Chapter 572: Kalwin Rebirth 9
“Did the Baron know……all about this plan?”
“Thats all. I only received a letter from the king outlining the general plan. Considering its contents, I knew it was something out of the ordinary”
In the baron’s study, there is a large map of the baron’s territory, which is surrounded by the mountain ranges of the Small Snake Mountains, the Snake Mountains and the Elven Forest……. This vast but remote territory is almost uninhabited, except in the vicinity of Polka. Apart from a few huts and a few villages along the roads, this large area is uninhabited. Shepherds come and go over the pass during the warm season. The presence of the Small Snake Mountains and the amount of snowfall in winter are enough to keep people away. There are also monsters at a higher than average rate of Trot, although not as far as Renfangas. Unless you live near a healing spring of unparalleled value, no one would bother to put down roots in an area like this. However, the area was certainly large enough to withstand the great undertaking of building a town with a population of 10,000 people.
“Do you have a water source?”
“There are no miraculous springs outside of these areas, but there should be an abundance of groundwater. However, if tens of thousands of people are really going to live here, we must not go unchecked. We need to ask the Royal Capital Academy to come up with a flood control plan”
“The Kalwin people have hardly ever had a decent education, you know. Their building skills were also at the level of the poorest of the poor in Celesta. If they were left to their own devices, they would not even be able to build their own houses”
“I have heard about this from Irina-dono. But it is also true that you cannot neglect your home when it comes to large scale immigration. I don’t know if we can catch up with them even with the help of dragons……but a solution is urgently needed”
“The snow will soon cover these areas, so there’s a limit to how long they can hold out in their tents for now”
“I’ve heard that Dianne is an expert in construction as well. I don’t think we can ask someone else to take command of Kalwin and ask Dianne-dono to take care of that”
“I don’t think it’s a question of knowledge, but of labor. And Dianne is a southern style builder and I heard that her specialty is forts and other structures, not general architecture”
“Hmm……it’s a difficult point. Even if we were to collect human resources, we wouldn’t be able to get that many if we summoned them to this area……maybe we should ask the dragons to bring them……”
“If we use dragons too flamboyantly, regardless of my convenience, it could have a negative impact on King Ruth’s reign”
“It’s true……but I see that Andy has become attentive to such things”
The baron strokes his beard and is impressed. Yeah, well, I don’t really know what exactly is wrong with me either, so I just feel like I have to refrain from doing so first. As we were both groaning, Irina and Christie came in.
“I didn’t mean to eavesdrop, but with my ears, I could hear you even if there was a door between us. I’ve heard what you have to say”
“I have a good idea. Why don’t you just ask for Celesta’s help?”
“Christie-dono. No, but……”
“I wish I could have said that I would leave it to the masters of the elf territory, but we are not ready to send them out on a large scale yet. However……
“The fact that we are originally asking for Dianne’s help also means that we are accepting Celesta’s intervention. If Dianne’s power is used to summon many ogres, they will become many times more powerful than a human or elf householder. I don’t know. The Baron-dono must have seen the skill with which they built the lodgings and the new tavern”
“Hmm……it would be very encouraging if those skills could be put to good use”
We can use the dragons for rough heavy work, such as quarrying stone, hauling lumber, or clearing land. They will work without a break. And when it comes time to build a house, the building ability of the ogres come into play. Although they are originally hunters, they have built an unshakeable advantage over other races in Celesta in the construction industry. Their ability to build magnificent houses with their huge size and strength cannot be imitated by dwarves, beastmen, elves, or humans, of course. In this regard, there is a limit for dragons, which are few in number, no matter how strong their arms are. In addition, even with their high intelligence, they have accumulated more construction-related know-how than dragons, who by nature do not place importance on manufacturing.
“But this is Trot, after all. I wonder what they will say”
“We can make up for our appearance later. Above all, keeping the new people from freezing is the first priority for the ruler”
“Hmmm. It is certainly not something to be stubborn about……”
“And the old raccoon Ulysses would have known that much. It’s all a grand plan with no precedent. No way he would have suddenly forced……an impossible task on an unrelated baron”
“I’m afraid not”
The baron chuckled.
“If that’s the case, I’ll have to tell Dianne-dono about it right away. I won’t even be able to call the ogre carpenter without following the steps”
“Well, Smithson-dono, it’s about time”
“Yes”
I nodded. It’s been a week since I had my arm healed. It’s time to move on from 「The end of the big one」 to 「The next routine」.
—————
“I think I’m going to go back to Kalwin soon”
“You can take it a little slower, can’t you?”
“I think so. Andy-san, you should learn a little more from Keiron and Naris”
Jeanne and Selenium said negative things. ……No, when you say it like that, it really makes you look like Keiron and Naris are all useless soldiers who only care about having fun, but they were also active in their own way. Now……yeah. They’re really living the life of a hot-spring cure.
