Chapter 254: The Renovation of Centena

“…Alright, I think that’s about it!” I said, filled with a sense of satisfaction as I looked at the completed fortress. I had started by repairing and remodeling the collapsing main fort, and finished by renovating the castle walls. I thought it turned out rather well.

Behind me, Talga let out a voice that sounded utterly bewildered as he stared at the completed fortress.

“…It has become an entirely different structure.”

As Talga spoke, Stradale nodded in agreement. Panamera, meanwhile, stood with her arms crossed and burst out laughing, showing her teeth.

“Hahahaha! As expected, boy! I’m excited to see what specific details you obsessed over this time.”

Panamera, who had become much more familiar with me, gazed at the newly completed fortress with interest. Talga, who had been working on the construction alongside me, offered a dry laugh in response to Panamera’s words.

“…Does Lord Van create something like this every time?”

“This is actually one of the more visually normal ones.”

“Unbelievable…”

Ignoring the conversation between Panamera and Talga, I immediately started the grand tour of the new fortress.

“Alright, let’s start the fortress explanation tour!”

“Y-yes!”

“Seatoh Knight Order, follow along.”

“Yes, sir!”

As I led the way, not only Talga and his people but also the Seatoh Knight Order followed, making for a large group. We started from the main gate on the Scuderia Kingdom side, beginning with the exterior that everyone had been looking up at.

“The exterior may look like a gigantic turtle shell, but this structure provides immense resistance to external shocks.”

I said this, looking up at the dome-like fortress towering before us. Everyone else followed suit, looking up at the fortress in the same manner. I turned back to them and spoke with the enthusiasm of a tour guide.

“This massive structure, equivalent to four stories, makes it impossible for outsiders to discern its internal layout just by looking. The gate on this side is clearly visible, but the one on the opposite side has been constructed to blend in with the wall and remain hidden. Now, let’s head inside.”

“Yay!”

“I look forward to it.”

Till and Arte happily responded to my guidance. The atmosphere felt like an elementary school field trip, but this was actually a tour of the new Centena Fortress, the cornerstone of national defense. Everyone, pull yourselves together.

I led everyone inside the fortress with a serious face and began explaining the outer perimeter, which I had renovated from the original castle walls.

“The circular surrounding wall is significantly thicker than before, and the interior is now inhabitable. Since we heavily reduced the size of the inner courtyard, the fort and wall sections combined can comfortably house over five thousand people. Also, although the main fort has them, we’ve prepared simple dining halls and bathing facilities within the walls as well.”

I explained as we walked along the inside of the wall. Talga looked around curiously, while Panamera, Till, and Arte followed, looking intrigued by the interior of the newly built wall. Khamsin, Stradale, and Law, meanwhile, maintained extremely serious expressions, memorizing the construction details of the wall.

“…And so, the new Centena possesses ample living space. Now, regarding the most crucial aspect—the defense.”

I paused there and tapped the outer wall with my palm as we walked inside the ramparts.

“On the second floor, there are small viewing slits in various locations, which allow us to attack using small ballistae mounted there. You might find the structure slightly complex, but this is designed so that if external enemies intrude, they cannot immediately grasp the fortress’s internal layout.”

After briefly showing them the interior of the walls, we moved to the inner courtyard. To counter attacks from above, the courtyard was mostly covered by a semi-circular roof. To ensure its robustness, I made the walls considerably thicker and expanded the main fort significantly. As a result, the inner courtyard is now just a ring surrounding the fort. Normally, the courtyard is built large enough for troop formations and preparation for sallying forth, but this fortress was not built with the intention of launching an offensive.

After briefly conveying these points, I looked up at the large fort standing in the center.

“Next is finally the main fort building itself.”

When I announced that, Talga raised a hand and voiced his question with a puzzled look.

“W-well… The entire Centena seems to have taken on a shape that is covered by a roof, but how is there any light at all?”

It was a simple, valid question. Although one should notice it if they look closely, the roof is actually multi-layered.

“I installed the next layer of roof to overlap the one above it. This is repeated for a total of three layers. As a result, a small amount of light filters into the fortress interior, similar to indirect lighting. I originally wanted to install unbreakable glass windows, but I gave up on that idea since they couldn’t withstand cannon fire. Since I’ve installed many lamps inside and outside the building as streetlights, please ensure the lighting is prepared when evening arrives.”

