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Chapter 134 – Day 26 of the Strategy Life
The next morning, I set out for the northwest corner of the demonic land with Chel and Lipa.
Sylvia is in charge of the crocodile ranch. Meanwhile, Hel and Jennifer went to look for poisonous plants to ward off monsters. Ka-Ryu went with them.
“You’re looking for the kind of soil used for concrete, right?”
“That’s right.”
We were running while pulling Lipa, who was floating in the air on a broom, with a long vine. Otherwise, she would lose sight of us.
“I saw the size of the tunnel. Are you planning to use a carriage?”
“We need a carriage to transport food. Is there a problem?”
“No, but won’t it be hard on the horses’ knees?”
“Is the concrete too hard?”
I hadn’t even thought of that. Usually, harder roads are easier to travel on. I thought the wheels wouldn’t get stuck in the mud. I never imagined there could be any disadvantages to concrete being too hard.
“But we did hear that Yggdrasil used cobblestones.”
“Even if they had the technology to use concrete, there might be a reason they didn’t.”
In the Meiju Kingdom, where Chel lived, concrete was used for buildings, but the roads were paved with stones.
“Really? Then maybe we should ask the engineers who built the roads and bridges.
Let’s go to the east coast and contact the demon engineers.
“No, I think it’s better to have the materials, though. We can’t live in a cave forever.”
“Yeah, you’re right. Chel, you seem unusually smart today.”
“Yeah, I want to make up for yesterday’s failure!”
It seems she is reflecting on her failure with the jam.
Frustrated, Chel ran at full speed, causing water to fly out of Lipa’s mouth and making it difficult for him to breathe. By the time she realized what had happened, Lipa was on the verge of fainting.
“I’m sorry. Chel is an idiot.”
“I’m sorry. I just got a little emotional.”
She handed Lipa a water bottle and apologized again. Lipa gulped down the water.
“I thought I was going to die. But we’ve come a long way. I’ve never been here before.”
We had been to the west entrance before and set up a base near the northern mountains, but the northwest was unexplored territory.
East Kenya was separated from the demonic land by a cliff. A river flowed down to a small stream at the entrance below the cliff. This side was a jungle with dense trees, but beyond the west was the grassland.
“I didn’t know it was like this.”
“Yeah, I didn’t know the cliff near the stream was so high. It’s dangerous to jump down.”
“I don’t think anyone would jump.”
“But didn’t Lipa jump after being tied up?”
“That was punishment. Punishment!”
Looking at the map drawn by Lute, I saw that the cliff curved into a slope and became a mountain. The mountains continued on to form a mountain range that seemed to be the border with the elf country.
“If we dig into the mountain, won’t we hit solid rock?”
“Yeah, maybe. Let’s go a little further north and check out the rocks on the mountain. Lipa, do you want to come with us?”
“Sure.”
As we climbed the mountain, we noticed that the vegetation was changing, so we decided to walk slowly and observe our surroundings.
The trees in the forest gradually became shorter as we climbed the mountain.
There were also fallen trees, so we cleared a path with our hands. The fallen trees were covered in moss, and spores were flying around. Since we didn’t know what effect the spores might have, all three of us put on masks.
No plants attacked us directly, but pinecones were flying around. We also saw bean-shaped seeds gliding through the air and creating a whirlwind as they flew high into the sky.
“There are a lot of plants I’ve never seen before.”
“They’re completely different.”
As we continued walking deeper into the forest, we encountered new types of monsters, such as a large wildcat twice the size of a green tiger and a pack of wolves with hair standing on end like swords. These were not listed in P.J.’s notebook.
“Have they evolved over the past 100 years?”
“Isn’t the speed of evolution too fast?”
“Makyo, can you beat them?”
“No, there’s no need to fight. Can you hear something?”
Bam, bam, bam.
It sounded like someone was hitting a wooden mallet.
As we approached the sound, the trees thinned out, revealing a rocky area with a view of the mountaintop.
There, two black goats with impressive horns were clashing in battle. Each time they collided, a sound like “Bam!” echoed throughout the surrounding area.
Next to them, a salamander the size of a cow walked leisurely by. It was the same brown color as its surroundings. If it had stayed still, it might have been indistinguishable from a rock.
“It’s just as I expected of a demonic land.”
“Hmm.”
As we listened to the sound of the black goats fighting, we continued climbing the mountain.
I used a magic cube to remove a section of the rock face and examined the layers, easily identifying the rock as granite, an igneous rock.
“This rock was formed by a volcanic eruption.”
“You really know a lot about this, Chel. Did you study it?”
“I was forced to!”
She added, “Keep this a secret from everyone else,” before continuing.
“Demon kings can be killed by architects. There’s a secret society of architects who design castles so that if you remove a single brick, the entire castle collapses. My predecessor taught me to avoid being deceived by such people. I could skip school, but I couldn’t escape that…”
Chel’s face contorted throughout her explanation. It seemed to be a deeply unpleasant memory.
“They said it would be useful for infrastructure development, but I never became a demon king in the first place!”
“Then why don’t you design roads and houses? Let’s do that.”
“Hey, what are you talking about?”
Chel pulled on my armor.
