Chapter 271: A Growing Village
A perfectly even pane of glass slotted into the window frame of the thirty-first house.
Iron exhaled and slumped against the wall of the house with his entire body. His legs were giving way. Unable to keep his balance, he slowly slid down and sat right on the ground.
The building conveniently cast a thick shadow, shielding him from the scorching sun. A light breeze glided over his body, bringing a touch of coolness.
Iron sat with the back of his head resting against the wood, simply enjoying the moment of peace. Suddenly, voices sounded nearby — a guy and a girl were talking. The voices seemed unfamiliar. Iron tilted his head slightly and peeked around the corner of the house. Two people stood in the clearing, chatting about something, but he just couldn't place their faces. Iron simply leaned back again and closed his eyes.
About three minutes passed like that.
Then, footsteps and the rustle of wood echoed again. Iron slowly cracked his eyes open and looked to his right. Eliza and Liana emerged from the edge of the forest. Both were dragging impressive armfuls of building materials — logs, offcuts of boards, and bundles of dry branches. They were heading toward the center of the clearing.
Without stopping, Liana casually glanced toward the houses as she walked and immediately extended a finger, pointing straight at Iron. Eliza turned her head, noticed him, said something to Liana, and gave a light nod. Liana nodded back in agreement.
Dumping all the wood into the pile in the center of the clearing, both girls turned around and headed toward him.
Iron, who had been watching them this whole time, sighed heavily, planted his palms on the ground, and slowly got to his feet. He stretched, kneading his stiff back and shoulders.
"Well, how are you? Are you feeling alright?" Liana asked as she ran up, peering intently into his face.
"Yeah, more or less fine," Iron replied, rolling his neck slightly.
Liana smiled with genuine joy upon hearing that Iron was feeling better. Eliza, meanwhile, placed her right hand on the back of her neck and asked:
"By the way, did you see we have some new arrivals?"
Iron shifted his gaze to Eliza, thought for a moment, recalling the recent voices around the corner of the house, and replied:
"Ah, well... I heard some guy and girl's voices. Is that who you mean?"
"Yeah, and not just them," Eliza nodded. "A few more families moved in along with them."
Iron raised his eyebrows in surprise:
"And how did that happen?"
"The guy and the girl you mentioned are named Mina and Meruem," Eliza began to explain. "They're brother and sister, some adventurers. They were passing by not far from here, and a monster attacked them. Elyria protected them, and so they ended up staying with us."
Iron just opened his mouth to say something, but Eliza immediately continued:
"Over the four days they spent here, they ended up really liking the place. Eventually, they called their parents over from Voldin village. Their parents loved everything here too, and it turned out that practically their entire former village relocated to us."
"I see..." Iron said. "Good work."
"Say thanks to Elyria for that," Eliza scoffed lightly. "She organized the whole thing."
Iron was surprised and asked again:
"Seriously?"
"Yeah," Eliza confirmed.
Got it... I should probably thank her somehow... Iron noted to himself as he turned toward the Main Building.
Taking a step toward the entrance, he paused and looked back at Liana:
"So, how is the settling in going?"
"Oh, everything's super, don't worry!" Liana replied eagerly. "The first few days were a little tough, of course, because I didn't know the area at all. But now I really love it here!"
"Well, that's super," Iron smiled.
He headed for the doors of the Main Building, but Eliza called out after him:
"Hey, make me some cigarettes!... Mine ran out."
"Alright," Iron replied, after which he stepped inside.
At that moment, Eliza turned to Liana and looked at her intently:
"Maybe you should take a break?"
"No, I can still work," Liana shook her head.
"Alright, let's go then," Eliza shrugged.
They turned around and headed back toward the forest. After walking a short distance, Eliza still couldn't resist asking:
"I don't get it, do you really love working that much?"
"Yup," Liana replied with a faint smile.
At that moment, Eliza froze abruptly for a second, but then immediately kept walking, a warm smile appearing on her face. Walking beside her, she gently patted Liana on the head:
"Yeah... you really would have liked her."
