Final Chapter: Summoned Again

A WEEK WENT BY, AND WE COMPLETED WORK ON the new exterior wall. As planned, it drew a lovely arc. Not too shabby, if I said so myself. With Esparda helping out after we’d finished taking measurements, constructing the wall was almost too easy.

Now it was time to remove the existing wall and think about where the new buildings would go. I enjoyed planning out towns, so I was having a blast figuring out what sorts of buildings and facilities we would need.

That was when a messenger arrived on horseback.

“Lord Van!” Khamsin said. “A messenger from the border has arrived!”

“Whoa, did we win already?” I stopped what I was doing to follow him back to the messenger. “Ugh, don’t tell me they just stormed the fortress knowing they’d take heavy casualties. That puts a bad taste in my mouth.”

“I suppose we will find out soon enough.”

As we approached the messenger, a knight, I noticed something off about him. This isn’t good news.

He knelt. “Baron Van, I come bearing a letter from His Majesty.”

“Thank you very much.” I took the letter and read it over, unintentionally muttering as I went. “Hmm… Hmm?”

“What does it say?” Khamsin asked in a concerned tone.

“Well, it looks like we won, for what it’s worth. The enemy deployed wyverns and medium-sized dragons, but since we had our best mages with us, we defeated them. The only issue is that it was a fierce battle. Yelenetta’s army didn’t retreat until their fortress was in tatters.”

“I see. Then this is a victory report?”

“Well, actually…” I could only offer Khamsin a vague reply as I read over the letter again. “It looks like His Majesty wants to reuse the enemy fortress? Since the battle is over, he’s requesting that I come back.”

“He wants you to repair the fortress?” A trace of anger crossed Khamsin’s face.

I tilted my head. “Hey, what’s wrong?”

Khamsin glanced at the knight, then looked back at me seriously. In a bitter whisper, he said, “I understand that he is the sovereign of this nation, but I still think His Majesty is requesting too much of you. You’ve made roads, lodgings, bases, and fortresses, and yet…”

The knight’s eyes widened. Khamsin was committing lese-majeste. This was bad, no matter how you sliced it. I panicked, putting a hand on Khamsin’s shoulder to calm him.

“It’s fine, Khamsin! Calm down. I’m grateful that His Majesty asks so much of me. He’s summoning me because this is something only I can do, and depending on the scale of the fortress, it’ll probably only take me a month or two to repair.” I smiled at Khamsin, then turned to the knight. “I know my attendant here said some funny things, but he wasn’t complaining about His Majesty. He’s just overflowing with love for his master, you see. He can be overly passionate at times.”

I followed this up with a dry laugh. The knight nodded, his expression difficult to read. I would be thrilled if he stayed quiet about the whole situation…

Oh, right! I could bribe him!

“Thank you so much for delivering this letter. We’ll prepare you a nice hot bath and a meal at once; please enjoy yourself.” By showering him with comfort, I hoped to make the knight feel as though he owed me. “Khamsin, if you would?”

“Understood.”

I wasn’t sure how Khamsin felt about any of this, but for the moment, he gave me a proper bow and led the knight away.

Khamsin loved me too much. Popularity sure was a double-edged sword.

Dismissing these silly thoughts, I summoned Dee and Esparda so we could discuss the letter.

“…So that’s what happened.”

Having heard me explain the letter’s contents, Dee and Esparda both went quiet. They looked troubled. I was confused—was it really that serious?—but I waited for one of them to speak.

Eventually, they raised their heads in unison, like someone had given them a signal. Then they exchanged looks. “Can we assume he is earnestly requesting that Lord Van make repairs to the fortress?” Dee asked.

Esparda groaned and tipped his head forward. “Even if part of the fortress was heavily damaged, that would only be true of the side facing Scuderia. As long as the walls and buildings facing Yelenetta are fine, then they should have no problem reusing the fortress. All things considered, there are two ways of thinking about this.”

“And they are?” I asked automatically. He’s such a darn good conversationalist!

He cleared his throat and continued. “The first is that His Majesty wishes to create opportunities for you to distinguish yourself. Even as an outsider, it is clear to me that His Majesty places great value on you. Perhaps, by having you repair the fortress and equip it with ballistae, he’s trying to give you a chance to demonstrate significant achievements. If so, you will be granted the title of viscount. Perhaps even something higher.”

I had mixed feelings about that. “What else?”

“The fastest way to get to the fortress is from Seatoh Village. His Majesty may intend to carve out that chunk of Yelenetta’s territory and give it to you.”

“What?!” I shouted. Esparda’s explanation took me completely by surprise. Seriously, an amazing conversationalist! “I mean, as a nobleman, it’s great to get more territory, but that’s not really my ambition. I’m happy with what I have. Heck, not only have we got hot springs, but also a swanky hotel, restaurants, the works. Every month new businesses open. And we have a beautiful lake where we can ride boats! At this point, if we can open a place selling cakes, crepes, ice cream, and Belgian waffles, I’d be thrilled… Oh, and a delicious bakery and a ramen joint. Those would be wonderful, too.”

My intent was to express to them how satisfied I was with my current situation, but I took an accidental detour into all the different sweets I wanted to eat. Food really is the spice of life. I’d love some curry. Just thinking about it is making me hungry!

Esparda put a hand on his chin and sunk back into thought.

“Uh, I’m not actually complaining, mind you!” I said hurriedly. “But if His

Majesty does offer me more land, I will try to turn him down at least once.”

Esparda nodded a little. “I was thinking about the requests you just laid out, actually. This might be a perfect opportunity.”

