Two weeks later.
A middle-aged man with several soldiers arrived in front of the city.
"So, this is the Ardagan Family's main city, huh?" The middle-aged man squinted his eyes.
The construction of the city had sped up considerably after the migration. The lord mansion had finally finished and the foundation of the northern wall had been completed.
The main water storage still needed a bit of refinement, but the blueprints had been adjusted with the details that Alan provided.
The problem with the water storage was the height. It was true that as long as there was a differential height, water would flow. However, if they made the main storage too high, the water pressure that would come out later would be too high, which might end up harming people.
In the end, they used the smaller storages that each district would have to adjust the pressure. And of course, the area where Noel resided would be the first to be completed.
"Welcome, the guest from afar." Dimitri appeared before him. "I am Dimitri, the head butler of the Ardagan Family. As per my master's order, I shall guide you to the mansion."
"Oh?!" The middle-aged man couldn't help but feel a bit pressured. To think that the head butler was a person of this level. Because of the importance of this visit, he was chosen as the representative.
"It's a shame that we have to display an incomplete city to the guests from the Zaecuria Kingdom. But if you don't mind, please follow me." Dimitri extended his hand, gesturing for them to follow him.
The middle-aged man was accompanied by multiple experts, who could also see Dimitri's strength. It seemed that the Ardagan Family really couldn't be underestimated.
"Please forgive me. I haven't introduced myself. I am Zaecuria Kingdom's envoy, Marquis Benedict. I am here to congratulate Earl Noel Ardagan for becoming a noble." Marquis Benedict introduced himself while taking a step forward, implying that he was going to follow him.
Dimitri nodded, remembering Noel's order. "Show them what could be shown, but never explain anything to them. Make sure that not a single one of them slips away and takes another look at the city."
With that thought in mind, Dimitri was accompanied by several soldiers that would seal their movement.
Now that the Marquis had done with the pleasantries, Dimitri began to lead them according to the route that Noel wanted them to take.
The first thing that caught Benedict's eye was the technology on the wall. It was high up, so it was easy to spot.
"Is that…"
He saw a normal person going up with a lot of materials. Once it reached the top of the wall, the guy handed over the materials so that the walls could be constructed far easier. Normally, they would have to use the ladder and bring a few items at a time, but with that technology, they could bring more materials than what twenty people were capable of at once.
"It's nothing much. Just a technology to speed up the construction." Dimitri smiled, prompting him to say that he didn't plan to give him any information.
The Demon Relief Squad might be able to achieve something like that with their prowess, but if they had this technology, they could actually allow normal people to get similar results.
While he was in shock, a carriage had just passed through. "Ah, Sir Dimitri! Mr. Roel has asked you to come to his workshop later."
The carriage moved fast compared to their carriage. More importantly, it wasn't pulled by horses, which made it mysterious. Though, it was just Noel's order to show off his technology.
Of course, Benedict should have seen these two technologies in the previous city. However, he wanted to make sure that he knew all those technologies originated in this city.
"Sorry, but I have to take care of an important guest per my master's order." Dimitri replied, but the guy had gone away.
Benedict frowned upon the action of that man, but he immediately forgot about it once he saw another invention.
"What is that?" Benedict pointed at this invention. It looked like an automatic carriage, but the front had been modified to make it look like a shovel.
Since they required a lot of pebbles and sand, this automatic carriage was used to push those things toward their spot.
The humans could do the same thing with their shovel, but it would take more time. With just a simple push from this invention, it could actually get done.
There was even a giant automatic carriage that had been loaded with a lot of weight underneath it. A horse would have a hard time pushing it, but the rune actually pushed it forward. Due to its weight, it flattened the pavement on the ground, allowing the road construction to finish far faster.
"We just modified the automatic carriage to fit our needs. It's nothing much really." Dimitri chuckled.
'Kh.' Benedict wanted to smack Dimitri, but he knew there was no way he would openly say it.
The reason why the Zaecuria Kingdom entrusted him with this gift was because he was an expert in negotiation and an experienced man in this field. He was, after all, a minister in the Zaecuria Kingdom.
He was instructed to observe this young man's territory and negotiate with runes. However, it appeared that their Zaecuria Kingdom had severely underestimated Noel's invention.
Of course, Noel didn't think about these modified versions in the past. However, he had given the citizens some opportunity to speak up to make the construction easier. It was then that Roel started modifying the automatic carriage.
In fact, depending on the weight and the enhancement, the automated carriage could do a lot of things. Even Jasmine thought about using it to break down the soil for their farmland later. And there were some thoughts about using such technology inside the mine.
In the end, they could make a lot of modifications to suit their needs.
As expected, they also found water storage in this city. They had seen how much water the citizens could receive from the previous city.
However, Noel actually went one step further by installing a small water tower near his mansion.
By the time he arrived, he saw a man watching the water flow out of the pipe to fill out his drum.
