Van

NEW RESIDENTS WERE INCOMING, COMPLETE with livestock. And a dungeon now, too? Who thought this was the time for that?!

All the new houses popping up in the village were built by yours truly. Though I was eight years old, going on nine, I worked harder than anyone else. What’s up with that? I’m not even ten yet!

Whatever the case, I ended up building fifty one-story houses with three bedrooms and a small kitchen, perfect for four people. I then built another fifty two-bedroom, one-story houses for pairs. Bam, homes for three hundred people.

I also went out of my way to secure space on the main street for the inevitable Adventurers’ Guild branch and any inns. That way, we’d be ready for them. “All that’s left is to build a base so we can accommodate lots of adventurers whenever they show up.” “A base?” Till parroted.

“Basically, a little town for adventurers. I’ve got no problem with it if they decide to settle here permanently, but if they’re only going to stay for a bit while exploring the dungeon, I figure I’ll have them stay over there. Think about it: Ortho’s party is different, but there are some rowdy adventurers out there, right?”

Till’s brows lifted. “And, um, you’re going to make a whole town for them?”

“It’s gonna be a pain, but we’ll be better off. Don’t worry about it—I’ll just whip up a little town in a month. That’s not too big a deal.”

“Is a town something you can build in a month?” Overwhelmed by confusion, Till tilted her head at me.

I simply smiled and got ready to begin the town-making process.

“So I’m thinking something big enough for three or four hundred people would be good. Like the sort of inn town you see for travelers and adventurers.

The buildings should be tall, with a five-meter wall around the perimeter. I’ll set up ballistae on three sides—so not the wall facing the village. These’ll be attached to the floor and locked with a key so they can’t be misused.”

“How big will the buildings be, and how many people will they accommodate?”

“Three stories, I think. I’ll build the main street as a giant cross, then put the buildings along the road. If ten people can stay on a single floor, each building can handle thirty people. I’ll build ten of those, then five additional buildings for shops. Two inns…No, maybe three would be best.”

Esparda glanced my way. “Since the guild will soon build a branch here, we should prepare a place for them. I hope this does not come across as impertinent, but if you are going to construct shops and inns, you must either lease them out or run them yourself.”

“Well, running them myself would be more profitable and allow for more flexibility, but it’d be such a pain.”

“In that case, I believe you should appoint a local governor to the new town.

Since you will remain in the village, you need someone to manage the town.”

“And if I choose to run the shops, I won’t need a local governor? Oh, I get it. You’d have the shop owners and innkeepers run the town themselves? That would be pretty efficient, and it’s better than just leaving things to a single person.”

Esparda nodded deeply. “Precisely. That, or you could found your own Chivalric Order. Fortunately, we have Dee on our side, so everything from recruitment to dispatch would be eminently doable.”

Rather than getting fixated on profits from the new town, we had to focus on making it safe and secure. Villainous sorts out to hurt or steal could pop up anywhere. Having knights around as law enforcement would be good, but it wasn’t that simple. Fortunately, we had an ample budget.

“Let’s do it all,” I declared. “We’ll hold off on store management for a bit, so leave that stuff to Bell and Rango. We can recruit adventurers and mercenaries into our very own Chivalric Order. I’ll leave the local governance to you, Esparda.”

Esparda thought for a moment, then nodded his approval. “Understood. In that case, I shall look for people to manage the town. As for our knights, I take it one Chivalric Order for the village and a separate one for the town would be best?”

“Yeah. Dee and his men can be the Seatoh Chivalric Order here in the village, and the new town will have the Esparda Chivalric Order.”

“Is this retribution for the issue of your name, my lord?”

“No idea what you’re talking about. I’m only eight!”

Esparda side-eyed me, and I grinned. Quite the tender moment between the two of us.

The residents of the neighboring village arrived about three weeks later, while we were doing measurements and prep for the new town.

“Thank you so much for taking us in. I am Superv, the mayor of Fabia.”

“Pleasure to meet you! I’m Van Nei Fertio. Looking forward to having you from today on.” Pleasantries exchanged, I turned to the folks behind him. “Welcome to Seatoh! We welcome each and every one of you. I know you must all be exhausted from your travels, so we’re holding a barbecue to celebrate your arrival and deepen the bonds between us! Then you can all go to sleep in your own houses. Let’s get this party started!”

The residents of Seatoh cheered as they handed out drinks. The meat was already cooking; we were more than ready to handle three hundred new faces. Our newest residents were still disoriented, but they couldn’t resist the tantalizing aromas of sizzling meat, and they soon dispersed throughout the grounds.

Now then, how’s first contact going? Hopefully no fights…I surveyed my surroundings, preparing to patrol the area, when Arte jogged over to me.

“Um, Lord Van?” she asked, red-faced. “W-would you care to eat together?”

“Well, I’m kinda curious as to how everyone’s getting along. I know it’s bad manners, but do you mind if we eat on the go?”

“Oh, th-that’s fine! Let’s do it!” She flashed me a beautiful smile.

I smiled back, then noticed Till and Khamsin watching with identical grins on their faces. They looked like they had something to say. “Shall we all go together?” I asked.

