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TL: ALT
Chapter 135 – Day 27 of the Strategy Life
At dawn, a crow flew in from the sea, and Chel grabbed it.
“Call the Kajuu clan. Any architect nearby will do.”
Chel’s tone was dry. Perhaps she was just putting on a brave face.
After finishing its business, the crow was returned to the sea and flew away.
“Did you get it done?”
“Yeah, if the sea isn’t rough, they should arrive in the evening.”
The sea wasn’t as rough as last night, but it wasn’t sunny either.
I poured the salt that had accumulated in the pot into a jar that had once contained pickles. Pickles from the Kingdom of Meiju are delicious, so they disappear quickly. The jars can be washed and reused, which is convenient, so trading them is a good idea.
“Could it be that the Kingdom of Meiju actually has really delicious food?”
“Huh? Well, I don’t know. The demonic land feels like a place where people eat wild food.”
It’s hard to deny that, since we mostly eat wild plants or monster meat. However, cooking is important.
“I’m sorry, but could you help me hunt only the large sea monsters? I don’t think the demon ships can handle the demonic land yet.”
“Sure.”
Chel started running normally on the sea surface. Apparently, it’s possible with magic power adjustment, but I can’t do it, so I cast ice magic on my feet to freeze the sea surface and follow her.
Once we were far from the coastline, and the bottom of the sea was no longer visible, sharks attacked us. They jumped out of the water, making them easy targets. I kicked and punched them. Even when they came in groups, they easily disappeared when I hit them on the nose.
“We should just fight in the water.”
“They think everything is food.”
“They’re just like Chel.”
Makyo is no different.
“A female shark and a male shark. They aren’t in puberty yet, so they should be nicer if they want to trade. Hmph.”
A large squid leg appeared, so I wrapped fire magic around my fist, punched it, and burned it. The giant squid in the sea had been frozen by Chel’s ice magic and was now drifting with the waves.
“Don’t be too nice, or you’ll get fooled. Besides, the captain wouldn’t do that.”
“The captain is a descendant of the dragon folk, so he’s nice to us. The other day, though, he praised the two elves at the entrance for sending the elf ambassador away. It might have been a mistake, though.”
“Ah, I hear elves are proud.”
“But Hel doesn’t seem that high-ranking.”
“Hel is special. But what we need in the demonic land are dwarves, right?”
“That’s right. We need dwarf engineers, not elves. We want to evolve Ka-Ryu’s body.”
“I hope the technology has been passed down.”
“I guess that’s another problem…”
A six-toothed walrus attacked us, so I used a magic cube to rip out its intestines. I threw the intestines into the sea to feed the small fish. I decided to take the dead walrus back to the beach.
“Let’s grill it and eat it.”
“Alright, lunch!”
We didn’t do much work, but there are no more monsters in the nearby waters. Let’s eat!
We gathered driftwood, built a fire on the beach, and roasted the walrus meat. While we were at it, I warmed up and dried my frozen boots.
“Makyo, do you have any sense of responsibility as a lord?”
“What the hell are you talking about? No way.”
“No, I mean people from other countries—former enemy countries—are coming. Are you sure you’re okay looking like that?”
It’s mealtime, so I’ve taken off my leather armor, and I’m barefoot. My undergarments have been washed many times and are starting to look worn.
“Ah, this isn’t good, is it? Well, I’ll put on my armor. And my shoes, too.”
“No, wouldn’t it be better to have something to be praised for?”
Chel said with a serious expression. Would that be better for diplomacy? Cliff Garuda never said anything like that.
“Are you going to create something worthy of praise when you haven’t done anything worthy of praise? Are you stupid?”
“The nobles of the Meiju Kingdom are quite concerned about such things. They feel recognized when they are praised…”
“What kind of nobles are they?”
“Makyo certainly doesn’t care about other people’s opinions.”
Suddenly, Chel put her hand on her chin and began to think.
“I don’t care about evaluations. I mean, they’re not necessary in the demonic land, right?”
“Maybe if I became a noble, I’d have to care more.”
“They might tell me to work harder, but evaluations… What should I do? Chel, I don’t really care about it, though.”
I’m surprised at myself for not taking it seriously at all.
“That’s right, Makyo. Just imagining it makes me feel scared.”
