Blue Advisory! (9)

I invested an entire day to build a rest stop. I had planned to make about four of them on the road leading to the lord’s manor, but while working on this one I remembered something I had completely forgotten until now.

“I never made stainless steel… What percentage of chrome was it again…?”

The most basic stainless steel I knew was an alloy of iron and chromium in fixed proportions. I had meant to cast it as pipes, attach the magic device the princess sent that generated pressure, and—by borrowing the “purification” of modern science via faucets—draw water up. I had simply forgotten all of that while doing the window-glass work.

Frankly, it wasn’t my field of study, and since maids usually brought me water, it was foolish of me to forget.

“When I get back, I should try it… I’ll find the ratio by testing a few dozen combinations if I must.”

I could almost hear the craftsmen screaming already—but that wasn’t my concern.

With the first-phase rest stop done, I looked to Wijel and asked:

“Is the shrine good enough as is?”

“Mm… The goddess statue was vivid. You said you had seen Her yourself, yes?”

“I did see Her. The impression was so strong that I recreated Her with Construction. But since She looks human, will that bother anyone?”

“A god manifests in the form Her faithful wish to see. That is, She appears as you desire. Perhaps, unconsciously, that is how Your Lordship saw Her.”

“How does the goddess appear among the beastkin?”

“As a great lion.”

Perhaps because he was Sain, he spoke of a great lion; beside him, Debik added what he knew.

“To us of the bear-folk, She manifests as a great grizzly.”

“So literally, She appears in whatever form you want to see?”

“Yes.”

At their answers, I felt it was all rather troublesome—but this was a human fief, and the form I had seen matched what stood before me, so I decided to leave it at that. As I was adding low walls to the rails and carving patterns to make the rest stop pretty, I saw monsters in the distance take interest and head our way.

They looked like a band of orcs. Wijel turned to order the Sain, but I stopped him first.

“Let’s watch for now. I want to see how monsters react to the bridge.”

It felt like good timing. Watching the orcs, one examined a bridge pier, then swung a club at it.

But a pier made using magic and mana wasn’t going to be harmed by a club.

“Even Sain in beast-form couldn’t do anything to a wall like that.”

I meant the outer wall of the lord’s castle; these pillars were made by the same process, so they wouldn’t be weak. After wrestling with the pier for quite a while, the orcs looked upward, met Wijel’s eyes, flinched in terror, and bolted.

Even monsters knew it: in this fief they were not predators, but prey…

Call it reversal of roles.

I even felt a bit sorry for them—but I had confirmed a few things, and inwardly I felt triumphant.

“When this bridge is fully connected and completed, our fief will become visibly wealthy. Then, through proper education, we’ll lay the groundwork so beastkin can live respectably as well. Let’s work at it together.”

“Education…?”

Wijel seemed surprised by my words. I said to him:

“What makes people prosperous isn’t only force. If they can act as members of society through some education, then—well, there’s fulfillment, sure—but more to the point, they can earn money more easily. That way, quality of life doesn’t have to be inherited downward. It still depends on effort, but… anyway, some education is necessary.”

“A few things you said give me pause… but it sounds good.”

Debik assented first, and after a moment’s thought, Wijel nodded as well, calling it the right judgment.

After tidying all the walls around the rest stop, I was completely spent and headed to the building I’d made to serve as an inn; it was already set up enough to rest in, and they had even laid out food and drink for me— I couldn’t help being impressed.

That was thanks to the Sain women who had followed me, tending to me with utmost devotion—though honestly, it was a subtle burden.

Some of the liquors “for stamina” were included, after all.

Hare was the only beastkin I had been intimate with so far—and even that wasn’t official. In truth, the flirting I received from every unmarried beastkin woman had reached a troublesome level.

“The food is delicious, but… why are your outfits like that?”

The women carrying in dishes were dressed only to cover the bare minimum; they seemed not the least embarrassed, and bounded about boldly, giving off a provocative air.

