Three days later, with the arrival of a heavy snowfall, the last wooden house in the territory was finally completed.
Everyone in the territory breathed a sigh of relief; they had made it!
Among them, Draconis's wooden house was also finally built, and compared to the others' wooden houses, his was much larger in scale.
The maid moved his personal belongings from the tent into the wooden house.
Draconis walked into the wooden house with Dratini. The wooden house was not large, probably around fifty square meters.
The carpenter, Tack, and his assistant even used the remaining wood to make a delicate wooden table and bed for Draconis. By the bed, there was even a simple stone fireplace.
The floor inside the house was covered with a thick, hand-woven carpet, bearing the emblem of the Eindoak royal family.
The maid quickly made the bed, placing soft pillows and bedding on it. On the small wooden table, there was a plate of freshly picked Sitrus Berries and pastries, and beside it, a cup of steaming sweet red tea.
"Your Highness Draconis, please stay here for now." Alfred looked at the simple surroundings and couldn't help but sigh inwardly.
His Highness used to live in luxurious castles, with a single bedroom spanning hundreds of square meters, but now he had to live in this small wooden house.
He thought, once they had building materials and time, he would definitely have someone rebuild a castle for His Highness!
But Draconis was already very satisfied with the current living conditions.
"This is already enough," Draconis said, walking into the house with Dratini.
Firewood burned in the stone fireplace, and smoke drifted out of the house through the chimney above. In a short while, the temperature inside the house warmed up.
Dratini followed Draconis, curiously surveying its new home. It flew around, looking here and there, seemingly very curious about everything.
Seeing this, Draconis smiled and said, "This will be our home from now on, Dratini."
"Woo!" Dratini seemed very happy.
"Min... Min..."
Several Minccino huddled at the entrance, looking at the scene inside. Their eyes sparkled with hope.
They preferred this wooden house much more than the tent, because it was filled with the scent of the forest!
But could they also live here?
One Minccino couldn't help but turn its gaze towards Draconis.
Draconis naturally noticed the Minccino's reactions. He smiled and said,
"Before spring arrives, you all come and live here too!"
The tent could be used as the Lord's Hall for discussing territorial matters.
Hearing this, the Minccino immediately let out a cheer.
"Min!"
The Minccino immediately began to skillfully clean up with their tails.
Then, they transferred their stored food here.
Ample food and a warm fireplace meant they no longer had to worry about not surviving the winter!
The Minccino were so happy they even wanted to throw a party.
"Are the other people's houses also finished?" Draconis asked.
Alfred nodded, "Yes, all residents in the territory have now moved into wooden houses. Everyone is very grateful to Your Highness. Without your wise decision, we might have frozen to death on the way to Virbank Town."
Draconis: "..." There's no need to exaggerate that much.
Upon hearing this, he checked his territory panel and, sure enough, found many new notifications.
Satisfaction +5!
Satisfaction +10!
Satisfaction +8!
...
With the completion of the wooden houses, Draconis noticed that his territory panel had also changed.
Lord's Name: Draconis
Territory: Village (Unnamed for now)
Subjects (Humans): 78 people (Click for details)
Subjects (Pokémon): 12 (Click for details)
Popular Support: 30
Satisfaction: 500
Technology: Gathering, Basic Herbalism, Fishing
"Huh? The territory changed from 'Small' to 'Village'?" Draconis was a bit surprised. Was it due to the increase in scale?
He continued to look down. Popular Support had also increased significantly, and Satisfaction had directly reached 500.
He could unlock a new technology again.
But Draconis was not in a hurry to unlock it; instead, he wanted to go and see the people in the territory.
Hearing Draconis's plan, Alfred nodded and said, "Your Highness, please follow me!"
Draconis left Dratini and the Minccino at home, while he and Alfred went outside.
Compared to the scene on their first day of arrival, this land had undergone earth-shattering changes.
Wooden houses of various sizes had sprung up, lining both sides of the road. A heavy snow was falling, and the residents were hiding in their homes, gathered around bonfires with their families, cooking food.
Food was scarce in the depths of winter, and everyone cherished it.
Continuing forward, Draconis also saw the warehouses built by the residents to store food, as well as the shelters for the two Bouffalant to spend the winter.
The two Bouffalant were lying on their sides on a bed of dry grass, watching the heavy snow falling from the sky outside.
The scale of this territory had clearly become a small village.
Several women passing by, on their way to wash clothes by the river, cast grateful glances at Draconis.
Three Snover and several children happily held hands and spun in circles amidst the falling snow.
And in the distance, there was a vast expanse of farmland.
Humans and Pokémon were developing and living together here.
Looking at this scene, a feeling immediately welled up in Draconis's heart that everything he had done was not in vain, that it all had meaning.
Draconis couldn't help but wonder, perhaps this was why some people enjoyed playing lord-farming games?
When a player produces a candle, the farmer's house has light at night. When a player produces a piece of clothing, they put on new clothes.
A territory that was once nothing becomes prosperous and wealthy under the player's governance, and neighboring lords and refugees cast envious glances...
"Your Highness, the snow is falling harder, we should go back." Alfred looked up at the sky, which was gradually being enveloped by night, and couldn't help but say.
"Mm," Draconis nodded.
Now they had ample food and a large amount of firewood. If nothing unexpected happened, it would be enough to safely get through this cold winter.
Next year, they still had many things to do.
Mining, cultivating land, exploring the mountains and forests, catching Pokémon, building more sturdy houses... But to do these things, they alone, with just over seventy people, were not enough.
A sufficient population was the key to a territory's development.
"If only the people in the caravan hadn't dispersed back then," Draconis thought with immense regret.
When they set out from Eindoak, there were over five hundred people in total, close to six hundred.
It included a large number of talented individuals skilled in smelting, construction, carpentry, farming, Fishing, and other trades.
And now, they were left with less than a hundred people.
Sigh, Draconis silently let out a sigh.