“Yes, Lord Van.”

“Indeed!”

With that, our merry group of children walked around the village, chaperoned by Till.

“Hmm, we don’t have enough chairs.” I whirled toward a passing villager.

“Hey! Excuse me, sir! Could you run and get three more chairs?”

“Whoa! It’s Lord Van! Ch-chairs, you say? I’m on it!” The man hurried off and brought back some more chairs for the elderly folks from Fabia. He sure is quick on his feet!

“Thanks, sir. By the way, I hope you join our upcoming Chivalric Order.”

“Huh?”

“Just think about it.”

“Er, will do! Thanks!” he replied, loud and determined despite his obvious confusion.

One knight secured!

If I didn’t recruit enough personnel before Esparda got to all the best candidates, we would find ourselves with an Order full of leftovers. I intended to invite anyone who looked like they could fight.

I cast my gaze around the area some more, then noticed a group of folks from Fabia looking our way. I tilted my head as they approached. “Did something happen?”

“Um, Mister Lord, sir? Do you have jobs for us as well?”

“We have no way to make a living.”

“None of us have any savings…”

They appealed to me in turn, sharing their concerns. Unfortunately, the original residents of Seatoh were already doing things like fieldwork, monster butchery, and material transportation. We hadn’t gotten around to mining or anything yet. “Lemme see… How about you manage the new shops and inns we’re building? Oh, and you can cultivate the new fields as well.”

The villagers frowned. “We can handle the fieldwork, but we’ve never done any kind of sales before,” said one.

“No worries! There are all sorts of things involved in managing shops and inns: keeping the goods in order, speaking to customers, cleaning… Anything money-related will be handled by people who can do the math.” A wave of relief washed over the crowd.

Excellent. Now I can start recruiting tons of villagers into our Chivalric Order. The more folks we get, the more stuff we can do. I can’t wait!

It was time to hurry up and build the new town!

Judging by their unmoored expressions as they went off to sleep, the new residents never imagined that they would be given homes. The next morning, not yet knowing their left from their right, they all had the same breakfast as me: soup, salad, and bread. I regretted not preparing a few different foods and making it into a buffet.

After breakfast, it took me only minutes to switch gears; I left to go build. Along the way, I kept my eye out for any tough-looking youngsters who could help with the construction and join the future Seatoh Chivalric Order. “You there, pull that rope!”

“Aye!”

“It’s leaning a bit. More to the right!”

“To the right, he said!”

“Aye!”

With the way people were calling out to each other as they pulled at ropes so I could check angles and lengths, it really did feel like a proper construction site. The whole endeavor was a piece of cake.

“This is where the residential area will be,” I said, pointing. “So that would be the entrance?”

“For ease of use, that spot would be the best,” Esparda agreed. “The shops will be lined up here, so there’s no reason to put the entrance on the opposite side.”

“Right, right. Are the materials being transported…? Ooh, they’re already at it.

Folks around here have gotten fast.”

While Esparda and I conversed, the residents of Seatoh were hard at work. They all carried wood blocks, and our newest arrivals were chipping in—even if they were pretty confused. I had the elderly taking care of the cows and procuring space to breed them, since they were skilled at that. They picked an area near the lake where the apkallu lived, so I got to enjoy their flabbergasted looks when they met their new neighbors.

“Cows, I see?” said an apkallu.

“Y-yes,” one old man replied.

“They’re adorable!”

“Erm, are they…?”

“Mm-hmm! We’ll help take care of them.” The apkallu responded positively to the new arrivals and the animals that came with them, paying no mind to their bewilderment. They fed the cows grass and gave them water. It was a fascinating sight. Perhaps old people and apkallu were especially compatible?

On the other hand, the children from Fabia were thrilled by their new homes and even more excited about the giant wall. They joined up with the kids of Seatoh and explored every which way. I was delighted by how lively the village was with this influx of people. The destitute village I came to was a thing of the past.

“Do you still need more logs, Lord Van?” Dee yelled. He and the others were walking to a carriage they’d been using to haul in lumber from the forest— lumber I’d make into wood blocks.

“Hmm, let’s see. I’d love at least a hundred more. We’ve finally used up all our blocks.”

Dee beamed and propped the giant axe I’d made for him over his shoulder. “Leave it to us! We can certainly get you a hundred today! Come on, folks,” he said, turning around. “Ready the carriage and let’s head for the woods!”

Arb, Lowe, and a bunch of tough-looking villagers raised their voices in response. Wait, does Dee already have a bunch of men ready to join the Order? I had no clue we had all these Viking types sitting around!

“Dee?”

He spun around quickly. “Yes, Lord Van?”

“Think you could make a Chivalric Order with those big guys you got with you?”

“Now that’s an interesting idea! Let me ask them!” Dee checked with his men, but the response was unexpected.

“Um, sorry, but Esparda already invited us,” said one of the young men, all apologetic. “He had us sign this enrollment contract thing…” “Huh?!” I blurted out.

Seriously, Esparda? He already has his eyes locked on potential targets. Cut me some slack here!

