Pillar of Yita

But this plan encountered its first opposition from Miss Ship’s Officer.

Hilveld’s opinion was simple, she believed that since it was supposed to be similar to an airship, the distribution of cabins should naturally follow the layout of an airship as closely as possible, and as the future captain, Fang Hong naturally needed his own captain’s quarters and ship’s office.

Honestly, it was the first time Fang Hong had been directly opposed by Hilveld, and he found her reasoning somewhat unreasonable.

He had always considered Hilveld’s reference to him as ”captain” as a joke, and given the limited space of the small platform, how could it be possible to set aside a captain’s quarters and ship’s office that he deemed unnecessary?

But unexpectedly, others agreed with Hilveld’s view.

This was mainly due to an opinion from Gita.

The future Miss Natural Historian argued that as their captain was an alchemist, he naturally needed a dedicated alchemy laboratory. This was the greatest benefit the platform could offer a team led by an alchemist; to overlook this would be to neglect the essentials for the trivial.

Therefore, she suggested combining Miss Hilveld’s proposed separate captain’s quarters and the alchemy workshop into one single cabin, serving both as a workshop and captain’s quarters. Although unconventional, considering the platform’s small size, it was not unacceptable.

Thus, everyone unanimously agreed to this suggestion, since the benefit of a professional alchemist to the team was obvious, and Hilveld also accepted this compromise. Once she agreed, Bakins and Xiesta naturally had no further objections.

So, this point was firmly established.

The captain’s quarters designed within were located at the rear of the platform, occupying about one-seventh of its volume, separated by a wooden wall. Behind the divided section was Fang Hong’s personal space—including a bed with both ends against the cabin walls, not large, but relatively comfortable compared to conditions out in the field.

On one side was a row of gridded colorful windows, with stained glass blocking the view from outside into the interior; however, Fang Hong could observe Mr. Greyrock’s surroundings from the comfort of his captain’s quarters.

Also, when the shield above the airbag was in diffusion state, it could provide some protection to these upper-level windows, ensuring the gridded glass wouldn’t shatter upon contact, constantly needing replacement.

Below the windowsill was a long desk, upon which were placed various secured items, such as the captain’s logbook, ink bottle, and quill pen, along with maps hung on the wall and a bookshelf with a stack of books and design schematics in several boxes—these were all of Fang Hong’s personal possessions.

Outside the captain’s quarters was a cramped workshop, deemed cramped only when compared to those in a larger craftsman’s workshop, but its condition was many times better than the conditions in Fang Hong’s original single-person carriage.

The workshop was somewhat elongated, with one side featuring a woodworking bench and the other a simple blacksmith’s workbench, while cabinets lined the middle wall to store some basic materials and tools.

It was said that a space was also reserved for a future installation of a small alchemy generator—the miniature version of the huge spherical furnace Elpaxin had seen during the competition, an essential for the craftsman’s high-end creations.

Of course, they could not yet afford such an extravagantly priced item.

Moreover, thanks to Luo Yu’s clever design, the woodworking bench could be unfolded when not in use, revealing a simple sewing workspace for temporary airbag replacement and repair within this workshop.

The other end of the workshop was separated by a wooden wall, inside which was a small cabin, roughly the size of Fang Hong’s captain’s quarters. Inside was Hilveld’s room—she insisted that the Ship’s Officer should reside in a place connected to the ship’s office, a rule aboard a ship.

Unable to persuade the young heiress, they let her have her way—after all, she had been living with Fang Hong all along without any issues. Hilveld’s room included a small cabinet for storing maps and a compass, items essential for traveling, while also eliminating the need for an additional room for maps and compasses.

Behind the alchemy workshop was a separate storeroom, its center used for storing the airbag and some important items, while food and other supplies were stored in cabins on both sides. Since these items were mostly inexpensive, they could serve as a protective layer for the central storage in case of an attack.

At the same time, these goods were generally heavy, ideal for maintaining the platform’s balance. However, when accessing them, care had to be taken to calculate the weight on both sides to prevent the platform from tipping due to an imbalanced center of gravity.

Hilveld’s room also had a small cabinet for maps and compasses, useful items for their journeys, which also negated the need for an additional map and compass room.

Behind the alchemy workshop lay a separate store room, its center used to store airbags and some crucial items, while food and other supplies were kept in the side cabins. Because these items were mostly inexpensive, they could also act as a protective layer for the central storeroom during an attack.

Moreover, these goods were generally heavy, perfectly suited to help maintain the platform’s balance. It was only necessary to be cautious when accessing them, ensuring not to disrupt the platform’s equilibrium by unevenly distributing the weight, which could cause the platform to tilt.

The cabins of Xiesta and Bakins were also located to the left and right of the storeroom. Both were indifferent to living conditions; per Hilveld’s arrangement, their spaces were simply furnished with hammocks respectively.

However, Bakins had a weapon rack of his own, filled with his collection of curved blades and firearms, while Xiesta, on the other side, had nailed a tiny flowerbox outside the porthole, nurturing a pot of marigolds swaying in the wind.

Further back were the living spaces of the rest of the crew, resembling two rows of wooden cabins facing each other, with an atrium opened in the center on Atira’s suggestion. Her original flowerbed and those fascinating plants had been transplanted there—this space could also be used as livestock pens in the future.