A week later, the town’s brand-new outer wall was complete. It curved in a perfect arc, and—if I may brag a little—it was a thing of beauty. Ever since the surveying was done, Espada had been helping me out, so construction went almost suspiciously smoothly. Too smoothly. (If this were a novel, I’d be expecting a betrayal flag right about now.)
Alright, time to tear down the old wall around the adventurers’ quarter and decide where the new buildings should go. Town planning is one of those things that’s both exhausting and unreasonably fun, so I found myself practically buzzing as I thought through the layout.
That’s when the fast horse arrived.
“Baron Van! A dispatch from the Yerineta Kingdom border!”
“Huh? Already? Did they… win? Or maybe they pushed through the fortress even knowing it would mean heavy casualties? That’s… complicated.”
“I couldn’t say, my lord. We’ve yet to hear the full report.”
With Kamshin at my side, I went to receive the messenger. But the moment I saw the knight who’d delivered the letter, my gut told me this wasn’t good news. The man had that “I’d rather be anywhere else right now” look.
“Baron Van, I bring a letter from His Majesty.”
“Thank you.”
I accepted it, opened the seal, and read. Then read again. Then blinked and reread a third time just in case the words changed.
“…Hmm? Hm-hm?”
An eloquent response, I know.
“…What does it say?” Kamshin asked, clearly worried.
“Well… it looks like we won. There were wyverns, even some mid-sized dragons apparently, but since they’d gathered the kingdom’s top mages, they managed to drive them back. Still, it sounds like the fighting was brutal—the fortress was left in ruins before Yerineta finally retreated.”
“Then it’s a victory report?”
“Yeah, except…”
I trailed off, eyes flicking back to the letter.
“…they’re asking me to go. Apparently, since the fortress isn’t a battlefield anymore, they’d like me to… restore it.”
Kamshin's brows immediately furrowed. “They want you to repair the fortress?”
“Uh, yeah? Why, what’s wrong?”
Kamshin glanced briefly at the knight, hesitated, then looked back at me with a grim face.
“…With respect, my lord, even His Majesty relies too heavily on you. You built the roads, the outposts, the forts—and now this fortress, too?”
Oof. That was definitely treason-flavored. And judging from the knight’s stunned expression, he thought the same. This was how you earned yourself a nice little “beheading at dawn.” I quickly placed a hand on Kamshin's shoulder and tried to calm him down.
“H-hey, it’s fine. Really. If His Majesty is asking, it just means there’s something only I can do. Depending on the size, I could probably fix it up in a month or two.”
I forced a laugh, then looked at the knight.
“Sorry about that, my retainer just got a little carried away. It’s not criticism of His Majesty, really—it’s just… ah… overflowing loyalty to me. He’s a bit yandere, you know?”
The knight gave me a look somewhere between pity and “I am absolutely not getting paid enough for this.” At least he nodded, which I decided to interpret as agreement.
Right. Bribery time.
“Thank you for your hard work, sir knight. We’ll have the baths prepared and food served at once. Kamshin, show him the way.”
“Yes, my lord.”
With that, I shoved Kamshin toward hospitality duty, hoping to smooth things over. The man was loyal to a fault—but sometimes, a little too loyal. (Truly, being this popular is suffering. Someone please write that on my gravestone.)
Still, no time to sulk—I immediately summoned Dee and Espada for counsel.
“…And that’s the situation,” I explained after summarizing the letter.
Dee and Espada both fell into heavy silence. Which was… not the reaction I was expecting.
“…It’s not that serious, right?” I asked, nervously.
They exchanged a glance, as though wordlessly agreeing on who would go first.
“…Should we take the request at face value—that His Majesty merely wants the fortress repaired?” Dee finally asked.
Espada frowned thoughtfully, stroking his chin. “Even if the fortress was heavily damaged, at most the Scuderia-side wall would have collapsed. With the Yerineta-facing side intact, it would still serve its purpose. Which suggests two possibilities.”
“Two possibilities?” I urged, leaning forward despite myself. (Damn him and his good storytelling pacing.)
Espada cleared his throat. “First, it could be an effort to officially bolster your record of accomplishments. His Majesty clearly values you highly. If you restore the fortress and install new defenses, the credit will be significant—likely enough to raise your title beyond viscount.”
“…And the second?”
“Second, since Ceat is the fastest route to the fortress, His Majesty may intend to grant you the surrounding territory as a reward.”
“Ehhhhh!?”
I couldn’t help the shout. Of course he’d drop something outrageous like that.
“Sure, for a noble, more land is nice and all, but I’m perfectly content already, thank you! We’ve got hot springs, an inn, restaurants, new shops popping up every month, and a lake. With boats! Honestly, the only thing missing is a cake shop, crepes, ice cream, Belgian waffles—oh, wait, and a good bakery, and a ramen place. Actually, curry too. Definitely curry.”
…Okay, so my speech about being satisfied with my land turned into a wishlist of food. (But in my defense—good food is the true spice of life.)
Espada, meanwhile, had his hand on his chin again, lost in thought.
“A-ah, don’t take me too seriously. Obviously I’d refuse once before accepting, if His Majesty did offer land.”
But Espada shook his head gravely.
“…On the contrary, that may be exactly what you need.”
“…What do you mean?”
“Yerineta is well-positioned for trade with the Central Continent. And the Central Continent is renowned for its advanced food culture. If you had access to their trade routes, spices and ingredients would become far more abundant.”
My eyes lit up. “…Tell me everything. Now.”
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