Annoyed that I’d screwed up the first leg of the race, I asked the rest of the group and found that only about a third of them had been invited by Esparda.

Thank goodness. Now, if I name Dee the commander of the Order, Arb and Lowe will be adjutants, and we’ll be a dozen knights strong.

“So small!” I cried, playing the straight man to myself.

Esparda’s order would have something like forty knights. If we combined them both into about sixty-ish men, that would at least be presentable. Not terrible for a brand-new town.

“All right, then! I’ll make the Seatoh Chivalric Order as unique as Seatoh itself! I’m gonna freak Esparda out!”

As Dee and his men resumed their lumber duty, I made my resolution.

I was working and thinking about the Chivalric Order when I noticed something coming from down the road. “Probably a carriage…”

It was still so far off that I wasn’t super confident about it, but Khamsin nodded firmly. “It’s a single midsize carriage with one horse. I don’t see any escorts.”

“Uh, gotcha. Thanks.” How does everyone have such good vision?! “If there are no escorts, then is it Kusala? It’s unusual for someone to come out here alone.”

Still gazing in that direction, Khamsin went wide-eyed. “Oh, there are other carriages behind it, though they’re quite far away…”

He had done nothing wrong—my eyes were the problem—but I couldn’t keep my complaint about his abnormally good vision to myself any longer. “That front carriage is extremely far away, yet you’re telling me you can see even farther than that? That’s not normal!” Till and Arte looked at me.

“Don’t worry, my lord! I can’t see in that much detail either.”

“Likewise.”

“Thanks. You ladies sure are kind.” At last, I can find hope in this world once more! Having no idea who or what was approaching us, I collected myself and got back to work on the new residential area.

It took me an hour to put up another building, by which time the first carriage had arrived. The driver was our favorite portly adventurer, but I didn’t recognize the beautiful woman looking out from the carriage.

“Who is that?” I asked.

Till gasped. “Oh, gosh! What if he saved that lady on the way to the capital, and then they fell in love?!”

“How wonderful,” Arte said, latching onto Till’s conjecture. “Just like the heroic tales of old.”

I was doubtful. This was Kusala we were talking about. “Would he actually do something that cool?”

Khamsin tilted his head, considering this. “In all honesty, Kusala is impressive in his own way. He’s fast, quick to detect others, and unmatched among his cohorts at finding and disarming traps. He practices a unique style of swordplay, and he’s exceptional. He’s also good at throwing stones and knives, and well versed in archery to boot.”

“Wait, Kusala can do all that?!”

This launched a heated discussion in which Khamsin, Till, Arte, and I debated Kusala’s special skills, his personality, and whether he was cool. Eventually, the man of the hour cut in: “Pardon me, Lord Van, but could you please not talk about me so loudly?”

Quick! Change the subject! “Heya, Kusala! Welcome home. Who’s the lovely lady with you?”

Till and Arte leaned forward, eager to hear the answer. Being the center of attention seemed to make it hard for Kusala to speak, but at last he pushed through. “Well, y’see, some stuff happened and we happened to run into each other. Since she had nowhere else to go, I brought her with me. You okay with taking in more residents?”

“No problem at all. We’ve got three hundred newcomers, and we still have plenty of space.”

“Three hundred?! You mean the folks from the other village? Man, talk about a population boom!”

Till shot Kusala a sidelong glance before greeting the woman behind him. “It is a pleasure to meet you. I am Till, and this is the lord of this land, Lord Van Nei Fertio.”

The woman in question, having lost her earlier chance at a formal

introduction, let out a sigh of relief when I gave her an opening. “I am Flamiria Stratos. I was attacked by orcs near the capital, but Sir Kusala saved my life. I’ve been traveling with him ever since.”

Till and Arte’s eyes sparkled as they peered at Flamiria’s face. For my part, I took one glance at Kusala and thoughtlessly let my true feelings be known: “No waaay.”

Kusala blushed. “Er, well, I didn’t really do anything that cool.”

“Please,” said Flamiria with a gentle, ladylike smile. “Don’t be so humble. Despite what Sir Kusala says, he was even more impressive than any hero in the tales of old.”

Kusala turned his face away, embarrassed, even as Till and Arte cried out in joy.

I still couldn’t believe any of it. “No waaay.”

My doubt over Kusala’s heroic exploits aside, the real problem was the huge group of carriages headed our way. It was much larger than a standard caravan. The group included all sorts of people, from rough-looking bald dudes with weapons to mohawked guys in animal furs. There were youngsters clad in full armor with axes, and even more suspicious folks. If that weren’t enough, they had a plethora of carriages and people on horseback making all kinds of hoots and hollers.

The end of the world! The end of the world is here!

“Sorry ’bout this, little lord,” Kusala said. “When I reported back to the guild, a bunch of idiots looking to get rich started following me. But don’t worry—they knew this place was out in the sticks, so they’re ready to camp outside. It’d be bad if they scared the villagers, so just make them stay out there for the night.”

