It was about time to start heading back for dinner. Rhea had her fill with teasing and settled on a few she couldn’t decide on. I ended up buying them all for her which won a cheery smile and hug from her. The store clerk applied the twenty percent discount at checkout and the total came out to five emerald coins.

I was shocked to find out the outfit for Eris was more than half of the cost of everything altogether. The rings were about the same price as the outfits for Rhea. It still hurt to hand over five emerald coins even if money wasn’t an issue anymore. It would take me a long time to get used to blowing away money. I reminded myself that these were gifts and to not think of it as wasting funds. That helped calm my nerves down a lot.

Just as I stored the weapons into my ring earlier, I made sure no one was watching and stored all the items we bought into the ring. Things were bustling with people going in and out of our home. The majority of items such as furniture were brought in with delivery vehicles through the loading bay. So many bunk beds, tables, and parts for creating more shower rooms.

It was hectic inside with a mix of contract workers and others that needed to assist. Most of our people were stationed outside to help as movers, while a majority were out in groups doing separate lists of shopping for necessities.

It was an hour before scheduled dinnertime and to my surprise the speed at which the workers finished everything was outstanding. Alexa and Lily must have agreed on the premium deluxe package when it came to service speed. Magic really sped manual labor up a butt-ton. Good thing I didn’t have to crunch numbers anymore. It was Alexa that found me first as I stood near the center overlooking the progress in a daze.

“Eris and Tessa organized groups to split up and go shopping. The food should be here any moment and the cafeteria was the first thing we had the workers finish. They will continue working through our meal, but should be finished no later than 10 PM.” Alexa shouted loud enough to hear over all the ambient ruckus.

I didn’t want to shout back so I showed her my new ring and linked both mine and Rhea’s to her own. That was much better; we were able to communicate telepathically through the ring. She told me about how they were building a division for the shower and restrooms, in addition to the ones already in place. The women required more space since our guy to girl ratio was heavily one-sided.

Alexa also mentioned how she wanted to keep male and female quarters separate just in case. I didn’t have an issue with any of her plans. Everyone’s living quarters would be throughout the second and third floor. The fourth was where my room and those closest to me would stay.

Eris and the others arrived right on time for dinner. The food laid spread out on several impromptu foldable tables. Everyone sat around the two long rectangular dining hall tables as they got their food. Alexa implored it would be a good idea to give a toast before we ate our dinner. I agreed, already planning to do so before the end of the night and now works too.

“Welcome to everyone here, I am Volatis. I’m still young and inexperienced so I’ll be relying on everyone. Let’s give a special thanks to the incredible people that made this whole transition as painless as possible. Alexa, Eris, and Tessa. If anyone needs help feel free to approach me or any of them. Also a special thanks to Lily for taking over the role as our financial advisor and accountant.” They all received warm applause and continued once it settled down.

“Take this time to enjoy our new home and get to know each other. It’ll be a late start tomorrow, so everyone can get a good night’s rest. We will meet outside in the courtyard at 10AM for some light exercising. I’ll have Alexa and Tessa hand out individual training routines that I prepare for each of you after a one on one mock battle to gauge your abilities. But anyways more explanation on that later, let’s eat!” That speech felt longer than planned and hoped it wasn’t too much all at once. I quickly got over it after watching everyone dig into their food.

Today was a long day. I can’t blame any of them. Eris was sitting next to me and I told her about today’s events. I also listened to her talk about her day. It was rare for her to openly talk about herself. The conversation carried on after finishing our meals. It was the perfect opportunity to present the gifts to the three of them.

I cleared up some space on the table and summoned the gifts one by one. I handed the gauntlets to Tessa to try on first. She jumped up on the chair out of excitement, throwing out a few quick jabs with them on. It was hilarious to see her acting like a child. Her entire outlook and mood did a complete turnaround after Eris cured her terminal illness. She became brighter each day. “I’ll be able to join the hunts! Thank you so much, master!” Tessa hugged me tightly.

“Not quite yet, only when I say you’re ready to join us, okay?” I made sure she agreed as I wanted her to be safe when the time came to battle monsters.

Alexa was up next as I wanted to keep Eris’s gift for last. I felt the gift for her was the most special out of the three. Alexa carefully accepted the rapier with both hands and unsheathed it in one fluid motion. Swordplay must have been one of her past times as a slave.

She wielded it with familiarity and enacted a few stabbing strikes. I stopped her before something bad happened and told her to test the light beam feature outdoors, tomorrow rather than now. We didn’t need any newly created holes in our renovated home.

“Master, you didn’t have to. I will always cherish it.” Alexa smiled and leaned over to place a surprise kiss on my forehead. I instinctually raised my hands up while looking at Eris to see her already squinting both eyes. I quickly got around to unwrapping her outfit gift and handed it over.

Eris went to the changing room on the first floor, coming back a few minutes later. She looked adorable in the new outfit. It made her look like a sweet innocent princess that was ready for their first ballroom dance. The dress complimented her every step and the resizing meant it would alter as she continued to grow older. All that mattered was if she liked it and the first one to compliment was Tessa.

Good one, Tessa! I swear that caused a slight blush from Eris.

“Like it?” I wanted to make sure.

“I love it! It’s the prettiest dress I’ve ever worn!” Eris hugged me and I couldn’t help but reciprocate the feeling. She was the first true friend I’ve ever had and I wanted her to know how much that meant to me.