Back in the castle, Brandon rushed to the library, eager to study the maps of the surrounding area and various building materials. For the next few days, he spent nearly all his time in the library, except for his routine knight training. He needed to learn about stone and wood gathering, processing, transportation, and trade methods—anything that could aid him in building his small piece of territory.

  Frustration began to mount as Brandon hammered his head in annoyance. He realized he knew little about many things. Back in his previous world, the information society made it easy to acquire knowledge. It was all accessible with a simple search or conversation, and even though he thought he knew many things, when it came down to the details, as it did now, he found himself clueless. "The more you learn, the more you realize how little you know," he thought. What was supposed to take three days of pnning had turned into over ten, and he still hadn’t come close to completing his work.

  At dinner, the Duke watched as Brandon absentmindedly shoveled food into his mouth. With a teasing tone, the Duke asked, “Brandon, how’s the construction of your territory going?”

  Brandon paused, then pulled out two metal balls from his pocket. In the gaze of everyone at the table, the metal in his hands began to slowly change shape. First, a perimeter wall formed, then a trapezoidal ptform rose up yer by yer. By the third level, a two-story pavilion with sweeping eaves appeared on top. The entire model was intricately sculpted, with lifelike depictions of cats winding around the railings, appearing in the ground, and even on the steps. Everyone stared at the delicate model, their eyes wide with awe.

  Breathing heavily from the effort, Brandon pced the model on the table and wiped the sweat from his forehead. He looked up and expined, “I pn to build a three-tier ptform on the hill, dividing it into four zones.” His hand traced a cross over the model.

  “Levels two and three will be for resting areas,” he said, pointing to the lower levels and naming them: “A bcksmith shop, a warehouse, stables, and a kennel. There are other details to work out, but I need more time to think.”

  Then he turned to his father, “I’ll need stonemasons and carpenters.”

  The Duke shrugged helplessly, making a gesture as if to say there was nothing he could do. “The castle needs repairs this year, and the family vassals are requesting masons to fix their castles too. After they’ve completed their duties, I have no right to requisition them for free bor.”

  Listening to his father’s expnation, Brandon grumbled to himself, “Skilled workers are in short supply everywhere!” He raised his hand, ready to destroy the model in frustration, but the Duke stopped him in time. “Keep it. It looks nice.”

  The Duke hesitated before pointing at the model. “How did you manage to do this?” He made a motion as if bending something with his hands. “A few days ago, you needed to mold it with your hands, right?”

  Brandon thought for a moment before responding, “It’s just a habit. I got used to using my hands, so when I first awakened, I instinctively used them. But the magic itself works with the mind, not the hands.”

  After a brief pause, he continued, “While I was studying, I reviewed some materials. I made some mistakes while recording things and got frustrated.” Brandon mimicked throwing things angrily. “Then all the papers turned into flying confetti.”

  He casually picked up a dinner knife, and it slowly morphed into a spoon, before slowly returning to its original shape. With a proud smile, Brandon said, “Just like this, magic doesn’t need your hands to guide it. It’s more about the mind.”

  Brandon was completely unaware that he was acting like a child with a new toy, showing off his new skills to everyone around him.

  He had already forgotten that his earlier grand pns were meant to convince his older siblings to help finance his endeavors, with money or manpower—serving as a small part of his grand vision. The highlight of dinner came when Brandon, using Flower the bck cat as inspiration, transformed his dinner knife and other utensils into exquisite cat-shaped sculptures, which he presented to his siblings. Amid a chorus of praise, Brandon, now exhausted from the magic, stumbled away from the table…