We're Heading to the Royal Capital!

We drove Sogaram, a thug of a merchant who had preyed on the viscount's territory and repeatedly harassed Primula's shop, out of Astrantia.

Though he was a corrupt merchant, he apparently treated his family surprisingly well and doted on his children.

Now that I knew about his wife and children—his weak point—I doubted he would try to retaliate.

At the viscountess's request, since she often visited my house, we decided to build a bridge over the river along the way.

The river wasn't particularly wide, so we planned to span it with a ten-meter log.

We would use the rocks and earth left over from breaking up the cliff to build foundations on both banks.

For that, we needed a way to transport the rocks and earth. If I carried it back and forth with Ko○tsu-san, each load would be small, and it would take too much time and fuel.

There was no choice but to buy some new heavy machinery.

I searched Shangri-La—and found an M○tsubishi dump truck. There were all sorts of dump trucks, depending on their intended use.

Some were marked as unsuitable for carrying earth and gravel, so it would be better to buy one that could handle them.

It had 700,000 kilometers on it—rusty and battered, but it would be fine as long as it ran. In exchange, it was cheap at 3.5 million yen—or so it seemed.

I had never bought a dump truck before. But from what I'd heard, a new one would cost more than ten million yen.

The vehicle inspection alone probably cost around a million yen too. Well, inspections weren't relevant in another world.

If it broke, I would just have to buy a new one.

"Click."

A large dump truck with ten huge tires appeared with an earth-shaking rumble.

I climbed into my new partner and started the engine—the fuel was fine. I shifted into first and slowly drove over to Ko○tsu-san, then stopped.

This time, I used Ko○tsu-san to load rocks and earth into the dump truck. What a one-man civil engineering operation.

"Amazing!"

"It's incredible, nya! Kenichi could build a castle all by himself, nya!"

The beastfolk were having a great time atop the dump truck's bed.

"Hey! I'm going to unload the earth, so get out of the way!"

"Nya? How do we unload it, nya?"

I pressed a button beneath the steering wheel and pulled the lever to the right of the driver's seat, and the bed began to rise slowly.

A huge amount of earth slid down from the bed, which had become a ramp.

"This is an amazing summoned beast too, nya!"

I was driving the dump truck normally, but if I wanted to save fuel, I could move it in and out of my Item Box myself.

Once I had unloaded the earth at both ends of the bridge, I leveled it with Yu○bo's blade to make ramps, then drove the dump truck over them to compact them.

I spread gravel I had bought from Shangri-La over the ramps to improve their durability.

Finally, I walked into the middle of the river, took the ten-meter log out of my Item Box, and laid it across the river as a bridge.

All that remained was to attach boards, but Shangri-La didn't sell any suitable ones. So I decided to use a lumber shop in Astrantia.

There was no need to hide my abilities anymore, so I rode the off-road bike straight into the city. I could just tell them it was a magic-powered draisine and talk my way out of it.

After storing the bike in my Item Box, I called out to an employee.

"I'm looking for some boards. Could you show me what kinds you have?"

"Around back, please."

A man wearing white apron-like work clothes with a cloth wrapped around his head came to assist me.

In a roofed, wall-less warehouse, all sorts of lumber stood lined up, packed tightly together.

They must have been storing and drying the wood at the same time. I might have seen a similar sight at a home improvement store in my original world.

I bought thick boards thirty centimeters wide and about three meters long. Each one cost two small square silver coins (10,000 yen).

The prices weren't all that different from Shangri-La's. They might even have been cheaper.

"How many do you need?"

"For now, I'll take all the ones over there."

I bought around fifty boards—two gold coins and two silver coins. I had to shop in the city occasionally and put some of my gold coins back into circulation.

According to the employee, they also arranged for carpenters here, but this wasn't a job worth hiring professionals for. All I had to do was nail the boards to the bridge.

On the way back, I stopped by Primula's stall to show my face. In contrast to the busy Primula, her guard Nyamena seemed to have become completely bored.

She stood behind the shop with her arms folded, yawning widely.

Since the shop had become part of the Marrow Trading Company and we had expelled the corrupt merchant Sogaram, the market had become completely peaceful.

"Nyamena, you look bored."

"No one would dare cause trouble at a shop run by the wife of a mage who can control an iron summoned beast like that."

"I suppose not."

Word had gotten around the city about various things, and it seemed to be serving as a deterrent.