Chel is really pale. I don’t know what she’s afraid of.
“What’s going to happen?”
“To put it simply, imagine people with the same power I had when I first arrived in the demonic land. They’re wearing fancy clothes and looking important. Could you smile and talk to them?”
“I’d probably want to punch them!”
“Yeah, right! This is a mess. To be honest, the last time I went back, I completely beat up the Demon King…”
“Why did you do that?”
“She’s a classmate from school, but she’s so insecure. I took her to the dungeon to show her the real world, so to speak…”
“Stop it. You’ll lose your friends.”
“I know, but demons these days are just so weak. But if you beat up the guests the lord invited, we might not be able to trade with them anymore…”
“That’s a problem. We need to trade for the pickles!”
I think construction-related stuff can wait.
“Hmm, but if they enter demon land, they’ll die, right?”
“Isn’t it bad to kill the guests we invited?”
Even I, who knows nothing about diplomacy, can understand that. Besides, it would be troublesome if they came back as spirits later.
“Should we make a staff? With that, they could survive in the demonic land.”
“That’s right! Let’s do that. We’ll give it to them as a gift and tell them, ‘It suits you well.'”
“Yeah! That was close. I’m glad I noticed.”
Come to think of it, I’ve visited other countries, but I’ve never invited anyone to mine. Diplomacy is surprisingly difficult.
After eating some walrus meat and taking a nap, I decided to craft a staff.
It was the breeding season for big moths, so I had no trouble hunting them for magic stones.
There were plenty of suitable branches in the forest.
“How many do we need?”
“Ten or twenty should be enough, I think.”
“We’ll have to make quite a few…”
I carved the wood into easy-to-grip handles and made bases to embed the magic stones.
It was tedious work, but I decided to keep going if it would help with diplomacy.
By the time I finished making eighteen, a ship appeared on the horizon. The sun was setting, glowing orange.
Sea bird monsters flew around the ship, but Chel impaled them with a flaming spear as soon as they appeared.
I lit the lighthouse and guided the ship toward it.
It was a large ship, likely carrying dozens of people.
“I guess we didn’t have enough staff. We did our best, though.”
I put on leather armor and shoes.
“I’ll go meet them.”
“Okay, take care of it.”
Chel ran across the surface of the sea and used wind magic to propel the ship forward. I waited at the dock to ensure that the ship wouldn’t crash into the concrete and break apart. The helmsman was skilled, though, and the ship came to a perfect stop, throwing a rope to me. I tied the rope to the lighthouse.
A plank was laid across the dock, and Sekito, a red-haired soldier, came down with a middle-aged man in a purple robe. Several others were wearing red armor resembling military uniforms, and a group of robed figures followed behind them. A total of fifteen people came ashore.
It seemed that several crew members remained on the ship.
I couldn’t let them go to the beach, so I led them to the warehouse. I hung magic stone lamps to brighten the room.
“What? Kajuu Rou has come?” We hurriedly prepared, but it was pointless. He is my architecture teacher. He is the leader of the Kajuu clan. This is Makyo. Despite his appearance, he is the lord of the demonic land.”
Chel introduced everyone. They seemed to know each other, but the demons appeared more nervous.
“Chel, don’t be so rude. Thank you for coming all this way. I’m sorry, but I’m a complete novice when it comes to construction. I can’t even build a proper road! I called you here to ask for your help. I hope you can assist us.”
I bowed my head and handed my staff to Sekito and Kajuu Rou.
“Please accept this small gift. I ask that you refrain from entering the forest as much as possible. This is our first time inviting guests to the demonic land, so please forgive any rude behavior.”
After finishing my greetings, I looked up and saw that Chel was staring at me with her mouth agape. Sekito, the other soldiers, and the robed members of the Kajuu clan were also wide-eyed with surprise.
“Can you really greet people like that, Makyo?”
“Michelle-sama, is he really the lord of the demonic land?”
“Is it so strange that someone who looks like a low-ranking adventurer greeted them like that?”
“Chel, what did you think I was? I’ve worked in the town for a long time, so I know how to act like a normal person. To the demon tribe, please keep your staffs with you. It would be troublesome if you were attacked by monsters and died.”
“Understood!”
The staff were distributed all at once, and the demons gripped them tightly.
