Chapter 12
#12. The Monster Grand Duke
"Heave-ho!"
"Hey! Set it down carefully over there!"
Under a small sun, more than a hundred laborers moved like ants in perfect unison.
A short distance from the construction site, Princess Eleanor was casting a spell with her hands clasped as if in prayer. Her platinum-blond hair glowed with mana.
She was nothing short of a goddess.
"Phew… That should do it."
"I never knew you could use magic like this, Eleanor. Is there anything you cannot do?"
Among the mages at the Grand Duke's castle, none possessed sun mana.
All they could teach the princess was basic mana manipulation and theory.
In other words, that incredible magic was something Eleanor had researched and developed herself.
"It's because you appreciate my magic, Your Grace. I like whatever you like, too. So I intend to keep loving magic and developing it further."
"You must be a genius. I must be the most blessed husband in the world."
"Ah… I'm embarrassed with the retainers watching us, Your Grace."
Eleanor covered her reddened cheeks with both hands. Kylan merely shrugged shamelessly, without a care for the eyes around them.
"Ho ho. They're only looking because you're so charming. That's hardly my fault."
"Ahem!"
"Ehem! Hm! Hm!"
Knight Commander Cedric, the retainers, and the laborers, who had been watching that display of affection from right beside them, all began clearing their throats as if they could no longer stand it.
"Oh dear, that lumber over there collapsed! I'd better run over there!"
"Commander! The ground's acting strange here!"
The retainers, cringing from the display, made themselves scarce, naturally leaving the two of them alone.
"By the way, Eleanor."
"Yes, Your Grace."
"How long will this magic last?"
"I fixed the spell formation in the air, so it will continue until morning even if I am not nearby."
Her words made Kylan's eyes widen.
"Amazing… Even so, I can't keep making you go through this every time."
"Please do not worry too much. Once the spell formula is fully worked out, I should be able to work with the magic workshops to produce scrolls. Someday, everyone will be able to light up the darkness."
Of course, even if it could be made into scrolls, the quantity produced would be extremely limited. The sun mana needed to make them would be absolutely scarce.
Even so, Kylan could not help being astonished.
'My goodness… My wife just developed the Empire's first illumination flare.'
Whenever Kylan forgot that Eleanor was the genius heroine of a novel, she reminded him of her worth by excelling in all sorts of fields like this.
Heave-ho!
"Everyone, take it slow!"
The small sun the princess had launched into the sky served more than merely illuminating the night.
Its warm sunlight warmed the Northern night air and even thawed the frozen ground, making it easier to swing pickaxes.
Even the princess's special soup, served to the workers whenever she had a spare moment, filled their bellies, sending their work speed to absurd levels.
Of course, the fact that the Grand Duke and Grand Duchess kept wandering around the construction site under the pretext of taking a walk was another reason their pace never slowed.
No laborer was foolhardy enough to slack off while their employer stood behind them with folded arms, watching.
"Ahem."
Kylan glanced around, then gently wrapped an arm around Eleanor's waist.
"The laborers will feel uncomfortable if we stay too long, so shall we start making ourselves scarce? What do you think?”
The wicked Northern Grand Duke's mentality: shove the foreign adventurers and retainers into a hellish night shift, then clock out and flirt with his pretty wife!
But what could he do? Kylan was the North's undisputed big shot.
"These past few days, we've had so little time together because we've been buried in approval documents. At the very least, tonight, just the two of us…"
At Kylan's whisper, Eleanor lowered her head and gave a shy nod. Steam practically rose from the crown of her head.
Kylan was inwardly cheering as he tried to lead her away from the site.
Klaaaang!
A scream rang out from the area where they were working on the ground.
"Ah! My wrist! What kind of rock is harder than steel?!"
"It's frozen solid… This is…! It looks like a permafrost bedrock layer…!"
Viscount Argen came running over with a grim expression to report to Kylan.
A massive bedrock formation was sitting where the building's foundation was supposed to go. Unless they dealt with it, construction would have to stop.
"Even the knights' aura won't be enough. They'll all be exhausted before they can break through the bedrock!"
Expert-class knights who could channel aura through their swords were valuable assets even in the North.
Kylan was grateful that they had followed him this far, but he could not let them waste their stamina on a lump of stone like this.
Eleanor looked troubled as she gazed up at Kylan.
"Your Grace… If I concentrate while drawing my mana out to its limit, I think I can melt that bedrock layer."
It was easier said than done; this was not a task that could be finished as easily as heating a pizza bun in a microwave.
Eleanor might have to work through the night at the site.
She looked terribly apologetic, as though she had no choice but to turn down Kylan's proposal that they spend the night cuddling together.
Kylan gave a bitter smile.
'How dare that damned lump of rock try to ruin our precious time together as a married couple?'
"Do you know what they called me in the North before I became known as a hopeless romantic?"
"Th-that would be…"
The Monster Grand Duke.
The Sword Master.
The Demon of the Battlefield.
Kylan took off the heavy fur coat draped over his shoulders and handed it to Cedric. Then he drew his partner, Frost Fang.
Shing!
"Eleanor. Want to give it a try with me?"
"Yes, Your Grace! I'll help."
