“The Minister of the Imperial Evaluation Department—Lord Li An!”
Conrad swallowed hard.
How could anyone not recognize this man?
With his lips pressed tightly together, whatever task was assigned to him, he would see it through to completion no matter what.
He would never be easily satisfied until he confirmed the results with his own eyes.
This was what a true imperial official was like.
“Li An, I've waited a long time for you.”
Lovenhaf, the President of the Gold Hammer Guild, was the first to step forward, bowing his proud head.
Dwarves were notoriously stubborn.
No matter how much power the other party held, as long as they weren't convinced in their hearts, they would never bow their heads.
Ever since the "Pickaxe Incident," Li An's reputation had quietly spread among the dwarves.
“Come take a look at our completed town hall first.”
“No, look at our granary first!”
Sevent, the President of the Blue Flame Guild, immediately cut in.
“What do you mean, first? You're ten years older than me, can't you yield for once?”
“What does ten years matter? You're already this old and still don't know when to hold back. No wonder you can never lose the fat on that belly of yours!”
Trading barbs back and forth, the two looked ready to start brawling again.
“Enough.”
Li An raised his hand.
The two dwarves fell silent at once.
“We will inspect the Gold Hammer Guild's town hall first.”
Lovenhaf swallowed hard and hurried to lead the way.
Even craftsmen who had spent their entire lives forging iron and building houses couldn't help but feel nervous when standing before an evaluator who held their fate in his hands.
Soon, the group arrived at the newly completed town hall.
Lovenhaf immediately began his introduction.
“Look at the luster of this marble! All of this stone came from our very own quarry, and every single block was handpicked by us. The grain and coloring are absolutely top-tier!”
“As long as the cathedral is entrusted to us, we will definitely build a structure that leaves the entire Empire in awe!”
Standing off to the side, Sevent looked as sour as if his prey had just been snatched away.
The financial gap between the Gold Hammer Guild and the Blue Flame Guild was indeed substantial.
The town hall before them was covered almost entirely in expensive marble; the visual spectacle alone was enough to overwhelm ordinary people.
Lovenhaf even wore a smile of certain victory.
“Why use marble?”
“...!”
Li An stepped inside the town hall, and his very first question caught Lovenhaf off guard.
“First of all, the vaulted ceiling is too high.”
Li An looked up.
“Villagers need to converse here on a regular basis, but a vaulted ceiling this high will cause severe echoing. It might be cool in the summer, but what about the winter? Even if you light a fireplace, it will result in a tremendous waste of heat.”
“This...”
Lovenhaf opened his mouth.
Yet he couldn't refute it.
Because Li An was entirely correct.
In truth, he had never intended to build a genuinely practical "town hall."
From the very beginning, this building had been erected solely to showcase the Gold Hammer Guild's architectural prowess.
Yet now, having been pointed out by Li An, it was reduced to nothing more than a pile of flashy, impractical decorations.
“Furthermore,”
Li An continued walking deeper inside and pointed toward a wall.
“The edge finish here is poorly done.”
“Where?”
Lovenhaf hurried over.
Li An pointed at the corner.
“Here.”
“...”
Between the marble slabs lay an extremely subtle seam.
It was almost undetectable to the naked eye.
Lovenhaf was completely dumbfounded.
To rush the construction schedule, he had indeed left a tiny flaw behind.
Yet with an imperfection of this degree, even the architect himself might not notice it right away.
And yet, Li An had spotted it with a mere casual glance.
It was as if he had personally participated in the construction himself.
A layer of cold sweat immediately broke out across Lovenhaf's back.
“I... admit it.”
The habitually proud dwarf slowly lowered his head.
“The town hall we built indeed has its flaws.”
Standing nearby, Sevent watched in utter astonishment.
He knew all too well what those words meant to a dwarf.
Drip.
A single tear slid from the corner of Lovenhaf's eye.
Sevent felt as if his own heart were breaking.
'This human... is terrifying.'
Next, it was Blue Flame's turn.
Without realizing it, cold sweat broke out on Sevent's forehead as well.
This no longer felt like a competition between guilds.
It felt more like a student standing before a stern, elderly teacher, awaiting his final remarks.
“Next is your granary.”
Steeling himself, Sevent led Li An to the granary.
“Unlike the Gold Hammer Guild, we pursue practicality. This place has excellent ventilation, and the interior is divided into multiple sections so different types of grain can be stored separately.”
“Charcoal has been laid beneath the floor to effectively keep it dry.”
Speaking up to this point, Sevent gradually regained his confidence.
He puffed out his chest.
“We aren't like those fellows who only know how to show off! We are a guild that builds with genuine care!”
“Therefore, it's only natural that the cathedral should be entrusted to Blue Flame!”
Li An did not respond.
He simply stepped into the granary and carefully surveyed his surroundings.
Then, he raised a hand and pointed at a wooden pillar.
“This pillar.”
Sevent blinked in surprise.
“There are traces of woodworm infestation here.”
Li An reached out and lightly brushed the wooden beam.
Fine wood powder immediately drifted down.
“Didn't you know that Severin has an unusually high tree-pest population?”
“If this continues, this granary won't last a year before collapsing.”
“Th-That's impossible!”
Sevent's face turned pale.
He hadn't noticed at all.
In his rush to compete against the Gold Hammer Guild, he had poured all his energy into the structure itself, completely neglecting to properly investigate Severin's local environment.
This was arrogance.
A true architect needed to know not only what to build, but also where the building was being erected.
