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TL: ALT
Chapter 209 – Day 40 of Management Life
The autumn morning sun hit me squarely in the face and woke me up.
Kahiman seemed to already be awake and running around. Since there was no one else around, he made a racket without needing to hide.
“Good morning.”
“Morning. The berries and rabbit…”
I turned around and saw a rabbit hanging from the ceiling of the ruined dwelling, being bled out. Fresh cam berries and speckled citrus fruits had been gathered on a large leaf that had been laid on the ground.
Perhaps Kahiman was best suited to adapt to life in this demonic land.
“Looks like we won’t be short on food.”
“Yeah, I want you to see something.”
After exploring the immediate area, Kahiman led me away from the ruins.
As we moved along the edge of the large mine hole, the forest abruptly ended.
The big trees vanished, and a path of tall grass stretched southwest. Touching and probing the ground, I could tell that it was the remains of a large stone-paved road.
“Amazing. The remains of an ancient road. Four carriages could probably pass through.”
“Over there.”
Half of a Guardian Spider’s remains were buried in the roadbed. Moss covered its body, and only one leg remained.
As I approached it, I found surprisingly little plant growth inside. After testing it by sending magic through it, I saw it move its leg slightly.
“Should we bring Saketsu?”
“Yeah. We should have the military base repairmen tour the demonic land and fix the ancient magical devices. As for the road, it should be passable enough if we clear the grass around here.”
Magic stones will suffice as payment for the golems. Once the mines start operating, the land will begin to function as well.
“We need to make the demonic land habitable.”
“Aren’t we already doing that?”
“It’s still scattered.”
After washing our faces at a nearby spring and eating breakfast of roasted rabbit with herbs, we set off. We continued eastward, following the earth’s pulse.
The forest ended, and mountain ranges loomed ahead. Those ranges gradually grew lower.
“I see it.”
On a hill overlooking the sea, Kahiman paused for a moment to gaze out.
“Do you like the sea?”
“Yeah, it makes me realize how small I am.”
“Yeah. There’s not much we can do.”
A large flying fish leapt from the waves, battling seabirds.
The scent of the tide was in the air, and a monstrous booby screeched loudly as it dove into the sea. Near the demonic land, monsters are large, so they seem to prey on sea beasts.
Bosh!
The sea came into view, seawater spouting up like a geyser. Perhaps due to the high concentration of magical power, insects and sea beasts gathered nearby.
The Earth’s veins extended down to the ocean floor.
The mountain range that once formed the border between the demonic land and the Elf Kingdom had vanished completely, making crossing the border seem possible.
“The eastern part of the Elf Kingdom is a Forbidden Forest, off-limits to everyone. I’ve heard there’s a poisonous swamp there, though…”
Kahiman was surprisingly knowledgeable.
“Want to try trespassing?”
“Hmm… I don’t think that’d end well.”
Kahiman pulled a terribly displeased face.
“Then let’s not.”
There were surely more plants and monsters in the demonic land, and getting involved with the elves in the borderlands probably wouldn’t be worth it.
The earth veins originated from the demonic land, so the investigation was complete. We caught a seabird, fished, and steamed fish and chicken together. It was easier now that the dungeon had eaten the inedible innards and bones.
“Should we head back?”
“Yeah.”
We continued south along the east coast. We passed several collapsed fishing village ruins. There were even remnants of what seemed to be harbors and breakwaters, which looked like isolated islands. Even though it was my own land, there was so much I didn’t know.
There were huge hermit crabs the size of houses, seabirds preying on sharks, and sea beasts burying seabird carcasses in the sand to steam-roast them. The demonic land was truly demonic to the very end.
By noon, we reached a trading port where the dungeon dwellers worked.
Unlike the training groups crossing the demonic land, the dungeon dwellers here traded with the Meiju Kingdom. Their main duties were to manage goods in warehouses. They unloaded and loaded cargo whenever ships arrived, even without us.
“They’re good at setting traps, but not at chasing or dismantling prey during hunts.”
Since there are many dungeon dwellers, it’s fine as long as they work where they’re best suited.
“Since they have to evacuate from giant magical beasts, should we build houses over here, too?”
“No, it’s fine. We’re different races, so human-style houses might not suit us.”
Lamia, the warehouse keeper, answered with narrowed eyes. She seemed to have poor eyesight. I promptly arranged for the import of glasses.
“If they need them, I think the Arachnes will just make their own.”
The Arachnes, unsuited for hunting, were on the sandy beach weaving nets from their silk. If the land doesn’t provide, they must create.
Among the Arachnes, one Harpy was mixed in.
“My wing broke, so I can’t fly anymore. My bones should be healed, but I forgot how to fly…”
“This girl was strong and good at hunting, you know.”
The Arachne looked at the Harpy with regret.
“Mind if I take a look inside?”
“Inside?”
I gently placed a hand on the Harpy’s back and examined her. Her muscle fibers were twisted, and her bones had shattered and regenerated with protrusions.
“No wonder you can’t fly.”
“Huh? You can tell?”
“It’ll hurt a bit, but do you want me to try fixing it?”
“Hmm…”
She seemed hesitant about treating it.