I wasn’t having any of it. Adventurers would be our repeat patrons going forward; we needed to give them a positive impression of us and our facilities. “Hold on a sec. For the time being, we have room and board for sixty people. I’ll build a section of wall around the area just for today so they can rest in comfort. Kusala, you can head back home. Good work out there.”

Flamiria elegantly curtsied behind Kusala. If she’s not from a well-to-do family, I’ll eat my hat.

Kusala seemed to remember something, and he glanced around. “Where’s the party?”

“Ortho and the rest are exploring around the dungeon. They still haven’t made a base yet, though. I guess it’s kind of in a bad location.”

“Huh, then that sounds like a job for me. Tomorrow, that is! I’ve gotta get some good shut-eye.” Secure in the knowledge that the others were struggling, Kusala contentedly made his way to the village.

Arte’s eyes were locked on Kusala and his new friend. “That woman is Lord Stratos’s daughter,” she whispered.

“You know her?”

“Yes. I heard that the house went into rapid decline after the baron passed away. They must have fallen into ruin.”

“That’s awful,” Till said, holding a hand over her mouth. “She looks about the same age as me, and she’s gone through so much suffering…”

“Oh.” Arte tilted her head. “Um, she’s Baron Stratos’s only daughter, and I believe she is already thirty or so.”

“What?!”

Everyone turned their eyes toward the village. Solemnly, Khamsin said, “The world sure works in mysterious ways.”

No comment! It was unwise to discuss a woman’s age.

“Now then,” I said, “back to building the town. Shops aren’t gonna be up and running for a while, so I guess we can make do with a temporary protective wall —one good enough to stop your average monster. If something really awful turns up, I can just have folks flee into the village.”

“Right!”

“It might be wise to make sure the carriage parking area is located within the walls as well.”

A few adventurers who’d arrived ahead of the pack noticed us chatting and walked over. “Hey, hey! You kids sure are playin’ in a dangerous place!” “You little brats! You may be close to the village, but it’s dangerous outside!”

“Heh heh heh, ain’t you a beauty? Better watch out, pervs love girls like you.

Hell, even we’d love a taste, if you get what I’m sayin’. Hurry home now.”

The men spoke the sort of tasteless, nasty crap that you’d expect from villains thriving in a postapocalyptic world. Actually, wait a second. They might sound like gross jerks, but…

“Are they worried about us?” “Seems like it,” Khamsin said.

“They’re a bit awkward, but they appear to be kind people,” Till agreed.

“Their faces are kind of scary, though…”

Arte wasn’t crazy about them, but I was pleasantly surprised. The three postapocalyptic adventurers leading the pack were quiet and stoic. It made it all the more humorous when the smiling adventurers behind them stepped up.

“Did you guys scare them?”

“Hey, sorry about that. The guys in White Oath all look terrifying, I know.”

“But they’re damn talented!”

Apparently the postapocalyptic bros were a party called White Oath. Why did they pick a name like that? I wondered, sizing them up.

A slim man in shiny silver armor said, “Seriously, what are you kids doing out here? You’d be in a bad way if some monsters showed up.”

“Thanks for your concern, but once I find what I’m looking for, we’ll be headed back to the village. No worries.” With that, I turned back toward the village.

The man furrowed his brow. “That’s the border village, huh? From what I heard at the guild, the lord is some young baron. Kid seems to have quite a bit of cash and personnel, which means the marquis definitely values this location as a stronghold.” He punctuated his point with a smug smile, and I tilted my head.

Wonder who this young baron is supposed to be. There aren’t any young and talented barons in the marquis’s faction, at least as far as I know. But rumors were rumors for a reason. There was little doubt in my mind that the facts had transformed wildly in their journey from the borderlands to the capital.

“So, what kind of game were you kids playing?” one of the men asked, jogging me out of my thoughts.

“Er, lumber carrying?” I said.

“And what kind of game is that?”

This is definitely a “show, don’t tell” situation.

“Khamsin, please get me a wood block.”

As instructed, Khamsin grabbed the remaining three wood blocks and brought them over to me. I solidified an image in my head and created about ten meters of simple fencing. It was grated, so I’d used as few materials as possible, but the end result looked like I’d made a large dog park or something. “It doesn’t look great,” I said, facing the adventurers, “but it’s only meant to be temporary. When I’m finished, the whole town is going to be enveloped in a five-meter-tall protective wall.”

They gawked at the fencing, mouths hanging open. One of them pointed at it, tripping over his words. “Wh-wh-wh-wh…”

I totally get it. I’m not satisfied with the finished product either. “I know, it doesn’t look reliable at all. But I promise you, it’s tougher than it looks. And in about a week, I’ll have a real wall installed for safety.” A few of the adventurers shook their heads slightly.

“No, no, no, no.”

“That is not the problem.”

“What’s with your crazy-ass magic?!”

That opened the floodgates, and the adventurers rushed at me like a blast of water. Right as I was floundering for a response, Dee and his men came by with their load of logs.

“Lord Van! We’ve brought thirty logs for you!” Dee said, stacking them in front of me.

The adventurers were once again left stunned. “D-don’t tell me this brat is…the Van Nei Fertio!”

