Petra was taken downstairs, where Lilly was already waiting with a large meal…
The table was packed, with steam rising from bowls and plates. Beast eggs, scrambled with a side of badger bread. Thick strips of bacon from Bear Bores, and a side of sizzling sausage stacked a hundred high, just to name a few…
Petra's eyes brightened, and she immediately jumped up onto her seat with the eagerness of a little dragon who hadn't eaten for years!
She once again displayed her bottomless appetite.
-
After eating, Lilly and Luna followed Petra outside.
She wiped her mouth with the back of her sleeve, left through the front door, and let the cool air wash over her face as a refreshing aura filled her body.
Her hair swayed in the wind, the emerald green curtain shining in the sunlight.
A week had passed since their return, and things around the house were already moving quite quickly.
She stood before the mansion, overlooking the territory of the Emerald Ghost Tree. It had only been about a year, but this place had already reverted back to a construction zone.
Looking forward, the terrace farms had yet to be replanted…
Instead of fixing the farmland, the massive stretches of layered earth were being ripped up, with many places completely overturned, all to prepare for a series of new pavilions that would be scattered around the territory.
These were meant to be flower viewing stops, small, enclosed spaces where you could sit down and relax. Each one would seat around twelve people, with small gardens surrounding them in a circle, separated from the farmland by a small cobblestone border.
There would be two or three in each direction…
-
Moving on—
The current territory was laid out like a series of rings. At the center stood the Emerald Ghost Tree, surrounded by a small inner path-like circle of stone. Beyond that sat the mansion, followed by another outer pathway encircling the first like a ring (This included the mansion in the front, and the poison garden in the back), then the massive stretch of farmland that took the majority of the territory. Past the fields ran a ring-like river, and finally, beyond that was the territory's border, along with the barrier.
The mansion followed the curvature of the Emerald Ghost Tree, so the outer path, the one dividing the mansion from the farmland, wrapped around the mansion's front face in the same curve.
The mansion's walls blocked the view of the tree, but its crown still poked out from behind.
The green at the peak of its crown shifted to an ethereal blue, followed by hanging wisteria that swayed gently in the breeze. The firefly-like spirits had not disappeared, no, if anything, they had become more abundant ever since the Ash Fire Fairy flew up.
Looking up, it was a majestic sight...
Petra followed the path, splitting her attention between the farmland on the left and the closed windows on the right.
The mansion's exterior walls were divided into segments, an aesthetic choice, and the spaces between these segments, those not empty or covered by banners, were usually filled with large planter pots or intricate foliage shaped by Mell.
Petra stopped to pick a flower as she passed.
Many parts of the mansion were under construction, most of which were small-scale work.
This didn't bother her at all.
Construction in a fantasy world was far quieter than it was on Earth, so there was nothing to really complain about. Even if there was, it would only be the slightest draft, but Petra slept so far away that you didn't even notice it.
Time passed.
When Petra finally reached the stretch of the path that passed the end of the mansion's west wing, she looked over and found that it had also been torn up. This section of the building had been stripped clean of all its materials, and a new wooden framework was already underway. This was going to be a new tower-like structure, one that would be built at the end of each hall to match the central tower's appearance, only slightly smaller, give or take a floor or two.
Petra nodded at the progress before resuming her walk.
Lilly and Luna weren't far behind…
-
The path led to the back, where Petra quietly arrived with Lilly and Luna at the Poison Garden.
She looked around, breathing in the air...
This was the only place that had already started to not only recover, but also exceed the state it was in before they had left for the second calamity, uh, the Grand Gathering...
The purple elves were hard at work transplanting the rooftop garden from the tower spider, or at least the 'tower' of the tower spider, into the true poison garden behind the Emerald Ghost Tree.
With the old came the new…
In addition to everything Petra had grown during their travels, many of the poisonous seeds she had collected were also added to the garden. It was slowly transforming into a vibrant stretch of purple, pink, and green, with spots of black, red, and white, producing a kind of noble brilliance.
Petra nodded at them as she passed by.
Their ears fluttered like wings as they waved back.
-
In the center of the Poison Garden was a large pavilion.
This place overlooked the entirety of the backyard, opening up into a vast view of flowing farmland followed by the endless forest. The scent of wood and herbs was carried by the wind, while the shining sun shone down on the land ahead.
Petra waddled over and took a seat.
During the winter, Petra spent quite a lot of time here playing board games with Nebula.
She lost all of them…
Cough!
Luna took out a tray of snacks from somewhere, and Petra casually started eating.
It was a refreshing day today. Bright, quiet, and steady, a perfect sunny day, infused with an aura that almost made the world feel slow.
It was a shame that the world outside was ending…
Alas! What trouble!
It was a nice break from the apocalypse in the west, but the destruction was impossible to forget.
She stayed here for a while, eating, enjoying the view, and thinking about her plans for this pavilion. It was going to be demolished, not because she was going to rebuild it in the same style as the other pavilions, no, Petra planned to replace it with a massive bathhouse.
This was a long time coming.
The girls had talked about it during the first calamity, around dinner time when the first snow came…
This was the perfect place to build one!