“What do you mean?”

A grave expression came over his face. “Yelenetta is in a region that makes it easy to trade with the Central Continent, and it is said that the food culture over there is highly advanced. It is safe to assume that Yelenetta has easy access to a number of spices and ingredients that are unavailable to us.” “…Give me the deets.”

We zipped back to the border with twenty war wagons, eventually spotting the Scuderian army doing repairs on the area around the fortress. From what I could see, they’d given up working on the wall or the buildings and were instead removing the chunks of the structure that had fallen to the ground, along with the corpses of enemy troops, horses, and dragons.

This must have been one heck of a battle. The terrain had changed considerably since I left.

As soon as I spoke to the soldier stationed at the fortress entrance, he yelled, “Baron Van Nei Fertio has arrived!” and dashed off.

Uh, should I follow him? Should I wait here?

I resisted the urge to wander away, opting instead to pass the time by looking at my surroundings. Before long, His Majesty and the other nobles exited a building further back in the fortress that was still intact.

“Welcome, Baron Van!” His Majesty approached me jovially, both arms in the air. “Thanks to your efforts, we were able to safely take down the enemy fortress!” Behind him, I saw Count Ferdinatto and Viscount Panamera smiling, and daddy dearest looking like he’d just swallowed a bug.

I took Dee, Khamsin, and Arb with me, then bowed deeply. “Congratulations on your spectacular victory, Your Majesty. I knew that you would triumph.”

“Oho, how uncharacteristically kind of you! Are you upset that I called you back?”

His Majesty was reading way too much into my polite greeting. I shook my head, a smile still plastered on my face. “Absolutely not. I am overjoyed that you have been victorious.”

He harrumphed. “Something is off about your demeanor, but I will accept your words at face value.”

Rude! I was totally not trying to play the loyal subject just to receive some land on the border. Now c’mon and give me my land!

I kept smiling brightly at His Majesty, and behind him I heard Panamera trying to stifle laughter. She sounded a lot like a balloon losing its air.

So rude. Is she gunning for this land, too? Fine, then we’ll settle this like warriors… Through a game of rock, paper, scissors!

His Majesty cleared his throat then, casting his gaze at the fortress. “As I’m sure you have surmised, I called you here for a very specific reason. You can see that this fortress underwent severe damage in the battle. We expect Yelenetta to deploy a significant force to reclaim it because it’s an important halfway point in their defenses. They might even request backup from the Central Continent. We must ensure this fortress can withstand such an attack.” He turned his eyes back to me.

“There is no way to know how soon Yelenetta will return. This will be a dangerous worksite, but it is currently our top priority. Baron Van, will you take this job?”

The moment I was sure he had finished speaking, I said, “Your Majesty, I, Van Nei Fertio, will risk life and limb to build you the most powerful fortress that has ever existed!”

That must’ve earned me, like, a hundred loyalty points, right?

“…I see. I did not expect you to oblige so quickly. I will not forget your selfsacrificing devotion, Baron Van.”

Little Van’s hardcore loyalty was enough to surprise even His Majesty! He gave me a slight nod and turned to the nobles behind him.

“You have heard the baron! Half of you will remain here to help reconstruct and strengthen the fortress! I will announce achievements and rewards at the palace at a later date. Understood?”

“Yes, Your Majesty!” everyone answered.

Given how quickly they got moving, they must have been assigned jobs before

I arrived. I watched them from the corner of my eye while His Majesty and Panamera approached me.

“So…what are you plotting?” the king asked.

But loyal little Van shook his head. “Plotting? Your Majesty, please, I wish only to devote my body and spirit to your cause.”

“Enough! Speak the truth. You are always the first to voice your displeasure when the opportunity arises, and I know how much you hate the battlefield.”

More rudeness! My poker face is my greatest asset! I went silent for a moment, contemplating the best way to answer, and Panamera grinned meaningfully.

“I imagine he intends to make a request of you, Your Majesty. He is attempting to display his loyalty.”

“I see…” His Majesty said with a frown. “But you are acting so strangely that it puts me off, Van. Speak freely, as you always have.”

Given no other choice, I laid my soul bare. “Your Majesty, I want to construct

a fortress city here. Please give it to me.”

“Oh. I did not expect you to be so direct.”

What? Why was he giving me that look when he’d told me to speak the truth?

Meanwhile, Panamera grinned deviously. “It is common knowledge how much you hate combat, so why would you put so much stock in this fortress? I am sure you understand how fierce the combat here will be.”

Little Van was still in full honesty mode. “I want to acquire rare goods from the Central Continent. For that to happen, Your Majesty will have to occupy Yelenetta’s coast. By making this into an invincible fortress city, I can help with that process.”

Cakes, crepes, curry rice… All the foods I craved ran through my head, putting a creepy smile on my face. Considering the ferocious grins that His Majesty and Panamera were shooting me, it was safe to say that they misread my signals.

“I see,” said His Majesty. “I wondered how to motivate someone like you who desires neither social standing nor fortune, but it was simpler than I thought.”

Panamera nodded. “Your drive to see the unseen overrides even your hatred of war. Interesting.”

Actually, I just want to eat tasty foods. When I said rare goods, I meant ingredients and spices and stuff.

But they kept nodding and smiling those menacing smiles. “I cannot wait to see what new weapons he develops.”

“Agreed, Your Majesty.”

“Wait, wait, wait,” I protested, “I’m not an arms dealer. I’m just the lord of a little border village.”

They burst into laughter, ignoring me entirely.