The moment this disbelieving murmur reached Dee’s ears, he drew his sword. “Who said that?! Step forward! The commander of the Seatoh Chivalric Order will cut you down!”

Oh man, Dee is seriously angry. How scary! If he got that mad at me, I’d probably pee myself. I applaud your tenacity, brave adventurers.

While Dee’s rage made most of the adventurers back away, a few of them jolted upright and stepped forward. “You old fart! You think you can cut us down? Give it a try, c’mon!” One of these brave yet foolish men brandished a long, weighty iron sword and pointed it at Dee.

Dee glared at the blade. Then, lightning-quick, he dropped his hips and swung his sword. The shriek of metal on metal filled the air, and the adventurer’s iron sword was cleaved in two. The pointy end flew up into the air and back down, planting itself in the dirt. This sight was enough to convince the remaining adventurers to silently back away, their faces pale with fear.

Rumors of Dee the Dragonslayer, the most powerful of knights, spread through the adventurers like wildfire. They trembled with excitement and awe, greeting him as they always did when they saw him.

“Hi, Sir Dee!”

“Good work out there!”

“Howdy!”

What are you people, baseball teammates? Part of me wanted to point out how silly this all was, but if it meant a safer town, who was I to complain?

“You fools better not get up to any trouble, or I’ll step in personally,” Dee warned them.

“W-we won’t! We don’t want to be cut down!”

His words had a tremendous effect on them. Unfortunately, they still struggled with me being the “little lord” of the village.

“Hey, Lord Van, is there anywhere around here I can buy weapons?”

“Go talk to Bell in the village. He’s a merchant.”

“Thank ya kindly!”

Most of the new adventurers spoke to me with this sort of light and casual tone, and some asked prying questions. “Why did you get sent out to the sticks?” “I got chased out of my home,” I said.

“What? That’s awful, bud.”

“I know, right? The world of nobles is a miserly one.”

“You sure know some big words!”

“Well, I am the lord, after all.”

Through such overly familiar conversations as these, the adventurers quickly adapted to the village and our way of doing things. Ortho and his party had a front-row seat to this process, much to their dismay.

“Just like that, we’ve got a ton of competition,” Ortho grumbled.

“Oh! Hi, folks.” I turned to the group. “When did you get back?”

Ortho groaned, stress etched onto his face. “Just now. We got too enthusiastic about exploring the dungeon’s perimeter. Based on all these adventurers milling about, I’m guessing Kusala’s here?”

“Yup, he’s back. He even brought a beautiful woman with him.” “Wait, what?” The whole party looked shocked.

Pluriel leaned over and shot me a perplexed look. “Kusala? Brought a woman?”

“No freaking way.”

Just as the party went off, the man of the hour appeared, driving his carriage. “Hey, guys.” He grinned. “It’s getting late, so I was about to go check on y’all. The guild researchers and staff’ll arrive in a few days, so I guess I’ll go dungeon running tomorrow.”

Flamiria poked her head out of the carriage. “Um, Sir Kusala?”

Kusala’s smile turned bashful at the sound of his name in her elegant, tinkling voice. “Oh, right! This is Lady Flamiria Stratos. She joined me on my journey from the capital. My lady, these folks here are my adventurer pals.” He introduced each one to her in turn while the pals in question watched, wideeyed and petrified. When he was done, he smiled wryly. “I was thinking of lending you guys a hand, but since you’re back already, I’ll just stay here. Let’s kill it out there tomorrow, eh?” He steered the carriage around. “We’ll be stayin’ at the inn tonight. See ya tomorrow!”

“Ah, excuse us!” Flamiria said politely, waving farewell.

Ortho’s party watched them leave, dumbfounded, then looked at me. “Uh, little lord…?”

“Are we dreaming?”

“What the heck was that?!”

I thought back to what Till, Khamsin, and Arte had said earlier. “He charged in and saved her from an orc attack, so it’s not crazy that she’d latch on to him as her hero.”

“Hero?”

“Kusala?!”

I nodded. They all looked baffled, but the truth was the truth; they had to accept it. “I was thinking of building a little house for the two of them. Do you mind if I build it next to your place?”

“F-for the two of them?!”

“Damn it, I should have gone to the capital instead!”

I ignored the men and turned to Pluriel, the most composed of the bunch.

“How was the dungeon?”

“Huh? Oh, uh, the dungeon. Didn’t seem like many monsters had surfaced. It’s in a pretty dangerous place—the entrance is located near a steep cliff.”

“How big of a dungeon are we talking?”

“Extremely big, I think. The entrance is a lot like a cave, and wide enough for two people to walk side by side. To make sure it was a dungeon and not just a cave, we checked inside and confirmed the presence of stairs, multiple levels, pillars at the entrance, walls, glowing magic stones on the ceiling—the whole package. It is most definitely a dungeon.”

I folded my arms and groaned. “That sounds tough. Is it far from the village?”

“An hour by carriage from the village, then another two or three hours once you’re in the woods.”

“Whoa, that’s far!” I blurted out.

