Chapter 802 - Chapter 2: Development of Northwestern Higashinohara (2)
The memorable first structure on our land became a bridge. A bridge connecting the highway and the first base.
Because he built the foundation of the stone wall in the place he carved out so as not to collapse the waterway Gnome dug, the river width remains unchanged. The height is also the same as the ground. It draws a beautiful arch from the foundation part. The width of the bridge is enough for horse-drawn carriages to pass each other easily. It even has railings. It's built by stacking stones with a strong white-gray tint taken from the quarry in the Central Mountain Range, and it's quite a beautiful bridge. It's hard to believe it was made from stone offcuts.
"How is it? It's a good job, isn't it?"
"It's a beautiful bridge."
"Truly."
Lyudmila and I found ourselves staring at it. Since they were waste materials—or rather, offcuts—the sizes were also varied. From the size of a human head to the size of a fist, there were all sorts. He assembled them without mortar. I thought for sure he would use small, neatly cut ones like bricks, but that wasn't the case. As expected, the parts forming the arch were aligned with square ones, but even those were of various sizes. Despite that, it has a strange sense of stability.
"It's a pity there's no water."
It was just as Germana said. If there were water, the beautiful arch would be reflected on the water surface, and a circle would be formed by the top and bottom.
"Shall we try flowing water with [Maelstrom]?"
I see. That might be good.
"Wait, Lyudmila, did you learn [Maelstrom]?"
It's an ultra-high-level water spell. With this, she's an ultra-high-level user of three elements. She's surpassed Mary and become the strongest in the Class of 175.
"While Jeanne was away on the expedition. Water and earth are often used in farming. But I haven't learned ultra-high-level earth magic. I want to learn it soon."
If she learns earth, she'll have ultra-high-level for all four elements. She probably won't use lightning in farm work, so it'll be last. But still, she learns them with almost no combat, so Vampire blood really is amazing.
"Then, show me. Lyudmila's [Maelstrom]."
"Sure. Let's do a durability test of the bridge too."
"Hey, hey, are you saying the bridge I built would be damaged by something like [Maelstrom]? If you can do it, go ahead and try!"
Alex is rolling up his sleeves. He's smirking, so he must be confident.
"Alright! Go for it, Lyudmila!"
"Okay!"
Germana looked like she wanted to say something for a moment, but she just gave a little chuckle. She's starting to understand our vibe.
Since it's not a battle, we avoid a direct hit and head about twenty strides upstream. We went down to the riverbed with Lyudmila's [Wind Barrier]. The riverbed, which Salamander had baked hard, is slippery, so I almost fall. For some reason, everyone except me is standing normally, so I grabbed onto Germana so as not to fall.
Lyudmila thrusts both hands forward and begins the chant. She's going all out.
The riverbed is slippery enough that I'm about to fall. I'm sure it will flow with great force.
"Ushya! It's a match. If by any chance it breaks, I'll fix it, so don't hold back!"
Lyudmila responds to Alex's voice with only a smile in her eyes. It's Dwarf versus Vampire Quarter.
"[Maelstrom]!"
Lyudmila, having finished the chant, released it. A large amount of water gushes out from her palms, becoming a flood and rushing toward the bridge all at once. The water level doesn't go as far as overflowing, but it reaches the upper slope. It could be called full. What will happen...
"Well, it's about this much. Lyudmila did her best."
Alex, having finished inspecting the bridge, is triumphant. The bridge is completely safe, and only the side of the river was gouged out a little.
"As I thought, it's impossible. Dwarves are amazing."
Lyudmila is shrugging her shoulders. Even the Vampire Quarter is throwing up her hands.
"Of course. The years of experience are different."
He's triumphant as if to say, "Serves you right."
"But we couldn't see the arch reflected on the water surface."
We all looked at each other at Germana's words.
We had completely forgotten the purpose.
In the end, we called Dune.
I explain that this and that happened. It wasn't just a matter of flowing water.
"Should I break that bridge?"
No, no. We wanted to do something with more elegance.
"Sister, that's harsh. If Sister felt like it, not just the bridge but this whole area would become a lake."
That would be incredible in its own way.
In the end, for some reason, it became a banquet. That's because we decided it would be better to drink while looking at it together. Lately, the four Great Spirits have been working at the construction site once every two days. Occasionally, they must want to do something hobby-like and relax.
