Episode 25.6-7

"Can you not just send someone there?"

"No one is available sir."

"None at all?"

"An elderly adventurer had tried to settle the dispute, but they would not take him seriously at all. Yet we have no soldiers to spare."

Originally, something like this isn't an issue you bring to the town lord himself, but to one of the three commanders. But none of those commanders are present.

An awfully tired expression came up on the town lord's face. He must have been dealing with lots of these trouble. But they've been endless. Naturally he'd get tired.

"I'll go handle it."

"Lecan. Would you really."

Lecan stood up, put the <Sword of Rusk> he hung on the wall to his waist, and wore the overcoat from the hanger.

Another male official was standing by the door.

"Lead the way."

"Yes. If you'd please."

Two groups of men are having an intense verbal dispute somewhere surprisingly close by the town lord's mansion, a crowd of onlookers has formed around them.

Looking closer, there are two carts in the center. One is loaded with heaps of stone, another with heaps of wood. Both have thick long ropes affixed to them, they're both sturdy carts that can carry many people.

Lecan approached the two big men staring down in the center. These two are obviously the two sides' head honchos. You can't settle this kind of quarrels without going straight to the individuals leading the groups.

The two have impressive mass of muscles with statures to match. They're almost as tall as Lecan. The mason boss is wider horizontally, and slightly shorter vertically. His physical strength must be quite something. The carpenter chief is slimmer, but he's got a sharp look on his bony face.

"I'm here as a proxy of the town lord. Explain the situation. First, you talk."

Lecan decided to listen to the mason boss's side first.

"We 'ere transportin' excess stones from the construction site at the town lord mansion to the highway. Then those guys came outta nowhere bargin' in takin' the middle road, tellin' us to move outta way. Like they own the whole damn road or sumthin'!"

"Got it. Next, your turn to talk."

"Good sir. We were bringing in the highest quality woods for use at the guest house at the town lord's mansion, see. So fer' good fortune, we gotta take 'em the best road, see. Besides, just take a look at how long those woods are. We cannae' just change course willy-nilly. Theirs mite' be heavier, but their cart's shorter. They coulda just move aside fer' a bit, and everything's gonna be swell."

"And ya coulda just wait till' we got to that corner over yonder! But no ya didn't wanna and butted right in! Ya folks just been itchin' for a fight from the start, ain't ya!"

"Gawddangit! Ya dumb blockhead! Like 'ell we could wait till this nice woods rot, ya oaf!"

Lecan silently drew his <Sword of Rusk>.

The two bosses were taken aback by this before stepping back.

"W-whatcha tryin' to pull!"

"Good sir. Yer' pulling out yer' sword. Ya wanna go?"

Lecan asked while pointing his sword.

"Oy, Mason's boss."

"W-whatchu want."

"Can't you turn around the left or the right?"

"No can do. Look at 'em rope length. You gotta start bit by bit tens of steps away if ya wanna change direction of this heavy cart. Nuthin' can be done once they got stuck like 'dis."

"I see. Oy, Carpenter's boss."

"What do you need. Good sir."

"Can't you turn your cart to the right or left."

"Don't joke around sire. Ain't no way woods this long could fit either sides. Where'd we gonna find that much space in this path."

Both carts can be pulled back if you just refasten the ropes. But these two would absolutely refuse that.

The carpenter chief wouldn't want to back down for the sake of good fortune, nor would he be willing to give up the middle road.

The mason boss believed that since they took the road first, they had the right to it, no falling back or stepping aside.

Neither of the two looks like they would concede. Their subordinates are also present here. Even if this was settled by leaving one side disgruntled, it could turn into a riot.

"Alright, I got it. Then carpenter chief, you just need to go straight ahead from here right."

"Yessire. That's the plan."

"And mason boss, you want to go forward without falling back or moving aside right."

"That's what I been tellin' ya."

"All right."

Lecan put his sword back in scabbard, held both his hands over the stone-packed cart, and recited a spell.

"<Float>."

A giant cart stuffed to the brim with huge rocks floated up the ground.

"Uwaa"

"Eh?"

Everyone around let out their surprise.

Once the cart has floated about four man high, Lecan recited the next spell.

"<Move>."

The heavy cart moves forward without a sound.

That was a curious mystical spectacle that didn't look real.

The onlookers could only watch in total silent.

"Oy, mason boss. Move those ropes aside."

"Hee? O-okay."

Four thick heavy ropes are fastened to the front of the cart, but they're hanging down now, which will get entangled with wood cart if it keeps going. Hence Lecan told him to get the ropes out of the way.

One person alone doesn't have enough power to move those ropes. The boss commanded his brawny men to move the ropes away. They kept staring at the floating cart even while doing that. No anger left on their faces, only reverence and awe now.

The stone cart passed above the long wood cart.

Lecan carefully brought the cart down the ground.

"Phew."

A cheer erupted the instance he sighed out.

"W-whoaaa!"

"W-wazzat magic? You can do something that crazy with magic?"

Lecan took a big magic stone he got from Dungeon Ninae out of the pouch on his waist, absorbed mana off it and put it back in the pouch. It'd be a waste to discard a magic stone this big. He's gonna refill it with mana and reuse it later.

But still, that sure consumed a lot of mana. Moving a big heavy thing takes a surprising amount of mana.

Lecan tapped the mason boss' shoulder.

"Good job out there. Keep it up."

"O-ou!"

He walked briskly and called out the carpenter chief as well.

"Now you can proceed ahead without backing down. Move those woods out before they rot."

"Y-yessire!"

Just as Lecan was about to take his leave, the carpenter chief shouted out loud.

"The heck y'all gettin' all gobsmacked 'fer! Show yer' respect to our good sir!"

The carpenters bowed at Lecan all together.

"Us too, salute the man!"

The mason boss ordered.

The masons bowed at Lecan all at once.

The onlookers too got along for the ride and bowed at Lecan for some reason.

Thus, Lecan left the place behind with everyone there bowing at him.