Chapter 8

Chapter 8

The next day, Lancelot arrived at Lorant's house as promised.

Ruth had gone to the Knights Academy early in the morning as usual. She was determined not to resign as Lorant suggested until she earned her first pot of gold.

Silem nearly had a heart attack when he saw the white-haired knight sitting at the dining table early in the morning.

Lancelot showed no qualms about intruding into someone’s home; instead, he took charge and engaged Silem in conversation with great interest, a stark contrast to his indifferent demeanor from the previous day.

Silem felt honored. The teachers at the Knights Academy were mostly 6th to 8th-level knights, so he had seen many high-ranking knights before.

However, Silem's talent was not outstanding, and despite his hard work, he rarely received much attention from the teachers.

Having a high-ranking knight guide him with such warmth was an unprecedented experience for him.

When Lorant woke up, his younger brother was already squatting beside Lancelot, listening intently to stories of his adventures in the Lopulo Mountains, completely captivated by the white-haired knight.

Lorant rolled his eyes and walked past the two, heading straight to the backyard.

Regardless of the reason, it was a tremendous boon that Lancelot was willing to mentor Silem.

Lorant completed all his usual chores as usual, then went to the kitchen, sliced a few pieces of white bread, generously spread butter on them, and placed them in his makeshift oven to toast.

While the bread was being kissed by heat, Lorant cracked three exotic beast eggs into a small iron pan coated with a thin layer of oil.

This pan was one of the specially crafted utensils made by Simon's father, perfectly sized to form a neat circle with the eggs.

He also sliced a piece of cured beast meat and cooked it alongside the eggs.

Once the bread turned golden and crispy, he took it out of the oven, added a slice of cheese and fresh lettuce, and finally topped it with the cured meat and fried egg. Lorant's breakfast sandwich was complete.

Despite being a noble, Lancelot was limited by the culinary skills of the chefs in the Earl's castle. He had never enjoyed the black pudding that nobles considered a delicacy, finding its strong, bloody smell unbearable compared to the peculiar taste of roasted meat.

Lorant's cooking skills impressed him greatly.

Lancelot ate breakfast with Lorant and Silem without any airs of nobility. The sandwich Lorant made was clearly not enough to satisfy his appetite.

After finishing his portion, Lancelot only felt hungrier, but given they were still just acquaintances, he refrained from asking for seconds.

After breakfast, Silem stayed behind to look after the pups while Lorant and Lancelot used the teleportation array to head to the Fifth Outpost.

This time, the three knights around the teleportation array at the Fifth Outpost showed considerable respect upon seeing the horse materialize from the array.

They verified a special badge Lancelot removed from his shoulder with a respectful attitude and then stepped aside to watch the two leave the outpost.

Lorant caught a glimpse of a tree-shaped badge, guessing it served a similar purpose to the token given by the Adventurer Guild, albeit a high-end version compared to his basic model.

Exiting the outpost, Lancelot led Lorant to his warhorse and galloped along the main road.

Twenty minutes later, they arrived at the land enclosed by wooden fences.

The branches plucked directly from trees were haphazardly stuck into the ground, barely qualifying as a fence.

But since it was just for marking the land boundaries, Lorant forced himself to look away from the unsightly barrier.

They rode their horses to the front of the inn, tethering the horses loosely. After surveying the area, Lorant began explaining his plans.

"Renovating this place will make it usable. I want to build the Animal Pet Shop here."

"I plan to transform the L-shaped hall on the first floor into a rectangular space. The front facing the road will have large doors that can be fully opened, and the back door will be behind the counter. This area will serve as the main storefront."

"The space doesn't need to be too large; it will mainly display pet facilities and information. Keep it simple."

"The remaining part of the first floor and the second floor will be converted into living quarters. The first floor will be a living room and common area, while the second floor will have three rooms, one for each of us."

Lancelot interrupted, "If possible, I'd like a bedroom too. I might spend a lot of time here in the future."

Lorant gave Lancelot a complex look, "If you need one... it's not impossible to add another room, or there's a simple shop nearby that could be renovated for your use."

"No need for that trouble. Just give me a room on the second floor of the shop."

"Alright."

Seeing Lorant concede, Lancelot nodded in satisfaction, unaware that Lorant secretly planned to put his guest room in the corner to avoid blocking the way.

After all, the young master wouldn't actually stay here.

"Besides what you mentioned, I think we should set up a teleportation array here," Lancelot said casually, running his hand over a pillar in the inn.

"A teleportation array?!"

Lorant's voice rose in surprise.

For him, a teleportation array was an incredibly advanced technology.

Before now, he had never even experienced a public teleportation array.

A teleportation array! This was the greatest magic-driven change in everyday life in this world.

