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CH.375 HomeBase Grand Reveal, part 1
CH.375 HomeBase Grand Reveal, part 1
Getting the Guests
And so, the day had finally come. The day I would show a few people the majesty that is HomeBase. And since I was in charge of getting people from … I was going to say around the World, but it is really just from around the Kingdom, I was a bit busy. … Is what I would have said if I didn’t pawn that job onto others.
Let’s start with Alice first. She was picking up a few families, mostly her own parents, her grandparents, as well as Viscounts Hill and Kramer. Her ship of the day being a new modified B.E.S. Big Core MK-2.
The new in it was the new addition I added to all of my B.E.S. monsters, the atmospheric dampeners. Also known as that thing that prevents the ship from making sonic booms when traveling at speeds greater than the speed of sound.
They were something Laura, Tahlia and I had been working on in the background and now they were ready to be used. They were made with a combination of Rising Air Current, Time Seal and Diffusion Wave-Motion.
… But because not everything can be perfect, they did have a limitation. The B.E.S. ships can’t use both the invisibility engine and the atmospheric dampeners at the same time. So if you want to go fast, you have to be visible. The dampeners also don’t work at an altitude under 3,000 meters [9,850 feet] because of the thicker atmosphere, so you’ll have to be flying at over that altitude. That in itself is more than fine, as at lower altitudes you can just fly slower with the invisibility engine keeping you from being seen, and at higher altitudes you can turn that off but turn on the dampeners instead, zooming at high speeds.
But enough about that, let’s go over who will pick up some other guests.
The next outgoing team was Ria and Wilma, and they were only picking up a single guest, Duke Burch. I was a bit hesitant with him, but he did really help when we liquidated the Blanken Trading Company, so I made sure he got an invite.
As to why Wilma and Ria were picking him up, well, I needed someone with Card Summoner and Wilma was there for navigation using her System Support. Laura just sent some map data to Claus and we were good.
The third outgoing team was Lua and Cailie. The two of them headed for the Hero’s country to pick up the genderbent Hero’s party, Ula the cat-folk tour guide/agent/whatever she really is, Mariina and Safia, the sages Shisu and Ted, as well as the priest that is moving to HomeBase.
They are also picking up Marquess Oroco and honorary baron Kiara Hunter. They were another duo I wasn’t 100% sure about, but I’ve had positive contact with both, so I decided to invite them.
As for why Cailie went on that trip with Lua … well, admittedly I didn’t have a reason for that other than Cailie asking if she could help. I just let her go with Lua, because even if it was just for a little while, Cailie did live in the Hero’s country.
The fourth and the final group, well he was actually going solo, was only getting one person. … well, dragon. And the one getting her was also a dragon.
Lady Janina wanted to bring her real body to the grand reveal, so I sent Agunan over to get her. Just to make sure they’d avoid some of the big cities during their flight over, but apparently I didn’t have to worry about that, as I later learned that Lady Janina had developed spells for both supersonic flight that doesn’t cause sonic booms, as well as invisibility just so she could travel without bothering humans.
And then there was myself. My job was the easiest, kind of, as I only had to pick up people from the Capital. And with HomeBase floating above the Capital, that was as simple as beaming myself to the front lawn of the guests that would be coming and then bringing them up to HomeBase.
My first pick up was at the adventurer’s guild. I was picking up the Guild Master Futerasu Hikari, or Tera as she likes to go by. She treated us quite well when we were upgraded to A-rank, and she is the reason I got acquainted with Unika, so of course I invited her.
Yes I know that will result in the guild knowing about HomeBase, but I also invited the genderbent Hero’s party, so they would know about it anyway.
For her pick up, I waited until Endy spotted her outside the guild building, looking up towards the sky. That was the sign that she was ready to be picked up, so I beamed myself down just a few meters from her.
“Hello, Tera.” I greeted her.
“... You really do appear out of nowhere. The mana sign is so small. You have to teach me how you do that.” She said.
“Sorry about that. Are you ready to go?” I asked to confirm.
“Yes. … are we teleporting?”
“Yeah.”
“Magic?”
“Yes, but also no. You’ll see.” I told her, as I called a beam down from HomeBase. “Just a bit more to here.” I told her, as I I stood under the beam. “I need you to stand next to me.”
“... Should we hold hands or something?” She asked.
“Not necessary. I know with some teleportations it is, but this doesn’t need it. As long as you stand in the area, it is fine.”
I made sure Tera was properly within the beam and wasn’t moving too much. Then I activated the teleporter and got us up to HomeBase.
After just a second, it doesn’t actually take a second, more like 1/100th of a second, it just takes a bit for your brain to adjust to the sudden change in location, we were on HomeBase. Well, inside HomeBase and in one of the few teleporter rooms of HomeBase. Yes, HomeBase has multiple teleporters.
“... Where?”
“This is HomeBase. The teleporter brought us to this room.” I told her. “This way, please. I’ll take you to the venue, but it will be a bit of a wait while I pick up everyone else.”
I made sure Tera was following, as we walked through the empty corridors of HomeBase. It really is a shame they are completely empty, but we just don’t have the people, and the people we do have are at the venue ready to receive the guests.
Luckily the trip from the teleporter to the venue wasn’t too long, so soon enough, we were in some company.
Out in the venue, almost all of HomeBase was waiting. Those that didn’t head out to pick people up were given just that task, unless they happen to be on cooking duty, or doing something else before people arrive.
The first people, or in this case monsters, that noticed us was my Dragonmaid squad. For today, I had all five of them in avatar dolls, while on usual days it would only be two of them. Tinkhec and Lorpar were in the kitchen, but the other three were here waiting for us. They were also now in the Dragonmaid specific avatar dolls that allowed for their wings, tails and horns to show, so that was a nice boost.
