Chapter 126 – Decisions

---Apologies for another Sunday missed, started work on a little side project writing wise and I may be overdoing it again. It'll probably be 4 a week going forward now, we'll see how it goes though.

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"Petra and... oh, you never said you had a sister Ikarus"

After sorting out Aesa's clone body by giving her a quick haircut and putting some clothing on her like that pink dress I wore for my birthday, we had a quick explore about but Aesa really didn't fancy doing anything so, we just ended up going to see what Marcus is up to. It's good Aesa's got used to the simple things like breathing and walking now but she still doesn't look that happy about this experience. It could just be she hasn't got a clue about using facial expressions yet, she does make my face look kinda stoic and emotionless though.

We're currently sitting around in the town hall study room and despite this place still being pretty messy, there's still a few rooms that are normal looking despite the invasion defence that just happened. This place does have a lot of books and papers around, this must be where Marcus spends most his time in.

"That's Aesa. Heh, it turns out both me and Ikarus have sisters we didn't know about now"

Petra's obviously being sarcastic but she is right about Mute though. Those two should probably spend some time together thinking about it but I'm not going to force Petra to spend time with her dragon sister.

"Yeah, my twin 'sister' doesn't talk that much so just ignore her"

You know, Marcus is the only person to actually mention Aesa walking over here, I was right about people not caring about a twin sister. The town is still pretty empty all things considered right now though.

"Fair enough, I won't press any further then. Since you two are already here, how abou-"

While Marcus is speaking, the door to the study basically slams open revealing someone not welcome here.

"Hello everyone! Not starting without me, are you!? Just because I was building my tower doesn't mean you can-... hang on, there's two Ikarus's here!?"

Miss gender bender, aka Miss Penelope arrives so things are only going to get more annoying moving forward now.

"Aesa can understand why -Ikarus- finds -Penelope- annoying meeting in person"

"Heh, she's Ikarus sister Aesa"

"Yeah, twin 'sister' apparently"

The strange thing is, all Penelope can do is push her face right up to Aesa staring her all over intensely. I'd encourage Aesa to give her a punch if she keeps this up since this looks awkward as hell, Penelope once again seems to be crossing a line.

"Why are you two lying to me!? You two look the same and even have the same auras! There's no chance that person isn't your clone so how did you do it!?"

Sighhh... I should've expected a reaction like this from her, this is an ability after all and I'm guessing some sort of magic is involved which has made her pick up on it. Since it's magic related, obviously Penelope would pick this up since that's the only thing that's gets into that hollow space inside her head.

"Penelope, we're starting the meeting now so be quiet and stop asking questions. Ikarus says they're twins so just leave it there, alright..."

Damn, even Marcus is starting to get annoyed with her antics. Instead of giving a response, Penelope just finds a seat and pouts.

"...Okay, let's discuss what's going to happen with the monastery then, how are we going to go about this?"

"Shouldn't we get Mr Gnome here as well!? Won't he want to know what's going on!?"

Marcus literally just told her to shut up yet she's instantly talking once again, at least we're partially on topic now though. Also, it says a lot just how relaxed all of us are compared to Marcus over this sort of thing, we're not being arrogant but wiping out an army of thousands are barely suffering any injuries is a reason for slight confidence after all.

"Already spoken to Garry and he doesn't see the point in attending since he reckons this is only a problem the two queens can solve. So then Petra and Ikarus, how do you plan on dealing with this monastery situation? Are we preparing for a full-scale invasion which could potentially anger the empire, suing for peace or even just forgetting about the whole thing? Planning for war isn't really something I'm accustomed to"

Damn nickname, just grit your teeth and accept it Ikarus otherwise you'll end up being a massive hypocrite. I always call Garry the gnome after all but should probably be focusing on the fanatics in the big church right now, Marcus does appear to be sweating slightly due to the stress and I can understand his fears a little over this.

"Heh, you're worrying too much about this Marcus. Defence was always going to be our weakness and considering how well things have apparently turned out, there's not that much to worry about"

Petra's reaction has irked me a little, I'm not going to lie.

"The thing is... I'm actually agreeing with him this time around Petra. That armoured guy in particular was noteworthy so we can't take these lot for granted. Who's to say they don't have over a thousand more paladins ready to fight and even have more armoured guys like that? I remember you saying they had a secret weapon once but nothing about that armour"

Of course, it's not like we can agree on everything but I might actually be right this time around.