When I explained that, Talga’s eyes widened, and he looked up at the ceiling.

“…It only looks like one roof, but you’re saying there are multiple layers?”

As Talga muttered that, Stradale nodded slightly.

“Indeed, if you look closely, some areas are brighter. However, wouldn’t such a mechanism compromise the structural integrity?”

“I used sufficient pillars to connect the overlapping sections, but yes, if a cannonball perfectly entered the gap meant for lighting, we might not maintain sufficient strength. However, I still believe it wouldn’t budge from one or two hits.”

When I answered that, Stradale silently nodded while pinching his chin. It seemed he was convinced.

I led the quieted group into the building.

“By the way, these doors are made of metal that can withstand cannon attacks. They are heavy due to their thickness, but please forgive that as a necessary specification.”

I briefly explained the drawback as we moved into the passage, then detailed the main facilities.

“First, the important living facilities: the large communal bath and the dining hall. Since there are many people, I adopted a kakenagashi (free-flowing) style for the bath to reduce cleaning effort. We draw water from the river, run it through a water wheel, pass it through a heater to become hot water, and the flow is maintained at a comfortable temperature in the large bath. We also reuse the drainage water to push the sewage out, paying attention to sanitation.”

Saying that, I opened the door leading to the large bath, walked through the changing room, and stepped inside. A large bath that could comfortably fit fifty people appeared. To use the space effectively, the tub was rectangular and made of sturdy stone.

The room was filled with steam, perhaps because the temperature was slightly high. Since I installed a utase-yu (waterfall/pelting bath), the area where the water accumulates should be at a perfect temperature. The pelting bath itself will be quite hot, though, but I’ll just say that’s good for one’s health. Yep, yep.

“I-I can’t believe we can take a bath…”

“With this size, if we take turns, everyone can bathe once every two days.”

Talga and Stradale were surprised. Satisfied with their reactions, I guided them through the dining hall and the spacious kitchen before heading up to the second floor.

The second, third, and fourth floors housed the knights’ sleeping quarters. There wasn’t time to make individual furniture, so that would have to be supplemented later.

Also, on every floor, there were centrally located storage rooms for weapons and armor, and the fourth floor housed a large inventory of ballista bolts. As countermeasures for enemy intrusion, we had steep staircases and viewing slits that couldn’t be opened from the outside.

The stairs were designed to allow spears to be thrust down from the floor above, making it difficult for an enemy to ascend easily. And the viewing slits allowed attacks using bows and mechanical crossbows.

Explaining all this, we finally used the stairs from the bolt storage room on the top floor to reach the rooftop.

“Finally, this is the rooftop section.”

I climbed up first, took a few steps forward, turned, and announced. The others who followed immediately narrowed their eyes as they were suddenly exposed to the bright sunlight.

Once their eyes adjusted to the light, they noticed the changes in their surroundings.

“…What in the world is this?”

“Oh, really?”

Panamera sounded extremely amused in contrast to the speechless Talga. She looked around briefly and spoke.

“How has this been set up?”

When Panamera asked, I cleared my throat lightly and began my explanation.

“Yes. First, regarding the rooftop equipment: as you can see, I’ve lined up twenty ballistae in a row, prepared for the possibility of another large army appearing like before. Furthermore, considering the potential for flying dragons to appear overhead, I’ve installed ten additional ballistae with wide vertical and horizontal ranges of motion.”

I walked across the wide rooftop as I spoke, approaching one ballista and beginning to explain the modified parts.

“Take a look at the shape of this ballista.”

“…The shape is different.”

I nodded enthusiastically at his comment and pointed to the modified section. The shield parts extending from the sides of the ballista body were separated from the base. When the ballista was adjusted for aiming, the shields moved along with it. This allows us to use the ballista while providing some protection from frontal attacks. The only downside is that the field of vision is considerably obstructed, but that can be mitigated with an assistant dedicated to aiming.

“We can attack unilaterally while providing some protection from enemy attacks. Since I’ve made the front section of the wall quite sturdy, there’s less concern about the scaffolding collapsing this time. The only weakness is aerial black metal attacks, which is why I installed so many ballistae to guard the sky.”

As I explained, Talga looked around with a bewildered expression and spoke.

“…A total of thirty ballistae? And in such a short time…”

“It’s always like this when you’re with Baron Van.” Panamera said with a wry smile, and Talga returned a similar dry smile.