Chapter 141 – The palace was completed!
"Bu-but that wasn't there this morning?"
Fule said as she looked at the huge building that had suddenly appeared on the side of the island with the pier. Her eyes were blinking rapidly.
"Uh, yeah. It wasn't there during the day either…"
I answered while blinking several times as well.
As I had gone straight down after sleeping in my cave bedroom, I only returned to the surface during lunch. But then again, for the past few days, I had only gone to the side with the World Tree.
In any case, I was pretty sure there had been nothing like this.
"…Huh? What's he…"
As we stood there, a lone man came walking towards us from the building.
"Mappa…"
"Wait, he's wearing a bowtie around his neck today? But it doesn't suit him at all."
Like Fule said, Mappa had a bowtie around his neck. In fact, he looked a little smug when he realized that we had noticed it.
Yes, it didn't look very good. If he was going to put that on, why not wear some clothes first…
Mappa stopped right in front of us and put his right hand on his chest, and his left hand behind his back, and then he performed an exaggerated bow.
"What's gotten into you, Mappa? And what is this building?"
When I asked this, Mappa gestured for us to follow him.
It was like he was saying, 'come with me and I'll explain it to you.'
And so Fule, Taran, Shiel, Number 15 and I followed after him.
What I noticed immediately after leaving the entrance was that the building was actually quite some distance away.
It was so big that it had seemed much closer from the cave.
And between the cave's entrance and the building, was a fountain made of marble, a flower bed, and a vast and beautiful garden with an arbor. Lamp posts that used Shining Stones were installed at equal intervals, and I could also see what looked like a lake a short distance away.
And when we turned around, I saw that the cave's entrance was now part of a temple-like building.
The garden and entrance also had rows of great marble statues. Some were even made of gold and silver.
"I see. Baris did say that he would make the palace here…"
He had said that he wanted to make a grand palace with everyone, and show how prosperous this country was.
But the garden itself was enough to show that…
While it was hardly as big as the Sanfaris palace garden, it was undeniably splendid.
And then we arrived at the building.
"Ohh…it's four stories…no, five…"
I said as I looked at the windows.
These windows were about two times the height of a human.
And the first floor was twice the height of the others.
When it came to height, the building was taller than even the Sanfaris palace.
There was a flight of marble steps that led to the entrance, and it was wide enough for twenty people to walk side by side.
"These stairs are incredible… Alright, let's go in. Huh? We can't?"
As I tried to climb up the steps, Mappa suddenly blocked my path.
He was pointing around with his finger, so he probably wanted us to enter from the front.
"This old man is really obsessed over small details…"
Fula said with annoyance.
"Well, I guess he really wants us to see the front as well…"
And so we followed Mappa and went around the building.
There was what looked like a marble jetty towards the sea.
"I don't know. Being too extravagant might be a bad idea. Oh, here we are."
There was no garden in the front of the building. There was only a large field.
And while the palace walls were still decorated with detailed art, and there were pillars and statues, there was no gold used here like there was in the back garden.
"This level is a lot more relaxing to look at. Huh?"
Rienna and Baris were standing in front of the palace.
And so we rushed towards them.
"Ah, you two. Did you know about this, Rienna?"
Rienna nodded.
"Baris suggested it. We all wanted to surprise you."
"Baris did? You didn't have to do that… But, how did you manage to do all of this in one day?"
I asked. Baris then began to laugh very happily.
"Oh, it would be quite impossible to do this in just one day. And so we started this several days ago."
"Days ago? But I didn't see anything like this."
"We concealed it with magic. Elto taught me some mimicking magic, you see. And so when you and the others passed by, you would see what had originally been here instead of the building and garden."
"I-I didn't know that there was such magic… I was completely fooled."
"Hohoho. It seems that my skills with magic have improved greatly."
Baris was quite pleased with himself.
'Magic King' was a crest that granted the owner incredible magic energy.
Perhaps he would surpass me soon…
It was with such thoughts in my head that I looked up at the palace again.
"Still, it really was a surprise. But I suppose you haven't finished the interior yet?"
"We have. Mister Mappa has built furniture and decorations for all of the rooms, and they were all placed inside. However, we haven't finished with items that use fabric yet. So there are no curtains or carpets."
"Well, that cannot be helped. Alright, let's take a look inside then."
"Yes, please do. Princess, can you take it from here?"
