Chapter 2: I Got Summoned Anyway

I SET MY BLACK TEA OFF TO THE SIDE WITH MY pancake-like confectionaries, which were ready to be eaten at my leisure. With a chunk of iron in hand, stealing sips of tea and bites of pancake as I went, I started crafting weapons. The dwarf forge wasn’t fully operational yet, so I was still the village’s number one weapons manufacturer.

Oh, and by the way: this top-rated weapons manufacturer was seated at a comfortable table in a corner of the main street of the adventurers’ town. I even had a large beach parasol for shade.

“Ah, Lord Van, you’re done with today’s order of thirty swords, ten spears, and twenty shields!”

“Wow, already? In that case, I’d like to make some machine bow modifications.”

“Lord Van, you will exhaust yourself working so much. Why don’t you take a dip in the bath first?”

“Oh, great idea! Can you prepare some cold fruit juice for me?”

“Absolutely!”

And so I continued crafting weapons, enjoying the company of Till and Khamsin—a common and happy sight in this village. If only these peaceful days could last forever.

Unfortunately, they were interrupted by an unwanted visitor. The middleaged knight was terribly out of breath and drenched in sweat as he sat atop his steed. I felt like I’d been thrown into some mega-serious situation out of nowhere. The knight’s cloak bore the emblem of the royal military, which told me that he was here for a reason.

The man huffed and puffed as he called out my name. “L-Lord Van!”

“A-are you okay? Did something happen during the march?”

I tried my best to produce a somber expression, but it was no good. I was still in “chill in the bath while sipping juice” mode. I wouldn’t be able to deal with this kind of seriousness for very long.

The middle-aged man descended from his horse and took a knee. “I apologize for interrupting your conversation! His Majesty requests that you meet him at the temporary base where he’s resting, quickly!”

“Wait, what? Like right now? I mean, I’m not ready at all. I won’t be able to leave just yet.”

This was so annoying I couldn’t help but grumble. I couldn’t say anything but “yes” to a request directly from the king, though, and the knight he’d sent to summon me looked like his eyes were about to pop out of his head.

Khamsin and Till both looked terribly concerned. If I could, I would have loved to turn down the request, but that wasn’t in the cards.

The knight said, “Um, there was some trouble that brought the march to a halt…”

“Oh, I was just kidding,” I said with a pained smile. The middle-aged knight’s shoulders sagged in relief. “I’ll get ready right away. I’ll also let the best hotel in town know that you’re coming, so you can rest there. What happened, anyway?”

“I don’t know the details, only that a group of adventurers got into a fight with some knights…”

“Huh? Please tell me it wasn’t Ortho and his crew. Scrapping with knights is just asking for trouble,” I said unthinkingly. Ortho and his party would never do something untoward to a group of knights—it had to be someone else. “Khamsin, take this kind knight to the Kusala Hotel. Tell them I’ll pay for his lodgings later.”

“As you wish.”

I turned to Till. “Can you tell Dee and Esparda what happened here? Let’s confirm how many people will need to stay to protect the village and adventurers’ town. We’ll be traveling through a monster-filled mountain range, so I’ll have to get some war wagons ready. Food, too.”

“U-understood!” Till darted off.

This was going to be such a pain. I never thought I’d find myself on the front lines again. Sure, I wouldn’t be clashing with enemy Chivalric Orders, but I was still heading somewhere dangerous.

I just want to live in peace…

 

“I just want to live in peace,” I said, accidentally letting slip my true feelings while we readied supplies and assembled the Chivalric Order. Beside me, Dee tilted his head.

“What? Did you say something?”

“Oh, nothing.”

It took unusually little time for Seatoh Village’s Chivalric Order to assemble and take their formation, probably because of the frequency with which they were called to fight back monsters. While I was busy muttering, they’d gotten into place like well-trained firefighters or something.

“Lord Van, both the Seatoh Village and Esparda Chivalric Orders have assembled,” Dee announced. He turned to face our brave men and women.

