Everyone in Flotol is currently gathered to listen to me talk, I am, quite literally, standing on top of a soap box. Well, not a soap box, but a crate still counts right? Anyway, the reason why we're all gathered here is simple: I have an announcement to make and wanted everyone to listen to it.

  Most of the people who came were either children or young adults, the ones who I wanted— adults. — were short in number, consisting of either wives or old men who didn't have work to do.

  "So, as you all may know, Flotol is currently going through a lot of changes, the most obvious one would be the wall now surrounding the lifeless pool." Nods came around the group at that. "But I want to do more than just that, I want this place to change, understood?"

  Another wave of nods, good, they seem like they want to listen and follow my lead. Did this obedience come from fear? Quite possibly, this is why I'm planning on adding the carrot, entice them so to say.

  "I will be offering jobs, and it will pay around 2 silvers a day and three meals during working hours." Usually, when it comes to jobs given to the lower class, paying with food is more than good enough. "Okay, put your hands down, I'm not asking for workers... Yet, let me explain what's the job is first."

  Look how eager they all are! I knew that adding the silvers would be a good idea!

  "The job is to make you all repair your houses." Now hands are waving enthusiastically. "As well as reinforcing the raft, and just making Flotol more stable in general, you will be working through the end of winter so I want people who will be able to push through the cold."

  Sub classes that help with it don't need to be mentioned, I'm sure that most of these guys would have it by now right? Flotol's villagers aren't unfamiliar when it comes to winter work.

  "Okay, great, so no one lowered their hands." This is a good start, I'm sure that by the time spring starts, we would have a decent shot at actually making Flotol look aesthetically pleasing. "Let's see, the plans are..."

  Listing off what I wanted them to do took longer than I expected, and that's mostly because I wanted to sort them into certain groups. There are individuals who clearly specialized to do one thing that others can't so I want them to realize their full potential.

  Once all that is said and done, I go back home.

  "Where's dad?" I ask as I sit down on the couch. "I need his help managing the villagers, or rather, I want him to oversee them while they work."

  "Your father left for the forest I think? He was with Bylor."

  Bylor? Who's that? A new friend? Did we get another member in the council or something?

  "Really? Can you tell him that I need him to oversee the villagers later? It would be amazing if he did."

  "Of course, Rontress."

  "Thanks."

  Dad's gone for the time being and there's nothing I can do about it now, oh well, guess I have no choice but to continue taking a break.

  ... This lasted for less than half an hour. I think I was about to doze off as well. I was so tired that just sitting down made me fall asleep, so of course someone had to disturb my break to drag me away from our house!

  And that someone was, of course, none other than Ifira. She hasn't come here for two days so I thought that something else must have gotten her attention but I guess not? Well, yes, something else did make her briefly forget about me.

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  At its core though, my influence was the reason why she got distracted in the first place.

  "What is that?" I never left the couch and my body was still slumped against the cushions while I talked to Ifira, who's standing over me and holding a piece of paper? "Some kind of map?"

  "No? Why would this be a map?" She asks in return and looks at the mess of scribbles she's holding. "This is a drawing for the ice cream shop."

  Ohhhh it's a drawing! Like hell it is!

  "Well, it's still a map regardless, just the drawing kind." Sometimes, the way I bullshit my way through conversations amazes me. "So you've made designs for the ice cream shop huh? Can you let me see?"

  "Yes, also, are you sick?" The way Ifira tilted her head was like a cat eyeing prey, it's cute, yeah, but it is definitely looking for weaknesses. "You shouldn't slouch like that if you are sick, it only makes it worse."

  "Not sick, just tired." I correct her and sit straight to then meet her hand halfway through and take the drawing. "This is pretty good?" No it wasn't, it's just a box with windows but a LOT of thick lines, were the two days just her putting lines over lines?

  "Thank you, I tried my best."

  "I'm sure." By best, she meant grabbing a pencil— or quill? This looks like ink. — guess this is just the kind of thing where people assume that their rough outline looks good due to the thickness and ease it's drawn?

  "So, I was thinking, well, my mother told me that maybe you can improve upon it? We are going to run the shop together after all, so it's only natural that we both give our opinions on how it should look." She looked so smug, so happy, and so proud that she's giving me leeway.

  Really, it just tells me that she's never done this for anyone before.

  Also, I should talk to her mother huh? I can't believe there's someone in her family who Ifira treats with a semblance of normality, or hell, treats as an authority figure. How does that even happen?

  "Well, maybe we can work something out?" I managed to pull off a smile despite knowing that in order to do that, I would need to convince this girl that the drawing needs to be redone.

  "Okay, well, are you gonna start?"

  "... Ifira, how about I grab a piece of paper and draw there as well?" Please don't kill me. "Do you think that's a good idea?"

  "Of course."

  "Yeah, thought so." So she really does see me as a friend? "Well, to start, I'm gonna grab a pencil and papyrus so I can start my own rendition of this thing, and let me see here..."

  Drawing was never my strong suit, but I did have experience so there's that, and with this experience I was essentially able to make a decent looking floor plan.

  "What is that? A map?" Ifira asks.

  "A plan, blueprint? I guess?"

  "It's not blue."

  "Yeah, I know." Why do they even call it that? "But it's the same thing right? I'm basically designing the uh, interior of the store, here's proper numbers to indicate the size of it."

  Which is around 20 to 15 square feet, the tables, I decided, should be around 4 feet in diameter, allowing for four of them to exist in the four corners of the store. Not that they would get used of course, there's no way in hell people would want to stay in our shop with Ifira around.

  "What are these? Plants? Flora?" Ifira pointed to the side of the drawing, where potted plants labeled as 'AC' were placed. "What are they for?"

  "Simple: to keep the shop cool and comfortable." Then again, we'll start the shop around spring so I should probably add plants capable of heating right? Later, once I start practicing my abilities again.

  "Oh, okay." She points at another part of the shop. "And this? Why do we have a break room? Do we need that?"

  "Of course." Why wouldn't we? Didn't she see me literally about to take a doze off just now? Not taking a break from all the work just sounds painful. "Do you not take breaks?"

  "Not really, no." What? Why...

  "That can't happen okay? You need to just sit still for a bit, you know, relax?" Her confused look in response made me think she doesn't know what relaxing means. "What do you do when you sit still?"

  "Just sit? I guess? It's kinda boring."

  "You just sit, straight? Ramrod? No lethargy, you treat it like you're doing something instead of, you know, a relaxing break?"

  "Is that what you were doing when I came here? Being lazy isn't relaxation." She pointed out, which, okay? If being lazy isn't relaxing then killing people isn't murder.

  "Actually, it is relaxation, and relaxing is great! Not doing anything and not worrying about anything is amazing even, obviously I'll continue working later but sometimes? I just need a moment for myself, where I don't have to worry about deadlines and all that exhausting stuff." Does she even understand? "You get what I mean right?"

  "No, show me."

  And that was how I got this stuck up noble to realize what it means to just sit back and let loose. A normal person's activity by all means, but Ifira isn't exactly normal now is she? I should really remind myself that every time I interact with her, it gives me less things to be shocked about whenever she does or says something weird.