The private job appointnt was scheduled for Thursday, which was today.
Lord Nolan and Mr. Mittens arrived via a sleek luxury hovercraft, and both the Earl and the Lynx had to do a double take after disembarking.
For there it was, in the middle of a relatively large clearing.
It was the look.
The look of utter poverty.
"..."
"..."
The building, if one could call it that, stood with all the grace of a collapsed tin case and the charm of an overworked warehouse.
Granted, for it to be a warehouse, it actually had to be big enough to fit things.
But how would that even be possible when this was barely a shack?
And if anything, the new and neat signboard that said "Dungeon Guardians Guild" highlighted the disparity even more.
Was it leaning?
Yes. Yes, it was.
To his horror, a hinge creaked, almost sending him back into the hovercraft to return to Planet Nolan.
But he had to steel himself because Mr. Mittens decided to walk forward.
"They said it was deliberate...okay," croaked the rightfully hesitant Earl.
To be fair, the guild mbers, even Luca, did want to fix up the building’s shell; it was just that they wanted to see what they’d need and ask for advice before committing.
While construction wouldn’t take much ti, especially with pre-fabricated structures that only need to be installed, they had to prioritize the construction work inside the Pocket Dinsion.
Especially not when their client was scheduled three days from today.
However, they have been fixing the Pocket Dinsion’s interior as Ollie’s hair antenna had been getting signals of financial success.
He was sure it would be a hit but was afraid they wouldn’t have enough space to accommodate more than a handful of people per session.
Initially, the plan was to send the other pets to the sanctuary and return them when their ti was up.
But after thinking of a different kind of mbership, they ended up out there asking the Elders how pocket dinsions could be expanded.
Easy.
Just pass the spiritual energy threshold.
Now, what the threshold was, they wouldn’t know. But apparently, it was different for every pocket dinsion, and for this one in particular, it was a whopping 30 energy crystals.
That was a lot. Way more than expected, considering the space required 64 energy crystals for the pylons.
But when the dinsion expanded to at least six tis of what they initially had, they realized that maybe that wasn’t so bad.
However, what was even more surprising was how the space expanded with the sa garden the and how their original daycare area now looked funny given how little space it occupied.
Clearly, this was a good thing, but it also spelled disaster as this was not social dia-ready.
"Kyle, check the union mbers for anyone with beast-related specializations."
"Also, maybe we could borrow the Duchy’s groors to ask about the beast grooming facilities needed," ordered Xavier, who realized they didn’t have much ti.
Lastly, they were going to need a lot of hands for this.
And a lot of hands, they surely got.
For this ti, even those on active guarding duty who initially had no idea about what was going on, had been mobilized.
But the transition and work assignnt had been easy. For who wouldn’t volunteer when WCP was at stake?!
Especially after being given their very own compensation packages for missing out on the banquet.
You better believe soone would always be hauling wood.
And that was how nine days of Sanctuary and Space work led to the developnt of an upgraded Daycare.
The guild mbers were partly dead inside after working like crazy, but surprisingly, it was work they enjoyed.
And it was now work that better be appreciated by one Earl and his ginormous cat.
But first, they had to stop judging the admittedly dubious exterior and maybe the interior, too.
To do this, Ollie and Kyle had been tasked with reception, where they would basically haul over the unsuspecting client so they couldn’t see what they shouldn’t.
"Please, Lord Nolan, we wouldn’t want to judge a book by its cover, so if you could please follow us."
"..."
Reluctantly, the Earl stepped forward, and while the inside wasn’t any better, there was one striking difference.
A gilded double door.
It stood tall and pristine, radiating a glow that was completely out of place in this dingy little shack. And from this alone, the Earl should’ve known.
For when Kyle pulled the doors open, the Earl’s entire worldview shifted.
It would be an insult to call this breathtaking, for that was likely not enough for whatever he was seeing.
In fact, his breath couldn’t be taken away because invigorating energy rushed to fill his lungs the mont they stepped inside.
The noble who thought he had seen what the universe still had to offer was stunned by the most basic things: the air, the grass, and even the water.
The air humd with vitality, and the sky above them looked endless after passing through one door.
And that water?
Even his grumpy cat would want to swim in that!
Not to ntion the scent of flowers that don’t seem like they’ve gone through the lab.
But how could they? When the Earl’s visual resonance could tell that the whole place was glimring with spiritual energy?!
But while one pet owner was left stunned by the entrance, one giant pet had already decided to prance around.
Mr. Mittens glanced around and declared that he deserved this, so the giant cat flicked his tail impatiently at the servant, who did not understand the importance of ti managent.
The waiting Kyle noticed this and cleared his throat, already prepared for a long-winded pitch.
"As you can see, our facility offers services tailored for beast rehabilitation with the idea of—"
"Child." Interrupted the Earl.
"Uhm, yes, Lord Nolan?" asked Kyle, who was surprised at the interruption of the Earl, who hadn’t even moved.
"Where’s the contract?"
Kyle blinked. "Pardon?"
"The contract," the Earl repeated, looking a tad bit manic.
"Give it to ."
Oh!
Ollie hastily handed over the holographic form, still halfway through rehearing his marketing spiel when the Earl’s finger shot down and signed without a second glance.
"Wh—"
Signed.
Sealed.
Done.
The guild mbers exchanged wide-eyed stares. And even D-29 and Sid watched with curiosity.
Kyle, however, recovered and realized what was happening.
"Welco, Lord Nolan! Your mbership has been activated." He added with a clap, which woke up everyone who was surprised by the surprisingly fast transaction.
Charles Nolan was not stupid.
Far from it.
In fact, even if the man was reduced to the combined IQ of a space rock and dust, he still wouldn’t ignore the fact that such a place existed.
And Nolan had been around the block long enough to know that this was not normal.
Even if he was asked to surrender half of his estate, he likely wouldn’t be able to buy that giant boulder over there—not with everyone fighting over it.
And he’s being allowed in?
Sure.
Hope they don’t mind if he signed it in blood.
For would the Imperial Palace even have such a place?
Doubtful.
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