“I’m not saying you have to go hunting right after you’re healed. If you like living with Arachne, you can stay here.”
“Then do it.”
I had Kahiman prepare the healing ointment and then broke the harpy’s bone again.
“Ow!”
I put the protruding bone back in place and rubbed in the ointment. All that was left was to realign the twisted tendons.
I could do this because I had seen countless harpies at Cliff Garuda.
“How’s that?”
“Huh? It doesn’t hurt.”
As the harpy moved her wings up and down, she floated gently upward. It seemed less like she was getting lift from flapping her wings and more like she was naturally using levitation magic.
“I really want you to tell me how you’re flying,” I said.
“Huh? You can’t fly without wings.”
“That’s just a preconception. Are you interfering with buoyancy using magic?”
I carefully examined the harpy’s wings and bones but found no magical runes.
“Makyo-san!”
The harpy stared at me, her face flushed, but I didn’t notice.
“Hm?” Oh, sorry. I just wanted to know how you float.”
“Is floating really that important?”
“It is. Right now, we can’t fly without magic tools. But those have limits on weight and size. That’s why I want to learn levitation magic.”
“What kinds of things are too big or heavy for magic tools to lift?”
“The giant magical beast. I was thinking of transporting them to Cliff Garuda’s ‘Great Hole.’”
Even if size is unavoidable, weight must be addressed for transportation. If they have the technology to float an airship, then floating a giant magical beast should also be possible.
Rather than drawing a massive magic circle to lift it, using levitation magic to nullify the weight would be easier if it exists.
“That’s what he was thinking about?”
“That’s right. The lord always thinks of strange things. Watch out.”
With that, both Arachne and the Harpy laughed.
“Think about it. The ancient Yggdrasil people are traveling through time to a future where their disease is cured. Yet, they cause a disaster every three months without fail. How is medical technology supposed to advance like that? It collapses before any innovation can occur. No matter how you look at it, the giant magical beast is an operational mistake.”
“True…”
“So you’d be wise to take what the bigwigs say with a grain of salt.”
Is Cliff Garuda’s “Great Hole” a place where the giant magical beast can be placed?
“That place delays disasters on the continent and stores magic power. Think of it as a dwelling for ‘migrating’ monsters.”
“Ah!”
Arachne and the others understood.
“It’s perfect, since humans can’t live there. The descendants of the Sealing Clan used bones from creatures similar to the giant magical beast to build an island in the sea. It seems to be working well, so I thought we could try copying them.”
“I see.”
“For managing the demonic land, the giant magical beast that show up every three months is a nuisance, right? We have to evacuate every time. That’s why I want to find a solution.”
Hearing this, both Arachne and Harpy agreed.
“Even if it floats, we still have to move it, right?”
Lamia, who had been listening to us from behind, came down to the sandy shore.
“Right. We can’t exhaust our magic power with levitation magic. Apparently, ancient people moved floating islands using machines called propellers. But we can’t pull it with Arachne’s thread, can we?”
“There’s definitely a limit to how much weight it can handle. Even with magic power infused, how far can it go?”
She explained this as she showed us the web Arachne was weaving.
“Even if we lighten the load for transport, it’ll still take time, right?”
“Exactly. We also have to erase the time magic circles drawn on the giant magical beast. There’s also coordination needed with the remaining inhabitants of Midgard.”
“That sounds tough.”
“Do you understand?”
“Got it. Fine. You can examine my body as much as you want; I won’t complain!”
The Harpy spread her arms wide and thrust her chest forward. Even with the Rock Crocodile armor on, the pressure was intense.
“No, I’m fine now. Just, if there’s a trick to taking flight, teach me.”
“You ask for a trick? I’ve been able to do it since birth…”
“Yeah, I guess so. If you ever think of a way to control the giant magical beast, let me know anytime.”
“Sure.”
I packed the bag containing the dungeon—a pyramid that I had built on the sandy beach—and left the East Coast behind.
I greeted the people resting near the Genetics Research Institute’s dungeon and said, “Good work.” Jennifer and Lipa were conducting an exercise with ice weasels from the northern coniferous forests and wolves with fur standing on end like swords.
We headed straight for the ruins of Midgard.
The remains of rock crocodiles, haze turtles, hell beetles, big moths, and other creatures that the dragons had eaten were scattered about. Imps swarmed, hoping for scraps and making a racket.
The dragons themselves seemed bored, either sprawled out or soaring through the sky. Chel and the others were having a hard time setting up their ranch.
If we didn’t find a new place for them in five days, the giant magical beast would flatten them.
Kahiman and I returned to the home cave and ate Katan’s chestnut bread.
“This is too delicious!”
“Really? “Isn’t it too sweet? It has honey from the honey ants, too.”
“You’re a genius. This would sell well in the trading village.”
“I’m glad.”
For dinner, we had soup with steamed chicken and fish.
Late at night, while I was secretly practicing in the swamp, Kahiman and Katan came to watch. Kahiman understood what I was trying to do and explained it to Katan.
“Levitation magic? You can do that?”
Plop!
The two dwarves licked honey as they watched me leap toward the sky and fall back into the swamp again and again.
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