The day of Noel's departure, the citizens couldn't help but put down their works and assembled on the main road.
They had heard about Noel returning to the main city. On the one hand, they felt sad that they couldn't see their lord anymore. On the other hand, it was reassuring since the main city should take care of Noel better than this city.
Noel had done so much for this city, so they wanted to see them off.
According to the agreement, Noel left behind the automatic carriage in this city since the city still needed it to transport materials from one place to another.
And he also promised Layla that he would build a special carriage for her, which wasn't that urgent.
Hence, Noel and the team actually returned to the main city by using horses.
Noel and Anna were riding side by side while the rest of the soldiers followed behind them. At the very back was another horse that Layla and Aurelia rode together. Layla was blind, so there was no way she could ride a horse.
All the people from the temple couldn't follow along. While they were worried, the main city should be much safer with Dimitri and Howard and the four Grandmasters in front of their eyes.
Before leaving the mayor's mansion, Noel and Anna had already felt the festive atmosphere around the city. The people had truly gathered around the mansion and spread to the main road.
The city soldiers had to create a path for Noel's convoy.
This was the first time Anna had experienced something like this. In her previous life, there was only fear or admiration in people's eyes. But the moment Noel and Anna came out of the mayor's mansion, they were greeted by cheers.
Anna could feel something more than admiration. They had respect, hope, love and loyalty when they saw her and Noel.
Instead of bringing massacre and sadness like her previous life, she could finally see herself bringing joy and hope. The scale was so much different from her time in the Demon Banner Army.
"My lord!"
"We're expressing our gratitude."
"Thank you, Lord Earl."
"We will definitely make this city great again!"
Some people cheered, some ended up kneeling to express their gratitude, and some were like kids, wanting to catch a glimpse of their new idol.
Noel waved his hand to them with a gentle smile on his face. He moved closer to Anna and held her hand while asking, "What's wrong?"
"I just have never experienced something like this. I'm still feeling a bit overwhelmed." Anna spoke, albeit slightly rushed.
Noel smiled. "You have done a lot for this city. There's no denying it, so just accept it. You should wave back."
As Noel said, she contributed through the rune lamps. Other creations also had her input to create a better design.
Even though it was a bit awkward, she decided to wave her hand like Noel, expressing her happiness to the entire city.
Her smile showed her genuine feelings. It was like a ray of light in the midst of darkness. It was the brightest smile they had ever seen as it amplified Anna's natural beauty.
"I think I'm in love," one of the citizens said as his eyes were glued to Anna.
"What are you thinking? That's the lord's fiancee!"
"I know. That's why I think about revering her as a goddess in my heart. No one aside from her is suitable for the lord." It was a reply purely coming from his heart.
"If we're talking about a goddess, shouldn't we be talking about the Moon Goddess? I mean, that…" Another guy pointed at the Saintess that was at the back of the convoy.
"Does that mean our territory will adopt this religion?"
"I don't care. I will just revere Goddess Anna in my heart."
With the senses of a grandmaster, Anna couldn't help but listen to their conversation. She had received all kinds of praises in the past, but those praises contained a hidden intention. On the other hand, the praise these guys gave was genuine, leaving a different taste of happiness.
Of course, Anna wasn't the only one who received high praise. Noel's appearance wasn't losing.
Noel was already handsome as the heir of the Ardagan Family. Now that he had gained a lot of experience, his expression looked gentle and mature. Coupled with his bravery and hard work, Noel looked like a hero in people's hearts.
The boys admired him and aspired to be like him while the girls idolized him. The elderly couldn't help but shed tears as Noel was like a figure that God had sent to rule Lounstein. They never thought they would find the true lord in their lifetime.
Duke Lorelei watched their departure from the mayor's mansion. Never in his wildest dream would he see this kind of scene for a lord who had just bonded with his citizens for a little more than one week.
Even he, who had done a lot of things for his territory, had never seen something at this scale.
"Count Luke… Your son truly becomes a magnificent figure. His prestige might surpass yours in the future. I guess the Ardagan Family will return to its peak glory with him leading it. Though, I think I won't live long enough to witness it. I guess I can share a few drinks with you while watching your son from up there." Duke Lorelei smiled, not knowing that Noel's father hadn't died.
After leaving the city, Anna finally let out a sigh of relief. "I didn't mess up, right?"
