Chapter 856 – The workshop

Moon Aiko looked over most of the stuff that the continental flying ship had finished, before moving onto the experimental stage.

Danji guided her, it was right to the continental flying ship, while the left side was used as the meadow where everyone rested.

The Foxes seemed all relaxed and playful, there were even some Foxes that were in rehabilitation around. Overall, it was a pleasant sight.

Moon Aiko walked around, looking over the Foxes. Seemingly concerned or maybe doubtful.

The Foxes seemed happy, overly so, like they already forgot the dreadful reality of the former Fox Village.

"Do you think we should release them?" Moon Aiko suddenly asked Danji.

"Pardon?" Danji tilted her head, seemingly confused.

"Once we reach the mainland, do you think we should let them go? I feel like they are stringing along because we are the only way to get to the mainland." Moon Aiko pondered about it for a while, but this was the best she could come up with.

"Why do you believe that, Aiko?" Danji didn't seem concerned about this.

"Look at them. They all look like they are completely oblivious about what happened before." Moon Aiko just pursed her lips looking at them.

"I do not believe that is the case." Danji shook her head. "There is merely too much difference between before and now. As you can see, the Foxes that still need healing are healing, while those that were not as abused are doing better here. We tend to focus on the most depressing things in our lives, but now there is none of that. We have moved from abuse to complete freedom, within this area, so most of them do not think about what happened before."

"Is it fear?" Moon Aiko tilted her head. She didn't have such issues, so it was hard to empathise with them.

"Possibly, but mostly they want to live in the present. The past is already behind them, and they are having the time of their life, so there is no need to overthink things." Danji smiled, this stark difference was too great, even her kin, the Demonic Foxes, were playfully mingling with others... here and there.

"Yep, I don't get it, but I still believe we should ask them." Moon Aiko nodded her head seriously.

"You can ask them once you come over." Danji chuckled mischievously.

"Nonono, you should do that when you arrive, once they settle down, they will be too lazy to leave." Moon Aiko narrowed her eyes. It was obvious this was Danji's plan, and she didn't approve of that.

"We can give them all the freedom in the world, but most do not know enough about the wide world to be able to survive in it. Giving them that option would mean muddle their determination. If they want to leave, they can leave, there is no need for such words." Danji pushed back. Most Foxes wouldn't join like Aiko, or be as chaotic as her.

The wide world was dangerous, and these Foxes were not ready for it. It was better to keep them in a safe environment and let them grow naturally before letting them choose their own fate.

"..." Moon Aiko was a bit confused, but no longer tried to rebut it. She did have a few more arguments, but...

"Just let them know that they are free to do almost anything." Moon Aiko waved her hand.

"They already know that. Except for the secrets and techniques, they are free to discuss anything." Danji chuckled.

"Good." Moon Aiko nodded, at least something was like she wanted.

'Yeah, let's not butt into something I have no idea about, otherwise it might cause disaster.' Moon Aiko assumed that her words were incorrect, considering how well-spoken Danji turned.

"So, about the experimental grounds." Danji chuckled.

"Ah, yes." Moon Aiko almost forgot why she was here in the first place.

"Let's first move over to the rooms." Danji smiled.

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"Those blocky things, right?" Moon Aiko pointed at the wooden structures in the distance.

The Foxes were running around with whole trees, cutting them to size and then building rooms out of it.

"We need more wood here!"

"Planks, planks, everywhere planks!"

"Ugh, I feel like I will have a nightmare about being chased by trees, can't we just burn them a little?"

"I have some snacks, come and get some."

"Tea and wine over here!"

It felt like a disorganised market, but the 'buildings' themselves were highly organised and well-made.

The Foxes kept glancing at Aiko and Danji. Pretty much every Fox knew about them, since they were the ones that freed them.

'So many eyes on us...' Moon Aiko shrunk behind Danji. It was fine before, but there were around 50k Foxes in this place! That's way too many eyes.

Of course, that gesture excited the Foxes even more, not only now they had this strange twinkle in their eyes, but they were observing even more closely.

"..." Moon Aiko looked at Danji. Danji just smiled back at her.

"No, you are supposed to help me, stop smiling." Moon Aiko groaned.

"I think not~" Danji hummed mischievously. Well, everyone should know Aiko, so she planned to get her acquainted with everyone, literally.

Sure, she did sort through them, but that brief encounter was not enough.