That said, it's no use having Dune if there's no water nearby. We replenished the water with Lyudmila's [Maelstrom].
"[Maelstrom]!"
Lyudmila releases a flood toward the sky. A large amount of water went upstream like the geyser I saw once before.
Dune raised her right hand with a tsui, and the water that went upstream changed its trajectory and entered the waterway. Even though it was quite high, no spray rose. The water that fell... or rather, landed—upstream of the bridge flowed slowly toward the bridge as if nothing had happened, and even though there was no weir or anything, it stayed on this side from directly under the bridge like a lump.
Perhaps because it's winter, the wind is strong. The surface of the water is rippling. Mel jumps up. When she brings her right hand to her mouth and blows a fui, the wind stopped completely.
"Thank you, Mel."
"You're welcome."
It's a brilliant coordination between the spirits of water and wind.
"Is this okay?"
Mel stopped on my shoulder and said.
"Thank you, this is fine."
The arch beautifully reflected its form on the water surface, making a perfect circle.
"It's an occasion. Let's liven things up."
Salamander spat fire. Two fireballs flew off and began to drift diagonally under the bridge. The bridge, illuminated from below by the flames, was tinted a faint red. Since it was originally a whitish gray, a beautiful gradation was created from the bridge piers at both ends toward the center of the bridge. And that was reflected as is on the water surface.
"[Mist]!"
Lyudmila released mist. The mist hung gently on the other side of the bridge, bringing out the shadow of the bridge with Salamander's fireballs as the light source. A fantastical scene was created.
"Oh! It is a magnificent sight. It is just right as a side dish for the wine."
Gnome downed the wine in his bowl in high spirits.
As usual, he doesn't do anything. Well, that's fine.
Since that day, after the spirits' work was finished, we started eating lunch while looking at the bridge Alex made, the outer wall, and the hut.
Alex was in high spirits because everyone praised what he made, so he shared the wine he earned. Regardless of the spirits, we are drinking our share that we paid for. I feel a bit bad. However, Alex says it's better if he can drink happily, so I gratefully accepted.
In that way, the end of February approached, and thanks to Alex's hard work... and let's not forget Beatrix's hard work in jumping the materials—the first phase of construction was completed safely. The bridge caught Eleanor-sama's eye, and the royal family placed an order with Alex for two bridges of the same size for the highway. The two are the bridge in front of the field camp and the bridge on the highway connecting Higashinohara and the Royal Capital region. The bridge for the highway is understandable. Since the waterway had to be connected to the river, it was eventually necessary. The bridge in front of the field camp is a new facility. Originally, there was no bridge, let alone a highway. When the highway was built up to the front of the camp, it was extended and connected to the camp. It's a slope thatひたすら climbs the ridge, made by moving trees. Even horse-drawn carriages can't pass. It connects with the highway at the bottom of that slope. The waterway Gnome digs flows on the north side of the highway. In other words, the north side of the ridge heading toward the camp will be the defensive line of the waterway. Eleanor-sama asked Gnome if it was okay to extend it just a little bit across the front of the camp, at least for the highway part. It's not even twenty large strides in length. About a dozen strides. Gnome also said OK since that much wouldn't affect the flow of water, so they extended it themselves. It's the bridge to be built there.
"While I'm at it, shall I build stairs for the road too? Isn't it hard to climb like this?"
In fact, that's true. It's more like a cliff than a road. If it rains and gets muddy, you definitely can't climb it. It's scary for an escape route in case of emergency.
"Is it alright? If stairs can be made using waste materials, I would definitely like to request them."
Eleanor-sama also joined in.
"Whether it's alright or not, the speed of quarrying has gone up because the Dragonewts participated in making stone materials. A mountain of waste materials has been created and it's in the way. Even if it's waste, there are various uses for it. It would be a waste to just throw it into the sea, wouldn't it?"
Alex probably wants to dispose of the offcuts himself. He's very cooperative.
"It's long here, so, hmm—how about four barrels?"
"While you're at it, instead of just stairs, could you do the land readjustment for the field camp? Eventually, we'll build a defensive wall with anti-magic materials to solidify it, but this will be a temporary measure until then. In exchange, it's not much, but you can use the center of the field camp as your temporary waste material storage area."
"Can we freely use the ones placed there?"
"That's fine. However, only waste materials. Also, if we fall into a state of war with the Demon Lord's army or another country, it will interfere with combat, so we will return them to their original location."