"This is the lord's mansion. Unfortunately, the Earl is currently busy at the moment. If you don't mind waiting, I'll lead you to your room first." Dimitri smiled strictly as if he didn't take no for an answer.
"If that's the case, can I walk around the city? This old bone will be stiff if I don't work out."
"I don't think that's possible. Besides, I don't think you will be bored here." Dimitri squinted his eyes, demanding them to play by their rules.
After seeing all those technologies, it seemed that he should not provoke the Ardagan Family further. If their relationship deteriorated, it would cause a lot of problems.
But he soon noticed that the guy who filled the drum with water actually grabbed a cup and drank the water directly.
"Hmm?" He furrowed his eyebrows. The drinking water was not as surprising as the maid coming over while shouting, "Switch out. I need some water to wash the clothes."
"Oh!" The guy nodded and just took the water elsewhere while the maid filled her bucket.
It was so convenient that they could get all that water without even leaving the mansion. Of course, some mansions usually had their own dedicated well, but the maid still needed to draw it.
"I have noticed this from the previous city. But you don't need to draw the water from the well anymore?"
Dimitri thought for a moment. Instead of giving him the information he wanted, he actually chose the answer that would fill his dream. "Every single citizen will have access to that water without the need to take a step out of their house."
"What did you say?" Benedict widened his eyes. His imagination was running wild.
"The soldiers will have to stay in the guest house. If you want to wash your body or do something, please ask the maid to show you the trick." Dimitri gestured to the soldiers to escort Benedict's escorts, while Dimitri pointed at the mansion. "Please follow me."
Benedict, who was still in complete shock, followed Dimitri blindly, not knowing what he was planning to show this time.
Meanwhile, the soldiers escorted these people to the guest house, which was located at the corner of the mansion. It was usually used for either both guest soldiers and the Ardagan Family's soldiers.
"Welcome. Are they the visitors?" Sandra was the one who actually greeted them.
"Yes." One of the soldiers nodded.
Sandra pointed at the building. "This will be the place you'll stay today. If you need water, you can go to this place." She moved toward a pipe next to the entrance. There was a tube on top of the pipe, so when Sandra pulled it, the water came out naturally.
"If you want to wash your body, you can fill the bucket with water. If you want to simply wash your face, there is also a big plate to do that. Please don't hesitate to tell the maid what you'd like to do."
The soldiers couldn't help but gasp. They remembered the time they were staying in the barracks.
Water was easy to get, but it was because of the number of maids. They would spot a maid in every single corner of the mansion because they needed a lot of people to make sure there was a supply of water every time.
During the night when everyone slept, they simply had to endure the thirst.
But it seemed that they could get access to water anytime they wanted.
And Benedict was currently experiencing that shock. He was taken to the bathroom, where he saw a big tub. It should fit at least ten people inside.
A noble usually only had a small tub or just a large bucket because filling that tub would take a lot of time and effort. So, they usually used it whenever they met an important guest or if there was a special occasion.
But Dimitri actually opened the pipe, filling it with water.
"What is this? It's filling so fast? Can you do this every single day?"
"I don't see any reason to not do it. It will take an hour to fill the tub, so I'll inform the maid to warm the water." Dimitri smiled.
Benedict dropped his jaw to the ground. Everyone seemed to have underestimated the power of having unlimited amounts of water. He could see how the city developed with this kind of power.
At first, he thought that the Zaecuria Kingdom had been generous in bringing all those gifts to an Earl. He might be the creator of the rune, but the gift was at the level of a marquis.
However, this invention alone made him realize that they had severely underestimated Noel. He should be given the treatment of a duke.
The only thing that haunted Benedict's mind was Noel's disappointment with their gift.
As soon as he was shown his room, Benedict hurriedly gritted his teeth. 'What should I do? The initial plan was to give this gift in exchange for a spot in the Rune Academy. But after seeing those inventions, I'm afraid that we have to acquire them. The second princess of the Greenwood Kingdom is in this place, so I'm sure she will disclose this information to the Greenwood Kingdom.
'In the current situation, the Greenwood Kingdom has the highest advantage. In that case, I should offer something more. I can't let this chance go. In fact, those bastards from the Atracaeca Kingdom must not know this yet. If they know, they will do anything in their power to either kill Earl Noel or mend their relationship. That's right. I'll ask the king to stop them from harming Earl Noel.
'What to do next? Dimitri has prevented me from moving around, so I'm sure that these are the only things I'm allowed to see. There must be a lot more inventions that are currently hidden. I should have asked the king to bribe those officials with a higher price so that I could see this city earlier. No, we might have lost the initiative, but we have to get second place. Screw with the Muivell Kingdom.'
Marquis Benedict didn't realize that everything he had seen was according to Noel's arrangement. The people he met, the construction, and even this water bath were instructed precisely by Noel to increase his worth. Someone as smart as him would definitely bite that bait.
