The Town of Ferrol was especially lively at this time of year, with every inch of its land filled with chatter and activities.
It was the annual Ferrol Market Fair, after all.
At this time of the year, the town was characterized by bustling activities and the sound of transactions as people from various territories and places merged together at the prospect of money.
The stalls were lined up relatively neatly, leaving a pathway of about two meters wide in between blocks. Each one was occupied and each one was filled with products and people trying to attract customers traversing along the street adjacent to them.
"Basset Town products available here!"
"Poli Village meat here! Please buy!"
"Seafood from the famous Masusa Port City!!"
"Kilpo City time-limited fabric available here! You can't find these colors anywhere else!"
"Special spices from Holt City! Add a bit and you're taken to Elvendell with every bite!"
Watching the lively market from a distance, from inside the large Lord's Mansion located smack in the middle of the town, was Lord Jonathan.
He was looking down from his room above eye level, and he nodded when he saw the event was as usual before turning his head back to his guests in the sitting room.
They seemed antsy as they sat, unable to sit properly—lacking the dignity that lords ought to have.
Jonathan sighed and walked to them, with the two bowing a bit in greeting. He sat down and looked at them. He didn't say anything and for a while, he just tapped his fingers on the wooden armrest. He sat unmoving as he looked at the two old men who finally gathered the courage to look back at him.
It was just that they were pale, embarrassed, and very guilty.
"How is your village?" Jonathan asked Gen, the Lord of Poli Village. He had a rounded physique, almost as rounded as his curls, and he looked down at his hands, feeling guilty.
"We didn't find the fifth son of the Golds. He must've been hired somewhere else." He said.
Jonathan sighed, and turned his head to the tall pale skinned man next to Gen. The man's name was Kona, the Lord of Kona Village. Kona in turn shook his head and apologized.
"It is the same with my, my lord."
Jonathan sighed. Pity.
When he heard the fifth son of the Golds Family was sent to the Chancery of Appointments for training, he, who had always wanted to hug this thigh, quickly contacted all his affiliated villages to hire anyone with golden hair and blue eyes.
As for the Lord of Guia village, he didn't bother to invite him. He was just an affiliate of Ferrol Town in name anyway.
He then excused the two lords and slumped down on his chair, a bit disappointed. In the end, he decided to do some shopping outside in hopes of feeling a bit better.
Before he could relax though, Cassandra and her friend strutted into the room and sat naturally on the sofa.
Cassandra, Veronica, and Jonathan had been extremely close since they were children. Cassandra could let go of her lady-like upbringing around with him in private.
"I saw the old men."
"And?"
"I heard what you called them here for."
"So?"
"You don't seriously want to hire that guy? He's useless!" Cassandra asked, looking very disappointed in her cousin's brain.
Jonathan massaged his temple. "He may be somewhat of a prodigal, but his blood isn't. Don't forget: he's the Gold's favorite son."
"Favorite son to spoil."
"Loved nevertheless. And aren't they trying to straighten him up?" He said and looked at her.
This time it was him looking at her with disappointment. "You should've introduced me before you broke up."
Cassandra rolled her eyes and Veronica laughed.
Jonathan sighed and decided to change the topic. He looked at her in puzzlement, "Anyway, when did you come back?"
"Just today," Cassandra said as she pushed back her volumic purple hair. "I really don't like staying home. All they do is nag. I think they already found me a fiance."
Jonathan's eyebrows rose, curious. "Who?"
"Some only son of some town lord," Cassandra said, shaking her head. "Anyway, imagine my reaction when I saw those lords and found out what you called them all the way here for."
"Of course, that wasn't the only reason," Jonathan corrected her. "It's my annual trade fair, don't you remember? I have a share in their stalls."
Cassandra didn't bother responding. Of course she knew! She was here at this time every year.
Looking at his cousin's mocking stare, Jonathan smirked, knowing full well what could wipe that arrogant look off her face.
"Gill is also back."
Cassandra's back immediately straightened at the mention of Gill's name.
A few days ago, Jonathan sent her a letter that Gill left, so when she rushed here she thought she'd have to wait for him, pining helplessly until he returned.
Fortunately, she didn't have to suffer for so long. "Really?" She mumbled softly, unconsciously showing shyness and lady-like glee. "Excuse me."
She strutted away with poise like usual, though those who knew her would know that she was walking much faster than usual.
Veronica also brightened and gestured to stand up and follow. Seeing this, Jonathan couldn't help but send out, "Brandon isn't though."
"Eh? Why???"
Veronica looked pitiful, as if she was betrayed, but Jonathan rolled his eyes, completely unaffected.
Jonathan shrugged, "Go ask them."
Then he stood up, joining the two women in the end. "Nevermind. I also want to know where Garan is."
Since the great success of their previous deal, he kind of wanted to do more projects together!
…
Ferrol Market
Ferrol Market was a hectare-large open space in the western part of the territory. This place had always been kept open for different events. There would be an event held there every few months and, without exemption, each one improved the town economy a few days before and after the event.
For example, three months prior there was a fighters' tournament with rich rewards. Plenty of towns did this particular event, with Ferrol being one of the favorites.
'Professional' fighters—that was, men who fight in public for money—travel from town to town in an attempt to win prizes. The street fights were the wildest during this period, but these fighters paid well so few people bothered with them.
The ongoing Market Fair was set three-fourths into the year. It was also the biggest annual event, primarily because only Ferrol had this honor in the area. It was to the point that guests rented out houses so they had a place to stay. It lasted for an entire week.
The next and final event of the year was set in two months. This was called Beast Tamers Plaza, where certain beast tamers would auction off their beasts for high prices.
As a town, it was good to be able to host these events usually only found in cities. The Lord Jonathan was obviously quite capable.
Back to the market, the Terran Mercenary team's stall was located at a relatively good location not too far from the center. The team rented out three stores, and each one of them gathered quite a bit of attention. The group worked together to prepare the booths, completing it just in time for the event's opening.
One of the first things people would see here was the signage.
Eagle and the others commissioned their signages with Houser, the woodworking aborigine that Baron hired. It had the special effect of attracting bystanders who stared at it for more than 5 seconds.
It was like a medieval neon light, except it wasn't lighting up.
Of course, to ensure people actually stared at it that long though, there naturally had to be something interesting in the signage from the start.
For this purpose, with text artistically carved in Xeno universal language, they made the lettering of their store name intricate and eye-catching.
They even added more imagery to the lettering. For instance, one character was like a miniature person standing up, welcoming customers in.
Speaking of alphabets, the Xenoan alphabet was composed of logograms which was a little difficult to learn in the beginning, but intuitive once the basics were mastered.
Altera in Xenoan language was composed of two characters, with the highly literate aborigines helping them out (primarily Oslo).
The first character was an elongated character that looked like a rectangular tower with a few crisscrossing lines inside and a little dot on top. In Xenoan, it meant either mighty, tall, or prideful.
The second was more horizontal with a large semi-enclosed box surrounding the character. There were also two commas inside, connected at the bottom, forming a sort of dual-leaf shape. It signified peace and prosperity.
It was a very fitting choice for what they wanted Altera to be.
And now, the name became an inevitability they recorded on stone. Or, in this case, wood.
It was also the name that would eventually resound across the world.