101: Clerk

To the west of the road, within a section of wooden fence built by the laborers, I used stones to outline the edges of various buildings.

The largest building was a two-story mall, ninety meters wide north-south, thirty meters deep east-west, and fifteen meters high.

At both the north and south ends, there was a rectangular building, twenty-four meters deep north-south, thirty meters wide east-west, and seven to eight meters high, serving as a restaurant and a supermarket.

The three buildings formed a U-shape facing east, towards the large flagstone road of Wan'an Highway.

The roads near Gorebest town were relatively well-maintained.

A small square, forty-two meters wide and thirty meters deep, was formed in the middle of the three buildings.

While the Dragon King was drilling the foundations for the 146 main pillars, I moved further west and marked the locations of the auxiliary buildings with stones.

The large wooden house next to the stables was the barracks, the temporary shed beside it was the staff dormitory, and the two-story small building a bit further away was my temporary residence.

Sphere Professor and I cast Mage Hand, and with the Dragon King's cooperation, we worked until midnight to complete the frameworks of all the buildings.

The other members of the caravan were dumbfounded by the sight of the grand building skeletons.

Buildings of this scale were only found in a few temples; most people hadn't expected us to make our temporary stalls so grand.

Even the head of the Seven Suns Merchant Guild from Baldur's Gate got up in the middle of the night to see our construction site.

The head of the Seven Suns Merchant Guild was a middle-aged man in his forties; he grabbed an Eileen Village villager and asked, “This is just a temporary gathering, is your Lord really going to make such a big show of it?”

No one could answer his question.

Although Randall knew about my prior planning, he still widened his mouth in surprise when he saw it with his own eyes, currently staring blankly at the building framework that could accommodate over a thousand horses.

Moonlight spilled through the gaps in the rafters onto the snow, and straight cylindrical shadows arranged themselves with an aesthetic sense of order.

“Tomorrow, have Old Hather find some Bards,” I brushed the wood shavings off my cloak, looking at the probing lights that were gradually illuminating inside the market, “Just say that Lord Ryan, in order to revitalize northern trade, personally funded the construction of the most magnificent temporary market on the entire continent.”

At midnight, the frozen flagstone road glowed bluish-gray under the moonlight, Randall and his two companions' leather boots crunched the street-side ice, and their cloaks swept fan-shaped snow marks behind them.

I moved along the jagged shadows cast by the roadside buildings, and suddenly caught a glimpse of a greasy reflection flashing through a crack in the bakery's wooden window—the Halfling I had met once at the High Hedge gate, now disappearing into a pile of wine barrels at the end of the alley like an otter diving into a rapid stream.

The bronze streetlights of Feierde Inn were covered with a thin layer of frost, and the sour smell of ale poured out earlier in the night wafted in the dim yellow glow.

The bustling road from the morning was now empty.

Our group entered the ground floor hall of Feierde Inn through the main entrance.

In the corner of the hall, there were still a few drunkards fighting over a silver-horned wine jug.

Randall flipped open his cloak to reveal his Crown Holy Knight emblem, and the Flame Fist Soldiers guarding the stairs nodded slightly, clearing the way.

At the entrance to the half-story upstairs, two other Flame Fist guards stood guard, and Randall again displayed his Holy Knight emblem.

Morning light pierced through the frozen diamond-shaped windowpanes, branding honey-colored light spots onto the down comforter.

I curled up in the still-warm indentation, listening to the crisp sound of baking bread from the kitchen downstairs—this was the first sweet night enveloped in softness in over a year.

It wasn't until mid-morning that I discovered the cold cocoa on the bedside table.

A parchment pressed by the ceramic cup bore Randall's neat handwriting: “Pine resin stains found outside the window of the west guest room, already dealt with.”

When I pulled back the curtains, the sun was shining on strange indentations in the snow on the opposite roof, as if someone with a long pole and an iron hook had stayed there all night.

Randall went to the city hall registrar's office early in the morning to help me with the preliminary work for the inheritance and transfer of the land deeds.

Morning light pierced the stained-glass windows of Gorebest City Hall, casting mottled halos on the yellowed parchment.

The Crown Holy Knight emblem on Randall's armor reflected a cold light, and the rhythm of his knuckles rapping on the oak desk was like a war drum.

“Lord Black will arrive in twenty minutes,” the Holy Knight's voice made the registrar's Adam's apple bob, “During this time, I need to see all land deed transfer documents—including copies of the notices from the seventeen cities of the Northland.”

The registrar wiped his monocle, his cloudy eyes behind the lens sweeping over the bag of gold coins on the table. “The processing fees need to be prepaid, fifty gold coins per deed, a total of one hundred and nine deeds, totaling five thousand four hundred and fifty gold coins, and an additional five hundred gold per deed per city for the notice copies. The verification period is six months.” He deliberately drew out the sound of his quill dipping into ink, “Of course, Lord might also choose to only register within the Gorebest jurisdiction...”

Randall suddenly slammed the table hard, staring at the registrar.

“Actually, the notice copies are completely unnecessary; major towns generally only register land deeds for local nobles,” the registrar's back was soaked with cold sweat.

“Hmph, inheriting land versus developing new land, the difference is too great. In the future, when noble lords need to help each other, and when receiving branch family members seeking refuge, these will come in handy,” the Holy Knight said, “How much is the fee for consolidating the notice copies?”

“Consol... consolidating the notice copies, the processing fee is one hundred gold coins, and the cost for delivery and processing of the notice copies for the seventeen cities is eight thousand five hundred gold coins. You can also get a free additional notice for recruiting talents for your territory,” the registrar replied.

“Very good,” Randall gave the registrar a deep look, “Also, our Lord is not subordinate to your Gorebest; this is just a backup copy for your records.”

“Okay, one hundred and nine land deeds can be consolidated into one, and the name change can be done simultaneously. The processing fee is two hundred gold coins in total, plus the related fees for consolidating the notice copies, totaling eight thousand eight hundred gold coins. The verification period is seven days, no, three days. Lord Ryan himself also needs to be present to sign on site,” the registrar realized he had met someone who knew the ropes.

Randall took out a money bag and threw it into the registrar's arms, “This is your writing fee. Start verifying now. Verify it within an hour and prepare all signing materials, then I will bring the Lord myself.”

When Randall came to the inn to pick me up, he reported the general situation.

I looked at him with a smile and said, “Randall, you just saved me millions of gold coins. How should I reward you?”

Randall blushed a little, “Ryan, you know I’m not...”

“Shh... Of course I know.” The gem-studded ring tapped crisply on the table, startling a blue-crowned tit trying to eavesdrop outside the window, I said, “But rewarding merit is my principle. After returning to the territory, I plan to build a Holy Knight training ground for you, as well as your personal mansion, which will be built along with my official residence.”

“This is too extravagant. We are just starting, and money is needed in many places,” the Holy Knight emblem on Randall's chest rose and fell with his swallowing.

“This is a reward, and also a responsibility,” I said, “The Holy Knight Order needs to be formed as soon as possible. Recruit good prospects from the local area as much as possible, and you set their treatment.”

“As you command, Lord.”

John and George had already returned early in the morning; they had already changed into their silver ceremonial armor, just like Randall.

While waiting for me to change, they happily recounted their scene of returning home last night.