novelraw Chapter 79 : Chapter 79
Chapter 79 : Chapter 79
Chapter 79. Hot Spring Construction (1)
When you buy a new car, you need to break it in.
The same goes for a sword.
Swish.
Swoosh.
What good is a Porsche if you don’t know how to handle it?
It’s no different from a nuisance.
One day, as I was engrossed in training, getting used to Balisardo.
Anonymous approached.
Was it because of the surprise confession a few days ago?
It’s true that I was subtly conscious of it.
Of course, I wasn’t idle enough to show it.
“What is it?”
As I wiped the sweat from my forehead with one hand and asked, she opened her mouth with a strange expression.
“I have something to tell you.”
“I’m listening, so speak.”
“Recently, the dragons’ paradise is in trouble due to a lack of drinking water. I’d like to discuss how to solve this problem, do you have time?”
What is this now?
If it were humans, I might understand, but how could dragons be short of drinking water?
They’re a race that even breathes fire, do they even need water?
Anonymous just shook her head and recited what she had recently heard from a subordinate.
“My Queen. This place is at a high altitude, so it’s not easy to find water. These days, we’re not allowed to transform into dragons, so we have to go to Rarc Village in our human bodies to fetch water, or the villagers have to struggle to carry water up here, which is inconvenient in many ways.”
Cough. Like a professional reenactment actor.
She mimicked the expression and voice exactly, it was a laugh button in itself.
“In my opinion, couldn’t we bring the hot spring water we visited before to the dragons’ paradise?”
“Hot spring water?”
“Yes. It’s not that far, and it’s at a much higher place, so we should be able to create a waterway through pipes.”
Oh ho, that seems quite possible.
As she said, it’s not far, and the hot spring is at a higher place than the dragons’ paradise, so if we just connect the pipes, the water will flow down on its own.
Besides, the hot spring water is constantly gushing out, so it’s unlikely to dry up just from using a little.
“That seems like a good method.”
“In that case, I’ll take the lead and connect the waterway.”
“You?”
“Being a blacksmith doesn’t just mean making swords and armor. As long as I have the materials, there’s no problem.”
But at this point, the difficulty suddenly shot up.
To make plumbing pipes, we would need copper, but this region doesn’t produce copper.
Not just this area, but the entire Benedict Kingdom is barren of copper.
So, to get copper, we have to trade, but the largest copper producer happens to be the Durani Empire.
‘We have no relations with the empire whatsoever, so if I suddenly say I want to buy copper, the other nobles of the kingdom will find me suspicious.’
I was able to somehow obtain the Durani steel with the cooperation of the Unseen Ones, but the amount of copper needed this time would be much greater than that.
‘It will be difficult to use the same trick as last time.’
Then, suddenly.
A mineral that is constantly produced in this region came to mind.
A mineral that comes out in such large quantities that it could probably surround the entire village.
“Can you make plumbing pipes out of gold, by any chance?”
“Oh my, you thought the same thing as me. Of course. Gold doesn’t rust or corrode even after thousands of years, and its antibacterial properties make it hygienically advantageous. It also has high resistance to temperature changes, so it’s unlikely to deform. However.”
“However?”
“It’s heavy and has high ductility, so it can be easily dented. And there’s a risk of theft, but as long as you and I are here, no one will be able to damage or steal it.”
Okay. In that case, we can make gold plumbing pipes and bring the hot spring water to the dragons’ paradise.
This not only solves the problem of insufficient drinking water, but if done well, it might be developed into a huge tourist product.
Just soaking in it can cure all diseases, and drinking it not only restores stamina.
Pipes made of gold.
Excellent scenery.
The special location of the dragons’ paradise.
Could there be a more perfect hot spring?
‘People will definitely visit from not only the Benedict Kingdom but from all over the world to use this place.’
It already feels like I can hear the sound of money coming in.
I told Anonymous to submit a detailed report on this and moved my steps to the basement.
To meet Bruno.
Because I couldn’t make a mistake and repeat the same thing as with Alvarez.
***
Creak.
The door opened without a knock.
Bruno looked at the door with a startled face.
It wasn’t Adel who always brought him his meals.
“S-Sir Frank. And even Anonymous.”
Am I going to die here now?
Frank was a man who had even disposed of the powerful Marquis Moltke.
He could kill someone like him, who had given up his title, without anyone knowing.
Bruno begged with a desperate face.
“I am no longer a nobleman. Please spare me!”
Frank asked in a cold tone.
“Why did you come here?”
“I came to see Anonymous!”
But Anonymous retorted with an indifferent face.
“You were flirting with another girl, not me, weren’t you? Without even knowing she was a demon.”
“It’s a m-misunderstanding!”
“Well, it doesn’t matter. I only have my Master.”
Anonymous suddenly hugged Frank tightly and made a happy expression.
Frank also stood still without any particular reaction of rejection.
His vision turned yellow.
“M-Master, you say?”
Frank had clearly said that Anonymous was his distant relative.
Also, when they met last time, Anonymous didn’t use the title of Master for him.
But to think they would show off their affection so openly like this.
This was definitely not an expression between relatives.
‘Was he deceiving me?’
But Bruno couldn’t continue his thoughts any longer.
Because Frank had said this with a cold face.
“Do you want to live?”
“O-of course!”
“Then how about staying here for a while and helping me?”
“Yes?”
“Since you’ve given up your title, it would be a meaningful experience to taste the value of labor. What do you think?”
Hearing this, Bruno desperately racked his brain.
Why isn’t Frank just killing him?
There were two options to consider.
He simply spared him on a humanitarian level.
He has a separate plan to use him.
It was highly likely to be the latter.
Because Frank was a traitor to humanity who had colluded with demons.
However, this was by no means what he wanted.
