Amber looked at the light gray rampart in the distance, dotted with pale pink roses and vibrant green leaves and brambles contrasting with the wall, giving it the air of a princess's castle. The tree in the center of the base had nearly doubled in size since her last visit. "Luna, are we in the right place? We didn't take the wrong path, did we?"
Luna replied with her usual seriousness, "Yes, madam, we are at the exact location of Mr. Adam's base."
Amber nodded in admiration. "He's done a good job from the outside. It's impressive to see. I wonder how he did it in such a short time. That wall is almost a kilometer long."
Continuing to circle the wall with the caravan, they reached the south side of the base, where a huge 5-meter double stone door had been cut into the rock. Two golem knights with swords and shields flanked the door, motionless despite the arrival of the caravan.
Approaching the double doors, once they were a few meters away, the caravan saw the double doors slowly open inward. Adam appeared in the doorway, smiling at the sight of Amber and her group.
As the doors opened, the interior of the base was revealed to them. A grassy field with a few cattle grazed on it was crossed by a path leading through wheat fields to the inner wall.
Adam smiled and spread his arms wide. "WELCOME! WELCOME TO, TO, TO..." He quickly turned his head toward Primo. "Damn it, Primo, we didn't give the base a name. Now I look stupid."
Rose, sitting on Primo's shoulder, clapped her hands and waved her legs rapidly. "I know, I know, THE GARDEN OF THE FAIRY FATHER, NO! THE FLOWER PARADISE, better, better, THE TEMPLE OF THE FAIRY EMPRESS! Or, or..."
Adam sighed. "Rose, breathe. We'll take the time later to find a name for the house. We have guests now, so let's welcome them properly." Scratching the back of his neck awkwardly, he said, "Welcome to my home, Golden Age. Sorry for the slightly awkward welcome."
Seeing the spectacle of Adam and Rose, Amber cried so hard from laughter that she felt like she was going to die, unable to breathe. Being eliminated from the survival game by laughing herself to death seemed sad to her, but she completely accepted the sentence, unable to stop at the sight of Adam, embarrassed and with nowhere to hide.
Adam didn't want to leave the situation, which was horrible for him, so he continued, "Um, um, you can all come in and settle down in the meadow. There's room for everyone. Don't be afraid of the animals. They're friendly and will leave you alone."
He waved his hand, signaling everyone to follow him. "I think I've made some pretty nice products. I hope you like them, Amber, as improved food. "
Amber, having narrowly escaped death and managed to start breathing again, signaled to everyone to follow Adam's advice and settle down in the meadow.
...
Walking slightly behind Adam, Amber let her gaze wander from one element of the scenery to another, each more surprising than the last. Walking past the apple and cherry trees in the center of the alley, which were much bigger than normal, the yellow apples hanging from the trees like gold bars were stunning, as were the ruby-red cherries that looked like jewels decorating the trees.
All the crops along the way were unique and captivating, promising riches and wonders to those who managed to get their hands on some. She was just waiting for some improved plants to sell and support him for a long time before reaching a more than decent production level, and now here he was with a dozen different crops on a scale she hadn't even expected after a year of support from the guild.
Pushing open the wooden doors of the inner wall, Adam sighed, feeling the embarrassment of the disastrous welcome disappear, seeing out of the corner of his eye that his guests were admiring the surroundings, even Luna, with her closed face, showing a trace of shock on her face.
Looking at the newly named Order of Bob and Bab's Hammers working on the two warehouses on either side of the entrance, he apologized once again. "Sorry once again, it's not all finished, we're a little short-staffed, but the essentials are already done. Once the two warehouses are finished, everything can run at 100% and be perfectly kept ready so that you can come and collect everything at any time."
Amber watched the eight golems working on the construction site; some moving stone blocks to form the structure of the buildings, others finishing digging the foundations, and two slightly larger ones at the side of another fairy seemed to be reading a plan and giving instructions to the others.
The surprises for Amber didn't stop there. "How did he manage to tame fairies? They are among the rarest natives ever seen, obviously never tamed, and he has two working for him."
Reaching a small area in front of his house with a few chairs of the same model as the super lounge chair made by Rose, in the center of which was an equally luxurious low table holding a few bowls of fruit and vegetables, prepared for a demonstration and tasting of the products Adam had for sale.
Adam naturally headed for a chair. "Sit down. I've got everything ready for you to check out the quality of what I produce."
Watching Amber and Traal sit down, leaving Luna standing behind Amber, he said, "Let's get straight to the point. Everything here is a product of the fields within these walls, protected by a world tree and stone ramparts, improved daily by an earth fairy. All patrolled by fearless war golems 24/7, whose numbers are growing day by day."
Clapping his hands proudly, "Even though I don't know much about the possible dangers that may arise, I think I can say that this is a rather respectable production fortress, improved in less than two weeks of working alone."
Amber, now seated, switched into serious business mode. "It's good protective work, but Adam, I hope you haven't forgotten that what I'm looking for from you is high-quality food, not an impressive fortress."
Faced with Amber's seriousness, Adam allowed himself a confident smile and pointed to all the fruit and vegetables on the table. "I think I've more than fulfilled my part of the bargain. Feel free to try all the products and see for yourself how effective they are."