Thanks to most of the mountain paths being paved, the trip back to Ceat Village took less than a third of the usual time. I’d been worried about monster attacks along the way, but Ortho and his crew offered to escort us for a ridiculously cheap price. Thanks to them, we made it back safe and sound without a single ambush.
“Welcome home, Lord Van.”
“I’m back, Espada.”
No sooner had Espada and the others welcomed me back, and I’d washed off my sweat in the bath, than somehow preparations for a massive barbecue festival were already complete.
Wait, hold on. I don’t remember giving any orders for this?
Yet before I knew it, there I was—standing in front of a blazing fire, a skewer of meat in hand, surrounded by the sparkling eyes of Ceat's villagers.
“…Then, to celebrate the safe return of the Ceat Knights—let’s kick off the Great Barbecue Festival!”
“Uooooohhh!”
Honestly, I wasn’t even sure what was happening anymore. But hey, when in doubt, just roll with it. So, with my impromptu opening speech, everyone raised their skewers over the fire. The mouthwatering scent of high-grade meat immediately spread through the street, and the villagers’ excitement shot straight through the roof.
“Let’s eat!”
“Yes, sir!”
With the toast complete, roasted meat was devoured left and right. The main street of Ceat Village—the venue of this sudden festival—soon filled with cheers and laughter.
“This is delicious, Lord Van.”
Arte, sitting next to me with a plate of meat and fruit, smiled happily. I nodded, tilting my head.
“Yeah, it is. But… when did this whole barbecue festival even start? I never said we should do one.”
Arte blinked at me in confusion.
“Huh? I heard you say in the bath that you wanted a barbecue, Lord Van…”
“Oh, uh—right. Yeah. I think I told Kamshin that I felt like eating meat. So that’s what this is, huh? Someone took the hint and organized a whole festival for me.”
I nodded several times to convince myself, then popped a juicy piece of meat into my mouth.
…Yep. Delicious. As expected, Van’s special sauce reigns supreme.
After that, it was back to work—catching up on everything that had piled up.
“Lord Van! A thousand new villagers have arrived, and we don’t have enough houses!”
“Lord Van! The dwarves are raising a fuss—they want to forge orichalcum weapons!”
“Lord Van! We can’t keep up with selling all these monster parts! The Merchant Guild says they’ll send staff to help sort and transport them!”
Requests and demands kept pouring in, and I scrambled to deal with them all.
“Houses, huh… families of three or more can have standalone homes. Singles and pairs, sorry, but you’re getting apartments, okay?”
“We haven’t received ore from Lada Vesta, have we? Wait, we have? Great! Tell him I want a badass spear made.”
“The Merchant Guild’s help would be nice, but how much is the pay? …One gold coin per month per person!? That’s robbery! Fine, one coin for two people. If they don’t like it, send a letter to Apollo and tell him I’ll take the job to the Mary Company instead!”
And so, the chaos continued for three straight days. My only breaks were quick meals, and after dinner, Dee would teach me swordsmanship while Espada drilled me in academics—with a smile from one, and a blank stare from the other.
By bedtime, I was a total wreck.
“S-so tired… maybe I should’ve just stayed behind to help conquer the Yerineta Kingdom’s fortress…”
Half-floating in the private bath, I let out a pitiful groan.
“You’ve worked hard, my lord.”
Kamshin bowed politely, his voice full of sincerity. Honestly, I could cry.
“Still left on the list: Apkalu and the others requested an underwater residential facility. Bell-Rango Company wants more warehouses built. Oh, and the villagers want more roads inside Ceat, too…”
I ticked off the tasks on my fingers. Yep, definitely crying.
“An underwater facility, huh… If we’re doing it, might as well go big and make it a submerged temple. Could be fun to play in. But building while underwater? That’s insane. Maybe I could wear a fishbowl helmet and have Lada Priora-chan tow me around… No, no. She’d 100% mess with me. Bad idea.”
I bobbed along in the bath, muttering nonsense, when Kamshin suddenly lit up.
“Ah! I almost forgot—the Espada Knights submitted a request to expand the adventurer town!”
“Ehh!? Don’t just throw out something like that! You know expanding a town takes at least a week or two, right!?”
“…Most would consider finishing it in a week or two the unbelievable part, my lord.”
I pouted, fuming at his nonchalance. He only gave me that tired, exasperated look in return.
Still, I pulled up a map in my mind.
“…Hmm. Since we built the adventurer town along the highway, it’s a bit tricky. There’s a forest in front of the Wolfsburg Mountains, and the other directions are all sloped terrain. If we expand, we’ll need to level the ground first…”
As I grumbled, still floating in the bath, Kamshin snapped his fingers.
“Oh, right! We already cut down the trees from the forest near the Wolfsburg Mountains. The land’s practically cleared! Why not expand the town in that direction?”
He gestured in the air, drawing lines with his fingers to explain.
“So if this is Ceat Village, and here’s the adventurer town… right here! This whole area’s already empty!”
“R-really…? Then I guess… we can build it…”
“Yes, exactly!”
Listening to Kamshin's cheerful explanation, I sank deeper into melancholy.
…On the bright side, Til’s special chilled fruit water after the bath was absolutely divine.
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