Just because he had given up his title didn’t mean he had become a poor man.
He had planned to travel the world leisurely with his remaining assets, but, “Th-that’s ridiculous. How could I…” “Then I have no choice either. I can’t think of any other way but to keep you locked up here.”
As Frank turned his back to leave, Bruno tearfully grabbed onto his trouser leg.
“I-I’ll do it!”
“Is that so? I asked you politely, but it would be best not to think about escaping. This place is teeming with dragons and demons.”
Frank said he would send someone later to move him to an external lodging and then left the room.
‘Wh-why am I in this state…’
Bruno regretted it.
To think he would meet such a dog-like fate while trying to see Anonymous.
But if he could just survive, an opportunity would surely come.
‘Frank. I will definitely expose all your secrets to everyone.’
Bruno clenched his fist and glared at the tightly closed door.
That was the best resistance he could offer here.
***
As we came out of the basement, Anonymous asked with a curious face.
“Why aren’t you killing him?”
“There’s no need to.”
“He’s a good-for-nothing. Besides, he knows the demons are here, doesn’t he?”
“I don’t want to commit meaningless killings.”
I’m not some Demon King, I can’t just kill humans carelessly.
Besides, he’s a commoner who has even given up his title.
Killing him would only dirty my hands.
But if I let him go, unnecessary rumors might spread.
‘He has witnessed with his own two eyes that demons are living here. There’s no need to stir up trouble.’
It would be nice if there were something like a memory-erasing potion, but unfortunately, there’s nothing like that among the magic devices I know of.
I can’t turn him into an undead like with Alvarez either.
There’s no potion to resurrect the dead, and even if there were, it would just be a waste of a potion.
More importantly, I didn’t want to make allies that way anymore.
‘It feels unpleasant.’
So it would be better to keep him where I can see him and watch over him.
He probably knows the internal affairs of the kingdom well, so if I keep him alive, I might be able to get the information I need.
“We’ll need a lot of manpower to build the hot spring. You personally supervise Bruno and make good use of him.”
“Aha, you were thinking that far ahead. Understood. I’ll take this opportunity to make him a decent human being.”
“Alright. I’m entrusting this matter to you, so I hope you won’t disappoint me.”
“Yep!”
Anonymous, clenching her fists and smiling brightly.
Maybe it’s because I keep seeing her, but I’ve been thinking she’s cute lately.
Wait? This isn’t right.
‘What am I thinking right now. Get a grip.’
I shook my head, sent Anonymous off, and this time called for Rude.
“You called?”
“I’d like you to leave for the Marquis' castle soon.”
Rude looked disappointed but eventually nodded.
“I promised, so I have no choice. Please take good care of the children.”
“What do you mean, children. They’re sixteen now.”
“Has it been that long already? Time flies like an arrow, that saying is true.”
He looked at me intently and then made a joke.
“You definitely said it’s fine for me to run it as I please, right?”
“But don’t go around practicing tyranny.”
“Hehe. Do I look like that kind of person? The time we spent together was in vain. But honestly, isn’t that castle too old? It didn’t seem to be well-managed either.”
“Then, you can try fixing it yourself.”
“You really gave me permission?”
He looked at me with sparkling eyes, the pressure was 100 times greater.
“Do as you please. If you need anything, contact me through the magic crystal ball.”
“Alright. Well then, stay healthy, Sir Frank.”
Rude winked with one eye while saying things he didn’t need to.
With him, the Marquis' castle and the surrounding area will be managed without any problems.
Because there are few people who are as wise and can judge as rationally as him.
He’s not called a sage for nothing.
When I asked if it was okay not to see the others before he left, he said it was fine since it would just make him feel sentimental.
He disappeared without looking back.
But what is this ominous feeling?
A sense of unease that things will move in a direction different from what I had in mind washed over me.
‘It’s probably just a feeling.’
It would be best not to worry about trivial matters.
Because the work I have to do since becoming a Margrave is piled up like a mountain.
‘This matter seems to be settled now.’
I should probably resolve my relationship with Iris soon, but I don’t know what to do.
‘Unlike Adel and Noemi, Iris is in the Durani Empire, so we can’t see each other easily. What should I do.’
Through Noemi’s teleportation magic, I could go over to the Durani Empire in an instant and see Iris, but that would be a sudden event for both Iris and me.
And I can’t just tell Iris, who has become the leader of the Unseen Ones, to come and go as I please.
In the game, if the daughter you were raising left home, it was an immediate game over.
But with the number of daughters I can raise increased to three, the situation where one is absent seems not to be an obstacle.
‘From now on, the demons will also start to move more seriously. And within the Durani Empire, the emperor’s faction and the anti-emperor’s faction will be divided, and a fierce civil war will break out.’
I continued to ponder how I could restore my relationship with Iris.
And how I could overcome the events that were to come.
Being a Hero is difficult, but being a father is also a very heavy responsibility.
Don’t they say that a father is a person who uses silence and hardship as his pillow?
Not a single word of that is wrong.
***
Meanwhile, Rude, who had come to the Marquis' castle under Frank’s orders, clasped his hands and showed a strange smile.
“Hoo. Well then, shall I try changing this place to my taste?”
First, it would be good to change the outdated appearance of the castle.
However, he had no intention of mobilizing the poor and hungry residents of the territory.
That’s just a vile act that wicked lords do.
Rude summoned a large number of golems from the earth.
Rumble, rumble, rumble.
Ten giant golems were created in an instant and simultaneously looked at Rude.
Rude told them what they had to do one by one and rolled up his sleeves to get to work.
“You move this over there, and you do this to that…”
At the strange behavior of the new lord as soon as he took office, the people of this place could only stare blankly at what he was doing, at a loss for words.
What kind of picture was drawn in Rude’s mind?It was a question no one could answer.