The workers and knights stopped what they were doing and focused their attention on the Grand Duke and Grand Duchess's joint effort.
The first to extend both hands was Eleanor.
As a concentrated torrent of sun mana poured forth, steam rose from the surface of the bedrock, which was as hard as steel.
While waiting for the heat to cool somewhat, Kylan had Eleanor move farther away.
Now, all he had to do was swing his sword, as always.
At least among the problems unfolding before his eyes, there was still no problem Kylan could not solve with a swing of his sword.
Frost Fang, wreathed in blue aura, slammed into the enormous bedrock.
KABOOOOM!!
The ground shook as though an earthquake had struck, and the bedrock shattered.
Even so, only a few stones flew out of the pit.
It was a truly divine sword strike—the pinnacle of aura control.
"Gasp…!"
"As expected of His Grace the Grand Duke!!"
When the cloud of dust cleared, revealing the shattered bedrock, the retainers, who had been staring in stunned silence, cheered.
As the thunderous applause continued, Hans, a gold-rank adventurer who had made a name for himself, lightly jumped down into the pit.
"What are you all doing!? His Grace cut the rocks into pieces just the right size to lift!"
When Hans shouted, the Northern residents roared and began rushing into the pit.
"Long live His Grace the Grand Duke!"
The rough Northern men effortlessly lifted the huge chunks of rock Kylan had sliced apart, treating them like sandbags, and tossed them out of the pit.
Thud! Boom!!
It was the result of combining the boost from the princess's special food with their monstrously strong physiques.
The Southern mercenaries watching the scene from a distance were utterly aghast.
"Those fucking monsters…"
"B-Big brother. Just come over here. Don't make eye contact with them."
"Yeah… Let's quietly carry gravel instead…"
After confirming that the site was bustling again, Kylan sheathed Frost Fang and took Eleanor's hand.
"There, now that the obstacle's out of the way, let's really clock out."
"Yes, Your Grace. Hehe."
***
Two months later.
The continental calendar said it was the height of summer, when the heat was at its fiercest. That made little difference in the North, however.
"Heh heh. Good. Very good."
Kylan arrived at the conference room first and looked out the window with a grin.
Over the past two months, the princess's new-city development plan had been smooth sailing.
It was a massive construction project that would have taken an ordinary territory half a year just to prepare the ground.
But Winterwald had already completed the foundation work perfectly and even finished putting up the frames of several hundred buildings.
It was the result of combining the princess's spell for lighting the night with the monstrous stamina of the Northern residents.
'Three times as fast as ordinary construction… No, it's almost four times as fast.'
All that remained was the finishing work: plastering the exterior walls, adding the roofs, and installing the windows.
'Once the buildings are finished, we can move in the merchants and milk them for rent and key money. At last, I'll have a comfortable old age as a landlord…!'
He was in an especially good mood.
Bang!
"Your Grace! This is a disaster!!"
The conference-room door burst open, and Count Lian, the trade official, rushed inside with his face drenched in sweat. He held a crumpled dispatch in his hand.
"What is it? You're making an uncharacteristic fuss."
"T-the wagons carrying shipments of construction materials from the Central Continent have all stopped at the Northern border!"
Kylan furrowed his brow.
"Isn't the promised date just around the corner?"
"The Central Merchant Coalition… has unilaterally notified us that they will not send a single item to the North unless we pay 50% more for the materials!"
"What!?"
Outraged, Kylan slammed his hand down on the table.
The nerve of them, looking down on the North—and on him, at that.
"Their excuse is plausible. The Central Continent has little leeway because of its conflict with the Holy Kingdom to the east, and sandworm swarms run rampant in summer, cutting off the supply routes in some places."
"What is the situation on the Southern Continent!?"
"Don't worry about the Southern Continent. I've become so close with the merchant lord there that we're even discussing becoming in-laws!"
"Well… At least you're earning your keep."
Lian's competence allowed Kylan to breathe a sigh of relief, but the situation was still deeply infuriating.
'These crazy bastards. Their timing is a work of art.'
Kylan immediately understood the merchant coalition's intentions.
They had waited until the North had raised all the building frames and collected hefty deposits from the future tenants.
[If you stop construction now, you'll have to pay the merchants breach-of-contract penalties and go bankrupt, right? So even if it's unfair, pay more and buy the materials.]
"What should we do, Your Grace!? If this continues, we may miss the completion date and a riot might break out…!"
"Phew. Calm down for now. What exactly are we short on?"
Count Lian trembled as he read through the ledger.
"The… biggest shortages are timber and lime mortar. We're also short on iron for making hinges and nails. As you know, the North is still lagging behind in industrial development…"
"Enough. Don't make a fuss."
Kylan cut him off.
"Y-yes… yes?"
"We can solve all of it ourselves, so don't worry."
The Central Merchant Coalition was badly mistaken.
Kylan had not imported materials from the Central Continent because the North was incapable of obtaining them.
He had simply paid to buy time so he could flirt and go on dates with his lovely princess.
And now they were pulling this stunt just because they had found a weakness?
"Lian."
"Yes, Your Grace!"
"Bring Sir Walter here at once. Those sheltered Central Continent softies are going to regret this deeply."
You want us to pay 50% more?
Don't come begging us to buy from you later.