Even when I went to the Adventurers' Guild, people often approached me and asked me to tell them about it.

Besides, I hadn't defeated the bandits by myself. The baron had been there, as had the old mage, and the beastfolk had helped too.

The spice syndicate run by Astrantia's merchants had also been dissolved, so spices were now sold normally in the city.

Since they were available at reasonable prices, people apparently came from neighboring Dalia and Akimenes to buy them in bulk.

Even if merchants from other cities wanted to exert pressure, the lord was backing us, and once they knew that the mage who had defeated the heinous Shaga was here, they couldn't lay a hand on us.

Eventually, spice sales in Dalia and Akimenes would probably fall, forcing them to lower their prices too.

If that happened, spicy cuisine might become even more popular. The beastfolk, who loved spicy food, would be delighted.

When I got home, I took the boards out of my Item Box and had Myaree, who was strong, line them up.

"Should I line them all up, nya?"

Myaree effortlessly lifted the boards and swung them around over her head. They probably weighed more than thirty kilograms each.

"Put these scraps between the boards and line them up at equal intervals, leaving gaps between them."

By leaving gaps too narrow for a human leg to fall through, we could save on boards.

Then I took a nail gun and a high-pressure compressor out of my Item Box and drove in nail after nail.

The sound of pounding boards echoed through the forest.

"At this rate, Kenichi and his summoned beasts can do everything by themselves, nya."

"But it would be hard for me to lift boards like these by myself."

Just carrying thirty-kilogram boards around would leave me exhausted. Heavy machinery wasn't suited to delicate work like this, either.

"Could you build a castle too, nya?"

"I wonder."

"Kenichi's summoned beasts could beat a golem, nya."

"A golem..."

According to Myaree, golems were used for large construction projects, serving a role like heavy machinery.

I had never seen one in Dalia or Astrantia, but apparently only high-ranking mages could use them, so they were rarely used in the frontier regions.

Apparently, the nation also had to grant permission before a golem could be activated.

If I used Ko○tsu-san to build a castle, there was an attachment called a grabber that worked like a magic hand.

I might be able to grab stones and stack them with it, but the stones would still need to be cut, and we would need manpower after all.

Still, there was no doubt that it would speed up the construction work.

Since I was using a nail gun, I finished nailing everything down in no time, and the bridge was complete.

"The bridge is finished in just one day, nya!"

It was three meters wide, and I had made the ramps leading up to it fairly long, so even large carriages should have no trouble crossing.

Apparently, the river's source was a spring in the forest, so it didn't seem likely to flood.

Myaree demonstrated a series of backflips on the completed bridge. There were gaps between the boards, though—was that really safe?

――But apparently it was.

Bell came over too and sniffed repeatedly at the corners of the bridge and the log.

Still, if Bell crossed this bridge and went to the village of Santanka, would the residents become wary?

They should know that I kept a Forest Cat, at least. There were beastfolk in that village too, so it would probably be fine.

------◇◇◇------

――The next day.

The grass I had cut while treasure hunting had remained in my Item Box, so I decided to make compost.

First, I dug a hole with Yu○bo. Then I chopped up the cut grass with a guillotine cutter and put it into the hole.

I added all the fallen leaves, scraps, and other waste gathered during cleaning, then covered it with earth and mixed it with Yu○bo.

Once it fermented and began giving off steam, I could mix it again with the heavy machinery.

I washed the dirt-covered bucket in the river, splashing it clean. Then Anemone could dry it with her magic.

"Dry!"

The black, wet bucket of the Yu○bo quickly dried white before my eyes.

"Magic sure is convenient..."

I wished I could use even simple magic—but not even the most basic Household Magic reacted to me.

Still, being able to use Shangri-La was already more than enough of a cheat, so perhaps I was asking for too much.

While I was doing that and harvesting the cabbage and other vegetables that had grown large in the field, a white carriage apparently crossed the newly completed bridge and arrived.

That was probably the viscount's carriage. He had come right away.

I didn't really want to have much to do with him, but I couldn't exactly avoid it.

When the carriage stopped, the viscountess climbed down, rustling her white dress.

"Kenichi-dono! You already built the bridge?"

"Yes. It was finished in one day."

"Was this the power of your summoned beasts too...?"

"Well, we do have some strong beastfolk in the household."

"Kanan, we didn't come here to discuss that today."

The viscount climbed down from the carriage door behind her. The viscount was as unremarkable as ever.

