"Are things working for you right now?" I asked, leaning back as Lani came over with some drinks. She placed them on the table and then took her seat again.
"No," Della said and took a drink from the mug she had been brought.
"Then this could be the thing you need to improve. Just try it out with a shop. Send them what they need to run the shop in the morning. You tell the Easterner to sleep in and be at work just before you all get back. Sure the change will be hard, but fighting with each other is getting everyone nowhere. The next step after this is finding out why your city is as steamy as it is. What is the point in using steam if you are just wasting most of it?" I asked curiously.
The women looked at me and nodded their heads. "You might be right," Lani said after a few moments of silence.
"I just want everyone to get along. Let's try it out with one shop, and if it works, then we can have more. We need to do something about this situation if we want our city to continue to succeed." I said, and everyone agreed. "But let's get back to the steam. What is causing you to waste so much, and what produces the steam?"
"The production is done in a facility under the city. There is a series of special screens that strains out most of the salt before it is boiled in a large tank, then sent to the central boiler. The system was built by an old Golem Goddess a long time ago, so we only know how to keep it running. The tide brings in more water into the screen reservoir, so the central boiler is on non-stop. The reason why there is so much steam is that we can't use enough of what is produced," Della explained, and I frowned.
"That's a bit strange. While it makes sense to build something that can support the city as it grows, you could very likely use the wasted steam to run this city again. There must have been another use for it," I said, and Lani nodded and then took a drink of her wine.
"There are machines underground that no one knows how to use, so they could have been powered with steam. The problem is that no one even knows what they are," Lani explained, and I looked at Melrose.
"Have you asked the other races about this?" I asked, but the Queen looked away in embarrassment.
"While knowledge of it is known, before you came around, we did not take kindly to outsiders visiting. That meant that we kept almost everything to ourselves," Melrose explained, seeming a bit embarrassed, and I nodded.
"Well, that is something I will have to check out another day. I think that using this steam properly would also make everyone's mood better. Nothing worse than being constantly damp or wet, especially if you don't like water in the first place. If we can fix these two things, I think that we might even be able to get some of the Easterners to move back here. That is if you want that. If not, I will work on making their homes in Northwall and Torrain," I suggested, and Melrose nodded.
"Think that should be up to them. The Peekaan and Easterners have a lot of past issues to deal with, so if they do come back, I would like it to be to a place where they can feel welcome and safe. That is not going to be something that happens overnight," she said, and I nodded.
"All true, but it's worth a shot. All of us have to work hard to make this city a place where people can enjoy and find peace; why shouldn't the Easterners get in on that?" I asked, and Lani smiled.
"You might be right. Let's see what happens with this. If it works out, this could help our two people understand each other better."
I took another sip of my drink and smiled. "Let's hope for the best, then."
The four of us talked more, spitballing ideas, and had a few drinks. Then after about thirty minutes, a portal opened beside the table with Nya standing on an empty beach. The sounds of the waves crashing against the shore filled the air, and everyone and my cute little Cat Goddess smiled playfully.
"Are you ready to come, nya~?!" she asked with excitement, and we all got up, but Nya stopped me until everyone was standing. "Walk to the water alone and then wait there. Ladies, you come through, and then just wait! Don't peek, Cat God!"
I laughed and did as I was told, standing in the waves until they had all come through to the beach, and I felt the portal close. Then Nya came up and took my hand, leading me away from the others and into the water.
"Do you remember how you always said it would be fun to have a big family? she asked with a mischievous smile, her tail wrapping around my legs for a moment before letting go.
I nodded with a grin but kept looking forward. "We were standing on the beaches of Yaggisdral, just like we are now. After, I had turned and pointed to all the other girls and told them you were all my family."
Nya pulled me into a kiss and wrapped her tail around me, and I did the same. "That moment changed my life. I knew you were someone special and that we were meant to be together before that, but your want of a family was the same as mine."
I put a hand on her cheek and then kissed her back. "I still feel the same way, Nya. You mean so much to me, and I can't imagine my life without you."
Nya smiled and then turned my head to the beach, and I gasped, despite myself.
Hundreds, no, thousands, of cute cat ears and whipping tails filled the beach for as far as I could see in both directions of the endless beach. I had never seen so many people on a beach outside of a devastating war or battle. The fact that 98% of them were adorable cat girls seemed almost bad for my health, but death by cuteness overload sounded like a good death.
"All my girls have been dying to see you, and I have all the other races in the far back and out of the way. You have no idea how much I had to bribe them all to stay quiet the entire time we have been talking, nya~!" My Cat Goddess grinned at me as I looked in amazement.
This was truly a fantasy that I never knew I had until this very moment. This was mostly because the number of women on the beach had to exceed far past 10,000. Still, this was fucking great.
"So, I assume that if all the other women are in the back, you are going there as well?" I smiled, and Nya licked my cheek and then kissed it.
"You are so cute when you use your brain! Good luck!" Nya said as she gestured for a portal to open above the water, then looked back to the beach, cupping her hands over her mouth. "Ladies! This is your Cat God over here, just like I promised! Get him, kittens!"
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