Chapter 353: Caprice
The news radiated outward from the bulletin board at the entrance of the
Evernight Mall.
In the early morning, a dense crowd had already formed a perimeter around the
notice. At the very front, a Dwarven blacksmith squinted his eyes, reciting the
ink word for word for those behind him.
"Notice... to all Imperial Subjects..."
"By direct authorization of the Sovereign, the Iron Fortress Territory shall
serve as the primary site for... The Evernight New City Initiative..."
"Effective immediately, all residential sectors, commercial zones, and public
infrastructure within the Iron Fortress shall undergo a total structural
overhaul and upgrade..."
The blacksmith paused, the paper trembling in his calloused hands. He looked
back at the sea of heads, then returned to the terminal line.
"During the transition, all residents will receive temporary housing. Upon
completion, all subjects are granted free occupancy in the new structures."
"Taxation for the upgrade: Zero."
Silence.
The entire street hit a three-second system-freeze. Then, the atmosphere
detonated.
"Another relocation?!"
"Free of charge?!"
"I just moved into my sector last cycle! The mortar isn't even dry!"
"You call that 'new'? That was a holdover from the first expansion three years
ago!"
"It was new to me! I haven't even adjusted to the crack in the stone by my
hearth yet!"
An Orc hunter pushed to the front, pointing a thick, green finger at the phrase
'Total Overhaul.'
"Define 'Total Overhaul.' Are we adding an attic? Replacing the thatch?"
A young man in an Evernight Academy uniform adjusted his spectacles and cleared
his throat with an air of academic authority. "I overheard the Instructors. This
isn't 'maintenance.' It's a total demolition and reconstruction."
"The aesthetic for the new architecture is modeled after an external Plane.
High-density structures. Towers reaching dozens of levels into the sky. Entire
walls composed of translucent material that radiates light during the dark
cycles."
The Orc hunter tilted his head, his furry ears twitching. "Translucent walls?
You mean... no walls?"
"..."
"So when I swap my gear, the units across the street audit my physique?"
"It's not 'nothing'! It's a material called Glass!" the student snapped. "You
can perceive the outside from within, but the internal privacy-rating remains
high!"
"So... it's still transparent?"
"Will you stop being a variable?! It's progress!"
The Bone-Dry Tavern.
This coordinate remained the primary information exchange for the Iron Fortress.
Old Buck had already archived a copy of the notice and pinned it behind the bar.
He didn't need to speak; the patrons were performing the data-dissemination
themselves.
"Three years of Empire, and how many times have we been repositioned?" a bearded
human merchant asked, counting on his fingers.
"First: We migrated from the refugee camps into stone sectors."
"Second: The sectors were expanded. We gained courtyards and public
water-conduits."
"Third: The Arcane Legion installed heating-arrays and the Lights of Evernight.
We got the Cathedral and the Mall."
"And now, the fourth: 'Total Overhaul'? Demolition?" He set his mug down,
shaking his head. "I resided in the Old Kingdom for forty years. My hovel was
identical to my grandfather's."
"...I have achieved more social mobility in three years than my entire lineage
did in three centuries."
"And you are lodging a complaint?" a Dwarven colleague grunted, glaring at him.
"In the Old Kingdom, you lived in a wooden shack that leaked every time a cloud
manifested. Your grandfather lived in a hole. Your great-grandfather lived in a
worse hole! They were all the same Tier-0 trash!"
"How can you compare them? Every Imperial upgrade is a buff! Your current sector
is higher-tier than a Duke's estate in the old days!"
"You are correct," the merchant sighed. "It is just... exhausting."
"Exhausting? The Empire is paying the tax! You pay zero coin for a palace!"
"The logistics are the burden!" the merchant shouted. "Do you have any concept
of the inventory my wife has archived? Eight trunks of clothes! Eight! And my
daughter's plush toys? My son's Chess set? That set was signed by Master Pete
himself! If a single Pawn is lost during the transit, I will initiate a duel
with the movers!"
The Dwarf looked at him with profound distaste. "Units like you would receive a
golden toilet from the Sovereign and complain that the plumber's boots were
muddy."
"I do not possess a carpet."
"You will soon."
In a different corner of the tavern, a group of Bards were huddled together,
their discussion focused on the "Grand Narrative."
"Do you project this is another move on the Sovereign's Great Board?"
"Statistically certain. Why initiate an urban reset immediately after the
annexation of the Eldritch Realm?"
"Because... the urban aesthetic of the other world expanded the Master's
vision?"
"Shallow logic!" a Bard with a goatee whispered, leaning in. "Have you
considered the essence of the overhaul?"
"Better housing?"
"Negative! Integration!" The Bard slammed his palm on the table. "The Empire's
population is scaling. We are a chaotic mix of races: Humans, Dwarves, Elves,
Orcs, Goblins, Dark Elves, Vampires... even the arrivals from the Anomaly
sectors."
"Currently, our residential styles differ. Our social protocols differ. Every
district feels like a separate nation."
"The Sovereign intends to utilize the New City to achieve physical unification!
Everyone in the same towers. Everyone on the same roads. Utilizing the same
infrastructure. It is a slow-burn assimilation of the soul through
architecture!"
