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Chapter 225: Opening the Waterways

I’m here in Nalluahdid.

Roofs and a part of the square are seen beyond the castle walls— I’m gazing at the cityscape that’s almost finished from the top of the tower.

The『Fae’s Bough』stood right in front of the plaza, surrounded by different buildings — a teahouse-slash-snack stand, bar-slash-tavern that also offers meals, a tall inn that has a card game room in it, a marketplace that handles slightly more expensive stuff, a market for food and miscellaneous sundries for everyday life, and a theater where folks can also sit on the stairs in front of the entrance to watch the play. There are also a few houses that have first floors that can be converted to a shop.

It’s not yet completely finished, but it’ll be a beautiful city once water flows freely there and more greenery grows.

The marketplace is quite narrow, but I guess it’s fine considering the size of the island. There’s a space for the tax collecting officer beside the entrance and the exit to the marketplace catering to luxury goods. Buyers are also taxed according to this world’s norms.

The marketplace dealing with food and household items doesn’t tax the buyers because we already have a system in place. The stalls have to pay tax when they’re opening shops. They can choose their rental terms too, either daily or monthly, and as the rental fee increases, so does the space and the facilities increase in quality too. We’re getting tax from freight and cargo so that it’s fairly cheap overall.

There’s also a ‘police’ station (basically the office of the guards) that also doubles as a bank next to the market. It’s mainly for exchanging money and handling banking services as I know it. They also have a get-money-now-pay-later system where the borrower gets the money in the morning and they pay it back with a small interest in the evening. They usually use the loan to procure goods and stock up in the morning, sell them throughout the day, then pay the borrowed money back from their sales.

That part of the town should be where the pharmacy is, I think?

The seaside is still far from being completely developed. We prioritized the plaza because about half of the islanders living downtown moved there. The other half relocated in other places to help with the various renovations being done on the island.

The waterways are finished, so today’s the day we’re circulating the water.

Arabesque mosaics with floral patterns adorned the floor, with the well right smack in the center. I actually cheated on this one and crafted it in a way that the spirits will help me. The glass already has antibacterial properties from the get go, the pattern I made attracted spirits that love cleanliness and purity.

The stonemasons made the pure white stone pathway continuing from the stairs until the well.

「Alright, we’re setting the magic stones in place now. 」
「Yes, Milord. 」

Soleil and Faramir, Gold and Silver are present. The two women seemed really taken aback by Auro’s 180 degree change in attitude towards me, but I also didn’t know what to make of it so I just ignored them all. Faramir, who is normally expressionless, is now staring at the floor intently. Hey, it’s not my fault, but why does that gaze make me feel guilty?

We received quite a shock back then when I just tossed the stones in, so now I gently put them in place. The well instantly overflows until the glass mosaic is completely submerged. The water continues to flow towards the castle, then it passes through the apertures and falls into the waterways and canals below.

「Amazing… 」
「What the… 」
Soleil and Kiel mumble. And then there’s Auro, who seems happy for some reason.

The submerged glass mosaic looks quite chic. The water gently hits the canal that is slightly higher than the stairs in the aperture.

「Whoa, looking good! 」
The water continues to flow to the waterways in the castle. I’m a bit thrilled and it’s quite fun too.

My tower, the castle courtyard, the aqueduct — all those goals are cleared as the water continues flowing toward the city plaza. It even reaches the vacant lot that we’re planning to turn into farming fields. I also added some tiny mosaics to enrich the water that will flow through the diverging irrigation canals. Duckweed and moss will probably grow very soon here.

「I was shocked when you showed the water in the well last time, but this is absolutely divine. It’ll definitely turn into a beautiful city. 」
「We have to modify the recruitment plans a bit for the immigrants that will be applying from now on. 」
Soleil is staring at the town ecstatically. Kiel is also surprised, but he returns back to normal right after.

As for Faramir, she seems more taken by the mosaic pattern than what’s going on with the city?

「I set two pieces of huge stones and two pieces of smaller ones. Put the large ones once the small stones’ effect wears off. It’s safer to do it staggered so that they won’t all stop at the same time. Any magic stone will do as long as it’s not a fire attribute, but use water type if you can. 」

「I understand. We will have Theof prepare it regularly, and Kiel and I will be in charge of inspecting and installation. If both of us are unable to do so then Soleil will do it in our place. 」
Auro placed his hand over his heart and made a light bow. Theof is the white-haired magic stone expert.

「Hm? You can just check it when it’s time to ring the bell, right? 」
There’s a bell that rings the time above the narrow staircase.

「There’s no way we can allow anyone here easily, you know. We installed a time bell in the 『Fae’s Bough』.
「We decided to ring the bell here during special holidays. 」
Kiel and Auro replied. Oh, I didn’t know you already arranged that.

「Well, as long as you’re managing it well then it’s fine with me. 」

There’s only a magic circle that draws power from the magic stones drawn in the shallow part of the well. They won’t see the magic circle that pumps water upward unless they dive 10 meters down, plus the plate engraved with the magic circle that summons water is right at the very bottom of the well.

Gold and Silver advised me to change the shallow holes where the magic stones are supposed to go and make it deeper, so it’s harder to take the stones out once they’re in. Just imagine what an arduous task it is to swim against the current of the water pumping well just to get the plate submerged into the deepest part of the well.

Still, I also agree that there will be several groups of people who want to know how the water overflows. Even I will get curious if I learn that there’s also something like this somewhere.

「Ah, right. Can you install these in all directions? 」
「What might it be? 」
Auro took the sack from me. Eh, is Auro now the one in charge of me?

He opens the sack, takes the item out and removes the cloth wrapping it. It’s a bedroom of a light spirit — it’s a lantern, I mean.

「What’s this? Is this also glass? 」
「It’s a beautiful work of art as always. 」
Kiel and Soleil peered at the thing in Auro’s hands.

「This is — 」
Before I can continue, tiny light spirits come rushing like fireflies and they fly straight into the lantern. The glass’s round part became packed with spirits. Ah, they’re piling in, they’re totally piling in.

So it’s not one spirit, one lantern, huh? If they’re tiny they’ll get all cramped.

「Yup, as you can see, it’s light, although not really obvious since it’s noon right now. 」

「What do you mean by ‘as you can see’, huh!? This is a spirit lantern, isn’t it!? 」
Soleil shrieks as she swoons, with Faramir catching her.