489.Chapter 487 486 The First Snow in Transylvania

Chapter 487 486. the first snowfall in Transylvania
“Another batch of undead are going to move into Scarlet Fortress, alas, and I wonder if I need to prepare resident information for them?

When I first accepted this consul position, I never thought that there would be undead accepting my administration someday, this Transylvania’s racial spectrum order is really getting more and more mixed up. The rules of the living can’t be directly applied to the undead, so do I still need to prepare a special set of management norms for them?”

After receiving the news back from the swamp front, Consul Miriam, who was already preparing to leave work, couldn’t help but spit out a sentence.

She passed this information to her secretary to send it to the newly established “Immigration Management Section” under the Administration Division and the already established Civil Registry Department, so that the new Transylvanian civil servants could be prepared.

The consul looked up at the wall clock and saw that it was exactly ten minutes before the end of the day, which gave Miriam a sense of relief.

She didn’t have to work overtime again today.

With more and more administrative players being assigned to their respective positions and the continuous completion of local civil servants, coupled with the assistance of the “Otherworldly Office System” formed by Lord Murphy based on the system of the Operational Pearl, the Transylvanian polity operated very efficiently, making the consul’s work much less stressful.

This meant that the entire system that she and Murphy had molded for Transylvania had begun to function well.

Although in Professor Malcolm’s opinion, there were still many flaws in this system, and the arithmetic pearls were already very insufficient, but the newly shaped order was indeed better than the previous chaos.

Even the harshest critics couldn’t deny that the current state of Scarlet Fortress was more than twice as good as it had been at the end of the Ten Years’ War.

Not needing to work overtime anymore brought Miriam a healthier routine and a gradually recovering mental state.

The most obvious point was that the Scarlet Consul finally didn’t need to wear two dark circles under her eyes, and after she returned to her dormitory every day, she could still find some time to enter the forums to learn from the “advanced experience” of the other world.

Murphy opened a special “history section” on the forum, thanks to the continuous transportation of small players, there are already a lot of cases that can be used by Miriam to learn from experience.

She was really learning, not playing around, and she was going to take notes and discuss them with Prof. Malcolm.

As far as Miriam knew, Maxim was also studying military theories and battle examples on the forums during this period of time, and Missy Femis had her own duties in the forum tavern, but what she was learning in the forum film and television section was beyond the consul’s comprehension.

It was like the other day when she was talking to Phineas, the latter suddenly popped out a sentence of “Monkey Wine”, which made Miriam a little bit unable to hold her breath.

Although she didn’t have that much time to watch those otherworldly dramas, Miriam still understood what the word meant, after all, small players often used it in certain spam threads.

“Hmph, no wonder you named your psychic organization ‘Red Magic House’, I think you little vampire is probably going to turn into an invalid.”

The consul was packing up his things and preparing to leave work, while spitting in his mind about Phineas’s lack of work, and then thought about the upcoming Holy Blood Festival, the preparations for the festivities to be held in the Scarlet Castle, and the “mission” that would soon depart for the Chardonnay Peninsula.

These were the two major issues that the Administrative Office needed to follow up on.

However, the victory on the swamp front also made Miriam feel relieved, she understood the significance of this war for the Otherworldly Warriors to be tested and examined in various aspects, they relied on themselves to gnaw down the stronghold of the Jackals which meant that when the Black Calamity came, they would become one of the most trustworthy forces on the land as well.

“Perhaps a celebration should be held? Just do it along with the ceremony for the Holy Blood Festival, and save some manpower and supplies.”

The Consul thought so as she donned her own trench coat and left the three-story building of the Administration Office.

She no longer lived in the small courtyard in the ruins of the Scarlet Fortress, and while the warriors attacked the Plague Town a few days ago, all the important departments of the Administration Office had been relocated to the “Administrative Compound” that the Brotherhood of Stonemasons had built in the inner city.

Although the environment was not excellent, the square courtyard and the boulevard made up of specially transplanted trees made this place look quite grand.

The compound also had a full set of facilities, including a security office, cafeteria, and dormitories, and it was the culmination of the “affordable housing” that the Brotherhood of Stonemasons was currently promoting.

Miriam didn’t know much about construction, but she had heard the bricklayers who occasionally came here to apply for projects bragging about how their companions had found a material called “kaolin” in the mountainous area near the Lost Island of Farm No. 4, which could be used to make beautiful porcelain.

The bricklayers also bragged that they would later rebuild a building for the Administrative Service that would fit its identity, and that it would be decorated from the inside out with beautiful tiles.

Miriam couldn’t imagine what the building he described was supposed to look like, but she did see some otherworldly architectural styles on the forums.

It had to be said that those gorgeous skyscrapers had indeed broken through the imagination of an Otherworlder, and if those towering buildings embellished with large expanses of glass appeared in Transylvania, they would probably definitely become a spectacle.

“Your Excellency Consul, should we go straight back to where you live? Or do we go around the city first?”

The consul’s carriage was already waiting at the end of the wooded path, and Norman, the veteran soldier who served as Miriam’s escort leader, inquired as usual.

