CH 35

Here’s the chapter, enjoy~

“Hmm, it’s quite tasty. This meat is grilled minced meat, isn’t it? Moreover, this meat seems to be beef meat. It’s been a long time since I’ve eaten beef.”

“It’s nice since you can eat it just by grabbing it.”

“It’s easy to eat.”

What Sir Leonard, Jagira, and Pirna are enjoying is a hamburger. The recipe is as follows:

Hamburger ― Ingredients: 1 Bread, 1 Vegetable, 1 Tomel, 1 Meat.

This recipe produces two hamburgers. Two burgers. It’s quite economical. By the way, Tomel is the vegetable equivalent of the tomato in this world and is exactly like the tomato itself, except that it is green even when fully ripe. I wonder where the lycopene disappeared to.

As for the bread used for the hamburger, it was supposed to be French bread, but it turned out to be a soft bun with sesame seeds sprinkled on it, and it was supposed to be made of Gizma meat, but it turned out to be a beef patty. As for the vegetables, whether using Onil (purple onion), Dikon (black radish), or whatever, they turned out to be crisp lettuce. It’s a wonder; it’s incredible.

My crafting skills are really sketchy… No, it’s all good, though.

By the way, Ms. Zamir is silently biting into her hamburger. I’m not sure if she’s a person who doesn’t talk while eating, or if she likes it too much that she can’t talk about it. Somehow, it looks like the latter. The sparkle in her eyes is different.

“Two is not enough.”

“I’ll have another.”

“As for me, I’m full.”

“I’ll have another as well.”

“Yes, yes.”

I took out a wooden platter from my inventory and piled the burgers on it. Eat as much as you want.

“But don’t eat so much that you can’t move.”

As I said this, Sylphy also reached for the platter. I guess she liked it too. But these burgers are pretty big, aren’t they? I’m already full with two.

After finishing the meal, I had to make a toilet. We’re going to spend the night here, you see. So, toilets are essential. After eating and drinking, everyone will have to use the toilet.

Naturally, there was no way to flush the toilet, so I had to dig a hole deep enough for the septic tank. It can’t be helped. I’ll make two separate bathrooms, one for men and one for women.

“First of all, we need a place to stay for the night.”

Using brick blocks, I laid the floor, built the walls, and made the roof. The size of the blocks is an unadjusted cube of one meter on each side. It’s thick for a wall, but if you’re expecting an attack from Gizma or the Holy Kingdom army stationed in the Merinard Kingdom, thicker is better. Yesterday, I found out that if I reduced the wall thickness by half, the durability was also reduced by half. Verification is very important indeed.

“Is it done yet?”

“Just the building. I haven’t finished the interior yet.”

It’s just a place where we’re going to sleep today, so I’m just going to make a dining room, two bedrooms, and a large room. I’ll put hammock stands in the bedrooms. It’s surprisingly comfortable to sleep in, you know. It’s a bit cold if you don’t wrap yourself in a blanket, though.

“Now, the next step is to build the walls.”

It was decided that this fort, which would be our first base, would be big enough to hold all 300 refugees. This place, the first stronghold after leaving the Black Forest, could possibly become the final line of defense to prevent an invasion into the Black Forest.

Also, the proximity to the Black Forest meant that we could easily receive support from the elves. When we liberate the Merinard Kingdom and move our headquarters to the other side, this fort will be handed over to the Black Forest’s elves for them to use.

In return, we would receive their full support.

Regarding the size and design of the fort, I had a lot of discussions with Danan, Sir Leonard, Ms. Zamir, and other people with military knowledge and intellectuals such as Melty and Isla. As a result of the discussion, it was decided that the fort’s size would be a square of 100 meters, the height of the walls would be 7 meters, and the thickness would be 3 meters.

At the corners of the square, a diamond-shaped ridge wall was to be built so that enemies who tried to attack the gate could be attacked from the sides. The crossbow is an excellent ranged weapon, so there is no way not to utilize it. The crossbow is also useful for defending with the bow and arrow, which is the elves’ main weapon.

The first thing I did was to place a wooden block to determine the general shape temporarily. These crate blocks are a special kind of building block that can be recovered without destroying them. The material is light and very useful for making a rough guide for construction.

After about thirty minutes of temporary placement, I asked Pirna to look at it from the air and discussed the ridge’s shape with Sir Leonard and Sylphy. There seemed to be no problem, so I began the construction.

First, I dug a hole. It was about five meters deep. The foundation work is very important in building a city wall. If you don’t bury the foundation in the ground, it’s easy for the enemy to dig through the ground and break-in.

“That speed is just crazy.”

“Even an earth magic user can’t do that.”

While watching me digging a hole, my guards, Jagira and Sir Leonard are saying whatever they want. I’d like to say that to help me out, but they can’t dig as fast as I can. They are rather a hindrance.

After digging the hole, I put down the brick blocks—lots of them.

I’m getting used to placing the blocks, but it’s too much trouble to put them one by one… I wonder if it would be possible to place multiple blocks at once. I’ve been thinking about it for a while now, and all of a sudden, I’m able to put 27 pieces of 3×3×3 bricks at once. What is it? Could it be that I’ve unlocked some kind of achievement?

I quickly checked and found out that a new achievement had been unlocked.

・Beginner Builder ― Place a total of 5000 building blocks. ※Unlock the group placement feature. Unlock symmetrical mode.

