Steel and Mana

Chapter 62 – Avalon

"Kargath... no, they wouldn't know what that means. Well, the winters are cold, so it could be Helado or Congelado... but they don't even know what Spanish is, so... again, no. Staør et Mõnstre... They wouldn't get it, and I wouldn't name it after the battle where I almost died once. Peaceborn? Well, the Empire is anything but peaceful. I could name it after how we called our tank in the unit I served in, but they wouldn't know what to do with Botty. Haaah... Naming a city is hard!"

"Are you alright, Master?"

"Hm?" I flinched, looking up at Luna, who stood beside my table, patting my head as I sat up, fixing my unhealthy posture.

"You have been mumbling and looking like you are constipated, Master! You should rest, and I will change up your diet so-"

"Err, nothing is wrong! It's not that!"

"Really?"

"Yep!" I grinned, enjoying her gentle strokes on the top of my head. "The thing I was fighting with is to decide what to name the city! Haaah... it is important, but I have been unable to come up with something."

"You should rest! Just in the past four days, Merlin and you created around what... 50 books?"

"53. Yeah, we went a bit overboard, doing more than ten books per day. But it was fun, and the school was wholly equipped in the end. Not to mention, I managed to give Kraus his book so he could start learning about CC."

"Hmmm... Naming things... is it really that hard? Just call it something!"

"Heh, dear Luna!" I smiled, reaching out and grabbing her butt, squeezing it, making her jump, "It is! Don't be cheeky; I know that as a woman, you have your motherly instincts within you to name your future kids, but don't tease your husband!"

"W-w-w-what insticts?! I am not even pregnant! Yet!" She protested, almost yelling, wiggling her hips with apparent excitement.

"Yeah, I know that. I heard that my mother had begun training one of her chosen families to be well-versed in trading medicine. She says it is for the city's future, but I know she wants them to bring back aphrodisiacs or something along that line."

"Whaaat? Really? I have never tried those yet... But it could work... There were rumors that some nobles loved to use it in the Capital! It is maybe what you need, Master. You should try some out!"

"Pfft! You little!" I almost choked on my saliva, hearing her words. With a strong grab, I pulled Luna into my lap, locking her in place.

"Hauuh! I am sowwy!" She shouted as I flipped her skirt to spank her bottom.

"Bad girls need a good spanking, while good girls get to be gently caressed! You will get a spanking and a naughty punishment instead!"

"Hauuh... Luna is sowwy!"

"Yeah? Then why are you wet? It's like someone already cum a lot in-"

"Master?" She asked, looking over her shoulder, continue shaking her butt, looking a bit dejected because I stopped. My hand was still raised, but it never came down as my brain felt a jot within.

"That's it!" I slapped down on her white bottom after almost a minute, making her yelp loudly before pulling her skirt down and raising her from my lap.

"What is it?" She asked, rubbing her bottom, pouting that it was already over. I knew her well by now, and those twinkling, mismatched eyes were unhappy, not because I was punishing her but because it was not enough of a punishment. "You didn't cum a lot... Not at all..." She murmured, trying to be sneaky and silent, but I did hear her.

"Your instincts are right! That's what made me remember Camelot!"

"The what?"

"Ah, yes, so, there is an ancient legend or fairy tale. I guess I can be lenient this one time and tell you a nice fairy tale instead of punishment!" I answered, pulling her into my lap and making her shudder because of her reddened buttocks. "There was a mighty king once called Arthur. I honestly should have thought about this earlier because his mage is already MY mage!"

"Master, it still says nothing to me! Please, slow down and start over!"

"Sorry! So, there is a legend of a magical sword, like a God's Artifact. Are you following me? Its name was Excalibur."

"Yep! Sword. Excalibur. Gotcha!"

"Now, there are two versions of this legend. One says the sword was stuck in a stone, and anyone who could pull it out becomes the king of the land!"

"So this Arthur guy pulled it out? You could not do that. You are a thruster, not a puller."

"..."

"Sorry..." She mumbled, lowering her head, missing that I could barely hold back my laughs.

"The other version..." I continued fighting the urge to laugh, "It says that he was gifted with the sword by the Lady of the Lake, a powerful, magical entity."

"Oooh! I see! Like how the Gods gave us those artifacts Mikki told us about!"

"Yep. Then Arthur became king, unified the land, and did all the cool things you can imagine. He had a wizard mentor whose name was Merlin! That is why I say I already got him. Huh, now I get when they say someone can't see the forest from the tree..."

"Huh. Does Merlin know he has a legend about him? Although it must be some ancient thing because I never heard it."

"Nope, he does not. But I will modify this legend a little and maybe write it down. Tailor it to give the city a bit of mystery. People love stories like that. Anyway! What I am getting at is that Arthur built his own castle and named it Camelot."

"You want to name it that? Hehe, Camelot... cum-a-lot... Bwahahaha! This is something that I expected Yuri to say!"

"Errr, now that you mention it, yeah. But I also noticed you have been getting closer and closer to her, huh? I am not blind. I'm not against it before you ask! She needs friends. That way, she can learn to act like a human and not a murder hobo."

"A what?"

"Nothing. Do continue!" I waved, not wanting to explain.

