Chapter 449: Bricks, Lime, a Mermaid’s Doubt

Before Phield could even make it out of the city hall, the construction team came looking for him.

Now that the first residential district had been completed, the construction team had gained valuable experience and was becoming much more efficient at building.

"Good morning, my lord."

The man who came to see him was the architect Khor. He was from Wind Tour Territory, and with his assistance, the residential district had been completed so quickly.

"How are you finding the bricks and lime? Have you gotten used to working with them?"

Khor nodded vigorously, his expression filled with excitement.

"This is a revolutionary invention! I never knew there were building materials besides stone, earth, and wood. As long as we bind the bricks together with lime and stack them like building blocks, we can construct entire rows of houses in no time!"

"If we had proper cement, we could build even faster. We could even construct walls taller than the border walls within a year."

Unfortunately, cement was not something that could be produced like it was in a comic or novel, where an ordinary person could simply rub two pieces of limestone together and throw them into a campfire.

Just the required calcination temperature of 1,450 degrees Celsius was far beyond what a town with such low productivity could achieve.

The underlying principles were unclear, the material ratios were unknown, and the pre decomposition technology was nonexistent. Producing cement within a short period of time was simply impossible.

Khor was completely stunned.

Everything the lord described sounded impossible, yet at the same time, it was incredibly fascinating.

"I plan to build elementary schools and clinics in both Starnight City and the Grand Estate. I already have the general layout prepared, and the funding and raw materials have been secured. Get your men together, grab your tools, and start working immediately."

For now, they would establish the basic structure and designate the areas for the schools and clinics. They could slowly renovate and upgrade them in the future.

"Yes!"

Khor was ecstatic.

Ever since the beautiful houses in the residential district had been built one after another, he had completely fallen in love with constructing buildings out of bricks and lime. It felt more like art than tedious labor, and the benefits were excellent on top of that.

The moment the architect left, Charlotte, the Minister of Agriculture, came running over.

She did not say a word. She simply stared straight at Phield with her clear, wide eyes.

"Uh... is something wrong?"

Phield glanced around uneasily, wondering if he had done something to offend her while sleepwalking.

"The Divine Descent Festival is only a month away. My lord, have you prepared the Awakening Crystals, the banquet, and the celebrations?"

Charlotte folded her arms across her chest, carrying herself like a proud young noblewoman.

"If you have not prepared them, I can arrange everything for you. After all, I used to be... well, a noble young lady from a major nation."

"I just have a feeling our territory will not have any Divine Chosen."

"How could that be? Every female free citizen must be tested with an Awakening Crystal!"

Charlotte was rarely this stubborn. As the daughter of an old noble family, she placed great importance on tradition.

Phield was embarrassed.

Having a mini-map that could detect everything so accurately was already enough for him. Awakening Crystals were incredibly expensive.

"We can skip the crystals. As for the banquet and celebrations, leave them to me. I will arrange them personally. You can help me."

"All right."

Charlotte nodded in agreement before extending a slender finger and playfully poking Phield in the stomach.

"Just do not turn it into some weird banquet."

"Do not worry. I will invite you if... ahem."

Before he could finish, Charlotte punched him.

"Do not be such a pervert!"

Phield waited at the entrance for a full minute, making sure nobody else was coming to report any administrative matters. Only then did he finally head toward the pond with anticipation.

This particular pond had been blasted out by Firomina.

The lakes in Nightfall Domain were all polluted with filthy water. If they threw the mermaids into one of them, the poor creatures would probably become corrupted mermaids before long.

"My lord, the mermaids are all alive."

A soldier patted his chest and gave a military salute.

"Good. Bring the mermaids out and put them in the pond."

The mermaids had been thoroughly exhausted by the journey. They had barely dared to sleep, afraid that if they closed their eyes, they might open them again to find themselves lying on a dining table.

They had also been confined inside dark wooden barrels, leaving them weak and barely conscious.

Aikalia was half asleep when she slowly opened her sea blue eyes and tremblingly raised her head.

Above her was a gray sky, with a few faint stars barely visible through the clouds.

"Is this what the inside of a human stomach looks like?"

Aikalia murmured.

"Of course not. This is Nightfall Domain."

Phield stepped closer.

The mermaids really were beautiful. What made them especially alluring was the natural innocence they carried. Even the older mermaids had an almost sheltered, youthful quality, as though they had never truly experienced the world.

"Ah!"

Aikalia jumped in fright and immediately buried her head back inside the barrel.

"Please do not tell me she is going to become as withdrawn as that little fox."

Phield was genuinely worried.

Aikalia slowly poked her head back out of the barrel.

Ever since she was little, she had heard that humans were hideous, perverted, and brutal creatures. Among the many nations surrounding the Inner Sea, the human kingdoms never hesitated to hunt mermaids.

Deep down, she had already prepared herself to be eaten.

The only thing that comforted her was that the human standing before her was not ugly at all.

At the very least, he was much better looking than Simon.

After countless battles and the constant strengthening of his body through magic, Phield had developed a sturdy physique. Even his abdominal muscles had formed naturally without deliberate training.

Among the mermaids, whose physiques tended to be more delicate and graceful regardless of gender, his build was considered remarkably impressive.

If she were going to be eaten by him, perhaps it would not be so bad.

That almost morbid thought gave Aikalia, who had a deep appreciation for beauty, a strange sense of tragic beauty.

She even found herself becoming strangely fascinated by it.

"Are... are you the one who is going to eat me?"

Aikalia gathered her courage and asked.

Phield sucked in a sharp breath.

"Why would I eat you?"

"Because I am delicious... or beautiful?"

Aikalia guessed.

Otherwise, why would humans be so obsessed with hunting mermaids?

"I would be willing to try something else, but eating you is definitely not happening."

Phield waved his hands repeatedly before announcing loudly,

"Mermaids, I bought all of you. From now on, you are my maids, and everything you have belongs to me. But you can relax. I do not slaughter innocent people, and I do not eat people."

"Really?"

The mermaids looked at one another suspiciously.

None of them believed him.

Aikalia had even prepared herself for the soldiers to rush forward and slaughter them all.

Phield did not care what they thought.

After all, the mermaids were not the only demi human race living in his territory.

He immediately nodded at the soldiers.

The soldiers understood at once and drew their swords with a sharp metallic sound.

Aikalia covered her eyes in terror and screamed,

"You liar! You bad man!"

Yet the axes and blades she expected never came.

Instead, she heard the soldiers quietly laughing among themselves.

"You silly girl. Our Baron is such a noble and benevolent man. How could he possibly eat you?"

It was the sweetest mockery Aikalia had ever heard.