Building a World Class Empire in another World
Chapter 78: Feelings into Perspective

Chapter 78: Feelings into Perspective

Septa got up to her feet, her palms pressed against the table to support her. She looked at Aric before speaking. "I am a water spirit. I feel that wanting to channel water from the stream is unnecessary. You already did that once with the farm, and I found it—I found it upsetting." Her voice was like a steady breeze, without fluctuation, yet her tone was pained.

Aric looked at her, the realization that he was one-siding the decisions he took every day dawned on him. He had subconsciously ostracized some of them without knowing. His heart felt like it was underwater at the moment—heavy.

"I’m sorry, Septa. I got carried away and didn’t put into mind that my actions made you feel bad," He spoke, his gaze soft and apologetic. He looked right into her eyes as he spoke.

His words caused a warmth inside Septa. She let out a soft, forgiving smile; her eyes brightened. "It is really nothing to apologize for. I just felt it would be best if I voiced out my feelings," she responded, her tone was brighter.

"Now, Septa, there is a high population here, and I thought we needed a bigger water body. Even if you are a water spirit, using you in that way will be impossible and inhumane. But that being said, your ability is essential to this plan as well," he said. He caught her interest with what he said.

"What is it?" she asked, jolting forward with a burst of energy, leaning into the table, her eyes pinned on him.

"Well, I wanted to speak to everyone one-on-one and inform them of what exactly they would have to do, but since you want to know, I’ll tell you," he responded. He got up from his chair, the chair scraped along the floor as it was pushed back.

he walked a small distance from the table, his hands spread out as he stood there, starting an explanation. "I have a belief that you elemental spirits can feel the structure of your element. I don’t know of a better way to say it, but what I can say is that Pentharis can tell if a metal is stronger than another one." He swung his hands about as he explained.

"I think I understand your concept," Pentharis said. He formed two balls of metal on his palms. "These two metal balls look similar, and they will weigh the same as well, but one is weaker." He allowed both metal balls to fall. Clack—they hit the table.

One of the balls shattered on impact, its small pieces scattered over the top of the table. The second ball, still intact, rolled off the table, a low humming sound followed as it rolled, going off the edge. A heartbeat later, it hit the ground.

"I made one of the balls weaker. I don’t know how to explain what I did, I could just do it. But I believe that is what Aric is saying," Pentharis said. Aric smiled. The illustration that Pentharis gave was a good explanation of what he was trying to say. He gave Pentharis a slight nod.

"It is exactly like he has shown—the ability to tell the structure of the element that you use," Aric said. He turned his focus back to Septa. "You can tell a water that is of higher quality, so you will be testing the treated water, ensuring that the water is good," he explained to her.

Her eyes lit up, lips curled up, knowing that her ability was going to be put to good use. "Thank you," she said in a high-toned pitch.

Aric only now realized that he had overlooked the spirits. He knew their names, he knew what their characters were supposed to be, but he had not really gotten to know them. He didn’t know their loves and hates, their fears and cares.

"Duvalis, go ahead," Ariel spoke after ascertaining that Aric had finished answering Septa. Duvalis got up and spoke. "What is the use of treating water for bacteria if the mana and spirit energy in our bodies could kill them?" He was straight to the point with his question.

Aric found the question intriguing, and a very smart question. "Duvalis, that was a good question. If mana is capable of killing the bacteria, then why should we worry about water treatment?

I have two reasons for that. The first reason I have to offer is the fact that not everyone is blessed with good mana, and as such, their bodies can’t kill the bacteria. The second reason is simply—precaution is always better," Aric said.

"That will be the last question for now," Ariel said. The meeting came to a close. Everyone left after that. Now only Aric and Ariel were there alone.

Ariel packed up the papers, her hands moved like a sloth. Aric noticed this, and immediately, he stretched his hand out and grabbed hers.

"What’s wrong, Ariel?" he asked, his tone affectionate and soft.

"It is nothing," she replied, attempting to shake off his hand, but his grip tightened. She looked away, but he pulled her to him, standing up and wrapping his arm around her. His movement swift like the wind, her eyes widened in shock as she felt his arm around her waist.

He looked her in her beautiful emerald eyes, with his gaze so affectionate that it shattered whatever defense she had. "What’s wrong, Ariel? You can tell me," he said, his warm breath brushed over her face as he spoke, causing a reaction inside her.

She bit her lip and looked down, her fingers tightening around the edge of the table. She opened her mouth multiple times to speak, but no words came out. As his gaze lingered on her, she finally spoke.

"You... you were supposed to tell me about what you plan before you do it. I felt useless when you brought up the water treatment and I had no idea," she explained.

Aric heard her. His throat tightened as he looked away, jaw clenched. He hadn’t realized that acting on his own so often could leave others feeling hurt

"I’m sorry. I didn’t realize that it meant that much to you," he said. He let go of her hand and softly grabbed her chin, pulling her face toward him. He kissed her soft lips, and then pulled away.

"I won’t do it again, I promise."