Chương 53: The Tour of Dreams: Start-up

"Good evening, ladies and gentlemen," Pheidon said in Greek.

"Welcome to the Rising Sun's Archipelago Tour, featuring the Deliverer of Dreams. Please take your seats, as we will depart shortly."

"Wait a minute—how can I understand him?" Ran asked in Japanese, bewildered. Galan smiled.

"My power works both ways."

"Your company offers touring services too?" Kaoru asked, her eyes wide with excitement.

"No? Actually... I don't know." He turned to Meredith.

"Do we?"

"We don't," she said, unimpressed.

"He was just joking."

"Oh…" Kaoru's face fell.

"It's okay," Pan said, trying to comfort her.

"I can still show you all the artworks in this ship for now."

"Excuse me," Pheidon's voice cut in again.

"We are currently debating whether or not to make this service official. But as you can see, our boss doesn't like having her ship be used for commercial purposes." Meredith's eyes flashed with fury. She summoned the knife again from the divine vault of her buckle's gem.

"You still going on about that?! Want me to cut you too?!" she snarled in Greek.

"Whoa, relax," Pan said, holding up his hands.

"You're next," she hissed, pointing the blade at him.

"Come on, Meredith," Galan chuckled.

"I don't see the problem."

"I am not letting anyone turn my second home into a cruise ship!" she snapped.

"Alright, then we can just extend the hangar to fit dedicated tour ships." The fire in Meredith's eyes subsided, and she unsummoned the knife.

"I'd love to," Pheidon's voice came back, "but the company is still too new. We don't have the money."

"Don't worry, I'll handle it." Galan sighed and snapped his fingers, opening a mental link to his son and second wife back home.

"Pa, Ma.

'Sup?" Vardo's voice echoed in their minds.

"Need me for something, Hubby?" Cu added. If you encounter this tale on Amazon, note that it's taken without the author's consent. Report it.

"Could the two of you set up funds for renovating the hangar for a company called 'River Over Stone'?"

"I can pull some strings," Vardo sent.

"Rome can handle the upfront capital. In exchange, I want to negotiate preferential docking for the ground fleet, and for 'River Over Stone' to become the official logistics partner for Roman businesses in the East."

"Deal," thought Meredith.

"Alright. Anything else you want, Pa?"

"None. Have fun with the rest of your night."

"Night." Vardo dropped the call.

"Hmm…" sent Cu.

"By the way, Queen. Did Galan try doing anything?"

"He wanted to sleep with some goat women from Japan, but I stopped him."

"Good work," Cu added, her thought laced with amusement.

"I'll make sure you get the budget. Just keep him in check for me, okay?"

"I will, Madam," Meredith sent back with a smirk.

"Let me know if you need anything else, Hubby."

"I will. Think to you later." He let the connection fade, then turned to the two goat-women.

"Alright. The touring service will be ready in a few weeks." But Kaoru and Ran only stared at him, their mouths agape. Whoops, I forgot they were a part of my omniscience, Galan thought.

"Oh yeah, don't worry about that. It was just… an impromptu business meeting."

"Lord Oda..." Ran whispered.

"How powerful are you...?"

"Eh? I'm just the world's most powerful mindcaster, I guess." He shrugged.

"Someone with absolute control over everyone's minds. You know… what we've been doing so far." A wave of dread washed over the two women.

"Are you... a god?" Ran asked, her voice trembling.

"Yeah, but—" They collapsed to the floor, bowing so low their foreheads touched the carpet.

"We are sorry for not realizing earlier, Dear God!"

"Please forgive our transgression!" Satanvujoang, not this again.

"It's okay. I forgive the two of you. Now can you two get up…? Please…?" Galan sighed. They stood, still shaking.

"What did ye expect would happen, Bloodsucker?" Meredith asked, unimpressed.

"I don't know—'It's nice to have a god tour his ship for us' or something?"

"And what makes ye think the people in this boony of a country would act that way towards a god?" Galan thought about it for a moment.

"Yeah, you have a point." He turned to the two yookai.

"Sorry for not saying who I was. I didn't mean to deceive you."

"It's okay, Dear God," Ran said, bowing again. Meredith slapped her forehead.

"Ye still haven't changed, Bloodsucker."

"Could you blame me?" Galan said, a hand on his hip.

"I was never one to put myself above good people."

"Can't argue with that." Meredith smiled.

"Alright, Pheidon," Galan called to the voice expansion box.

"Let's take the baby out on a stroll."

"Where to?" Pheidon's voice boomed.

"Moons' Valley Village, scenic route."

"Got it. Let me check with air traffic control."

"Gal," Meredith said, her voice soft.

"What is it?"

"I want to talk with you. Just the two of us."

"Alright. We'll separate later." Suddenly, a quiet hum can be heard from below them.

"Releasing the landing locks in three, two, one…" Pheidon announced. The ship hummed to life, a gentle lurch pulling it upwards, then backwards. Ran stumbled, while Kaoru squealed with delight.

"Ohh, we're moving!"

"Want to see what it looks like from the outside?" Galan grinned.

"We can do that?!"

"Isn't that dangerous?" added Ran.

"Nah, it's fine. I'll show you how safe it is." He turned to Pan and Meredith.

"Wanna come along?"

"Eh, why not?" said Pan.

"Sure. For old time's sake," replied Meredith. As the ship exited the hangar, the group headed for the deck.