Even if humans lost their animal helpers for various reasons and thus lacked important tools like ox carts and carriages to shorten distances, they were still able to develop vast cities and countless interconnected regions.

The greatest contributor to this was the long-distance and short-distance teleportation arrays.

"Can you contact the person who makes teleportation arrays?" Lorant asked in surprise, then added with concern: "What about the price..."

Lancelot twitched his lips speechlessly. "Consider this my investment. Choose a location, and I can set up the teleportation array right now."

"So convenient! Then let's put it in the main hall on the first floor, right here."

Lorant's eyes sparkled as he pointed at the ground, stepping back two steps with an eager expression, waiting for the performance.

Looking at Lorant's bright eyes, Lancelot suddenly felt reluctant to set up the teleportation array in front of him.

He felt like he was no different from those street performers.

Unfortunately, he had already agreed, and without setting up the teleportation array now, his subsequent plans couldn't proceed.

Sighing, Lancelot stepped forward, took down a small copper box hanging from the horse's side, and pulled out a folded thin piece of beast hide.

The beast hide, when unfolded, measured approximately five by five feet and was covered with magical runes.

Staring at those runes for too long, Lorant felt his soul tremble slightly, as if it were about to be sucked away by those strange runes.

Lorant quickly averted his gaze, not daring to look more.

After moving the beast hide to the desired location, Lancelot took out a thick potion and poured it directly onto the hide.

The thick potion, as if alive, automatically filled all the patterns on the hide.

Then, accompanied by gestures and incantations that Lorant couldn't understand, a blinding light erupted from the patterns on the hide, making it impossible to keep one's eyes open.

Lorant closed his eyes, and when he opened them again, the beast hide had disappeared, replaced by a teleportation array right there.

"That simple?" Lorant looked at Lancelot in disbelief. "I thought the teleportation arrays were so expensive because they were much more..."

Lancelot couldn't help but chuckle. "Simple? Don't underestimate what I just did. Just take that piece of beast hide; it's the skin of a mature Level 12 spatial beast."

"As for that bottle of potion, it contains the essence of fifty-nine Level 8 or higher plant beasts. A single bottle takes a Level 8 alchemist over a month to prepare."

Lorant's mouth gaped slightly as he mentally calculated the value, unable to hold back a whistle.

If not for the backing of the Congress of Magic, it would take years just to gather these materials, let alone create a teleportation array so quickly.

No wonder the number of teleportation arrays remained so scarce.

Not to mention, every time a teleportation array is built, a terrifying Level 12 beast has to give up its skin...

"You can operate this teleportation array normally from this crystal pillar. See, press this to activate or deactivate the teleportation function."

"This is currently a directional teleportation array linked only to my Earl's Castle teleportation array, meaning it can only go to my castle."

"If you want to go elsewhere, you can teleport to my place first and then from there to other locations."

"While it's not very convenient, it ensures greater safety."

Lancelot fiddled with the crystal pillar nearby, placing a fist-sized crystal on it. The teleportation array lit up with its characteristic glow, and an elderly man dressed formally led seven or eight people out.

"Young master, everyone is ready," the old man said, looking around before addressing Lancelot.

"Uncle Peter, please oversee their work here. Lorant will communicate the specifics." Lancelot nodded at him and pointed to Lorant. "This is Lorant, an exotic beast breeder and my partner."

Old Peter then carefully examined Lorant.

The young man wore a linen outfit, with neither magic nor martial energy fluctuations, appearing to be a handsome yet naive commoner boy.

But his young master's serious introduction made him realize that this was someone to be treated with respect.

"Hello, I am Peter, the butler of the Cavendish family. If you have any requests, feel free to tell me, and I will do my best to accommodate them within my means." The old butler bowed slightly to Lorant.

Lorant hurriedly returned the gesture, and the two began discussing the construction of the shop.

The workers Lancelot sent were experienced. Based on Lorant's description, one of them quickly sketched a layout on a leaf paper they carried.

Though the sketch was rough, it clearly showed the layout, making it easy to understand.

"This 'Magic Energy Indoor' system is a recent research achievement of the Congress of Magic," Butler Peter proudly explained. "Its high price is just one aspect; it is also extremely rare, and ordinary people can't even buy it."

By "ordinary people," Lorant understood it to mean "minor nobles."

True commoners wouldn't even get a chance to see magic, let alone something like the 'Magic Energy Indoor' system.

"What exactly is it?" The term 'Magic Energy Indoor' struck a chord in Lorant, reminding him of smart homes from his previous life.

"First, all ceilings will be embedded with voice-controlled improved Light spells. These Light spells are softer and more natural, providing the same light indoors as outdoors."