The Poison Garden blocked the view, and anyone creepy enough to peep wouldn't be able to approach. It was the perfect defense, especially for Petra and her servants, who were almost completely immune to poison. In her mind, Petra pictured it clearly, a large pantheon surrounded by violet foliage. Circular in shape, with white columns holding up a broad dome that opened in the center and looked up into the sea of stars. The size would allow for hundreds of people, but fifty could sit extremely comfortably as well.
Yeah, that sounds nice!
Petra rolled around the idea in her head.
She still wasn't 100% certain…
She mumbled to herself and took another bite of her cookie.
Her eyes drifted towards the back.
There were three large buildings being built there.
These were new buildings, detached from the rest of the mansion, and they were still in the early stages of construction. The leftmost building was going to be the 'Combat Hall', a place designed specifically for devastating fights. The rightmost building was going to be the 'Testing Hall', a place for testing dangerous experiments and explosive artifacts.
As for the central building…
Petra's lips formed a small smirk.
She could practically feel the ominous aura already radiating from its foundation.
The central building was going to be the 'Hell Hall'.
Petra bit down on her cookie, the crunch almost mimicking bone.
The name spoke for itself…
She leaned back in her seat, letting the breeze brush against her hair as she stared out over the half-built structures. The land was noisy and alive, slowly shifting towards her 'ideal retreat'.
Somehow, that made her strangely content.
Another crumb of cookie fell onto her lap, and Petra brushed it off before nodding to herself.
There was still much to build—
But the future was already taking shape...
-
After Petra finished nibbling on her cookie, twenty minutes had already passed.
Next, Petra's mind turned to the problem they faced with the storage system. They had accumulated so many things from the Second Calamity that they needed to build more space just to hold it all. This wealth was split between personal belongings, the stuff the girls used to decorate their rooms, common goods, the everyday supplies needed for the mansion to function, and treasures, the items that needed to be locked away and stored securely.
They had reached a point where the girls' rooms were full, the main storage was overflowing, and all the 'treasures' they had collected were just left out in the open.
This was a problem…
In the end, Elli suggested creating a treasury.
Not only did she volunteer to build it, but she also volunteered to manage it…
Petra found this a bit odd, considering that this strange girl seemed to have very specific 'interests', and guard duty didn't seem to align with her personality, but she wouldn't reject her.
Anyways, Petra still couldn't figure out 'Levy's plus one', so she just let Levy deal with her.
As for where the treasury would be built, Petra already had a plan.
She stood up, told the twins that she was going ahead, and disappeared with a flicker of black light, leaving Lilly and Luna to clean up her mess.
* * *
Petra blinked into the third-floor library.
The quiet room greeted her with the faint smell of fresh paper and magic ink. Soft light filtered through the tall twin windows, drifting lazily across the shelves and warming the wooden floor beneath. Dust floated through the rays of light like tiny stars, creating a gentle and inviting space. The atmosphere felt warm and familiar, like the living room of your childhood home.
Here, she found Dorthy and Bell, hard at work…
Not only were the two bookworms here, but Levy was also wandering around.
When they noticed Petra, they greeted her with a wave.
As for Levy…
She liked to stay in the library with Bell and Dorthy.
As for why…
Petra had no idea why! But she felt as if it had something to do with the secrets of the Primordial Witch Race and her bloodline! One day she would know! No rush! Mm!
As for where the connection with the witch race came from… Well, not only was Bell, Dorthy, and Levy attracted to this room, but when Luna wasn't being so attentive, Petra was sure that she spent most of her free time here as well.
The only exception to this rule was Poya, whose whole existence was an anomaly.
The library was a large cylindrical chamber with tall vertical windows on the east and west sides. It had three floors. The first floor, the ground level, was filled with furniture and all the tools needed to create a Bindery. The second and third floors formed circular walkways that wrapped around the outer edge of the room, each lined with a thin railing. These upper floors held occasional pieces of furniture, but most importantly, their walls were completely covered in books.
The center of the chamber was open from top to bottom, allowing someone on the ground floor to look straight up to the ceiling of the third floor.
With a gaze that stretched from the first floor to the third, Petra picked out Levy among the shelves.
Levy always gave Petra the feeling of an overexcited teen, the kind that likes to go to parties and mess around. She was unreliable, but with a scholarly side that somehow still blended perfectly with her personality.
Levy was wandering around the third floor, so Petra had to wave her down and call her over.
After noticing the small green dot below, Levy came down.
She used the stairs that connected the three floors of the library, taking her time...
Her slow steps echoed softly across the wooden floors, deliberate and unhurried, contrasting sharply with how fast Petra knew she could move.
Petra's cheeks puffed out while waiting.
In her mind, she was sure that Levy was doing it on purpose!
Petra had always found this rather annoying, because she was positive that Levy was very fast, but she still seemed to take her time whenever possible. She was always slow when you asked her for something, yet she always seemed to be everywhere whenever you didn't.
It was a very contradictory thing…
After Levy finally came down, Petra told her that she was ready.
Levy gave a small nod, closed the book she had been holding, and handed it neatly to Bell on her way past. Bell blinked with mild confusion before putting it away.
As they stepped through the door, the quiet atmosphere of the library faded behind them, replaced by the distant sounds of construction echoing through the distant mansion.
* * *