Chapter 293: Progress of Town Development
「The priests are gone now, so should we check the actual scene? 」
I’m scared of what I might see, but it can’t be helped.
We have to pass through the second castle gate to go to the center of the town plaza. That’s where the 『Fae’s Bough』is located.
「Passers-by will only get startled even if there’s noise thanks to the location. 」
I felt relieved that we didn’t disturb the sleep of the residents.
We climb four to five steps to the door. Auro opened it and we entered the 『Fae’s Bough. 』. The garden is still undergoing construction, so the place is locked to prevent the general public from entering.
The garden with flowing water was right at the center of the place, and it is enclosed by corridors which led to shops, caretaker quarters and rooms for ‘dropping’ the spirits. There are also several spaces with small gardens instead of rooms, and these areas have black lattice fences facing the square instead of stone walls.
Our resident suspicious gardener Charles adorned the lattices with climbing roses. They’re still growing, but the whole place will surely become a splendid park from the inside out. It was actually a magnificent place, if we ignore Haniwa being the lord of it.
「Since we used stone walls, will installing another wall and door in front of the doors help with the sound proofing? 」
「Yes. It might be possible if we close off the corridor in front of the Bough’s room, with your permission. 」
「Then please. 」
「Understood. 」
We discussed it as we stood in the corridor in front of the door of the Bough’s room — it’s probably here that the sound leaked. Stone wall spirits will eventually be born thanks to the Spirit Bough, so my plan is to request their help with the soundproofing later on.
Hmm, maybe wind spirits can also help? Ah, but it’s quite rare for wind spirits to stay put, and they like to roam around different places and drop by their favorite spots, so I don’t think a permanent request would work.
When the door opens, spirit lamps near the door light up, albeit with a slight delay — I installed those. Thin fabrics hang from the ceiling and sway in the faint breeze — nah, it’s just the spirits happily playing, punching and hanging down the fabric as they fool around.
What a pretty sight it must be if the spirits appear as faint spheres of light. Maybe I should adjust how I See the spirits whenever I go to the temple so that they’ll look like that to me too.
Beyond the fabrics, the delicate black and white boughs and Haniwa sat on top of the cushion that was set on a pedestal. Haniwa is supposed to be the same rank as the black and white boughs, but its impact is far too strong. Oh well, if we look at it as the black and white boughs counted as one despite being two pieces then it wouldn’t be too odd, I guess.
Setting aside the black and white boughs, Haniwa looked like it wanted some sunlight. Well, I guess putting it inside a dark place makes it like a display in a museum.
I plan to put a round hole in the ceiling just like the one in the fortress city temple, but then the noise might leak out. Oh, maybe I can just add a soundproofing glass.
Although Haniwa looked like it’s about to move, not a single tremble could be seen. Well, it’s kinda weird that it’ll move in the first place.
「What should we do with the instruments? 」
「Make one set in the normal size and another set at the scale of 12:1. Put it here after the wall has been installed. I’m leaving the arrangements to you. 」
Not sure if the one playing would be Haniwa or if it’s going to be the spirits, plus I don’t even know how the heck they’re gonna do it in the first place. Besides, I can only identify a few at most; no idea what other instruments folks here have.
「Understood. 」
Auro placed his hand on his chest and did a tiny bow.
「We have to decide who’s going to manage this place as soon as possible. I want the doors opened if the weather’s nice. 」
「We’ll leave that to the patrollers for the meantime. 」
The patrol duty is done by the guards and also by castle employees twice a day, respectively.
The former are tasked for security. Other than dealing with fights and burglary, they also do inspections to check if folks leave their things in places they shouldn’t, or if stalls and booths are set up without authorization. They have a set route they have to patrol. Other than that, they would also check for loiterers. They must be free now since there are only a few residents currently.
As for the latter, since the town is still in the middle of constructions and development, they’re in charge of checking inexpediency, malfunctions and other flaws that must be dealt with as early as possible. They also check the buildings that people don’t enter, as well as check the progress of the construction.
Auro did the commentary while we went around the town. The theater was still under construction, as well as the concert hall beside it.
The town square already had stalls, and shoppers were going around them. They’re mostly essentials like food and baskets, but I’m sure it’ll be bustling in no time. The customers should be mainly the families of the craftsmen who settled down here.
The barracks and servant quarters are also currently rented out for the craftsmen who are still single. We also have cheap inns operating by the beach — although the expensive hotel in the town square also opened twin rooms because of the priest incident, apparently. Although there are rooms in the castle, they still didn’t want to show the interior, it seemed.
The town is shaping up now. Starting from the harbor with a pier, the wide main street extended to the town square, with three guard posts along the way. Outposts that provide a vantage point for attacking from above and equipped with iron grills that can be closed in case of emergency are also situated in several places.
Normally, the grills are opened, and the arches connecting the buildings on both sides of the main street have flags adorning them. It’s quite a scenic view, if I do say so myself.
The main street is also designed to have gentle slopes to make it easier for carts and carriages to pass through, but the other alleys are generally narrow and winding.
Because some places have sharp inclines, those areas are divided by staircases, steep slopes and waterways. Many of the alleys go towards residential houses, leading to dead ends. Folks who aren’t used to the area might lose their way, but since the town isn’t that huge, wandering around for a short while will eventually lead them to the main street.
In lieu of parks, open spaces about 15 square meters are also found here and there, serving as gathering places for the people.
For some reason, Nalluahdid folks have this habit of going out for strolls with their families in the evening, and they even sit down and chat with the people they meet while they’re out. Although it still remains to be seen whether the islander folks will also adopt that habit, I decided to have those spaces so that children can also play there.
Because I entrusted the overall design to Charles, trees and flowers grow throughout the town, and I’m excited to see them flourish.
Newcomers might lose their way at first, but once they’re familiar with the place, they might discover shortcuts and hidden passages disguised as doors of residential houses. They might even encounter doors that lead to walkways above the buildings, so it’d be interesting.
Oy, wait. Really, where is this town heading to?
Isn’t it weird? At first glance, it’s just a beautiful town with winding alleys dotted with flowers and greenery, but don’t you find it strange? I got caught up in the romance of it all, permitting and suggesting designs, but now I’m starting to wonder if I did the right thing.
NEXT CHAPTER
RELEASE RATE
I Got Transferred in the Middle of a Mountain
Speed up schedule by 10 hours
Current schedule: Every 80 hours
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