Step By Step! (7)

I used the most important potion.

The side effect, taken with a trembling heart, wasn’t as severe as I’d feared.

‘So it stopped at an erection…?’

It was honestly a little embarrassing—popping one after taking medicine out of nowhere—but it didn’t look like Linda or Matilda had noticed anything yet.

It was winter, so my coat was roomy, and I was bundled up in multiple layers. It wasn’t easy to tell—though the fact that it was an erection made it mortifying on principle.

Still, just the fact that it didn’t turn me into a beast like last night’s potion was already worth everything.

And the recovery itself wasn’t bad either. I could feel my stamina steadily returning, and at this rate I was confident I could use magic without a heavy burden. So I decided to raise the remaining buildings first and handle interior work slowly afterward.

“Alright. You worked hard following me around today.”

“Not at all. I thought it was a wonderful sight. And I could see how bright the domain’s future is.”

I didn’t know what exactly she’d seen, but Matilda’s words were pleasant to hear.

“I feel the same. I was reminded just how incredible your ability is, Milord. Thank you for letting me have this experience.”

Well, I thought it was a decent experiment too. But I still had three more potions left, and my stamina wasn’t even spent yet, so I decided to test them gradually and wrapped up the day.

After that, I spent my days handling the hotel’s interior, selecting and training staff, and living through the routine. Once I finished testing the remaining three potions, I chose the one with the least side effects and moved to mass production.

“Whew… At this rate, I might never sleep again.”

Maybe it was the excessive stamina recovery. Or maybe it was the potion’s awakening effect.

The most “manageable” side effect was that it prevented drowsiness. In other words, it made it hard to sleep at night. Through repeated testing, I confirmed my maximum sleep time was delayed by about four hours—and that if I drank several bottles, it could affect me into the next day.

Thanks to that, I could get a lot done in those hours. But if I overused magic power, the effect weakened, and I could at least fall asleep—just later than usual. In a way, you could argue that wasn’t even a side effect anymore.

“Alright. Preparations are done… Shall I go on a long trip outside?”

The port and bridge would be finished earlier than planned, but since I’d been working through sleepless nights, I judged that even if I lived outside for about a month, nothing would collapse.

So after leaving various instructions with Linda and Matilda, I took Demina and some of the Sign Tribe and headed to the cliff coastline.

If the Sign Tribe transformed and ran, it was only a few hours away. But since there was no proper road, it would take more than half a day for normal people coming from the lord’s manor.

“Whew… It’s been a while since I’ve seen the sea. It’s refreshing.”

At my words, Wiesel and Demina laughed. Anyone living in forest-blocked terrain would think the same upon seeing such an open sea. And today, I planned to settle things with Uld.

It hadn’t been a full month yet, but I judged negotiations would be “somewhat” done.

As I led the group down the cliff stairs, a few Whale Beastkin spotted us and reacted—and then I saw Uld cutting through the waves, racing toward us.

“Wiesel, the Beastkin at the front is Uld. I guess he’s like… sea royalty or something.”

“I know him. I’ve seen him before. But I didn’t think he’d still be alive.”

“You know him?”

“No. When I followed Father to the Great Assembly of the Beastkin, I saw him from afar. He was enormous.”

“I heard most sea Beastkin are big.”

“Some are small. Whale Beastkin are especially large.”

So saying, we reached the shoreline. Uld climbed up the steps, and we met face to face—only his attitude was very different than before.

“Welcome, Messenger of the Goddess.”

‘Something happened…?’

He felt unusually proactive, so I asked carefully.

“Did something happen?”

“We received a revelation. Our tribe’s shaman says the Goddess manifested and commanded us to follow the Messenger. So we’ve been waiting day and night.”

So the goddess had done something again. What a busy woman, I thought, and said,

“It doesn’t seem I need to confirm it, but… I had no intention of forcing you. So I’ll ask for clarity—how did the council go?”

“To be frank, there were still many objections. Most said they couldn’t trust humans. But perhaps the Goddess found us frustrating—she manifested and handed down the conclusion herself.”

These were the people who would “council” for a full year if it got long. A bold goddess would absolutely get impatient. Either way, it helped me.

