Chapter 141 - 141
Everything important is done for the day, so Cain starts to explore the house. Everything looks fairly normal, though there are a number of things here that were clearly recreated from the transfers previous life. Dart boards and a Foosball table in the rec room for example. With the higher levels comes increased ability, and the amenities in this house could be considered completely modern, except for the lack of electronic devices.
From a battery powered analog clock on the wall to the enchantment powered light bulbs instead of enchanted candles and lamps, it reminds him of home quite a bit.
Before going to explore the upper floor, Cain goes to the back storage room in the basement, past the gym and rec room. Across from the forge and next to the room with the spinning wheel and loom. This is where he intends to set up the Transfer Portal. The setup is simple, set it in place, link it to the Guild House in Graska, and it automatically connects to the House in Sunnybrook as well. Five minutes work and it's placed and functional.
Just like in Graska, his room is on the second floor, the last one on the right, making up one whole end of the house. The empty bedrooms Cain looked into were completely normal, uniformity and luxury were clearly the intent when the girls gave the renovation order.
That is not the case for his bedroom here. It has been left mostly in the natural white marble of the House, with curtains on the walls, thick rugs and a positively huge four post bed. It's got to be three meters across and long, as if it were a king sized mattress for giants. Cain looks around, seeing a large closet standing open, with a dressing table visible inside, and a second door along that wall that most likely leads to the bathroom.
What really catches his attention though, are the oddly shaped furniture pieces, each in exquisite white leather with light oak wood and gold trim. An S shaped bench, a flat one with a cushion on the ground that looks like it's meant to kneel on. Cain also notes eyelets mounted in the roof, as if a chandelier had been taken down, but the room has indirect lighting all around the perimeter. Then near the window, two upright metal poles. There's something dangling from them, and looking closely to determine what it is finally clues Cain in to what all the oddities in this room are. The things hanging from the posts are shackles. The furniture in this room is all intended for either bondage or discipline play.
Moving a curtain on the wall reveals a wooden cross, and another reveals a rack, compete with a hanging board full of exotic accessories.
"Misaki, can you come in here a moment?" Cain calls loud enough to be heard from her bedroom or the living room downstairs.
"What do you think? It looked pretty good, so we didn't have the renovating team change anything in this room." The Mage says, walking in to answer his call.
"How closely did you look at this room?" Cain asks curiously.
"I mean, it's beautiful, white and gold themed, thick rugs, big bed. What else is there to see?" She asks.
"Look closely, very closely." Cain says, and Misaki starts actually taking in the room.
"Wow, did not expect that. I'm sorry, we should have really changed everything, but I didn't really look and I don't think Kone recognized any of the furniture in here. She was more interested in telling me about the lighting on the dressing table and the huge tub than anything else. She didn't even mention the spanking bench."
"We can deal with it later. The bed looks comfortable enough, so I'm going to call it a day. I'll be up for breakfast before the others start arriving." He waves off the Mage, who looks a bit mortified at her mistake and closes the door behind her.
A few seconds later it opens as Laura, Nemu and Vala all come in to see the bedroom, the Demon giving an amused glance at the furniture, while the Dragon in Pixie form is testing the pillows for one with the perfect density.
"Just let it slide, I'll have the room renovated later. The girls only looked at the color scheme before deciding to leave it as is." Cain explains to Vala, who nods and goes to explore the closet. Finding nothing else of interest at the moment she leaves again, probably headed for the library, while Laura has dragged a pillow up onto the curtain hanging over the bed and Nemu is making herself comfortable on either side of the mattress.
Knowing it's going to get bright far too early for his liking, Cain sets the alarm on the classic round alarm clock by the bed and pulls the curtains closed before settling in between the Felians for the night.
He is awoken from his slumber by the sound of laughter. Opening one eye, in case he can return to sleep and not need to open the other, he spots Misha through the curtains on the bed. She's just entered the room and seen the furniture, causing the outburst of laughter.
"You don't mind if I redecorate do you?" She asks quietly, looking at the curtain surrounded bed.
"Feel free. I was going to get to it today after breakfast." Cain says as Misha starts picking up most of the furniture around the room. Cain looks through his inventory for something comfortable to wear to breakfast, settling on his usual jeans and a black silk shirt. After he moves Nemu to climb out of bed he equips a pair of boots and looks around the room.
Misha clearly came prepared, the topic must have come up last night. Maybe Misaki talked to Kone about it? But either way, she brought a white leather and Oak divan, two recliners with ottomans and a large armoire. Most of the old furniture has been picked up, but Misha left the St Andrew's cross on the wall behind a curtain and the posts by the window. Cain gives her a Questioning look and she returns a wink with a blushing face that almost makes him reconsider his plans for the day.
"How is recruitment coming along in Sunnybrook? Any good leads?" Cain asks, wrapping an arm around Misha's waist and pulling her close.
She nestles her face into his chest and sighs. "We're really popular with small children and crafters. What sort of Guild are we even trying to build?"
"Go for a family atmosphere. Find people you would like to hang out with and go from there. All we need are more up and coming members to keep the houses occupied. Even a handful in each city is as many as we've got already, and that's plenty.
"In that case, there's two older boys from the Orphanage in Graska, a cleric and a Warrior, plus a young Earth Mage woman who would be a great fit. We've been flooded with applicants in Sunnybrook, so it's taking longer to get to meet everyone properly." With just her and Dimnys on recruiting duty, and everyone else out helping the alliance with the Ogres they are a bit short handed.
Cain sets Misha as a Guild Officer, so she can recruit whoever she wants and the two head down to see who else is up, Nemu deciding at the last minute to join them, due to the alarm clock finally going off.
The topic over breakfast is the flood of potential Guild Members in Sunnybrook. Their thought, and that of Mythryll and Char in Guild chat, is that they should follow Dimnys lead in Graska and pick them young, barely beginning to level. They can carry them through the easier dungeons to rapidly bypass the lowest levels, thanks to the Guild Skill of Demon Army, and starting with youth means less of the baggage and ego that comes with some of the more experienced fighters.
The young ones growing up in the Guild, plus a few more experienced crafters who are easy to get along with should make for a good balance. Adding a third Guild House, plus their recent rewards for the battles with the Ogres has given them the option to double the size of the Guild Bank Storage, and to have up to fifty members in total. More than enough for their plans.
Lickity thinks she knows just the right crafters, a young married Elven couple who specialize in pottery and sculpture. She met them a few years ago when they were traveling, and now they're Guildless and based in Graska, she even had them in her friends list. That sounds workable, so she is going to arrange a meeting with Misha, who will be returning after breakfast.
But first, she will stop in at Graska and bring in their new members there. Party balance matters, as they won't always be in a Guild Group that can bring a small army of summons with them, plus the Lesser Demons don't really fill every role.
You can pick one that tanks, or one that does good damage but not both at the same time.. The limitations of the Lesser Golem category.