Chapter 753: Well deserved rest [4]

"...That was satisfying."

I came out of the place with a smile on my face. Thinking about the faces that everyone made while they listened to my jokes, I felt refreshed. It had been a very long time since I had felt so refreshed and happy.

’At the end of the day, it really all boils down to the delivery. If one doesn’t have a great delivery, then it’ll be impossible for them to get the audience to laugh.’

I prided myself on my delivery.

It was the thing that set me apart from my competition.

"Anyways."

I looked around me.

"...Hm?"

And paused.

I realized that I was standing by myself.

"Wait, I swear Linus and Leon were both next to me. Where did they go?"

I looked around until I finally spotted two figures hunched over the wall.

"What? What’s wrong with you two? Are you feeling okay?"

I looked around in wariness. The two of them were quite powerful superhumans. For them to be like this... This was not normal.

My body unknowingly tensed as I continued to look around.

And then—

"Why?"

A small whimper echoed.

It came from Leon.

"Why? Why what...?"

I leaned closer to him. He seemed to want to say something, but was too weak to say it.

"Did something happen? Just tell me."

"....Kh."

Leon made a weird sound, and I leaned closer. It looked like he was really struggling with whatever he was trying to say. But as if noticing the fact that I was drawing closer and closer to him, Leon slowly turned his head, and our gazes met.

His face contorted.

"Why, of all people, did they decide you to make an emotive mage? A talented one at that. It makes no sense. There must be some sort of conspiracy behind this!"

I grew tense.

How did he know?

I didn’t remember telling him.

’No, I did tell him that I was Oracleus. Maybe...’

"Leon. Come work... for me. I’ll treat you better."

Linus chimed in from the side. He was just barely forcing the words through heavy gasps.

"What...?"

I looked at the two of them in confusion. Why were they acting like this? While I did use emotive magic on them, it wasn’t like I had gone crazy. I just...

"Hm."

I paused after I thought back to what I did.

Maybe I did go a little overboard.

"Ehm."

I cleared my throat and looked away from them. The sun had already set, and in the distance, I could see the bright lights coming from the street lamps and stalls. People walked around the streets, all wearing happy smiles as the merchants continued to shout even as the sun completely set.

I stared at the scene for a moment before smiling.

’Things seem to be progressing well here. At the rate that the city is growing, it won’t be long before we’ll actually be promoted to an official city.’

While I did call Valemount a ’city’, it wasn’t technically considered a true city.

In the Empire, for a place to be considered a city, it had to meet certain criteria. One, it had to have at least a population of over fifty thousand people. Valemount had about seventy thousand, so that criterion had already been met.

Secondly, it had to have several guild branches, a hospital, a train station, churches, a magic tower, a knight order, and had to have the means to protect itself in case a mirror crack suddenly formed and creatures came out.

These were the main criteria for a place to be labeled as a city by the Empire.

But of course, there was still one important criterion that it needed to meet.

A portal.

For a place to be officially recognized as a city, it had to meet all the required criteria and construct a portal linking it to the other cities, and most importantly Bremmer. This was so that the city would be able to send troops to the main capital in case something occurred.

Only then would the Empire grant it the title of a city.

There were, of course, benefits that came with a city’s official recognition. Chief among them was tax relief — newly declared cities were granted significant reductions by the Empire.

This was what I was aiming for.

However, it would still take some time before that happened.

’We’ve met the population criteria, but there are still several things that are missing. Primarily, the churches, magic tower, knight order, and most importantly, the portal.’

The first three were the most troublesome ones.

Each one was a separate organization. They only moved when they felt that the city provided enough benefits for them to settle. In that case, Valemount still had a lot of room for growth.

Thankfully, the last part wasn’t too difficult.

’Based on all the money that Noel left behind, I can start arranging for a portal to be constructed.’

Thinking about how much money was required to build a portal, my heart ached. However, this was necessary. I needed to grow the territory further. The more powerful and grander it became, the more beneficial it would become for me.

"...What are you thinking about?"

Leon’s voice whispered from behind me.

I didn’t answer him immediately and just continued to focus my attention on the distant area.

Staring at the bright lights and listening to the merchant’s voice, I replied, "I was just thinking about what to do with the territory. I’m thinking of setting up a portal."

Leon’s face froze for a moment.

He then rigidly turned to look at me.

"You’re not kidding, right?"

"...I’m not."

Tax relief aside, I was also tired of using the carriages.

