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Chapter 91 – Day 36 of Exploration
When I woke up in the morning, Chel was fully recovered and baking bread.
“Good morning.”
“Good morning.”
As I was washing my face in the swamp, I saw a fish monster jump out of the water. It was about as big as me. I thought about catching it and eating it, but I decided against it because there was still plenty of meat left.
We had breakfast and discussed the afternoon’s dig.
“Let’s clean up the monsters in the area first, then we can start digging.”
“He-He-Hel.”
Sylvia looked at Hel. They often discuss things at night when I’m asleep, so maybe they’ve come up with some ideas.
“It’s hard to say, but I asked the dead for help, but I couldn’t hear them. There are few residual thoughts. Maybe it’s because too much time has passed, or maybe they’re gathered in the cemetery.”
“I see…”
My face contorts naturally when we talk about ghosts.
“If you find the graveyard, let me know. I’ll dig another place.”
“The right person for the right job, huh?”
Soon, Jennifer and Lipa woke up, too.
In the morning, I went out with Jennifer and Lipa to gather medicinal herbs. Since we did not have to go far, we decided to come back when the danger had passed to help Chel build a boat.
The tree we felled had been left to dry for about two months. The tools were a little rusty, so we scraped the wood while removing the rust.
It seems that Chel wants to make a small sailing boat with an outrigger.
“I’ll try it in the swamp.”
It seems that after yesterday’s discussion, Chel has come to terms with the idea of crossing the sea and returning to the Meiju Kingdom. I don’t know if she will return to the demonic land or not. The Demon King has changed, and the situation will be different.
“Don’t be executed.
“Then I will become a ghost and possess Makyo, so don’t worry.”
I said something sarcastic, and I received a sarcastic response in return.
The work of carving the wood was a little difficult because I had to use a lot of force. If I used too much force, the blade would bend.
“Makyo, you have to make tools out of palm sap!”
“Yes.”
I made tools by hardening the sap of the palm tree and carved the designated areas according to Chel’s instructions. It was difficult to apply the right amount of force with the tools I made. I’ll ask Sylvia to make some for me later.
Sometimes, I couldn’t carve at all, and sometimes, I carved too much.
“Oh, no!”
I said for the umpteenth time today, and Chel looked at me.
“I’m just so clumsy…”
“Let’s practice with treant.”
It seems that Chel also cuts down trees too much, so we decided to practice together. We thought it would be easy to hollow out a big tree, but it wasn’t that easy.
Even if it’s just for one person, we have to make a ship that can cross the ocean. We have to make it sturdy because there are monsters that attack at sea, and it can be hit by waves, so it will sink if it’s not made well. It will take several days to sail, so it also needs a place to sleep.
“It’s probably better to build a few ships and try them out first.”
“It’s not like you can just build a ship with the tools you have.”
For now, we took the corpse of the recently defeated Treant to the swamp and formed it into a ship. Since it was originally a monster, we could rip it apart without mercy.
Before noon, Lipa and Jennifer returned from gathering herbs and said a few words.
“Can’t we just stow away on the Cliff Garuda?”
It certainly seems like it would be faster that way. However, there is a great possibility that the current Demon King, who might be hostile to us, will find out. I looked at Chel.
“Even if it’s the worst, it might be okay, but don’t you think it would be better to have a ship?”
If trade with the Kingdom of Meiju begins, we’ll need a ship, but if it’s just a discussion, it seems like it would be okay to stow away.
“Well, it might be better to have a way to get back on our own.”
If Chel wants to return to the demonic land, it wouldn’t be a waste to build a ship.
For now, we’ll build a ship, and then Chel will leave with the intention of going to the Meiju Kingdom by ship.
If she is able to go on her own, it should lead to the development of the demonic land. However, something is bothering me.
I also asked Hel and Sylvia, who woke up around noon, for their opinion on building a ship.
“If you think about Chel, who was exiled in the first place, wouldn’t it be better to build a ship and go?”
Hel replied sleepily. It seemed she had just woken up and didn’t want to think about it.
“Well, I guess so…”
“W-w-what about a letter?!”
“A letter? That’s a good idea.”
“So you’re saying that we should send it from Cliff Garuda and see what the Meiju Kingdom does? Didn’t you say that the first step is the most important?”
