Chapter 341: Secret base under construction 5
The outer wall, which from the outside appears to be a sturdy rocky mountain, is complete. And the moat, which was dug deep to make it difficult for rock-type monsters to assault, is also firmly in place. Inside, there are proper (albeit still only in form) quarters, a large open space for dragon takeoffs and landings and a large warehouse.
“It’s all in shape”
“Only in form. If we dragons had a cave, we could call it a root palace, but this place is still not enough to be called a place for people to sleep……”
Dianne and Laila (in human form for the first time in a long time) looked around proudly at the entire facility from the top of the completed stone wall and turned to me next to them.
“For now, you don’t have to worry about monsters or the Renfangas army. It’s our own private 『Place』”
“It’s a country of its own……pretty to call it a country, but it is unmistakably your 『Territory』”
In the virgin forest of the demon territory, the two of them have worked tirelessly to create a space that, despite its twists and turns, has been prepared for me.
“Good work, you two”
“Huhu. Well, I’m certainly tired this time, but……I had a good time”
“It’s not just a game of mud, it’s a wall to protect you♪”
In the distance, a high-pitched cry echoes through the air. Maia is approaching from far away in the sky. The carriage that she held was supposed to be filled with the entire team for the final touches, including Keiron and the rest of the group that had been resting up until now.
“Now, we’ve got to do one more thing. We need to build a water supply”
“Ho. You mean the wooden flume? Why don’t you just pull in the river directly from the outside?”
“That would be dangerous. If the river were to be drawn directly, it would become a route for monsters to enter and depending on the weather, the fort would be flooded. If we place importance on solidity, it would be difficult to secure a large drainage channel”
“But won’t the monsters destroy it?”
“We will try to make it look natural, but it is better to have it broken than to have monsters jump in through the gutter. If the need arises, Laila and Maia can fetch water directly. There is no substitute for safety”
“Hmmm. Indeed”
However, if the river were to flow directly from the top of the wall, the stone wall would be meaningless. The wall is not worth the effort if it can be climbed over on foot. Therefore, the water supply system was poorly constructed and it was assumed that monsters would destroy it. This would only be a minor inconvenience. Fetching water in any place is mainly done by hand. In a normal place, however, there is no point in saying anything extravagant about it in this demon territory.
“Now, Andy, you’ll show the others around. Goto is organizing the process, but Keiron and the others are still new to the place, so they will be confused”
“Understood”
From today, not only Dianne and the others, but also us Catalina detainees will start sleeping over here in phases. We don’t have enough beds, tables, dishes, firewood, or anything else, but we’re going to build them, bring them in and make them look more and more presentable as our living base. It is not something that even Laila and Dianne can do at once, but the whole corps will live and procure as soon as they need it. ……The building looks great on the outside, but there is nothing inside. After putting these things in place on their own, they finally begin to function as what Laila calls a facility 「Good enough for people to sleep in」.
“It’s pretty impressive”
“How do we get in and out by ourselves?”
Lantz and Keiron, who were visiting for the first time, got out of Maia’s carriage and scurried around.
“There are stairs over there to climb the wall from the inside and a ladder down to the outside. To get to the outside, you have to go down the ladder”
“That’s inconvenient, isn’t it? If you pick up firewood or fetch water outside, how do you carry it inside?”
“We’ll put a pulley there to handle the lifting and lowering of the load……or rather, we’ll do that construction work first”
“Oh, go for it, Smithson”
“You’re in, Keiron!”
“Yeah, I was told I had to start with the room decor”
“We’re supposed to do all our own living arrangements! As soon as we see something, we fix it! Otherwise, everyone will be inconvenienced!”
“Tsk. Lantz, you’re the one who started this, so you’d better take the initiative and work”
“I’ve never made anything like that before, so I have no idea how to do it. I’ll leave it to you, 10-man captain Smithson”
“Don’t try to throw everything at your boss, you lowly worker!”
They are not at all diligent, as usual. Take a cue from Goto and Boyd, who are working hard, saying, 「Carpentry work is our domain」.
While I was hanging around in a corner of the yard, looking for the right lumber, I came across a group of girls carrying plaster that Boyd had kneaded.
“Andy, where are you working?”
“Let’s do some wall painting, too, 10-man captain Smithson! I don’t understand why we have to be plasterers when we have only female warriors”
“You seem to be having a lot of fun, Naris-chan”
“A, Ahaha, you understand? I’ve never really helped out on a job site like this before”
Naris’ shy smile was answered by Anzeros and Tetes with a wry smile. The three of them were carrying the plaster like a stretcher. ……I was surprised to find out that some girls really enjoy working on construction sites.
Meanwhile, Goto has begun making furniture with 100-man commander Becker, Luna and Sharon. The furniture is chairs and tables, and the structure is relatively straight and simple, but the three people other than Goto were still struggling.
“Damn it, you’re a gutless nail!”
