Chapter 801 - Chapter 2: Development of Northwestern Higashinohara
The modification of the terrain by the spirits proceeded from the east. This was to secure a place for the water flowing from west to east to go.
First, as a preliminary preparation, Mel created a wind to blow away the snow. At the same time, Dune melted what had become ice and sent it somewhere far away... probably the river. Once the ground was exposed, Gnome dug.
He dug westward from the river flowing through the Northeastern Forest, but immediately hit the highway. The highway runs north-south right next to the river in the Northeastern Forest. Our land is bordered by the highway. So, even if a bridge were to be built, it would be at the country's expense. Eventually, a bridge might be needed, but for now, it's just the construction of the waterway. Construction proceeded while leaving the highway as it was.
When I wondered what would happen to the dug-up soil and stones, they disappeared one after another. It was more like movement than digging. When Gnome put his hand to the ground and muttered something, a part of the ground in front of him suddenly vanished. It seemed the space was cut out and jumped as is, and the cross-sections of rocks or something were visible in places. The cross-sections were perfectly flat, as if a master of Henry-sama's class had cut into the rock with a Silver Sword. And I don't know how he did it, but only gravel or small stones were left behind as if spread on the riverbed. When Salamander baked that gravel with fire, the gravel melted and became just like glass. It was completely waterproof.
For some reason, the length dug at one time was inconsistent. Sometimes it was long enough that I had to shade my eyes with my hand to see the end, and other times it was very short. Sometimes it wasn't straight but curved. Moreover, he was jumping it by dividing it vertically into two. I don't really understand.
Compared to the length, the width and depth were stable and the same. The depth was about three large strides, and the width was at least three strides at the bottom alone. The top surface was about one stride more on both the left and right. The river width itself was five strides.
The shape was also elaborate; the cross-section of the river was not a simple trapezoid. The riverbank was slanted. About half a stride from the top surface. Then it fell away in an arc. The arc then made the slope gentler, connecting to the flat riverbed. It looked like a riverboat with a wide gunwale. Did he make it close to the cross-section of a natural river? In case of flooding due to rain or something, the water level doesn't just rise. The more it rises, the wider the water surface becomes. In other words, it can flow that much more water.
When the soil that was in front of us disappeared and a waterway... or a passage... was created, Gnome disappeared next. This was because he moved to the western end of the completed waterway. I chased after him in the bowl. When I caught up, Gnome was looking at the destination to be dug. Then, he crouched down and put his hand to the ground. In that way, the waterway extended to the west.
In the blink of an eye, waterways were created one after another. Incredible... I started to feel sorry for the Dragonewts who were making enclosures in Medioland.
"It's tremendous."
Eleanor-sama was not just impressed, but simply amazed. It's not a matter of whether humans can compete or not.
"He's in a different league than someone like me."
Even Alex, who is good at [Teleport], said so. Alex, being a spirit of the mines, probably likes watching civil engineering work. He was watching the process where the four Great Spirits were all present with his eyes sparkling like a child, saying "Amazing, amazing."
"So this is Gnome's power."
Even Germana, who should be of equal rank as one of the five Great Spirits, was surprised.
On the other hand, the three of water, wind, and earth were watching the work without any surprise.
"At this pace, it'll take days. He should just do it quickly."
Far from being surprised, Mel was even complaining.
"I guess it depends on where the disappeared soil went."
Salamander remained relaxed as usual.
"Where are you jumping it to?"
"Well, you'll just have to ask Gnome."
After answering Mel, Salamander glanced at Eleanor-sama.
Hmm, Eleanor-sama nodded and called out to Gnome.
"By the way, Gnome. Where did the disappeared ground go?"
Disappeared ground... she didn't say soil, but ground... that word was the most appropriate.
"You people said you would build a fence on this side of the river, didn't you? I'm placing the jumped soil as a substitute for a fence. You can change the shape and do that anti-magic processing later to make it easy to use. However, the length is not nearly enough, so you must supplement the rest yourselves."
What a surprise. He was jumping it all the way to the riverside and making it into a defensive wall.