"Ah, apologies Ikarus, it probably sounds like I'm underestimating them again. Believe me, this time around I'm not. See, the monastery don't understand we have a weapon more powerful than anything they can even comprehend, something which no weapon nor armour can protect against. That's why I'm pretty confident on any counter attack we may potentially do"

(Marcus) "What's that then?"

(Penelope) "We have a secret weapon Petra!?"

(Ikarus) "Yeah, what Petra?"

Petra pauses, I was thinking it was for dramatic effect but turns out I'm just being a little oblivious.

"Heh, you Ikarus. You're not forgetting you have the ability to wipe them out in a split second, are you? You're perfect for the attacking side of things... among everything else as well"

Urgh, Petra just called me perfect and tried to hide that compliment within that attack statement. Despite the obvious blushing I'm trying to hide being called that, I thought Petra wanted a different approach to how we deal with them.

"Of course I'm freaking not forgetting about it, I thought you wanted to take a more peaceful option to this though"

"Ikarus... that was before they dared tried to attack you and our home. We can try for a different option if you want but they've made their intentions clear now. I'd rather just wipe the slate clean"

Huh, it's just her opinion has changed then, it makes sense due to what they've done. The monastery has started a war against us so it's only fair we pay them back, I'm unsure if we should go straight to destruction though.

"Hey, I'm not against the idea completely nuking them but shouldn't we at least share words with whoever runs the show over there? I'm just thinking about monetary gain really"

Why I'm thinking of such a thing is simply down to trying to rinse them of all they've got. It's a monastery so they've got to have priceless relics and all sorts of things like that so maybe if they are scared enough of us, then we could get war reparations? I'm always for a good explosion but if it helps improve the settlement, then I can always put that tendency aside.

(Marcus) "I'm not really sure they'd be willing to negotiate though, the same sex thing really makes it impossible"

"Yes, Mr Marcus is right Petra's lover! There's no chance those fanatics will listen to reason!"

Despite those two disagreeing with me, this time it's Petra who's thinking a little more heavily on this but it's slightly different to what I was thinking of though.

"Hmm... although I agree with them Ikarus, I can see what you're getting at. Say, you remember how we snuck out of the palace after the empire started to crumble? It's not like we can't just take what we rightly deserve though"

"Wait... are we going to sneak into the monastery using invisibility first? Fuck yeah, I'm down for a little heisting!"

That's definitely what Petra was hinting at, why make a deal with the homophobic priests when you can just steal from them? Then blow them up from orbit afterwards!

"Heh, thought you'd like that idea Ikarus. After we're done getting anything worth of value, then we'll make sure the monastery regrets everything they've done"

Listen okay, we obviously don't need the wealth so me and Petra aren't being greedy but it just seems like a waste for all those religious relics to go to waste. I mean, it's a monastery that literally just sent thousands of people to come attack us, they've definitely got wealth hidden away. Then once that's done, it's game over for them...

Me and Petra will discuss the plan a little more while we're preparing but obviously we are still kinda in a meeting with Penelope and Marcus.

"At least that's kinda settles then? If you need any help, be sure to ask but there are some other slight things that could use some advice from you two. The first thing is this, I'm going to assume it's okay to scavenge or even repair the broken ships surrounding our coasts? It seems a little wasteful to leave all of them and not make some use out of it"

Ah yeah, can't forget about the ship graveyard we have surrounding the island currently. Actually, thinking about it, most of those ships are relatively intact so we could easily use them for a navy if we wanted to. I'm pretty sure me and Petra are happy to allow Marcus to do what he wants with this though.

"Heh, of course Marcus, you don't have to ask permission for something like that"

"Yeah, you are still technically a leader despite constant attempts of binning the role onto us two poxy queens"

At least my moaning gets a small smile from Petra about the two-queen thing again. Like I said, I'm just going to have to get used to it otherwise this will be another thing I'm constantly moaning abouts. The fact Petra likes it makes it a little more bearable though.

"Okay, so I'll do what I want with the fleet then. The second main issue is the surviving enemy force on the islands. Despite the main island being pretty secure, I've already had reports from people hearing voices out there in the inhabited areas. Obviously leaving enemies lurking around out there might be a slight risk"

Oh, I didn't think about that. I'm pretty sure most would've been survivors from the fleet I personally wiped out and maybe they managed to swim back to the islands? Regardless, there was always going to be survivors from such a large force so this is kinda to be expected, I'd rather not have to waste time rounding people up especially right now though.

