novelraw Chapter 56
Chapter 56
Chapter 56
Some of Irene’s party arrived at the Johnson Territory the very next day.
Ten Builders and ten Knights of the Crimson Comet.
The reason they had arrived earlier than the rest of the group was to build housing for the new settlers.
Of course, the new settlers referred to the people who had come over from the Haken Territory.
Nearly a thousand residents had followed Irene to settle in the Johnson Territory.
So that meant those ten Builders were confident they could construct housing for nearly a thousand people in just a few days.
‘This is even possible?’
I couldn’t wrap my head around it.
“Grandfather!”
“Oh my~ you rascal.
What’s an old man like me suffering like this for at my age?”
“Come on, you said you were lonely.
So, how is it? Doesn’t it feel refreshing?”
“Refreshing? It’s not just refreshing—it feels downright empty.”
“Haha, you’re clearly pleased and yet you say that.”
At the front of the group was an elder who looked about seventy.
He seemed quite close with Irene.
‘Grandfather? And he has red hair too?’
Since the Lord of Haken’s father had already passed away long ago, he couldn’t have been her paternal grandfather.
It was likely someone from her mother’s side of the family.
He even had the same red hair as Irene.
If he were just being called “grandfather” out of formality, she wouldn’t be speaking to him so warmly.
Irene’s maternal family, then.
Other than the fact that her mother was of mixed blood, I knew nothing about that side.
So who exactly was this person?
Still, just from his presence alone, I could tell he wasn’t an ordinary man.
He looked far too hale and robust for his age, and the aura he gave off was extraordinary.
“Ah, allow me to introduce you. This is Lord Iron, whom I told you about. And this here is my maternal grandfather, Lord Benetrang Hanol.”
“Benetrang. Just an old man leading a bunch of Builders.”
“I am Iron. It’s an honor to meet you.”
“Keh, a very reliable fellow you are. Please look after our Irene from here on.”
Irene’s grandfather introduced himself as an old man leading Builders.
To lead them meant he was the head of a school, which in turn meant the Builders who had crossed into the Johnson Territory were either his direct disciples or the disciples of his disciples.
Since magical engineers usually chose where to settle based on their master’s decision, the fact that so many Builders had come along for this migration was thanks to this man.
A head of a school was someone even lords couldn’t treat lightly.
On top of that, he was not only of a venerable age but also Irene’s grandfather.
No matter that I was a lord myself, it was right to show the utmost respect.
But Benetrang Hanol...
That name rang a bell.
Benetrang wasn’t such a rare name, but the surname Hanol was peculiar.
It felt oddly familiar.
Where had I heard it before?
‘Ah.’
-That old male...
“Could it be, the Golem Meister?”
“Haha, yes, I was once called by that title. But I can no longer live up to it. Age has caught up to me, you see.”
‘The Golem Meister? That’s a complete big name!’
I had suspected he was unusual, but he turned out to be even more of a heavyweight than I thought.
Though he humbly joked about no longer being able to produce golems, the worth of a Named was never something so light.
In fact, the reason our Alchemy Workshop was at such a high level was because of the alchemy formulas passed down by Peter’s grandfather, Elder Rius, a Named Alchemist.
This elder surely had special strengths other Builders didn’t possess.
“Grandfather, please come inside quickly.”
“Yes, let’s do that. Lord, would it be all right if we continued this discussion indoors? At my age, even the slightest chill makes my bones ache.”
“Ah, my apologies. Please, come in at once.”
“Haha, that’s better.”
I had been so surprised that I had committed the blunder of leaving a guest standing outside.
I needed to get a grip.
But this woman...
Did she bring her entire maternal family with her into the Johnson Territory?
That meant the only ones left in Haken were really her paternal relatives.
She had said she was bringing everyone close to her, and it wasn’t an empty phrase.
The more layers I peeled back, the more I realized how earnest Irene was about this migration.
Even the Lord of Haken must have felt that and lamented to me about it.
In any case, the feeling was good.
Perhaps the Builders migrating from Haken could do even more for me than I had expected.
With a small sense of anticipation, I led the two of them into my home.
“The aroma is pleasant. Is this herb?”
“Yes, it’s wild herb that grows in the Monster Mountains. It’s not any special breed, but the fragrance is good, so I use it often.”
“I see.”
After briefly enjoying the aroma of the tea, Benetrang wasted no time getting to the point.
It seemed he was in a bit of a hurry, knowing the rest of the party was still on their way to the Johnson Territory.
“Irene may have told you, but the group is rather large. So I’ll need some cooperation from you, Lord.”
“Of course. What exactly do you require?”
“First, we need land for a village site, and we also need to construct a Lab for the Builders to reside in.”
“The Builders coming—are they all your disciples?”
“My disciples, or my disciples’ disciples. They are Builders of the Golem School.”
As I suspected, it seemed the entire Golem School had decided to migrate to the Johnson Territory.
That would make managing these difficult magical engineers much easier.
If I came to an agreement with Benetrang, the others would have no choice but to follow it.
Magical engineers tended to be eccentric, but with such a clear chain of command, I could be at ease.
“Of course, I will assist. But more than that, there’s something I’d like to discuss.”
“Discuss?”
“Yes, regarding the situation in the territory...”
The Rabbit Tribe who lived in burrows underground.
The Lion Tribe who lived in log houses.
And the residents who still used homes built before the Great Cataclysm.