"Well... She is... okay. I guess. She is weird but... not as bad as Sasha says. But she can get carried away and become bitey!"

"Woah, woah, what are you two do when I'm not around?"

"Nothing!" She answered hurriedly yet turned red in the face.

"Hmmm... oh well. She is a concubine, so, heh, whatever. But, just so you know and to get back to the topic, I won't name the city Camelot."

"Why? I thought you were explaining it to me because you would name it that!"

"Nope! I have a better idea, mostly because you are right; Yuri would run with the joke as you wouldn't hold your mouth shut and tell her. For sure."

"Uuuu...."

"It will be Avalon."

"Who's that?"

"As I mentioned, there was the Lady of the Lake version. Where a magical entity gives him the sword. It happened on the island of Avalon. It was a magical, mystical place and where Arthur was buried after his death."

"Brr... it's ominous! Don't say it like that!" She protested, acting just like Sasha does when topics like these arise. When we talked about how to handle dying citizens, she was too nervous, wanting to end the topic as fast as possible... no matter the conclusion. So, we ended up with the law that the dead would be ceremoniously burnt, and we would not establish cemeteries.

"The thing is, it fits." I continued, ignoring her protests, "Avalon was a mystical place, a land of magic. I think that would be fitting for my city. It has the chance to turn out magical and beautiful. It has everything to become the true Avalon and already has more than one Lady of the Lake within it!"

"Huh? Really? Who?"

"Aren't you and Sasha are my ladies? Hm?" I asked, leaning forward and kissing her neck, making her moan and shiver.

"Hauh... I... guess..." She mumbled happily, already spreading her legs and closing her eyes, but then the door swung open with a surprising force behind it.

"My Lord- Oh... OOOH... Awawawawawa! I DIDN'T SEE NOTHING!" Then, with a shout, Merlin slammed the door shut, and we heard him panicking, groaning, and blaming himself on the other side.

"Oh well... something important happened, it seems. We will continue later tonight, okay?" I giggled, standing up and lifting her out of my lap. Although she was pouting, she didn't protest; she just fixed her clothes while I walked to the door, opened it, and saw the young wizard pacing back and forth. "What happened?" I asked as if nothing happened, watching her tomato-red face.

"I-I-I-I-I I did not know, I, knock, I forgot! Excitement, Merlin bad, sorry, I, awawawa!"

"Relax, kiddo, nothing bad happened! I am not angry!" I laughed, patting his shoulders, calming him down, "You grown up, huh? Did you learn something new? I remember you being nonchalant when that little accident happened, and Sasha took care of the aftermath. Luckily, both of you are better at handling CC now."

"THAT DIDN'T HAPPEN!" With a loud shout, he stomped at the place, his mana leaking out momentarily as his eyes filled with tears, making me chuckle even more. He learned about it, huh? I was now sure of it. Well, he is my Prime Minister and primary teacher, so I am not surprised.

"Okay, okay! My lips are sealed!"

"What happened?" Luna joined us, but Merlin quickly shut her down, thinking she was asking about the old incident.

"NOTHING! Khm! I mean, My Lord, it's about the mines. Minister Paxon has come to me as the miners have made a huge discovery!"

"Is it CC?!" I asked, but I saw Merlin flinch and lower his head.

"No... it isn't..."

"Ah. Sorry, I was carried away. I thought my luck would hold, ehehe... so, what is it?"

"This, My Lord!" He answered by reaching into his pocket and pulling out a fist-sized gold nugget.

"Oh.... Ooooooh!" I licked my lips, looking at it. "Tell me there is more!"

"Yes!" This time, his face was beaming happily, and even Luna forgot to be angry, watching the shining nugget in his hands, "And... A lot, My Lord."

"A lot." I whispered, imagining something outrageous, but Merlin simply nodded again, repeating it."

"A. Lot."

He did not lie. After we followed him to the throne room and listened to Paxon, I knew we had hit a jackpot. As the miners followed the iron ore, when they began expanding one of the caverns, gold literally began falling out of the walls. The chunks lying on the table were all at least fist-sized ores. They would still need to be melted down and whatnot, but I could already see the shining gold within them.

"Minister Paxon..."

"Yes, My Lord?" He asked, bowing, unable to wipe off the smile from his face.

"Are you sure this is gold and not pyrite?"

"Py... pyrite?" He asked, mulling over it, but it was not a word he knew about. "My Lord, please forgive my lack of knowledge; what is pyrite?"

"It is an ore that looks like gold but is way harder, less dense, and less malleable."

"Ah! Yes, yes! Fool's Gold! It leaves a greenish tint behind when you scratch something with it! We call it that, My Lord! I know of it, and I swear on my head, this is genuine gold!"

"Great! I believe you. Send these to the blacksmiths and tell Kraus to make gold bars out of it! Hire more miners and begin excavating the gold immediately! Those who found it initially, promote them to group leaders and double their pay! With this... we can afford it."

"I hear and obey, My Lord!"

I couldn't help but smile just the same as everyone in the room, finally turning towards Luna.

"Call Sasha over. She will have the honor to mark our very first gold reserves!"

"With what?" Luna asked curiously before leaving, but I only winked at her.

"With Avalon's crest. You'll see!"