Chapter 139
The name of the town being built in Hamada Territory was decided: Sakura. Construction began on a straight road to the highway.
Once Anemone's golem magic knocked down a tree, the heavy machinery equipped with the adamantite sword cut off the top and roots.
The workers following behind us trimmed the branches from the felled trees and filled in the holes left by their roots.
The forest we were clearing was not flat, but quite uneven, so we shaved down the high spots and filled in the low ones.
Ko○tsu-san, equipped with the sword, was scheduled to be used as a weapon, so we could not keep changing its bucket.
For that reason, I bought another Ko○tsu-san and assigned it to construction work.
To level the road, I bought a machine called an auto level from Shangri-La—¥50,000.
At a glance, the machine looked like a telescope. Someone held a special rod upright and looked through it, allowing us to level and survey the ground easily.
I had often seen workers looking through machines mounted on tripods at construction sites, but I never expected to use one myself.
Once the leveling was finished, we broke up a nearby cliff with a hydraulic breaker, then spread the rocks out and compacted them by driving the dump truck over them.
We had to create jobs for the workers as part of the public works project, but I used my heavy machinery for the road-filling work.
The town needed roads for its development, so speed took priority.
Once the road was complete, I would reduce my involvement and hand the work over to the workers, allowing the project to fulfill its proper purpose as public works.
This time, I had bought another Ko○tsu-san, bringing us to a two-machine operation, but—
Ideally, I wanted to buy one more Ko○tsu-san and add a vehicle dedicated to the hydraulic breaker, but...
I decided to consider that once the territory was doing well and turning a profit.
The work proceeded smoothly, and the road opened a month and a half later.
In this world, a public works project like this would require several hundred people every day and take several years.
It would have become a massive project employing more than 100,000 workers in total, but we finished it in only a month and a half.
As a public works project, it might have been somewhat lacking, but the economic benefits of completing the road would probably be greater.
Normally, when a public works project like this was completed, people apparently held a ceremony, but I was not going to.
I had not the slightest interest in noble pride or appearances, and it would just be a waste of money.
When I stood in the middle of the completed road—the straight road cleared through the forest stretched on and on.
The highway was about six kilometers away, so I could not see the end.
As we all gazed at the completed road, Akira arrived almost immediately, carrying supplies in his truck.
Akira saw us and stopped the truck.
"Yo!"
"Yo, yo!"
As Akira and I got out of the truck and exchanged greetings, Lilith muttered,
"Must you greet each other like that?"
"No."
Apparently, it sounded incredibly strange to her. What could I say?
Only Akira and I used it anyway.
The beastfolk did use things like "Okay," though.
The truck continued on and arrived at the group of ten log houses the carpenters had assembled.
Two of the ten houses were being used as the Marlowe Trading Company Sakura Branch, which was already open for business.
Four were temporary lodgings for the maids, and the carpenters were sharing the remaining four.
The other workers were sleeping together in the large tent I had prepared.
Apparently, sleeping outdoors was normal for this kind of work, so they were grateful simply to have shelter from the rain and wind.
When sleeping outdoors, they could apparently end up soaked through by the overnight dew.
The log houses had been modified for use as residences, with kitchens and toilets installed.
The sewage followed this world's system: it was collected temporarily and purified with Water Stones.
The purified sewage flowed into the lake through PVC pipes buried underground.
I had provided the PVC pipes, but installing them with this world's technology would have taken even more time.
Once the town grew larger, we would probably need a proper sewer system, at which point they would likely install the same kind used in other cities.
I searched Shangri-La for earthen pipes, but they were not for sale.
Cement was available, so it was not impossible to manufacture concrete pipes, but—
I would think of something when the time came.
The sugarcane fields were somewhat far from the residences, but as the population grew, domestic wastewater would increase, so we might have to consider moving them.
Well, we would decide based on the water quality.
Once construction of the log houses was complete, the carpenters began building a sawmill.
They planned to build it near the river flowing from the waterfall and use the lumber produced there to supply construction materials for the town.
The surrounding forest was full of trees that could be made into lumber.
Building a sawmill here would make it easier to gather materials for constructing houses.
Once the sawmill was producing materials, construction of my mansion could finally begin.
While observing the sawmill's construction with Julius, I asked him about this world's customs.
