Building a Port (1)

Beneath a cloudless blue sky, the sun shone high overhead. Under its generous rays, men in work clothes moved back and forth. Some carried rocks on their shoulders, while others moved earth with wheelbarrows. The sound of hammers rang out here and there, mingling with the shouts of men pushing enormous stones.

In the Kashu region of the Lionel Kingdom, large-scale civil engineering work was underway in a cove beyond the Girie Valley to build a port. I was walking through the construction site when the men at work looked up at me. It was probably because of my red outfit, which looked so out of place here. As I stopped and looked down at my clothes, someone called out to me from behind.

"Ah, Romelia-sama."

I turned around and found two soldiers in armor standing there. One was a blond man with a cheerful face, while the other had black hair and sharply defined features.

"Zeze, Jini. Are you on break?"

I turned to the two soldiers, Zeze and Jini. They were soldiers belonging to the Kashu Garrison of the Lionel Kingdom. They were also members of what was commonly called the Romelia Squad, named after me.

"Borel and Gatt are about to relieve us."

"We've been on guard duty since morning, and we're finally on break. I'm totally beat!"

Jini straightened his back like a proper soldier and saluted, raising a hand to his black hair.

Beside him, Zeze spoke in a more casual tone. The two were supposed to be the same age, but Jini's sharply defined features made him look older. Zeze, on the other hand, always looked cheerful and youthful. Despite appearances, Jini was the captain of a fifty-man unit, while Zeze was his deputy.

"That's right. I want to hold a meeting in the early afternoon, so could you come to my office after lunch?"

A large mansion with a green roof and white stucco walls stood where I was looking. It was the mansion where I was staying. It served as both my residence and workplace, with an office inside.

"Please tell Borel, Gatt, Al, and Ray to attend as well. Al and Ray should be out patrolling the surrounding area with the soldiers. They should be back before noon."

"Understood. I'll tell Borel, Gatt, Al, and Ray."

Jini saluted again. Then he lowered his hand and glanced down at my clothes.

"Um, Romelia-sama. You're wearing something different today."

"Yes. It's an outfit Seryure-san gave me, but..."

I sighed and looked down at myself.

I was wearing an outfit made of deep red fabric. Two rows of gold buttons ran down the chest, and a black ribbon was tied in a bow like a butterfly at my neck. It was a beautifully designed outfit, but red did not suit me. I had chosen black trousers underneath to tone down its flamboyant appearance, but even so, the color was far too vivid for me.

"It doesn't suit me, does it?"

"Not at all, Romelia-sama. It suits you perfectly."

I answered Jini's flattery with a strained smile.

I was a noble, and on top of that, I was Jini and the others' superior officer. Given his position, Jini couldn't exactly say that the outfit did not suit me.

"No, it really does suit you."

Jini hurriedly insisted, but the more he did so, the more it sounded as if he were saying the opposite. Still, I couldn't make my subordinate uncomfortable, so I gave him a small bow and nodded.

"I think that outfit looks cool, Romelia-sama."

Zeze gave me a bright smile. There was no trace of sarcasm on his face.

"That's not exactly a compliment for a woman..."

Jini put a hand to his face in exasperation, but I felt a little pleased and looked up at Zeze from under my lashes.

"Really?"

"Yes. You look sharp, and it really suits you!"

Zeze gave me an emphatic thumbs-up. Jini was right: calling a woman cool probably wasn't generally considered a compliment. Women were supposed to be called cute or beautiful. But I was neither cute nor beautiful. I knew that myself, so even when I was flattered, I couldn't accept it at face value. On the other hand, being called cool still felt more sincere.

"Thank you, Zeze."

"You're welcome. Well then, we'll take our break now."

Zeze smiled beneath his blond hair and saluted. I watched Zeze and Jini walk away. Zeze was always bright and cheerful. Sometimes he was almost too cheerful, which worried me a little, but the thoughtful Jini was always at his side to keep him grounded.

After watching them walk away, I turned on my heel and started walking. As I made my way through the construction site, I soon spotted a makeshift canopy with a cloth roof to shield it from the sun. A table stood beneath it, covered with numerous documents. In front of the table stood an older man with long white hair tied back. He kept nodding his thick head as he looked back and forth between the documents and the construction site.

"How is it going, Master Ganze?"

I walked over to the older man. He was Master Ganze, the person in charge of this construction project.

"Hey, lass. The port's coming along nicely. We're even ahead of schedule."

Master Ganze looked over the construction site. I did the same and saw that the workers were moving briskly, and it was clear the project was progressing without a hitch. When I turned my gaze north, I saw a shallow beach stretching out before me, with cliffs towering beyond it. The Mebium Inland Sea should lie on the other side of those cliffs.

"Because of those cliffs, even this cove couldn't be seen from the Mebium Inland Sea. But how did you know of a place like this, lass?"

Master Ganze looked around the cove as though it were some secret hideaway.

"Yes, there were a few circumstances."

I answered with a smile. But the story of how I found this cove was not something I could tell with a smile.

That was when I was traveling with Prince Henri to defeat Demon King Zelgis. We had planned to cross the Mebium Inland Sea by ship and travel to another country. But our ship was caught in a storm and sank. Prince Henri and I clung to wooden planks and desperately swam toward shore. Just when I thought we were done for, we happened to wash ashore in this cove.

I really was lucky. If we hadn't reached this cove, we would have died. I possess a miraculous power bestowed by heaven called 'Grace.' It grants good fortune to those around me. Most likely, 'Grace' affected Prince Henri, who was traveling with me, and saved me in the process.

"But it sure is a beautiful cove. If we weren't building a port here, I'd want to build a villa."

Master Ganze gazed out over the cove. He was right—it had a long stretch of white sandy beach, and the shallow water was so clear that we could see all the way to the bottom. Two piers extended from the beach, making it possible to moor small boats and even go boating. If a villa were built here, I would want to spend every summer here.

"It would certainly make an ideal vacation-home area, but it can't be used as a port. To berth large ships, we'd have to reclaim the entire beach."

Even I felt reluctant to destroy such a beautiful place.

But because the water off the sandy beach was shallow, the sand would prevent anything but small boats from coming alongside. No matter what, we had to reclaim the beach and build a port where even enormous ships could berth.

"I know. Having a seaport is the Lionel Kingdom's long-cherished dream."

Master Ganze lowered his thick chin.