Lose my reason, and something serious might happen; I solemnly picked up fork and knife and carefully cut what was in front of my eyes—to my mouth, not my nose—and ate.

Seeing this, Wijel and Debik wore delighted expressions, but I couldn’t fathom why they did this to me.

In general, beastkin disliked humans.

And in general, humans feared beastkin.

Thus, relations were terrible; it wasn’t the sort of bond where you flirted or grew close like this.

I had heard legends of humans and beastkin who got together, but each year such love was a tightrope and often ended badly.

The Demon God’s Moon was always the problem…

“If we can remedy that… maybe things will change.”

With that in mind, after I ate my fill of what the beastkin had brought, I stood and said:

“There’s far too much food left. Anything untouched—please share among yourselves.”

At that, one Sain woman approached with a sultry smile.

“Oh? Then will you feed me?”

“No.”

“Heh. My lord, do you not wish to take women like us into your arms?”

Day by day their outfits grew more blatant; they must have been “researching.” Frankly, I was tempted.

They were Western-style beauties to a fault—

Sain women with that feel were extremely stimulating. But I reminded myself I was here to work and said:

“To be honest, I think you are very beautiful and charming. But I came here to work, and I have no intent to take you at will. If you want to be my wife, or if it’s possessiveness toward me—or the goddess’s influence—then I wish to refuse. I do not care to be bound.”

I was already bound hand and foot to Ingrad.

Saying that might be ridiculous, but hearing me, the Sain women wore even more vivid smiles and said:

“We just want to live freely and do what we want. If someone told us to be the lord’s women… we’d refuse too.”

Were these women asking for such a comfortable arrangement? Perhaps that was why—

my heart pounded. Many eyes were on us; I steadied myself and said:

“When the time is ripe… that would be nice.”

Leaving the Sain women tilting their heads, I climbed the building and headed to the most secluded room. The distant view was truly fine.

Looking out on such scenery…

“I’ll make it perfect…”

My thoughts grew complicated.

Night fell fast in the wilds. Most beastkin had gone down to ground level, saying they would keep watch and “receive the earth’s energy.” Leaving only a minimum to guard me, the rest had descended. Interestingly, one Sain woman among my guards came to my room.

“This isn’t for guarding, is it?”

She had come—naked—to seduce me, bluntly. I asked; she said:

“A bold woman wins a worthy man. I won’t clamor for ‘responsibility.’”

“…I did state my position, but this is sudden.”

“Do you dislike me?”

No man could dislike a woman who so openly revealed a flawless figure—especially the Sain woman who had flirted so brazenly by day.

It could happen, couldn’t it?

I had steeled myself—but she made my heart pound even more than expected. A muscular woman with a soft sheen of golden fur; a firm chest; a mane-like hairstyle evoking a lion; golden eyes and skin like white jade…

Strangely alluring.

“Let me ask one thing.”

“What is it?”

“Why me?”

“Ties with the strong are no shame to our clan.”

“I’m not strong.”

I couldn’t even twist off a goblin’s head, as the saying went. Someone like me was hardly strong—but the Sain woman told me I possessed another kind of strength.

“My lord may not realize it, but your powers use an immense amount of mana.”

I knew I used a lot of mana, but the only comparison I had was Hare.

Thinking of how much mana she used, I hadn’t thought my usage was that high; yet the Sain woman before me told a different story.

“We’ve never seen a human with mana that smells so sweet. Some who are called great mages give off not sweetness, but a stuffy, oppressive scent.”

“…Isn’t that separate from strength?”

“You may now be spending your power on this strange structure, but I am certain you will become a great being someday. To give my first to such a man would be an honor for one of the Sain.”

I couldn’t fully understand the mindset. But I could not deny I was grateful. How could I refuse such a confession? I nodded, and the Sain woman walked toward me carefully.

Standing before me, she introduced herself.

“I am Demina, elder sister to Wijel—and of the Sain.”

Could she mean that Wijel?

I was puzzled; with a soft smile, Demina carefully, tenderly loosened my collar.