"Julius, when a territory is established in a place with absolutely nothing, how do they build the mansion and everything else?"
"It is unusual for a territory to be established in a place with truly nothing, like this one."
Normally, a noble was sent to a place where development had progressed to some extent and people had gathered, and that place became a territory.
The lord would use the buildings already there to create a lord's mansion.
"So they don't just get dumped in the middle of an empty wasteland and told that they've become a lord?"
"Normally, no. There would not be any residents, after all."
"That makes sense."
There was the village of Santanka here, so under normal circumstances, this place would apparently be about the size of a barony.
"Even so, if they wanted to build a mansion, they would have to transport the materials all the way here?"
"That is correct. It would be easy with your iron summoned beast, Kenichi-sama, but normally it would be a major undertaking."
"Hearing that makes me think that even the Northpole Barony my acquaintance established must be struggling."
"Well, any newly established territory must struggle. Except this one, of course."
"Haha, this place is close to Astrantia and in a good location, after all."
I was already looking forward to seeing what kind of mansion would be built.
During construction, I planned to help transport heavy materials and such, but for the most part, I intended to leave it to the carpenters and workers.
This was public works too.
In the evening, the Marlowe Trading Company branch closed, and the employees rode back to Astrantia in Akira's truck.
In their place, Primula returned by bicycle.
Now that the road went straight through, she could reach the town from the settlement in about twenty minutes by bicycle.
The road passed through the forest, but Nyaresa the beastwoman was accompanying her as a bodyguard, so there was probably no need to worry.
While the road was under construction, Marlowe-san—my father-in-law—came from Dalia.
Primula explained that she had ended up becoming my secondary wife, but Marlowe-san did not care at all—
Just as Primula had said, he was overjoyed that my becoming a noble had made him part of the upper class.
On top of that, my principal wife was royalty. He had become related to people of exalted status.
Even though Lilith and Amaranthus had left the royal family, they still had influence with the royals.
There was no stronger connection for a merchant. Naturally, he was delighted.
In fact, Marlowe-san and Primula were capable enough to make full use of that connection.
It was like giving an ogre a club, Benkei a naginata, or a tiger wings.
In game terms, our buffs had been stacked to the maximum.
"Primula, you could have Akira take you back in one of his vehicles."
By one of Akira's vehicles, I meant his truck or SUV.
"No. This is fun, so this is fine."
Apparently, she was trying to imitate this off-road bike and somehow turn it into a product for the Marlowe Trading Company, but that was going to be difficult.
"It would be rather difficult to make one by imitating this."
"Exactly. Especially this chain!"
She was pointing at the chain. Making one with this world's technology would be difficult.
It might be possible with metalworking techniques and the like, but the chain would end up more expensive than precious metals.
"It doesn't have to use a chain. Gears could transmit power, and a leather belt might work too."
I took a sketchbook from my Item Box and drew diagrams of a gear drive and a shaft drive.
"...That's it! I'll return to Astrantia right now and—"
"Wait. It's already evening. Wouldn't it be dangerous to head back now?"
"I understand..."
She was usually calm, but her enthusiasm for business could sometimes make her lose sight of everything around her.
"Someone has also asked me to sell them this draisine."
"It wouldn't be right to sell something that we couldn't repair if it broke. And it's expensive."
"Exactly."
Selling expensive goods and then abandoning the buyer would damage the company's reputation.
A large merchant house planning to expand into the royal capital could not be blinded by short-term profits.
While Primula and I were discussing the bicycle's construction, we heard the high-pitched sound of a two-stroke engine.
Akira arrived wearing a helmet.
When he was alone, he often traveled by motorcycle like this.
His Item Box held an SUV, but a truck would not fit in it, so he apparently parked the truck on the Marlowe Trading Company's grounds.
"Kenichi! I came to hang out!"
Akira took off his helmet, which I had sold him as well.
This was another world, so there were no traffic laws, but motorcycles were dangerous vehicles.
You had to assume that falling without a helmet would kill you. Even with cheat abilities, hitting your head could still be fatal.
Though the Blessing had made us somewhat tougher than ordinary humans, we had to avoid deliberately putting our bodies in danger.
"You're welcome to come hang out, but what about Reiran-san and the others?"
