Ruby ceased her relentless barrage of fireballs at the house and pivoted toward Lux. “I’m relieving my frustrations,” she replied, her voice unsettlingly calm.

  Lux surveyed the scorched grass, the acrid smell of burn earth stinging his nose. Ruby’s idea of stress relief, apparently.

  He fought the urge to sigh and decided that, for his own sake, he needed to suggest a less destructive outlet. “How about you talk to me about what’s bothering you? Maybe I can help you come up with a solution?” Lux was determined to improve their relationship, the tension he felt around this woman was not doing his heart any favours.

  A hostile expression flickered across Ruby’s beautiful features. The longer the silence stretched, the more Lux felt his nerves twist, his heart thumping erratically. This was exactly why he wanted to fix things between them! He had only asked a simple question, but her reaction turned him into a nervous wreck every time.

  Ruby suddenly tilted her head, squinted, then let out a heavy sigh. “Fine.” With a curt wave, she gestured to the log seats nearby. Lux followed and took a seat across from her, waiting patiently for her to start.

  "Silver is extremely important to me." Ruby’s gaze locked onto Lux, searching his face for any sign of reaction. Lux kept his expression perfectly blank. He knew better than to show any emotion, if he did, Ruby might clam up and refuse to say anything more.

  When he stayed silent, Ruby pressed on. "He sorted out my family drama and made it so that I am free to do what I choose. Being with Silver is the first time I have felt free in my entire life. I wish to pay back this debt. However, I have not been able to find a way to do this so far."

  “You’ve only been here a week and already made great contributions to building Silver City. I, on the other hand, have been in Silver City for over a year and haven’t contributed anything to Silver’s goals.”

  Lux immediately understood. Ruby wanted to be useful in building Silver City for her friend’s sake. He took her words seriously and started pondering how she could feel more valuable.

  An idea struck him. “Ruby, what Silver City needs most right now is a way to secure income. Expanding the farm is the easiest way, and we can sell the extra produce. But our current irrigation system won’t support a larger farming area.”

  He let that sink in before continuing. “If we could make a clay irrigation system, expanding the farm wouldn’t be a problem. We’re tight on funds after building the factory, so making the irrigation system ourselves would be a huge help.”

  The beautiful walking kiln in front of him fell silent, clearly deep in thought. Lux had to fight to keep a grin off his face, not wanting Ruby to think he was mocking her. As he waited for her to connect the dots, he started making plans in his head.

  With an earthen pipe irrigation system, he wouldn’t have to hold back on farm expansion. When Ruby finally emerged from her contemplation, her radiant smile nearly blinded Lux. He was suddenly reminded of the first time he’d seen her, this woman truly was breathtaking.

  “Fire is needed to set clay, right?” Ruby asked, her eyes glittering. Lux nodded. “Then I’ll be pivotal in the produce exports for Silver City.” Her words grew more determined. “That will be a great contribution to Silver City!”

  Ruby abruptly stood up. “I’ll start right away!” Before Lux could say a word, the red-haired woman was already striding toward the farm. “Does she even know how to make clay pipes?” Lux muttered to himself. He chuckled, then followed Ruby to the farm.

  When he arrived, Ruby was speaking animatedly to Twiggs, who looked utterly perplexed. The moment Twiggs spotted Lux, his eyes lit up like he’d just seen his saviour. “Lux!” Twiggs hurried over, Ruby trailing behind.

  Before Lux could explain, Ruby jumped in. “Lux, Twiggs found clay we can use on the other side of the lake. He can transport it with his magic. Look, he’s already made a big pile for me to start working with.” She pointed to a heap of clay at the lake’s edge.

  Lux was genuinely surprised. Ruby was fast when she had a goal. He quickly explained the size and thickness of the pipes, and Ruby wasted no time starting to shape sections of tube.

  As Ruby worked, Lux turned to Twiggs. “I’ll draw up a plan for the expansion. Would you be able to execute the design?” After his last experience cultivating land, Lux was eager to hand the job over to someone more capable. He just hoped Twiggs would agree.

  “Of course, I am pivotal in the farm’s growth, after all.” Twiggs accompanied his words with a sweet smile. Lux shivered as he noticed that Twiggs’ eyes didn’t match his tone… a clear threat lurked in his gaze.

  “Yes, pivotal! Without Twiggs, the farm would still be just paper waiting to be built!” The answer seemed to satisfy Twiggs, the twigs in his hair even vibrated with happiness. Lux patted his chest in relief. These people even competed over who could contribute the most!

  Holy hell, what had Silver done to these people to create such an overwhelming desire for recognition? Lux quickly shut down that dangerous train of thought. He really didn’t want to know. Sometimes ignorance was bliss.

  This story has been stolen from Royal Road. If you read it on Amazon, please report it

  Lux decided to get to work on the farm plans. Twiggs wandered off to find the others to help clear the land. By the time Twiggs returned with Azura, Violet, and Magenta, a clear plan was laid out in front of Lux.

  Twenty-four acres of land were set aside for farming. Ten acres were designated for orchards. Lux planned to make fruit wine and sell fruit. He showed the plans to the group. Azura was the first to react. “Are you out of your mind? You want us to clear twenty-four acres of land? Do I look like a slave to you?”

  Before Lux could reply, Violet shoved Azura aside with a palm to the face. “You don’t need him, Lux, I’ll be enough to clear the land for you! I’ll be pivotal in helping the farm expand!” The familiar word ‘pivotal’ made Lux’s mouth twitch, he had to bite his lip to keep from laughing.

  “Hey! Who said I wasn’t going to help? I was just saying it can’t be done in a day!” Azura bristled.

