Chapter 103: Opaque reality [ 23 ]
At around 2 in the afternoon, the sun beat down on Winterseed, making work more uncomfortable, but the people of Winterseed pulled through and continued working without stopping, with a clear goal of progress in their minds.
Three groups working on the guardhouse project had already finished the frames and walls, now left with other minor steps before setting up the roofs and finalizing the construction.
The other group led by Josh was far behind, but they would be done with the same step before retiring for the day if they continued working at the pace they were currently working at.
Meanwhile, Rowan spent his time digging the foundation without rest.
He had already dug the foundations of five houses today, totaling eight he had done so far. Right now, he had around 32 more foundations to dig, and thus he didn't waste a single moment and continued digging.
Some of the idle, unmarried young ladies couldn't help but watch as his slim, shirtless, muscular figure worked hard. They couldn't stop fantasizing about romancing such a strong man.
The sweat running down Rowan's body made him even more attractive to the young ladies who couldn't take their eyes off him.
Some of the young men who walked past the group of young ladies watching Rowan couldn't help but scoff at them for being so shameless in the open. However, deep down, they wished they could get the same attention their Lord got from the ladies.
Rowan was aware of their leering eyes, but he wasn't bothered a bit and continued working nonstop. Unfortunately for the ladies, Rowan didn't plan on being unfaithful to his wife.
The Rowan from Earth would have jumped at every single look of attraction he received from the opposite gender and ensured to make the best out of it—but in this world, Rowan had made up his mind to be faithful and principled with a clear goal in mind.
The ladies were still observing and fantasizing about Rowan when Riela arrived, holding a basket containing cooked food in her hands.
When she noticed the young ladies ogling at her man, she immediately became pissed and wore a frown as she walked faster towards Rowan.
The young ladies immediately noticed her and quickly composed themselves, greeting her with respect.
Riela responded to their greetings with a cold nod, and the young ladies immediately disappeared from the area. Only then did the frown on Riela's face disappear, quickly replaced by a smile as she strolled towards Rowan, who had already noticed her presence.
He received a notification that his wife was pissed and quickly understood she was here. He stopped working and observed her interaction with the ladies, a sweet smile on his face.
Riela rushed towards him, observing his sweating, muscular body with a somewhat dazed smile.
The ray of the sun beating on Rowan's shirtless figure made him even more attractive. In her mind, she concluded that only she could ogle at the wonderful figure of her husband!
"Don't let those ladies look at you like that again," she said with a cute frown when she was close enough.
"Haha, somebody is jealous," Rowan teased.
"I am not," she retorted with a pout, a slight blush appearing on her cheek that didn't go unnoticed.
"What are you then?" Rowan asked.
"Protective," she replied.
Rowan laughed, seeing her pouting; he loved that she really cherished him and didn't want others even looking at him.
They exchanged little teases before Riela brought out the food she had prepared for both of them. She told him she had sent her apprentice home with a task to be submitted tomorrow, then used the free time to prepare food for them to eat together.
Rowan already told her what he would be doing and where he would be working, so she didn't find it difficult to locate him.
They found a nice, neat spot under a tree growing not too far from where Rowan was working. She served the food, and they enjoyed it while discussing like a lovely couple.
When they were done, they spent a few more minutes talking before Riela told Rowan that she would be needing more needles in the future, as there weren't enough in the village for the ladies to use.
According to her, most of her apprentices didn't possess needles, and she had to share some of hers with them.
"Do not worry about needles, Riela. I have something really nice that's far better than needles. I will give it to you when I get back this evening. As for your apprentices, when D'andre visits, I will make sure to purchase as many needles as I can," Rowan smiled and promised.
"Really?" Riela's eyes brightened up.
"Yes, you will get to see it tonight. It is way faster than needles, at least twenty times faster."
The more Rowan spoke about it, the happier she became, and this made Rowan pretty happy as well.
"Has Laverena spoken to you today?" Rowan asked curiously.
"Yes, she said she was proud of me for using the skill she gave me successfully on the first trial," Riela let out proudly.
"Did she mention anything about giving you a new skill anytime soon?" Rowan asked.
He loved free things, and right now Laverena had become a major source of free skill books for his wife, and he couldn't help but want her to drop more.
"She didn't say anything about a new skill, but she told me to continue with my work and that she might surprise me in the future with something even more interesting," Riela replied.
"Something even more interesting," Rowan muttered to himself, pretty curious about what that interesting thing was but he didn't stretch the matter too much.
Riela stayed with him for a few more minutes before leaving; she wanted to try and make more enchanted embroideries on his robes.
After she left, Rowan continued working while the sun beat down on his body.
He continued working for a few hours before receiving a rather disturbing notification.
[Your territory (Winterseed II) is....]