280 Preparing For the Noble (2)

Ehretia and Aka remained latched to my body as I got up, the two babies refusing to go to their Dama's arms and instead remaining on me, while Ipoala waddled beside Rhefia, her tiny hand wrapped around Rhefia's pinky as we began to tour our property.

"Alright, so the Potaam River has a sandy shoal here, right? There isn't much we can do with the land itself, so I was thinking a few things. Let me know how you all feel about it..."

Stepping onto the sand, I gestured around me - specifically at the edge of the plot, where the stone pillars marked our property.

"In this corner I wanted to have a portion of the house for an outdoor area, which means the house itself will sit in this corner. Maybe go out forty feet or so that way, and probably around thirty this way to get a nice size for us to live in. But for this portion particularly, I wanted a nice deck overlooking the Potaam that we could eat and lounge on almost all year round - if possible, anyways.

If we do build the house over here, then there's all of that space left for anything, be it gardens, crop fields, workshops, sheds, training grounds... we can do a lot with this land, but for now, what do you think about the house? We can go up two stories easily, maybe even have a third, while the earth should be compact enough for a basement as well? Shouldn't be too much work."

Those last words made Sari, Heila and Prixisia give me an odd look, while the rest of the family just nodded, taking a few steps back to look at the area I suggested.

"You wanted a wall around the entire area too, correct? To turn this into a compound of sorts?"

I pursed my lips as I looked around the relatively flat land around us, trying to envision what it would look like with a wall of stone surrounding it.

Sure, it would be safer and better for us, but wouldn't that make this place a tad ugly?

"I... maybe? If we do, we'll pull the house in a foot or so to compensate for the wall. Is there anything specific we would need in the house though?"

Everyone looked around at one another and the land before shrugging, with the warriors all deciding to leave everything - along with the stress of making a good home - to me, while Kalia, Camara, Heila, and Prixisia put some more thought into it.

"Maybe not in the house, but I would like a small shed attached to it for me to do my woodworking?"

"Gardens~! Oh, that's not in the house... uhm... I want it to be open and airy inside~!"

I grinned at Camara and Kalia, who smiled back at me as they looked excitedly around the land, while Heila and Prixisia added "A larger kitchen!" and "An alchemy room!" respectively, both deciding to believe in me instead of doubting the process.

"Haha~ Of course we need a large kitchen~! This is a large family after all~! As for the alchemy room, considering Kalia also seems rather interested in that, I'll make something work for your size, Prixisia..."

With their desires voiced, the four women smiled happily before looking towards the three warriors, who were all staring back at us with neutral gazes.

"Don't even bother asking, Astra... I've said it before, and I'll say it again. I just need a good, sturdy bed to make love to you in from dusk to dawn, as well as some space to stretch my legs... though that isn't as needed since we can just go hunt."

Sari just nodded in agreement, while Aethisia pursed her lips before asking "How about a place in the basement to ferment or brew our own liquor?"

That made both Rhefia and Sari grin widely as they looked at the tall Deerkin, while Camara raised a brow and stared at her sister with a neutral gaze, making Aethisia scratch her cheek in slight embarrassment.

"That's... actually not a terrible idea, even if it comes from a... slightly worrying desire. Wines to cook with, to sell, and to enjoy ourselves. Other darker or richer liquors that we could sell off for a premium."

Aethisia smiled wryly at me as I stared at her for a moment before turning towards the rest of the land, saying "Well, if we want to make foods and drinks, we need land to grow those things, and we should plan everything out today with the assumption that this is the only land we have available. So, Rhefia, if you could mark out the dimensions of the house for me please..."

My wife nodded as she raised some pillars of stone from the earth, marking out the edges of the house before doing the same with the pathways that I wanted to make as well.

We did everything as methodically as we could, plotting out expanses of field for crops, portions of the land for normal gardens, an area for physical exercise, a small wharf, and some basic pathways leading between everything.

On one side of the plot, we had two separate sections dedicated to crop fields - which were under the measurements for a 'farm' type of plot - as well as a small garden between them, where we would have a small pavilion for outdoor work.

Then on the side close to the road, we planned out a long stretch for the orchard, though the plot wasn't large enough for a 'traditional' orchard, but with Kalia's magic and my skills, that wasn't an issue.

Besides that, the wharf was for us to take a small boat out into the river and relax, as well as for us to fish if we wanted to, while another section was squared off for a general training grounds and place to hold picnics and the like.

While this wasn't the largest plot of land, we made sure that every inch of it was being put to use, and each of us was already envisioning a life inside this plot.