After Amelia, Rhea, and Mira departed, Mina slipped into the study.
"Master, Florence is all settled in," Mina said, hopping up to sit on the corner of the desk. She swung her legs back and forth, her cat tail swishing rhythmically as she stretched her body.
"Master, who is that woman exactly?" Nicole asked, her curiosity piqued.
"A mermaid. Her name is Florence," Lucas replied with a slight smirk.
"Wait... a mermaid?!" Both Annie and Nicole stared at him, their eyes wide with shock.
"That's right. She's a mermaid we rescued from the Whispering River," Mina added. She reached into a box on the desk and pulled out two pieces of spicy dried fish.
"Hiss... that's actually really spicy!" The cat-eared girl stuck her tongue out, grabbing Lucas's water cup and taking three large gulps. She then recounted the story of how they had saved Florence, leaving the other two girls dazed.
"A mermaid... I've never even seen one before," Annie mused.
"Master, should we prepare a pool for her?" Nicole asked, thinking practically. "Don't fish need to stay in the water?"
"Not for now. Once her injuries heal, we can take her to the hot springs. If she finds it too hot, I'll just have someone dig a pool in the backyard," Lucas said. Florence was his primary source of intelligence regarding the lands across the sea; he didn't believe the situation over there was as simple as she had described.
Besides, he had already planned to build a swimming pool in the backyard. This was just a good excuse to get started.
"Master, do you really think Rhea will bring her people here?" Annie asked, resting her chin on her hands while her fox ears twitched. "Rhea seemed... a bit dismissive. Like she was just humoring us."
Annie had observed the entire exchange. Rhea had never once given Lucas a straight answer, which usually suggested a lack of resolve or a lack of trust.
"Don't worry, she'll agree," Lucas said confidently. He could already imagine the look on their faces at the Air Force base.
When they realized that the sky was no longer the exclusive domain of the birdkin, they would feel a profound sense of urgency. They would start to worry about what would happen to their race if he began mass-producing hang gliders for everyone else.
Seeing Lucas's confidence, Annie dropped the subject and pivoted to internal affairs. "Master, the renovations inside the castle are complete. Would you like to take a look?"
Before his last trip, Lucas had left a list of tasks, including the initial modification of the current castle. While a new, secret castle was being built, it would take a year or two to finish; improving the old one in the meantime was essential.
"Oh? Are the conduits all in place?" Lucas's eyes lit up. He scanned the study and spotted a small section of piping and wiring tucked into the corner of the room.
He was finally bringing electricity to the castle. At the very least, he wanted light bulbs. He was tired of reading by candlelight—he didn't want to ruin his eyesight. He felt he was now powerful enough to reveal electric lights within the castle; even if word leaked out, he had the military might to handle any fallout.
For now, he was only installing them in his study, his bedroom, and the rooms of the beast-girls. He also planned to bring over a few appliances for his personal use—like a printer. Using movable type for his private documents was just too inefficient.
Lucas had actually commissioned a studio on Earth to develop a custom Input Method Editor (IME) for this world's script. Since the local language didn't exist in any database, he had spent months collecting over 5,000 characters and symbols with the help of the merchant Joe. Once the software was ready, his administrative work would move at light speed.
"Master, every room now has these white pipes and wires," Annie reported.
"Excellent." Lucas smiled. "And the canal in the backyard? Is that finished?"
He had brought the wiring and PVC pipes from Earth and provided detailed blueprints for Annie to supervise the installation.
"Yes. We followed the drawings—wide at the top and narrow at the bottom. The water pressure is very strong," Annie said, her fox tail wagging.
"Mina, find two people we can trust. I have some work for them," Lucas instructed. He was referring to the light bulb installation. He couldn't do every room himself, and the basic wiring wasn't that difficult.
The real challenge lay in the hydroelectric generator and the solar power setup. To prepare, he had actually installed a dual system in his yard back on Earth so he could learn the mechanics through hands-on experience. Using both sources would ensure a steady power supply and provide a backup if one failed.
"Master, why not let us do it?" Mina suggested, licking some spicy sauce off her fingers. "Me, Freya, and Gaba can handle it."
"No," Lucas shook his head. While outsiders wouldn't know exactly what they were installing, he preferred to be cautious.
He was already planning large-scale power grids for the future. Even if it took decades to fully implement, it was better than having no plan at all. Digesting the knowledge he brought from Earth would take this world centuries, but he wasn't trying to force a specific path. He wanted to give them direction and see what otherworldly versions of technology they might invent.
'Maybe one day,' He thought, 'They'll find a way to use water as fuel instead of gasoline. I'll provide the spark; let's see what kind of fire they build.'
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