"Can't we just view the rooms?" Moon Aiko felt like she would get indigestion at this rate.

The Foxes heard it and their eyes shone even more.

"Me, me! I will slow you around!"

"No, pick me!"

"Who are you talking to?! You are just tree cutters! Me, pick me!"

It was an onslaught, and expected one from Danji's standpoint since Aiko was cute and had too many tails.

Meanwhile, this was completely unexpected from Aiko's standpoint. Why would they be so enthusiastic about this?

Little did she know that her cult was pretty rapidly spreading. From the stories about her spreading the cheeks of the Harem Kings. To the stories where she caused an ass genocide. To the stories where she burned forest and ravaged kingdoms and empires...

There was... a lot of it.

They were fervent fanatics wanting to get on her good graces. Leaving this place? Are you crazy?! This place was the best place they could be in. Not only were the leaders ravishingly hot, but they were also kind!

"Ugh..." Moon Aiko shuddered. They were way too enthusiastic about this!

...

It took a while, but several Foxes were guiding her around.

"This was the first iteration. It had a few problems, mostly about space." One very enthusiastic Fox with golden hair gestured.

Two other Foxes pushed on the walls, compressing everything inside.

That's right. This was a makeshift experimental room that you could expand and compress!

"Ooooh." Moon Aiko didn't expect this. Sure, the space inside the continental flying ship would be adjusted like this, but she didn't expect them to go so in detail!

"As you can see, the room for moving is simply not enough, so we had to adjust the arrangement." The very enthusiastic Fox explained.

The room could be shrunk just from one side, or from the top and so on. This was a pretty amazing demonstration, and you could do it in turns, which meant that you could also simulate the turbulent space.

The next room was similar, but the furniture was adjusted. However, the beds were now a problem, taking too much space while not providing the same amount of comfort.

"Well, at first we thought that Foxes would like to sleep with each other, but later on it would be better just to make the 'collective' bed on the floor on soft furs." The very enthusiastic Fox coughed with red face.

"How about folding beds?" Moon Aiko gestured, not minding her embarrassed expression.

"There wouldn't be enough room for our things. We can't use the Storage Rings above the ocean, so we still have to include enough storage space for everything we might need." The very enthusiastic Fox shook her head.

"Shared storage space?" Moon Aiko suggested, but...

"Already accounted for. We have both personal and shared storage spaces." The very enthusiastic Fox nodded her head.

"And there is still not enough?" Moon Aiko was a bit speechless.

"Well, we also have to accommodate the ores and other materials, so..." The other Foxes chimed in, since it was a bit of a troublesome situation.

"Ahah." Moon Aiko nodded her head. She didn't expect this issue would be so complex.

Room after room, each with different designs and flaws. It was really cool to see the progress on how they got to the current design.

"We are still adjusting the doors, since even if we have to make the rooms smaller, you still need to open the dressers and such." The very enthusiastic Fox explained everything, making Aiko nod her head.

"Catch it!"

"I'm holding on!"

"Pull her down!"

"I'm flying too, someone help!"

"Dammit! You should gain some weight!"

"I won't sacrifice my body for a piece of stone!"

Suddenly, a commotion from the side drifted into their ears.

Moon Aiko briefly looked over, but it was the usual shenanigans.

"We... are trying to improve the room that the Floating Stone is in." The very embarrassed Fox coughed awkwardly.

"Well, as long as they don't lose it, they can play around." Moon Aiko saw no issue with this, as long as they didn't lose it.

The Foxes around her seemed taken aback. They expected this cutie to be more stern and cold, but she was unexpectedly warm.

"Anything else we should see?" Moon Aiko looked at her.

"Ah?" The very enthusiastic Fox was startled. "Y-yes." She nodded her head furiously, guiding them over.

...

"We are looking over the furs, maintaining them and polishing them." The very enthusiastic Fox showed them around the workshop.

There was most of the beautiful furniture and furs that would be used on the inside of the rooms, but there were even some beddings and other things too.

"We are producing what we can find, some of them are also provided by the Fire something Clan, but there are not enough Fire/Sun Foxes to make use of it." The very enthusiastic Fox gestured.

"Hm..." Moon Aiko nodded her head. The furs were scorchingly hot, meaning that they really would have to be used just by Fire-based Foxes, otherwise others might get injured over a long exposure.