"It's fine, it's fine. No problem, no problem."
I had no idea what he meant by "no problem," but I could hardly interfere in his family affairs.
According to him, Reiran-san was planning to open a shop in Astrantia with the Marlowe Trading Company's assistance.
"A shop? If a beauty like her is the proprietor, it'll be full of curious men."
"Apparently, she plans to make it more like a members-only shop without putting up a sign."
"I see—so unless you have some sort of item, you can't find the entrance, or the door opens with a password?"
"Something like that."
I wanted to visit it.
I might even be able to obtain some of the magical items and grimoires she possessed.
The maids made soup, so we had that for dinner.
Since I provided dashi stock granules, seasonings, and the like, it tasted similar to the food we usually ate.
As usual, we ate dinner and took a bath.
As for the bath—the number of workers and laborers had increased, so it was no longer possible to bathe outdoors—
I bought another container house and used it as a bathhouse.
These container houses were extremely convenient for creating temporary living spaces.
I had initially avoided them because they did not feel much like a slow life, but we had passed the point where I could worry about that.
We had to make full use of anything convenient.
The fact that things like this kept appearing was why Julius told me, "This place is different from other territories."
Orange light from the campfires the workers were burning could be seen here and there.
It was incredibly lively, with laughter and other sounds drifting through the air.
It was a little sad that we could no longer enjoy a slow life beside a quiet lakeshore...
------◇◇◇------
—Several days after the road opened.
I gazed at the glittering surface of the lake and the untouched forest stretching across the opposite shore.
The opposite shore was green, so there was certainly a forest there, but no one had ever visited that land.
Even when I asked the people of Santanka, no one had been there, and Nyamena, who had lived in Astrantia, had never heard of anyone going there either.
Nyamena loved gathering rumors in taverns, so if even she had never heard of it, then no one had truly been eccentric enough to go there.
My job as the lord was to survey this enormous lake by going all the way around it.
I had to turn an eccentric undertaking that no one else would attempt into action and circle the lake.
I would make a rough survey of what could be seen from the cliffs and estimate the outer circumference.
Assuming the lake was more or less circular, I estimated its circumference at about 150 to 200 kilometers.
If I could survey about twenty kilometers a day, I could finish in ten days, but this was unexplored territory, and I had no idea what monsters might be there.
Before setting out, I gathered everyone in the family and explained the plan.
"I'm going to survey the lake by going all the way around it. Apparently, no one has ever been there, so we don't know what might be waiting for us. I'm not forcing anyone to come, so anyone who doesn't feel like it can stay here."
"What? Husband, are you still saying things like that?"
"Yeah, nya."
"But surveying is such an unglamorous job."
"That's fine. Don't worry about details like that."
"Nyaa!"
Myaaree thrust her fist into the air.
"I'm going too, of course."
"Yes. Anemone, I'm counting on you to come with me. We'd be in trouble without your magic."
"Mmph!"
Anemone pumped her fist, fired up and ready to go.
"Am I going too?"
It was Lilith who spoke up.
"What? Lilith, you should probably—"
"What did you say?! Are you planning to leave me behind?"
"But Lilith, you won't be useful on an adventure, will you?"
Anemone delivered a merciless retort. I could not say it aloud, but she was absolutely right.
"Grrr."
Anemone and Lilith began glaring at each other in front of me.
"No, Lilith. It really will be quite dangerous."
"I understand that!"
Since she still wanted to go despite that, I gave in.
"Then I shall go too..."
"No, Amaranthus. You need to stay here and direct the development work."
"No! Holy Knight-sama!"
Amaranthus leaned into me insistently, but we would be in trouble if she did not handle her work here.
"If both Amaranthus and I leave, there will be no one here to give everyone instructions."
Well, I could ask Julius to do it, but...
"Ugh..."
"Besides—weren't we going to build our country here, Amaranthus? There are no fussy royals or nobles here to get in our way. You can put your abilities to full use."
"Y-yes! We were going to build a dazzling golden country for the two of us, Holy Knight-sama!"
"That's right! A golden utopia so dazzling it eclipses the Empire and Republic—Shangri-La!"
"Ooooh!"
"So I'm counting on you while I'm away."