While it was true that I could now also use Pebble to fly, the dragon was simply too... grand. Unless the occasion called for it, I didn’t plan on using Pebble to fly around.

’Maybe when I’m stronger and I don’t have to worry about these matters.’

"Wow."

Leon gave me a strange look, but smiled soon after.

"It looks like you’re finally taking the development of the territory more seriously."

"...Yeah, I am."

This was one of the things that Noel had asked me to do.

But I didn’t do it just because he asked me. This city. This territory. It was also part of my power.

The stronger it became, the stronger I became.

I didn’t plan on holding back anything when developing this place.

Taking a few deep breaths, I looked back at Leon. It was also then that I took notice of Linus, standing just a few steps behind, his expression complicated as he looked at me.

"What’s wrong?"

"...."

He didn’t answer immediately, but then, he pursed his lips.

"I really do hope you stick to your words and develop this place. I wouldn’t want our father’s efforts to go to waste."

I paused for a moment upon hearing his words.

But then, I smiled.

"Don’t worry."

I looked back at the streets.

"I’ll make this place unrecognizable."

And for me to do that, I quickly needed to get to work.

I could no longer rest.

But...

’I feel so much better now.’

Today...

Today I got a well-deserved rest.

***

Time quickly flew.

Changes soon began to sweep through the Evenus territory. Not long after, a large team arrived in the city, tasked with constructing a portal. The work demanded the presence of several high-tier mages, each one specializing in the rare element required to forge the portal and inscribe the runes on it.

The scene immediately drew the attention of all citizens as they began to whisper excitedly amongst each other, ’Is a portal being built? Is our city going to have a portal?’

The news spread everywhere.

Even towards neighboring territories, making some green with envy.

Unfortunately, the Evenus Household was not the same as in the past. Following the Rite with Marquis Wilshire, the Evenus Household’s prestige grew tremendously. They were now a Household that most nobles didn’t want to mess with.

As such, the building went unobstructed.

By the time the first month passed, the frame of the portal had already been built.

It was also then that the churches began to send a few envoys in order to scout the place. They weren’t the only ones.

Guilds, knights, and mages from other areas began to travel to the territory.

The population quickly grew, and it became extremely clear that Valemount was en route to becoming the next city within the Empire.

*

A month and a half had passed since the construction began.

And one week before the official announcement of Delilah’s partner.

Aetheria Empire.

"....Ugh."

I groaned, wiping the sweat from my forehead.

It was extremely hot outside, and looking ahead, towards the massive stairs that seemed to stretch all the way to the sky, I found myself groaning once more.

"What was going through your head when you decided to come here? At what point did your thought process go, ’Oh, this is a good idea’?" Leon’s voice echoed from behind me, laced with annoyance as he climbed the stairs, a bag on his back that looked bigger than he was.

He was similarly sweating, but unlike me, he didn’t look to be struggling at all.

He just seemed annoyed.

"Right?"

Linus followed him closely from behind.

He didn’t look as annoyed. Mainly because his face was pale, and his clothes were entirely soaked in sweat.

I scratched the side of my face while I looked towards the distance.

"I’d like to know that myself."

There was only one week left until the engagement announcement. The territory was running smoothly, and it was developing at a visible rate. The situation was also relatively calm within the Empire despite the ongoing succession war.

And yet...

Despite everything telling me to stay in the territory, I still decided to go all the way towards the Aetheria Empire.

I could see why Leon and Linus were both reacting like that.

But it couldn’t be helped. I had just recently received news about the blacksmith who was capable of fixing my ring. He had apparently shown up in the Aetheria Empire, and I didn’t waste a single second and decided to head there.

It became noticeable as the days went by that the damage that the ring had sustained was quite substantial.

It was growing worse by the day, and it was soon reaching the point where the mana it consumed was higher than the mana that I restored. This realization had been plaguing me for the past month, and so the moment the news reached me, I didn’t even hesitate to leave.

It was irresponsible of me, but I couldn’t do without the ring.

But it wasn’t just that.

Looking down at the ring on my finger, where faint cracks were appearing, and thinking about the upcoming ceremony, I knew that I wasn’t only getting it fixed because I couldn’t do without it.

That wasn’t the only reason.

And as such—

Lifting my head up and staring at the stairs, I picked up the pace.

"Let’s hurry up. The faster we get this done, the better!"

"I swear..."

"Leon, are you sure about not serving me?"