After conducting further tests, Gawain determined that it was unnecessary to continue the verification process.
Rebecca was unable to establish a connection with the crystal.
He had Amber try as well, but she too was unsuccessful.
It appeared that, aside from himself, no one else could connect with the mysterious monitoring station in the sky, even when in contact with the crystal. This raised an unsettling question: what was the purpose of the crystal left behind by Gawain Cecil seven hundred years ago?
Gawain considered two possible explanations: either the original Gawain Cecil was special and had a unique method for using these crystals, or—more chillingly—these crystals were not intended for him, but for his future self seven hundred years later.
The second explanation was particularly disconcerting.
"Lord Ancestor…" Rebecca looked anxiously at Gawain, feeling uneasy after the confusing tests. Although she was unsure of their purpose, it was clear that the attempts had failed, and she feared she had disappointed him once again. "Is it because my talent is too lacking that…"
"No, it's not your fault," Gawain reassured her, suppressing his own thoughts. "Amber tried too, remember? These crystals aren't meant for ordinary people. I just thought to let you give it a try. Now, tell me about your survey results outside."
Upon hearing this, Rebecca's spirits lifted. "Oh, right! I was just about to mention this! Did you know that the land here has been purified? I followed the range you indicated and found all unpolluted land. The terrain is open and flat, and there's easy access to water. The farmers I traveled with said this is the most suitable place for cultivation…"
Gawain was not surprised by this answer; he already knew the situation.
At least a decade ago, the pollution in this area had begun to dissipate—though the people of the kingdom remained unaware.
The exact timeline for when the magical tide's influence receded around the Dark Mountains was unclear, but records from the once-thriving House Cecil confirmed that this area had been a polluted zone just a century prior. At that time, the magical tide was still active, which allowed the ancient treasures in the mountains to remain hidden. Otherwise, the Morn family might have retrieved those ancient resources. Once the Cecil family experienced its upheaval and the Morn lineage was broken, the secrets of the mountain treasure were lost, and the kingdom abandoned the southern region, plagued by annual disasters due to pollution. Thus, the decline of the magical tide went unnoticed.
After all, the "unclean winds" continued to sweep over the Dark Mountains each year. Even if the land's pollution had dissipated, the presence of toxic dust storms made it unfit for cultivation.
Gawain could only confirm one thing: based on the clear aerial view stored in his mind, there had been no pollution in this area for ten years.
The nearest noble territory was that of the Leslie family in Tansun Town. According to Ansu law, the minor nobles in the southern border were responsible for monitoring the contaminated areas of Gundor. Thus, Gawain surmised that Lord Andrew was likely aware, at least to some extent, of the magical tide's diminishing influence. However, for a traditional nobleman who thrived on mining, this temporarily stabilized land probably didn't warrant investment. Furthermore, with the decline of the pioneering wave, Lord Andrew likely hadn't sent anyone to assess the situation here.
Gawain nodded, looking at Rebecca. "The area I marked is confirmed safe. The outer pollution has likely decreased as well, but we need to be careful and investigate further once the main force arrives. For now, stay away from those areas."
The clear aerial view in his mind was from ten years ago, and the pollution zone should have continued to shrink over the past decade. However, given that the satellite view had transformed into a "magical imaging map" and could not be adjusted, Gawain could not determine the current state, so he had to make this arrangement.
As time went on, Hettie's efforts in promoting the new work system, along with the adaptation of the people in the territory, began to show results. Workers started to realize that their labor meant better rations. Those who attempted to exploit the new system quickly learned that it was far more painful to watch others enjoy the benefits while they starved than to simply consume vegetable soup.
For Gawain, the clumsy attempts to exploit loopholes were far from clever, and he never hesitated to impose strict penalties.
This was a matter of survival for everyone; there was no room for leniency.
Thanks to the effectiveness of the new system, the construction of the outpost was completed at an astonishing speed, preparing for the arrival of the main force. Under Gawain's planning, the camp's surrounding fences expanded several hundred meters to the south and east, leaving ample space for the seven hundred incoming troops to set up tents. He also reserved areas for the carpenters, masons, and blacksmiths to set up their workshops, along with new storage space for supplies. He ordered the construction of a temporary dock facing the river and the establishment of a sawmill nearby to process the timber that would flow downstream from the logging site in the west.
