Chương 22: Fit for a dragon

Joshua arrived back in his reality and stretched in his human form. He really needed to get a better grasp on the situations caused by him. Thankfully, Wren looked fine, and Piur… well, he was going to come up with a solution for that soon enough. Still, his first act was to drop Ebraxius into the terrarium, much to Karatt's shock.

"My lord!" Felix rushed in, holding up a sheet of paper with a proud smile.

"I have made it!"

"Made what?" Joshua asked, looking up.

"I have spoken to a few people in the government, and while you wanted to avoid buying a castle, I figured building one was not against your wishes. So I got the land and all the permits to build one. Isn't this great?" the demon butler asked, almost beaming with pride. Joshua stared at him for a moment. This demon acted far too much like the follower of a slime from his favourite anime.

Then again, he realized that he had quite literally thought of that demon when creating Felix, so perhaps it was not entirely a coincidence.

"When you say you spoke to them, you didn't threaten their lives or something, did you?" Joshua asked, a bad feeling gathering in his chest.

"Not at all. I was absolutely sure to remain cultured and humble. Of course, I did leave approximately five kilograms of precious gemstones with them. I noticed you simply tossed those useless stones into baskets, so instead of gathering dust, they have now served a purpose." Joshua could almost picture the government officials losing their minds over gemstones the size of walnuts, clear and uncut but likely worth millions of pounds.

Originally, he had planned to send them to the Vatican to sell, but now that he was essentially a god, they really did not seem worth much to him.

"I guess…" He nodded, unable to keep a small smile from appearing.

"Good job." The idea of owning a castle still sounded excessive, but there was something appealing about having a proper place of his own.

"If we are doing this, we should have bedrooms made for Luna and me in dragon size as well. Sleeping comfortably in my true form is already starting to sound like a good idea."

"How wonderful!" Felix spun around, already looking ready to get started.

"I shall oversee the entire construction myself."

"Wait, alone?" Joshua asked.

"Well…" Felix stopped, his smile becoming slightly more strained.

"It might take some time."

"I thought so." Joshua shook his head before pulling open a wardrobe. Inside were several of the monster cores he had accumulated, and he reached past the smaller ones and pulled out the enormous core taken from the boss turtle.

"I will make a few more underlings in that case. I still have plenty of cores to play with." He held up the massive gemstone-like core, its surface reflecting the light of the room.

"Plenty to use," he repeated with a smile. - - - - - - - - - - - - The location of the land was actually rather nice, sitting on a hill on the western side of Loch Turret Reservoir. There were not many trees in the area, which made it rather windy, but that also meant there was little to obstruct the stunning view across the water and surrounding hills. Joshua was not alone, of course.

Luna was still attending classes and could not be there during the day, but Kate was busy preparing a meal for everyone while Felix stood nearby with a blueprint he had somehow managed to produce in less than an hour. The demon was genuinely terrifying when he wanted something done. As for the actual work of flattening the ground and digging out the cellar, that had been left to the workforce Joshua had created, or rather, breathed life into.

He had not specifically made construction workers, but they were all going to become servants of the castle once it was finished, and apparently that was more than enough. Every one of them worked with an efficiency that would have made an entire human construction crew look painfully slow. His gardener was a gargoyle, two additional cat maids had been created to assist Kate, a handsome male tengu served as the household accountant, and six living suits of armor would eventually act as both decoration and defense.

For the moment, however, they were perfectly happy to carry bricks, move stones, and lay walls with mechanical precision. To say the supernatural workers were fast would have been an understatement. As for the building materials, Joshua used the stone and dirt excavated from the cellar and foundation, transforming them into usable blocks with his powers.

He also gathered small amounts of additional material from abandoned mines and dusty old factories across the world, taking only what had clearly been left behind and would not be missed. There was no reason to steal from anyone when the world was already littered with forgotten resources. Wood was even easier as Joshua simply grew a small forest around the future castle, waited for the trees to mature, and cut them down.

He repeated the process six times, leaving the final batch standing around the property to provide shade and act as a natural windbreak. It was not exactly traditional forestry, but being a god had its advantages. By the end of the first day, the entire foundation was already finished. On the second morning, Luna arrived and immediately insisted on seeing everything.

She toured the construction site while munching on sandwiches Kate had prepared for her, carefully stepping around piles of stone as Felix followed behind her with a clipboard and an expression that suggested he had already planned the next month of construction. The second day brought an unexpected surprise. A familiar car rolled up the unfinished driveway, and three familiar faces stepped out. Raeriku, Grevar, and Warg had arrived.

"Hey, Boss Dragon!" Warg called as he jumped out of the car.

"We came to help out."

"Didn't you go back to the US?" Joshua asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Should I be worried about Veridian coming after you?"