“We’ve found the materials. Now, we just need to figure out how big to cut them and how to arrange them. Should we lay down some soft gravel for the horses’ knees? Well, whatever. The architects of the demonic land will figure it out.”
I had appointed Chel as the architect of the demonic land.
“I’m not doing it! It’s too much work, and it requires too much thinking!”
“Chel, it’s about time you showed us what you’re really made of.”
“No way. I want to pursue delicious food.”
“It’s okay. You can do both.”
“What I’m good at and what I like are different things.”
Lipa agreed.
For now, we decided to tie a granite boulder the size of an adult’s body with vines and carry it back.
“Are you really going to build it?”
“What’s your role in the demonic land right now?”
“A magician?”
“I haven’t learned much lately. Besides, we’re not in trouble, and we’re managing fine for now.”
“Baker!”
“Just bread? Isn’t it Hel and Jennifer who are preparing a wild herb stir-fry with steak? There’s more to a delicious meal than just bread!”
“Guh… Are you trying to kick me out!?”
“I’m just asking you to do your job.”
“What about Lipa?”
“He’s cleaning the cave, isn’t he? I actually know he’s tasting the wild herbs Jennifer picked.”
“Damn it… All right, I’ll do it.”
Chel reluctantly agreed.
“There’s no place like the demonic land where magic is so frowned upon.”
Ignoring Chel’s muttering, we returned home.
“Wow! You found a pretty big rock!”
Hel was surprised to see the granite rock. Hel and Jennifer were cooking something in a pot. They had probably found some poisonous herbs to ward off monsters.
“Looks like you found some poisonous herbs to ward off monsters, too.”
“Yes, look. It’s a variant of Lycoris radiata.”
Jennifer showed us a basket full of red, thin petals.
“We don’t know if they’re effective against monsters yet, but they seem to work on insect-type monsters. Even though it’s the breeding season, the insects have disappeared from around the cave.”
Come to think of it, we didn’t see many insect-type monsters on the way back.
“Maybe the northwest part of the demonic land is unexplored. I saw quite a few monsters that weren’t in P.J.’s notebook. What was in the northwest 1,000 years ago?”
I asked Ka-Ryu.
“The northwest?” If it’s below the mountain, it might be where the dwarves’ workshop was. They were known for beekeeping and cheese making. I think they lived a life that didn’t rely much on magic or magical tools.”
“Were there any huge mountain cats?”
“No, I don’t think so. There were black panther monsters in the colosseum, but I’ve never seen a mountain cat.”
“Maybe they’ve evolved to be bigger.”
Sylvia made lunch: field boar liver stir-fried with wild herbs.
“U-using magic makes me lose blood, so I really want meat. I’m sorry for making you come along.”
“It’s delicious, so it’s fine. How was the crocodile ranch?”
“A big boss appeared, so the fights have decreased, and things have become easier.”
The crocodile ranch seems to be doing well. There probably won’t be many predators of the rock crocodile appearing.
“You can’t eat my bread tonight!”
With that, Chel starts baking bread.
“What’s wrong?”
“Makyo told me that a magician who can only bake bread is useless. Isn’t that cruel?”
“…Pfft.”
Seeing Chel puff out her cheeks in anger, Sylvia burst out laughing. Everyone else followed suit.
“I didn’t say that. I just confirmed her recent role after learning that Chel has architectural abilities, too. Being able to use magic isn’t enough in the current demonic land…”
“See? Don’t you think the lord is being tyrannical?”
Of course, everyone had been helped by Chel’s magic. However, when asked if magic was necessary for life in the demonic land, it was questionable. Chel couldn’t use magic. Besides, while Chel was away in the Kingdom of Meiju, everyone had discovered their own unique abilities.
“As the person with the worst personality in the demonic land, I’d like to say something.”
Jennifer stepped forward, deliberately putting herself down.
“Chel-san. We can all bake bread. We’re grateful for your support and for teaching us how to live here. But we’ve completely settled into life here. We’ve found things we like and things we’re good at. It’s time for you to…”
Jennifer smiled gently and approached Chel.
“I get it! I get it! It’s harder to hear when you say it so nicely!”
That day, Chel burned the bread a little.
“I’m heading to the East Coast this afternoon. Is that okay?”
“Yeah, bring back some salt.”
“Makyo, come with me!”
“Why?”
“To carry the bags!”
“What about Lipa?”
“I’m experimenting with a potion to ward off monsters.”
“He’ll be going with me.”
It seems like Jennifer and Lipa have something to do.
I decided to go along, hoping to hear the story of the demon architect.
Since it’s just me and Chel, we can go at full speed.
By evening, we arrived on the east coast. The warehouse was still filled with cargo from the Kingdom of Meiju. We sorted through the cloth products and other items to take back with us.
Meanwhile, Chel looked for the Meiju Kingdom’s familiar flying offshore. However, due to the strong winds and rough seas, she was unable to find it.
“We’ll have to stay the night!”
“Do we have a pot? I’ll make some salt.”
In the end, we decided to spend the night in the warehouse.
As night fell, I infused the lighthouse I had made earlier with magic. Its light stretched straight out into the dark night.
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I thought this beach trip was Chel’s attempt at a little romance with Makyo
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