Man, that was fast. Not just the prep, but the roll call, too. Our Chivalric Orders are incredible! I looked over the group and, satisfied with the sight before me, began to speak.

“Hey everyone! Do you want to go to the Wolfsbrook Mountain Range?” I asked in a joking tone. A handful of people cheered.

Not a bad reaction. The folks who cheered are getting promotions! …Just kidding.

“We’ve got orders straight from the king! There’s been some trouble during the march! We don’t have much choice, so we’re heading out there to provide aid! Everyone, lend me your energy!”

I quoted a certain famous battle manga at the end, in an attempt to get people pumped. Fortunately, my words were met with cheers. Of course, a few people couldn’t hide their trepidation, but that was to be expected.

I’ll give them personal training when we get back, I thought before clearing my throat and raising my head.

“We’ll leave half of our forces behind to defend Seatoh Village and the adventurers’ town, and the other half will come with us to the Wolfsbrook Mountain Range! Adventurers, we’ll be counting on you guys in the vanguard! Our second and rear rows will be war wagons and infantry! The machine bow squad and cavalry will be at the center of the formation! Commander Dee is in charge of our combined forces!”

“Yessir!” Dee shouted, and the rest of the order echoed him.

I raised a hand and announced our departure, the troops sounded a war cry, and the march began.

All right, I’ve prepared as best as I can. Time to do this the safe way.

 

It didn’t take me long after we entered the mountains to come up with a host of complaints.

First: the uneven mountain road. It was no better than a game trail, and worse, pretty much skirting the cliff’s edge at some points. And it was super narrow, barely wide enough for carriages to pass through.

Our Chivalric Orders rarely needed to travel through mountain roads like this, so it couldn’t be helped. Still, the road’s pits and bumps were so perfectly placed to damage our vehicles’ wheels as to seem intentionally designed for that purpose. It felt like someone was kneeing me in the butt every time we went over them.

Van-made carriages boasted the safest, most comfortable rides in the land and promised a relaxing journey to all who rode in them, so the knee strikes to our butts were neutralized somewhat; it felt like they were being delivered through thick pillows. Still hurt, though. Enough butt strikes in a row eventually produced some significant pain.

I stoically withstood the discomfort, but after two or so hours, I realized something huge. I whispered, “Wait, is the trip home going to be like this, too?”

Till, Khamsin, and Arte treated me to pained smiles. Arte said, “It’s times like this that I really appreciate our town roads.”

“I can see how poor roads like these might slow down a march,” said Till.

“My butt hurts,” groaned Khamsin.

I nodded decisively. “All right, let’s redo the roads. We’ll make them big enough to fit two carriages side-by-side.”

Till blinked. “Um, you mean right now?”

“A-are you sure?” Khamsin asked with a concerned frown. “Doesn’t His

Majesty want you there immediately?”

“The trip alone will take us two to three days,” Arte agreed.

But my butt had reached its limit. “No worries! I’ll make it quick. We won’t lose any time at this rate!” I stood up and poked my head out of the carriage.

“Stop the march!”

Just like that, the Chivalric Order came to a halt. I sensed their apprehension, but the speed with which they followed my orders made me proud. It was incredible to think that most of them had just been normal villagers or hunters before this. I nodded at them, deeply moved by the sight.

Dee came to investigate the reason for the stoppage, clearly on his guard. “What is it, Lord Van?”

I stepped down from the carriage. “The roads are so bad that I’ve decided to remake them. Right now.”

“Truly?” Dee looked shocked. Till and the others peeked out of the carriage, looking concerned.

“Don’t worry! I’ll be quick so we’re not late,” I assured him. “Could you and the others split into groups and cut down the trees on both sides of the road?”

“Mhm! I’m not sure what’s going on, but as you wish! We’re on it!”

“Thanks. Start with the trees over by the vanguard. Anyone who’s not cutting down trees should stay on guard.”

“Understood! I am on my way!”

