” Wohrum said. “We should have consulted you before changing things.”

“Don't worry about it for now.” Ren said. “Keep the 3 shifts, but change them to 7am to 3pm, 3pm to 11pm, and 11pm to 7am... assuming those aren't the times you already have.”

“It will be done, sir.”

Ren nodded slightly and took off running. Teepo flew beside him until his Stamina started to drain, then he landed to let it recharge, and took off again.

Are you getting anything by doing that? Ren asked his friend as they got to the main part of the city.

“Yeah, my Strength and Endurance have increased a point each already.” Teepo said. “I'm not really sure how that works, considering this is just an astral projection; but, it's working so I'm not going to complain about it.”

“I had the same thought when I woke up in bed with Nathalia and her mother.” Ren chuckled. “I mean, about it working and not complaining, not the astral projection part.”

Teepo chittered in laughter. “Waking up in bed with 2 women is definitely better than alone, that's for sure.”

Ren raised an eyebrow. Teepo! That sounds like experience talking.

“I was the Prince of my people, Ren. I had a staff that handled how many women I could have every night.” Teepo said. “They took shifts.”

Ren snorted a laugh. And here I am, with Stella calling me 'little stud'! If she only knew who the real little stud was!

Teepo chittered in delight. Ren arrived at the window making place and they had the windows he had ordered before ready for him to pick them up. He paid for them and stored them, and no one questioned his ability to do it, or were surprised when it happened. He stopped by the lumberyard and picked up a bunch of lumber from them, paid for it, and stored as much as he could. He had them deliver the rest, and increased his order. He met the foreman and asked him about building more houses, and possibly a medical building. The foreman mentioned that since no one was trying to stop Ren from building things, he really should make a place of worship for his subjects to attend if they wished.

“You know, that's actually a really good idea.” Ren said. “How much is that going to cost?”

“A few platinum.” The foreman said. “The windows are the expensive part.”

Ren frowned. “No, no. That won't do.” He said. “Do you happen to have the plans for one?”

The foreman chuckled. “I heard you like to ask stupid questions.”

Ren's eyes widened. “You know the clerk in the Hall of Records, don't you?”

“I should.” He said. “She's my wife's sister.”

Ren smiled. “I bet you hear a lot of interesting things.”

The foreman chuckled. “Like about some fool that fought and killed the Deathgore? Or bought half the countryside on the other side of the city? Stuff like that?”

Ren laughed. “Yeah, things like that.”

“Nope, she doesn't say a word.” He said and grinned. “Come out back to my workbench. I've got the plans there.”

“Thanks.” Ren said, and spent about half an hour redesigning the Church to fit what Ren thought the layout should be like. Once he allowed for each of the elements he knew of from enchanting, the Church was nearly double in size, and had certain rooms set aside for worshipers. The foreman shook his head as he saw what Ren intended.

“You're going to have a lot of unhappy people, I think.”

“Why's that?”

“What if they want to worship different deities at the same time?”

“That's what the main room is for.” Ren said and pointed. “If they just have general prayers, they can go there. If they have anything specific, they can go here.” He pointed to a room with 9 doors, one for each element. “It's not like there's going to be a line or anything.”

The foreman chuckled. “That's true.” He said. “There's barely anyone showing up at the Main Keep to worship anymore.”

“The Main Keep is the Church inside the city?”

The foreman nodded. “The lines to get in there are too long to just go and worship anymore.”

Ren frowned again. “Okay, then. Double this in size.”

“W-what?!?”

“Once word gets around that they don't have to wait in line to worship at House Neram, I think there's going to be a lot of visitors that will want to just come and see it.”

The foreman nodded slightly again. “You've got a point.”

“How long to get this built?”

“If I take all three crews that I have, 1 heavy and 2 normal, we could have it done in about three days.” He said. “The windows, though...”

“I've got the dimensions, so I'll worry about the windows.” Ren said. “Get on this right away.” He said and handed the foreman 10 platinum. “If it comes out to more than that, let me know.”

“With this much, we might have it done in two days.” The foreman said and laughed.

