housing

It's been two weeks since Alex had stopped for a meal in the Takagi estate to talk about an old shrine on his land and never exit. After the hectic say they had, Alex and Soichiro could discuss this particular topic the following day.

Rather than sell the land, both had fallen on common ground. Alex will gift the shrine back to Japan as long as the government take care of the logistical problem. As the heavily damaged shrine from its exposition to the salty wind was the reason for its rapid erosion, it would be a relatively simple process. The ground under would be dug, while support would be put in place. Once the entire ground the shrine repose on excavate, it would be shifted on a barge and transferred on the other side, in Tokonosu.

When the decision and needed paperwork between the two had been signed, this had involuntary gave Soichiro more coverage and an increase of popularity weight and political one.

On the other side, Ichirou Shido had been publically arrested in his house. The already flying gossips had been set ablaze when he was discovers destroying material prooves, principally paperwork. The arrest had been led by a viciously grinning detective working for the public safety department going by Miyamoto Tadashi's name.

With the father's malversation, both sons' movement was watched. His oldest son, Koichi Shido, put on probation after founding voluntary flunking a student on his father's order student, who coincidently named Miyamoto Rei.

As the trial would be international, no details had been spared and rapidly published. This led to another suspension and arrest, this time for the mayor of Tokonosu, along with the city's wealthiest real estate and the surrounding districts.

While Japan's full attention was turned toward the shocking news, Alex found that all the island's remaining land had been bought during the years under shells companies, all under Shido, to turn the island into a giant resort completely. With the man facing at least life-time imprisonment and heavy fines, Alex had plunged into the breach and used all four-fifth of his silver assets to buy the land dirt-cheap, spending barely more than Y250,000,000.

When she found out, Yuriko had burst into laughter. In contrast, Soichiro had mumbled something about lacking honour until Alex pointed out that he was a hunter, dealing the killing blow when the prey was at his weakest, rather than fight head-on.

With his action, the island finally became a foreign land, making Alex akin a king of his land. With the land transfer, the government had been warned and discovered another charge against Ichirou Shido when Alex admitted how he brought the land.

As the transaction had been legal, since the land was effectively for the grabbing, with families having sold the plod to inexistent enterprise, thus the state, the government had been unable to do a thing. Only Alex's declaration of willingness to submit to a ban for any real estate agencies through the country, safe for rental, had made them back off, happy with the deal.

Due to the turmoil, Alex name rapidly spread throughout the country, making him forced to migrate to the island to avoid all the well-wished and other gold-digging women of all age.

~~~

Looking at the closing short but imposing, four meters high gates at the highway entrance on Tokonosu side, Alex sigh, finally alone. During his discreet acquisition of the island, Alex had passed a few hours every day with Saya, tutored for the school's start that would happen in a week. Due to the age difference, Alex registers himself under; he would start his third years in Fujimi high, with Rei and Saeko, While Saya would be a year under, with Kotha, Takashi and Hisashi.

As he was rather busy the last few days, he still hadn't spoken to Saya, and now that Alex was on the island, he wouldn't have time again. Riding the bicycle he crafted for himself, Alex rapidly vanishes from the soldiers in the post, tasked to look over the barrier as it became an official frontier between the two lands.

Speeding further once out of sight, Alex crossed the eight kilometres in ten minutes. Looking on his right, he could see the missing highway section. It would seem that the highway crumbled, midway between the sea and the other side of the road, while it had vanished, and but under an illusion and muggle-repelling ward, just in case, doubled with a notice-me-not.

~~~

"Let do this." Stretching his arms and neck, Alex slammed both hands on the ground, sending seeable ripples on the surface with the amount of magic he was pouring in the ground through his craft magic. The earth was shifted under the parking lot, and the concrete and steel beams crawled out of the land, rapidly forming large blocks.

In less than an hour, the hotel's basement, the construction company had passed the last months to erect, was erased, leaving nothing that a smooth ground and a large stack of resources on the side.

The apartment complex submits the same fate, leaving all the construction resources on the side before moving them with the rest.

During the three first days, Alex would run around the island shore, erasing all human action trace, giving back its natural origin. The sand he separated from the concrete blocks was sent to the sea, while the powder was further divided into its original limestone and clay. The only remaining material was the beam of steel now cubes he stored in his space.

Rather than destroy the old house, Alex re-craft the wood in shape but needed to thin some part to return them to their past glory. To avoid this, Alex changed some essences present, forming a small reserve of wood just in case.

Once back to similar to the day it had been finished, Alex carved preservation runes scheme in a hidden corner, along hardening ones nad cast pest repellant wards around the house.

~~~

"Now that it's taken care of let see if those small mountains had any water source." Said Alex for himself and CS before starting to hike the old but still visible paths on the mountain.

Even with its small eighteen kilometres square, it was still larger than some dominions oversea. With most of this land made of mountainous reliefs, small lake and rivers flowing from them had naturally formed through the centuries as the rain dug in the rock.

He had to search for one because no river returned to the sea, at least above the ground. The insulars inhabitants had been furnished with water and electricity through cables and pipeline on the seafloor. The Japanese government's order had already cut that connection, and Alex stole the links as pay-back for their pettiness.

Alex wasn't a fool, by depriving his of essential need, the Japanese government tried to corner him and brought the island back. It was a shame for the government to be defrauded of an isle, inboard daylight, and part of the country since its creation.

What they were ignoring was in less than a year, national pride would be useless, and the government dissolved as the world would fall into anarchy.

~~~

While he was scooting the surrounding, Alex was also hunting for magical resource, be it plants or rock with magical potential. He hadn't much hope for the first, knowing it would have been discovered long since now around the world, but the last one was still a possibility, more so buried deep.