Of course, both the dock and the sawmill were still just plans on paper. One hundred laborers were simply insufficient. Even with Hettie's magical assistance, construction was strained. Gawain sincerely hoped that Rebecca could cast spells other than fireballs…
Standing on the high ground by the riverbank, Gawain watched as a large wooden building took shape in the distance. It was one of the few structures in the camp that could be truly called a "house," and it was quite sizable. This building would serve as a temporary blacksmith shop. Although there were plenty of smelted metal ingots in the mountain treasury, they were unsuitable for immediate use in the camp's construction. They consisted mainly of mithril, enchanted gold, purple copper, and purple steel—Gawain was certainly not going to melt those down for nails.
The eastern iron mine had been roughly surveyed. Although it was not yet time to excavate a mine shaft, they could extract some ore for testing its quality. The first batch of ore had already been extracted, and once the blacksmiths set up their furnaces, the Cecil territory would officially enter the Iron Age…
It was truly worrisome.
Thinking about the unknown magical tide that would come and the mysterious monitoring station in the sky, Gawain couldn't help but shake his head and sigh as he looked at the slowly progressing outpost.
Rebecca, who was nearby and seemingly lost in thought, noticed Gawain's sigh. She turned and frowned at him. "Why are you sighing? Is it not okay for me to take a break here?"
"Don't always think the worst of me," Gawain replied helplessly, glancing at her. "When have I really exploited you?"
"Isn't it fun to bicker with you?" Amber chimed in, her tone defiant. "You're the first noble I've met who can argue with someone and not get angry. It's refreshing!"
Gawain turned away, ignoring her.
But Amber was not ready to give up. "Hey, hey, you still haven't said why you're sighing!"
"It's too slow," Gawain shook his head. "It's simply too slow."
Amber's eyes widened. "Are you talking about their work speed? Is it really slow?!"
She then exaggeratedly waved her arms. "Do you even have a conscience? These people are the fastest laborers and workers I've ever seen! Yesterday they finished building the extended fence walls in less than a day, and today they've started constructing the blacksmith shop—do you know how insane that speed is?!"
She muttered, "I thought you were giving them meat and banning whippings and punishments, thinking you were actually a good person…"
Gawain shot her a glance. "I am a good person. Besides, I haven't blamed these people for working slowly—I can see they aren't slacking off, but overall… the speed of construction is a fact that isn't keeping up with my plans."
"Your plans are unrealistic," Amber pouted, then looked at Gawain with suspicion. "Speaking of which, I've been thinking it was strange… you've been acting odd these past few days, as if you have something on your mind. You've drawn all these bizarre things on paper. Especially this morning, the camp had just started taking shape, and you were already considering building a fortress… what are you worried about?"
Gawain didn't turn his head. "Worried about the end of the world, worried about the sky falling, worried about extraterrestrial visitors, is that okay?"
"You just refuse to admit it. Tch, but I'm watching you; you're worried," Amber crossed her arms. "Let me think about when this started… ah, right! It was when that sunspot appeared! Ever since then, you've been restless…"
Gawain was genuinely surprised this time. He looked Amber up and down. "Have you been observing me all this time?"
"I don't have that kind of free time," Amber said with her arms crossed. "But you can't hide your changes from others. In fact, your two distant descendants have noticed it too, but they didn't dare to ask you…"
Gawain was taken aback. "Is that so? Has it been that obvious?"
After a moment of reflection, he couldn't help but start reconsidering his recent state of mind and how he should adjust it. Meanwhile, Amber was deep in thought and suddenly posed a question. "What do you mean by extraterrestrial visitors?"
Gawain: "…"
How did her thought process jump around so much? He thought she hadn't even been paying attention to that phrase…
Just then, a small figure caught Gawain's eye in the corner of his vision. Dressed in a coarse linen dress, the little maid Betty was waddling over.
Betty ran up to Gawain, panting heavily, and said with wide eyes, "Mrs. Hettie is asking for you!"
"What does she want?"
Betty thought for a moment. "I forgot!"
Gawain: "…"
At that moment, Amber noticed that Betty's hands were empty and couldn't help but curiously ask, "What happened to your precious frying pan?"
Betty looked up, her expression earnest. "Miss Rebecca said this is our new home, so when we got home, I put the frying pan in the kitchen."
They were responsible for carrying cooking utensils when they set out, and once they arrived home, they were to put them back in the kitchen—this was also what Mrs. Hansen had taught her.
At this point, Gawain had already guessed the reason Hettie was looking for him.
He could already see the figures appearing in the distance to the west.
The second group… had finally arrived.