To Solve The Problem! (6)

The next morning, the lord’s manor was busy from early dawn. First, we brought along some bearfolk from the Ung-in Tribe, who were good with heavy work, and had them set up the various devices at points throughout the territory using the manor as the center, while at the same time giving training on how to use them.

After that, we arranged housing within the manor grounds where Linda’s and Matilda’s families could stay, then summoned everyone who could be called a key figure in the domain, introduced Linda and Matilda, and finished by explaining that from now on they would be overseeing most of the tasks I had personally handled until now.

It seemed to be their first time being surrounded by so many beastkin, and Linda and Matilda shook quite a bit while introducing themselves, but I figured time would take care of that and let it slide.

Linda, meanwhile, was busy trying to take in the long-awaited and much-dreamed-of sight of the Ingrad Domain, and among all of it, what caught her interest the most was the Sky Bridge.

“Is it true that there are rest stops—bases of operation—set up in the middle of this bridge?”

Today as well, the Sky Bridge was having a rough time under the endless procession of wagons. I nodded at Linda’s question and replied.

“I’ve built four so far, and if the opportunity arises, I’m thinking of someday constructing small towns or cities where many people could live.”

Linda’s eyes sparkled at my words, and beside her, Matilda asked a question.

“Do you have no plans to develop the underside of the bridge?”

“For now, there are wagons moving along underneath. Those are the people who bring mercenaries with them to save on the toll for using the Sky Bridge. Thanks to them, a road is being beaten out down there, so I suppose you could say it’s being used in its own way.”

“I think that’s a waste. It looks like a place that could easily be put to use as well…”

“Ah, it’s not that I refuse to use it. I’m just not using it yet.”

“May I ask why?”

“Because our domain’s population is small, and once those people suffer through a few trips, they’ll realize they have no choice but to use the bridge. So I’m just not stopping them.”

“…And the reason is…?”

“You’re wondering if there’s a reason it shouldn’t be used?”

“Yes, that’s right.”

Matilda was even more curious than Linda, so I took the two of them to the monster butchering yard, asked everyone there to step aside, and then pointed to a monster hanging up to be bled as I asked.

“What sort of monster does that look like to you?”

“…A force capable of hunting ogres… Ah, beastkin…?”

“Right. It’s a monster hunted by beastkin. This place is extremely important for the domain. Here we obtain meat as well as by-products. And the blood of certain monsters is often a high-grade potion material. We’re currently stockpiling the medicines and potions made from that blood instead of releasing them to the market. You’ll find out later when you see it for yourselves, but anyway, does that monster look like an ordinary ogre to you?”

At my words, Linda and Matilda both looked puzzled. When they looked at me with expressions that said they had no idea, I gave them the answer.

“Have you heard of an Ogre Lord?”

“…Th-That’s got to be a joke…”

“Do I look like I’m joking?”

Both of them shut their mouths. So I explained the situation.

“Among the beastkin, there are some who can easily hunt monsters on the level of an Ogre Lord. There aren’t that many of them, but they take down small packs led by things like this and send them here. And the area those monsters operate in just happens to be the region underneath the Sky Bridge.”

“Gasp…”

Only then did Matilda understand what I had been trying to say, and Linda, who seemed to have realized it earlier, watched the monster carcass being butchered with a pale expression.

“Our domain supplies this monster’s meat to the beastkin. We send it out as food. And if you travel about half a day beyond the back of the manor, there’s a ranch where Black Cows are raised. Beastkin manage that place as well and provide the domain with quality meat.”

Since the two of them would have to oversee the domain’s overall affairs, I started explaining things to them with little held back, telling them what kind of work needed to be done, and by the time I had dragged them around for half a day, Linda looked at me and asked.

“Have you really been handling all of this… by yourself?”

“Well, the work just kept piling up as I went, but it wasn’t so bad at the start. To be honest, it still doesn’t feel that busy. Call it the power of education? Everyone’s gotten good at doing things on their own.”

“…It’s too much. This isn’t work for one person!”

“Mm, I more or less finish things by just walking a lap like I’m on patrol in the morning, getting some exercise and giving out the orders that need to be given.”

I was serious—I didn’t really feel like it was that much. I’d simply decided that I wanted a bit more free time and was planning to hand off the routine tasks to others.

‘As long as it’s not something that requires me to personally use mana… I can leave it to these two without a problem.’

By now, the work in the domain was varied enough that there were plenty of things that no longer strictly required my presence. And my hatred of wasting time dealing with merchants also played a big part.

Those bloated pigs, full of nothing but greed, acted completely differently when they were facing me compared to when they turned to walk back out.

I’d often seen them sneer among themselves that I was some “upstart who shot up overnight,” or badmouthing me as “a guy who was just lucky enough to be born with talent,” so unless they were really important, I had reached the point where I wanted to shove them off onto someone else.

