Strawberry Devil in a Fantasy World

While Kanoko was staying my home, I had her rest in of my guest rooms inside the mansion. Right now, it was just the two of us.

Let's finish this quickly...

"So, what business was so important you had to discuss it right now?"

"There are plans from the royal and imperial family to retake the two lost territories. While we were try to negotiate a deal, they were reorganizing their forces in preparation for an all out battle in case negotiation failed."

"Wait, first of all, where are they getting new forces from? Regular citizens can't just suddenly become trained combatants. Second of all, most if not all the people in those two kingdoms are dead. There's nobody left. You know where I'm coming from, right? I can't participate in your all out wars. My positions requires me to remain neutral much like the guardians. A little side business here and there is about all I can manage."

"It was only after coming to your world that I finally understood. You're literally like a god. You pass judgements onto evildoers, do you not?"

"No, not really. My position is basically a mediator and an enforcer for highly evolved beings along with some menial tasks that only I could do. I can't really meddle too much with mortal's affairs."

"Unfortunately, the upper echelon don't understand your position. As a citizen, you have to participate in our war and that is their stance." She looked at me with stern gaze.

I definitely understood where she was coming from but things could get ugly if I took a side. I could probably wipe a country off the map overnight if I tried.

"I'll renounce my citizenship if I must but I believe that'll be a serious loss to the empire."

"Indeed. Is it too much to ask if you could speak with the Highland Emperor? As you know, although my authority is high within the kingdom of Teir, this is beyond me. With words getting twisted along its way to the highest authority, it could only exacerbate the situation. I really fear the worst case scenario for you."

In other words, there was a limit on how much she could cover for me. I wouldn't want to be excommunicated from the empire either. Sure I could use disguises but if I had to do so every time I visited that country, it would be quite the hassle. Surely, the higher ups could loosen things up a bit for someone like me?

"Fine, I'll pay a visit to the emperor after we sightsee the Abyssal Gate. I just hope he's not some grumpy old man."

Her lips curved into a faint smile, "You'll see when you meet him. Onto the next matter..."

"There's more?"

"Remember those pills? Nutrient pills? The royal family would like them to be supplied to the military. The first batch should be enough to last one battalion for eight weeks."

"Wait, wait, eight weeks? One battalion? That's quite... Alright, it's doable but I'll see to it after I speak to the Highland Emperor."

Our discussion continued for another hour or so on logistics. It wasn't just the pills, but they also wanted me to supply weapons and armors. At some point, I had to stop our discussion. It was no longer whether I could produce those things or not but rather they were trying to drag me into their war one way or another.

Personally, if they just wanted me to supply a bit of my specialty food, I was perfectly alright with it, a small business transaction. War supplies was a separate matter.

"Let's set this matter aside for now. Looks like a chat with this Highland Emperor isn't avoidable. He's not as unreasonable as the Hero King, right?"

"You'll have to be the judge."

This doesn't sound good, not at all. I understand but I don't understand. Looks like a show of power might be needed for our initial greetings. 

Since night time was only implemented moments ago, the earliest residents had to adjust their circadian rhythm. I wasn't going to volunteer myself to adjust them.

With Kanoko going to sleep, I paid our two freeloaders, Mufy and Vintelo, a visit. As usual, they were in the middle of an intense match, over a board game.

"Are you two going to play around all day? I'm thinking of giving you two some work to do."

"Work? A job?"

"Is it dangerous?"

"Don't worry, it's nothing dangerous."

I gave them a brief rundown of the tasks they would be doing. It was really quite simple a job.

My goal was to set up an international business.

The first step was to create an outpost with an inn attached. Preferably, I would like my outpost on a trading route where merchants would often use. As time went on, decades or perhaps centuries, the outpost would become a town or even a city. That was all assuming I had set up everything correctly and people actually visited the outpost at all.

