novelraw Chapter 81 : Chapter 81
Chapter 81 : Chapter 81
Chapter 81. Hot Spring Construction (3)
For a while, I couldn't close my gaping mouth.
It felt like I had reopened an insect encyclopedia I had looked at as a child and forgotten about since.
But all the people here were smiling with happy faces.
They were even wearing insect-shaped hats on their heads and laughing cheerfully, making me wash my eyes several times to check if I was seeing things.
‘An ant hat, a honeybee hat. And even a Dynastinae beetle hat?’
Before long, Rude appeared.
No, it was some crazy guy wearing a stag beetle costume.
“…….”
“Aigoo. If you were coming, you should have contacted me beforehand.”
“What is the meaning of this?”
“What do you mean, what? You said I could do whatever I wanted.”
There’s a limit to things.
This had already pierced through common sense and soared into the realm of the other world.
However, Rude handed me a piece of paper and told me to read it.
“What’s this?”
“Take a look. Then, your thoughts will change.”
I slowly read the paper he handed me.
It was a sort of report.
A detailed comparative report that showed at a glance how things had changed, dividing the time before and after Rude’s appointment.
First, the significant increase in population caught my eye.
“The population of seven thousand increased to fifteen thousand in just three months?”
“Yep. See that tip of the butterfly wing over there? That used to be the village's boundary line.”
“And?”
“Hasn’t it gotten much wider than that now? It’s because the number of immigrants from outside has increased. Even now, immigrants are constantly coming, so that’s already outdated information.”
This was only the beginning.
Not a single person starved to death, and the domain's revenue increased by over 800%.
I didn't misread a zero.
The number 800 was really written on the report.
“Do you think this makes sense?”
“So you think I would have written a lie? Making insects into a food source was the biggest factor, and we get silk from silkworms. The elytra of jewel beetles can be used for accessories, so the deficit was solved in one go. Haha.”
“Is that something that can be done so quickly?”
“If you use the magic device I made, it's no trouble at all. Since we can increase the growth rate by more than five times, we’re actually short on people to do the work.”
He chuckled, saying that the trade with the Lombard Kingdom was the decisive blow.
He said he didn't know they would love silk so much and that he needed to expand the scale of trade or something.
Besides that, he showed a broad smile, saying that as the lives of the residents improved significantly, the number of places trying to benchmark this place was increasing.
Then, he suddenly offered me a disgusting larva.
“Try it. It’s called a mealworm, and it’s very high in nutritional value.”
I refused several times, saying I was fine, but he had no intention of backing down.
In the end, I had no choice but to take a bite.
Crunch, crunch.
Hmm. It tastes surprisingly good.
Like eating dried shrimp.
What on earth was Rude doing here?
I deeply regretted underestimating him, thinking he would build something like an insect museum or a research institute.
Has there ever been a great person in history who changed the world so quickly?
At least, not to my knowledge.
And not in a way like Hitler, making everyone tremble in fear, but in a way that produced a scene where the majority were overwhelmed with happiness. Wasn’t he probably the only one?
Indeed, he was a man who lacked nothing to be called a sage.
***
Meanwhile, Isabel, who had received Frank's letter, was filled with worry.
‘Should I go? Or should I not?’
He had built a hot spring resort and asked if she could visit if possible.
If I were to leave my post for such a thing, I would be heavily criticized.
Because the position of a Saintess isn't one where you just loaf around and do nothing.
But it was also true that I was curious.
In the end, after much deliberation, Isabel decided to make the excuse that she was making a trip to bestow the Goddess' blessing on the new place the Hero had made.
Because it was a proper custom to give a blessing whenever a new large facility opened in the kingdom.
Besides, he was one of the three pillars of the alliance formed to stop Primus.
Every little thing Frank did carried great meaning.
Thus, as I was preparing to leave for that place, a message came from the royal palace.
It was a message from the King, asking if we could go together if I was going.
Isabel gladly accepted and rode in the King's carriage with him.
Charles VII couldn't stop smiling, as if he was greatly amused.
“Haha. In all my life, this is the first time I’ve received such a letter. The letter decorated with gold leaf is surprising enough, but a hot spring resort. I’ve only heard they exist in the east, so I’m curious what kind of place it is.”
“Before becoming the Saintess, I visited an eastern village for my training. It remains a good memory.”
“Hoh. Is it very different from Bath?”
Bath was the only public bathing facility in the Benedict Kingdom.
Not only was the water not from a hot spring, but the scale was also small.
Although it was called a public bathing facility, almost no one used it.
‘Because the hygiene management is a zero.’
Isabel smiled sweetly and explained the information she knew.
“Bath uses artificially heated water, but a hot spring resort uses naturally gushing hot water. It’s good for skin beauty as well as health, and the ceiling is open, so it gives an outstanding sense of openness.”
“Ooh. I can’t even imagine what kind of place it is. According to the Marquis' words, the interior is very large, so I’m looking forward to it.”
The two of them passed the boredom of the journey by chatting about this and that for a while.
Then, Charles VII suddenly brought this up.
“By the way, Saintess, aren't you preparing a successor?”
“Pardon?”
Isabel flinched in surprise.
Charles VII recognized his slip of the tongue and immediately apologized.
“Ah. My expression was misleading. It wasn’t a question about a child, but about the next Saintess.”
Isabel replied with a bitter smile.
“Because the oracle has not yet descended.”
“I see. It would be good for you to get married before it’s too late……. Hehe. It's just the nonsense of a senile old man. Please don’t pay it any mind.”
Damn old man.
To say something like that and then tell me not to mind.
Isabel was boiling with anger on the inside, but she didn’t show it.
Because she was a holy Saintess respected by all.
***
Far south of the Benedict Kingdom.