"That's right."

I led the now-formal couple to the front of the house and brought out a table and chairs.

It was just about lunchtime, so I served them the soup I had made that morning, along with bread from Shangri-La and milk.

Perhaps the viscountess was interested in the soft-looking bread. She picked up a piece, tore it off, and put it in her mouth.

"Mmph! What wonderfully soft bread!"

Perhaps influenced by his wife, the viscount took a bite of the bread too.

"Good heavens! It really is soft! And sweet! ...No, that isn't why we came. We have an important matter to discuss today."

"What is it? Has another problem come up?"

"I am terribly sorry!!"

The viscount suddenly bent forward and rubbed his forehead against the tabletop. The viscountess bowed her head beside him too...

"I have no idea what to make of this. You can't just suddenly bow your heads to me like that, Your Lordship."

"This is the reason!"

The viscount held out a rolled-up sheet of paper. It was brown paper—probably parchment.

"May I read it?"

"Of course."

"Uh... 'To Lord Garam de Eupatorium, Lord of the Eupatorium Viscountcy. Send the person known as Mage Kenichi, currently staying in your territory, to the royal capital immediately. King Ranan Culas Kadan.'"

A red wax seal depicting a long-tailed bird spreading its large wings had been stamped in the lower right corner.

So this was the Kingdom of Kadan—I was learning that only now. Everyone had always just called it the kingdom.

I couldn't exactly ask them about it, either...

"Is this—could this be a summons directly from His Majesty the King?"

"That is correct. I am truly sorry to our great benefactor, Kenichi-dono, but we cannot defy a royal edict from His Majesty."

"Well, the nobility is a hierarchical society, after all. Orders from above are absolute."

"Exactly!"

Commands were absolute and rules were everywhere—there was a song like that, wasn't there?

"What if I ran away from here...?"

"That would be a serious problem! We could be accused of allowing you to escape or hiding you after defying the royal edict—and in the worst case, it might be considered treason."

"I suppose so."

It was a nuisance, but I had no grudge against the viscount and his wife. Still, rumors really did travel a thousand leagues despite there being no mass media at all.

Or perhaps someone was trying to destroy the viscount's territory... But I didn't want to get involved in something like that.

――Even so, I couldn't ignore a summons from the king.

"Understood. I will head to the royal capital."

"You understand? After you saved my territory, I am truly sorry that things have come to this!"

The viscount bent over the table again.

Well, it couldn't be helped. Some things simply couldn't be avoided.

According to the viscount, this letter sent by His Majesty the King would serve as a travel permit.

After all, it bore the real king's wax seal. It was probably like Mito Komon's seal case.

"Kenichi-dono! Once your business in the royal capital is finished, will you return here?"

"Kanan-sama—I am very fond of this place. Once my business is finished, I will return here with my house."

"I see..."

The viscountess looked relieved. I had wondered what I would do if she said she wanted to come with me, but at least she seemed to have some sense of propriety.

"Actually, I would like to go with you too—hint, hint."

"Don't give me those pointed looks. Honestly, what are you thinking?"

"Yes, yes. Obviously, it wouldn't do for a married woman to take a long trip with another man."

"I wouldn't mind at all."

Good grief, this viscount... Besides, as the viscountess, members of the royal family would surely know her face.

She was probably famous, since she even called herself the Flower of the Frontier.

If she traveled with me, people would speculate about our relationship... Was that what she was aiming for?

"In that case!"

"No!"

I stopped the viscountess, who was leaning toward me, with both hands.

I wanted nothing to do with looking after a sheltered lady and dealing with the trouble she might cause when I didn't even know what awaited us.

Though, in terms of not knowing this world, I was in the same boat.

She would only be a burden, and what would I do if she got injured or sick?

Naturally, I refused.

――That night.

We all sat on the bed and held a meeting to discuss our plans.

"So, I'm going to the royal capital. What are all of you going to do?"

"I'm coming with you!"

"I'm your wife, so of course I'm going."

"I'm obviously coming. You weren't planning to leave me behind, were you?"

"Of course I'm going, nya!"

"Nya."

Even Bell, who was beside the bed, answered.

"You could leave the house here, live here, and wait for me, you know."

"We were talking about going on an adventure with Kenichi, remember!"

"Boss, don't be such a stranger."

"I see—then I'll have to put the house, scaffolding, and everything else back into my Item Box and prepare to leave."

"Nya!"