He still wore a mask to hide his badly injured face, but wearing a black uniform on his body represented that he was no longer a member of the Witch Hunters but had officially joined the Defense Section of the Administrative Division, becoming an honorable Transylvanian civil servant.

This was Norman’s own choice.

In his words, he was tired of being involved in a war fought over something he didn’t even understand, he had lost a lot in the Ten Years’ War and now he just wanted to spend the rest of his life in peace.

President Natalie was a little upset about this choice, but she didn’t card the veterans’ applications for retirement.

Not only Norman, veteran Porter also chose to leave the witch hunter team.

It was rumored that the guy joined the pioneering team of the Dark Baron’s domain and served as the militia captain in it, and also adopted two orphans and planned to reclaim a farm of his own in the southern part of Transylvania.

It was hard to imagine that this was the choice of the old witch-hunting warrior who was as violent as the fire that flowed through his veins, and although it had only been four months since the end of the war, the fortunes of many people had already taken a considerable turn and changed.

“As before, take a turn around town then drop me off at home, and you can all get off work early too.”

Miriam whispered to her escorts as she boarded the carriage:
“In a few days there will be the celebration of the Feast of the Sacred Blood, and I will give you all a few days off.”

“We have leave, Your Excellency the Consul, it is our duty to defend your safety.”

Norman returned in a deep voice, leaving Miriam somewhat helpless.

She wanted to persuade a few words, but before she opened her mouth, a bit of sudden coldness manifested itself at the tip of Miriam’s nose, causing her to look up in surprise to see snowflakes falling from the gloomy sky.

“It’s snowing! The first snowfall of the year is coming a little later than usual, but it’s here nonetheless.”

The consul sighed in relief, an eerie sense of relaxation in her heart.

It was as if some kind of sign that she had been waiting for had finally arrived, meaning that the rules of this land were still functioning as she remembered them, and had not been affected by the drastic changes that had occurred over the past few months, which meant that the purple rift that had been hanging in the sky had not yet affected the deeper rules of the local area.

“Not going to the city, going to the grain storehouse outside the city.”

Miriam boarded the carriage and said to her escorts:

“In my experience, after the first snowfall every year, Transylvania’s climate will rapidly turn cold, and it only takes half a month for the temperature to drop to a terrible level, and the hardest days of the year are coming.

We need to make sure we don’t freeze or starve to death in our city this year.”

“With all due respect, Your Excellency the Consul, that concern of yours may not exist.”

Norman escorted by the starting carriage, he gripped the hilt of his sword at his waist with one hand, pulled on the reins of his horse with the other to survey the surrounding area warily, and responded:

“The administration has been preparing for winter since the fall, and now all the inhabitants of the city have been housed in gray houses, and the masons have gotten many boilers for hot water.

I don’t quite understand how the ‘heating’ they’ve designed for each building is supposed to take effect, but their confidence means that our people will have a much better winter this year than they have in the past.

The warehouses outside the city are also full of food, and with the labor point system that is working well so far it is enough to ensure that those who are willing to work will be fed and clothed.

The city should be grateful to them, and the city should be grateful to you.”

“Norman, your plaintive compliments make me feel flushed.”

Miriam in the carriage sighed: “But it’s not my credit, I wasn’t involved in the construction of even a single house, I was just sitting in my office reading papers and making decisions.

It was the people of this city who rebuilt it with their own hands.

If they do thank anyone, then they have only themselves and our otherworldly warriors to thank for this modest miracle.”

Norman stopped answering.

But judging by his posture, he probably agreed with the answer.

Although the death of his old friend in the battle of Moorland Village had never made him quite enthusiastic about the Otherworldly Warriors, after seeing the changes they had brought about with his own eyes, perhaps a lot of the resistance and regret in the veteran’s heart would dissipate as well.

The first snowfall in Transylvania was not gentle.

On Miriam’s way home after inspecting the warehouses, goose feather snow had spread across the dome of the sky, covering the city that was still being rebuilt with a layer of white frost.

The carriage ran over the road leaving two lines of ruts while the consul looked through the window with a hint of fatigue at the residential buildings on the side of the road.

In those square, unattractive houses there were already lights on, and the fluorescence of those lights gathered together to light up this snowy night, like a pile of bonfires to dispel the coldness of depression.

Who could imagine that this place was a hopeless ruin three months ago?
“I did it!”

The consul in the carriage clenched her fists as she said to herself in a voice only she could hear:
“I can get this city safely through this winter, I didn’t let Murphy and Tris and the warriors down for trusting me, one of those goals that were on the schedule will finally be realized little by little, and when my statue stands in the most prominent place in the city, I’ll be able to face it head on without any guilt.

This is my city. This is the city I protect.
Mom, if you could see this, your daughter would be proud to tell you that we no longer need handouts from the Beverlys to climb the heights.

The ones you longed for, I’ve helped you realize.

I have finally been able to put the past behind me once and for all, and will face the ever-changing future with an open heart, so please bless me.”
—
“The boilers are firing up and the pressurized pipes are functioning properly, four hours is enough time for the hot water to flow through the floor passages of this residential area.

But as it turns out, our design seems a bit whimsical.”