"Yes. Lord Heal, come this way."
And so Rienna guided me from there.
We climbed up the steps and the giant golden doors were opened by some goblins.
And then we walked into a giant hall.
"Woah. Is this the great hall?"
"Yes. I suppose it can be used for ceremonies…and balls? Well, according to Baris, it is a place for such events."
"I see… And it has an open roof? No, is that glass?"
When I looked up, I saw that there was a giant dome made of glass.
While it was very beautiful, I was a little scared that it might shatter…
But as if she had read my mind, Rienna said,
"Don't worry. The dome is made of Leviathan scales."
"Leviathan scales? Well, that is a relief."
It was pretty much impossible for those to shatter. Mappa had used them to make glasses before, but it was nice to see them being used so well here.
"And to the side, we have the meeting room. There are also other rooms that have been prepared so that each department can work."
Rienna said as she pointed towards a long hallway that stretched out from the great hall.
This hallway was also very wide, and was decorated with vases and statues.
And in the back of the great hall, there was a flight of steps that led to a very extravagant chair… It was made of silver and gold and encrusted with precious stones.
As I looked at it, Rienna turned to me.
"And here is the throne. So you have somewhere to sit, Lord Heal."
"You really made it quite lavish…"
"It is to be expected for an emperor. Now, please sit on it to see if it's comfortable."
"Hmmm. Well, since people worked so hard…"
And so I slowly moved towards the throne.
By sitting here, I would be seen as the king of this country to outsiders. Every word that I spoke from this throne could affect the fate of this island… Thinking about it like that, my feet started to feel heavy.
However, I had sworn to become emperor in order to protect everyone here. At this point, what could be easier than just sitting on a chair?
And so with a renewed resolve, I began to climb the steps.
However, I suddenly felt a rush of wind pass me by.
And when I followed it with my eyes, I saw that Mappa was reclining on the throne.
"Hey! Don't you know that this is where Lord Heal is supposed to sit?!"
Fule shouted. However, Mappa paid her no mind as he sat there with an air of self-importance.
"Hey! Get down from there! If you can sit on it, then I want to sit on it too!"
Fule said as she desperately tried to pull Mappa off of the throne.
So they just wanted to sit on it. Or were they arguing that they were the greatest…? Well, I didn't really care.
Perhaps it was a good reminder that I shouldn't get so worked up.
Rienna watched Mappa and Fule's battle over the throne, and said,
"Hehe. You two. Please let Lord Heal sit on it."
"No, Rienna. Anyone can sit on it if they want. I'll just sit on it when it's necessary."
Yes. I just needed to act like an Emperor when I had to. On this island, we would continue to make decisions together. I would rely on the others when I needed help, just like how they relied on me.
And so I thanked Mappa in my heart, and left the palace behind me.
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Chapter 142 – I Explored Sheorl Town!
For the next few days after seeing the palace, I spent my time expanding the cave where we had found the Septium.
While the days continued to be very uneventful, Rienna suddenly called out to me one day as I returned to the surface for lunch.
"Lord Heal! The Commercial District and the Administrative District are finally complete."
"Oh, I better go and take a look then."
"Please do. The advice of Leila's men and Shiel were taken into account, and the results are quite splendid!"
"Well, I can't wait to see it."
And so Rienna and I immediately set out for this 'town' that was now in Sheorl.
First, we had to go through the palace.
There were paths on both sides of the staircase in the center of the palace, so we didn't need to go around it like the last time.
After the palace, we came out into a town square. It was clearly different from the last time we were here.
"This is amazing!"
What was spread out before me was indeed a very impressive town.
There were even four and five-story buildings. The kind that you might expect to see in Sanfaris.
And they were all made of stone.
Not only could I see marble and ash-colored rocks, but there were also white and beige walls. They had probably made paint out of pigmented rocks.
As for the roofs, they were all made with orange roof tiles.
"This is all so… I mean, I'm surprised that everything is so colorful."
"Yes, everything was either white or gray up until now. According to Shiel, they found some paint that was stored in the underground city, and so they used that. Apparently, it hasn't gone bad."
"I see… And over here is the…"
"This is the Administrative District. Everyone will be in different buildings depending on their role."
"A place for ministries and agencies then? To think it was all done in a couple of days…"
The walls of the buildings were all decorated with impressive engravings.