“100-man special duty commander is too messy. It is true that the nails are not very good, but we can’t afford to be extravagant here”
“But if they’re bent all over the place like this, there won’t be enough to go around!”
“Tss～～～……!”
“Oh, my God, Luna-san’s finger”
“Did you hit it!?”
“I think she stabbed it”
“With a nail!? How did you get it in there!?”
Goto is amazingly adept at making furniture with his huge hands, but the problem is that the other three, who boast of their own ridiculous senses and physical abilities, are also too unreliable. The problem is that the one who does the best of the three is Sharon, which makes things a bit complicated. Good luck to the Celesta duo.
Then, me and the regular boys (well, Keiron might be too old to be called a boy) attached a pulley to the outer wall and when we got tired of that, we tried hanging the runt from the hook at the end of the rope that was threaded through the pulley and took turns hanging on the hook. While I was playing with Lantz, who was not a regular soldier, I was startled by a sudden jarring sound nearby and dropped Keiron by the hook.
“What the hell!?”
“Ah, sorry”
“My hand slipped”
He was a beastman, after all and a fall of four meters or so was not enough to kill him.
“What was it now?”
“It’s like water has flowed……that’s over there”
Lantz pointed. Water was gushing out like a waterfall from a hole in the middle of the inner wall.
“What is that?”
“……Ah, it’s Laila-san. Is she doing something?”
“……Ah, well, she said something about building a water system earlier”
“Are you sure about that? I think the drainage and other things aren’t good……ah, it’s stopped”
“Are they building a structure where you can turn it on and off?”
If it’s connected by a downspout, you can just put a detachable part in the middle of it. I wonder if they are experimenting with such a half-assed way to get the water to go.
“Ah, there’s water again……”
“Shall I go ask them what they’re doing?”
“That’s right”
Nod with Lantz and head for the stairs.
“Hey, you can go after you get me up there!?”
Keiron was yelling down the wall. ……I forgot about him.
The three of us go over to where Laila is.
“What are you doing?”
“Ho. We’re building a water line”
“You don’t have to flush and shut it off when you don’t even have an inside water route yet. It’s a quagmire under the wall”
“Dianne is trying to build a mechanism that will allow water to flow only when it is needed”
I knew it.
“Can’t you just make the gutter come off when you pull on it?”
“That would cause the water to fall down the wall. A small amount of water would be fine, but the source is a river. It will eventually turn into a swamp. Even if we fill the moat with water, we have not yet created a drainage route from the moat. They want to create a system to return the water to the river, but it would be ideal if it could be done without going out through the wall”
“I see”
For example, a water path could be made in the shape of 「く」 and a gutter could be inserted into the corner from the side, allowing water in only when needed and when not needed, the gutter could be retracted and detached, allowing the water to return directly to the river……if this could be done, the problem of drainage inside the fort would be much easier. However, if the gutter is long enough, it may not always be able to prevent the water from being displaced. It’s a difficult problem. ……Hmm?
“If it’s water……water, it’s something that flows, so it might be possible to tamper with it a little with crests”
“Ho?”
“It can also affect the flow of wind and qi and water can also be……take me to Dianne’s place for a bit, Laila”
“Okay”
Laila hugs me in a princess hug and jumps over the wall.
“Indeed, so you’re going to use crest engraving to manipulate the flow of the water. I don’t know if it will work……”
“I’m sorry if it doesn’t……”
The gutter was double-layered and rail-mounted, so there didn’t seem to be as much of a problem with bending as I thought there would be, but I guess there are issues with arm strength and precision when it comes to moving it with one-touch. I used the Breakcore engraving pen to engrave crests on the wood.
“I’m going to do it this way……and see how it goes”
Control what flows over the surface. That is what engraving is best at. And when the drawing of the engraved crest is divided, it only shows its power when the lines 「Fit」 together. Conversely, if the lines are out of alignment, no power will be exerted. In other words.
“The gutter here is an arch and it is divided in the middle. I think it would be a good idea to carve it in such a way that the crest of 『Water flowing back against gravity』 is formed only while these divided gutters are in contact with each other”
“……I see. Normally, water does not flow over the gutter because of the force of gravity, but slides down the gutter. But only when the gutters with this crest are in contact with each other, the water will run up the gutter on its own, over the arch and into our water supply……”
“If you move the gutters just a little bit apart, the crest will expire, so all you have to do is move the rail a centimeter and you’re good to go”
“……Indeed, that’s a good idea”
Dianne seemed to like the mechanism.
“Ho. Owner is always coming up with interesting ideas”
“To create a structure that uses not only the power of the crest but also the option of not using it. You have broadened your horizons”
“Ahaha……well, I learned from old Dan that I can’t rely on the crests all the time”
After finishing the crest, I slid it over the rail and attached the flume to the rail and the water rushed up the flume, which had only the tip inserted into the channel at an angle, as if with a will and flowed toward the fort. It was a success.
“I knew making things was fun……”
“Ah”
“Umm”
Dianne and the others nod. ……After a long time, I want to make various things with engraved crests.