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You put the ship on autopilot. It's not like there's anything urgent going on, the skies being clear save for a few dots in the distance Mel informed you were merchant vessels.
"It's kind of strange, I've heard there's usually more Eastian ships around this time of year." Mel told you as she looked over a map. She'd easily tell notice the differences between them. "In the past I'd see ships leave after the harvesting season. But there's a bunch of Westphalian ships going there already even though it's still summer, and not a single Eastian one. What's up with that? Is Eastia is having it rough?" Cattleya had told you all that many of Rostchilde's properties had suffered from bandit attacks.
"I wish I was having it rough..." Herta mumbled.
"Even if Eastia is having a bad time," Before taking Herta's bait you responded to Mel's question. "That doesn't explain why there's so many Westphalian ships."
"That's true." Mel nodded. "We'll figure it out when we get there!" She smiled optimistically.
"That might take some doing, I've read that Centria is a big city... I mean, it could just be a coincidence." Herta said.
"That's also true," You agreed with the goddess.
You'd ended up discussing more about the traps she layed out, a wise thing to do with all of your absences. After some more talk between Mel, yourself, and Herta, mostly speculations about childcare (Forthwyte tended to either be too hostile or too perverse to deal with them, so she didn't have too much experience in that front) you left her to her own devices and went to check up on the others.
Ruby was doing her usual thing; going over plots and schemes. She'd made intricate plans to divide the dungeon into boiler rooms, factories, engine rooms, and a "Control Room". The last was more like a glorified hideout, but she claimed--eyes sparkling--that it would help things work more efficiently.
"This is going to take work and iron." You said after glancing at the blueprints. It wasn't the first time you'd seen them, but these were more exhaustive than before. She was open to the idea of focusing on one use more than the others, or finding a balance, though you suspected scrapping the "Control Room" would devastate her.
"It'll be worth it, Master~" She promised with her undeniably beautiful voice.
"I'm confident it will."
"Thank you." She looked smug, then she shifted gears into a sadder tone. "It's unfortunate some of the rooms down there collapsed. We could, of course, make the necessary arrangements to expand in those areas again..." Ruby let the idea hang in the air, though you could see right through what she was trying to do. It was risky, and would take more time, but more space would help in the long run...
"I'll think about it."
"That's all I ask, Master~"
After sharing another cup of tea with Ruby, you excuse yourself, goddess in tow.
As you're walking around to find someone else, you can feel your <span class="mu-r">status board</span> trying to tell you something. You open it up.
