After another day went by, the second six-hundred-foot building was completed.
Then, Vaan left the rest of the work to Astoria and the more skilled artificers as they built a magic tower-like spire on top and enchanted the whole building.
Ultimately, the second building reached a grand height of seven hundred and fifty meters, a whole hundred and fifty meters taller than the last completed building project.
Nevertheless, they were still minor projects compared to the ten-thousand-foot tower Vaan planned to build. Even so, the minor projects were necessary for enriching Sunpeak Town and speeding up its development.
Only after developing Sunpeak Town could they focus on the ten-thousand-foot tower project.
After all, there was no point rushing the ten-thousand-foot tower project if its surrounding land was underdeveloped.
The crowd eventually dispersed from the central town area with emotional sighs. Unexpectedly, they had wasted a whole day watching the construction.
But given a chance, they would definitely do it again; it wasn’t something they could see every day.
…
At nightfall, Vaan returned to the lord’s state and joined the others for dinner.
The original dining table was replaced by a bigger one due to the increasing number of members after Eniwse and Hester completed their training and joined them.
At the same time, the dining table had become their regular meeting spot due to the rapid changes in Sunpeak Town. It was the only time they were all gathered in one place to update each other on their day.
“Now that the second building is completed, what plans do you have for it, Vaan?” Eniwse enquired over the dining table. “I heard the first building would be used to accommodate visitors seeking temporary residence. Will the second building be the same?”
“Most likely, but it won’t be up to us to decide that in the end,” Vaan casually replied before adding, “It’s been some time since we sent the news to the capital. So we should be expecting an influx of people soon. Among them should be some figures with wealthy backgrounds.”
“As such, tomorrow evening would be a good time to hold an auction for the second building,” Vaan mentioned.
“After all the effort and resources poured into that second building, you’re just going to sell it off, Sir Vahn?” Solana asked with a startled look. “I’m not sure the short-term benefits outweigh the long-term benefits of keeping the building.”
“Selling?” Vaan glanced at Solana before he replied with a smile, “Who said anything about selling it? We’ll be leasing it to the highest bidder. As you said, the long-term benefits of keeping the building are much greater than the short-term benefits of selling it.”
“However, we are severely lacking in human resources to run it, let alone protect it from troublemakers during and outside of business hours. As such, leasing the property to other people is in our best interest.”
“This way, we are guaranteed a steady flow of revenue without worrying about business cost and security. The business expenses, human resources, and security are things for the other party to be concerned about.”
“Furthermore, if our property incurs damages or destruction, they will have to compensate us,” Vaan stated.
After listening to Vaan, everyone at the table nodded with approval.
Leasing the second building did seem to be the best choice to make, given their situation; it was the simplest way to secure a lifelong flow of funds with minimum responsibilities.
Furthermore, the second building only occupied one of many plots of land under Vaan’s name; it wasn’t even the best location for commerce either.
They still had many opportunities to build bigger and better properties with far greater market value.
Nevertheless, after the group finished discussing real estate, they moved on to other topics related to Sunpeak Town’s development.
Given the town’s rapid changes and the influx of people, crime was unavoidable.
However, thanks to Aeliana’s golden hammer of judgment and zero-leniency policy, the number of crimes committed on a daily basis was within an acceptable range.
Moving on, Astoria, as the headmaster of Blackmoon Academy, introduced the idea of sending interested students to Sunpeak Town for work experience.
If they trained the young students well, they could cultivate their loyalty and also make up for the lack of human resources. After all, the young students would be given opportunities to grow and offered stable jobs.
It was a win-win situation for both sides.
Furthermore, considering young people were easier to train and adopt certain mindsets, Astoria’s idea received positive approval from everyone.
Vaan had thought about bringing up the idea, but it appeared Astoria also had the same idea and beat him to it.
“I am somewhat of a celebrity in Blackmoon Academy and Redpine Academy. So we can certainly expect a good number of students to be interested in joining the program,” Vaan confidently stated.
“Not just in Blackmoon Academy and Redpine Academy, Vahn,” Dahlia corrected before handing over a newspaper to him. “Take a look at what it says.”
On the front page of the newspaper, the hottest and most controversial news was about him, Vaan Raphna, becoming the first man ever in the seven witch kingdom to receive the scholar title of Venerable Sage.
Furthermore, the textbooks produced from his original notes on magic had become so popularized in magic academies across the whole Kingdom of Black Rose that practically every scholar and student knew his name.
Considering Vaan was currently known in Sunpeak Town for his immense power, it would come as a great shock to the people once they realized he was that exact Venerable Sage.
After all, he was pronounced dead.
“Well, this could become interesting,” Vaan commented with an amusing smile after he finished reading the newspaper’s front page.
However, there was no need or rush to announce his identity publicly; it would only reduce the number of troublemakers to exploit.
As the group continued their meeting over dinner, Helia suddenly arrived after using the teleporter in her city.
“Oh? What suddenly brings you here, Lord Helia?” Solana enquired as she greeted and acknowledged her arrival. “You appear to be in a rush.”
“I just received some crucial news from the southern border lords that I believe I should share with everyone; it’s about the Holy Knight Empire,” Helia stated.
“Oh?”
Helia’s statement quickly caught everyone’s attention.