"Alright. I'll take it."
Perhaps they were that much in the way, as it was decided quickly.
Alex is excited that the waste materials are entirely his.
"Are you that happy?"
Mel is asking.
"I'm happy. That stone material has tenacity, so it's easy to process. Look at that bridge. Isn't it beautiful?"
"Hmm. So that's it."
Just like Mel, I don't understand the difference in stone materials. In short, it seems to be a good material. The main building he built for us has everything from the walls to the floors to the roof beautifully finished. I don't know how he did it, but because it's split cleanly, the surface is smooth.
"How is it? Why don't you leave all the buildings here to me? Whether it's the livestock shed or whatever, I'll build you something really good."
Is it okay? I feel like no matter how many honey wines I have, it won't be enough...
"I don't need payment."
"Eh?"
"Free is fine. That said, you'll provide the wine when we gather here to drink."
When we all gather to drink, it's mostly covered by the honey wine I brewed or the wine the Henry Party and the bandits provide... in other words, the royal budget. If it's the same here, it's effectively free.
I feel like there's nothing scarier than something free, but...
"We dwarves don't do work because we want profit."
Hmm. So he has some creed.
"We dig minerals, process them, and create something."
It seems anything is fine to create. Whether it's a house, a bridge, a fence, or even the materials to make such things.
"Create and leave it behind. That's the proof of having lived, and what we call a reason for living."
I see, a reason for living. I thought for sure it was drinking wine, but it wasn't.
"Hey now. The joy of living and the reason for living are different, aren't they?"
I was called out on it, but I don't really understand the difference. Aren't they about the same thing?
"Ahahaha. It's just as Jeanne says."
Mel is laughing loudly. Not only that, all five Great Spirits started laughing.
"Sister, that's harsh. We dwarves don't live just to drink wine."
I feel a bit sorry. It feels like Alex is being made fun of because of me.
"I know. That dwarves love creating something like that and make it their reason for living."
"If you say so, then it's fine."
"But you like drinking wine too, don't you?"
"Well, yeah. Dwarves work hard and get really drunk and rowdy. You gotta have both... wait, eh? Are they the same?"
"See, they're the same. Just as Jeanne said."
Alex's position is becoming unfavorable.
"It's fine, isn't it? Like this time, doing a good job and drinking good wine and being rowdy. That's your reason for living."
"Well, yeah, I guess so."
Even as he says it, Alex looks happy. It's probably because he was praised for doing a good job by the usually sharp-tongued four Great Spirits... especially Mel, who is often unreasonable.
"Even if you treat drinking wine as a reason for living, well..."
He glares at me, the instigator.
"S-Sorry. I didn't mean to make fun of you."
"Then, what do you mean?"
"Um, that's..."
I don't know if it applies because it's a human way of thinking, but I think people do work to obtain something. For example, it could be to make sweets. It could be to raise children. As long as you can realize fun or happiness yourself. It's the same for people who like money and rejoice when they see the money they've saved. Everyone does work to obtain something. That's what I think.
"Hmm. Jeanne's argument isn't wrong."
Saying it's not wrong means... maybe it's just not wrong?
"For us, the work itself is the fun and the happiness."
"The thing itself?"
"That's right. Drinking wine is the same. It just so happens that if we work, we get wine, so we're doing it for a double gain."
A work-spirit... is there such a word?
"That might be the difference between humans and spirits."
Hmm. When you put it that way, I get confused.
"Alex. I think that's different."
It's Eleanor-sama. It might become even more complicated. For now, it's fine because Gnome is staying silent, but if he joins in, it'll be a mess.
"Henry and I don't work to earn. It's because the thing itself is fun."
Come to think of it, these people are basically unpaid. They have their expenses covered, but that's just because the other party says they'll pay, and they'd be fine without it. They hunt appropriately, dig holes appropriately, and camp out. They're like people who do work as a hobby or a pastime. Does that mean for a dwarf, creating something is a hobby?
"Oh! Come to think of it, you guys were like that. My apologies, my apologies."
"No, I'm happy that you seem to understand."
Somehow, they're hitting it off.
"Jeanne is a priest, so she inevitably thinks of work as an obligation, doesn't she?"
"Yes."
That's what I was taught.
"But that's not all. Isn't it the same for you, Jeanne? That's why you can make friends with various races."
Um, then it's the same as what the spirits said, and I don't understand at all.