Pluriel nodded, smiling bitterly. “Most dungeons are like that. Powerful monsters tend to spawn nearby, so locals typically steer clear.”

That made sense. Nobody would go out of their way to build a village somewhere dangerous on purpose. Still, I got the sense that it could be a good idea to build a settlement close to the dungeon after the fact. I didn’t voice this thought, but Pluriel seemed to sense where my mind had gone anyway.

“In addition to the dangers posed by monsters, most dungeons are in nearly inaccessible areas. That’s why people have built small bases of operations near dungeons but never any proper settlements.” Eyes glittering with hope, she added, “So far, that is.”

Hmm, what could that possibly mean?

“I think you could do it, Lord Van.”

She went and said it! Even if she had the thought, she wasn’t supposed to say it out loud. I tried to politely decline. “Yeah, but the forest is dangerous, right? I can’t bring my ballistae out there.”

Pluriel stepped forward and brought her face close to mine. “We’ll protect you. We’ve gone dungeon diving tons of times, so you won’t be in any danger.”

Whoa, she’s really motivated. Nevertheless, I wasn’t planning on caving to her here. I just wanted to stay at home.

“You’ll have to take me straight to the entrance of the dungeon, naps and dessert included.” I counted off my conditions on my fingers. “As for attendants, I’ll be bringing Till and Khamsin. Arte, too. Dee and Esparda have to work on the town, so they’ll stay behind. And I’ll probably need lots of guards.”

Heh heh heh, now what? How will you react to my naivete? I’m underestimating the woods, right? I bet if I weren’t an eight-year-old, she’d have slapped my face off by now. Just thinking about it gives me the shivers!

Pluriel was unfazed. “All right, I shall see to it. We leave tomorrow.”

“Say wha…?” Unthinking, I responded in a decidedly unlordly manner, but Pluriel was already on her way over to her party to start preparing. “Say what?” I repeated to nobody, like a total idiot.

I squinted against the bright sunbeams piercing gaps in the forest canopy. Enduring the constant jostling back and forth, I took a deep breath.

“What a view!” I said.

“Indeed,” Arte agreed. “And the air is so crisp. It feels wonderful.”

Khamsin moaned. “I can’t handle…all the rocking… Urp!”

My companions each experienced our trip in their own unique way as we edged along the cliff.

I really wish this place would stick to one type of terrain. Is it a forest, a valley, a cliff, or the Blyde River Canyon? Whatever it was, the massive scale was like a scene straight out of a movie.

About an hour had passed since we entered the forest, and the landscape had changed way too frequently. One minute we were drowning in annoying animal cries, and the next the stench of blood filled the air as we found ourselves staring at monster corpses.

“I had no idea it’d be like this,” I said.

Nobody sympathized with me. Not even Till, who treated me to a pained

smile that said Now you realize?

“Y-you’re the one who said…let’s go to a dungeon…” Khamsin stammered.

“You all right over there, Khamsin?” He was being more critical of me than usual, maybe because of his motion sickness. I didn’t love him looking at me like that.

Anyway, being carried by six strong adventurers like we were in a portable

Shinto shrine was rough. I understood that they had it worse than we did, truly. But the road wasn’t great, so we were shaking and rattling all over the place. Khamsin asked multiple times to get off and walk, but he was told to stay on board—his absence wouldn’t lighten the load that much for the adventurers, and he’d just get in the way. Now he was leaning against the window, looking like Death was coming for him.

The little shrine-like palanquin I’d built for us didn’t weigh much, but it was heavy with four people inside, so adventurers were swapping in and out every half hour to carry us. The bumps and jumps were bad, but the shaking was horrible too. If I let my guard down and focused too much on looking out the window, I felt like I’d get launched out of the thing.

Despite our situation, the women were holding up well. They were so excited, you’d think they were on a sightseeing tour.

“This cliff is incredible, Lady Arte!”

“It’s so steep, and the view is so grand. Those mountains off in the distance are beautiful.”

“They’re even bigger than the clouds. Oh, look! A flying monster! See it up there?”

“Wow, amazing!”

Terrifying.

What would we do if we were attacked? Our little Shinto shrine would become our tomb. I had one of my bowguns on hand, so we’d probably be fine, but I preferred not to deal with an ambush.

I ventured a glance outside to see how things were going. Some of the adventurers were patrolling the area for monsters. When Ortho and his people put out word that we were hiring escorts, some fifty people had volunteered for the job. Maybe they thought it was a good chance to check out the dungeon, but however you sliced it, we had way too many people.

Still, about ten of them were equipped with weapons purchased from yours truly, so we had a formidable fighting force.

“Woohoo! There’s a giant troll in the woods!”

“I’m gonna hunt that thing!”

“Whoa, how’d you split that thing in two? What the hell kind of sword is that?!”

Though things were pretty rowdy outside, it meant that neither of the girls was particularly scared.

By the time Khamsin’s face changed color again, we were nearing the dungeon. One path we took was so tight and steep, I couldn’t believe we managed to squeeze along in our little shrine. When I peered out the window, I couldn’t see the ground—it looked like we were floating in midair. I decided then and there that I wouldn’t be going home without expanding the cliff road.