"Couldn't we just get Zeki and Ariza to do it? This seems like something pretty easy to handle especially considering most of them will be injured or just simply starving at this point"

"Heh, Ikarus is right once again"

Despite this settlement being pretty brilliant, the other two islands lack a really good food source and even water for the most parts. I'm guessing most of the survivors are on the furthest western island anyways and we've yet to actually step foot on that one just yet since there's no real point until we need to expand.

"Okay... let me rephrase what I mean then. We're are going to have quite the few foreign survivors on these islands so what should we do with them after capture? Do we kill them? Release? Imprison? Or even something like forced labour? This isn't something I really have any opinion on"

Oh shit, that's what Marcus was asking... erm...

"You have any idea what we should do with them Petra?"

"Heh, don't look at me Ikarus"

There's obviously problems with any option we go for. Killing them could be considered barbaric since they'd basically be prisoners of war and building a prison and making them work also could be considered slave labour. The only option that doesn't affect any sort of morality is shipping them off and sending them away but the issue with that is our coasts are wrecked so no ships will be getting in or out right now.

...

Considering we're supposed to be the leaders, all of us are pretty indecisive about this sort of thing so it's good Miss gender bender is around to help this time, I guess.

"Just force them to work for a few years, then release them once they've served their time! We used to do this sort of thing with thieves' way back in the old Magi tower and had them scrubbing toilets for years! It's no big deal really, those fanatics knew what they signed up for so a little bit of tiny slavery is fine! Every place does it, even if no one will admit to doing it"

...

Again, a slight silence but it's not exactly like any of us disagree with Penelope's suggestion, we'll just have to get past the idea of legal slavery then. Eh, we can always ship them out once the coast isn't a shithole if I feel that bad about it I suppose.

"Huh... I guess Penelope's suggestion could work? Are you two opposed to going with this idea? It seems like the easiest temporary solution for now at least, we could have them cutting wood helping out with the lumber and would speed up mining production as well"

"That's sounds fine I guess... just make sure they ain't treated like complete shit and have enough food and stuff like that. We may be monsters but we don't have to act like it"

"Heh... no problems as well"

I mean, those other two don't understand the monster joke but phoenixes are considered monsters apparently if you look at what my status considers phoenixes. It was that buff effect I got from a dungeon that labelled our species as such.

"Then that's everything then. Give a heads up when you're leaving for the monastery sinc-"

"Oh, Ikarus and Petra! Can you two come see my tower next please!? I kinda want some opinions on how it looks!"

Now that the meeting is over, looks like Penelope wants something from us and rudely cuts off Marcus. I guess we can spare some time quickly since she seems even more excited than usual, I'm also not forgetting Aesa's still here but she has been as quiet as a mouse for the most part.

"Heh, fine Penelope..."

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"Erm... Penelope, how the bloody hell have you done this!?"

"Heh, you have gotten this up pretty quickly"

Standing proud at the edge of cliff face to the ocean is a building nearly identical looking to the Magi guild Spire that we visited a very long time ago. Even if magic is involved, this place was apparently empty yesterday and somehow over the course of a night, she's managed to build this absurd thing!? We've got to use her for more construction projects but knowing how it goes, it wouldn't surprise me if she can only do this for magic towers.

Oh, Aesa's gone back inside my head as well now, she's had enough human time for one day so after the meeting was ended, that clone body literally turned to ash. It's a real shame she doesn't seem to enjoy it all that much but maybe it might just take a bit of time to get used to, Aesa's normally pretty vocal if she doesn't like something so if she never wanted to use it again, she definitely would've said.

"I know right!? This is why magic is so freaking amazing! I was thinking about using this spot for a while and now that it's built, it looks so freaking dope! Am I right?"

Right at the northern part of the mine island is where the new Spire has been built so thankfully it's pretty far away from everything but honestly, it's less of an eyesore than I was worrying about. Even Petra doesn't mind how it looks but she seems to be a little more humorous about it.

"Heh... looks like we won't need to build a lighthouse if this thing is sitting here"

"Hey Petra! Don't compare it to those stupid buildings! It may be lit up, colourful and anyone can see it from very far away at sea but it's not a lighthou-... okay, it is kinda like a lighthouse..."

Can't help but chuckle at that little interaction, Petra does have a point though. Looks like we won't have to build a lighthouse even if it probably wouldn't ever be needed in the first place.

(Ikarus) "So then Penelope... when's the mages gonna move in and what are you gonna call it?"

This has been drawn out long enough now, I'd also feel more confident knowing that we have strong people

"I'll start getting everyone off their sorry asses when the coast clears up a little and as for the name... the Spire two! No point changing something that isn't broke-... Hey! Don't both of you facepalm at me..."