It had been a while since their arrival, and the alcohol from the drinking contest at the banquet had long since worn off. Amos, who had fallen asleep after drinking too much, was awakened by Duru, who had come to his senses.

Amos’s presence was part of the mission, so he had been following closely beside Aresia. The ten guards they brought along had opted to ride on horse-like magical beasts. As a result, their imposing appearance frightened the farmers who were initially working in the fields. Though the farmers ran away at first, they didn’t go too far, and some of them secretly followed for a while, hoping to catch a glimpse of these intimidating creatures.

However, they decided not to get too close, as they had been warned by the management, and gradually returned to their work. Some of the more courageous farmers continued to follow from a distance, curious to experience encounters with these creatures. It became a topic of discussion.

Aresia and her group had brought a few hundred people, including their provisions. Apart from Amos and Duru, there were ten knights as escorts. Kelly, whom Aresia was familiar with, did not accompany them this time, likely because her giant Hornbill was not suitable for land travel.

With this many people, Aresia sat on the back of another knight’s magical beast as they handed the map to Amos, who was more familiar with the area. She asked him to lead the way.

Considering future development, Aresia chose a location that was a bit further from the castle. This wouldn’t interfere with the expansion of farmland or grazing activities in the nearby plains. Although the alchemy workshop wouldn’t discharge waste or affect the rivers, the noise from the workshop wouldn’t be suitable near the houses of ordinary farmers.

After making the necessary arrangements, Aresia and her group set off. They followed Amos, who was leading the way with the map.

The magical beasts were incredibly fast, even when walking. They didn’t need to travel for long before reaching the location marked by Aresia.

It was an area similar to the others, a flat land, but slightly higher than the surrounding ones. Not far away, there was a river.

In the territory’s plains, there used to be a river that flowed into the sea. The other rivers were branches of this main river, most of which were artificially constructed. The one they reached was a branch of the main river.

Aresia had learned from the person responsible for introducing the territory’s situation that the river in question was called the Lora River. Although it appeared calm on the surface, it could flood during continuous heavy rainfall. However, the flooding was not severe, as the territory’s predecessors had constructed enough branches to divert the water.

It had only flooded once in the past few decades, and the affected area was limited to the vicinity of the river. It didn’t have any significant impact on areas further away that relied on the branches for water supply.

Considering the surrounding area of the river, Aresia decided to exclude it as an option. Besides, the castle and the Lora River were quite far apart, so there was no need to consider it.

After surveying the area, Aresia found that the terrain was slightly higher than the surrounding land, with a nearby water source. While it was unlikely to be affected by flooding, it didn’t meet her requirements either, as the difference in height was not significant, and the area was a bit small.

When choosing the workshop location, Aresia excluded the area around the river. She didn’t want to be too close to the Lora River, and besides, it wasn’t suitable for the alchemy workshop.

Aresia expressed her plan to build a silk factory in the territory. For the sake of convenience, she wanted to build the silk factory near the castle. She found a suitable area that was slightly higher than the surrounding land, with a nearby water source. It met the requirements for expanding the factory or building other facilities.

Aresia decided to create an industrial park in this area.

With this in mind, Aresia didn’t have any additional plans for the time being. She wanted to meet a few architects and have them conduct a survey. In the short term, there were no other considerations.

Amos suggested, “Shall we go to the city? It’s livelier there, and we can go shopping.”

Aresia was not interested. “No need. I have my plans. Just leave me alone.”

Amos understood and said, “Alright, I’ll talk to Charlie and have him make the arrangements.”

“Understood.”

After Amos and Duru left, Aresia met the architects that Charlie had arranged.

There were a total of six architects, all from different cities, and they were experienced in designing alchemy workshops. One of them had participated in the design of the Magic Tower in their own city, which met the standards of a mage’s tower.

To help Aresia better understand their capabilities, they brought architectural drawings of their previous works. They focused on the exterior design and provided a simple layout of the interior.

Aresia went through each architect, asking them many questions, including their design inspirations, materials used, and how they solved any construction issues. She thoroughly questioned them and didn’t make any immediate decisions. Instead, she took them on a tour of the Magic Tower and surveyed a potential location for the alchemy workshop.

This time, they didn’t ride on magical beasts. Aresia had prepared carriages to transport them. The knights before were too frightened to ride the magical beasts, let alone the architects.

Aresia made her preparations and left the city.

Even sitting in the carriage surrounded by guards, the architects were terrified and pale-faced throughout the journey. They almost fell off the carriage.

The reputation of the Rogest family was paramount here, and no one dared to go back on their agreement with the Duke’s daughter.

The Duke’s decision to build an alchemy workshop had elevated their status even further, making them more renowned in the region.

Aresia took the architects around the area, explaining the requirements for the factory and the surrounding living quarters for the workers. She also mentioned the need for a general store.

“I’ll give you one week. Submit your design plans to me within a week. Whoever satisfies me will be responsible for the project. Can you do it?”

She gave them a chance to decide, but also gave Charlie a choice.

One week was a tight deadline, but the architects assured her that they would meet it. They were confident in their abilities and promised to deliver the plans on time.

Aresia was satisfied with their response and informed them that if they were willing, they could stay temporarily at the castle.

“Very well, we will arrange for someone to escort you back to the castle.”

The six architects were delighted and chose to stay. They rode in carriages back to the city, saving them one or two days of travel time. It also reduced the time they needed for designing. Moreover, it was risky to travel on the plains, as it was not uncommon to encounter high-level magical beasts, especially in areas closer to human settlements. Dealing with beasts other than the ones raised by humans was not as easy.

The emblem of the Rogest family was a gryphon, and there used to be a connection between the plains and the gryphons. The first Duke led a successful hunt to kill many gryphon, driving them away from human territories. This was how the family earned their emblem.

Though they were driven away, gryphon still preferred to hunt in the wide-open plains, and their presence could still be felt in the surrounding forests. Amos, Duru, and the others came to the territory to capture magical beasts, but their main goal was to capture gryphons and expand their gryphon legion, as well as eliminate a potential threat to the territory.

In addition, wolf-like magical beasts were also fond of the plains. Venturing deep into the plains often led to encounters with packs of them.

It was too dangerous to camp on the plains at night due to the high risk.

Aresia allowed them to stay temporarily at the castle, and they were very pleased with the arrangement.

With their presence confirmed, accommodations were arranged for them. Aresia didn’t wait for their design plans to be completed. Instead, she asked Charlie to contact merchants who sold building materials and a magician who could assist the guards in constructions.

“Invite a few magicians. Once the design plans are ready and the building materials have been procured, let the magicians start their work. I want the alchemy workshop built near the Magic Tower as soon as possible!”