“I can’t leave Dianne-san alone forever and I’m a dragon rider. If the silver dragons over there are willing to cooperate, then I’ll have to talk to them carefully and basically ask them how they can help me. We need to decide exactly what we’re going to do. We can still relax in Polka afterwards”
“Don’t get yourself in big trouble again”
This time, I’ll follow you, okay?
“Selenium. You’ll raise your child with your own milk. It’s unreasonable to raise two children with my own milk”
“Ugh……Jeanne’s teasing”
“I thought Selenium would calm down after the baby was born. You have to be aware that you’ve become a mother. I sympathize that you were worried about Andy during the birth. But you can’t be the kind of parent who neglects your child. Andy is doing his best to make sure that doesn’t happen and that everyone is happy”
“……Y, Yes”
……Jeanne looks so much older than me. I guess mothers are strong after all. Like Jeanne said, I think it’s partly because Selenium gave birth without being able to rest mentally and her awareness of being a parent was delayed.
“Jeanne is right. I want all my female slaves to be happy and I don’t want my children to grow up feeling guilty because they are of mixed race. A child who can’t smile when they talk about their parents, that’s just not happy, right?”
“……Yes, right”
“I want my kids to be proud of their blood, not ashamed of it. Just like I feel that way as a child of my dad and mom. ……That’s why I’m doing my best. Let’s feel that way, Selenium”
“Ugh……I’m worried about you”
“If it doesn’t work if I leave it to Laila-nee-sama and Anzeros, I don’t think it will work if Selenium goes”
Jeanne says things that are difficult to say. Selenium suddenly stops. She has become really strong…….
————————————
And then I tell Neia and Beatrice.
“Eh, already?”
“You can still stay here, but I also have to contact Dianne-san and I also have something to do with the silver dragons”
“I, I’m not that unmotivated to stay here!?”
“It’s okay, Beatrice. The system over there won’t be in place for a while due to coordination between countries, so please take your time. Learning about other countries will be part of your job from now on”
While coaxing Beatrice, Neia began to pack her own things. Neia seems to be planning to go straight home.
“Are you going to leave me alone even though I came with Beatrice?”
“Her arm has already grown back and Beatrice seems to be the type who unconsciously gets spoiled when she has someone behind her back. You’ll have to let her study on her own”
“You should be here too. ……You promised to be my female slave”
“Eventually. But I am the ringleader of the revolution, along with you. Until the country settles down, I have a responsibility”
“……If you get impregnated, I’ll force you to give birth to me in Polka, okay?”
“I will obediently follow you when that happens”
Neia smiles carefree. Beatrice then looked up at Neia.
“You look so embarrassed……y, you’re acting like that and you’re having embarrassing sex……have you ever had sex before?”
This is the first time something like that has happened to me
“How can you do that in front of me and be so……normal?”
“I’m just the beginning. All of Smithson-san’s female slaves are more passionate than me. ……I’m about to find out”
“What do you mean, you’ll see!?”
Neia laughs meaningfully and then puts her hat back on. No, I mean, I don’t have that much intention of making Beatrice understand it either.
———————————
I asked Laila to bring the carriage and we waited for it in the meadow. It’s another beautiful day. The short summer in Polka is just beginning. I’m sure I’ll be going back and forth with Kalwin and Renfangas before winter and watching this very wide meadow gradually become more and more crowded. The wind blows through the meadow, shaking it with a zap, causing the hat Neia was wearing to flutter away. Neia hurriedly held it down so it wouldn’t fly off and took a breath. I suddenly thought of something and snatched the hat away from her.
“Ah”
“I’m just thinking. ……Why don’t you stop wearing this?”
“W, What are you saying all of a sudden?”
“You’re not a hero anymore”
I look into Neia’s eyes and say.
“No more countries that forcefully create heroes in the name of valor and make them pile up sins and duties endlessly. You inherited it from Faria and you’re done with it. ……This is proof that you have inherited it. As long as you wear it, this is not just a memento of Faria. It’s a mark of its karma. So let’s not do this anymore”
“……But”
“I’ll hang it up and save it for when you live in Polka someday. You should be the new Neia now”
With that, I take the hair ornament I made one day out of my luggage bag. I gently tuck Neia’s fluffy hair into it and put the hat in the bag instead.
“It looks good on you”
“……Smithson, san”
Her blonde hair fluttered in the wind. I just took off the hat and changed it to a hair ornament. Even though that’s all there is to it, the somewhat tragic atmosphere that Neia wore has disappeared and her girlish cuteness seems to have doubled. A shadow falls over us as we stare at each other. Because Laila has arrived in the sky. I looked up at Neia and patted Neia on the head.
“Now, let’s go. ……To come back again”
“……Yes!”