Since Alchemists were the only magical strength in the territory, there was a lot of work to do besides just building houses.
Especially in terms of equipment, they had to do things half like Enchanters as well.
“Ah, yes. I’ve heard of that.”
“Would it be possible?”
As he tapped his finger on the table, calculating something in his head, Benetrang gave a nod and confirmed the situation.
“Enchanting is possible. The Golem School is not merely about building houses. In fact, we’re more accustomed to enchanting and item making.”
“Oh, is that so?”
The ultimate goal of the Golem School was to realize the legendary magical doll that existed only in myth—the ultimate golem.
In modern terms, something like an artificial intelligence robot?
Perhaps one day such a thing might be created.
But even before the Great Cataclysm, no such golem had ever existed, and likely none would be created for a very long time.
In truth, what had earned Elder Benetrang the glorious title of Golem Meister wasn’t some legendary golem, but merely a lump of stone that moved for a short while.
Even that had been such a great achievement that he became a Named, but his disciples had nowhere near the ability to replicate such a feat.
Still, creating a golem required an enormous variety of skills—it was like the culmination of magical engineering itself.
That meant his disciples were very skilled in Enchanting and Item Making as well.
The reason they were still categorized as Builders was because making a golem resembled assembling blocks into a giant doll, which in turn was very similar to building a house.
That made them especially adept at such work.
The Golem School had never been just magical engineers skilled in construction alone.
-So they had their hands in multiple fields.
‘Anyway, it just means they’re versatile. That’s not a bad thing.’
It might be a little different from a school that specialized only in Enchanting, but what did it matter?
What we needed from them was basic work, so this was already more than satisfactory.
I went out of the mansion with him to look over the territory.
“The scale of the castle is better than I expected. The walls are a bit old, but those can always be repaired.”
“Even with the new residents joining, there should be plenty of space.”
“Yes, I can see that.”
After roughly examining the castle walls and streets, I guided him to the area we planned to give the new settlers.
It was an alley where abandoned houses had fallen into half-ruins.
“Oh-ho, this is pre–Great Cataclysm style.”
“Yes, that’s right. It’s been a long time since they’ve been maintained, so they’re very worn down, but...”
“But the framework is solid. In fact, houses from before the Great Cataclysm are sturdier. So the Johnson Castle truly is an impregnable castle—no wonder it’s still standing. This will save us a lot of time.”
“Is that so?”
“The houses of that era have magic circles firmly fixed into place. Do you happen to have mana crystals and catalysts?”
“Ah, yes.”
After carefully inspecting several of the abandoned houses, Elder Benetrang asked me for a mana crystal and a catalyst.
It looked like he wanted to try something.
Curious about what he planned to do, I immediately had mana crystals and gold brought over.
“This is gold of very high purity.”
“It came from the north.”
“Did it? Well, goods traded from the Beastmen are usually of the finest grade.”
Benetrang nodded with satisfaction after recognizing the gold I had obtained in exchange for Horned Rabbits from the Lion Tribe.
Holding the gold in one hand and the mana crystal in the other, he quietly chanted an incantation.
‘Oh...’
-Oh...
In an instant, the old house before me shone brightly, and its broken, decayed parts slowly began to return to their original state.
It was as if time itself were rewinding—a mysterious sight that left me involuntarily awestruck.
‘So this is magic? This is true fantasy.’
“There, done. Luckily, the restoration magic circle was still intact, so this was quick to resolve.”
When Benetrang removed his hands, the old ruin had already transformed into a house that looked brand new.
It turned out that houses built before the Great Cataclysm had restoration magic circles inscribed into them as a matter of course, meaning that with some adjustments, they could be used just like before.
We had simply been unable to use those restoration circles, which was why the houses had fallen into disrepair.
“Water generation, purification, durability reinforcement, heating, light generation. About this much. Truly, houses from that era are much better.”
He didn’t stop at restoring the house—he activated all of its living magic circles as well.
It seemed his claim of being proficient in Enchanting and magic circles was no lie.
-This is practically no different from the pre–Great Cataclysm level.
‘Forget the Great Cataclysm, isn’t this in itself just broken?’
Water generation and purification were already incredible conveniences, but I hadn’t expected heating and light generation to be fully functional as well.
Until now, the residents had given up on heating, cooling, and lighting functions in their homes.
In truth, just water generation and purification alone were already absurdly convenient.
It meant you didn’t need to worry about plumbing or sewage systems to have water.
In some ways, it was more convenient than the modern world.
Add heating and light generation on top of that, and calling this the Middle Ages would almost feel like a joke.
Indeed, fantasy was only complete when it had magic.
“Not every house’s restoration circle will be intact. In fact, this one was already on the verge of collapse.”
“Is that so?”
“For now, the ones with circles left should be restored, and the ones without should simply be rebuilt.”
“Yes, Elder. I’ll leave that part to you.”
It was clear that this was beyond anything I could interfere with.
The best I could do was provide laborers to help.
Luckily, it was the farming off-season, and the Rabbit Tribe, who had no particular work in the fields, were preparing with the other residents for winter.
The Rabbit Tribe made for excellent workers to assist the Builders in house construction.
“Ah, I’ll need plenty of mana crystals prepared.”
“Yes, I’ll see to that.”
“Good. Then let’s start with the houses, and after that, we’ll prepare the tasks the lord requested.”
All that was left was to hand over the remaining mana crystals in the territory.
As expected, the best solution was to leave the work to the experts.