On the first night of the snowfall, in a boiler room outside the residential area of the Scarlet Fortress, the trench-coated gray man was discussing with the bricklayer about their design of “clay heating” next to the oddly shaped boiler and the curved water pipes.

The sad-faced young civil engineer looked at the notebook in his hand and said to the bricklayer:

“I sent someone to test several houses, and when hot water flows through the cavities between the floor slabs, the insulation effect they can bring to the room is extremely limited. Without metal plumbing as a conduction medium, the heat transfer efficiency of stone is simply abysmal, and it’s a shame that good quality metal is still an important substance in this great land.

In short, the heating facilities we designed in the most effective layer is only about five degrees warmer, people in the house still have to wear thick clothes.

On the other hand, the small kang that Half-Haul suggested for the rooms was quite effective, and apart from the risk of carbon monoxide poisoning, the use of this old thing was perfect.

Alas, it’s true that you can’t rely on whimsical ideas when it comes to things like architecture, and the experience passed down from the old ancestors is still more practical in this otherworldly architecture.”

“Don’t be discouraged, it’s just a one-time attempt, the big deal is that when we build the second phase of the residential building later, we’ll adopt a smarter design.”

The bricklayer was happy and not disappointed.

He reached out and patted on the water pipe next to him and said to the gray man:
“Although the attempt of earth floor heating failed, with these N-hand boilers bought at a low price through the channels of the Carpe family, we can provide 24-hour hot water supply for the residents.

This is also a kind of humanistic care.

There’s no need to visit the farms, the houses there are all designed by Old Chen Tou himself, the insulation effect will only be better than the ones we’ve created, so freezing to death shouldn’t be a problem unless Transylvania has a major snowstorm this winter.”

“Hey, shut up you! Don’t crow about it.”

The graybeater closed his notes and glared fiercely at his gibbering housemate, but the bricklayer was cheerfully unconcerned.

His especially happy state today quickly attracted the curiosity of the ash beater, and after checking that the boiler was functioning properly, the ash beater came over and asked:
“Brother Sun, this smile on your face today is very strange ah, is there something good?”

“Hey, good things, all good things.”

Bricklayer sat on the chair next to him and said with a smile:
“I’ve convinced my wife, she’s already filled out an application and will soon be coming to Transylvania to play games and become a ‘broad wife’.”

“Fuck.”

Playing the gray man completely did not understand his roommate’s brain circuit, he blinked his eyes and said:
“Other people are tired of their wives bothering them when they play the game, but you’re good, you’re dragging your fiancée in to play with you even before you’re married, you’re being controlled outside the game, and you can’t live in peace in the game either, right?”

“This is called cyber love, you know nothing.”

The mover said with a squeeze of his eyes:
“What about you? Are you still not done with the Parian sisters? You can’t go on like this, old boy, look at how spontaneous the other Ox is, he’s exchanged rings with Miss Ambrose ow.

You’ve got to get on with it too, my brother.

I think you’re going to be a loner in reality, the development team sees you as poor and gives you two such good wives, if you miss this village, there won’t be this store.”

“Alas, don’t mention it, I can’t even enter people’s doors now.”

The gray-hitting man rubbed his face with a face of egg pain and said:

“Mrs. Parian even talked to me, saying that I’m not allowed to hurt her precious daughters, I’m wronged to death, I didn’t even think of doing anything bad, okay?”

“Uh, I think that’s the problem, if you did do something bad you wouldn’t be in so much trouble.”

Bricklayer said with an odd expression:
“I think you actually still haven’t made up your mind, and you still suffer from a lack of confidence, alas, I can actually understand your hesitation, after all, a fake is a fake.

Here in the wonderful life, once the game shut down the service you also have nothing unlike me, I at least still have an unswerving wife to accompany me through life.”

“Fuck! Even if the service does shut down, I’m going to get Alpha to buy the Parian sisters’ data! No matter how much it costs, I have to buy it, big deal, I’ll work for the rest of my life to pay off my debts.”

Beat Gray Man clenched his fists and said:

“I’ve actually thought about it, I’ve thought about making a decision, the Ox thing gave me a lot of courage, we’re all students, and I’m still a few years older than Ox.

He can be brave enough to chase his heart, so can I.

I just feel like this idea of wanting both of them is too shameless, I just don’t know what to say to them and I think I need a little bit more time.”

“Come on don’t hesitate.”

Movers got up to encourage:

“The Parian sisters and those children are going to be sent to the Chaldo Peninsula for refuge and schooling after the Feast of the Sacred Blood, and if you don’t hurry, this last chance will be gone for good if it slips away.

The two girls’ looks and figures are top-notch in the entire Scarlet Fortress, and Mrs. Parian has risen through the ranks in Lord Murphy’s government, and her family lineage has been elevated as well.

What do you mean by ‘nouveau riche’?
Your otherworldly mother-in-law is going to be a high-ranking official in Transylvania in the future, a small group of people at the top of the pyramid, which is enough to attract a lot of unwanted attention.

I don’t believe that the Parian sisters will go unnoticed over at Chardonnay Harbor, what a good cabbage, don’t give it to the boars from other places.

Aiya, old brother, you really need to work harder.”

(End of chapter)