“Oh… why it doesn’t unlock sooner?”

The symmetrical mode is a feature that allows the user to place a centerline, the axis of symmetry, at an arbitrary point, and when a block is placed, the same block is placed on the opposite side of the centerline. This is a great way to make progress in the building. If you want to build a symmetrical structure, you can cut your workload in half or less.

Note that symmetrical mode will not help you if you have already set up a symmetrical building. You can either destroy what you’ve made so far and rebuild it, or you can set up blocks in the symmetrical mode now and fill in the unsettled areas on the other side later.

I decided to go for the latter.

“Kosuke, why is there a wall being built on the other side?”

“I’ve got a new ability now. I can use my new ability to build.”

“…I see.”

Sylphy seemed to accept the reality with a bit of a distant look in her eyes. You’ve been with me the longest in this world, Sylphy. As for me? I’ve already decided to accept the absurdity of this ability. It’s come in handy. If I think about it too much, the crafting ability’s absurd dark power will drive me insane and eventually lead to my death.

Using the symmetrical mode and the grouping function, I started to build the castle wall.

“I was afraid I wouldn’t be able to finish it by the end of the day, but…”

“Well, it’s done.”

I’m sure there are still a few details that need to be corrected, but the wall is 100 meters square, seven meters high, five meters deep, and three meters thick.

“Now, I want each of you to inspect the wall. If you find any problems, please report them to me. Kosuke, continue with the maintenance.”

“Aye aye, ma’am.”

As the rest of the team dispersed to check the wall, I started to build the stairs to the wall, the storage room for supplies, and the dormitory. Once this is done, I’ll dig a well. I hope it produces water.

Speaking of digging a well, I’ll also have to do a little underground drilling. I want to make an escape route to get out of the fort in case of emergency. But digging underground is hard work, you know.

I’ve been thinking about it, too. I thought, “Why don’t I just dig a safe underground passage and tunnel to the Merinard Kingdom without going all the way above ground?” I thought to myself.

Yesterday, I tried to strengthen the foundation of the wall of the elven village. In conclusion, I almost died.

No, digging is fine. I can dig quickly and easily. However, if I dig too deep, water comes out. The air becomes thin, and it becomes painful. Also, the soil would usually fall or collapse. I was almost buried alive.

It seems that my unreasonable power only applies to the top of the shovel or the side and tip of the shovel where the soil is placed. There seems to be no effect on the backside, and no matter how much I dig with my shovel, the soil is still soil.

I tried to find out what kind of unreasonable side it had, but it seemed to specialize in digging without regard to the hardness of stones, gravel, or soil. It seems the falling soil and air measures are not included.

I was able to prevent the falling soil by placing building blocks, whether they were wood blocks or something else. As for ventilation, I guess I’ll have to make big bellows or use wind magic, wind spirit magic, or wind spirit stones. That’s what I thought. Once it’s open, it seems to be relatively safe, so I think making air holes as needed will work.

If I dive with Sylphy, it won’t be a problem. There are several spirit stones in her bracelet, including the wind spirit stone, and the effect of the spirit stones can keep creating fresh air. I had been thinking about the tunnel strategy, but it was beneficial to know that it was complicated, dangerous, and required a lot of preparation.

The dormitory and warehouse interior would not be used right away, so I would just make the building.

“Kosuke, the sun is about to set. You can finish your work there.”

“Hmm, got it.”

I’m about halfway done with the building. The only thing left is the dormitory. I heard that the wall protection was perfect. It was worth the hard work of getting covered in dirt.

“Here, Kosuke. Take off your clothes. I’ll wash you with water.”

“Yes, lukewarm water, please ― Ugyaa! It’s cold!”

“Hahaha, sorry, sorry.”

She’s laughing, but I’m sure she’s doing it on purpose. However, I’m grateful that the spirit magic can provide water, so I forgive it.

“Hahaha, Kosuke, you need to work out a little more.”

“You need more muscle.”

“Is that so? I think it’s about right.”

“Your frame is not bad. But it could be better if you strengthen it.”

Sir Leonard, Jagira, Pirna, and Ms. Zamir look at my naked body and evaluate it as they please. Jagira seemed to prefer macho men. Pirna, on the other hand, is not so interested. Ms. Zamir’s eyes are more like an instructor’s than a girl’s.

Aren’t I embarrassed? I’m not a virgin, so I don’t mind being naked. I don’t mind exposing my skin when I’m cleaning off the mud after a hard day’s work. If you don’t like it, don’t look at it, hahaha.

After the mud is washed off, hot air is blown over my skin and hair to dry them. It’s perfect.

“Do you guys want to take a bath?”

“I’ll do it in the morning.”

“I’d like to take a bath before I go to bed.”

“Me, too.”

“Me too, please.”

The ladies seem to be taking a bath before going to bed. I won’t peek, okay? If it’s a naked Sylphy, I see her every night. I don’t want to look at other women’s naked bodies because they are scary. I’d be easily beaten with one punch by anyone other than Pirna, and more importantly, I’d make Sylphy angry.

After this, I decided to have dinner and go to bed right away. I think I heard some shrill voices coming from the women’s room, but I wonder if they had a girls’ night out. As for me, if I don’t go to bed soon, Sir Leonard will constantly be begging me for mithril weapons.

I’m going to sleep. Good night! I have to go to bed! So let go of my shoulder! Let go of me!