Chapter 412: The Abandoned Crown District [ 2 [

Less than an hour later, their carriage left the busy commercial streets and followed Western Crownway toward an older part of the Capital.

Sage noticed the change before Pax pointed anything out.

The districts around them remained active, but development became less dense near the old military land. Warehouses appeared along one side of the road, while several workshops and inexpensive residential buildings occupied the other.

Traffic was still heavy enough to satisfy Sage. Commercial wagons moved constantly along the Crownway, and he counted three large merchant convoys in less than ten minutes.

When the carriage finally turned onto Old Military Avenue, Pax tapped the side of the vehicle.

"There."

Sage looked out.

The Old Western Garrison was ugly.

There was no generous interpretation that could change that.

A weathered stone wall stretched along the avenue, broken completely in several places and patched crudely in others.

Sections had collapsed into piles of stone that nobody had bothered removing. Rusted iron fencing covered some of the gaps, while woodenbarriers blocked others.

Behind the wall stood long rows of abandoned buildings. Several barracks had partially collapsed roofs. One warehouse had lost an entire side, leaving blackened support beams exposed to the weather.

Grass and weeds covered old courtyards, growing between cracked paving stones and around the foundations of structures that had already collapsed.

An administrative building near the old entrance leaned visibly to one side, its upper windows missing and part of the roof gone.

Mina stared through the carriage window for several seconds. "Pax."

"Yes?" Pax looked at her with slight confusion.

"You said everything was wrong with it." Mina shot him a glance.

"I did." Pax scratched his head and answered.

"I think you were being nice." Mina rolled her eyes.

Boren nodded solemnly. "For once, the child understands property."

Sage barely heard them.

He was looking past the ruins.

The carriage stopped beside an old gate where two Crown property guards were stationed more to prevent trespassing than to protect anything valuable.

Pax had already arranged permission for an inspection through a lower official he’d contacted while researching the site, and after their documents were checked, one of the guards unlocked the chain securing the gate.

The hinges complained loudly when it opened. Their carriage remained outside, and the four entered on foot.

Only then did Sage understand how large the property actually was.

The wall had hidden most of it from the road. Beyond the first group of ruined buildings stretched an enormous training ground, large enough for hundreds of soldiers to have drilled simultaneously.

Beyond that were more barracks, workshops, storage yards and broad internal roads connecting different sections of the former garrison.

The military had built for function rather than beauty, which meant everything was spaced generously enough for wagons, cavalry and equipment to move without obstruction. Even after decades of neglect, the original layout remained obvious.

"How much land?" Sage asked.

Pax gave him the figure from the old records.

Sage turned slowly.It was substantially more than anything they had inspected during the previous six days.

Not merely enough for a headquarters.

Enough for a district.

They followed one of the damaged roads deeper into the property. The problems multiplied quickly. A collapsed warehouse had spilled rotting timber across an entire yard. Several buildings would need to be demolished rather than repaired.

The old stables were little more than empty shells. Part of the northern section remained fenced off around the site of the magical accident, though Pax assured Sage the dangerous mana contamination had been cleared decades ago.

The explosion had cratered part of the ground and destroyed several workshops, leaving foundations buried beneath rubble. Drainage channels had clogged.

Trees had grown through abandoned courtyards. A portion of the internal wall separating the former command area had fallen across the road.

There were people living here too.

Not many, but enough that Sage noticed smoke rising from one supposedly abandoned barracks. The Crown guard accompanying them explained that squatters occasionally moved into the safer buildings.

Most were homeless families, laborers or drifters. Petty criminals also used sections of the garrison because patrols rarely came this far inside unless someone reported trouble. The Property Administration cleared them out periodically, only for others to return months later.

Boren listened to the explanation before turning to Sage. "Let me make sure I understand. We have collapsed buildings, criminals, squatters, broken roads, an exploded magical workshop, ruined warehouses and enough weeds to feed every horse in the Kingdom."

"Yes."

"And you’re smiling."

Sage hadn’t realized he was.

They had reached the edge of the old central training ground. From there he could see across a huge portion of the property.

The ruins no longer registered individually. Sage’s mind had already begun removing them.

The collapsed barracks disappeared.

The ruined warehouses disappeared.

The weeds disappeared.The cracked roads disappeared.

In their place, he imagined the Guild.

A Grand Guild Hall positioned at the center.

A Mana Cultivation Tower rising behind it.

Training grounds occupying one section.

Smithing facilities and workshops positioned where heavy wagons could reach them easily.

Warehouses near the commercial roads.

Inns and restaurants closer to the public entrances.

Administrative buildings. Stables. Markets.

Enough open space between everything that future facilities wouldn’t need to be squeezed wherever they fit.

And still room left over. Years of room perhaps decades.

Sage turned toward Western Crownway in the distance. Even from inside the garrison, he could hear traffic moving along it. One major road directly outside.

Another along the eastern boundary.

A third to the south. The Warrior District close enough for adventurers. Centralcommerce within easy reach.

The western gate accessible for incoming travelers and caravans.

Most importantly, no neighboring noble controlled the ground beneath his feet.

Pax stopped beside him. "Now you understand why nobody has bought it."

Sage looked around. "Because of the restoration costs."

"That’s the biggest reason. I’ve seen old redevelopment estimates. They were already enormous twenty years ago. Demolition alone would cost millions now. Clearing the damaged foundations, repairing the roads, restoring drainage, checking the old mana lines, removing unsafe structures, relocating squatters properly and then constructing something new? For an ordinary organization, you’re looking at years of work before the district becomes useful."

"How many millions?"

"Depending on what they wanted to build? Tens of millions before serious new construction even begins."

Boren made a strangled sound.

Pax continued, "And anyone wealthy enough to spend that much usually has better property already. The Great Houses don’t need it. The military doesn’t want it back. Merchant organizations prefer established commercial districts. Smaller organizations can’t afford redevelopment. So it sits here."

Sage looked toward the ruined administrative building.

Everyone else saw reconstruction costs.

He saw land.

The System had built facilities in Greyvale that would have required enormous amounts of labor, materials and time through ordinary construction.

Land had always been the limitation. The System could give him buildings, upgrade facilities and transform what the Guild already possessed, but it couldn’t solve the problem of Sage not legally owning enough ground to place those facilities in the first place.

Here was the ground.

An absurd amount of it. Connected and ccessible. Unclaimed by private interests.

Boren and Mina had gone quiet.

Sage ignored both of them and walked farther into the training ground.

For the first time since arriving in the Royal Capital, he wasn’t mentally searching for the flaw that would force him to reject another property.

The flaws were everywhere. He could see them with his own eyes.

And none of them mattered nearly as much as the opportunity.

He turned back toward Pax.

"Who do I need to speak to if I want to buy the entire district?"