Imai was the name of the 'Tower City' that covered the mountain plateau around the Sky Tower.
If Sevensen was a sprawling city that stretched freely across the vibrant plains, and the Solarin Castle was a mountain fortress dug into the Blackstone Mountain Range and ruled by discipline and a strict order, then Imai was a human masterpiece, the perfect union of freedom and order, a grand sight that practically radiated its own emotions.
It covered the whole mountain, breaking out into dozens of smaller sub-cities that rose from the mountainside. The twisting white mist, golden birds, and marble stone mixed together to create an irreplaceable scene. Soft bells and magic hums filled the city, second only to the constant chatter of the thousands of pedestrians that constantly filled the streets. The air was clean and fresh, smelling slightly of mint. The atmosphere was light and relaxing, unlike the hidden tension of Sevensen, or the constant observation of Solarin.
Unlike the rest of the continent, which followed a 'medieval design', Imai had begun to evolve into something that resembled 'gothic architecture'. Its tall buildings were grey and white, illuminated by intricate lines of golden light that wove through the streets, branched through the stone foundation, and intertwined to form a vast magical circle that spanned the entirety of the mountain, its purpose unknown. Vibrant green forests and well-maintained gardens added vibrant life throughout the city, while white spires of unknown purpose rose from every few blocks.
Finally…
The runes that covered the entirety of Imai were like nothing that could be found anywhere else around the continent, no, perhaps even the world.
They were built upon the standard foundation of the human rune system, yet they somehow seemed to swim with something more, a kind of celestial pride that was reflected by the spirituality sealed by the craftsmen. They were carved into the white marble and the smooth stone that formed every building in the city, glowing with a spiritual light so refined that the city seemed to almost tremble in wait for its ascension to an even higher height.
All of this, and we still haven't even touched the Sky Tower.
* * *
Petra's arrival at Imai came slightly before schedule, leaving a little over a week before the Grand Gathering began.
After her stay at the Solarin Castle, Petra discovered that her small medicinal shop worked slightly differently than she originally had thought.
The miniaturized version of the Emerald Ghost Tree's barrier didn't just function as an 'absolute cloak' that Petra could turn on and off, instead, Petra learned that when it was active, the 'fate' element could actually draw certain people and certain things into her medical shop, almost like a fateful encounter, only on an extremely small scale.
This worked because it wasn't targeted at Petra, instead, it drew a fate line that either attracted people who needed the shop, or certain individuals who had relationships with the maids in the shop. In addition to basically being a walking plot magnet, Petra also discovered that 'those who sought the tower' would never be able to find it, at least, not as long as the barrier was up.
Petra presented her immature findings to Levy, who quickly confirmed her suspicions. Not only that, but Levy also gave Petra a crude way to tweak this 'attraction' before she could learn to do it herself.
-
Petra once again swaggered her way through the front door, skipped all the security checks, and found a place in the northern district of the central city to nonchalantly plop down the tower.
Unlike before, when she immediately turned off the barrier and opened for business, Petra changed her plans to leave the 'fate lottery' on autopilot, then wait to see who the tower would attract. This was partially because she was interested, and partially because she was worried that Imai, or the Sky Tower, would detect and attack the Tower Spider.
What Petra didn't know was that this had already happened, but she was only caught by a single apprentice, and he was currently going crazy because nobody believed him.
After setting down the tower, it became time to set up shop.
-
Petra began by sending the twelve human maids to gather information, get a better understanding of the layout of the city, and find out the schedule for the Grand Gathering.
After that, she gave up and ordered Mell to take care of the rest.
Following a very long sigh, Mell commanded the beast girls to spread out and set up shop.
The tables were scrubbed clean, the floor was swept, and the medicinal displays were rearranged. The front desk was reorganized, and every window was washed until it fell into self doubt.
While that was underway, the owl obsessively filled out the inventory checklist, and the raccoon did one final inspection, fully displaying her terrifying level of thriftiness.
Once everything downstairs was in order, the four bunny Beastmen headed upstairs to change. Unlike the normal maid costumes that Petra made everybody wear, the bunny girls were allowed to wear special outfits when they were serving the front.
As the store's main staff continued to prepare, we turned to the others.
The three green elves were hard at work harvesting the poison garden, The dwarven sisters were hidden away and diligently crafting something that Petra had secretly requested, and the cockatiel beastman was crying alone, cursing her cruel fate.
Unlike the others, the Cockatiel Beastmen was exclusively responsible for producing all the medicine used by the residents of the Tower Spider. The worst part about this entire situation was that she happily subjected herself to it. After being stuffed with so much advanced alchemy knowledge that she could practically explode, she discovered that the only way to relax her mind was to throw herself into a tedious grind of endless concocting.
-
Mell was busy, and Petra had disappeared, but that didn't mean that the others were idle.