I hugged Amaranthus and patted her head. Since I was a middle-aged man, I also gave her rear a pat while I was at it.
Amaranthus's body looked slender, but holding her felt like wrapping rebar in cotton batting.
She was not fluffy, but she was perhaps as comfortable to hold as a beastwoman... though I could never tell her that.
"Ahh... As the Holy Knight-sama wills..."
Amaranthus accepted my explanation, to my relief.
Kanan was peeking at this farce from behind the container house like the sister from Giant ○ Star—
"Holy Knight-sama, I have important work for Kanan, so please leave her to me."
"Amaranthus, please. I can't think of any work to give her."
"Kanan is well connected in high society. I will have her use those connections to gather information among the nobles."
"I see—that's a job I never would have thought of."
I called Kanan over.
"Kenichi..."
"I can't take you on the survey, but Amaranthus has an important job for you. Will you do it?"
"Y-yes! Leave it to me!"
Seeing Kanan's bright expression filled me with guilt.
I had always talked about putting people in jobs suited to their abilities, but I had failed to recognize Kanan's talents and treated her as useless. I regretted it.
"Kanan, I'm sorry. I couldn't think of a job to give you, even though you've been working so hard at all sorts of things."
"It's all right! I know I'm useless, haha."
"You have many connections in high society, so I'd like you to gather information among the nobles."
"Then leave it to me! I can use my mother too!"
"That's great."
"And..."
Kanan was wearing a strangely suggestive smile.
"What is it?"
"If it's for work, I can freely use those wonderful dresses and incredible accessories of yours that I've never seen before, right?"
"Sure, but I'm not giving them to you. I'm lending them to you."
"What's Kenichi's is practically mine too, right?"
I thought Amaranthus would be angry if she heard that, but she merely wore a solemn expression.
"Holy Knight-sama, we can use those things to win over nobles aligned with the royal faction."
"No, no, Amaranthus. We don't need to undermine anyone."
"Why not? It is necessary to build the country of Holy Knight-sama and me."
When she confronted me so directly, I could not deny it.
"Uh-oh..."
I had opened a can of worms. Given Amaranthus's personality, she would actually do it, and she would not listen even if I told her to stop.
"Kenichi is good at talking people around. I never expected even that mother to agree so easily..."
"I feel like I woke a sleeping dragon while trying to win her over. Besides, my ability with words doesn't even come close to Primula's."
Primula was here too, but I needed her to handle the territory's accounting as its financial officer.
"I'm sorry, Primula."
"No... I know I wouldn't be much help if I came along. Putting people in the right places—the territory's finances are a perfect fit for me."
"Exactly. This is something only you can do."
"Hehe... I'll expect a reward later."
With that, Primula hugged me.
This was not flattery; only she could do this job. I was basically hopeless with money and handled everything by rough estimates.
I could have asked Akira, who had bookkeeping qualifications, but although I trusted him, it would still be safer to leave it to a family member.
Amaranthus as administrative officer and Primula as financial officer: they were Hamada Territory's strongest team.
In fact, many territories were apparently run by administrative and financial officers, with the lord serving as little more than a figurehead.
Well, even in my old world, many people said bureaucrats ran the country while politicians were merely decorative.
There were not many truly capable people around.
No—there should have been, but they seemed to remain buried in obscurity, sacrificed to connections and hereditary privilege.
It was no different in this world. Even when outstanding commoners remained buried, the system did not change, and the same cycle continued.
The entirely new Hamada Territory had emerged amid all that.
I hoped ambitious people eager to make their mark would gather here.
We had decided who would go on the survey.
Anemone, Lilith, two beastfolk, and me.
"Nyaa."
That was right—Bell, who had come over to my feet, would be coming too.
Next, we had to prepare our equipment for heading into unexplored territory.
First, we needed transportation. I had lent Akira the T Company's Pr○do I had been using, so I would buy another one.
I had enough money, so rather than another Pr○do, I would get the genuine La○kuru.
When I searched Shangri-La, I found a 100-series model with 100,000 kilometers on it for ¥2.3 million.
As usual, 100,000 kilometers on a diesel engine was barely past the break-in period.
There were no vehicle inspections in another world, so we did not need to worry about that.
"This one. Click."