"Of course not." Noel chuckled. "You were too tense earlier."
"It can't be helped, alright? This is the first time I have experienced this. You should have seen something like this with your father." Anna pouted.
"Hahaha. You're going to experience it again and again as long as you don't change."
"Not me. We will!" Anna smiled, correcting Noel's words.
"Right?"
The group moved toward the main city while Noel was preparing everything for the first migration. At the same time, Anna was discussing the route she should take to reach Old Ru's place. After all, she wanted to return as quickly as possible so that she could help Noel with the work.
Unbeknownst to them, they would receive a lot of surprises during the first migration.
…
Main City.
"Dimitri. Where is the lord right now?" Douglas asked.
"According to the letter, he should have departed by now. He should be back in two days." Dimitri replied.
Douglas sighed. "The lord is truly a sadist. To think that he would send me a brilliant idea without explaining the details, makes me curious about a lot of things."
As Douglas said, Noel had sent a few ideas to Douglas, especially regarding the water facility. He would never think that such a thing was possible, forcing him to adjust the city's design quite a bit.
Douglas wasn't the only one who was waiting for Noel. Roel had also visited Dimitri, asking the same thing. "Dimitri! Where is the lord?"
Dimitri rubbed his forehead while saying, "He will arrive in two days."
"You too, Roel?" Douglas raised his eyebrows.
"The lord gave me a lot of ideas. And some of them were the parts for the construction." Roel nodded. "But there are some parts that I'm confused about, and while I'm an expert at creating stuff, I'm not good at measuring the exact details."
"Ah. You don't have to worry about that. My former classmate seems to be included in the first batch of migrants. He said he accepted the invitation of a certain mayor to help here."
"Your former classmate?" Roel looked a bit surprised, wondering if he could solve the problem.
"We both studied under the previous minister of Public Works and Public Housing. However, we focused on different things. I learned to design everything on the macro scale while he was adept at creating details like the height and all sorts of calculations. So, I think he will help you a lot."
"Oh!" Roel nodded with an excited face. The person they mentioned was none other than the one the mayor wanted to introduce to Noel, which ended up getting directed to the main city.
"You two old men. What the hell are you doing here? If you want to take some rest, go somewhere else." Charlotte suddenly came with Rose behind her.
"Geh! It's Charlotte." Douglas looked away while tugging Roel's arm as if asking him to leave.
Roel agreed and slipped away before Charlotte made a big fuss about it.
Charlotte came to Dimitri and asked, "Jasmine has finished with the design of our agriculture. We'll set it up not far from the mine, but not too far so that it will be protected with the defense they will set up around the mountain.
"Balott is also requesting another fund for other projects that Master asked him to start. Also, Mr. Khalid has been taken to his place."
Dimitri thought for a moment before replying, "Tell Balott that the next fund will come soon. Master said the Lorelei Family will be sending some money. It's a long-term agreement and the sum is quite large, so I think we can use it to cover the cost for a while.
"As for Jasmine, ask her to stop for a moment. According to the lord, we will have to wait until we survive the first attack before setting up the farmland. She is free to do other projects for the time being, but tell her that the budget is quite tight right now."
"Alright." Charlotte nodded.
"We have sent a request to the Demon Banner Army for reinforcement, but it seems that they're going to be occupied by the Supreme Devil Organization. At maximum, they might only spare one or two captains to help us." Rose spoke up this time.
"That's good enough. How about the Zaecuria Kingdom?" Dimitri asked.
"The lord predicted that the Zaecuria Kingdom would come to him when he was in that city, but it seemed that they had been delayed on the border."
"The Royal Family was holding them back?"
"Most likely." Rose nodded. "We might have to set up a different time for the meeting. According to Harley, they brought a lot of things that we could use for additional funds."
"Alright. I will note it down for now." Dimitri nodded.
While most of their progress was quite smooth, the Royal Family indeed worked hard to hinder some of them.
Dimitri said, "Is there any problem with the city?"
"Not at the moment. Once Master returns, everything should be sorted out." Rose shook her head.
"Alright. Tell Harley to keep a close watch on the progress of the Zaecuria Kingdom. And how are Tristan and Princess Livia?"
"Both of them are progressing by leaps and bounds. They should be playing with runes in the backyard."
"I see." Dimitri nodded. All he had to do was wait for Noel and commence the migration.