Bell jumped onto the bed and rubbed against my face.

She had a Guild registration tag, so it should be fine for a Forest Cat to go to the royal capital, right?

------◇◇◇------

――The next day.

After we all ate breakfast, I began storing the house, treehouse, and all the other facilities I had built in my Item Box one after another.

Of course, I stored the scaffolding and solar panels too.

"Heh, being able to bring along the house we've gotten used to living in sure is convenient."

Nyamena stood with her arms folded, watching me store everything.

"That's why I deliberately made it a small house."

"We could stack small houses on top of one another and make a big house, nya."

"That would work too."

If we built a house out of prefab-like blocks, we could put it into the Item Box piece by piece.

"Modular construction—that's a good idea."

"Modu...what?"

Anemone tilted her head at the unfamiliar word.

"Nothing. Just something I was saying to myself."

I tried searching Shangri-La for prefabs, but apparently it didn't sell them.

If Shangri-La had sold prefabs, I wouldn't have needed to build a kit house. I hadn't even thought of prefabs until Myaree mentioned them.

I could put the bridge I had just built into my Item Box too, but there was no need to take it with me.

For example, if we came to a river without a bridge, I could put the car into my Item Box, cross myself, and take the car out again on the opposite bank.

For a small river, I had several logs in my Item Box that I could use instead.

Since we might be away for a while, I harvested the vegetables from the field too. After that, the field would simply be left unattended, but it couldn't be helped.

I took the car—the La○d Cruiser P○ado—out of storage, and we all climbed in.

Under another world's sky, the engine started on the first try and ran perfectly today too.

We crossed the newly built bridge, passed a carriage traveling along the road, and arrived at the city.

We went straight down the main street and continued through the East Gate. Since there was no bypass around Astrantia, this was the only route.

We drove slowly through the crowds, but people who noticed the horseless car came over to see it.

"Mage-sama, are you heading out?"

I had become famous in the city too. The beastfolk who spotted Bell inside the car began to pray.

"The king summoned me, so I'm heading to the royal capital."

"What?! The king?! Isn't that a huge promotion?"

The people passing by began to murmur after hearing what I said.

"It would be, if that were what this was about. Besides, I'm not interested in advancement or taking a government post."

"What are you talking about? What a waste!"

In this world, rising in society meant becoming a civil servant—in other words, taking an official position through government service.

That was why people couldn't believe what I said.

"Anyway, I plan to come straight back once my business is finished."

"Really?" "I can't believe it." "What a waste of such an opportunity..."

It wasn't as though I had been offered a government post. For all I knew, once I got there, it might turn out to be some rotten assignment.

"Boss, these people have a point. If this really is an offer of a government post, it would be a shame to refuse, nya."

"The letter didn't say anything like that. Maybe some noble or royal simply summoned me on a whim for their amusement."

"That is entirely possible."

Primula, who knew nobles well, said it was a plausible scenario.

"Well, that's true."

"But if the king is calling you, you have to hear him out, nya."

"Exactly. I can't ignore him. But if I took a government post, I wouldn't be able to play with all of you anymore. Would you be all right with that, Nyamena?"

"Well... If you became a government official, you might not be able to play with beastfolk anymore, but..."

Nyamena fell silent, looking dejected.

"Don't worry. That won't happen."

We continued driving slowly as we talked, but there was one place we needed to stop before leaving the city: the clothing shop where I had ordered Anemone's robe and Primula's jacket.

Since the fabric was being made from thread, it would take time. We didn't know how long we would be gone before returning from the royal capital, so it was better to let the shop know.

I parked the car in front of the shop and went inside alone.

"Oh, the royal capital?"

As when I had visited before, the female shopkeeper was wearing a brightly colored dress with a deeply plunging neckline.

"I don't know how long I'll be gone. Once the robe and jacket are finished, could you hold on to them for me?"

"Certainly."

"If you need a storage fee, I'll pay it."

"No, you have already paid me more than enough for sewing such fine-quality robes and jackets, so that will not be necessary."

"All right, then. Please take care of it."

"Leave it to me."

I left the shop and resumed driving slowly down the main street. Then we passed through the crowds and exited through the East Gate.

For now, we had to pass the site where we had built the irrigation canal and head for the neighboring city of Akimenes.

The neighboring city was about 200 kilometers away. Even driving safely at around sixty kilometers per hour, we would arrive in a little over three hours, so we'd get there before noon.