Chapter 229: The Floors of the Tower
“Good morning, my lord.”
“The boatman who brought the cargo before dawn rushed in, but what have you done this time?”
As I opened the door, I was greeted by the smiling Auro, the frowning Kiel, and the pale-faced Soleil, with Faramia standing by their side, looking concerned.
The knocker was designed to look like a wolf holding a ring in its mouth—adorable. And this door? It doesn’t have a doorknob because it opens and closes with a key. It’s not just about unlocking it; you pull the key inserted from the inside to open it. I really wish I had a doorknob.
“Ah, is it because I added a window?”
“A window?” Auro looked puzzled.
“Want to see?”
“Absolutely!” Auro replied without hesitation.
“I’m a bit scared to go in, though.”
“Don’t worry, don’t worry. It’s much brighter now.”
Tales of ghostly happenings are common in towers, but I haven’t set up any moving dolls or anything like that.
“I don’t understand why being bright makes it okay, and it just makes me more anxious.”
“Nii-sama, Soleil-sama are not afraid of ghosts; they fear discovering the true nature of the tower.”
Faramia translated Soleil’s thoughts, taking on the role of the Sacred Beast’s deer.
“First, this is the hall.”
A spacious area with only the staircase in front.
“I’m not surprised by the Spirit Lamps, but the craftsmanship is impressive…”
“Thank you?” Soleil said, looking entranced despite his pale complexion.
“How many Light Spirits are there just in this place?”
Kiel surveyed the surroundings with suspicion.
“Do you want to look from above or below?”
“The dining room is above, right?”
Auro’s words led us to decide to head upstairs and reveal the dining room.
“The furniture isn’t set up yet.”
That’s normal; the tables and other items are just temporarily placed. Once I gather the courage to visit the hot-blooded dwarves, I plan to commission some furniture, so I haven’t done much here. I want to design the floor and walls to match the furniture.
“Good, other than the Spirit Lamps, it looks normal.”
Soleil seemed relieved.
If I add too many windows, it won’t feel like a tower anymore. There were only three square holes for light and ventilation on the sea side, which were there from the start.
“Are you putting lace on it?”
“Yeah, it’s to keep the bugs away.”
“W-what! Don’t expose such delicate things to the sea breeze!”
When I answered Auro, Soleil seemed to notice the actual lace and shouted.
The parts without patterns were almost invisible, making the designs appear to float. Conversely, there were also vibrant patterns that had no empty spaces. Both were delicate and beautiful. There had been some in the hall as well.
“That’s a spider’s web.”
I had the spider spirit weave it there.
“Huh?”
“…”
Kiel was the one who spoke, and Soleil seemed to freeze.
“Sp-spider.”
“Soleil-sama, it seems there are only webs and no spiders. I don’t think it’s definitely a spider.”
Faramia confirmed and conveyed the message; it seemed Soleil had a fear of spiders.
“Ah. Normal spiders wouldn’t make webs like this, no matter how you think about it.”
Kiel continued.
“Next, let’s go.”
I quickly ascended the stairs. Thanks to the Changeling’s traits, everyone except Soleil loses interest in things other than their obsessions, so the questioning isn’t too intense.
“Ah, but if that lace were sold in the market, how much would it be…?”
Soleil seemed unable to switch gears.
The upper floor was the kitchen. Despite the tower being small, all the equipment was large. That’s because I make a lot of sweets. There was a spacious workbench, a large oven, and a sink with a constant flow of water.
“There are some rare tools, but they’re quite ordinary.”
Faramia seemed relieved.
“This white, thin tableware was recently developed in the northern continent. It’s astonishing to see so much of it together.”
Soleil, as expected, was knowledgeable about new things that could be profitable.
There was a box with a magic circle drawn on it that could chill bowls, and there was also a warming box, but they looked like regular boxes, so there didn’t seem to be any issues. I planned to use them for making ice cream and melting butter.
Since there was a large oven, the Chilling Plate was installed on the floor where I would cook. I hadn’t cooked here yet, so it wasn’t operational.