“We’ve arrived, Lord Van!”

Hearing this, I looked out to see a steep drop-off directly ahead. “Stooop! Stop right here!” I screamed.

“Huh? But we’re almost there.” One of the men carrying our carriage eyed me with great curiosity. He was an idiot. He must’ve been.

“Let us down somewhere a bit more spacious! Hurry!”

The adventurers were puzzled but nonetheless followed my orders.

“Something happen?”

“What’s wrong?!”

Ortho’s party, which was leading the way, hurried back to the carriage. The forest was to our right, with steep cliffs dropping off to the left and front of us. The one ahead had two logs extended from the edge, forming an extremely questionable bridge to the next cliff along.

This is madness! What happened to “safety first”?! This sort of thing would cause a scaffold constructor to stage a coup.

Even after I was safely out of the palanquin, I couldn’t contain my rage. The opposing cliff was at least ten meters away, and the adventurers were coming and going across the logs like they were acrobats. Even Kusala ran across them like it was no big deal.

“Okay, see that? One mistake and we’re all dead, so how about we fix it?

Danger foresight, risk management. Get what I’m saying?”

The adventurers exchanged confused glances. A bald guy who looked to be in his twenties said, “I don’t see what’s so dangerous.”

“All right. Sit on your heels, my good man. Right there. Reflect on your words.” He complained, but the folks around him forced him down. Once he was down, I pointed at the logs. “Kusala, try crossing that.”

Kusala had no idea what was happening, but he stepped out onto the logs as instructed.

“Khamsin, kick the logs.”

“Roger that!”

“Um, Lord Van?!” As soon as Khamsin ran forward to kick the logs, Kusala desperately scuttled to the other side. “Were you trying to kill me?!”

He hopped up and down on the other side in a fit of rage, but I just jabbed a thumb toward him and turned to the adventurers. “Kusala is nimble, sure. But if the logs rolled to one side or broke, he could still fall to his death. Do you get it?”

“Yes, sir!”

There we go. “Then that means we either make sure the logs are locked in place or look for a safer route. Got that?”

“Yes, sir!”

Another reassuring reply. I knew they could learn!

“So,” I said, “what do you think we should do with these logs?”

“Put a bunch more down all in a row!”

“Sit down.”

“Yes, sir!”

Just like that, I was faced with a big group of adventurers sitting on their heels. “You don’t just lay them down! You make a sturdy bridge! Bring me lumber!”

Thus, before we reached the dungeon, I built a real bridge. The whole process took only ten minutes, and the bridge itself was ten meters long. It was sturdy enough for a full carriage to cross with no issues.

“See? This is how you make sure things are safe,” I said to the whining adventurers.

“That’s impossible!”

“It would normally take days to build a bridge like this…”

“We don’t have that kind of time.”

I shrugged. “If all you’re going to do is gripe, then I guess I won’t build a base of operations for you guys.” The apologies came fast.

“We’re so sorry!”

“We’ll build bridges!”

“Forgive us!”

Fine. Van is a magnanimous young man. I looked at the entrance to the dungeon. “All right, about that base…”

The entrance was about three meters wide, and the tunnel descended at an angle. A faint light emanated from deep within. The cave’s surroundings were rocky, and the area in front of the entrance wasn’t particularly spacious. If you left the dungeon and proceeded in the direction of the village, you’d come to a cliff very quickly—followed by a supremely beautiful, awe-inspiring bridge leading to the other side.

Building a base was going to take some work.

“What’s the matter, my lord?” Till asked.

“Yeah, uh…” I faltered, then raised my head. “First, I’ve got to know what you guys need in terms of facilities. What do you want?”

“A brothel.”

“Not happening. Sit down.”

This wasn’t going to be easy.

I started off with the bare necessities for the adventurers’ base: a rest area, a dining hall, a restroom, a storage space, and a gate for the dungeon entrance. I also installed a pulley to the cliff for acquiring water, and along the way I rejected many requests for a brothel or gambling house.

At this point, we were looking at a maximum of sixty or seventy people using the space at any given time, so I decided to construct the building with some leeway in the event that it filled up. Something like the barracks I made for the soldiers before, basically.

Since the area was on a cliff, I used the unique qualities of the space.

“Are you certain about the shape?” Arte asked me, a note of concern in her voice.

“Sure am!” I replied, installing a floor between the pillars and a set of stairs.

The building style was a bit unique, so I’d saved the outside wall for last. I made the windows on the small side, and since the cliff face along the dungeon’s entrance was perfectly angled, I built right off of it. The problem was adjusting my construction to match. The cliff face wasn’t consistent all the way down; it had a slight slope to it. While my idea was great, actually exerting my mental power to build the thing was trickier than I expected.

Nonetheless, I managed to complete a Japanese-style, retro-looking hotel that sat along the edge of the mountain. If anything, it resembled Jiufen in Taiwan. On the first floor were the lounge and storage facilities, while the second floor housed the dining hall and three rooms that could each accommodate four people. On the third and fourth floors were six rooms each, for a total of fifteen. I installed four toilets on each floor and a water tank on the roof for gathering and storing rainwater; as long as the filter was maintained properly, the base would have flushing toilets. Finally, I added iron bars and sliding doors over the windows for safety reasons.