"Second, the floors and walls will be embedded with Cleaning spells. Activating the central hub once daily will keep all rooms clean."

"Most importantly, the kitchen will be equipped with Water spells, making water easily accessible. As for wastewater, there is a small teleportation array here. After collecting the wastewater, activating the small teleportation array will dispose of it."

Lorant was slightly stunned by this world's bathroom setup.

While there wasn't a complete water supply system, they used magic to create a perfect substitute.

Especially the small teleportation array, which was actually a simple spell originally used by alchemists to dispose of failed potions by sending them to unexplored alternate worlds.

"And there's also the bathroom, with a similar setup, featuring a Water Purification Spell and a teleportation array to another world."

"For the shower area, there will be a temperature-controlled magic array along with the Water Purification Spell."

"Although the consumption of these spells is not high, according to your requirements, the first floor will have a regular kitchen and a bathroom. Each of the four bedrooms on the second floor will have its own bathroom, and you also want a Temperature Stabilization Spell and a bathtub in each bathroom... Additionally, all the Water Purification Spells should include a Temperature Adjustment Spell."

"Next to this, we need to set up an animal pet storage room, fully equipped with Cleaning Spells, Illumination Spells, and Air Refreshing Spells." The old butler sighed as he counted: "There should also be a dedicated kitchen for the animal pets, with even more equipment than a regular kitchen."

"There needs to be a freezer as well."

"When you add it all up, the crystal consumption for these features is almost equivalent to that of the teleportation array."

Peter looked at Lorant expectantly, hoping he would understand how unreasonable his requests were and reconsider.

"It's fine. Let's proceed with these arrangements. The consumption isn't an issue; don't worry about it."

Lorant waved his hand, acting like a wealthy benefactor without any self-reflection.

Just moments ago, Lancelot had given Lorant a crystal card worth fifty thousand gold coins, a method used specifically for large transactions.

These fifty thousand gold coins were given to Lorant by Stephanie to purchase a Crystal Ice Flame Dog, and she specified that it should be Little Yi.

To reassure Lorant, Lancelot had to guarantee that Stephanie had no ill intentions and would not harm Little Yi.

With money in hand, Lorant felt much more confident.

"The walls should be reinforced further. It would be best if we could install a large Temperature Stabilization Spell indoors."

"Oh, and I wanted to ask, is there any transparent building material?"

Lorant pointed to the window position, looking expectantly at the old butler.

He wasn't sure if glass had been invented in this world yet.

After all, when glass was first created, it was once considered priceless.

If glass did exist now, it would likely only be found among the upper echelons of society as a rare item.

In reality, it was just a product of sand being heated, incredibly cheap to produce.

"Transparent?"

"Yes, I want to use transparent material for the windows so that even without Illumination Spells, the indoor lighting during the day won't be too dim."

Peter thought for a moment and shook his head. "No, I haven't heard of such a material. If we're talking about something transparent, large pieces of clear crystal could work, but that would be too expensive."

Lorant nodded without saying anything more, making a mental note to figure out how to create glass in the future.

"For the animal pet storage rooms you requested, I've initially planned for one hundred, covering an entire section. Each room will be spacious, and you can arrange them as needed."

"We'll start with these storage rooms, and if more are needed later, we can expand."

After planning these details, the area facing the main road was fully occupied.

The fences around the land would be strengthened and raised into proper walls, and Lancelot would set up numerous defensive measures. This would create a massive 'backyard.'

Lorant was quite satisfied with his plan, completely ignoring the craftsmen's hesitation.

The predominant aesthetic style in this world resembled that of medieval Byzantine architecture, with churches, castles, and academies built in this style.

However, the courtyard-style design that Lorant envisioned was rarely seen.

In mainstream thinking, castles were the ultimate symbol of status, and few people invested heavily in magical facilities within ordinary two-story houses.

But Lorant didn't care about others' opinions. What mattered most to him was his own comfort and that of his family. As long as they were comfortable, what others thought was irrelevant.

As for the vast empty land that remained unoccupied, Lorant didn't intend to waste it.

He planned to divert a stream from the Holy Shield River to divide the backyard into several independent areas. Different regions could be used for various animal pets to live and play, with beautiful bridges adding charm to the landscape.

Though he currently had only one type of animal pet, the Crystal Ice Flame Dog, he wanted to leave enough space for future additions.

In Lorant's imagination, his Animal Pet Shop would resemble a picturesque zoo, where different types of animal pets coexisted.

Customers would stroll through the grounds, interacting with the animal pets to make their choices, ultimately taking home their chosen companion.

For now, Lorant didn't plan to open the backyard area, which currently resembled a residential garden. However, the vision of its future beauty filled him with motivation.