Cecilia was amused by Luna Belle's dumbfounded look, her ice-blue eyes curving into beautiful crescents. "What, do I not look the part?"
"It's not that you don't look like one... it's... I just didn't think of it at all!" Luna Belle pressed her hand to her forehead, feeling a bit of information overload. A princess personally overseeing a border city, and being so approachable... this was too different from the otherworldly princesses she had imagined.
Ellen had pulled out another lollipop at some point and was slowly peeling off the wrapper while watching the two of them. Alice appeared quite calm, giving a slight nod. "I see..."
Cecilia looked at everyone and gave a helpless smile. "Titles are just empty names. In White Thorn City, I am first and foremost the City Lord." She looked back at Luna Belle and spoke with a sincere tone. "So, Belle, please don't feel burdened. This land is part of my personal assets, and I have full authority to gift it. It is both a token of gratitude and a repository of my expectations. I hope you can settle down here and treat it as your home."
Since things had reached this point, further refusal would seem pretentious. Luna Belle took a deep breath, suppressed her excitement, and nodded vigorously. "I understand... Cecilia, thank you! I accept this gift!"
She looked around at this land filled with the breath of nature, and a sense of belonging she had never felt before welled up within her. This would be their starting point in this world.
"Good." Cecilia nodded happily and then asked, "So, Belle... what are your plans next? Do you need me to help you contact craftsmen to plan the construction? Although they can't compare to the royal craftsmen in the capital, the craftsmanship in White Thorn City is still quite good."
Speaking of construction, Luna Belle's eyes immediately lit up. She felt the heavy coin purse at her waist and looked at the vast land, a clear blueprint gradually taking shape in her mind. "I want to build a shop first!" Luna Belle spoke excitedly; she had wanted to build the shop for a long time. That CRT TV and VCR still had nowhere to go! "I'll build a video store! I've already thought of the name; it'll be called 'Random Play'!"
"Video store? Random Play?" Cecilia and Ruoyu both looked curious, and even Tineva blinked her blue eyes, clearly puzzled by these unfamiliar terms.
"Um... it's a place where, well... you can watch recorded images for entertainment and relaxation." Luna Belle tried her best to explain in a way they could understand, while also feeling a bit uncertain. The technology tree of this world seemed a bit skewed, with magic and steampunk coexisting. But could the craftsmen of White Thorn City understand and create an electrical appliance like a VCR?
If not, wouldn't her home just become a movie theater? It seemed she needed to find a way to bring over the Gravity Cinema from Lumina Square...
Just as she was worrying, that familiar electronic female voice rang out in her head at the right moment.
"Ding! Detected that the Master has achieved the hidden achievement 'Emerging Infamy'. Reward: 1x Permanent 5-Star Character Selector, has been sent to the system space. Please check it, Master."
"Achievement? Emerging Infamy?" Luna Belle was stunned. This name didn't sound like a good achievement... "Fairy, how was this achievement achieved?"
"The Master has successfully drawn the hostility of an organization with no fewer than 100,000 members, hence this achievement." Fairy's voice carried a hint of schadenfreude. Luna Belle immediately pressed her forehead; she didn't need an explanation to know which organization it was.
"According to the analysis, the target is the 'Corrupt Abyss Cult'. This organization is active in multiple regions across the continent, with an estimated total of over 100,000 core members and peripheral followers."
Luna Belle instinctively shrunk her neck, feeling a chill down her spine. "But... a Permanent 5-Star Selector?"
Her attention was immediately drawn to the reward, momentarily putting her worries about the evil cult behind her. She impatiently opened the system interface in her mind and found the new item glowing with a soft golden light. After clicking it, a familiar character selection interface appeared before her, listing all the permanent 5-star characters she knew from Zenless Zone Zero.
"Who should I choose..." Luna Belle's gaze drifted over those familiar figures. The mysterious fire-katana girl? Or a certain twin-tailed catgirl?... Damn, she wanted to pick them all!
After agonizing for a while, her gaze finally settled on one figure. Considering she was about to open a shop and needed stable "logistical support" and "technical support," as well as dealing with potential trouble from the Corrupt Abyss Cult, a candidate emerged in her mind.
"It's her!" Luna Belle made up her mind and selected the character with her thoughts.
A faint golden light flashed and vanished at her fingertips. The selector turned into points of light and disappeared. The system prompted that the recruitment was complete and the target could be summoned at any time. Having done all this, Luna Belle felt much more at ease. She pulled her attention back to reality and said to Cecilia.
"Cecilia, regarding the construction, I do need help. Could you introduce me to a reliable engineering team?"
"Of course, no problem." Cecilia agreed readily. Rubbing her chin, she said, "However, you have two choices. One is a traditional team of craftsmen; they are experienced and the construction quality is definitely solid, but the construction period might be longer. The other one..." A sly smile appeared on her face. "The efficiency will be much higher, but it's a bit... special."
"Special?" Hearing this adjective, Luna Belle asked curiously.
"Mhm." Cecilia nodded and explained. "I happen to have a classmate from my time at the Capital Magic Academy. She is a Great Magician majoring in earth magic. She recently came to White Thorn City for a vacation and is staying at the City Lord's Mansion." She winked, her smile becoming somewhat "mischievous."
"Having an earth-attribute Great Magician help lay the foundation and shape the walls—the efficiency would be dozens of times that of ordinary craftsmen! And the quality would likely be more guaranteed. What do you think? Want to consider it? I can just drag her in to help, so she doesn't spend every day eating and drinking at my place while complaining about being bored."
An earth-attribute Great Magician? Luna Belle's eyes lit up instantly! "Yes! Of course!" Luna Belle nodded repeatedly and grabbed Cecilia's hand in excitement. "Please, Cecilia! You must ask your classmate for help!"
"Leave it to me." Cecilia squeezed Luna Belle's hand back, smiling like a little fox that had successfully stolen a chicken. "I'll go back and 'invite' her now. You guys can look around here first to get familiar with the environment, or go back to the inn and wait for my news. I think... she will be very 'willing' to help."
Looking at Cecilia's confident smile, Luna Belle felt as if she could already see the future shop rising from the ground. She nodded vigorously, her heart filled with anticipation for the future...