None of them noticed the very subtle mood of wistfulness that passed by their boss' eyes, hyperfocused on their new tasks at hand.
Sheila grinned, then scooted closer to her. Looking around the themed houses near them with shining eyes. "So…where are we going to live?"
"..."
This made her pause. She hadn't really thought about it yet in the sense that she was just 'copy and pasting' the module as she saw fit.
She looked at the custom houses that were definitely hundreds of times better than those in Royal Territory, and wondered the answer to the nurse's question.
Each module had good bedrooms (though no beds yet), bathrooms, toilets, and a private yard on both sides.
It was just that she wanted a much larger yard so she could have her private gardens and experimental fields close to home. This was pretty much a basic requirement for her house, which all her family members were very kind to always provide her with.
But obviously, since she wanted to hide her status, she couldn't live too differently. But at the same time she didn't want to wrong herself in the slightest.
Thinking for a bit, she opened the map again and looked at the rough image of the territory. Her eyes zoned in on the other side of the territory and her feet moved towards it.
Without saying anything, they walked several minutes to the other half of the territory, near the northeast side where the farms would be zoned.
She stared at the area for a while and mused that she, a botanist, was very fond of plants. A few square meters of land really would not be able to handle her requirements.
Hence, in addition to the farms, she decided to make villas with large lots she could use to farm: A farmvilla, so to speak.
She then set up the avenue heading towards the East gate, with the same specifications as the Southeast avenue, knowing full well this part would be no less developed than that one.
She then set up minor roads that would lead to the Farmvilla area.
This farm-villa area would be located on a parallel street to the main eastern road. On the other side, they would be separated to the actual farms by orchards (coming soon).
She looked at the map and finalized the preliminary locations of the agricultural zoned, as well as the industrial zone, which would be further eastward near the new gate.
She might be thinking too far ahead of herself, but placing the factories near the gates would also facilitate trade, should she be partnering with other territories.
For farmhouse villas she directly put two modules together and took down the partition walls.
She also added verandahs, balconies, and other features. She then added a Level 2 wall around its perimeter. She made two more of the exact same sets next to hers.
All these three houses would have system farms on them so the cost was quite high.
Of course, the selling and rental fees would also be very beautiful.
The total cost of the whole thing was several hundred silver coins, about 8 gold. As for the price, she decided to sell it for 100.
For rent, it was a bit more expensive than the other building types, but it would be a self-sustaining property that would be quite profitable if used correctly.
She added about 10 more farmlands in the Agricultural zone to either be rented out privately, or leased by tenant farmers. She was planning on occupying one or two for her experimental crops.
While she did so, the others gathered resources on the way, adding to her quickly dwindling resources, even if only a little.
Satisfied with what she had done, the group finally went on to a well-deserved break.
They set up a picnic table under one of the trees near her future home, chatting and eating snacks. A few hours later, successive dings sounded inside her head.
[Ding! Congratulations Weaponry store (Lv1) has been completed!]
[Ding! Congratulations Custom building #8 has been completed!]
[Ding! Congratulations Custom building #9 has been completed!]
[Congratulations Warehouse (Lv1) has been completed!]
[Congratulations Village Center (Lv1) has been completed!]
[Ding! Congratulations Custom building #10 has been completed!]
[Ding! Congratulations Custom building #11 has been completed!]
[Ding! Congratulations Custom building #12 has been completed!]
[...]
About an hour later, the farmvilla they chose was finally erected, and they settled in before the sun set.
It was dark and they only had their solar-powered flashlight for decent illumination, and they decided to sleep in the living area for now. There weren't any furniture, anyway.
Turning off the light, they laid down their heads, and an unprecedented sense of peace came over them.
After all, they finally settled down; They finally have a home.
They arranged their sleeping bags side by side, looking at the ceiling above, and—after turning off the lights—everything was now solely illuminated by the two moons of contrasting colors.
Incredibly peaceful, the atmosphere calling for someone to open up emotional wounds.
"Thank you…" Eugene said out of nowhere, and everyone tilted their heads to his direction.
"I would not be alive if it weren't for you." He said, and with his passion for creating reignited, he finally had a new reason to live. "So, thank you."
The others smiled.
Sheila couldn't help but look outside the translucent window. It would be great if there were more people. "Now, all these buildings are done but… there's only seven of us."
"The gold isn't a problem yet, but the resources are really lacking. We need more manpower." Althea said, and she supported herself up with an arm.
"Any ideas on how to immediately attract new people?" She asked. "After all, not many people would go into the mountains rather than look for flat lands…"
There was silence for a while, each one thinking of a way to attract people efficiently and safely and without revealing they had The Lord in the group.
.
.
.
After a few minutes of silence, Eugene spoke up.
"I may have an idea."