Chapter 536: Expanding (4)

"How..? What? This is... impossible..."

Renna was still standing by my side, the red head watching on with awe as I began to work on expanding this floor outwards some to fit everything that I wanted to do, specifically in regards to the children's area that would be heading more towards the middle of our compound.

A shovel was in my hands, and on my other side Rhefia stood with a slightly bored expression, the Deerkin using her magic to keep the soil in place whilst I dug out the area of the new addition, and just like before, my body moved on its own, my form perfect as I stabbed the shovel into the dirt and wrenched it loose, only for the dirt around the head of the shovel to disappear as it was added to my inventory.

"Where is it going?! And I understand that you're holding the soil in place, but still! This..! This isn't..!"

"Lady Duchess, Renna, I would suggest suspending your disbelief whenever you are around Astra. She isn't normal, she doesn't do normal things, her mind isn't normal... and her abilities are reality bending at best and reality shattering at worst. Just... gonna have to get used to it, I fear."

I pouted as I glanced at Rhefia, who just shrugged and added "You aren't normal, Astra, but that doesn't mean it's a bad thing. Makes you unique. Makes you all the more desirable~!", which made my pout lessen, though I still huffed as I turned back to digging without a word.

My inventory was limitless by all accounts at this point, and already - as I was in the middle of digging - I was having the soil turned into clay, which only needed dirt and water according to the recipe in my System.

That clay would then be placed into a furnace for bricks, which I would then make use of for the foundation of the room, but I was also wanting to research a way to strengthen the bricks via magic, which might make this take longer than I wanted... but if they could be strengthened, it would be well worth the effort.

I mean, I could imbue metals with my mana to create a new alloy, so couldn't I do that same thing with other materials as well?

And if I could, I guess that means I needed to replace the entire house with this updated material to strengthen everything, right..?

That made me sigh, the realization that I always made more work for myself than anyone else did - and more than anyone else could by a mile - making me rather tired already, but I knew it was for a good purpose and entirely worthwhile in the long run, so I just kept working as I thought up new ideas and things I could do.

The best would be to have Rhefia imbue the bricks with her Earth Mana, since it was a far more 'defensive' mana than my own and far more easily hidden what with it being beneath the earth, and I was also...

Not entirely comfortable building a room for children out of bricks infused with either Blood or Dark Mana, since I had already seen just how insidious they could be when left idle; something that ate other mana types simply by being near them wasn't something I wanted around my babies.

Besides, I could still remember the fear in Kalia's eyes when she was a child after seeing my magic, and considering I was ensuring that everyone in this family had the ability to see the threads, well...

I can't even begin to imagine what a room made out of Blood and Dark infused materials would look like, and especially not what it would feel like to be inside; even as the owner of those magics, I felt a shiver run across my body at the mere thought of it, but...

Just like the wine I had made, perhaps it would serve its purpose one day, and perhaps I should go ahead and work on a 'secret' room meant entirely for that purpose...

"Astra, what are you going to use to build this room? Are those materials... in you..?"

Renna bit her lip as she asked that, the confusion on her face making me chuckle as I nodded, taking my mind off of that and instead replying "All of what I need is 'inside' me, yes. Speaking of, Rhefia, I think I want to try and have you infuse the bricks with Earth Mana, to strengthen them and ensure this room can't be damaged... be it from inside, or outside."

Initially, Rhefia was staring at me with a frown that made it clear she thought the idea of infusing bricks to be boring and not worth her time - something that I couldn't really blame her for since I knew the Deerkin wanted to be outside hunting again - but after I mentioned the idea of outside attacks, that frown faded and she nodded, albeit with a sigh.

"Are you worried that someone would come and attack you? Who?"

"No one at the moment, at least anyone that I could think of, but again, it's better to be safe than sorry. This would ensure that the room is protected naturally, and maybe later I can add some actual spells to the area to further protect it. But otherwise, it's just precaution. Besides... now that I have a Duchess in my grasp, I imagine there might some more intrigue into me and my family. Intrigue that could be superficial and harmless, or intrigue that might bring problems..."

The red head pursed her lips before nodding, her sky blue eyes hardening for a moment as she said "I wouldn't let anyone hurt you, Astra!", only to blush when I turned back to her and smiled, finding her proclamation amusing and warming.

"I know, Renna, I know, but to say that you will always be here, and always be ready for an attack or something is idiocy on both our parts. So again, I'll be safe and cautious. But thank you, my love~! I appreciate that~!"