The Soul Reborn: From Silence to Sovereignty Chapter 86

Chapter 86: The Think Tank

That evening, I decided it was time to stop daydreaming about everything I could accomplish and start making it happen. There was so much to do, and we still had no idea about the Southern army’s progress.

So, we gathered.

Of course I was there. Like anyone would dare meet without me.

Noah would obviously be joining because he’d seen it all firsthand. He was my man, my most overpowered protector, essential for this journey. He would never let me leave without him.

Livia also came because she’s my girl and my most trusted female companion.

Elowen also joined in on this conversation; she was coming with us after all. It was important that she knew what was going on.

My cute daughter was the last participant in this gathering. Despite her divine soul and reality-breaking power, she had fallen asleep drooling on my shoulder as soon as we started, and I didn’t have the heart to wake her.

We sat around the table in one of the quieter castle chambers, candles flickering, papers spread, and my makeshift world map pinned to the wall with a butter knife. I was classy like that.

“Alright,” I began, adjusting Lyra’s blanket as I sat cross-legged on a cushion. “Let’s talk big picture. We have a transportation method, modern supplies, and the will to see everything come to fruition.”

Noah chuckled beside me, arms loosely crossed. “Is this the part where you announce the North’s first interdimensional empire?”

“Don’t tempt me,” I said, wagging a finger at him, “One step at a time.”

I looked around the table.

“So, if we’re going to modernize, prepare for war, raise living standards, and survive the coming political storm, we need a list. What do we build? What do we want? How fast can we make it happen?”

Livia raised a brow. “You want us to throw out ideas?”

“Exactly… I want a think tank, a brainstorming session that turns into a rapid-fire storm of innovation.”

“Think…tank,” Elowen spoke out, obviously confused.

“It’s an Earth phrase meaning to throw ideas around. No judgment. It can be big or small; it doesn’t matter.”

Noah leaned forward. “Roads.”

“Yes!” I jabbed a finger at him. “Thank you. Roads have to be the first step because I love my new car, and I’m annoyed at how difficult it is to drive here.”

Livia nodded. “Roads would also help our soldiers travel faster and increase travel times of our trade routes.”

“I was thinking gravel first and asphalt later, something we can actually produce here,” I muttered, tapping my lip. “That means we’ll need masons, surveyors, and people with the talent to replicate ideas instead of just following orders.”

Noah chimed in, “I know a few architects who might be able to help; they’re old blood, very loyal to my rule. They might not understand what you’re doing, but they’ll build what they’re told.”

“That’s good enough,” I nodded. “But what if… I could just bring back real engineers?”

Those words got everyone’s attention.

“You mean from Earth?” Livia asked.

“Yes,” I said, eyes gleaming. “Imagine if I offered gold for them to come with us for a few weeks and then just sent them back. But honestly, a lot of them would probably find it interesting to stay for a while in a different world, creating even more of a workforce for us here. They could also train our people.”

Elowen leaned forward. “Would they… come?”

She knew the least about Earth since I hadn’t explained all the finer details yet, but she seemed to be piecing it together.

“If I told them they’d be helping to build a society from the ground up, leaving behind dead-end jobs to actually matter, I think they’d come,” I said with a faint smile, “especially those without family or ties. The right people would see it as a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.”

Noah nodded slowly. “The North could explode with growth. What I saw over there was mind-breaking when it came to the machines they could build.”

“When it comes to education, we could probably get some chemists, mechanical engineers, and a structure designer. With that level of intelligence, it would advance us a hundred years in probably five or ten. Even just a math teacher who would be far beyond me could change a lot around here.”

Livia exhaled, looking overwhelmed. “I thought the toilet thing was ambitious.”

I grinned. “That’s just the beginning. If we’re careful, we could avoid chaos as we blend the old with the new.”

Noah glanced at Lyra. “You’d still need her every time.”

It’s probably not the best for a baby to keep jumping worlds, but she’s special, so it should be all good.

“I know,” I said softly, meeting her eyes. “But she’s my daughter, and I don’t plan on leaving her behind. Without her, none of this would have been possible. Carrying her with me isn’t a burden. It’s an honor.”

There was a moment of silence, broken only by the gentle sound of Lyra’s cute squeals. I gently rub her cheek with a smile that won't escape my lips.

Then Elowen said, “What about electricity?”

I blinked and smiled at her. That was one of the topics I explained in detail before this meeting, and she was even more interested in the idea of it than Livia.

“That’s an important step as well and could also join together with the magic already in the air here. That’s why bringing over scientists from the other world with magic as bait could improve our quality of living by miles.”

She flushed. “You mentioned lights, and I remember when you talked about fridges, something called a microwave and even a vacuum cleaner that can clean the house without maids… They all seemed to run on a type of energy.”

“Yes! We’d need to figure out how to create and store that type of energy over here. Water mills, steam, maybe even solar power, though that’ll be tricky without proper panels.”

“What about batteries?” Noah asked. That was something we bought when it came to the laptops we brought over; it was a fascinating topic for those here to think something so small could carry so much power.

“We can definitely stockpile those,” I nodded. “Rechargeable ones would be the best until we can figure out how to create our own. We’ll need to build generators that can also feed possible heated flows that would advance the quality of living in the cold North by a lot.”

The talk went on for hours… Topics stretched from plumbing to early wiring, glass production, waste disposal, and transportation networks. Feasibility, cost, and secrecy sparked debates. There were jokes, shared dreams, and the occasional burst of laughter. All the while, Lyra slept soundly on my lap, unbothered while we started changing the world.

Eventually, when the last scroll had been scribbled full of diagrams and lists, I leaned back with a satisfied sigh.

