The revelation of Yrauos's plans had electrified the atmosphere in their chambers. Lyra's melancholy had been replaced by a flurry of purposeful energy, while Miriel's hyperactivity was now channeled into a singular, gleeful focus. They were no longer passive guests in a gilded cage; they were architects of their own destiny, and the palace had become their temporary planning hall.
Yrauos, tapping into the System's newly unlocked Blueprint Function, found a large piece of vellum and a charcoal stylus. As his hand moved, it was not merely drawing; it was channeling the intricate data from the System, translating esoteric knowledge into a tangible plan.
"The main structure will be here," Yrauos stated, his voice low and focused as a dark line took shape on the vellum. He drew a large, rectangular hall at the base of the mountain slope, its lines sturdy and simple. "The Crimson Hearth. Built from the timber and stone of the land itself. The ground floor: the great common room." He sketched a massive, central fireplace on the north wall. "The heart of your dream, Lyra."
Lyra leaned over his shoulder, her breath catching. She pointed a slender finger at the drawing. "And the kitchens, here, behind the common room. Large. With a door to a root cellar dug into the hill." Her voice was no longer wistful, but sharp with practical authority. "We'll need a large pantry, and a separate cold storage room enchanted with frost runes."
Yrauos nodded, his stylus flying to accommodate her vision, adding the rooms with precise, efficient lines. "The second floor," he continued, drawing a balcony that overlooked the common room below, "will hold the guest quarters. Ten rooms to start. Simple, but clean and secure."
"And our rooms?" Miriel piped up, bouncing on the balls of her feet. "Where do we live? In the inn?"
"No," Yrauos said, his gaze shifting to the mountain face behind the inn's outline on the blueprint. "Our sanctuary is separate. Hidden." His stylus moved to the mountain, drawing a cleverly disguised entrance that looked like a natural rock formation next to a small, cascading waterfall at the back of the inn's property. "A passage, here. Warded and trapped. It leads inside the mountain."
He began to draw again, this time sketching an interior space within the mountain itself. A central living area, spartan and functional, with three adjoining private chambers. "Our home. Defensible. Private."
Miriel's eyes were wide with excitement. "And my garden? My secret garden?"
A faint, almost imperceptible smile touched Yrauos's lips. He turned the stylus to the area behind their mountain home. He drew a vast, cavernous space, open to the sky above but shielded by the towering peaks around it. "Here. A grotto. The mountain walls will protect it. The waterfall from the entrance will be channeled through here, creating a pool." He looked at Miriel. "You said you wanted a dark, beautiful garden. The soil will be enriched by the mountain's minerals and the decay of the deep forest. You can cultivate the flora that thrives in shadow and Essence."
"Yes!" Miriel squealed, clapping her hands. "I'll grow Shadowcap mushrooms and Moonsilver vines and Midnight Bloom flowers! It'll be perfect for… for private walks!" she added with a lustful giggle.
Lyra, however, was still focused on the inn, her mind racing through logistics. "Building this… it will cost a fortune. The King's gold will help, but we'll need skilled laborers, stonemasons, carpenters…"
"We will not hire them," Yrauos stated, setting the stylus down.
Lyra blinked. "What? Then how—"
"I will build it," he said, his tone leaving no room for doubt.
Both girls stared at him.
"Master… that's a huge building! And a whole cave inside a mountain!" Miriel exclaimed.
"With my bloodlines and the System, it is possible," Yrauos explained, his gaze distant as he ran the calculations. "The Verdant Carapace gives me an innate understanding of stone and wood. I can shape it, fuse it. The Infernal Convergence can be used not for destruction, but for precise, controlled forging and excavation. It will be my training. A practical application to force my Core to heal and adapt while pushing my control over my Resonances to their absolute limit."
It was a monumental task. A insane one. But to Yrauos, it was the perfect solution. It would rebuild his strength, create their home, and fulfill his promises, all while remaining entirely independent. No outside workers would know the secrets of their mountain sanctuary.
[New Mission: 'Monument Builder']
[Objective: Personally construct 'The Crimson Hearth' lodge and the foundational living quarters within the mountain.]
[Reward: 5000 EP. Essence Core fully healed and stabilized. Bloodline Control Mastery significantly increased. Skill Unlock: 'Terrain Sculpting (Epic)'.]
[Failure: Project abandonment. Incomplete sanctuary. Loss of face with the King.]
The System had accepted his ambition and raised the stakes.
"We will leave for our lands as soon as Lady Valeria clears me for travel," Yrauos declared, rolling up the detailed blueprint. "We will live on-site. It will be harsh, primitive at first. But it will be ours."
Lyra looked from the rolled-up vellum to Yrauos's resolute face. The sheer scale of his commitment, the insane, beautiful audacity of it, filled her with a fierce, burning pride. He wasn't just giving her a dream; he was moving heaven and earth—literally—to build it with her.
Miriel simply beamed, already lost in fantasies of her dark, wondrous garden.
The quiet, recovering patient was gone. In his place was a lord, a builder, a force of nature. The King had given him land, but Yrauos was about to claim it in a way no one could have ever imagined: not by decree, but by the power of his own two hands and the cataclysmic energies he commanded. The first stones of The Crimson Hearth would not be laid by hired hands, but by the will of a shinobi forging his own peace.