164: Butcher

Walking up the stairs, Archie bowed.

“Welcome back, sir. I have some good news to report. The butchery room you requested has been finished well ahead of schedule and is ready for your inspection. Also, the salt has arrived, and all seven barrels have been left in the kitchen,” he said.

Looking back at Liane, who was coming up the stairs as well, she already had a grin on her face, so I knew where we were heading next.

“Lead on then, please, Archie. I’d love to see it!” I said excitedly.

Archie straightened up and led us into the house, turning towards the dining room and kitchen. Before long, I finally saw a set of wooden double doors in the wall that Milo had destroyed. You’d never have known it was destroyed at some point now. It all blended perfectly with the surrounding walls.

Archie approached the doors and opened them. I noticed then that they were considerably heavier and thicker than all the other doors in the house so far, and entering the room I also spotted two runes on the wall.

“Welcome to the new butchery room. It’s rather basic right now, but I’m sure over time we can convert it to better suit your needs. Currently, it has two runes on the side: the first one having a cooling function to keep this room cold, then the next has a cleaning function of sorts. It will flood the floor, washing away any blood into one of the four drains in the corners,” he explained, activating the cold rune on the wall.

I didn’t notice any difference, but that was likely Crisplet’s doing. He currently seemed to be fascinated by the drain in the corner.

Deciding to test the room a little, I moved forward and pulled out the Titan Boar, which would have been the second-largest item I currently had. It hit the ground with a heavy thud, causing Archie to jump ever so slightly.

I stared up at the colossal beast in front of me, and I was just about to butcher when a small cough sounded from the door.

“Trev, before we lose you for a few hours, best we debrief on what happened,” Milo said from the doorway.

With a sigh, I stored the boar away.

“Before we leave, you should test the drake just to make sure it does not damage the place. If it does, Archie can get it sorted,” Liane whispered.

Nodding, I moved the drake from storage, and it just fit inside, with spikes on the creature’s back barely not touching the roof.

“My, that’s an enormous beast,” Archie said, looking up at it.

With a smile, I stored it again, calling Crisplet to the brazier, noticing the room temperature drop almost immediately when he entered the brazier. With only one thing left to try, I activated the floor-cleaning rune as we were walking out, and it appeared like four jets in the centre of each wall opened up.

The water spray grew wider and wider, but at no point did it splash out onto the kitchen floor.

“That’s really handy,” Milo said, looking over my shoulder at the scene.

We made our way back to the library. I gave Cameron a wave as we passed. He was currently dusting the statue in the middle of the hall. I had not seen him since the night we lost all our staff, even though Archie mentioned he remained.

Taking a seat in the library, Hari was already waiting with Jen and Micca. Liane had already skipped ahead and was seated in a chair in the corner.

“Liane has filled us in with most of what was said, Trev. Well, the very brief notes, and what she felt the main goal for the meeting was, and I have to agree. We have received a message in return from the king. He will address our concerns before the dinner, and Kathrine will visit tomorrow afternoon to discuss it,” Hari began.

“Not the king?” I asked.

Milo chuckled. “No, the number of visits the king has made is already unheard of and breaking every expectation. It’s honestly for the best he keeps the house visits to a minimum. Also, we need to visit the palace again so you can complete that quest, right?” he said.

I just nodded. That made sense. Part of me was surprised that Luis had not visited again yet, but I didn’t really want to invite him. I knew that Darren and George would benefit from his training, but I was getting distracted…

“I also agree with Liane’s assessment that there is really no point hiding too much anymore. If the houses are already discussing it as fact, and the royal family already knows, we can hide some of the more extreme things, perhaps like speed, perhaps some of your more extreme stacks, and especially permanent stats, but I think the rest you just own it,” Hari said.

“Ultimately, Trev, you’re basically sixteen now. You’re an adult in this kingdom, so it’s your choice, and we’ll respect it,” Jen said.

“The other concern is people trying to pit you against the king and claim you want to take his throne. It’s best you address that as soon as possible,” Hari said.

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I just nodded. Again, I wanted nothing to do with it.

“I would wait until the king has his discussion with Sylverith when she returns before you request the dark forest holding. I imagine Sylverith is going to ask the king to stay away from her land anyway, so it’ll help him out by giving it to you,” Milo said.

“Yes, that’s smart. He won’t go against the dragon, so it would make that land essentially worthless to him. That’s good,” Hari nodded.

“So, about the store?” Micca put her hand up.

“Ah yes. Well, if Trev decides to come out in the open, we can boost up your supply. It’ll work well for you, and it’ll work well for Trev in getting experience. Importantly, you will need to hire more guards and perhaps keep Darren and George as assistants or training guards,” Milo said.

“We can do that,” I said.

“I think turning the bottom floor into a cafe is ideal as well,” Micca said.

“Then let’s get builders on it right away. We want you to set up and operating before we leave the capital,” Jen said.