Chapter 21
#21. If You're Going to Do It, Do It Properly
Luluen walked through the construction site of Winterwald's new city under the guidance of the Grand Duke and Grand Duchess.
Throughout the entire walk, she had to question her own eyes.
'No way... What on earth is this?'
It had not even been half a year since Eleanor had been sold off to the North as though she were being banished.
Yet right before her eyes, a massive new city was nearing completion, large enough for merchants to move in as early as tomorrow.
The sight of the city glittering beneath the light of the artificial sun floating in the night sky was truly spectacular.
The exterior of every building was suffused with a soft blue glow.
It was as though someone had carved an entire jewel into a house.
'Such beautiful buildings... You're saying these are really homes for mere adventurers?'
Luluen was seething inside.
She was already furious, but wherever they went on the construction site, the laborers' voices praising Eleanor tormented her ears.
"Hey! That's heavy! Carry it carefully!"
"Don't worry! Ever since Her Highness the Princess came, I've had strength to spare!"
"Well, after always filling our bellies with tasteless barley gruel, we're eating meat every day these days."
"No, but listen here. How long are you going to keep calling her Princess this and Princess that? She's unquestionably the mistress of the North now. You should call her Her Grace the Grand Duchess!"
It really was like that everywhere they went.
It was maddeningly tiresome.
"That's right. Thanks to the Grand Duchess, everyone's face is brighter."
"She drove out those leechlike nobles as soon as she arrived!"
"Those rotten officials lined their pockets so shamelessly that there must have been countless parents starving their children to death in this bitter winter!"
"If it weren't for Her Grace the Grand Duchess, we'd still be living like that. It was heaven's doing, truly."
Luluen's pace gradually slowed.
Behind her splendid fan, her lips trembled with jealousy.
"Hoho... To think my younger sister is so loved by the people. As her older sister, it makes me stand a little taller."
"How could she not be loved? Since she arrived, the territory's granaries have been filled, and the people have regained their health. We can only be profoundly grateful for His Majesty the Emperor's grace in sending us such an excellent wife."
Kylan openly wrapped an arm around Eleanor's waist.
Eleanor, too, shyly blushed and rested her head against Kylan's chest.
There was no more nauseating display of affection.
Luluen forced a smile and brought up the matter at hand.
"Hoho... I'm relieved to see that you two get along so well. But, Eleanor."
"Yes, Sister."
"I heard that construction material prices rose sharply because of the Sandworm disaster... Are you two managing all right?"
Luluen asked with a concerned expression.
Eleanor rested her head on her husband's shoulder.
Their physical affection was as natural as flowing water.
"I'm fine. I was at a loss and flustered at first... but His Grace resolved everything wonderfully for me."
As Eleanor gazed up at him with a rapturous expression, Kylan's eyes overflowed with adoration.
'That monster of a Grand Duke is thoroughly bewitched...! I need to be careful not to provoke him.'
"Then that's truly a relief. I can sleep peacefully now, Sister."
When Luluen cleared her throat, the man who had been following behind her while carefully reading the situation stepped forward.
It was Oliver, the Imperial architectural inspector.
"Ahem! Your Grace the Grand Duke, Your Grace the Grand Duchess. It is an honor to meet you. I am Oliver, Chief Architectural Inspector of the Imperial Ministry of Internal Affairs. Today, I have come to Winterwald by special imperial command."
"A special command?"
When Kylan glared at him, Oliver unfurled a sheet of fine parchment and continued.
"The continent's merchant guilds have invested substantial security deposits in Winterwald's new city. For the safety of the Empire's people and the protection of their property, conduct safety inspections on the buildings."
When Oliver finished speaking, Luluen spread her fan wide and gave him an affected smile.
"Hoho. I happened to run into these men on the way here. When they said they were going to inspect my dear younger sister's new city, I invited them into my carriage so we could go together."
Luluen made it clear that she had nothing to do with the inspection and had merely accompanied them by coincidence.
Kylan then spoke with an expression as though he were looking at someone pathetic.
It was impossible to tell exactly whom he was looking at.
Luluen wanted to believe it was not her.
“As you can see, the outer walls of the buildings have been reinforced with slime mucus, and the timber used for the supporting pillars has been processed from the corpses of Trients. You won't find buildings sturdier or safer than these anywhere you go.”
Oliver's expression twisted at Kylan's words.
"...... Pardon me, Grand Duke, but are you saying that every building currently under construction in the new city is like this?"
"Ever since that piece of trash named Günter dared to insult me, I've been making liberal use of this monster construction method."
Luluen was just as dumbfounded as Oliver.
'He lies like that without even batting an eye!'
Trient corpses?
They had the laborers processing monsters as hard as steel?
If they could use aura, they'd become adventurers or knights and rise in the world. Who would work at a construction site breathing dust?