Soryn took Wind into the city for a shopping spree. They visited many iconic locations, and bought countless things.. These two were like sisters, carelessly running around, buying whatever they liked, and completely disregarded Petra's dwindling purse.
Like the two silver sisters, Rose also chose to head out into the city. Unlike Soryn and Wind, Rose didn't go out to play, instead, she had been sent out with a task. Rose was tasked with passing out quickly made pamphlets that Petra had created to advertise Poppy's Potions. These last minute creations were given to a few of the passing adventurers shortly after they arrived in Imai.
This was a simple test from Petra, looking to discover the limits of the 'you can't find me' barrier around the tower. She wanted to know just how well the barrier could manipulate the people who came and went. To clarify, this was set up so that having a pamphlet wasn't enough for now.
At the end of the day, despite handing out hundreds of pamphlets, Petra didn't receive a single customer.
This wasn't because they weren't looking, instead, they simply couldn't find the destination recorded on the pamphlet. The results were good, allowing a large weight to lift off Petra's shoulders.
Next came Bell and Dorthy. Unlike the carefree trio that had swaggered into the city, both of these naughty girls were at the top of multiple lists. Fortunately, there was no lack of things to do, so these two bookworms never got bored. Bell became Dorothy's assistant temporarily, helping her copy and record the books that Petra wanted to add to the library back home.
Nebula, Levy, and Elli always seemed to disappear, leaving only Poya to play around in the garden.
* * *
Later that night.
Petra spun around in the mirror while wearing a new robe.
Unlike the one that Lilly had made for her a few months ago, this one was much simpler. Although she liked the old one, the number of times she had caught her sleeve on something then smashed her face into the ground was too many to count. She finally decided to pack it away and lock the unlucky garment in a box and pass it to Lilly for safe keepings.
Petra now wore a white blouse, under a black robe. A golden clasp sat in front of her chest and two green tassels hung down to the side. She had a black and green skirt, with a large hat too big for her head. Short black boots with white socks, and a large satchel hung to the side. The frog still firmly occupied her hood, but Lilly had now built a small 'room' into the new hat for the snake to reside.
Not only could she put it on much faster, but it also gave her a bit of nostalgia, causing her to think back to her old school uniform when she lived back on Earth. Those were simpler times, before the true chaos of Petra's last life began.
She grinned, smiling at herself in the mirror.
Behind her, her shadow flickered on the wall, unmoving. Despite its static state, ever since the events at the Dark Stone Mine, Petra always felt as if it were smiling.
-
Later that night, the girls all gathered together to eat a large meal. They sat around, finding a place on the second floor.
Because there was a lack of room, many of the maids either sat on the ground, or found whatever was convenient. The nobility that a normal maid should have was completely replaced with their ruffian style. Instead of the meal being a professional gathering of maids and master, it felt more like a casual gathering between family.
Soryn and Wind had brought back a bunch of stuff, a large part of that being the local specialties.
Imai had a massive 'fishing culture', only this fishing referred to 'Sky Fishing' and not normal fishing.
One would sail out atop the clouds using a special boat, then cast their line and fish in the clouds like one would normally fish in the sea. This created a massive market for the different types of magical birds and their vast variety of meat. There were even rumors about people from outside the continent coming to the Cross Continent specifically for this.
The girls ate with a complete disregard for their own image. Petra naturally took the lead, devouring a full chicken at a speed that would probably kill a normal person.
She hummed in delight as she continued to eat.
Taking a momentary pause, Petra looked around at her family.
All the Beast girls were fully enjoying their meals, while the human girls devoured theirs with an almost barbaric behavior. The two dwarven sisters busied themselves with the spicier meat, and the Cockatiel Bestman didn't seem the least bit concerned that she was eating chicken.
What surprised Petra the most was the three 'Green Elves'. Like the other girls, these three were eating with a monstrous momentum. One needed to remember that many elves, especially green elves, were vegetarians. Petra took a closer look at these three girls whose hair had already turned completely purple. Upon closer inspection, not only had their hair changed, but their skin had also become slightly paler, and the innermost area of their eyes had begun to flicker with an amethyst light.
Petra had asked Levy about this.
Apparently, elves, especially green elves, were capable of adapting to their environments over time. The reason that these three girls had changed so quickly was because Petra's medicinal bath seemed to have a very powerful effect on them.
In conclusion, Petra would soon have three poisonous purple elves.
-
After they finished eating and the girls had scattered, Petra moved onto viewing the information that had been collected throughout the day.
She scanned through maps of the city, a general schedule for the Grand Gathering, and the long list of names that were expected to show up. She snorted, then tossed the information into the air like a child's.
This was Wind's job, not hers!
She trotted away from the desk while rubbing her little eyes. Her stubby feet took her to bed and she jumped under the covers with a whoosh!
Over the next few days, the leading forces from all around the continent would start to gather.
Soon, it would be time for the Grand Gathering to begin.
* * *