Long story short, they just had to man a trading outpost in the wilderness. This would be after I negotiated with leaders of various countries because I needed to ensure there would be merchants coming and to declare the sovereignty of any outposts operated under my name.

"For now, I'm going to create a replica of the outpost I want to build. You'll live there and let me know how it'll fare against monster and bandit attacks, and things like that. You can still umm... play your board games at your leisure."

I wonder if they'll end up being merchants or chess grandmasters first...

With such a simple task, the two of them readily agreed to assist me. Obviously, that wasn't the end of it. Once they agreed to the first part, I continued onto the next part. Again, it was a simple task. I had them grow and harvest strawberries. It reminded me of the kobolds.

Anyhow, again they readily agreed to help.

Needless to say, I wasted no time in constructing that outpost. It was situated a couple hundred meters away from the residential area. A patch of farmland was added with strawberry seeds partially sowed.

Despite no longer being a strawberry fairy, I still retained all those abilities and traits in one form or another. Hence, growing them couldn't be any easier.

At some point, I wanted to be able to get money without putting in the labor! It was an absolutely marvelous ambition.

For the rest of the night, I spent that time with Smoothie. I owe her that much at least. When morning came, unable to keep her eyes open, she fell asleep.

"Sweet dreams, Smoothie. I'll be back soon."

After breakfast, just before the two of us departed from my subspace, Kanoko brought up a suggestion.

"Berry, you should name that place."

"My subspace?"

"Yes. Isn't it normal to name places? We name people, villages, cities, and countries."

"You have a point. Since you brought it up, any suggestions? I literally just refer to this place as my subspace."

"I'd say since you were originally a Strawberry, and that this place can be like a paradise for people, how about Strawberry Arcadia?"

"That name is kind of embarrassing...?"

"I'll just leave it you then! It's your home after all." She grinned.

"Hmm... Since it's subspace where I can live in peace, I'll call it Plane of Ataraxia from now on, or abbreviate to Ataraxia."

The name itself might be difficult for beastfolks to pronounce it wasn't like many would come to know about this place.

"Interesting. I've never heard of that word before. I'm glad it now has a proper name."

"Right, now we have that out of the way, let's go!"

Conquering her fear of height wasn't an overnight thing. In fact, it was still night time in the mountains, the same place where we entered my subspace.

"It is as if time hasn't passed." Kanoko remarked with a hint of bewilderment.

"Exactly. I can adjust the flow of time inside my subspace, ahem, Plane of Ataraxia. Amazing, right? Now if you close your eyes, we'll arrive at the Abyssal Gate in no time."

"But... That would mean I can't conquer my fear."

"So what if it takes you a bit longer to conquer your fear? The good thing is, during night time, as long as you're not afraid of the dark, it shouldn't be as bad as day time."

She eyed me with suspicion. "Really?"

"You'll find out! Let's go! No time to waste." I smirked before lifting her with a gust of wind. This time, instead of flying face down, I had her fly face up looking up at the stars.

With my guardian tracking radar, locating the ones guarding the Abyssal Gate was a simple matter. I landed outside of a temple seemingly dedicated to a local guardian of this desolated place. Looking from the ground, the islands were actually quite some distance away.

Even from up close, this region was giving nothing but dangerous vibes. During daytime, aside from floating chunks of earth and ghastly fog, this place was barren. During nighttime, pinkish and purplish mists drifted about shrouding this area with an eerie glow.

"We've arrived." I announced as I helped her onto her feet.

The entire trip, Kanoko had remained still, and perfectly silent. Either she was just soaking up glittering starlight or simply scared stiff, I liked to believe she was the former.

She exhaled deeply before replying with a "thanks."

"Let me know if you feel unwell."

"I'm perfectly fine!"

"I mean, strange mana is still being leaked out of the barrier. If it's too much for you to bear, I'll send you back to your office immediately."

"Berry, you don't need to be concerned about me. How long do you think I've been around for? I can handle at least this much."