From now on, Linda and Matilda would handle them appropriately, and I was thinking of handing over all the tasks that didn’t require me so I could finally get some breathing room.

‘If I get the chance, I should consider bringing in a few more people as well…’

Aside from the things I had always done, the biggest projects on my mind at the moment were coffee, chocolate, and sugar.

As for sugarcane, when I left the Imperial Palace I had already obtained both a permit to trade it and seeds, so with Hare’s help controlling the climate, I was thinking of setting up a small-scale farm.

The location I had in mind for the farm was inside the Forest of the Demon Dragon. We had learned that you could grow almost any plant there regardless of the season, so I planned to have Hare ask the Demon Dragon for permission to proceed.

But when she left, she made it clear that she might not grant permission, so if things didn’t work out, I was planning to look for a suitable spot near the manor and aim for a certain minimum level of production there.

It was a plan made possible thanks to magic, and all of it depended on Dust of Sands sending the fruit, so there was nothing particularly urgent right now.

So, as part of the handover, I walked around with the two women and parceled out the work.

A few days later, when Hare returned… I was puzzled at first that she hadn’t come alone, but then I had everyone else clear the room and greeted the person with her politely.

“It’s an honor to meet you for the first time. I am Jin-woo, temporarily entrusted with the Ingrad Domain.”

She had a petite build and a cute face that made you think of a young girl, and wore ink-black hair that flowed down to her knees. At my greeting, the woman nodded indifferently and asked.

“I came to see the human who keeps bothering me, but you’re an amusing one.”

I wanted to ask when I’d ever “bothered” her, but I couldn’t. I lost my nerve when I unconsciously met the gaze of her snake-like golden eyes.

“I can only apologize. May I ask what brings you here…?”

The Demon Dragon, who introduced herself as “Karhenis,” sat herself at the head seat, tapped the armrest of her chair with her fingers, and looked at me. Only after quite some time had passed did she finally speak.

“I heard you wanted to farm in my forest.”

“I merely hoped you might grant me a small piece of land. If you refused, I planned to set up fields here nearby instead.”

“What you wish to plant will not grow here without my power. Are you aware of that?”

“Mm, I was aware—to a degree. But it was something I absolutely needed, so I intended to find some way to cultivate it.”

“Interesting. What were you planning to make?”

When our eyes met—eyes full of curiosity—I felt an unknown, primal terror that made my body tremble, but I took a deep breath and answered calmly.

“I was trying to make sweet treats. You might call it the most irresistibly sweet snack in the world.”

“I find that hard to believe…”

“I can’t make it yet because I lack the ingredients, but I was confident I could produce what I had in mind within half a year.”

“That’s assuming you have my cooperation, I take it?”

“…May I be completely honest?”

“Go on.”

“I would have managed without it.”

“How impudent. Kukuku… Is this human simply fearless, or does he just not know enough about me? If I so wished, this domain would be nothing more than a front yard I could wipe away in an instant. Are you not afraid of me?”

“If you were that kind of being… I believe you would have wiped it away long ago. You are called the Demon Dragon and dwell there, but from what I’ve heard of the kindness you’ve shown Hare and others… I judged that you were not the ‘evil dragon’ people speak of.”

“Kahahahahaha!!”

Her booming laughter rang out. At the force of it, I heard thuds as something fell over outside the door, and even Hare at Karhenis’s side looked like she was struggling to endure it—but more than that, I was surprised by the fact that I could actually withstand such a terrifying presence.

Then the Demon Dragon abruptly stopped laughing, grabbed my arm, immediately frowned deeply, and let go.

After that, she looked at me with a strange gaze and spoke.

“It seems Artemisia took quite a liking to you… I grant you permission to clear portions of my forest and farm there. However, you must not overdo it. And the thing you said you could make after half a year… I shall look forward to it.”

With that, the Demon Dragon vanished in a flash of light.

Afterward, my legs gave out and I sat down, laughing weakly, and that was when Demina, along with Wijel, Debik, and every beastkin in the area who prided themselves on their strength, came rushing in and began checking the surroundings. I asked them why.

“Why did you all come running in such a panic?”

“…Everyone near the manor… collapsed.”

At Wijel’s words, I looked at Debik, and he nodded and added.

“We all felt a fear of death from this place, you see. We rushed over, but by the time we arrived, that presence had already vanished…”

Then Demina chimed in as well.

“I couldn’t even breathe… I was just barely hanging on. The moment that unknown power dissipated, I ran here… How are you still completely fine, my lord?”

I had no idea what that Demon Dragon had done to us before leaving, but first I needed to grasp the situation. After that, I had to go through the manor and the rest of the domain, tend to those who had collapsed, and make sure no one was in danger. As time passed and people gradually came to, they were so shaken with terror that they couldn’t bring themselves to do anything for quite a while, which was enough to make my skin crawl.

I realized then that dragons… are not creatures one can truly hope to understand.