Finished at last, I admired my unique creation.

“I’ll keep this short, since you guys saw the interior while I was building it,” I said. I turned around to find the adventurers staring at the building, dumbstruck. Till, Khamsin, and Ortho’s party were all smiling, and Arte’s eyes were practically sparkling. “It’s at an angle because I drove stakes deep into the stone wall and the ground to make it sturdier. I gave it a terrace to help with its center of gravity, so feel free to use that extra space. Toilet-wise, as long as you change the water in the tank on the roof at least once a week, you’ll be able to use that water for cleaning and flushing. Just be careful not to drink it, okay?” I scanned their faces and added, “Raise your hand if you understood all that.” “I-I did!” said one adventurer, and the rest followed suit.

I had my doubts as to whether they’d actually listened to what I said. Left with no alternative, I turned to Ortho. “I’m leaving you in charge of this place.

Make sure to teach them well.”

“Ha ha ha…” Ortho grimaced. “You got it.”

“Also, I put a gate at the dungeon entrance. You should probably keep it closed when it’s not in use. In the interest of safety, it might be a good idea to decide on open and closed hours.”

“Ah, right. Probably can’t set that in stone till I talk with the others. There are folks who like to go dungeon diving at night. But you’re right, it should be closed when no one is around. If something nasty shows up, the closed gate’ll buy us time.”

“The gate is made of a mithril alloy, so it’s pretty tough. I think that the forest dragon we killed would take at least a day to break through, for example.”

“Seriously?”

Ortho was rattled, but I just smiled and nodded. As an afterthought, I said,

“Oh, and everyone can use the building now. It’s good to go.”

The adventurers didn’t need to be told twice. They dashed into their temporary new home, and cheers erupted from inside as they explored.

“Whoa, what is this?!”

“Hey! We can sleep in the dining hall!”

“Are you an idiot? We have a place to sleep! Use that!”

Amid the joyous chaos, a face popped out of the fourth-floor terrace. “Whoa, what a view! You can see everything in the area from here!”

“Yahoo! The terrace is mine!”

One after another, the adventurers poked their heads out of the small windows I’d installed for natural light, looking like spotted garden eels peeking out of the sand. I should tell them to close the small windows before they go.

I realized then that it was already time to head home. Raising both hands, I called, “Oh, guys! We should get going! I’m counting on you all to protect us!” The spotted eels popped up again.

“Already?”

“But it’s still bright out!”

“I wanna take a nap before we head back!”

The complaints piled in, one after another. “Curfew is sundown!” I shouted.

“We’re going home! Esparda’s gonna get mad at me!”

There was a moment of silence, and then laughter trickled out from all over the base. For a second I entertained the idea of demolishing the building. Instead, I folded my arms and waited the two minutes or so that it took for the adventurers to line up in front of me.

Once they were assembled, I said, “C’mon, we’re going! If you don’t hurry up, you’re not getting dinner!”

The group chuckled. “Roger that!”

“We’re running home, lads!”

These noisy adventurers were underestimating me like crazy, but I held my tongue. Annoying as they were, they meant well. Till and the others offered me sympathetic smiles while they climbed back into the palanquin.

Once we were on our way, I brooded until I heard someone outside call my name: “Lord Van! There’s another cliff!”

I looked out of the window and recognized the geo​graphy from earlier. That’s how big it looks from far away? A shiver ran down my spine. “Okay, everyone stop. It’s time to make some changes!”

To make a long story short, I built another bridge. It was simpler than the one from before, but good enough for a carriage to cross. In fact, by the time we left the forest, I had been forced to make two additional bridges.

As a result of these delays, we arrived at the village just after sunset. The main gate was open, and Esparda and Dee stood just beyond it. Dee had his arms crossed, stone-faced, but Esparda was even scarier—he was smiling. The man who never made any facial expressions was smiling.

If that weren’t bad enough, it was dark outside, and Esparda held his lamp in a way that illuminated his creepy smile from below. He looked like a serial killer.

“Lord Van,” Esparda said simply.

I flinched and screeched despite myself. “Eeek!”

“I have something to discuss with you. Come.”

“S-somebody help! Say it’s dinner time, quick!” I had my head on a swivel, seeking a hero in my time of need, but everyone averted their gazes. “Till!”

“I-I shall accompany you.”

That’s not what I’m asking! “Khamsin!”

“Not happening.”

What?! “Arte!”

“Huh? M-me?!”

Crap, wrong move! “Ortho! This is all because I wanted to help you guys!” I whined.

Perhaps feeling responsible, Ortho stepped forward. “Uh, Esparda? We’re responsible for what happened today.” Wonderful, Ortho. Van did nothing wrong! “So, um, how about we—”

“Silence.”

“Aye.”

A single cold word from Esparda was enough to make Ortho retreat. I was doomed to spend the entire evening being lectured by my butler.