"Nah." Raeriku shook his head. His new set of antlers had already begun slowly growing back, giving him an even more imposing appearance.

"We managed to negotiate some bonuses when we were rehired. Including time off and vacation days. Apparently they decided keeping us happy was cheaper than dealing with us being difficult."

"Yeah." Grevar slammed his fist into his palm with a grin.

"I've always wanted to build something awesome, and this definitely fits the description." Felix landed beside the newcomers, his blueprint tucked neatly beneath one arm.

"I see. We could certainly use a few extra hands."

"Now hold on!" Kate's voice cut across the construction site as she finally finished setting up the table.

"First, it's breakfast time… for everyone!" The three newcomers immediately looked toward the table.

"You heard the lady," Joshua chuckled.

"Better not piss off the head maid." If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, it's taken without the author's consent. Report it. That earned a few quiet laughs as everyone gathered around the long table. Kate had prepared enough food to feed an entire construction crew, and the spread covered nearly every inch of it. There was toast, baked beans, eggs, bacon, bangers and mash, freshly roasted mushrooms, sliced tomatoes, and enough other food to make the table look more like a small feast than breakfast.

"Holy mother of breakfasts…" Warg swallowed hard. His hands practically trembled with anticipation as he grabbed a spoon and began piling a hefty amount of everything onto his plate. Kate watched him with a satisfied smile.

"Take your time. There is plenty." Warg stared at the mountain of food on his plate.

"I think I love her more than the castle already." - - - - - - - - - - - - With the mid-October fall break underway, Luna became a constant presence at the building site. So much had happened in such a short amount of time that even she sometimes found it difficult to believe. Still, she happily spent her days going over the plans with Felix, discussing her preferences and pointing out little changes she wanted made to the blueprint.

The base of the castle was massive, stretching almost three hundred meters in length, while both the left and right wings extended another hundred meters with ease. The C-shaped building was designed around a large central garden, which would eventually become the heart of the estate. Felix had even planned a massive defensive wall around the property, though Joshua quickly reduced it to a much smaller one.

A wall that large would have ruined the view, and honestly, defense was not something that needed to be measured in walls when it came to his castle. Felix had to agree. Anyone with hostile intentions who came here would have to be either extremely powerful or completely insane. The castle walls were made from slightly clay-colored stone, hardened by Joshua's divine power until they were almost as tough as diamond. Even the mortar had been enchanted to an absurd degree.

Not even a modern tank shell would have been able to penetrate the first layer, let alone the two reinforced layers behind it. The windows were made from perfectly clear enchanted sapphire. All Joshua needed to create them was aluminum, which was so cheap that he barely considered it a resource at all. Inside, Felix had followed a late-Baroque artistic style, though Joshua had made sure the decoration never became overly extravagant.

The carpets, lamps, ornaments, and countless other decorations were created using Joshua's divine essence. By using existing materials as a base, he had managed to more than halve the cost, allowing him to turn everything from weeds and random stones into beautiful carpets, decorative lamps, and more. The furniture was made from the trees Joshua had grown around the property.

Oak, elm, and ash were combined throughout the rooms so that no area looked completely uniform, giving the castle a warmer and more lived-in appearance. For the roof, they had settled on a light charcoal gray. By the time the final details were completed, Castle Steel was finished just one day before Luna had to return to college. Joshua decided that meant they needed a proper opening ceremony.

"Why are you holding my eyes, Dad?" Luna asked as Joshua carefully guided her past what would soon become the front garden.

"I can see with magic too."

"Then shut off your magical sight." Luna laughed but did as she was told.

"I want this to be special." Joshua said in a warm tone. With her magical senses disabled, Luna blindly followed her father until they reached the main staircase. Joshua stopped and slowly removed his hands from her eyes.

"Open them." Luna's hands immediately flew to her mouth. The entire entrance hall had been transformed for the occasion. Everyone stood in freshly cleaned and perfectly arranged clothes, lined up on either side of the staircase. Kate and the second cat maid, Purra, stood at the front holding a red silk ribbon stretched across the entrance, while Felix knelt beside Luna and presented her with a pair of golden scissors.

"May you do the honors?" the demon butler asked.

"Dad!" Luna turned around and threw her arms around Joshua before quickly returning to the ribbon. Kate and Purra smiled warmly as Luna took the scissors and carefully snipped through the silk. The ribbon fell apart and a round of applause immediately filled the hall. Everyone entered the castle together, and when they reached the grand feast hall, Luna's eyes widened once again. The enormous table had already been prepared, with nearly a hundred plates of food covering its surface.

The rich scent of freshly cooked meals filled the room, making it feel less like the opening of a castle and more like the beginning of a royal festival. Felix raised his glass.