To found those, Alex needs to cast a variant of the spell used to detect the human presence, be it magical or not. These spells had innumerable use, but much to Alex shame, wizards, never bothered to try. It didn't need long for CS to come with the Arytmentic formula and tinker with them to give Alex his wanted results.

Casting the spell again, Alex finally obtains an echo. His eyes saw a ghost echo, displayed by CS, where the echo should be from.

"As expected, it's inside the rock." Putting his hand on the side of the rock, Alex shifted the stones around, creating a passage for him to walk in. Not long after crafting through the rocks, Alex enters a small crack.

Following the crack barely wide enough to let him walk, he didn't need long before entering a cavern. Alex momently stopped, producing a globe of soft milky white light. As they disperse, lightening the cavern, both Alex and CS stood to transfigurate at sight.

It wasn't the ash grey of the rocks they witness, but a deep blue, akin to a night sky, nervure of soft, smoothing jade green. Gently sliding a hand on the side, Alex closed his eyes and sent a pulse of magic.

The feedback was immediate. He felt the pulse run through the veins, spreading rapidly to the rest of the cavern. In less than ten seconds, Alex noticed the tons of magical rocks sleeping in the mountain.

"CS?"

-Rorik Demise. The goblins spoke of this stone as a sacred gem.- Whispered CS in awe at the discovery of a large amount of rock here.-This rock had the perfect proprieties for construction material. Be the house or wardstone, the amount of magic it naturally holds had no known equivalent. I'm not even sure mithril alone would be much conductive.-

'Do you think, if I were to add an alloy made of gold, mithril and magic steel, it would merge?'

CS kept quiet for a minute or two before responding.- I can't be sure of the proportion, but yes, this would make one of the strongest wardstones. Depending on the amount mixed, the rock could wards countries. The problem is feeding them.- Frowned him, like Alex, they discovered that the lay lines of these words seem congested, as if something had been put in them, interfering with the natural flow of magic underground.

Due to this, the amount of magic present in the air was very thin, and no magical creature of plants had existed above ground for age and had stagnated.

'I don't think it's a problem. I can use this as a replacement for aquamarine and build a reactor. The output would be feeble, as all the kick start I would give is my magic, but the amount would grow with time. It would feed on the released magic, and the cycle would slowly buildup the magic present in the air. If it trapped in a ward, the build-up will be quicker.' Said Alex confidently, knowing that he wouldn't need to protect a large amount of ground before few months. By the time the outbreak started, the island would be warded and will be weak at first; those wards would rapidly strengthen.

-But how? You don't have mithril!-

'Yet!' Smirked Alex. 'Remember the little shits that broke in my home?'

-Yessss?- Drawled CS before realising.-Don't tell me..!-

'Right in one, those little fucker turned to be well known around here. They were part of a group of children kept by the local council, a sort of orphanage. They had refused to be sent to one in the city, leeching on the council. As no one reported them missing, and the Japanese government hadn't sent enquires if they are here, I won't pass the occasion.

I'm not a homewrecker, but I'm not kind enough to feed those desacralising my territory.'

-Good enough for me, I don't know how much they would bring, but it should be more than sufficient to create a reactor.-

~~~

"This could be a building material for our house. All that left is to found the best emplacement."

With both of the same mind, Alex extracted a large amount of the stone, several tons worth, but was still amazed that it barely put a dent in the supply present. Turning back, he exits the cavern and climbs up to the small mountain's top, among the surroundings' tallest. Looking ahead, Alex could see the outline of Tokonosu quite clearly, the reason he was here.

From there, he was directly facing the highway below, turning into the best place he could hope to keep an eye on the city and everything making its way here.

Looking around, Alex didn't need long to flatten the land around. Now smoothed, the top of the mountain was nearly round, oval shape, on a 50*48m radius. The trees blocking the way were slowly pushed and the side and gathered, forming a thick, U shaped forest around the site he kept of his house.

The house on itself wouldn't be something he was unfamiliar with, as he coped with the one he had on the island.

Digging a 26*26ft hole in the ground, Alex crafted walls twenty centimetres thicks. Raising them on two stories above the ground, Alex added a 13*10ft porch at the front of the square construction, toward Tokonosu.

Turning around, he extracted blocks for the future windows and door. Entering the building, the therianthrope raised a staircase facing the door, leading to the ground floor. Passing a thin beam of steel in the wall, he dressed them with wood before adding the flooring.

A second staircase rapidly appears above the first, leading to the floor above, and the first-floor roof was put. Alex shaped the second floor by splitting it in two from the staircase to the porch side. A corridor was added to the stair, pushing the wall slightly inward. One of the two space was turned into a single master bedroom, while the second was divided into one-third, two-third.

The first room, smaller of the two, would be turned into a workshop, while the larger space at the end, only accessible through the first, would be his library.

The ground floor was left open, a pantry under the staircase that led to the basement. The kitchen was on the left, under the two rooms, while the dining area under the master bedroom was right. The centre of the room was left free, but a small magic hearth would be put. Around it was a livingroom, in front of the porch and a half bathroom on the dining area side.

The porch's added space was a sitting area but lacked any furniture, like the rest of the house for now.

The basement was divided similar to the second floor, only with two smaller bedrooms. A standard bathroom was on the side, where the library was above, and the remaining spaces.

When Alex looked at the space left, he frowned slightly before deciding to have a second basement, which would act as storage, with an inaccessible room at the centre to house the wardstone. Other than teleporting inside or possessing a similar ability to him, it would be impossible to enter. A thick slab of Rorik demise was put under, and Alex closed the roof above the second floor and sitting area with it.

The second the cubes were sealed, the construction flashed, and all veins connected. This was while the stone was highly sought after. Once closed, the magic present naturally would shield it against all type of external stimulus. It was how wards started to appear as some tried to emulate the stone's natural propriety without paying an exorbitant price for it.