BOPE 109

Chapter 109

The amount of thermal mana stones mined from the Cullen Cave was so great that a separate processing and storage area had to be set up. Despite the narrow entrance, the interior widened like a fan shape the deeper they went, and the amount of ore being unearthed grew exponentially.

Blacksmith Smith and his apprentice, Fabro—who had been urgently dispatched—stared, mouths agape, at the mountain of indigo stones piled high in front of the Black Forest.

“Master, aren’t mana stones incredibly expensive?”

Fabro, who had just turned seventeen, hadn’t been learning blacksmithing for long, yet his exceptional talent had impressed Smith enough to take him on as an apprentice.

He spoke slowly, which made him seem frustrating to impatient people, but his nature was kind and earnest. Whatever task he was given, he worked on it silently until it was done, and that made Smith quite fond of him. His memory was also remarkable—once he learned something, he almost never forgot—so there was no need to repeat instructions.

Some older blacksmiths were jealous at first, but Fabro’s skill was undeniable, and the complaints didn’t last long.

Staring blankly at the piles of ore, Smith finally answered a beat later.

“Y-yes, they are.”

The overwhelming amount of ore made even his speech falter. The stones stretched as far as the eye could see, yet carts full of more were still coming out of the forest in a steady, endless stream.

“But when they’re just piled up like this, and rolling around at our feet, they just look so…”

“Like ordinary rocks, right?”

“Yes, just some pretty stones.”

At Fabro’s innocent reply, Smith’s eyes softened. His deep navy eyes glowed warmly as he looked at his apprentice. Fabro, meeting his master’s gaze, thought that Smith resembled the thermal mana stones—not only in color but also in the way he seemed to warm the hearts of those around him.

As they stooped to pick up some stones to load onto a cart, they saw Scrooge running toward them. Smith looked around, wondering if the treasurer was coming to meet someone else, but there was no one else in sight.

While Smith was glancing around, Scrooge reached them, panting heavily.

“Smith! The lord is looking for you. Where have you been wandering off to? I go here and they say you went there, I go there and they say you went somewhere else! I’ve already gone to four different places looking for you.”

Apparently, Smith had been so distracted by all the new sights that he and Scrooge had missed each other repeatedly.

“You didn’t send someone else to fetch me?”

Feeling guilty that an older man had been running around on his account, Smith scratched his head.

“I tried, but I realized I was the only one with free time around here, haha.”

Even as he wiped sweat from his brow, Scrooge couldn’t stop smiling. Well, with groundwater newly discovered and an incredible amount of mana stones being mined, the sound of wealth pouring into the territory was almost audible.

“Oh, have you heard the news?”

“What news?”

Scrooge leaned in, lowering his voice as though sharing a great secret.

“The lord’s planning to make ID plaques for the citizens of Grace. And he’s going to have these mana stones processed and embedded into them!”

“Really?”

“Yes! Only residents of Grace will have them. Everyone’s going to want one—people will go crazy for it!”

Scrooge’s grin stretched from ear to ear. Smith stared at the shimmering mana stones in the sunlight, dumbfounded.

Meanwhile, Donghee stood proudly in front of the newly built Morta Hotel.

When the road construction began, she had also ordered the building of several lodgings, and now most of them were complete. The hotel, located along the main road under construction, had thirty-five rooms: twenty for regular travelers, ten family suites, and five VIP suites. In addition, five smaller inns were being built nearby.

Despite his busy schedule, Builder often visited the construction sites to check progress and encourage his team to finish well.

Those newly appointed and trusted by the Lord of Grace were busier than ever, running from one end of the territory to the other.

“Even the cheapest rooms should have quality bedding. As for the smaller inns, give capable Morta residents first priority to manage and eventually buy them if they wish,” Donghee said, surveying the site.

Handsome scribbled diligently in his notebook, trying not to miss a single word from the lord.

“My lord, I’ve brought Smith and Builder,” Scrooge announced, arriving slightly late after fetching both men together.

“Scrooge, from now on, assign a personal assistant for errands like this. You’re too skilled to waste your time on such tasks. Understood?”

“Yes, thank you, my lord.”

