Kick the Sphere 9 (Patreon)

A/N: FINALLY finishing moving, setting up everything, and got settled down. *raises Starbucks coffee* here’s to a year and a half in Arizona.

Happy New Year!

-VB-

Kick the Sphere

Chapter 9

-VB-

I looked up at the dark clouds above me.

A flash of cold hit my nose, and I flinched instinctively. When I reopened my eyes, I saw white specks falling from the sky from the dark clouds. It was snowing.

“I guess it is that time of the year,” I hummed to myself before looking back down to the ground and continuing my work. The Glasgow I piloted moved as I piloted it and pressed into the side of the tree with its chainsaw. The chainsaw buzz rumbled loudly but got muted for me.

Today, my work was simple. Collect vood.

Vood was very important. Aside from acting as fuel, vood was necessary for industry; not everyone liked metal furnitures, and vooden furniture not only provided jobs for people but also an alternative to metal. This was important because a part of my plan to strengthen my hold on this area was to become the central hub of trade and industry. After all, it’s one thing to listen to the guy with a bunch of mechs but it’s another when he has factories, farms, and festivals that provided function, food, and fun.

And wo- I mean vood was one such thing.

“Why do you keep calling it that?”

I turned to look at Janice, who was on the other side of the base cataloging the lumber coming into the base. With her was also me.

But how could I be next to Janice and also be in a mech?

Simple.

I had two bodies.

How did I have two bodies?

I may have mastered the Shadow Clone technique to the point where having one more body didn’t immediately drop me into exhaustion.

And a third body remained within a new office attached to the hangar. In that office was the Alteran database, and it was his (my?) job to filter through the discoveries the kids made.

Today, though, was a little special. Today, they ate their fill and played around the base to their hearts’ content.

It was Christmas, and I wasn’t an evil bastard who would make kids work on Christmas-New Year week! Sure, most of the kids didn’t know jack shit about what Christmas was, but they sure understood that the word Christmas meant paid time off once I explained how Christmas affected them.

I hummed across all three of my bodies, even though I didn’t know it at the time, as I worked at each of the tasks.

Tonight was going to be special.

As lumber came in, I separated them into three piles. The first pile was the “refining” pile. One of the products I intended to make was charcoal. Due to the low-tech nature of Dansur, I couldn’t just force everyone to adopt high-tech heating tech. I could, however, supply my allies, friends, and willing neighbors with cheap charcoal. Again, this was a part of the plan but one that depended on another part. The second pile would be called “export” because it would be sold or gifted to, again, allies, friends, and willing neighbors as part of a political ritual. The third pile was “home use” and included everything from good lumber to raw scraps.

“So what are you going to be doing with the second pile again?” Janice asked me as she stared at the stacked piles of lumber.

“You know how politicians do all sorts of things once they are in office?”

“... No? Not really?”

“Well, they do. They visit places, do things with their constituents -”

“What are constituents?”

“- cut ribbons, and talk with people. The reason why they do that is not just about communication but also about letting people know that they care for the people. The reason why our politicians and elites back at our home didn’t do this is that they don’t need to reassure the people; they hold power over us through military might despite what they espouse about capitalistic advancements.”

“You’re making me confused.”

“You’ll understand. Anyways, what the second pile of lumber is for is something like what those politicians should be doing. I’ll be giving them away.”

“Huh?! Why?!”

“Because you know how there are villages, towns, and even a city that are all technically within my reach?”

“Yeah?”

“By giving them lumber, a resource they could use themselves, I’m showing them that I care about them and that I will not attack them.”

Janice gave me a look before realization dawned on her. “You’re making them friendlier to us!”

“Exactly.” I ignored the extra 100 points from the Celestial Forge. I could afford to save some for a bigger expenditure later. “Once I make them realize that we’re not a warband intent on conquering the planet, I can start selling them lumber cheaply than they can buy elsewhere or produce on their own. By doing this, I’ll be tying them to me.”

“... But why? You can conquer them, right?”

“Yes, but I don’t want to unnecessarily spill blood more than I have to.”

“Right.”

“Right. So by tying them to me, I’ll be able to bring them to the table where I can start doing more political stuff down the line. I can start improving their towns, they can help me defend the planet, and everyone benefits. Everyone but the pirates, raiders, and assholes, that is. I’ll be able to do all of that… starting with these vood.”

“Just call them wood like you taught me. Hearing you make that weird accent and call wood vood is weird.”

I snorted.

“Oh, and by the way!”

I looked at her more fully.

Janice grinned and brought out a small box. “Happy New Year!”

I blinked. Right, that was a tradition back home. We did gift exchanges during Christmas and New Year. I just didn’t think she remembered. I smiled and brought out my own gift. “Happy New Year.”

I opened my gift box and saw a small necklace with a sparkling raw gemstone. I smiled as I pulled it out. “You got the other girls to help you, huh?”

“Yup!”

And that’s right when the aforementioned other girls all found my various selves across the base, and began giving me gifts, and I in turn gave them theirs.

It was a New Year.

I hoped our life here continued to be exciting and wonderful.