“This is the storage room.”
Above it was a food storage area piled with firewood and bags of wheat. Thanks to the [Storage] feature, I didn’t really need it, but I ended up with an extra room…
“Above this are the bedrooms and the bath, so I’ll skip those. Next, we’ll go down.”
We returned to the hall and headed downstairs.
“Whoa!”
“This is the Smoke-Free Dining Area.”
With a concept of a seafood barbecue venue overlooking the sea, I had removed most of the wall facing the sea, although the part clinging to the cliff remained.
I had lined the walls and the floor of the upper levels with Spirit Iron, and it felt like the rock and stone materials of the cliff were fused together in this lower section as well.
In the middle of the night, I had been in a strange mood, calling for the spirits to help, and before I knew it, it had turned out like this. I have no regrets.
Before the contractors came to rebuild the fortress, I had thought to add more windows, not understanding the necessity of arches, and had recklessly broken down several sections of the wall. That memory felt distant.
I should have learned from that, but it seems like the spirits are particularly helping with the things I’m anxious about or the things I wish I could do but can’t, so gaining knowledge is indeed necessary.
If I hadn’t known, I wouldn’t have been able to get help there, and I feel like the entire tower would have collapsed, not just the walls.
I had been urged by the spirits to plant flowers and greenery around the edges. It’s a spacious area with good ventilation, featuring a barbecue platform made of stone in the center. I’ll grill some big shrimp later.
“I don’t know how you made this in one night, but it’s a nice, spacious place. Especially since the stairs were narrow, this feels great.”
Soleil seemed surprised, but it was acceptable for him.
“Wait, how is this supported…?”
Kiel, on the other hand, was acting suspicious.
“My lord creates refined things.”
Auro seemed unusually pleased. Was it because of the sashimi from the horse mackerel we had for dinner yesterday?
“Next is the workshop.”
“…Cool.”
Faramia murmured as soon as we entered.
“I hate it when it’s hot while working.”
“That’s strange, isn’t it?”
Kiel interjected, but I didn’t care.
“Wait, the floor.”
At Soleil’s words, everyone looked down at the floor.
“This is beautiful.”
“…Why are there no seams?”
Faramia voiced her confusion.
“It’s a single slab. It’s just thinly layered.”
It was a slice from the Great Tree that I received from the Dogu.
“That’s clearly something you’d use for furniture or instruments! It’s not something you should step on! It’ll get scratched!”
“Oh, by the way, I have room shoes.”
“That’s not the issue!”
I never thought the workshop floor would strike a chord with Soleil.
The main room was simple, lined with shelves, and there was a small room for working. The window in the small room was covered with a wooden frame to hide the Spirit Iron window frame. But there’s also a Hidden Passage!
“Okay, okay, next, next.”
“Don’t wash it away!?”
I couldn’t replace the floorboards now, so let it flow!
“And here is the lounging room.”
“Beautiful.”
Auro offered simple praise.
The floorboards were the same single slab as the workshop, supported by vines drawn in Black Spirit Iron, with large glass windows and matching glass doors. The light was a combination of Es’s metal-shaded pendant lamp and Spirit Lamps. On the stone wall side, there were tapestries, and many cushions filled with White Goose feathers.
“What’s going on with this window? How is the glass held in the frame? And this frame seems too delicate to be cast iron.”
Soleil leaned in ten centimeters from the window, observing intently.
“You can touch it, but if you leave fingerprints on the glass, please wipe them off.”
Cleaning is the most troublesome part.
“My lord, could this be made of Spirit Iron?”
“Yeah.”
Oh, the flower at the end of the vine had bloomed, even though it had been a bud at night. The Spirit Iron is quite detailed.
“That’s not just ‘yeah’! How much would all this Spirit Iron cost…! And this craftsmanship! The glass! What kind of craftsman took how many years to make this! Stop handling it carelessly!!”
Soleil shouted and then burst into tears.