Chapter 21

Ossan, proceeds to build his house *DISCLAIMER: I DON'T REALLY KNOW j.a.pANESE, THESE ARE MACHINE TRANSLATIONS THAT I TRY TO PUT INTO PROPER ENGLISH. READ AT YOUR OWN DISCRETION. *Fair warning that this is a really slow chapter, not much happens in this one. It still has its moments but you won't miss anything if you skim through it. *also I think I've put a lot more TL notes than usual, but it's just that I picked up on a lot more “references” in this chapter in particular, which is probably why it took me so long to translate.

This morning, Zeros went to the feudal lord's residence to meet with the current Duke, DelSasis. The gazes of the d.u.c.h.esses were piercing deeply into Zeros, but he didn't seem to mind.

Saying anything more than what's necessary will be adding fuel to the fire. Currently, Zeros is taking full advantage of his past life's experience, and is on full salesman mode.

"You, what is your name?"

"Me? My name is Zeros Merlin, just a humble magician."

(*T.N: he uses "watashi" here, a formal p.r.o.noun.)

"Hohoho, you seem to know your manners despite those shabby rags you're wearing."

"I'm just fond of them."

For some reason, the two madams seemed to be evaluating him. He asks DelSasis for help with his eyes, but he looked like he was enduring a headache ma.s.saging the spot between his brows with a finger.

"By the way, Your Grace, Duke DelSasis, may I inquire about the reason I have been summoned today?"

"Umu, do you remember the talk about giving you a plot of land?"

"Yes, it's been often in the corner of my mind, specially these last few days. At this point, I was feeling like I've been lodging in an expensive inn."

"You mean 'just borrowing the place', right? Oh well, I've said too much."

"I have no idea how Your Grace knows about that, but anyway, I'm here to receive the t.i.tle deed of the property, am I correct?"

"That's right, let's leave the long talk for another time. I want to wrap this up quickly, I'm planning on going out for a stroll with my wives after this."

Zeros had heard before that they were on bad terms with each other, but it seemed it wasn't like that. They were happily talking about where to go, like old friends.

"How shrewd…" 

"Well, let's leave it at that… this is the t.i.tle deed of the property. The ownership rights will be transferred to you once you sign this doc.u.ment here with your name."

"It's certainly the plot of land behind the orphanage, in the old town…"

"There are, indeed, some security concerns, but you should be able to handle any troublesome individuals, am I correct?"

"It's hard to hold back enough so they don't die… Woah, is the house under construction already?"

There were some plans on the table that Zeros hadn't seen before, from which he saw what the layout of the house was going to be like.

"… Is this part here really alright?"

"What part?"

"It says the house is expected to be finished two weeks from now. Is it really that easy to build a house?"

"Well, these dwarf carpenters are madmen."

"And, who are these dwarves exactly…?"

Apparently, they were a local group of expert craftsmen, who take pride in their work and claimed being able to finish anything they set out to make. 

And that's not the only compromise they make. It seems like, in the past, they committed a small blunder during the planning of a building, overlooking the existence of a giant tree in the property, which, they then proceeded to strike down with their bare fists.(*T.N: kanji reads Iron Fist(Tekken), maybe it's a special technique or smt.)

Incidentally, there was no leniency from the client, and so, the one who made the mistake in the making of the design was mercilessly beaten up in the mounting position. 

"That's how it is. Sometimes, they abruptly decide to change the design of a building when it's already halfway finished, because it didn't suit their fancy."

"Never make a craftsman cry. Such a client will only see h.e.l.l."

"What are you saying, aren't they just making what they want to build? These dwarves…"

"Nevertheless, I'll trust their abilities. I'm sure they will manage to get the job done in time."

"I see… I have faith in their skills as well."

He felt like there was something wrong in the way he said it, but Zeros didn't voice out his doubts. 

"I'll be glad if you could have a look in advance and tell me your opinion about it, as I thought… I'm anxious about leaving everything to those guys."

"I don't see any problems with the house itself. Bath, toilet… I feel like there aren't many rooms, but I don't see any issues."

"Is that so…?"

"It would be nice to have a storage room instead of a bas.e.m.e.nt but, in all honesty, my budget is a bit…"

"Don't worry about money, this is repayment for the Wyverns' magic stones, after all. You don't have to hold back, but… you should tell them about the bas.e.m.e.nt directly yourself."

"… Why, what's wrong?"

"I might get beaten up if I tell them…"

"Eh? Beaten up? Are they really that violent?"

They are a group that look like they're quite difficult to deal with. Rather than being trustworthy artisans, the impression they give as that of those who use their occupation as an excuse to do whatever they please, akin to the individuals who derive pleasure in seeing other people's reactions to their crimes*.

(*T.N: Yukaihan, )

Truth be told, Zeros didn't want to go to such a place.