Being called a “high-level talent” by the lord made Scrooge beam from ear to ear.

Smith and Builder entered the temporary office set up on the first floor of the new hotel. It was smaller than the one in the castle, but being brand new, it had a clean and polished feel.

By now, the two men were no longer strangers to sharing tea with the lord, but they still sat upright and proper, their expressions a mix of nervousness and anticipation.

“You’ve both been busy lately, haven’t you?” Donghee asked warmly.

“Not too much, my lord. With all the extra workers you assigned, things have been easier,” Builder replied first.

“Yes, my forge is full of eager hands these days,” Smith added, sweat dotting his forehead from nervousness despite his words.

“Good. The territory’s growth is important, but your health comes first. Don’t overwork yourselves. And if you need anything, tell me immediately.”

“Yes, my lord. But you mustn’t overwork either,” Builder said with concern, recalling a recent incident. Smith nodded in agreement.

“I’ll be careful. Sorry for worrying you,” Donghee said with a gentle smile.

The two men looked flustered, scratching their heads and smiling awkwardly.

“I called you today because I have a task for you—something the two of you will need to work on together.”

At that, both of their eyes lit up. The lord’s assignments were always new and exciting, and completing them always brought results beyond imagination. The rewards were great too, but even more satisfying was the pride of contributing to the growth of Grace.

They were, in truth, becoming part of the living history of the territory.

“Yes, my lord! We’ll do our best!”

“We’ll give it everything we’ve got!”

They didn’t even know what the task was yet, but their enthusiasm made Donghee chuckle softly. Over time, the unwavering trust and admiration in her people’s eyes had become one of her greatest joys.

Today was no different.

Suppressing a grin, Donghee handed them a sheet of paper. The men instinctively leaned forward together—nothing the lord handed them was ever ordinary.

“What… is this?” Builder asked, blinking. Smith also looked puzzled.

Donghee calmly explained, knowing their confusion was understandable.

“As it says—we’re going to build a large bathhouse.”

A bathhouse.

Such facilities were luxuries for nobles. Ordinary commoners couldn’t afford to bathe often; in winter it was too cold, and heating water required firewood, which was expensive. Most could only wash by wiping themselves with a damp cloth—if that.

“You both know how the thermal mana stones heat water, right?”

“Yes.”

They had seen Donghee demonstrate it before, and the entire territory had buzzed with talk of it for days afterward.

“We’ll use those stones to build large public baths.”

“Baths? You mean… like huge tubs?” Builder asked, trying to visualize it from the sketch.

“Yes. This side will be the men’s bath, that side the women’s. These will serve commoners and visitors at affordable prices. Over here, private rooms for those who want more privacy—the rates there will be several times higher.”

Smith and Builder tried hard to understand, but since the concept of a public bath didn’t exist here, it took effort.

Patiently, Donghee continued.

“We’ll connect the baths to the groundwater system to supply water, and the thermal mana stones will keep it warm at all times.”

They would later discover that water heated by these stones remained clean as long as the stones retained their power—their heat had a purifying effect as well. The stones were perfect for creating hot springs.

“Can you build it?”

Builder slowly lifted his gaze from the paper to the lord, his eyes filled with awe.

“Yes, my lord. We can do it.”

“Yes, we’ll build it,” Smith echoed, not fully understanding yet but encouraged by Builder’s confidence. And the moment he said it, he felt certain they truly could.

He smiled boldly.

Maintaining a warm temperature inside the poultry house was no easy task. It was winter now, and the cold air from the snowy mountains made it even harder for fertilized eggs to hatch.

It wasn’t easy to find hens willing to brood over the eggs either, since in this area, chickens were raised only by nobles or the wealthy—and they didn’t sell them. Helsha had tried using similar bird species, but none would sit on eggs they hadn’t laid themselves.

Sighing, she looked over the newly built poultry house with frustration.

Just then—

“Isn’t that thermal mana stone amazing? I put it in the water, and it went from icy cold to steaming hot in seconds!”

“I know, right? It’s incredible!”

Hearing the passersby chatting outside, Helsha’s eyes widened.

Then she clapped her hands together.

“Of course! The mana stones!”