Ren left him and went back to the Minor House that made windows. They told Ren it would be a week for each window, and since Ren needed 20 of them, that was not a good deal at all.

“I'll be back.” Ren said, and ran all the way to House Neram to get Ruck's help. They ran over to the Main House and Ren gave Ruck the windows for the upper floor, and he installed the ones on the lower floor. They were finished barely 10 minutes later.

“Good job, Ruck!” Ren said and gave him a high-five. “Can you install the windows for the barracks for me? I have to go and get Ereka and see what kind of office she wants.”

Ruck gave an 'okay' gesture and Ren gave him the windows, then ran over to the housing development. Ren looked at the different houses and smiled. 5 of them were lived in and he remembered Croggart saying his was next to Golir's. Ren approached and got a popup stating that Croggart and Ereka were the current occupants. He smiled, went to the door, and knocked. Several minutes passed and then the door opened. Ereka stood there in a thin white slip, and the sun caught her shoulder-length flowing blonde hair at just the right angle, and it looked like her hair was on fire.

“Wow.” Ren said, before he could help himself. “Your hair looks like it's made of fire.”

Ereka's face flushed slightly red, and she smiled. “T-thank you, your highness.” She said. “I've never heard that kind of compliment before.” She tilted her head slightly. “It was a compliment, wasn't it?”

“Most definitely.” Ren said and thought about his daughter. The happiness showed on his face as he continued. “I've spent some time around a lot of fire recently, and your hair reminds me of my time there.”

Ereka's face blushed a deep red, as she saw both admiration and happiness in Ren's smile. “Is... is there something I can help you with, your highness?”

“I'm sorry to bother you so early.” Ren said, apologetically. “I just installed the windows in the Main House and I need your input for what kind of office you want.”

Ereka's face lit up. “The Main House is ready?” She said and stepped out onto her step. “Let's go!”

Ren glanced down at her thin slip and smiled; it left almost nothing to the imagination because it clung to her body like a second skin, and made it seem like it was see-through. He quickly looked back at her face, however; and didn't examine the slip closely to see if it was actually see-through or not.

“You might want to consider putting on some clothing first.” Ren chuckled. “I know you're in a rush to get to work, but still...”

Ereka looked down at herself and blushed so hard, Ren thought she was going to faint. He took her hand in one of his, and braced her back with the other.

“Are you all right?” Ren asked, concerned. “You look like you might faint.”

“Y-y-yes, I'm f-f-fine.” Ereka stammered, and shook slightly. “I just... I'm... I'm practically naked in front of a strange man, that I've only just met!”

Ren chuckled. “Being called strange is a new one for me; people usually just call me crazy.”

Ereka got a shocked look on her face. “I'm sorry, your highness!” She said and tried to bow, but with Ren so close and holding her hand, it came off as only a slight twisting motion. “I didn't mean it like that!”

“That's quite all right.” Ren smiled. “I was making a joke.” He said and turned Ereka around to face her front door. “I'll wait right here while you get dressed.”

“Yes! Right! I need to get dressed!” Ereka said, then scrambled into the house and left the front door open. Ren reached in and closed the door, so she wouldn't be embarrassed about leaving it open. She came back to the door a few minutes later, and opened it. She froze when she realized what she'd done, but it wasn't what Ren had thought.

“I'm so sorry!” Ereka exclaimed. “I should have invited you in, and not made you wait on the front step!”

“That's okay. I've done my fair share of waiting for things.” He said, and saw she had on a conservative skirt of red cloth and a white blouse. Her white slip could be clearly seen under it.

“But... but you're a Lord!” Ereka said. “You shouldn't have to wait for anything!”

“If only that were true.” Ren chuckled. “Shall we go? It's only a short walk.”

Ereka nodded and they walked down the dirt road of the housing subdivision to get to the main road. Ren noticed she was shivering slightly. “Are you cold?” He asked, concerned.

She shook her head. “No, I'm still embarrassed about being seen in only my slip.” Ereka blushed slightly.