  Lux’s body shook as he tried to suppress his laughter. These people were hilarious! He was delighted to have found a new way to get them to cooperate. He watched Violet and Azura bicker as he got his amusement under control.

  When he was finally calm, he explained his plan properly. “Azura is right, it’ll take a while to clear that much land. We’ll work on one acre at a time.” That would also give Lux time to recruit construction workers to build houses for the future farmers.

  Azura puffed out his chest and looked down his nose at Violet. “See? What I said was right.”

  “Fuck off,” Violet shot back.

  Lux handed the farm outline to Twiggs. “I’ll leave this to you this time.” Twiggs took the parchment with a solemn nod. “I will not let Silver down! I’ll make this farm the most prosperous in all of Mystic Beau!”

  Lux slapped a hand over his mouth and turned away from the group, his shoulders shaking as he tried to stifle his laughter.

  “Lux, is something wrong?” Twiggs asked, cautious.

  Lux shook his head. “No, I was just so moved by your sincere words!” he lied. To avoid getting caught, he quickly changed the subject. “I need to find Trella to discuss hiring long-term construction workers.” He strode off toward the logging factory site.

  As he walked, he heard footsteps behind him. He turned to see Magenta grinning. A shiver ran down his spine at her delighted expression. “I know what you just did, my future husband.” Lux froze. She wagged a finger at him. “Manipulating people is bad, you know.” Lux felt the blood drain from his face. “Don’t worry, I won’t say anything for now, as long as you don’t assign me any tasks.”

  Relief washed over him at Magenta’s laziness. “I won’t assign any labouring tasks, but I can’t get out of you having to visit towns, you’re the only one with porthole magic,” Lux reasoned.

  “Deal.” Magenta held out her hand, and Lux slid his palm into hers. “I like how easy you are to communicate with, darling.” She blew him a kiss. “Don’t forget to tell Silver how ‘pivotal’ I was in helping.” With that, she waltzed away.

  Lux finally let out a laugh. “She wants just as much recognition as the others.” He wasn’t worried about her spilling the beans.

  When Lux arrived back at the construction site, he was shocked to see a completed factory standing tall in the clearing. Trella and the workers were sitting around the wagons, chatting and eating.

  As Lux approached, he sensed something was off. Sombre expressions clouded the workers’ faces. He went straight to Trella to find out what was going on. The young man looked up when someone tapped his shoulder to alert him to Lux’s approach. “Is everything alright with the factory?”

  “Oh yes, the factory is on schedule,” Trella replied in a flat voice. Lux was confused, if the job was going smoothly, why did everyone look so down?

  “Did something else happen?” Lux asked, prompted by the gloomy atmosphere.

  Trella sighed. “Sorry, Lux. We just got some bad news. It’s nothing for you to worry about, nothing to do with the factory.” Trella soon forgot Lux was standing there, staring at his clasped hands with a forlorn expression.

  An older man sitting next to Trella patted him on the shoulder. “Lad, we still have a few days to get it sorted. It’s not the first time this has happened, and we always pull through in the end.” The older man turned to Lux. “Don’t mind Trella, he’s just distracted. Was there something you needed to discuss?”

  Lux glanced around the group and decided to come back tomorrow. “No, it’s nothing important. I just wanted to ask how much it would cost to hire construction workers for an extended period.”

  Trella’s head snapped up, and he fixed Lux with a burning stare. Several nearby workers did the same. “You need to hire workers? How many? How much will you pay? Do you need them to start right away? How long will you need them?” The rush of questions startled Lux.

  He held up his hands. “I missed most of those, you asked too fast.”

  “Sorry, Lux, I got a bit excited. We just lost a contract that secured our employment for the next six months. We’re in a panic because none of us want to return to our planets.” Trella’s explanation only confused Lux further.

  “What? Doesn’t everyone have to return after their visa is up?” Then he remembered Novgar boasting about extending his stay on Mystic Beau with extension visas.

  Trella shook his head. “No, it’s possible to stay longer if you get extension tickets. We get them through the labour guild if we have secure employment.”

  Lux nodded, understanding now. He’d always thought of Mystic Beau as a holiday destination, but it looked like not everyone came here for a vacation.

  This was good news for Lux. He needed workers to build houses and farm the land. “Does anyone in your group have farming experience?” If he could hire construction workers who could double as farmers, that would be a huge bonus.

  A smile broke out on the muscular youth. “Yes, everyone here has experience farming! We do all sorts of odd jobs!”

  Lux grinned, then froze as he thought about wages. He quickly pulled out his ledger and started making calculations. “Trella, how many in your group need a contract?”

  Trella’s uneasy expression returned as he nervously picked at his nails. “Everyone except the construction mages,” he said softly.

  To hire twenty-five people at 20 silver per hour would cost him 4 gold per day! With no income coming in, that was impossible.

  Lux felt awful, but there was no way to justify the expense. Silver would eventually return, and Lux would have to answer for his actions. “Trella, I’d love to hire your whole crew, but we’re just a small settlement. I can’t spend four gold per day on wages.”

  A sombre look returned to Trella’s face. “I understand, Lux. We’d be grateful even if you just hired one of us. What’s your budget?”

  As Lux was about to answer, a loud bellow echoed through the clearing. “Novgar of the Bluehill Boulder Tribe will smite all foes!”

  At the familiar voice, Lux turned. His eyes went wide as he saw Novgar was not alone, a silver-haired companion stood next to the furious green man. Lux recognised Silver instantly.

  He’d thought he would have more time to come up with a valid reason for spending all the money! As Lux mind started to race trying to come up with anything that sounded reasonable, Novgar drew his sword.

  “SHIT!” Lux spat, realising Novgar was about to do something incredibly stupid!