CH 41

“…… I’m back.”

I whispered to myself as I opened the door of my house.

It was almost midnight and the people were sleeping outside. The children and elders inside the house were probably asleep as well, so I decided to sneak out and borrow a blanket for myself.

I had a great time earning DP and spent half a day in the dungeon. Some might wonder why I had been gone for so long.

However, I was the rightful Lord of this land, and there was no need to ask the people what they thought of me for something such as this. In fact, I could be said to be the Lord among Lords, working for the sake of the land.

“Oh, Henry. What have you been up to?”

“Oh, Oken-san. I was out for a while. You weren’t asleep yet.”

When I walked into the living room, someone called out to me.

“I am overwhelmed with motivation. So I’ve been working on the plans for the city since there’s nothing to do.”

Oken’s vagueness, which had been so severe, has disappeared. At this rate, he might be remembering his past.

“Can you remember anything from the past? Where you lived, the names of your family members, do you recall any ancient super-technology?”

“…..? Hmm?”

“Still not good. What are these city plans anyway?”

“You can’t protect everyone in this shabby village, Henry! Look at the plans I’ve drawn, the fruit of my wisdom!”

“Please keep your voice down. You’ll wake the others.”

Oken began to lay out a series of clay tablets. Gradually, the pieced-together clay plates became a single picture, on which the concept of the city was precisely drawn.

“How did you manage to make such a…… clay tablet in such a short time?”

“I have nothing better to do. First of all, the final form of the city should be an efficient walled city that can house 5000 people. The city will be built in a radial pattern with a central square as the base, and an aqueduct will connect the water supply and sewage system. The shape of the city will be circular. In addition, the entire city will be surrounded by a wall with a star-shaped moat around it. The walls also need space for gun emplacements, about nine of them.” 

“It’s not a matter of ‘need’. How many decades do you think it will take?”

“It won’t take more than ten or twenty years. And we’re not going to do all of them from the beginning. The first thing we should do is to surround the village with…… wooden walls. Then slowly build the rest. We’ll need volcanic ash, lime, and some shale in order to build a real wall, so we’ll have to wait.”

I could read the words on the drawing. It was strange. Oken is supposed to be one of the Aepha (ancient people).

“I see. Now that we have the golem and the Blacksmith’s Workshop, let’s start where we can. First, we need to procure wood and iron ore. Then let’s start building at once. I want to build some houses, too.”

“Leave it to me. I already know how to build a house.”

“Also, the name of the wall should be… ‘Adara Wall’.”

“Oh, I’ll leave it to you. I don’t know how to make a house.”

“What a name. I guess it’s a nod to your love for Adara-san, huh?”

Just when I thought the blurriness was gone, the color blurriness started. Although this one was less harmful than the other, I couldn’t say for sure. I was wondering what I was talking about at an age when funerals seemed to start at the same time as weddings.

“A candle burns best just before it burns out. And age is no factor in love.”

“…… Please don’t read my mind.”

“Don’t be an idiot. I can almost always tell what you’re going to say by looking at your face. And…… I’m sorry to say it, but you might want to start looking behind you…….”

I felt a chill run down my spine as if a drop of water had been dripped down my spine.

I turned around slowly and saw a familiar face.

“Thank you for your hard work until late at night, my Lord. We were very worried when you came back so late.”

“Did you have fun in the dungeon….. onii-san? Sareha-san has told us a lot about…… what has happened in the dungeon before.”

Sirius and Sheila were smiling at me. Scary.

“I touched the stone monument…… and it tells me a lot. I think it’s wrong that it says [Total number of deaths 00013]. Why didn’t you say anything to me when you were dying?”

“I’m sorry I spoke…… but it’s nii-sama’s fault…… for leaving me alone and going to the dungeon alone.”

Thor and Sareha blamed me. I dove into the dungeon for the sake of everyone else, so they had no reason to be angry with me.

Why did they know that I had dived into the dungeon in the first place? I was sure that I asked Fayne to relay the message, but I didn’t tell him about the dungeon.

“My Lord! Frodo saw you heading for the basement! I told everyone!”

Frodo raised a small hand in appeal.

He was very quick to share the information. Frodo showed a lot of promise, and I was sure I could get him a key position in the future. But for once, I wanted him to keep his mouth shut. It was not good to be completely exposed, even though I had gone to the trouble of sneaking into the dungeon without being seen.

“Frodo is smart. Come, I’ll pat you on the head.”

“Ehehe”

When I stroked Frodo’s head, his animal ears twitched.

“Well, it’s getting late, so let’s all go to bed. Sheila, where are the blankets? If not, I’ll sleep with Gabriel in my arms.”

“…… Come here, please.”

Sheila took me by the hand, Sirius grabbed me by the shoulders, and I was taken away with a waist rope that had been prepared for me from somewhere. I climbed up the stairs with everyone else, and until we reached my room on the second floor, I didn’t have two words for freedom.

***

“To sum it up…… you’ve been diving in the dungeon ever since you came to this meadow. You’ve died many times and come back to life. Is that where you acquired the extraordinary strength of your arms and legs?”

