NOVEL NEXT Chapter 55: Preparations for the Rite
"From the woodworks, I will need several planks of the KH-four-zero-three standard and at least fifty of meters squared of the building foil."
Writing those words as I spoke them on a professionally looking notepad with special padding underneath it, I cast a quick glance towards the official behind the desk. As simple the office within this container unit could be to the eyes, there was no denying that it was designed by a genius.
Over the several days that passed ever since I returned from Ayda's world, the works were progressing swiftly on all fronts. The map of the first floor was already finished, with even some close elements of the other floors making their appearance on it. With the blessing of magicless, earthy-technology working perfectly fine in that apocalypse world, I quickly enriched my research with a ton of videos, allowing me to quickly fix any problems with the map right on earth, instead of wasting valuable time in that world.
Whenever I passed through the basement, be it to transport another batch of building materials or after returning from the apocalypse, the map hanging from the wall constantly nagged my eyes. Thanks to this brute-force method, in just a few days I managed to memorize most of the interior of the main floor that I explored.
On the other hand, the area around the building site on earth was quickly turning into a proper building site. With several housing containers for the workers and a few more for the administration of the work, the progress seemed to suddenly shoot forward at a pace even I didn't expect.
In the local culture, building crews were always regarded with little if any respect, often portrayed as the main consumer base of the alcohol from the shops beside their workplace. Thankfully, this wasn't the type of people that Baskar family would bother cooperating with.
"Sir, with the rate at which you are ordering… I do not mean to be rude, but I'm not sure if the enterprise's sponsor will be happy to provide funds for all those materials."
After taking her time to calculate all the expenses, the secretary responsible for this crucial task looked at me with clearly troubled eyes.
"That won't be a problem. I will be meeting with them today, so instead of stalling the work right now, keep that list and consult it with the Baskar family once they appear. Would that be okay?"
For some reason, I found it funny that someone could be bothered to act angry because of such a rational question. When doing business, one had to cast away the shyness of talking about money, as it was the crucial fuel that propelled both sides of the investment.
"That will be okay, sir. With that said, the last batch awaits you in the inbound container. Please make sure to fill out the necessary paperwork this time!"
Openly scolding me for my recent transgression, the middle-aged woman returned to her work with a smile. With just several days I managed to convince everyone in my fake charisma, turning their initial wariness into a respectful friendliness.
Thankfully, I didn't really need to bother with any possible opponents over the last few days. As worried as I was that either Martha's family or the military itself would attempt to intervene, it seemed that the efforts of Baskar family in exploding my image on the social media managed to achieve some great effects. Otherwise, I would be clueless about the reason for both of my tough opponents restraining themselves from sabotaging my explosive growth.
Keeping my guesses about the reasons why my enemies held back their hands, I nodded to the woman behind the desk before making myself spare in the room. Once out of the container, I hurried to the place that the secretary from before just mentioned.
Over the past couple of days, the inbound container became a chest full of treasures, instantly replaced by a new series once the first one would be taken out. With my daily trips, openly called as the praying activity, starting in the inbound area and ending with sweat and tears on the building site in the apocalypse world, the daily moment of receiving the new goods turned into a small ritual for me.
But right now, I was about to perform a fully-fledged rite, aimed at finally feeding the public on my social media with the long-awaited reveal of my policies and theme of the page.
"It's great to see you, brother."
As soon as Pavlo entered the inbound area, he reached forth with his hand prepared for a shake. Not seeing any reason to refuse this greeting, I accepted his hand before looking towards the ongoing construction.
"It's nice to see you too. Did you come to watch the rite?"
Even though the full rebuilding of the mansion was a priority, the basic stage for the made-up rite took just a few hours worth of work, making it a worthy redeployment of the workers. Because with how fast things were going, another problem appeared.
The public could no longer continue the void of information from my side.
From the social-media fans and followers that got curious with my initial, celebrity-like buildup, through the neighbours curious about my appearance, all the way to all those who wanted to gather as much information on me as possible, I had to do something for them all. Because if I didn't feed them with something of my making, they would end up seeking the answers on their own.
And I opted to have the control over what would be known about me.
"That's right. How could I miss such a grand opportunity?"
Smiling joyfully in response to my question, Pavlo confirmed his intentions with a nod of his head. In the end, his family was racking treasure after treasure from my stockpile for the insanely small price of the currently worthless workforce and materials. No matter how the secretary in the logistic department nagged me, they were the ones that got the relatively better side of the deal.
At least, according to someone who had no idea about the existence of my system!
"Okay then, let's not stall it any longer. The sooner it will start, the sooner I will get it over with."
Nodding my head as a form of farewells, I climbed up the stage. With a quick glance towards a nearby orchestra, a sudden explosion of dramatic music shook the area. Even though I knew it could be slightly irresponsible, I simply couldn't resist the charm of the modern classical music mixed with the bountiful sources of sounds that modernity blessed the world with.
"Everyone, I think I can tell that you are wondering why have I gathered you all here!"
After waiting for a few moments to let the crowd gather and Baskar's filming crew prepare their cameras, I suddenly spread my arms out wide, directing my loud voice towards the crowd.
It was time to start the show.