So I changed the question.

“Then you’ll trust me and follow me completely, yes?”

“Of course. How could we not follow the Messenger?”

I nodded, then laid out everything I’d been planning. Uld looked surprised.

“Then… we must negotiate directly with humans?”

“Some trained human slaves will travel with you. But mostly they’ll only handle the accounting, so the Whale Beastkin will have to manage most things.”

“Hmm… We’re better off than the Beastkin in Ingrad, so it’s possible, but… I wonder if humans will trust us.”

“It’s fine. Even if they don’t trust you at first, given time they’ll end up seeking you out. Humans are weaker-willed than you think.”

Uld shuddered at my pale grin.

“Whale Beastkin likely want to settle in the distant sea, but I’d like you to establish yourselves along the nearby coast. We don’t know what might happen, and your role is important—so I want you close.”

“Kahaha, understood. As the Messenger wills…”

After discussing a few points, I began using Construction to create a broad development site along the cliff: foundations for buildings, storage zones for cargo, living spaces that used the cliff itself, streets where shops could stand, stairways with railings…

I started pulling up the basic infrastructure from the earth with Construction, and from afar, I could see the Whale Beastkin staring in shock, gradually closing the distance.

The interesting part was—maybe the goddess had hyped me up ahead of time?

“Truly the Messenger of the Goddess.”

“Amazing power. Worthy to lead us.”

“The Goddess’s blessing is with him.”

I could hear lines like that. It was honestly a burden, but it wasn’t a bad thing either. So I drank Stamina Recovery Potions and threw myself into the work.

I’d originally estimated about ten days to build the port, and I planned to prepare a few business steps during that time.

The most important plan was what I’d do with the ships the Lilith Trading Company would send. I’d mass-produce chocolate, package it luxuriously, and send ships to every continental port city reachable by sea.

And I’d put Beastkin at the front, selling the chocolate.

At first, people might find it strange that Beastkin were doing business—or they might even dispatch troops—but after a few rounds of trial and error and assorted incidents, I was certain things would stabilize and the fame would spread.

And I had contingencies already prepared for those who felt disgusted by Beastkin merchants, so I intended to run a tight schedule toward the goal.

‘If it goes as expected… something pretty interesting might happen.’

It was conviction, and a plan to pull power together through multiple routes. The port that would ignite it all—I couldn’t neglect it.

By the time I’d started construction, nearly ten days had passed.

In the meantime, Linda and Matilda sent domain updates through a few Beastkin. Nothing serious happened. The biggest “issue” was simply news that they’d selected staff for the hotel, created guidance notices, and deployed them—proof I’d chosen reliable people.

And that’s why I started getting greedy with the port.

How to describe it… the port’s overall shape was becoming like a cape—a promontory. I drove pillars into the sea floor to reinforce the base and kept extending the structure outward into the sea so that as many ships as possible could dock.

“Milord… it’s so impressive it feels almost insane.”

At Wiesel’s words, I smirked.

“It probably is insanity. I can’t stop wanting more. Honestly, wouldn’t this rank among the top ports even in the Terakan Empire?”

And I wasn’t only aiming at the coastline. I’d already raised various buildings atop the cliff above.

I reinforced the cliff so it wouldn’t crumble, built railings and observation decks, and even put up a structure that could serve as a lighthouse. It was just missing residents—if ships arrived right now, it could already function.

All of it was thanks to the Stamina Recovery Potion. But staying awake due to side effects and going on a construction spree helped too.

Still, you could say the infrastructure had been finished well…

“Still… I want more.”

“We can always come back later and improve what’s lacking, can’t we?”

He was right. So even as I told myself this was “enough,” I used Construction once more to inspect the sea. I noticed several spots where waves were especially rough and told Wiesel,

“Just one more day of work, then we head to the forest. Is that alright?”

Wiesel gave an awkward smile.

After that, what I built was a tetrapod barrier to break the rough waves. At first, both the Whale Beastkin and the Sign Tribe looked at me like, Why do we need this? But once they saw the tetrapods actually blocking the violent waves, they ended up admiring it—and now, whatever I did, they watched with absolute faith.