I watched Dee run off to do as I asked, then turned my gaze on Khamsin.

“You’re coming with me, Khamsin. Till, Arte, you two wait in the carriage, okay?

Sorry, Arte, but I might need to borrow your puppets later.”

“As you wish!” said Arte, meeting my eyes. She was much more confident in her abilities these days.

“Leave it to me!” said Till, just as earnestly.

I couldn’t help but smile at them. Then I made my way to the vanguard, peppered with questions as I went.

“Lord Van, what are you plotting?”

“Did something happen?”

Every time someone asked me questions like these, I told them I was building a road. People seemed confused by my nonchalance, but by the time I hit the vanguard, I found that everyone was already cutting down trees. This made sense—back when we first started the Chivalric Order, Dee and Esparda had recruited a bunch of lumberjacks and stone cutters. Those tough-looking men were now chopping down trees and lining them up along the sides of the road. “How’s this, Lord Van? Does this look all right?” Dee was suddenly shirtless, chopping a tree down with his broad sword. I hadn’t made that weapon for attacking trees, but I imagined that it made the process pretty easy. Of course, not everyone had equipment well-suited to this particular activity.

I checked things over, then gathered the materials necessary to fix the problem. “I have no issues with how you guys are going about this, but you need the right equipment. Everyone, lend me your shields.”

“Y-yessir!”

Hastily, the nearby knights set their shields on the ground. Most had Vanmade weapons and armor, but some of the shields were made by the order while others were ready-made models from the Bell & Rango Company. Our order was growing too quickly for me to supply everyone with my equipment.

“High quality stuff,” I murmured, “but I’ll make them even better later.”

I began transforming the shields into sharp, uniquely balanced axes with their center of gravity near the top. These tools were meant for cutting down stationary trees, so I had to make them powerful and easy to swing. They also needed to be tough, wide enough to chop down a tree, and, of course, aesthetically pleasing, like all Van-made weapons.

After I prepared twenty axes, I paused and said, “I think I went a little overboard.”

Khamsin was giving me a round of applause but Dee, approaching, had his brow furrowed. “Hmm,” he said. “Wonderful work. However, they look a bit… sinister.”

“They are kind of terrifying,” Khamsin agreed a bit awkwardly.

It was true the new axes looked like something a minotaur might wield…but they weren’t that scary.

Dee picked up one of the axes and smiled. “Ooh, it’s lighter than it looks.” He swung it around in his hand.

“Huh?” said Khamsin. “Really?”

Dee turned the axe toward a tree. Sensing his intention, the people around us stopped to watch.

“Harumph!” The axe sliced through the air and the bark of a tree.

All the way through the tree, actually. Dee’s single slash cut wood as easily as air. After a moment of stillness, the tree slid off its trunk and collapsed to the ground. Even from a distance, I could see how clean the cut was.

“Wonderful sharpness!” Dee proclaimed. “But my broad sword is still easier to use!”

“No, no, no. You’re on a completely different level!” I explained. “You could take people down with a log! For you, the weapon doesn’t even matter.”

Dee simply slung the axe over his shoulder and boomed a laugh. He wasn’t listening to a word I said.

Fortunately, upon further testing, the axes proved perfectly effective. The rest of the knights were able to cut down trees in two to three swings. I made sure to praise them, for it was their hard work that enabled me to get started on the road itself.

 

Aqueducts, electricity, gas, internet, telephones, and roads: these formed the infrastructure of any major city. Imagine if a city’s aqueducts stopped working and there was no potable water for a year. People would still be able to filter water from rivers and lakes, then boil it for drinking purposes…but that would severely impact their daily life and work.

Roads were similar. Even a high-speed car was useless if the roads it drove on were no good. The economy would grind to a halt if people couldn’t move from place to place or transport supplies. You’d lose out on all those valuable human resources. The same principle applied in a world without automobiles.

And while these noble excuses were all grounded in reality, the truth was that

it all came down to one thing: my butt hurt.

“Here I go!”

“Good luck!”

