CHAPTER 36: CENTRE (1)

The centre was surrounded by six-metre-wide roads divided into four sections. Unlike the buildings in the centre, which were to be rented out as shops or even sold, these roads led towards the settlements. As they progressed, the streets narrowed from six metres to only four metres in width.

The buildings in the settlements were quite large.

Luke had first expanded the homes of the elves and humans under his command. Each one was two-storeyed, resembling homes that could be considered luxurious even in the capital, perhaps costing two or three thousand gold pieces to purchase.

With that, it was now possible to begin construction on the centre.

The centre was nearly twenty kilometres away from the mansion. The walls alone covered an area equivalent to a hundred-kilometre radius. The region, now used as a town, was truly vast, and even reaching the centre from the walls alone required a journey of nearly thirty kilometres.

It was a distance that could be covered in a relatively short time by horse-drawn carriage or even on foot, so it made sense to build the centre almost exactly in the middle of the region.

The next step was to surround the three streets in the centre with empty shops.

December had ended, and January was nearly over. By the end of February, the snowfall would have significantly decreased, and the roads would begin to open up.

If the merchant Elvis had kept his word—and since the agreement had not been broken and Luke had not received any such news, it must have been so—the Selene Town would soon become very famous.

Selene Town was founded by an exiled prince and housed the most perfect servant and the strongest man in the empire. Additionally, the fact that over three hundred elves, including pure-blooded High-Elves like Theodas, were protecting Selene Town would have been enough to describe the town’s immense security, even without Callum.

The elves were not weak; the only reason they did not resist to a great extent was that they did not want to become the real culprits they were accused of being.

Now, with their worship of someone like Luke, who was almost like a ’Saint,’ there was really no reason for them to hold back.

In short, despite being located at the northernmost tip of the continent, in a place as vulnerable to attack as the Duchy of Wirgo, Selene Town was safer than many kingdoms and even empires around the world, thanks to the presence of such powerful forces.

Before Elvis left, Luke had specifically mentioned that if talented individuals wished to come and settle in the town, some of the houses could even be given away for free.

Luke had calculated everything.

After thoroughly exploring the shop panel, he had decided that, unlike his mansion, there should also be a blacksmith in the centre because this was an excellent area for monster hunting.

This was the north. It was a region where five minutes of inactivity outside could freeze a person to death, and it was home to monsters that were much more ferocious than usual.

So, the Hunter Guild would come here sooner or later, and when they realised that Luke was the lord of this place and Callum was here, they would realise that they couldn’t rule here.

The Hunter Guild was a perfect business. They had their own rules, their own way of operating, and even their own way of paying taxes.

Monster parts, magic stones, special alchemy herbs, and similar items were brought into the guild by hunters. Either the hunters sold these directly to the guild, or the people or nobles would assign special tasks to the guild—which was usually the case—and the items would be distributed.

Thus, taxes were not only paid in gold, silver, and bronze coins but could also be paid with valuable items that could replace them.

However, this was something that would not work in Selene Village.

Luke had Callum. He was a man worth his weight in gold to the High Elves, High Arch-Vampires, Half-Dragons, Half-Humans, Half-Demons, and even the High Dwarves.

He was truly powerful.

Sending him out on a hunt could bring back thousands, even tens of thousands of gold pieces worth of materials.

This meant that if the Hunter Guild wanted to venture into the bone-chilling north, a region colder and more dangerous than the Duchy of Wirgo, they would have to get down on their knees and literally lick Luke’s boots.

Because, unlike them, Luke had nothing to lose.

Meanwhile, construction on the first building had begun. Considering the guild’s existence, a large building with a basement that could be used as a storage area needed to be created.

In short, a Grand-Smithy, or as it was also known, a Forge.

Before starting this project, Luke planned to begin by constructing simple, two-storey buildings with small basements, each measuring exactly 130 square metres, leaving nearly thirty metres from the fountain area and starting with the first edge shop.

After doing everything necessary and adjusting the sketch, Luke did not bother to call Kevin this time. Kevin had been busy for days teaching Cain how to read, write, cook, brew tea, and perform similar tasks.

Therefore, Luke melted the snow with his pitch-black flames and then dried the ground.

Immediately afterwards, he took a shovel in his hand and called some of the idle elves to begin digging.

After just twenty minutes of careful digging, the newly laid Moon Stone road was covered with soil, and everything, including the area prepared as a basement on the sketch, was completed.

Meanwhile, Luke had finally purchased the blueprint and, surprisingly, had paid a very low price for it. The blueprint had only cost three hundred gold pieces and a thousand silver pieces. Well, honestly speaking, it really was expected.

Of course, a bridge support made of high-quality, durable stones extending nearly a kilometre in depth was not the same as a shop. It didn’t seem unreasonable for it to be so cheap.