Let alone slime?
Slimes were rare creatures; only a few were occasionally found in deep caves.
Obtaining enough mucus to coat every building in the new city would have been impossible even if they searched the entire continent.
Or was he trying to say they had discovered a slime cave straight out of a fairy tale?
Right at the very moment construction material supplies had been cut off?
'Aaaagh...! I'm going to explode!'
She knew perfectly well that he was lying, but she could not openly challenge him.
As Luluen gripped her fan and trembled, the quick-witted Oliver spoke up.
"To think you used materials so precious... It is truly astonishing. However, regulations are regulations... May I briefly inspect them?"
Kylan readily nodded.
"Very well. If you're going to do it, do it properly."
"Thank you, Your Grace. Then, if you'll excuse me…."
Oliver fumbled around inside his coat and pulled out a special hammer and chisel for inspectors.
However, just as Oliver was about to approach the building, Kylan suddenly grabbed him by the shoulder.
"Your Grace?"
"What could you possibly verify with that toy?"
Kylan's gaze passed over Oliver and settled on the escort knight standing behind Princess Luluen.
He was one of the elite knights the Empire was so proud of.
"At the very least, shouldn't it take a sword strike imbued with aura to determine the building's strength?"
"W-what do you mean by that... Ah! Haha...! As expected, Your Grace. Your sense of humor is the best in the North as well.”
Luluen also assumed that Kylan was joking.
How could a building meant for ordinary subjects to live in withstand a sword strike from an Imperial knight famed for possessing the Empire's highest level of skill?
It was an absurd proposal by any reasonable standard.
But Kylan's expression was serious.
"Would I be making jokes just to curry your favor?"
Kylan gestured with his chin toward the laborers working throughout the construction site.
"There happen to be plenty of the new city's building owners gathered here, so we might as well tell them to come and see for themselves how sturdy their buildings are."
"B-building owners...? Those scruffy laborers?"
"In the North, whenever our people work, we pay them their rightful due. We sell affordable occupancy permits to those who sweat to build houses, and lend the finest equipment to those willing to risk their lives fighting monsters. They are the true owners of this new city."
The moment Kylan finished speaking, Cedric, the commander of the knight order standing nearby, bellowed loudly.
"His Grace has given an order!! All personnel, stop what you're doing and assemble in the central plaza!"
Rumble!
At Cedric's single command, the laborers and adventurers stopped their work, set down their tools, and began streaming over.
In an instant, a crowd of more than a hundred people formed a circle around the Imperial delegation and the Grand Duke and Grand Duchess.
"What? The Imperial court sent a knight?"
"They're saying they're going to tear down the building we worked so hard to build? What did he call it? A safety inspection?"
"But can he actually break that?"
"He can't."
"Everyone! They say even Hans, who was promoted to Platinum rank yesterday, couldn't break it!"
"Then it can't be broken. Simple as that."
Adventurers appeared from all around and folded their arms, looking intrigued.
Luluen and the inspector felt cold sweat trickle down their backs.
By imperial custom, whenever someone came from the Imperial court, lowly commoners were supposed to prostrate themselves on the ground and tremble.
Yet these barbarians of the North seemed to have no regard for their own lives.
Even though they had been told that someone would destroy the homes they had built with their blood and sweat, they looked excited, as though they had come to watch a circus show performed by a traveling troupe.
"Come on. What are you waiting for? At this rate, dawn will break."
Kylan urged the escort knight on.
***
"Are you really sure this is all right, Grand Duke?"
Luluen's escort knight stepped forward with an expression of wounded pride.
Even though he was the Grand Duke of the North, wasn't he treating a bona fide elite Imperial knight like some circus performer?
Shing!
The escort knight drew his longsword with a sharp ringing sound.
"I'll say it one more time. If you're going to do it, do it properly. I won't hold you responsible even if the building is completely destroyed. Well, that won't happen."
Provoked by Kylan, the escort knight unleashed the aura he had kept hidden.
Even as red lightning crackled all around them, the laborers cheered with excitement.
"Ooh! It's aura!"
"At that level, he might at least put a crack in the wall, don't you think?"
"You don't know what you're talking about! Do you know how many slimes it took to coat this wall? I'll bet ten silver it won't even get scratched!"
"I'll bet one gold!"
The Northerners were relaxed enough to treat the Imperial knight as entertainment and even place bets on him.
Their attitude was arrogant beyond belief, as though they were daring him to try, if he thought he could.
'These vermin... How dare they make light of an Imperial knight?!'
The escort knight, having completely lost his reason, gnashed his teeth until his gums bled.
Red aura coiled around the longsword at full strength.
"Hyaaaaaaah!"
A red bolt of lightning slammed down mercilessly.