In the next two weeks.
Noel was taking care of the internal matters as well as the progress of his own strength. He had been absorbing the demon crystals when he was free. But as one would expect, he didn't have a lot of free time because of his work as a noble.
Anna tried helping him so that he would have more time. Unfortunately, it didn't help much.
That was why it took him two weeks, when he usually took only two days during his time in the Demon Banner Army.
However, the progress he made was quite big this time.
Name: Noel Ardagan
Job: Rune Swordsman
Weapon: Ardagan Sword
Main Medal: Demon Hunter Medal, Affection Medal
Honor Point: 1058 Pts
Skill Point: 79 Pts
Status: Stamina +12.6%, Constitution +12.6%, Sword Mastery +15.3%, Spiritual Energy ++13%, Rune Mastery +6%
Low Quality Crystal - 5000/5000
Mid Quality Crystal - 3000/3000
Advanced Quality Crystal - 950/1500
Peak Quality Crystal - 124/600
Superior Quality Crystal - 11/300
He had maxed out the Low and Mid Level crystals. This was a good thing, considering his spiritual energy reserve was equivalent to that of a peak Martial Grandmasters. After all, the number he saw in his status was double that of a normal person.
In other words, he should have maxed out the Advanced Level Crystals if he were just a normal person. By getting some more Peak Level and Superior Level Crystals, his spiritual energy should be enough to become a Spirit Transcendence.
Unfortunately, he couldn't really use more crystals since they were pretty hard to find, especially the Superior Demon Crystals.
In addition, he didn't think his skill was still comparable to that of Duke Lorelei. He wanted to become at least stronger than Duke Lorelei first before attempting to break through to the Spirit Transcendence.
And once he reached that level, he needed to visit the Beast Kingdom, according to his promise to Andreas.
Hence, he wanted to at least wait until the city was complete before heading there.
Anna's progress was similar to his. However, due to the fact that her limit was lower than his, he gave her more Peak and Superior Level Crystals to her. After all, he could get all that energy from the lower level crystals.
Anna had no choice but to agree after listening to Noel's reason. It wasn't like she wanted to be left behind either.
Meanwhile, the other pillars were also working hard for the sake of the family, especially Charlotte. She left all her tasks in this city in Rose's hands before heading to Laivaen City.
When Noel asked about it, Rose always told him that the only thing that came out of Charlotte's mouth was how the young master finally got married. Charlotte and Dimitri had been taking care of him since he was young, so he could understand Charlotte's eagerness.
In addition, it seemed that Dimitri was in Laivaen City to take care of the migration from there, selecting the batch of people that would be sent to the main city. Still, Noel could clearly see his excitement for his marriage from his report alone. Migration was just an excuse for him.
Douglas had begun surveying the area since he had to plan all the routes that would reach every corner of the territory. Balott, on the other hand, took the hardest job. He had to teach Tristan how to do business while taking care of the negotiations with the likes of Duke Lorelei and Saintess Layla. In addition, he also had to purchase all the materials since Noel wanted to expand to the north. He was preparing all the materials for at least three new cities in Lounstein. All while taking care of that he didn't go over budget.
Howard and Harley had been maintaining their vigilance, especially since nobles were planning to find out what was going on in this territory. There were even reports that the merchants were also coming to this city to the point where they wanted to invest if Noel planned to build more cities. Unfortunately, he didn't plan to share the profits with the city, so he rejected them.
Jasmine had finished planting all the seeds. After that, all they needed to do was take care of them and check the harvest before implementing her concept in other areas.
While Balott had the hardest job, the most tiring one would be Roel. He had seen the promise that the new inventions could bring, so he spent most of his time in his workshop, trying to build them as quickly as possible. He wanted his children to visit him often after all.
…
While Noel was working, Anna suddenly entered the room with a bright smile. "They are done with the prototype!"
"They? Who?"
"Those guys from the Greenwood Kingdom! Do you want to go there and inscribe them?"
"!!!" Noel didn't expect it. He just dropped the paper in his hand and stood up. "Let's go! Oh, wait. We should use the new car to test it out."
"That's a good idea! Let's go!"
Noel and Anna hurriedly left the mansion and headed to Roel's workshop. Obviously, Roel was startled because the two bigshots suddenly appeared before him.
"Roel! Is the car ready?" Noel asked.