According to Gnome, the water from the waterway he is currently making flows into the westernmost river among those flowing through the Northeastern Forest, and he is apparently making a defensive wall on the west bank of that river... in other words, on the human side. It's the place where the Kingdom of Sertoria is planned to build one. And if divided into three parts, it would apparently reach the mountainous area where we fought the Lindwurm. In other words, the construction plan for the defensive wall would be roughly finished. Anti-magic processing is the job of dwarves and elves.
"I see. That's why the lengths were inconsistent."
"I thought it was slow for moving by teleportation. It's because he was going all the way to the river over there, measuring the next required length, coming back, and then jumping the next waterway... in other words, the next wall part he dug."
I was once again surprised by the exchange between Dune and Salamander after hearing Gnome's words. Gnome was jumping to the river every single time, measuring the required wall length and shape by eye, then returning, and then digging and jumping the next waterway... the next wall part.
"To call that 'slow', well..."
Alex looked up at the sky. He probably thought it would take him much longer. I mean, he only glanced at the river. How does he know?
There was someone whose expression changed at Gnome's reply: Eleanor-sama.
"Gnome. Is it alright? For you to do even that much for us."
"Hmm? Is the enclosure the Dragonewts are making in the south for humans?"
"No, of course, it's for the coexistence and co-prosperity of both humans and monsters. Since ancient times, humans live in the plains and monsters live in the forests. However, in this case, unlike the enclosure the Dragonewts are making, isn't there no consideration for the monster side?"
"Those fellows have the river and the forest. Even under the same conditions, can humans stop monsters if they protect them? Humans cannot stop monsters from crossing the river without a defensive wall."
"That is true."
"Then, isn't this even? I think there is no problem."
I see. So he's maintaining neutrality. Eleanor-sama also fell silent.
"Gnome."
This time it was Henry-sama.
"I understand about the maintenance of neutrality. However, there is no doubt that it has reduced the burden on our national treasury. I must thank you for that."
"Do as you like."
"I am grateful."
How should I put it, isn't the story progressing on an incredible scale?
The construction, which began in mid-January, saw the waterway to the field camp completed in about a week. Even though I say a week, we weren't working every day. The spirits are called out by us once every two days in the morning. And they work for about half a day, we all eat lunch together, and then they go home. For that pace, it's quite fast. According to Gnome, it will take a little time from here. It's probably because there's the task of moving a large number of trees, which wasn't there before. He started moving them at the same time as the construction began, but it's not something that can be done so easily. Even so, it seems the entire process will be completed by the end of February.
As for us... though everyone is busy, Lyudmila, myself, and Germana are the main ones, with the Henry Party joining when they come to watch. The spirits are doing civil engineering work with Gnome.
The base building that Lyudmila had planned started from the point when the planned site was surrounded by the waterway. This is clearly development. Since we knew in advance what would happen with the waterway the spirits were making, the application to the King had been submitted before Gnome's work began. So permission has already been granted. At first, we planned to move trees to secure the site, but that was no longer necessary. Little Serena is currently in the middle of moving trees for the waterway and wetland planned sites that Gnome is making. So, what we did first was to build a bridge. This is because the base is surrounded by the waterway. We need at least a bridge to get to the highway.
"After all, it has to be stone-built."
"Right. It has atmosphere."
"The materials are stone and mortar, right?"
"I think so, but I wonder if I can do it with just my magic? I've never made one."
"Paul-san might know."
"Right, let's ask Paul-san."
While Lyudmila and I were talking in the middle of a wrap-up banquet with only the participants after that day's work was finished, Alex brought some helpful information.
"Shall I build it for you? Why, two barrels of wine would be plenty. Moving trees is every day, but only in the morning. I'll do it for you in the afternoon."
Hmm. That might be good. Since half of the development costs are covered by the country, we only need one barrel. If it's that much, I can just use the honey wine I made. The brewing of the new wine is a bit later, but there are several left from what I made last year. The application to the palace can be done at the time of budget calculation, or we can apply for half after paying. There are plenty of wine barrels at the palace, so let's have them pay in advance. The top-quality stuff from Finis would be good.
"Is it okay? Alex."
"I don't mind. Honestly, just moving trees is too monotonous and it's depressing. It's much more fun to build bridges and such. In exchange, I'll have you use the materials I specify."
Specified materials? Could it be that they're incredibly expensive...
"No, they're free."
"Free? That's the specification?"
"That's right."
What could it be? There's nothing scarier than something free.