"Isn't it the house you will be living in? Wouldn't it be strange not to give your own thoughts about it?"

"That might be true, but I don't want to get involved with shady people."

"I understand how you feel, but if you don't go, they'll come to beat you up, y'know? … In a gang."

"Do they like blood that much!? Are they really craftsmen!?"

Heaving a long sigh in exasperation, Zeros stands up to leave the room. It seemed like he would have to go to inspect the place whether he wanted or not.

While thinking of such things, the two madams call out to Zeros.

"Hey, I heard you were single, but are you not planning to get married?"

"Right now, I'm worried about securing a place to live. I will think about marriage once my life is more stable."

"Is that so? Then, why don't you take that good-for-nothing from our family? Frankly, she's not suited to be part of this Duke's household."

"Good-for-nothing? Are you referring to Celestinsama? A commoner like myself?"

"Since she can't use magic, she's useless even for a political marriage. Even so, we can't just have her loiter around here forever, wouldn't you agree?"

DelSasis' wives still believed that Celestina couldn't use magic. But in actuality, she's strong enough to be called a high-ranked magician. 

The two, who didn't have a clue about it, seemed to be focused on how to dispose of such an unwelcome person.

"I appreciate the offer, but I will have to decline. I don't want to get killed by Creston-sama, after all. Well then… I wouldn't want to keep disturbing your leisure time with your wives, so I will excuse myself now. Have a nice day."

Zeros plays it safe with some noncommittal words, bows his head in reverence and quickly leaves the place. 

He left the room walking with a calm gait, though he didn't want to get involved with this n.o.ble family's problems any longer.

"He easily dodged the topic, huh."

"Hmm, well he wanted some land, so I thought he would be more ambitious…" 

"A person without any ambitions, I don't think he's trustworthy."

"What is father-in-law thinking, bringing in such a shady magician?"

The two women were not aware of Zeros' real competence as a magician. And after speculating that much, they decided to ask their husband, DelSasis, about him.

But he had no intentions of answering his wives' questions. After all, he didn't want to make a Great Sage into an enemy.

"He is… an excellent individual. But rather than that, are you ready to go?"

"Yes, let's enjoy ourselves today, my dear husband."

"That's right. Where are you taking us today? I'm looking forward to it."

With just a word from DelSasis, they quickly forgot about Zeros. It seems like this lord is quite loved by his wives. 

He has the mouth of a lawyer, the heart of a swindler, and the quick feet of a scoundrel. He's not your run-of-the-mill philanderer. DelSasis, uselessly overflowing with the spirit of a true dandy, is a master of the art of playing around with women. 

A man among men who doesn't forget about providing the crucial after-sales service*.

(*T.N: this is a bit of a tricky one.アフターケア[after-care], in this context it'd be after-sales service, a management term that basically means 'to make the costumers happy with their purchase, so they spread good word about your product', and well, you see the innuendo here. )

Zeros walks through the city of Santhor. He heads towards the construction site at the back of the orphanage, which is now his own property.

There wasn't any construction work two weeks ago, around the time of the Mandrakes' harvest. However, when he arrived to what should've been an empty lot, there were a lot of dwarves working hard in building his house.

"Boss! Where is this pillar attached to!?"

"Haaa!? There's a number written on it! Can't you f.u.c.king see!?"

"It's gone. Did someone spill water on it or something? How many are like this?"

"Who's the idiot that had lunch on the building materials!? There's tea all over the d.a.m.n place!"

"It was him!"

"Ah! You fool! How dare you betray me!?"

There seemed to be some kind of commotion going on, and Zeros is just standing there with his mouth open as he stares dumbfounded at the scene unfolding before his eyes. 

"Byrle, I hope you're ready…"

"Wait, Daryl is guilty too! If you're gonna beat me, beat his a.s.s as well!"

"Oi! Why are you selling me out!?"

"Ugh, you're coming down with me in this as well!"

"Both of ya, clench your teeth tight!!"

There was a booming sound like that of an explosion, followed by the groans of two dwarves, who drop to the ground while holding their heads.

"How long are you planning to stay on the ground for!? Get back to work!!"

"… Heeee……."

Dwarves were rather st.u.r.dy. Even a heavyweight boxer would likely be knocked out by a punch like that, but they seemed to stand up as if nothing happened, so they were probably awfully tough.

In addition, that was the first time Zeros had seen another race besides humans.

The dwarf boss notices the stunned Zeros.

"Oh, what brings ya here?"

"Eh!? Ahh… my apologies, I'm Zeros. I'm the one who's going to live here."

"You? The feudal lord was supposed to be our client, though?"

"Well, it's complicated… But anyways, are you the one in charge of the construction?"

"Ou, I'm the leader of these dwarves, the name is Naguri Monda."

In all honesty, Zeros couldn't distinguish the dwarves apart. They all had a long beard, beer barrel bellies, stout arms and short legs. A typical fantasy race.