“No, it’s possible to be the first to move. First, we should tell them that we want to build a friendly relationship, but if the Meiju Kingdom attacks the demonic land, we will change the terrain, and then we should get the countries around the demonic land to recognize that. Is that what you mean?”
“T-t-that’s right.”
Sylvia nodded at Hel’s question.
“So what?”
“If we can get them to recognize the legitimacy of our fight, then we can form a united front, right?”
Hel told me. Even though she just woke up, her mind is working well.
“If the Meiju Kingdom goes to war, other countries might attack them, so they won’t attack us without a reason, and we should be able to get the Demon King to come to the negotiating table. Besides, the letter written by Chel, the legitimate successor recognized by the previous king, cannot be ignored.”
The nobles seem to understand, but neither Jennifer nor I really get it.
“So you will build the ship after all?”
“We will. We may have to negotiate at sea.”
“Will what we do stay the same?”
“It won’t change. We’ll probably go to Cliff Garuda together soon.”
“Also, take me to the east coast soon.”
There are more requests, but that’s okay.
“Okay. Please set a schedule. Then let’s go digging today, too!”
After lunch, we went to the excavation site.
As we approached the site, we could hear the monsters snoring. Apparently, the sleeping pills Hel had made were working. Predators, such as king anacondas and green tigers, and monsters that had eaten the cam fruit, such as imps and Giza crabs, were all asleep.
We split up and killed the monsters, then decided to burn the bodies that couldn’t be used. Some dead trees from the digging remained, so we burned them together near the swamp upwind.
“Okay, we can see the wall now, so let’s dig carefully.”
As soon as we started digging, we found the floor of the building.
“It’s concrete.”
“We don’t see it very often in the Elf Kingdom, but do they use it in the Meiju Kingdom?”
“I think they use it a lot. I think they mix it with volcanic ash or something, but I don’t know much about architecture. Do they use it a lot in the Estinia Kingdom?”
“I don’t think they use it much. I’ve never heard of it.”
“I-I-I don’t know about it either.”
It’s a building material that is not used much in the Kingdom of Estinia.
“A building material that lasts for 1000 years is amazing.”
“They mix volcanic ash, crushed bricks, and horsehair into the cement. When you dissolve it in water and let it harden, it becomes hard, so it’s good for foundations.”
I knew about cement from making kilns, but I didn’t know about concrete. Although she said she didn’t know anything about architecture, Chel was actually quite knowledgeable.
“You know a lot. Did you study it in school?”
“No… I just got along with people from such a family…”
Chel’s hand stopped, and she looked up to the sky.
“Is something wrong?”
“Political maneuvering. Maybe getting along with Chel was part of the job.”
Hel answered for Chel.
“A-a-a family that excels at architecture can build castles and tombs, as well as secret rooms and hidden passages. A-a-and they can also kill powerful people in accidents.”
Sylvia seems to have an idea as well. The person Chel thought she was getting along with may have been doing so as part of their job. Chel seems to have just realized this and is shocked.
“Being a noble is hard.”
“Makyo is also a noble now!”
“Let’s try not to go outside as much as possible. Come on, let’s get to work before the sun sets. Oh, is that a vase?”
After that, we unearthed the remains of collapsed walls, pots, vases, and large hinge fittings. We even found a twisted iron grate.
“Is this a guardhouse or something?”
“It could be a gate because there are hinges.”
“Do gates have vases?”
“There are patterns on the pots and vases that look like magic circles, so maybe they had a purpose.”
“Maybe their culture was more advanced. Gardening was popular with the priests in the church.”
Everyone gave their opinion.
“What do you think, Lipa?”
“Me? Well, if ancient people could fly, I think the gatekeepers would have had some kind of flying device… just like the Cliff Garuda.”
“I see. That’s right. The gate would need some kind of weapon. Let’s dig up the hill on the other side of the road as well.”
Tomorrow, we’ll look around for weapons and cut down the bushes so we can dig out the overgrown hill.
On the way back, the fire was still smoldering by the swamp. It was dangerous, so we disrupted the water flow of the swamp and put out the fire by pouring water on it.
“Should we get the magic stone?”
I asked Hel if the corpse had started to move.
“I don’t think it will be a problem…”
“Let’s collect it. If we polish it and sell it, it’ll be a trade item.”
At Jennifer’s suggestion, we started digging the magic stones out of the charred corpses. My fingernails turned black.
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Thanks for the treat
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