"A Cultural Unification Protocol!"
The other Bards stared at him, stunned. "Are you serious?"
"Absolutely! I am already composing a long-form epic! 'The Song of Stone: The
Fourth Rebirth of the Evernight'!"
"...Your last 'Ode to the Drainage Pipes' is still unlisted on the popular
charts."
"The world is full of unranked critics! They lack the ears for true art!"
When the data reached Evernight Academy, the student resonance was even more
direct.
"Excellent! The dormitories are being upgraded!"
"Did you hear? The new structures utilize 'Lifts'! You stand on a platform and
achieve vertical transit to the roof without stairs!"
"Statistical truth?"
"The Sovereign said it, therefore it is a constant. When has the Master ever
issued a false log?"
An Orc student, currently in the middle of a battle-qi exercise, paused to wipe
his brow. "I wish to volunteer for the labor."
"Why?"
"Hauling stone. It is a Tier-S strength exercise. Better than sitting in a
lecture-hall memorizing the history of the Unification."
His statement triggered a wave of "Agreement" among his peers. "I'm in!" "Count
my frame!" "Rather than writing a three-thousand-word thesis on 'Administrative
Superiority,' I'd rather move bricks. At least bricks don't require citations."
This sentiment echoed through every sector of the city.
In the Forge District, blacksmiths set aside half-finished blades to register at
the Infrastructure Bureau. In the mines, workers finalized their daily quotas
early and marched toward the city with their pickaxes. Even the farmers in the
outskirts abandoned their hoes—the skeletons were watching the crops; one human
absence was a negligible variable.
The enrollment desk at the Infrastructure Bureau was swamped. From the morning
opening until high noon, the queue stretched through three city blocks.
The Ghoul clerk in charge of registration was experiencing a manual-input cramp.
"Designation?"
"Thrall! Dwarf! Master-Smith! I can forge anything!"
"Next."
"Grace! Half-Elf! Proficiency in woodwork! My grandfather was the lead carpenter
for the Great Forest!"
"Next."
"Rockback! Orc! I can haul cargo! Heavy variables only!"
"...Next."
"Greetings. My name is Tina, Dark Elf. I possess zero technical skills, but I
can maintain the 'Sustenance-Protocol.' Every construction site requires a cook,
correct?"
"Mmh... Next."
"ME! BOBO! GOBLIN! I can link conduits! Install wiring! I can repair objects!
Any objects!"
The Ghoul's pen stalled. He lifted his skull, his soulfire performing a complex
scan of the waist-high Goblin.
"Designation: Bobo?"
"Affirmative!"
"Species: Goblin?"
"Affirmative!"
"You claim proficiency in 'Linkage of Conduits'?"
"YES! YES! YES!"
The Ghoul was silent for three seconds. He bowed his head, scribbling a small,
marginalized note beside Bobo's name.
[High-Alert Subject. Requires 24-hour supervisor proximity during active
phases.]
He had audited the archives of the Old Kingdoms. The last time a Goblin was
authorized to "Link Conduits," the entire mining sector's water system had
operated in reverse for three cycles. Hot water flowed from the drains, and the
taps produced liquid mud.
But Bobo didn't possess that data. He snatched his "Enrollment Receipt" and
bounced away from the window, humming a chaotic, tuneless melody.
Valley Base.
Kaito was currently crouching by the river. His bait was an unidentified
invertebrate he'd excavated from the mud.
The fish were uncooperative today. He had maintained his position for two hours,
yet the float remained a static variable.
Just as he was contemplating a change of coordinates, the Soul Link shivered. It
was Skele-Greed.
[My Sovereign! Superior news!]
Greed's voice was saturated with a frantic, uncontainable excitement.
[The resident volunteer registry for the New City Initiative has breached eighty
thousand units!]
[It far exceeds our projections! Every race has manifested an unprecedented
enthusiasm-rating!]
[The Dwarves are the most active; their smithing and masonry will accelerate the
construction by at least thirty percent.]
[The Orcs have assumed all heavy-freight tasks. Their physical advantage is an
irreplaceable variable.]
[Even the Elven gardeners and foresters have registered. They wish to integrate
'Natural Elements' into the urban sprawl.]
"Halt," Kaito interrupted.
"Mmh?"
"Elven... gardeners?"
[Affirmative, my Lord. Thirty-seven Master Gardeners have petitioned to oversee
the 'Green-Zone' phase of the New City.]
Kaito was silent for five seconds.
"Authorized for landscaping. But issue a mandatory directive: They are strictly
prohibited from planting trees on top of the structures."
[...My Lord?]
"The last time an Elf 'decorated' a tavern, they planted an oak on the roof,"
Kaito murmured, the memory of the administrative headache returning. "The
root-system achieved a structural breach of the ceiling. The second-story floor
collapsed onto Old Buck's skull."
"The barkeeper chased the gardener through three city sectors with a jagged
piece of timber. I have no desire to process a repeat of that incident."
[UNDERSTOOD! I shall strictly define the construction perimeters! Zero
roof-oaks!]
☆☆☆
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