I turned tree after tree into wood blocks. Not the usual brick-like shapes, though—this time, I was making flat panels. I lined them up on the ground like I was spreading out concrete. It might’ve been more accurate to describe the process as flattening out the uneven road with a layer of wood that molded itself to the terrain. The panels were made from a fusion of rock and timber; as long as they didn’t break, they’d never slip out of place.

At this point, I could make the things with my eyes closed. So unless I ran out of materials, I could make one meter of road per second.

“Whoa!”

“We can’t let Lord Van outpace us!”

“Cut, cut, cut, cut!”

As I converted timber into wood blocks and constructed the road, I saw the knights cutting down trees ahead of me, bellowing to one another. At some point, it turned into a kind of race. I won’t lose! I thought, increasing my speed.

Thanks to our little competition, we lost track of time and spent three straight hours paving the road. “I-I think we need to take a break for dinner!” I said, giving up at last.

The knights who were chopping trees collapsed to the ground in exhaustion.

We were all beat.

Just then, the ground shook as another tree collapsed.

“Huh?” Everyone else was completely out of gas, but Dee was checking the position of the sun, looking puzzled. “Is it already that time? The sun is still up.” How is this dude so full of energy?

I was still glaring at him from my seat atop the carriage when Till came over. “Lord Van, look over there!”

I followed her eyes and saw a series of Van-made container bases lined up by the road. “Oooh, perfect timing!”

“Indeed!”

We exchanged high fives and I ran off toward the containers, suddenly feeling like I’d never been exhausted at all.

“Wow, they’re so well-done!” I exclaimed, patting the walls and door. I was short, so these things felt huge to me. I’d also made them tough: a perfect rest stop for the king.

“What wonderful structures,” Till agreed with a smile.

Khamsin, coming up behind us, said with a smile of his own, “Maybe the march came to a stop because people were fighting over them?”

“Oh, that makes sense. Can’t blame them for that, to be honest.” We smiled at each other.

Arb and Lowe came over with Arte in tow. “Are we making camp here?”

“Good question. If we are, we should construct two more container bases so everyone can rest. That way, with people taking turns, nobody will go without sleep,” I answered.

Arb and Lowe each placed a hand on their chest. “Yessir! We will construct the bases immediately!”

They exchanged excited words with one another, then turned to the rest of the knights. Arb said, “First Squad! We’re not losing to Lowe’s Second Squad!

We’re going to put the container together faster than them!”

“Second Squad!” said Lowe. “It’s time to show off the results of your daily training! Let’s do this!”

Having received orders from their superiors, the knights responded energetically and got right to work. Based on the ease with which they accepted the instructions, I was guessing they’d been having these little competitions all along.

Either because of the sheer number of people at work or because they were

all fired up, the bases were done before I could so much as blink.

“Here you go, Lord Van! Please relax in Base Arb!”

“No, no, no,” protested Lowe, “this base is way more comfortable!”

They began to squabble in front of their respective container bases. I gave them a pained smile and pointed at the container on top of one of the carriages.

“I’ll make my choice later. Let’s build a few more of these. We need to make sure we have room for enough people to rest at the same time, so that swapping folks in and out is viable.”

That was all Arb and Lowe needed to begin their base-building competition all over again.

 

On the third day, we finally caught up with the rear end of the royal march. We were moving in a fairly small group, so I thought we’d get there quickly, but the Royal Chivalric Order had covered more distance than I expected.

The Chivalric Orders in the rear must’ve belonged to nobles I didn’t have much contact with, as they were all surprised by our equipment. “Oooh, Baron

Van’s Chivalric Order!”

“What fascinating carriages.”

“Hello,” I said, greeting people as I passed them, “how are you all doing?”

I was making my way on foot toward the center of the formation when I spotted Panamera’s Chivalric Order. Some of the knights I’d met before noticed me and came over to say hello.

“Long time no see!” I said. “Is Panamera around?”

“Sir! After the march stopped, she went to meet His Majesty!”