“I know it wasn't completely my fault.” Ren said and smiled. “I am sorry to have put you in that situation, though. Is there anything I can do to make it up to you?”

Ereka stopped walking and looked at him. “You can say my name.”

“Excuse me?” Ren stopped as well, and turned to her.

“If you say my name, I won't be all nervous about you seeing me like that.”

“I can't do that.” He said. “If I say your name in public, then I'll be declaring my intent to court you formally.”

Ereka shook her head. “Not if I agree that it's only so we'll get to know each other better.”

Ren raised a single eyebrow at her, and she smiled crookedly.

“I didn't know you could agree that the use of a woman's formal name wasn't a declaration of intent.” He said.

“Most people don't hold with it.” Ereka said. “It's one of the older laws.”

“So, no doing it in public where anyone else can hear. Got it.” Ren said, and Ereka held out her hand. He took it, and bent over it formally. “It's a pleasure to meet you, Ereka.”

She blushed a deep red and shook slightly.

“Are you okay?” Ren asked. “I'm pretty sure I did that right.”

Ereka nodded slightly. “It was perfect.” She said and let his hand go. “Having a Lord bend over my hand like that is just a little hard to handle.”

Ren chuckled. “Being regarded as a Lord is only a recent development.” He said. “Sometimes I don't know my own strength.”

This book was originally published on NovelFire. Check it out there for the real experience.

Ereka laughed and they kept walking. After a short time, they arrived at the Main House and Ren took her inside.

“It's so empty.” She said. “I thought you said it was done?”

Ren grinned. “You said it was done; I said I finally put the windows in.”

Ereka opened her mouth to say something, then she smiled. “Okay, what do you want me to do?”

Ren took out the Main House plans and showed her the way it was normally set up. “I don't like how everything is so closed off.” He said. “I'll leave the reception desk where it is, so they can see out the front door; but the offices crowd everything out. What do you think about moving this here, and this here?”

Ren had pointed to two of the offices that were supposed to be right off the main lobby, and put them at the back of the room instead.

“That would give you lots of room here.” Ereka said and pointed to the lobby. “But what about Lady Neram? Shouldn't her office be right there?” She pointed to the spot right behind the reception desk. “If you move that, where will she run everything?”

Ren smiled. “If she decides to come here to work, which I doubt, she'll have a good portion of the top floor to herself.”

“W-w-what?” Ereka asked, surprised. “What about the meeting and living rooms?”

Ren pointed to the space around the staircases. “The living room can be in the open area here in the large hallway, to make things less formal; and the meeting room fits right here next to her office.”

“That's quite the departure from how thing are supposed to look.” Ereka said.

Ren nodded slightly. “I don't want things to be like they should be.” He explained. “I want them to work better than that.”

She smiled. “I think I'm really going to like working here.”

“You better.” Ren said and grinned. “You're going to be ordering everything to fill the place.”

Ereka chuckled. “Then where's my office?”

“Pick one.” Ren said. “Or better yet, I'm building the walls anyways; just tell me what you want.”

“You're building the walls?” She asked with her eyes widened.

Ren nodded slightly. “It's quicker this way.” He said. “We don't have to wait for a work crew or anything.”

“Then I want this whole corner.” She said jokingly, and pointed to the back left of the bottom floor.

“Okay.” Ren said. “Do you want a single door, or a double door?”

“Wh-what?”

“That's a lot of space. I assume you're going to need the room for filing things, and perhaps a nice couch.” He said. “I should move the document storage here, then.” He pointed to a spot by the corner she'd indicated. “I'll add another door there so you'll have easy access, instead of going into the hallway.”

“Y-you're crazy!”

Ren grinned. “See? I told you that's what people usually called me.”

Ereka looked at him for a moment, and then laughed. “I was kidding about needing the whole corner.”

“I'm not.” Ren said. “You're going to be spending a lot of time here, I think. I want you to be comfortable.”

She nodded slightly and smiled. “Then I'm definitely going to like it here.”

Ren built the walls to her office and to the document storage area, then added the connecting doors. Ereka stood there and watched him work the entire time. When he was finished, he got a popop.