Sirius looked at me with a dumbfounded expression.

It had been quite some time since I had entered the room, but the interrogation-like questioning continued for the rest of the night. More and more people were gathering in the room and there were fewer and fewer places to sit.

I was sitting in the middle and everyone else was surrounding me. Fayne was guarding the exit window, and Sirius was standing guard at the door. I couldn’t escape. And I was sleepy. I didn’t dare say that I was sleepy in this situation.

“I think it’s great. You’re right to want to be a strong male. I wouldn’t mind dying for once if I could have the power.”

“Fayne…….! For the first time, we’re on the same page.”

“But you should have told everyone about ‘death and resurrection in dungeons’. The Lord himself must have thought it was a bad idea not to tell us.”

“Yes…… are you mad at me?”

“I knew you were the kind of person who would die if left to your own devices, but I never dreamed …… that you were actually dead.”

Sirius seemed to be really angry. I was scared to death that he smiled when he was angry. From now on, I would try not to make him angry.

Silence reigned in the room.

Sareha spoke to me as if he had made up his mind. I didn’t know why he was holding a wooden plate full of raspberries in his hand.

“These are raspberries from the meadow. I picked them for lunch to eat with nii-sama……. Can I eat them all?”

“A-ah. Do whatever you like.”

“No……. Please…… scold me for keeping it all to myself.”

“W-why is that?”

Sareha turned over and began to cry.

“Sheila-san told me, ‘Brothers fight over sweets’. That’s why I’ve been waiting for…… this whole time……. I’ve been wanting to do something like this with my nii-sama…….”

“I’m sorry, Sareha. But it’s good that you’re back like this.”

“It’s hard to be left behind. I’m afraid of seeing you die in front of me. I want you to rely on…… more…….”

Sareha’s tears wouldn’t stop. At the same time, he couldn’t stop looking at me with a stern look. The situation was completely disadvantageous, and there was no hope for rescue.

“…… I need strength. I’m not sure if you’ve seen this before. But as the number of my people grew, I needed more power. So I thought it would be better than dying. Besides, I can come back to life.”

“So can I come with you to the dungeon next time? I’ll come back to life too, right?”

“Shall I go too? Onee-chan, me and onii-san. There are four of us, including Sareha-san.“

“I didn’t mean it like that! And I don’t want any of you to die!”

“Then don’t tell me easily that you can die! I can’t accept that and neither can the others!”

When the discussion got heated, Sirius clapped his hands to get everyone’s attention.

“Things are getting a little heated. I understand where you’re coming from. But the Lord has a point too. So, how about a compromise?”

“Compromise?”

“Those who are willing to fight should go into the dungeon. About 30 warriors of the Silver Crow clan will be recruited to join in. I’ll run for the dungeon dive first.”

“I’ll do anything to get stronger too. I heard that strong men can have beautiful wives. I want at least three.”

Sirius and Fayne raised their hands.

“I want to go too!”

“No, not Thor. I can’t feel your will to fight. I think your battlefield is in a different place. And Sheila too, of course.”

Sirius gently warned them, and Thor and Sheila nodded.

“Gau!”

“Gabriel, what’s wrong? You can’t do that. It’s dangerous.”

“My Lord, the wolf’s sense of smell is not to be underestimated, and we could take him with us. Leave the fighting to us.”

“Guuh… I’ll have Oken-san make you some wolf armor…….”

Indeed, Gabriele could smell the scent of demons that were far away. She was a perfect candidate for a dungeon explorer.

“I’m not going to ask you why you didn’t take Sareha to the dungeon and us to the dungeon. It’s the Lord’s own problem.”

Sirius’ last advice. I suddenly remembered something completely unrelated but worrisome. That was when I first met Sirius and was invited to his house. There was a time when Sirius said something strange and I felt uneasy inside.

I believe…

“Sirius once called Gabriel a ‘beautiful wolf’. It seems that Gabriel can also transform into a werewolf, so maybe he’s looking at Gabriel in a dirty way?”

“W-what are you talking about!? I am a beastman, but…… not like that! It is true that Gabriel is beautiful, but it is not …… it is like admiring a work of art!”

“Ah, hmm. I understand. Don’t get too close to Gabriel.”

“No, really, it’s different. Why are you saying this at this time!”

I had been scolded for a long time, but I felt like I had gotten my revenge. No, I was really glad that there were people who were angry at me. Sometimes I even wish that there was someone like Sirius in the palace.

I regained my composure and turned to face Sareha.

“Sareha. I’m sorry about earlier. I don’t expect you to forgive me easily, but can we do it again?”

“Yes! Let’s dive into the dungeon together again!”

“That being said, can I have some…… raspberries?”

I reached for the wooden plate and Sareha happily offered it to me.

“It’s delicious. I could eat it all myself.”

“Fufu, no you can’t.”

Sareha raised the wooden plate above his head.

I tried to wipe away the trace of tears on his cheeks, but another tear spilled from his eyes.