“That,” I said, stretching my arms, “was the best council meeting I’ve ever had.”

Elowen yawned. “I need a nap or a stiff drink.”

“That’s a no-go,” I said cheerfully. “We’re planning to head out tomorrow, after Noah sets up our cover with his inner people.”

Noah tilted his head slightly. “We’re going with that decoy strategy?”

“Yeah,” I said while sitting up straighter. “If we’re going to disappear again and for a much longer time frame, we can’t just vanish without a trace. We need people to cover for us and make it look like we’re off somewhere else doing boring, noble things.”

He gave a soft hum of understanding with a flicker of admiration in his eyes.

“Ah, yes.” He said with a nod. “The one where we have those called earlier to run interference through spreading misinformation about a diplomatic tour or inspecting the border defenses.”

“Yes, that’s perfect. We leave at night while it’s still pitch-black outside; since we don’t have streetlights here, there should be no issues. Nobody should see a thing.”

“If we’re going for a week over there,” Noah mused, glancing toward the window as if calculating through the stars, “it’ll only be about three and a half days over here.”

“Let’s just round it to eight days,” I said, already savoring every indulgence I planned to claim. “Four full days away gives us a comfortable cushion. People will just assume we’re off handling Archduke and Archduchess business.”

He leaned back, the corner of his mouth lifting. “You’re enjoying this way too much.”

“Oh, absolutely, and tomorrow you’ll understand why.” My grin widened as the room filled with uneasy stares. Honestly, these people really think I am up to no good… when my last grand scheme was nothing more than bringing a school to the North.

I leaned over and pressed a kiss to his lips, completely blocking out the other two gazes in the room.

“Right… honey?”

His smirk deepened after our kiss, instantly smitten with the girl in front of him, me, of course, “Always.”

Livia rolled her eyes, and Elowen just watched with a smile. She hasn’t reached Livia’s overall confidence level to show us any emotion she’s feeling.

Of course I was having extreme thoughts about what kind of chaos I could buy in eight days with a suitcase full of gold.

It was now time for our vacation/business trip to another world…

I was currently sitting in my beautiful BMW 341i with Elowen and Livia; Lyra was strapped into her baby seat between them. When we jump, of course I will have to hold her, but safety first before that takes place.

Noah was off finishing last-minute details. You know, warning the ones we brought into our inner circle about us leaving for a while to the other world on official business and, obviously, for fun!

From the stories I remembered, everyone complained about paperwork being a terrible annoyance. Personally, I never touched any of it unless I created it myself. Noah seemed to handle it with ease, finishing so quickly that he was usually back by early afternoon.

As I sat there, I regretted not using the motel’s Wi-Fi to download songs onto the smartphone I’d bought. The radio was completely useless in this world.

Elowen was like a kid in a candy store, so excited looking around at the interior of the vehicle.

“What does this one do?” she asked, pointing at the glove compartment. “Is this a weapons cache?”

“Nope, but I guess it could be if it was really small.” My grin grows as I look at her in the mirror. “It’s mostly used for storing maps, napkins, and questionable receipts.”

She tugged at the strap. “What’s this thing supposed to be?”

“Ah, a sacred sash of safety,” I declared. “Strap it across your body, and if we crash at high speed, it will keep you from flying through the windshield and turning into an unwilling acrobat in a death circus.”

Livia had a sudden intense glare my way. “You’re exaggerating, right?”

“Only a little,” I said in a sweet tone that didn’t really make her feel any better from the look on her face.

Elowen carefully fastened the belt as if she were disarming a magical relic, while Livia poked at the buttons on the door panel with mild curiosity, watching the window rise and fall with an amused expression.

“So this thing really moves on its own?” she asked, glancing toward the automatic gear shift.

“Indeed it does,” I replied, resting my hand theatrically on the wheel. “She purrs like a tamed beast, fueled by the lifeblood of ancient bones. Its gasoline, to be exact, an Earth invention that hurls you from a standstill to a rocket in the blink of an eye.”

Livia narrowed her eyes. “That sounds incredibly unsafe.”

“Welcome to Earth,” I said cheerfully.

Just then Noah appeared, stepping through the outer gate with that calm, focused expression that said everything was under control and no one would dare question it.

I watched him through the windshield as he walked up, opened the passenger door, and slid into the seat beside me like it had always been his place. But of course he was always meant to be next to me, hopefully on top of me at some point in the near future, as this mama is pent up.

“All set?” I asked, adjusting Lyra’s carrier with one hand.

He nodded. “They’ll hold the story. Four days without any incidents.”

I looked at all three girls in the backseat and grinned. “Hope you’re ready.”

Elowen asked, unsure, “For what?”

After her words I turned the key in the ignition, completely ignoring her question.

The engine roared to life with a deep, bestial roar that made both Livia and Elowen jolt in their seats, instantly grabbing for something to hold onto.

Elowen gasped. “It’s alive!”

Livia’s hand went to her dagger out of reflex.

I didn’t say anything because I was too excited to see their expressions once they really started to move.

My gaze fell upon my beautiful self in the mirror, a huge smile plastering my face.

Then, with deliberate flair, I shifted into drive and hit the accelerator.

The BMW surged forward, kicking up a spray of dirt as it tore across the clearing like a beast set free. The wheels struggled for grip at first, the loose soil nothing like the solid surface this machine was built for.

Both girls let out a startled yelp.

Elowen shouted, “Seraphina!” as she clung to the seat like a baby squirrel in a windstorm.

“Oh my god…” Livia hissed, clutching the ceiling handle with one hand and the back of my seat with the other, struggling to stay steady.

And I… just laughed my ass off as we sped towards our destination to make the jump across worlds with a loud, gleeful, and absolutely unrepentant expression.