“Got it! Thanks a lot!” I offered the man my gratitude and kept walking, passing through all the smiling soldiers.

I kept on like this, exchanging pleasantries with all the soldiers around me. I fully expected them to fall in love with my charming persona.

I should prepare some Van-made souvenirs in Seatoh Village for later. Make them real easy to buy. I’m sure they’ll be a huge hit. “Li’l Van Steamed Buns, Li’l

Van Fried Dough, Li’l Van Madeleine… What else?”

Till raised her hand, interrupting my serious contemplation of which kinds of souvenirs would sell best. “Um, I think bags would be wonderful! You could sell leather bags with your beautiful smile on them!”

For some reason, Arte raised her hand next. “U-um, I think accessories like rings and necklaces would be nice.”

“Hmm… Well, I’m not going to print my smiling face on any bags, but those are great ideas, ladies.”

Khamsin folded his arms and groaned. This was all starting to feel like one of those quiz shows where you had to be the first one to hit the button. “W-we already sell weapons and armor…”

Seeing Khamsin wrack his brain for souvenir ideas, I couldn’t help but smile. Before I knew it, a familiar crest came into view on one of the banners up ahead.

That’s the royal family’s crest, right?

“Have we caught up with the Royal Chivalric Order? That didn’t take so long after all.”

As I weaved through the cluster of soldiers, I carefully examined the situation around me. Eventually, I saw some of the container bases I’d given His Majesty lined up on the side of the road. In front of the central base stood a group of men. The royal guard, in fact.

“Is that the one? Hi everyone! I’m Van Nei Fertio, hailing from Seatoh

Village!”

The group turned as one to face me, summoned by my energetic greeting.

“Ah, Baron Van!” said one knight. “Thank you for coming all this way. You arrived much sooner than we anticipated.”

“Well, that’s thanks to the road-paving work we did! We really gave it our all!”

“Hmm? I apologize, but I do not quite understand what you are saying. Please wait a moment while I inform His Majesty of your arrival.” The knight saluted me and entered the base to deliver his report.

Darn, I wanted to give him the details on the road work we did, but I suppose I’ll just have the king and the others see the real thing when they come back. We did a ton of paving in a tiny span of time. Fast, tough, careful… I’m really excited to brag to everyone about the Van Construction Company’s road-paving skills.

Bouncing those pointless thoughts around my head, I watched people begin to shuffle out of the container base. The first one out was Panamera, her attention-grabbing blonde hair waving in the wind.

“Oooh, boy!”

She was clad in light armor that showed off her amazing figure. Impressive as always.

Next came Ferdinatto and Ventury, then finally the king and my old man. I was a bit perplexed as to why my old man refused to look in my direction, but I turned toward the king nonetheless and took a knee, lowering my head in formal greeting. “I apologize for my late arrival, Your Majesty.”

The king raised both his hands and responded, in a tone of wonder, “Well done! Normally I would not summon you here for something so insignificant as a scuffle, but this whole matter has been a bit drawn out. I imagine that once we investigate what happened, we will reach a swift conclusion. Might I have your assistance?”

“Absolutely, Your Majesty.” The king had avoided stating what he actually wanted assistance with, so I politely asked him for more details. “What would you like me to look into?”

I really don’t care what I have to do. I just want to wrap this up and go home, I thought, but the king groaned, looking pained.

“Unfortunately, there has been some trouble between one of the Chivalric Orders and a party of adventurers. The cause is a defect in the container bases you developed.”

“…Pardon?” I was nearly speechless. This was the reason the march had come to a halt?

Impossible. It’s true that I rushed them into development because I had no time, but I didn’t cut any corners. They should be higher quality than any other industrial goods you could get your hands on…

I racked my brain and came up empty. It would be one thing if there’d been a problem with something outside the container—but if the base itself was faulty, this would be bad.

“I’d like to investigate the issue immediately,” I said, bowing my head low.

“Um, could I see the container in question?”