As Levi had said, people had plenty of time to live freely, at least in the northern parts of Middle-earth, far from Mordor's shadow.
On this clear day, road workers hammered away in the Misty Mountains, sealing the winding entrances of Goblin-town one by one and smoothing them into level roadways and walls. A massive, unprecedented mountain tunnel was being carved from the stone, so vast in scale and space that it exceeded even the great halls of the Lonely Mountain. Many dwarves made special trips to see it when passing by, their faces showing everything from unease to joy, mixed with complex feelings of awe.
"At least it's just a road... a passage," one dwarf muttered as he headed back down the slope.
Though perhaps that wasn't quite accurate either.
Click.
Lanterns hung from walls and flickered from the ceiling, casting pools of light and warmth. But this space was simply too enormous. Relying solely on flame for illumination was clearly inadequate.
This was where dwarven expertise proved invaluable. Some of their ancient structures were even larger in scale, yet their interiors blazed with steady radiance. This came from their technique of mixing luminous stones with building materials, allowing them to make halls glow from top to bottom, from ceiling to floor when needed, banishing any darkness.
Glowing materials or light wells. Dwarves always had solutions for underground problems.
According to some well-traveled elder dwarves, certain areas of Moria had lighting sufficient for growing crops. This enabled the dwarves to achieve self-sufficiency through their agricultural systems even when Moria's exits had to be sealed during resistance against Sauron's attacks thousands of years ago.
There was always a solution to every problem.
Thanks to the dwarves' excellent craftsmanship, Levi breathed a sigh of relief. If they truly couldn't find a lighting solution for the tunnel, he had been planning to dig up hundreds of chests of glowstone from the Nether. Of course, that would be quite the undertaking.
Roadside Keep.
A few clouds drifted across the azure sky. The sunlight of this season wasn't harsh, lacking summer and autumn's golden hue or winter's snow-reflected pallor. It was simply bright and clear.
Rumble.
The city gate suddenly opened with a commotion. On the mallorn tree, Pink boredly rolled over, shifting her gaze from that bright, glaring orb in the sky. She blinked and looked toward the source of noise at the gate.
With this look, the entire dragon froze. Was this seeing stars from staring at the sun too long? Questions floated in her small head.
Not until that familiar figure waved away the surrounding residents and walked toward the castle did Pink suddenly jolt to life. Joyfully leaping from the mallorn tree and spreading her wings, she glided down in a dive, landing right in Levi's arms.
Clang!
The dragon head rang like a bell against his breastplate.
"You really don't feel pain, do you?" Levi winced and rubbed the dragon's head a couple times, shooing her away to play, then touched his own chest. That long-distance dive had nearly knocked off some health. Without knockback resistance, he might have gone flying.
During his absence, Pink had grown considerably. At least in terms of size, she was now several times larger than her playmate, the big yellow dog. Almost as big as a pig.
Growing up was definitely good. But some things change in nature as one grows. Like pouncing into someone's arms to act cute. When small, it could be called acting cute. When grown, it should be called a dragon cart.
The beacon's light still blazed skyward. Feeling the vital energy coursing through him, Levi pushed open the long-unused castle doors, walked across the wool carpet with complete casualness, and lounged in the simple seat before the beacon.
Not a trace of the dignity and majesty a lord should possess. A picture of listlessness.
Without going to bed, not even at night, Levi simply leaned back in the not-very-comfortable castle throne, listening to the bustle outside as he slowly closed his eyes, his breathing gradually steadying.
Outside the castle wall, Pink glanced toward the great hall, her movements much smaller now. She silently pressed against the stone and closed her eyes as well.
Early the next morning, as dawn broke, the city came alive. Batches of residents finished breakfast and went to work as usual, doing what they excelled at while chatting casually, their manner quite relaxed.
Housewives at home pondered the day's menu, watching their neatly dressed children head to school with learning materials. The newly built training ground echoed with orderly footsteps and drilling sounds. Several Rangers stood at the army's side discussing tactics, then dispersed to provide individual guidance among the soldiers.
Hearing of the lord's return, old Wade, the original community representative, came to the castle gates with some documents, accompanied by Taber, Roadside Keep's first headmaster.
But just as the two reached the main gate, a figure suddenly blocked their path, absolutely refusing to let them pass. The two old men looked at the small dragon blocking their way and felt helpless.
"We've come to deliver some materials to the lord. Developments and summaries of various matters in Roadside Keep during this period."
Since they hadn't interacted much with Pink, they weren't sure if she could understand what they were saying. But whether she could understand or not, proper explanations still needed to be made.
Obviously, at Pink's current age, she couldn't quite understand anything beyond eating. She instinctively wanted to call out to alert them, but thinking it over, her vocabulary only included dog barks. Levi had said to bark less in the future, so she hadn't done so since.
So Pink shook her head.
Wade and Taber exchanged glances and nodded at her. Pink continued shaking her head. The two continued nodding, trying to make Pink understand their meaning.
In a rather awkward atmosphere, the two men and one dragon reached an impasse.
"Are you playing a nodding and head-shaking game?"
Click.
The castle door opened, and Levi emerged stretching, immediately seeing two old men staring at Pink by the roadside. What... had Roadside Keep developed some new custom during his absence?
"No, my lord, we came to deliver documents." Wade's old face reddened as he quickly handed over the files. During this time, the old village chief had also learned to write at school, no longer forcing himself to memorize everything.
Seeing that Levi was awake, Pink's head drooped, but the next second she perked up and ran straight to the dining hall.
Levi glanced over but didn't stop her. One look told him this child hadn't eaten for at least several hours. Couldn't let her go hungry.
"Fine, I'll look at them later." The documents went into his inventory.
Even after nearly a year of not interfering, Roadside Keep had very few matters requiring handling or concern. Quite worry-free. Especially with comparison. Wade's small pile of documents couldn't even be called work compared to what Dale dealt with.