"We dwarves and elves are quarrying anti-magic stone, aren't we?"
The quarry to the east of the Central Mountain Range.
"Right, right, that one. Well, we cut the dug-up stone into the required size for materials, but the ordered stone is for outer walls, so each piece is quite huge."
"Hmm, hmm."
"Naturally, offcuts are produced. We'll use those."
I see. Waste utilization.
According to Alex, the method of disposal of waste is left to the royal family. In other words, the disposal site is our land, and it ends up becoming bridges and such. Just in case, when I checked with Eleanor-sama using the magic circle for sending letters, the reply came back that there was no problem.
"There's quite a lot. We were having trouble with what to do with them. Isn't it just perfect? Right now, if you add another barrel, I'll even build you a magnificent outer wall."
That's good. Then let's add another barrel. Since it's three barrels in total, our payment is one and a half.
"You'll transport them, right?"
"I could transport them, but the amount I can carry at once is small. But if Beatrix transports them, it'll be done in one go. Since she's one of us, we don't need transport fees either."
What, has Beatrix's [Translate] surpassed a dwarf's?
"Hey, hey, that's different."
"Sorry. But you said the amount that can be carried is different."
"The type is different."
The type is different? Aren't they both movement-type magic?
"Well, that's true, but our magic is [Teleport]. Basically, it's magic for oneself to move. What Beatrix uses is [Translate]. Basically, it's magic for transport."
Hmm. I feel like I understand, yet I don't...
"In other words, is it magic for oneself to move, or magic to move something other than oneself?"
"Does that mean the magic dwarves use is for themselves to move?"
"That's right. Because it's [Teleport]. So, to carry something, you have to hold it in your hand or cling to the caster's body."
Come to think of it, when I have him jump me, I'm either being grabbed by Alex's arm or something, or conversely, I'm grabbing Alex's arm or something.
"Right? With that, can you carry a large amount of stone or soil, for example? It's impossible. There's a limit to the mana you can control, so there's such a thing as a weight limit. It's true that even with [Teleport] you can jump a large amount of water, but that's because you're activating it continuously, and you can only do it with things that can be easily torn apart in the middle, like water."
That's true. For example, if it's sand, which is a collection of small grains, you could jump it little by little like water, but a rock that is a lump is impossible.
"[Translate] is different. Anything that fits within the magic circle... to be precise, anything within the space specified by the magic circle can be jumped."
In other words, dwarves can't use [Translate].
"Don't look down on me. Of course we can use it."
"Eh? Then why Beatrix?"
"You know the magic circle for [Translate], don't you? Drawing something like that is just too much trouble."
Good grief. In short, he's sparing himself the effort?
"Try making a dwarf draw such a huge magic circle. It would be very, very expensive. I'm sure it would cost as much as a whole town."
"I understand. I'll have Beatrix do it."
We've had the spirits do various things, but we've never had them draw a magic circle. I didn't think it would be that expensive.
"That's better. Beatrix is frequently going in and out of the stone quarry along with the Dragonewts, so I can contact her immediately. I'll tell her."
They must be going back and forth between the stone quarry using [Teleport] with dwarves and Dragonewts. They must be transporting the completed anti-magic materials to Medioland.
"Then, while you're at it, why don't you build a well and a hut too? I guess one building with one basement floor and two floors above ground would be enough."
Lyudmila, who was listening to the story, got greedy.
"Lyudmila? A well is fine, but do development funds cover a hut for humans to live in?"
They shouldn't look after individual houses.
"They do. Because it's a shop."
I see. We can just make a bedroom on the second floor of the shop.
"Then, is it okay if it's about the same size as the one at the current farm?"
"Yeah. About how long will it take?"
"Let's see. You guys are giving me various fun experiences, so six more barrels will be enough. Four for the main building and two for the well. In exchange, you'll call me when you have a banquet here."
"Understood. We'll definitely call you for banquets. So, it's eight barrels for the bridge, outer wall, shop, and livestock shed, right?"
Since it's eight barrels in total, our expense is four barrels. We still have about that much left.
"Then, shall we ask him?"
"Right."
"Pleasure doing business with you!"
It seems the base building... the memorable first phase of construction—will proceed more cheaply and easily than I thought. We can secure well water for drinking, and we'll have a place to live and a place to do business. This is a good omen.