"Let us celebrate Castle Steel!" Every glass in the room went up.

"To Castle Steel!" Cheers echoed through the grand hall as Joshua looked around at the people he had gathered around himself. Since the start of construction, the massive castle did not feel empty but like home. - - - - - - - - - - - - Oberon was watching his mirror. It did not reflect his own appearance, but instead showed him glimpses of other worlds. At the moment, the world of a bird-like god had caught his attention.

It was a strange planet with low gravity, where countless floating islands drifted through the sky. The inhabitants had built massive cities and towns across them and were locked in a seemingly endless war. Winged serpents fought against griffins, while angel-like humans had fled to a distant land in an attempt to escape the conflict.

"I must build something like that." Oberon chuckled as he examined an especially elegant building perched on one of the islands.

"Puck, note it down and make a sketch for me, will you?"

"As you wish, my king." The floating fae bowed before pulling out a sheet of paper and beginning to draw.

"Remind me. What did I plan for this weekend?" Oberon asked another fairy, who fed him grapes.

"You were planning on being a pain…" The fairy paused, then corrected herself with a grin.

"I mean, being a guest at your little god friend Joshua Steel's home. He built a castle for himself." The fairy chuckled softly. She did not fear Oberon. The Fae King actually found this way of speaking to him rather entertaining.

"Oh, right…" Oberon thought for a moment before shaking his head.

"Cancel that. I am visiting this planet." He stopped for a second to swallow a juicy grape.

"As you wish."

"Check on him, though. If he does something fun or embarrasses himself, tell me immediately."

"You could just tell him about the problems involved with making a new realm, dear." Titania's voice came from behind him as she entered the glade.

"And lose out on all the fun?" Oberon turned toward his wife with a mischievous grin.

"At best, I might have to pull him out of a sticky situation. Which is also fun."

"How many young gods are you going to do this to?" Titania shook her head, though there was a faint smile on her lips.

"Well, Mr. Tentacles and I are on the same page. He does not tell him anything either." Oberon leaned back comfortably on his throne.

"Eternity is long my dear Titania, and I love entertainment." - - - - - - - - - - - With Luna back at school, the Vatican team helped the US agents pack everything into a moving van. Joshua had no intention of selling his old home. If anything, he only took the things that actually meant something to him. His collection of figurines, the gaming equipment from both his and Luna's rooms, and a few pieces of furniture he had grown particularly fond of all made the journey to the castle.

The house itself would remain as a reserved place in case he ever needed it again. Before leaving, Joshua sealed the entire building with magic, protecting it from dust, rust, decay, and thieves. It was almost comical how much effort he put into preserving a relatively ordinary house, but there was something comforting about knowing it would remain exactly as he left it. Even Princess helped with the move, although her contribution consisted of carrying one chew toy at a time.

She was very proud of herself, right up until Briggs accidentally stepped on one of them and nearly fell flat on his back. By nightfall, everything had been brought into Castle Steel, and Joshua set up another small miracle. Flowing water, electricity, and even a proper internet connection now existed in the middle of nowhere.

The miracle actually cost him a surprising amount of divine essence, but with nearly five hundred patron points coming in every day, not even counting what his warlocks provided, spending them was hardly an issue anymore. Speaking of his warlocks, Gaix had been incredibly busy in the Dungeon City. Joshua had noticed that the young warlock had already accumulated enough points for another major wish, yet Gaix seemingly had no interest in using them.

He simply continued offering up various objects whenever he found something interesting.

"I kind of miss talking to him… Would it be strange to just appear?" Joshua hummed to himself before shaking his head.

"Maybe later." Right now, there was another problem occupying his mind. His new world and the soul cards.

"Yeah… this is really weird to have." He held one of the cards between his fingers and carefully slipped his mind into it. His divine senses passed through the strange object, allowing him to perceive the countless souls suspended within it. They were frozen in time, completely unaware of the outside world.

"These aren't even souls belonging to Cthulhu. They're from some other god who played and lost a bet." Joshua stared at the card for a long moment.

"Why would anyone even do this?" He sighed and rubbed his forehead.

"Right. I still think like a mortal." He shook his head, his expression becoming slightly troubled.

"I hope I stay sane and never start doing malicious shit like this." Putting the card away, Joshua turned his attention toward the small reality that now existed inside him. Or rather, the reality that didn't exist. He peered into his divine realm and found… nothing. There was simply no space at all. Joshua stared at it for several seconds before scratching his head.

"Apparently, void is something I have to make too." He frowned.

"Isn't making void kind of contradictory? How do you even 'make' nothing?" He scratched his head harder as a faint headache began forming.

"Being a god is fucking weird."