A white vehicle dropped down with a heavy thud and bounced. The interior was upholstered in somewhat luxurious straw-colored leather.
It was supposed to seat seven, so that would secure enough seats for everyone.
It was one of the most standard vehicles in my old world. It should be able to withstand the harsh environment of another world.
"Husband! Is that a new summoned beast?"
"Nyaa! It's different from the usual one, nya."
"Yay!"
As I opened the doors to inspect the interior, Lilith leaned in to look too.
"Oh! This interior is exceptionally splendid! It rivals the royal carriage, does it not?"
"The royal carriage is more lavish, isn't it?"
"It does use goldwork and such, so it is certainly luxurious, but..."
"Husband, are these leather seats?"
"Yes."
The beastfolk seemed interested in the leather seats.
Apparently, they rarely saw them in town. Come to think of it, even sofas were usually fabric-upholstered.
While I was checking the car, Lilith climbed into the passenger seat.
"Kenichi! Drive it!"
"Hold on. I'm still checking a few things."
"Husband, let's go!" "Nyaa!"
As usual, the beastfolk climbed into the third-row seats.
"You lot..."
Well, we did need to test-drive it. Anemone climbed into the seat behind me too.
"Then let's take it for a short drive."
I sat in the driver's seat and turned the key. The La○kuru from this era still used a key cylinder rather than a push button.
It started on the first try, and the diesel engine roared to life.
We had been producing biodiesel fuel continuously for the past month, so our fuel stores were plentiful.
After all, we had Akira, a walking oil field, so we could make as much fuel as we wanted.
As long as he was around, we would never run short of fuel.
Perhaps I should use an oil boiler for the bath in the mansion too...
Since it was automatic, I shifted it into D and set off.
We crossed the bridge we had built earlier and followed the lakeshore in the direction opposite Santanka.
The shore was flat the whole way, and the ground was firm from the water, making it easy to drive on.
I had ridden a motorcycle around this area several times, so I pressed down on the accelerator.
As the engine roared, the speedometer needle reached eighty kilometers per hour.
"Wha—what?! How fast!"
Lilith's eyes spun at the car's speed.
"Amazing!"
"Awesome! Is this about as fast as we can run at full speed?" "Yeah, nya."
The beastfolk were incredibly fast, but even they could not maintain a cruising speed of eighty kilometers per hour.
The engine and vehicle showed no problems even at that speed. This would be more than usable.
"I was thinking we'd drive around the lake along the water's edge like this."
"An adventure with Kenichi! I'm excited!"
Anemone was excited in the back seat, but we had no data on this land, so we had no idea what might appear.
"Anemone, monsters or creatures we've never seen before might show up, you know?"
"I'll be fine as long as I'm with Kenichi."
"Well, Anemone's right." "Yeah, nya."
I was happy that they trusted me, but still...
When I returned from the test drive, Akira was there.
"Whoa! Is that a La○kuru?!"
Akira shouted when he saw the new white vehicle.
"Pretty nice, right?"
"A 100-series. Though the old 70-series is tempting too..."
"If it broke down here, repairs would be difficult. I can't use something like that as a hobby."
"Can't you make replacement parts with your magic, Kenichi?"
"I can make some things, but if I needed to repair it, I'd bring out a parts car and cannibalize it."
Shangri-La sold used car parts and aftermarket parts too, so simple repairs might be possible.
The La○kuru was especially popular, and vehicles like it had plenty of used and aftermarket parts available.
With a less common vehicle, finding parts would be a nightmare.
"Akira, we're going to survey the lake and inspect the territory, so we'll be away for a while starting tomorrow."
"Okay! How many days?"
"I estimate the circumference at around 150 to 200 kilometers, so we should be able to circle it in ten to fifteen days..."
"What if the lake is larger than expected?"
"From what we can see from the cliffs, I don't think the estimate will be too far off."
I had given Akira plenty of biodiesel fuel for the truck and SUVs.
There should be no problems with the work even while I was gone.
"Are you sure the surveying will be all right?"
Akira's concern was understandable.
"We'll probably be fine."
Even in the Edo period of my old world, there had been notable figures who made impressive maps using nothing but primitive tools.
I had the tools of civilization that came out of Shangri-La.
We were fully prepared, so we decided to leave tomorrow morning.