"My lord, my lady." Roel greeted him first before pointing at the door in the corner of the room. "They are inside there. However, I can't say they are finished."
Roel led them to the room where the car was kept.
"Yes. My Lord had given me the blueprints, so when I thought about it, I ended up creating a rather similar thing." Roel nodded with a serious expression. When the door was opened, the new automatic carriage looked like a minivan.
Instead of an engine, the front part was a simple storage compartment where they put the demon crystals to activate the rune.
There were four wheels like a normal carriage, but it still didn't have rubber to cover it. More importantly, this one didn't have a glass window.
"I'm sorry, but I'm still not sure about this rubber thing. I have asked my acquaintances, but no one has a record of it. So, we might have to work on it from scratch, which will take a long time. As for the glass… I'm sorry, but I'm not a master of this one. And most glass artisans are in… the Atracaeca Kingdom."
"Ah!" Noel looked down, contemplating.
"However, this design is very amazing. For example, there is a curve in the front. Because of the design itself, it will cause the air above the car to produce downward force. This is very important for a speedy carriage. And to avoid the car being damaged, they are using the rubber tire. Of course, I think there is one more thing that can suspend them in the air. Right now, we're using the Floating Rune to avoid the damage, but we can actually create a suspension so that it won't be necessary anymore, which will lower the cost further in the future."
"Oh? As expected of a Master Blacksmith." Noel smirked.
"I can see that this thing can even move as fast as a Spirit Grandmaster. Should I say as expected of the previous civilization?"
"Yeah. They are a very advanced civilization." Noel nodded. "Anyway, you don't mind if we use this for a test ride, right?"
"As long as you don't move too fast, it shouldn't break. It can also bring a lot of items or people."
"It will only be the two of us since we're trying to see the airship's prototype. Or do you want to go with us?"
Roel shook his head. "No. It's fine. I'm not the one in charge of the project anyway. And I love cars more than airships."
"Alright." Noel smirked before Anna suddenly entered the car without anyone noticing it. When Noel saw her in the driver seat, he couldn't help but say, "Oi! I should be the one driving!"
"What are you saying? I'm here first!"
Roel was surprised at first, but he couldn't help but chuckle. Even though these two were about to get married, they still acted like kids. Then again, this synergy between them would make the family less boring. And he was happy since his master and mistress were able to have fun.
Roel simply opened the door to the outside.
Noel clicked his tongue and took the seat next to her. "In that case, I will drive on the way back."
"Mhmm…" Anna didn't seem to want to give it to him, but she saw Noel's adamant face. "Fine!"
"Let's go!" Noel pointed forward.
Anna nodded and started releasing the brake, allowing the Enhance Forward Rune to pull the car forward.
She carefully drove it inside the town and headed to the gate. Obviously, people were looking at this new invention with great interest.
When they saw the lord and the lady were the ones driving it, they cheered for them. Because it was just a prototype, it still didn't have the design or decoration befitting that of a marquis. Still, the surprise was enough to make it look more majestic than a normal carriage.
Once they went out of the city, they could finally speed up. Even Noel was surprised by the speed.
"Is this too fast for the prototype? This speed is about a Spirit Master's top speed, right?" Noel asked.
"Yes. I think it's fine. I don't sense any dangers from the carriage as well. But as expected, driving on the dirt causes a lot of bumps. We really need to expand the paved road as quickly as possible."
"That's true."
Noel and Anna tested a few things on the way, especially the safety feature. After all, Earl Jean could use it as a way to get this technology from them. So, he had to make sure it was safe to use.
If they used a normal carriage, they would arrive in two hours. However, with this new car, it only took them thirty minutes.
Obviously, the people in the airship workshop couldn't help but look at this incoming object with high vigilance. That was why Anna applied the brake so that they could recognize them.
However, due to the sudden brake, the momentum pushed Noel's body forward, slamming his head against the wooden skeleton before him.
*Bang!*
Anna was startled. She was holding the steering wheel, so she could withstand the momentum. But for Noel, who didn't expect such a thing inside a car that didn't have any safety features, he was completely caught off guard.
"Ou…" Noel let out a groan while glaring at Anna. "You did it on purpose, didn't you?!"
"No. I didn't know it would happen. Maybe we should ask Roel for more safety features…" Anna looked away.
"Kh… Just you wait." Noel gritted his teeth, completely not buying her words.