The anchor mark was clearly for Kamyu's department, as she was in charge of ships and the navy. The sword and shield mark would be for Erevan, who was in charge of the military… It was very easy to see what the buildings were for.
"A lot of it is because of Shiel and the people of the empire… Many of them were involved in construction. With their help, Mappa was even able to create a water and sewage system. I think the sewage water is going to be incinerated…but I don't really understand such things."
"Huh…even water… They really thought of everything."
"Do you want to look inside as well?"
"No, I'm sure people are still getting used to their jobs. I think I'll just go if I have business there."
"In that case, we should go through the Residential District and then see the Commercial District on the other side of the castle wall!"
"Sure."
And so we left the Administrative district and went to the Residential District up north.
One thing I noticed as we walked down the main road, was that not only were there lamp posts, but there were also trees and flowers decorating the road.
Furthermore, there were even fountains and water ways. The sounds of running water were quite wonderful.
The Residential District was just as impressive. And like the Administrative District, there were many buildings that were over three-stories high.
Rienna looked up at them and said,
"Leila's people and the people from the underground empire prefer to live up here, instead of in the caves."
"Humans really do like the sunlight."
Well, as for me…I preferred being underground…
"Every block is made so that the houses create a square that surrounds a courtyard. They are going to grow all kinds of plants inside!"
"Now that sounds exactly like how they did things in Sanfaris. I hope that they can be places of relaxation."
After passing through the Residential District, a very grand castle gate came into view.
It had two roofed towers on its sides, the gates, which had great pillars and statues, were made of marble.
"Woah. The gate looks incredible… Do we go through this to reach the Commercial District?"
"Yes! And this right here is…"
We walked through the gate and were greeted by an immense plaza. There was a giant fountain in the center, and you could see the sea from where we stood. Of course, that view included the posterior of the giant Mappa statue.
"It's incredible…"
"It's Sheorl's front door, after all! Merchant's who visit us will be spending most of their time here."
As Rienna said, if you weren't a resident, you were pretty much restricted to this district.
Now that I thought of it, Baris had talked about wanting to make this area very grand in order to show how prosperous this island was.
And so buildings that faced the plaza were especially extravagant.
There was one building that was taller than all the others. It seemed to be a bell tower or a clock tower.
"Aside from stores, there are also inns. However…"
I knew what Rienna was going to say before she said it.
"What can we sell? Indeed…"
"Yes. We have already decided to sell fish and rock materials, but as for the rest… Well, you spoke about it before, Lord Heal."
If we tried to sell precious metals and jewels, it could have a massive impact on the continent's economy.
As for stones with special properties, like the Teleportation Stones, there was too much of a risk that they would be misused, and so I could not sell them.
So that really just left fish and ordinary rock materials.
While the branches of the World Tree were of good quality, that was also something that would affect prices of normal wood on the continent.
"The others are all thinking about it as well… As for Mister Mappa, he is trying to sell those things."
Rienna said as she pointed to a building in the corner of the Commercial District. Smoke was coming out of its chimney.
So that's where Mappa's smithy was now.
As for what he was trying to sell…
They were statues modeled after Mappa himself.
Most seemed to be made of stone. And he wanted people to buy them…
Well, as I've said before, the craftsmanship was impressive.
But who would ever want to buy something like that…
I suppose if it was after they saw the Giant Mappa statue, they might think that it's a symbol of this island and buy these as a souvenir.
"…Ah, but crafted products are a good idea. We can make things out of the branches of the World Tree, for instance."
"That would be wonderful! Wooden bracelets were very popular among us goblins."
"I think the people of Sanfaris would like them too. Still, we'll need more than just that…"
Fish, rocks, crafted products… As merchants, we needed something with greater appeal.
We were expanding our vineyards in order to grow grapes for wine, but that would still take a long time.
This island needed something else that it could be famous for.
"I know… Hey, Rienna. The leaves of the World Tree can be turned into tea, right?"
"Yes. You can either roast them over a fire or ferment them in order to make black tea."
"Leaves are constantly falling from the World Tree. Why don't we turn them into tea leaves? We can even make a tea house. The people of Sanfaris don't drink tea very often, but it could become popular if it tastes good."
"That's a brilliant idea! Food and drink will likely not have too much of an effect on the kingdom."
"Alright, then we'll do that. We can even design some special packaging."
And like that, we went about creating special products for Sheorl.
However, during this time, a certain man was visiting the island once again.