“I am Kajuu Rou, head of the Kajuu clan. Thank you very much for inviting me. I know I have many shortcomings, but I will do my best to convey the message.”
Kajuu Rou bowed his head. I grabbed Chel’s head and made her bow as well.
“W-what are you doing?”
“We’re the ones asking for a favor. It wouldn’t make sense for them to bow while we don’t. Chel, you’re a commoner from the demonic land. Do you still think you’re a demon noble? Don’t get the wrong idea.”
I bowed my head as I warned Chel.
“That’s right. I’m sorry. Please take care of us!”
“We have also come here to develop the demonic land and the Kingdom of Estinia and the Kingdom of Meiju. Please take care of us.”
Everyone bowed their heads and finished their greetings.
“I’m sorry to ask this so soon, but we are building a road from the western base to the entrance. We don’t have any cement materials, so we’re wondering what to do.”
“We found granite, but the roads in Yggdrasil were paved with stone 1,000 years ago. The Meiju Kingdom also has stone-paved roads. Are stone-paved roads better for horses’ knees than concrete?”
When I asked Kajuu Rou, he seemed flustered.
“I believe it’s for ease of repair and drainage. Could you please wait a moment while I sort things out? May I use this wooden box?”
There were no desks or chairs in the warehouse, so he wanted to use the wooden box containing cloth as a desk.
“Of course. Please feel free to use anything here.”
“Excuse me.”
Kajuu Rou spread out the parchment and took a pen and ink from his bag.
“To be honest, I never thought Michelle-sama would be so interested in architecture. It makes this old man Rou, very happy.”
“You don’t have to say that in front of Makyo!”
“Chel, are you really such a softie? You’re a grown man. Are you the type who will always call your mother an old hag? That’s lame. Stop it.”
That said, I have almost no relationship with my parents.
“Please tell me! I beg you!”
“No, that makes me uncomfortable. Just be yourself! You don’t have to do anything special!”
“Then please tell me casually.”
“Okay.”
We sat in a circle in front of the wooden box and listened to Kajuu Rou’s story while the Kajuu clan sat in their robes. The soldiers waited outside.
Apparently, concrete roads can injure horses and are difficult to repair if damaged. With cobblestone roads, you just pile up gravel and embed stones. However, there is a risk that the stones might come loose.
“At night, there’s a chance of falling into a hole and spraining your ankle, but that depends on how many people are around.”
“Almost none, so cobblestone is probably better.”
“How do you extract stones in the demonic land?”
“Oh, Makyo just pulls them out. Show him.”
At Chel’s request, I went outside and used a magic cube to pull the sand out of the beach.
“It’s like this. I can pull out air, stones, water, sand, plants, and even monsters. However, I can’t destroy enchanted concrete.”
“Time magic…?”
“It’s like the concrete foundation under the floor where you’re sitting.”
“Huh! Hahaha…”
Kajuu Rou laughed in surprise and fell backward.
“Oh no, he’s broken. He’s quite an important person, so don’t scare him like that.”
“Chel told me to do it…”
While Chel and I were trying to shift the blame onto each other, soldiers rushed into the warehouse looking panicked.
“Excuse me! Someone who went to use the restroom is being attacked by a monster! Can you help us!?”
“I told you to use the staff. Where did he go?”
“Into the forest…”
“You can use it anywhere near the sea, but don’t go into the forest. Chel, keep an eye on them.”
“Yes.”
“Which way?”
“T-this way!”
Guided by the soldiers, I defeated a subspecies of field boar.
As night fell, I taught Sekito and the other soldiers how to use the staff to defeat monsters.
That night, the demons decided to sleep on the anchored ship. It was difficult to attract guests.
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[“Chel, are you really such a softie? You’re a grown man. Are you the type who will always call your mother an old hag? That’s lame. Stop it.”]
What his Chel’s gender. It always seems to change? Is this a constant typo
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I don’t trust Chel when it comes to her homeland. It always seems she’s trying to prepare them to get stronger to battle Makyo. She just had him demonstrate his powers so they believe what he’s capable of and the idiot did it thinking his befriending them when in actuality, they are seeing his strength with fear. Maybe she is trying to scare them into not thinking of ever attacking or to be more prepared.
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