"Hey, what's got into you?" Liana got flustered, leaning away slightly and looking at her in surprise.
"Sorry," Eliza replied with a smirk.
She continued walking on, adding more quietly under her breath:
"Truly an abnormal person..."
"What?" Liana asked, not quite catching it.
Eliza just chuckled in response and quickened her pace.
Meanwhile, Iron returned to his office and sank into his chair. His headache had almost receded, leaving only a slight heaviness in the back of his head. The blueprint he couldn't bring himself to work on just a few hours ago was still lying on the tabletop.
He picked up the pencil and, with precise, confident movements, added the final touches to the schematic. Carefully double-checking the formulas and extension lines, Iron made sure all the calculations added up.
"Alright, it's done," he said quietly. "Now I just have to make it and test it."
He set the pencil aside and froze thoughtfully over the blueprint.
In theory, it should completely copy the structure of the coin itself, recreating an exact duplicate, he thought.
Iron took a Uni coin out of his pocket and began to intently examine its complex, shimmering geometric lattice:
"But will the device be able to copy it...?"
He sighed heavily and thought to himself in frustration:
I really lack proper equipment... and materials that could withstand all this.
Iron tossed the coin into the air and got up from the desk. Landing on the tabletop, the coin spun in place with a metallic ring.
"Whatever. I've gotten out of worse," Iron exhaled.
He left the office, walked through the hall, and pushed open the door of the Main Building.
Right on the porch, Iron nearly collided with an elderly man. He had a bald spot on his crown and gray hair on the sides.
"Hello," Iron gave a short nod.
The old man nodded in greeting. Iron closed the door behind him and already took a step to the side, but then stopped and called out to the departing elder:
"What's your name, by the way?"
The old man turned around and replied good-naturedly:
"They call me Wilhelm."
Iron took a step toward him:
"I'm Iron Everfall. Nice to meet you. And... may I ask... are you happy with everything in this village?"
Wilhelm thought for a second, and then replied:
"Yes, of course, everything suits me fine. After all, if my sons like it, then I like it too."
Iron was about to reply, but the old man continued:
"But if we're really talking about flaws... It's just too empty. There are houses. But they're lined up in such a row that the village itself feels far too empty." Wilhelm paused briefly and smiled: "Then again, that's probably because there was absolutely nothing here just a short while ago. So it's actually amazing that everything was set up so well for living in such a short time."
"Thank you for your thoughts," Iron replied. "I hope you have a good time here."
Wilhelm nodded and unhurriedly walked on. Iron, meanwhile, walked along the trees, casting his gaze over the row of thirty-one wooden houses.
Sure, it really does look too empty, he thought to himself. But if the whole clearing is built up with houses... or at least most of it... then how will Eliza and the others stack their logs, branches, and everything else?
He gave his head a slight shake:
Still, sooner or later, I really will have to build houses throughout this whole area.
Iron thought:
Coordinates...
In the very next second, precise data flashed across his retinas. Without breaking his stride, Iron took another step forward — and his silhouette instantly dissolved into thin air.
At that same time, far from the village, dry, cracked earth stretched out in all directions. In the middle of this wasteland towered a massive dark castle.
Semi-darkness reigned inside the castle. Lucius Feramir stood with his back to a wide window.
Valerius was right next to him. He turned his head slightly toward him and asked quietly:
"So? Do you have everything ready?"
Lucius turned around, leaned his hands on the massive stone windowsill, and fixed his gaze on the plains outside:
"Yes, it's ready. But there are still a few things that need to be fine-tuned."
Valerius exhaled sharply, shaking his head:
"Yeah, okay. Remind me, when is this gala dinner?"
"In three months, in the Kingdom of Versailles," Lucius replied in an even voice.
Valerius straightened up, no longer leaning against the wall, stretched slightly, and took a couple of steps toward the exit of the room. On his way, he tilted his head back slightly and said with a barely perceptible smirk:
"I can't wait to see it."
Lucius smiled for a second and replied quietly after him.
"Yeah."