Thud.
Sevent fell straight to his knees.
“We, Blue Flame...”
He lowered his head.
“...indeed fell short.”
A dead silence fell over the entire scene.
The two guild presidents who had been arguing red-faced just moments ago were now completely deflated.
Standing in the crowd, Conrad was thoroughly stunned.
'What in the world am I looking at?'
No matter how you looked at it, Li An was merely an imperial official.
When it came to architectural craft, how could he possibly surpass dwarves?
Yet what was happening right before his eyes completely shattered Conrad's understanding.
Both dwarven presidents had actually been convinced by this human.
Not only were they thoroughly subdued, but they had also personally admitted to the flaws in their own buildings.
What was even more absurd—
'To evaluate this project, he actually hid his identity and worked as a laborer on the construction site for days on end?'
Just what kind of imperial official was this?
Conrad looked at Li An, the gaze in his eyes completely changed.
Just then, a worker asked cautiously:
“So... who will be awarded the cathedral project?”
The original terms were to choose one of the two guilds.
Yet now, both had admitted their shortcomings.
Everyone held their breath, waiting for Li An to speak.
“Treat the cathedral project as if it never existed.”
Cold.
Merciless.
Yet no one could argue against it.
Having said that, Li An turned and walked toward the carriage.
Leaving behind the two crestfallen dwarven presidents.
“Young man, could you wait a moment?”
An aged voice called out from behind.
The guards were about to block the dwarf who stepped into their path, but Li An raised a hand to stop them.
“What is it, old gentleman?”
Li An recognized him.
It was the very same old dwarf who had shared snacks with him on the construction site earlier.
The old dwarf's disheveled white beard fluttered in the wind.
Yet those cloudy eyes gleamed with an astonishing brilliance at this moment.
“This old man is named Jeff.”
He spoke slowly.
“I am also the teacher of those two worthless students.”
Jeff.
The moment the name left his mouth, the crowd instantly erupted into an uproar.
“T-Teacher?!”
Lovenhaf and Sevent widened their eyes at the same time and rushed over in a hurry.
Yet the most shocked person of all was Conrad.
'Jeff?'
'The former patriarch of Stonehead Town? One of the continent's greatest architects? The Jeff hailed as the teacher of all architects?'
It was this old man.
Who had eaten meals with them earlier.
And had even swung an iron pickaxe alongside them.
“After retiring, I originally just wanted to drop by and see how these two students of mine were doing.”
Jeff let out a soft sigh.
“Never did I expect to witness a scene like this.”
“I am very disappointed as well.”
The old man stroked his beard, then looked toward Li An.
“However, young man.”
“Could you give them another chance?”
“Of course,”
Jeff's tone grew solemn.
“We will not accept any compensation for this cathedral.”
“I will personally lead them and build the greatest cathedral under my name.”
“This is dwarven honor.”
“Would that be acceptable?”
“T-Teacher, you'll be leading it personally?”
Sevent was so excited his voice trembled.
Over his lifetime, Jeff had overseen countless architectural marvels.
The century-old castle of the Medean Kingdom, the Seven Mining Districts, the Deltreed Bridge...
Every single one was grand enough to be etched into history.
Now, for this legendary architect to personally take charge of building the imperial cathedral was an immense honor in itself.
Li An recalled something.
“Speaking of which, I had some of your stew before, old gentleman.”
“It was truly delicious.”
Jeff was taken aback for a moment, then chuckled.
“Haha, to think you still remembered.”
On Li An's first day at the construction site, it was this very old man who had handed him a piping-hot bowl of stew.
That bowl of stew was very warm.
And very delicious.
Yet in the very next instant—
Jeff's cloudy eyes suddenly turned razor-sharp.
“What are you two fools standing around for?”
“Where are the materials? Hurry up and get them ready!”
As the old man's roar rang out, the two guild presidents who had been utterly despondent moments ago immediately sprang into action.
Watching this scene, Conrad felt a strange, sudden stinging in his nose.
He bit his lip tightly.
It seemed...
...this was going to be a very long journey ahead.
...
◆ Imperial Magazine Annual Architecture Selection
#10: Chibel Suspension Bridge
#9: Sain Inn
...
...
...
#1: Severin Cathedral
“I never intended for things to turn out like this.”
Flipping through the magazine in his hands, Li An couldn't help but recall his original plan.
His intention had clearly been to pick apart the flaws of both guilds and completely ruin the competition.
That way, the cathedral project would naturally fizzle out and be scrapped.
Yet who could have imagined...
...a legendary dwarf would suddenly pop up out of nowhere.
And then, by sheer will, build the greatest cathedral in the history of the Empire.
Even looking back now, it still felt absurdly unbelievable.
Li An casually turned a few pages before setting the magazine back on the desk.
He couldn't even be bothered to read the final section.
Architect of the Year Exclusive Interview—Conrad
“I used to be just an ordinary laborer who lived off daily wages, with no expectations for the future.”
“But one day, I met the person who changed my life.”
“Even though he held a high position, he was willing to step down to the very bottom with everyone and sweat alongside us.”
“From beginning to end, he never complained even once.”
“Looking at his back, I suddenly remembered why I chose this line of work in the first place.”
“It turns out I was never on the wrong path.”
“It was just that... I had forgotten my original dream.”
“From that day on, I decided to say goodbye to my past self once and for all.”
“I was going to start anew.”
“Taking this opportunity, there is something I want to say to that man—”
“Li An, thank you.”
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