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Chapter 215 – The Vampire and Elf Cleanup Part 1
Sylvia’s POV
The sky stretched out in brilliant blue, making it hard to believe that dark clouds had ever covered it.
Three months later, the giant magical beast safely departed on its journey from the iron mine in the northeast of the demonic land.
“Phew, that was close.”
Makyo said casually, though he was the only person in the world who could make the giant magical beast change course.
While the beast was moving, the white serpent Nushi froze the ground, but returned to the underground lake unnoticed. Hel and I were helping the monsters evacuate, so we didn’t witness the giant magical beast’s disappearance.
However, we saw its footprints clearly imprinted in the rocky terrain and assessed the damage to the monsters in the mountain range. The storm that accompanied the giant magical beast’s arrival likely caused damage beyond the mountain range and reached the Elven Kingdom as well.
“There are no spirit trees near the mountain range, so the damage will probably be limited to minority tribes and prisoners in dungeons. The prisoners might even cross the mountains and enter the demonic land.”
“Wh-what if they do come in?”
“Nothing. They’ll die within days. After all, most monsters haven’t been crushed by the giant magical beast.”
“Th-that’s not it! Makyo might start fussing about ‘spirits’ again!”
“We need to get him used to it, or the port town in the southwest won’t develop.”
“B-but—”
“True. Should we create a bypass? That would make management easier, too.”
“The Mildel Highway that connected to Satra?”
“You remember well.”
At least my memory was good.
“Sylvia, could you make me a pickaxe?”
Whether he knew about our plan or not, Makyo came to me with a request.
The hammer that I should have given to Makyo had already become Chel’s weapon.
“Huh? Why do you need a pickaxe?”
I’ve noticed lately that I don’t feel tense when talking to Makyo. Maybe I think it’s pointless to keep my distance out of nervousness around him.
Also, I don’t sense any ulterior motives from him. He just deals with what’s in front of him. He doesn’t think shallow thoughts, like trying to belittle or flatter someone to get close to them. Talking to women makes me far more nervous.
“I’ll dig a hole. The hole doesn’t need to be big. I can make it larger with magic.”
“Got it. Hold on a sec.”
I fashioned a simple pickaxe from a branch I had on hand and a dragon tooth I’d whittled down. For Makyo, how well it works matters more than how polished it looks.
“You can make it that fast?”
“I had some leftover material from when I failed to make a hammer.”
“Sylvia’s become quite the fine armorer of the demonic land, huh?”
“Is that so? Makyo, once you make the pickaxe, could you dig the Mildel Highway?”
“The road connecting the Elf Kingdom and the demonic land?”
Makyo seemed to remember it, too.
“With the giant magical beasts attacking, I think the storm is crossing the mountain range. Prisoners might have escaped, or minority tribes could be suffering.”
Hel explained.
“Are we digging a tunnel to rescue them?”
“No, but creating a bypass would be easier than crossing the mountains, wouldn’t it?”
“True… But even if they got in, could they survive?”
“That’s the thing. Whatever happens, if we build a path, we’ll need to station personnel.”
Should we have the Elf Guards come on assignment or bring in the Dungeon Dwellers?”
“What about the harpies of Cliff Garuda?”
“Wouldn’t the undead from the southwest or the Magic-Sealing Clan from the island be acceptable?”
“For now, let’s call the golems from the military base in the desert. They should be trained in road construction.”
Since Makyo is the lord, the decisions just keep coming.
“What about negotiations with the Elf Kingdom?”
“Not necessary.”
Hel stated firmly.
“It was an illegal shortcut to begin with. Those stubborn old fools won’t be persuaded until an elf criminal builds a village in demonic land and starts traveling back and forth by carriage.”
“So, first, we create the facts?”
Even if they see the facts, the nobles with vested interests will pretend they never existed.”
Hel smiled. She wanted to break the old customs of the Elf Kingdom.
“What are you doing?”
Chel descended from the sky.
Honestly, I was purely envious of her ability to fly.
“We’re digging a tunnel all the way to the Elf Kingdom.”
“Why!?”
Chel was utterly shocked.
“If the storm of giant magical beasts reached beyond the mountains, there might be damage, right?”
“So, you’re making an escape route?”
“That’s right.”
“Hmm… I see. But if we build the elf village here, won’t it get crushed every three months?”
Chel seemed worried about the village being trampled by the giant magical beast.
“The residential area is important, right? They can either dig holes in the mountain like the Cliff Garuda sorcerers and iron miners do, or they can expand the cavern of the underground lake to live in.”
“For now, they need a place to escape to.”
“Right. A refuge. Besides, there’s nothing near the entrance except our cave, so the residential area is still a ways off.”
“Yeah. The pickaxe is finished.”
He handed me the pickaxe that I had been making while talking to Makyo and gave it a light shake.
Thud!
Makyo swung it down, saying, “Just testing,” and a huge hole appeared in the mountainside.
“Wow, magic really does have great conductivity, huh?”
He laughed, but seeing the hole, which was big enough to swallow an entire house, made us unable to laugh.
“I don’t remember making something like that…”
But being able to limit its power is great!”
