As expected, the Giant looked mildly scandalized by the visible hickey on Max's neck, while the Valkia Envoy hid a smirk behind his hand, and the Innu Envoy was so engrossed in her lunchtime coffee, only the second one that she had been allowed for the day, that she hadn't even registered what he was wearing.
The Huntress in charge of negotiations was also here, though Hunter men covered in bruises and love bites was a completely normal thing in her eyes, so she didn't think anything of it. To her, the concept that your partner shouldn't end up with marks meant that other species simply didn't enjoy the process enough.
No wonder they got along so well with Nico. Who else would consider even the bedroom arts to be a full-contact sport?
"Good morning, everyone. I have finished processing all of the applications for the second territory developments, which were submitted in time for my return. I will congratulate the Innu Envoy in advance. The design of the resort you invested in looks, particularly lovely. Though they thought it might be impossible, I have been assured that Absolution does indeed have the metallurgical knowledge to make that design plausible.
I'm sure you all know that this means many more days of increased ship traffic, even before we send out the Mecha Regiments again to clear a third planet in keeping with our assignment from the Alliance Central Government.
But on a positive note, the expansion of the living areas is proceeding on schedule, and we have seen some truly innovative architectural requests from the investors that would make any tourist happy to wander the streets of Absolution." Max greeted the room.
"Tell me about it. Did you know that they are building an actual aviary downtown? I've never seen one outside of a Valkia planet." The Envoy replied with a look of awe.
Max had to search the records to see what he meant, and it was basically the Valkia version of a gated community, a beautiful spiral building with no interior entrances. Every unit was accessible only from the outer balcony.
Of course, with Gravity Control, not only winged species could visit, but it wasn't a popular form of architecture among many species.
"I see that it should be receiving its first residents today. Six hundred exclusive units, with easy access to the open airspace of the parks and the forest outside the city limits." Max agreed now that he knew what the Envoy was talking about.
"What sort of safety features does it have? There have been many issues in the past with guests suffering from vertigo and falling out of the units." The Giant's assistant asked curiously.
His thoughts said that humans weren't really known for safety features, so the answer should at least be entertaining in the way that it made that vein on his boss's head pulse.
"Each balcony has a railing, and there is a gravity net on the second floor. If you fall past it, you will land somewhat gently. I am assured that it will be completely harmless for over ninety percent of the station's residents." Max informed him with a smile.
He was right. That did make the vein in the Giant Envoy's head pulse.
"And the other ten percent?" The assistant asked.
"Likely shouldn't be hanging around on the balcony of an aviary suite." Max shrugged.
The Innu perked up at that point and started scrolling through her data tablet. "I heard the most wonderful song to sum up the human policy on this issue. Now where was it? Oh, here it is. The song is called Live and Let Die. Do you know it?"
Max nodded. It was a regular feature on the radio back home when it first came out.
"Indeed I do, but we don't intend to let them die. The gravity net is quite safe, but some more fragile species might still suffer broken bones on landing from higher elevations. The data sheet says that this is part of the reason that the Aviary architecture has been mostly abandoned to history. It's quite difficult to make it child safe, and the Elderly often have similar issues."
"Enough about the excited bird boy. When will my resort be open? They stocked all of the species of fish that I asked for and updated the coral reefs just offshore so that they would have a perfect habitat." The Innu Envoy interjected.
"They're being completed now. They will be ready in the next few days. But might I ask, how did you get the design team to update the schematic for an ocean-sized design specifically to benefit your resort?" Max retorted.
"Oh, that was easy. The design teams of the Terminus Trading Company are primarily Innu-led. All I had to say was 'Pretty Fish,' and they knew exactly what I wanted." She informed him proudly.
She wasn't lying, either. She had literally only said two words and the design team had started updating the plans to introduce their favourite species of fish to the area.
There were no major predators in the ocean that would be a threat to a human-sized visitor, but there were a number of carnivorous fish to keep the ecosystem balanced.
The whole thing had been modelled after an extremely successful Innu biome experiment, where they had attempted to stabilize a lake with native fish and plant life from their home planet but had ended up with species from over twenty planets before they had found the perfect balance where nothing grew out of control without being kept in check.
That's not to say that there weren't large creatures. They had introduced a species called whale sharks which grew to be over twelve meters long. They ate small creatures like shrimp, as well as plankton and some forms of algae, and their appetite meant that they didn't need as many medium-sized creatures in the water to maintain the balance.
"If anyone needs me, I will be distracted, sending messages since we are getting so close to bringing in more people. The fact that we are a human ship is one of the selling points of Absolution, so staff resources have recruited even more staff to work alongside the amphibious species at the surface resorts.
Then we need to arrange the transfer of the belongings to the underwater resorts, and I'm told that some of them can't be dried out, so we will need to implement new procedures for that, and it's already giving me a headache."
"Don't worry about us. We've gotten good at getting our work done in here where nobody can bother us. Just do what you need to do, and a certain someone will ask you every fifteen minutes if she's allowed to have another coffee yet." The Giant grumbled.
"I am not that bad. I had three yesterday, one for each meal, which is perfectly reasonable. You're just upset that I used the audio of you agreeing as the alert tone for my alarm."
She wasn't wrong. He was still mad about that. The Giant hated being mocked in any way, shape or form, but everyone around him had been working with him long enough to know all of his weaknesses. If not for the fear that the next group would be even more obnoxious, he likely would have requested a transfer by now.
Follow current novels on freewe(b)novel.c(o)m