In Herat, the capital of the Durani Empire, there were those having an audience with the Emperor for the first time in a while.
It was Iris and Number 1.
Iris looked at the man before her with a fascinated expression.
‘Is that a corpse, or a person?’
A dying old man was sitting on a magnificent throne, looking down at the two of them.
His eyes were very cloudy and dyed a deep gray.
His body was on the verge of collapsing, and his frame was small.
But his voice was as vigorous as ever.
“Huhu. You seem surprised by my appearance.”
He had no intention of hiding why he had come to look like this.
“It is the end of a man who has prolonged his life with medicine. Let’s see. How old was I this year?”
The Emperor counted the numbers for a long time using his fingers, then said this.
“I haven’t counted since I passed one hundred, so it’s not exact, but I’ve likely passed three hundred.”
No way.
Only then could Iris understand the meaning of what Number 1 had said.
‘So that's why he said he was a person living in a different time.’
However, he said he was not immortal.
Well, if he were ageless, he wouldn’t have grown so old.
But if he lived to be 300, shouldn't he be considered almost immortal?
The Emperor shook his head, saying that wasn't the case.
“The medicine that prolongs my life is also a poison. I wasn't originally such a small person.”
Was it because he was happy to see the two who had come for an audience after a long time?
The Emperor, who needed someone to talk to, started chattering about this and that without being asked.
What the medicine was, what its side effects were.
How he came to be in this state of neither living nor dead, and so on.
Iris, who had been listening intently at first, lost interest around the halfway point.
‘In the end, it means he kept taking the medicine because of his lust for power, even though he knew full well it had side effects. How foolish.’
The Emperor's story, which seemed like it would never end, finally concluded.
Number 1 slowly opened his mouth.
“The anti-emperor faction is all dead.”
“I know. I don't know why you all took my side, but thank you anyway. From the prime minister to the gatekeeper. Many have died, so the state of the country is a mess, but what can you do.”
There was a hidden barb in the Emperor's words, but Number 1 paid it no mind.
“As compensation, I would like you to permit us to go to Botan Island.”
At the words Botan Island, the Emperor's cloudy eyes sparkled.
“You mean to go to the paradise of dragons, where dragons no longer live?”
“That is correct.”
“What is the reason? There will be nothing there even if you go.”
Number 1 slowly shook his head.
“You couldn't be unaware that there are ruins there that no one has ever been to, could you?”
As soon as those words ended.
The Emperor clutched his stomach and began to laugh.
Then he abruptly stopped laughing and glared at Number 1 with a frightening face.
“Why? Are you also interested in immortality?”
But Number 1 replied instantly without any change in expression.
“That is nothing but a superstition.”
“Then?”
“What I want is a different item.”
The Emperor seemed to ponder for a moment, then opened his mouth again.
“In that case, how about this?”
“Please speak.”
“I will permit you to go there on the condition that you bring back the item I want.”
“The existence of such an item there is merely a rumor.”
“Huhu. I don’t know what item you are looking for, but one can never know, can they? How about it? If you agree to this condition, I promise all necessary support.”
Number 1 offered the perfunctory words that he would do his best.
“Then, the contract is established. Come back when you are ready. If there is anything you need, tell the people below.”
The Emperor waved his hand with a strange smile.
After leaving the audience chamber.
Iris asked, as if curious.
“Why there?”
“As I said, there’s an item I need.”
“So, what is it?”
“Lion Heart.”
Number 1 explained about the Lion Heart.
He said it was a type of magic device that, when consumed, makes one's mind clear and tranquil, unshaken by any temptation.
Completely deflated, Iris let her shoulders slump and grumbled.
“What. I thought there was some amazing weapon or something.”
“Don’t speak of what you don’t know. That is the very state of nothingness that everyone desires the most. And it is what you need the most right now.”
“Why?”
Number 1 stopped walking and looked at Iris.
His gaze was filled with sincerity.
“Iris, I think I’ve made a big mistake.”
“A mistake?”
“I’ve raised countless assassins until now, but your case is a first. Right now, you are starved for blood. If this state continues, you might suddenly turn into a murderer one day.”
Number 1 told her a story from long ago.
He said that among the original members of the Unseen Ones, there was someone who showed the exact same symptoms as Iris.
“He, too, initially learned assassination techniques at a rapid pace like you.”
“And?”
“But he gradually began to enjoy killing itself, and in the end, he lost his reason and degenerated into a murderer. I am sorry.”
Number 1 bowed his head incoherently and expressed his apology.
Iris asked with a dumbfounded face.
“Why are you being so scary? It's a joke, right?”
“I’m sorry, but it’s not a joke. This is an urgent matter.”
At Number 1's serious demeanor, Iris quietly shook her head.
“It was my choice. It’s not your fault.”
“No. I took this matter too lightly.”
“It’s fine. So what you’re saying is, we just have to go to that Botan Island, which used to be a paradise for dragons, and get that Lion Heart thingy, right? Perfect timing. I was bored, so let’s go there right away.”
“That is an unknown place that has never allowed anyone’s intrusion until now. It would be troublesome to think of it lightly.”
“So what. If you and I join forces, no one will be able to stop us. I trust you.”
When Iris smiled brightly and extended her hand, Number 1 shook his head with a frustrated look.
“You shouldn't trust people so carelessly.”
“But you’re different. Right? Anyway, are you going to keep standing there and making a person feel awkward?”
Iris waved her right hand, and eventually, Number 1 took her hand and nodded.
“There’s a lot to prepare.”
“Just tell me what I need to do. But do we really need the Emperor’s permission? If we just go secretly by ourselves, no one would know.”
Number 1 set the mood, saying that was not the case.
His expression was more serious than ever before.