"Then, Naguri-san. I'll be in your care."

"Yeah yeah. So, whatcha think about the house?"

"It's good. I have no complaints about the balance and the arrangement of the rooms, but…"

"What? Is there a problem?"

"Not really a problem. It's just that because I am a magician, I'd like to have more of a storage room-like bas.e.m.e.nt. But I guess it would be impossible now that the foundations had been laid."

At that moment, Naguri's eyes flash with a dangerous and sharp glint. 

"What…? Bas.e.m.e.nt… storage room…?"

"No, well, I don't want to force additional work upon you. The foundation work is already done after all."

"What a blunder! Because our client was the Duke, I thought he was going to live there with one of his mistresses."

"That man… just how many women does he play around with?"

"Well, I always see him with a different woman every time. Mostly widows and women going through hard times."

DelSasis often has relationships with women that have troublesome circ.u.mstances. One of his most famous anecdotes is about the time when the lover he had at that moment was being targeted by a shady organization, he protected her without making any incessant onslaught, ultimately, thoroughly crushing the organization, without overlooking anything.

Moreover, he didn't borrow the authority of the Duke's household. He acted on the sidelines only using his connections with different merchants. And, as a result, he's now known as one of the country's most influential merchants.

Incidentally, all the crushed organizations fell under his umbrella, and they're now working on legitimate business.

"He's also known as 'The Silent Lord', he might appear as a frivolous man on the outside, but he's quite the dangerous guy, y'know?"

"I see, but… what makes him such a dangerous person?"

"Well, his whole raison d'être is to please women*. He even wrote a book, y'know? 'Dandyism for men. Living one's life for the sake of pleasing women.'"

(*T.N: I think the kanji read something like "woman's shadow", the kanji for shadow also being an archaism for the female genitals, so that's probably the implication there.)

"What is the Duke doing!? How much money does he even earn from the royalties!? Wait, before that, you've read it before!?"

"Of course. It's a best-seller after all, y'know? It's a man's bible."

"You're kidding!"

He was a feudal lord who goes diagonally above expectations.

"Well, leaving the matter with the feudal lord aside, about the bas.e.m.e.nt… I wonder if【Gaia Control]could handle it."

"It could, but you'd need a very precise control, y'know?"

"Hm? And how do ya know that?"

"Because I'm a magician. So, what should I do? I'm pretty good at this kind of work."

"I'm kinda uneasy leaving this to an amateur, but we ain't very good at magic…"

Dwarves are fundamentally bad at magic. Although, with a lot of effort, it was possible for them to become magicians, they are a race more suited for manual labor. 

The magic【Gaia Control], which could be used for farm work and civil engineering, was highly prized. It was specially useful for doing foundation work and reclamation of woodlands for agricultural production. In addition, it was very compatible with them, so they were quick to buy it from the Solisthea's Chamber of Commerce.

The issue is that it's not easy to perform operations that require pinpoint precision and control, but by continuously using it, one would eventually learn【Magic Manipulation].

But, at the moment, there wasn't anyone capable of using it amongst the dwarves.

"Well, I guess it doesn't matter if your house breaks down a little, I'm getting paid by the feudal lord after all."

"It's quite an unorthodox plan. The problem is that we have to change the form of the structural foundation, right?"

"Well, let's take a look. Come."

Guided by Naguri, Zeros is taken to the construction site where the foundation work has been done.

There's a small open s.p.a.ce that would eventually be the kitchen and living room. Several squared wooden pillars are affixed to the ground as part of the foundation of the floor, though that stage of the construction is not completely finished, making it easier to work with it.

"From here we'd have to dig through directly next to the pillars, but I'm worried about the structural integrity. It's just soil, so the house would collapse eventually, y'know?"

"Let's dig through with【Gaia Control]and then harden the ground with【Rock Forming], including the foundations."

"There's a magic like that? First time hearing 'bout it!"

"It just compresses the soil and forcibly hardens it into rocks."

It's a magic created mainly to make flower beds and the like, but depending on how it's used, it's possible to erect a fort in a short amount of time, so it couldn't be carelessly spread around. 

The ability of hastily building a stronghold, could greatly affect the world's military balance. If an enemy fort suddenly appears one day, where there wasn't supposed to be anything, it can send the enemy's chain of command into disarray, just like with Sunomata castle, the 'one night castle'.

(*T.N:famous story of a fortress built overnight. )

Civilians are sent to war as engineers to built military bases. If they win, they get a reward, if they lose, they die. Additionally, they could also end up as slaves.

Not only knights fight in wars. There are also mercenaries and magicians, but the overwhelming majority of the soldiers are conscripts levied from the populace.

Incidentally, criminals are also used as soldiers but mostly just as disposable p.a.w.ns on the front lines.

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For that reason, Zeros doesn't want to spread his magic too much.

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