Makyo ignored my comment and tossed the broken, crumbled rocks into the hole before continuing to dig.
“He’s such a fuel-efficient guy.”
Hel gave a wry smile and muttered, “I wonder how much work he can do on just one bowl of soup.”
“Let’s just let him keep going until we can see the Elven Kingdom.”
We watched over Makyo and took on the job of tossing any rocks that flew our way back into the rocky area.
“Sylvia-saaann!”
Right after that, as expected, Lipa descended from the sky.
He was using a broom, but it was still enviable.
“Wh-what is it?”
“We’re making a bag for the dragon to carry magic stones, but I’m useless at it. Could you help us with that?”
“Oh, I see.”
It seemed the dungeon dwellers were mining magic stones in the mine.
The work that I said I would do after the giant magical beast left had piled up.
“So, can I take over here?”
“Sure, what do you want me to do?”
“Rocks will come out of the hole. Just toss them back in.”
Hel handed over the task.
“Do you want to fly?”
Chel asked.
“P-please do.”
I clung to her back, and she cheered, “Whoa! Big boobs!”
“All right, you guys handle the rest!”
“Got it.”
Hel and Lipa raised their hands to wave us off. Lipa probably still didn’t understand why rocks were flying out of the hole.
“A-aren’t we busier after the giant magical beast left?”
I whispered into Chel’s ear, buffeted by the strong wind.
“Yeah. Ka-Ryu contacted me, so I think the lighthouse in the southwest town is probably finished. Plus, the harpies should be coming from Cliff Garuda, too. Work’s piling up everywhere.”
“S-so there’s no time for awakening.”
“Sylvia can command dragons now, so you’re definitely awakened.”
Without a trace of her accent, Chel stated it plainly.
“T-true… I might be the first in my vampire clan to command a monster higher than a sub-dragon.”
“See! It’s best not to compare everything to Makyo. Hanging around eccentrics could turn you into a monster yourself.”
Coming from someone who actually became a devil, that couldn’t be wrong.
“I-I thought for a moment that I didn’t know what would happen.”
“Sorry. I’m sorry for worrying you.”
“We’re all in the same boat.”
“But, hey, remember when Makyo casually started breaking curses? I’ve known him the longest, but I seriously thought he’d lost his mind.”
“Well, deep down, it felt like I was seeing something I shouldn’t have been seeing. Yet he hardly ever uses weapons. I think he might be closer to a primitive human.”
When I said that, Chel laughed.
“Maybe. Actually, Makyo might be awakening abilities that humanity was supposed to have discarded. He can sense things like the earth’s veins now.”
Thinking about it that way made perfect sense.
Upon reaching the magic stone mine, we immediately began discussing with Jennifer how to transport the stones using dragons.
“Should we use bags for easier carrying? Or should we have them carry them in boxes on their backs?”
“H-how exactly do you mine magic stones? If it’s large-scale excavation, a net-like bag might work. Or maybe we should make special dragon packs and carry them in sacks.”
“We can’t dig up the big ones,”
The goat-headed Demon King said, holding a pickaxe.
“Th-then maybe strapping the bags to a pack saddle would be easier. We have plenty of monster hides and enough wood.”
“Understood. I’ll ask the Arachnes to make the bags.”
Jennifer ran off to the Arachnes.
“Well, Demon King, Is that pickaxe really going to cut it?”
“I don’t know. We’ll just have to dig and see.”
A few dungeon dwellers entered the tunnel but came right back out. They had apparently forgotten their magic stone lamps. This doesn’t bode well.
It’s a problem when you can do too much, like Makyo, but it’s also a problem when you can’t do anything.
I hurriedly fetched monster hides from the Home Cave and tried to make a backpack for the dragon. It was clumsy, but since I had been crafting tools modeled after P.J.’s knife, adjusting the size went smoothly.
I fell asleep while making several prototypes.
When I woke at dusk, Chel was waiting with bread and soup.
“Morning. Dinner’s ready.”
“Morning. A-any problems?”
“An invitation arrived for Makyo from the Lord of East Kenya. Marchia from the Merchant Guild also seems ready to start trading soon.”
“M-materials? The harpies are coming, too, so we need to stockpile food for winter.”
“Makyo’s always flying around, and there are negotiations with other regions…”
“I-I should go. Is that what you mean?”
“Yeah.”
“Wh-what about Hel?”
“I’m heading back to the Elven Kingdom, too.”
Hel sat before the campfire, crafting crossbow bolts.
“They say the Mildel Highway can be dug in half a day under the command of the demonic land lord.”
It seems the tunnel through the mountain pass is finished.
After digging the tunnel, Makyo-san went to fetch the harpies and plans to settle them in the desert ruins. On the way back, he ordered the golems at the military base to head north. He’s sleeping in the home cave now.”
Lipa explained. But now that Makyo could fly, the distance he had to cover in a day was ridiculous.
“Ah, I see. So I’m going back home.”
When a resident of the demonic land returned home, a special ritual was performed.
“Sylvia, let’s go together.”
“Okay.”
I bumped fists with Hel.
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