“Welcome back, Master.” Sheou welcomed me.
“Thank you, Sheou, but you know I must be off. Please do entertain Lady Tera while I’m gone. And if she gets bored, you may show her around.” I quickly turned around to leave.
“... Brian?” I turned around because I heard Tera calling me. “... what is all of this? These dragons?”
“They are my maids. Sheou, Nudy and Ernus.” I answered. “Tinkhec and Lorpar are in the kitchen, but you’ll see them when food is served. Those three playing over there are Einar, Eline and Maya. Cina and Molly …” I looked around the room, but I couldn’t spot the horse girls. “... where are they, actually?”
“They went outside because they were bored.” Sheou answered. “I gave them permission as long as they’d be back by the time the ships arrive.”
“Ah. Alright. And Wilma and Karl are still testing out the golem turrets?” I asked to confirm.
“Along with Valoa, yes. And Olia and Unika are in the kitchen assisting.”
“Unika? The fox-folk adventurer? So this is where she disappeared to.” Tera half asked, half confirmed.
“Yeah. I kind of picked her up to work for me.” I confirmed. “Her family as well.” I added. “But please, do feel free to enjoy whatever you like. Join the game with the cats if you want. … just try not to beat them too badly.” I added in a quieter voice.
The board game Einar, Eline and Maya were playing was something I kind of remembered from Earth. It was a strategy game where you get resources and use said resources to build up settlements, cities, roads, your army and all of that fun stuff. First to 10, well it can be higher but it is usually 10, points wins. It is mostly strategic, with just a bit of luck mixed in. The reason I recommended Tera to hold back is that Einar and Eline can get fiercely competitive if you beat them too badly. They aren’t sore losers or anything, but you better be prepared for another game if they lose too quickly.
In truth I made that game just so the two and Valoa could learn some strategy, and it somewhat worked. Valoa actually didn’t like the game because of the competitive nature of Einar and Eline, so it wasn’t a complete success. But Einar and Eline like the game and it is fun to play with them, so I don’t regret making it.
But now that I was done with Tera, I could move onto the next pick up so I hurried back to the teleporter room.
Next up on my list was Cressida, William and Daniel, as well as an extra person whom I didn’t invite. She was Leahlina Garner, daughter of Mateo and Angelina Garner, aka a first cousin of Daniel and Alice. Or the niece of William. I didn’t invite her, as I honestly didn’t remember her, so the boys must have shared their invite with her. I did allow people to bring a +1 after all. Or more like a + however many family members you want to bring, but they do have to be family.
All four of them were at the Sawyer estate, so that was an easy one. And of course Cressida has visited HomeBase before when Mariina’s evolution happened, so it won’t be a big shock to her. But they boys might have a reaction. It is a bit of a shame that they have to take a day off school for this, but let’s be honest, it is the school’s fault for only giving them one day off a week.
The pick up was no problem, and after some quick introductions, I was off for my next pick up.
Next up was the Prime Minister. It feels a bit wrong for him to be next, but that is just how it is. Along with him came his wife as well as his son and daughter. He did inform me of this beforehand and I allowed it. What I didn’t allow is a security entourage. If they want to come to my Home, they have to trust me enough that I’ll keep them safe.
Again the pick up was no problem, but they had a lot of questions when it came to HomeBase. The PM isn’t as used to my usual antics after all, and is probably less adaptable than someone like Tera.
But just because the PM was here, doesn’t mean that I’m done. I still have three more pick ups to do.
The next ones on the list were the first of the Royalty. Somehow all five members of the Royal family had agreed to come, and of course it fell on me to pick them up. Starting with Her Majesty Nelliel and Princess Nevelle. The two of them weren’t quite ready when I beamed myself to the yard of the Queen’s villa, so I had to buy some time while the guards were questioning how I got in. I just honestly told them that their security is mediocre, before I had some discussions on how to make it better. I honestly have no idea how they didn’t arrest me or something, but maybe this was just my lucky day. Or maybe they just played ball because I wasn’t actually doing anything bad and I was giving them some legitimately good hints on how to better the security at the villa. Though most of it comes from the data Endy had collected while he was keeping an eye on this place.
Luckily before we ran out of things to discuss, Her Majesty came outside with her daughter and solved the small issue. From there, we just headed straight for HomeBase. Nevelle of course already knew the process, as she had experienced coming down from HomeBase, so no difficulty there.
Next up and my second last pick up of the day was His Highness Prince Elias. I picked him up at the Castle grounds, so I had to be just a bit careful as to not repeat what happened with Her Majesty. So I waited until he was outside near the pick up spot, before beaming myself down and then taking both of us up to HomeBase. This really made me realize how easy it would be for me to kidnap someone using the HomeBase teleporters. I could just target one form HomeBase and activate it from here. As long as someone stands where said invisible beam lands, they’ll be forced to come up here whether they want to or not.
While I was taking Elias to the venue, I also noticed Alice coming in with her ship. She was the last one coming in, as she had to do two trips. First to the Alewatch/Sawyer area and then to the completely different direction to pick up Earl Marsh and Sylvia. Also known as Alice’s aunt and her husband.
It was a shame I couldn’t spend too much time with all the guests that had come in, but I still had one more pick up to do, so I quickly returned to the teleporter.
Of course last but not least was His Majesty the King and the first Prince. Getting them was actually surprisingly easy, as I beamed myself down to an inner courtyard of the Royal Castle, in an area where only the Royal family and some very selected servants can access.
From there, I gave them the same explanation as what I’d given five times previously today, called down a beam for us, and zoomed us all up to HomeBase.
And then just a short walk afterwards, we were in the party venue. And since all the guests are here, we are ready to begin.