Fun Territory Defense by the Optimistic Lord (Novel) - Chapter 110 - The Overwhelming Facilities of Seat Village

Chapter 110 – The Overwhelming Facilities of Seat Village

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Translated by Sylph

Read it only at Novelbyu.com & Utoon.net

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When I told Apollo that this ballista had slain a dragon, he answered only with a stiff-faced, strained smile.

“…I have never seen such a terrifying weapon even in foreign lands. And just who developed it?”

“I did.”

The moment I answered that, Apollo’s face twitched.

“And this strange shape of the wall…”

“I deliberately made the corners like that. By doing so…”

As I answered questions about the wall, the watchtowers, the building materials, and so on, I guided them next to the Bell-Rango Company.

I had expected Bell to join us along the way, but he still hadn’t shown his face. He was probably checking the company’s documents right up to the last possible moment.

Though it made me a little uneasy, I kept a calm expression and entered the shop. As usual, the inside was bustling, and the clerks were running about dealing with customers.

“Is Bell here?”

When I called out to a former slave girl now working as a merchant clerk nearby, she gave a response bordering on a shriek, bowed deeply, and ran to the back.

Diane and Rosalie seemed able to understand the feeling somehow, because they both gave wry smiles. We ended up simply standing there for a moment, and while Bell was not yet there, Diane and Rosalie looked around the shop with expressions of surprise.

“…There are even more customers than I imagined.”

“And it isn’t just adventurers. I can see villagers too. It’s not the sort of sight you’d find in an impoverished village.”

As I listened to them talking, Apollo must have judged that some time had opened up before Bell arrived, because he began examining the merchandise inside the shop. The clerks were occupied with adventurer and villager customers alike, so naturally explaining the goods became my role.

“This splendid sword…”

“I made it.”

“…And this armor and shield are made from very strange materials.”

“Wood, basically. As raw material, I mean.”

Each time I answered like that, Apollo’s face darkened further.

He clearly wasn’t believing me.

With that in mind, I was just thinking that perhaps I should show them the process directly and was looking around for materials when Bell finally appeared.

“Th-thank you for waiting! I am Bell of the Bell-Rango Company!”

Bell showed up with sweat on his forehead. He greeted them with even more courtesy than usual. After greeting Apollo and Diane, and exchanging a few words with Rosalie, he turned toward me.

“Th-then, Van-sama. They say the documents and such will be reviewed tonight at the inn, so let us go to the warehouse together first. I am sorry, but without you here, the explanations will be difficult…”

Apologizing like that, Bell led Apollo toward the warehouse for magical beast materials.

As we followed after them, Rosalie quietly spoke to Kamushin.

“…How’s life been?”

Though she had asked in a small voice, Kamushin answered with complete seriousness and clarity.

“Van-sama and everyone else are very kind, and I get to eat delicious meals every day. But I train every day to protect Van-sama, and even now I’m still too weak…”

For once, Kamushin had spoken about something that sounded like a worry. That was rare.

As I watched that out of the corner of my eye, Rosalie reached out and ruffled Kamushin’s head.

“Sounds like you’re happy. Then give it everything you’ve got and get stronger.”

At Rosalie’s words, Kamushin nodded with a serious expression.

Hmm. If he had worries like that, I’d want him to tell me first. But perhaps he couldn’t say such things to the very person he meant to protect.

As I looked up with mixed feelings, Till was smiling with the face of an older sister.

It was somehow embarrassing.

“This is the warehouse dedicated to magical beast materials.”

By the time those little exchanges were over, it seemed we’d reached our destination, because Bell had begun his explanation with a tense face.

“In the past, Van-sama subjugated a Forest Dragon, so this warehouse was built large enough to hold the materials from two or three large dragons. Even so, we are now close to exceeding capacity with the magical beast materials brought in each day…”

After that preface, delivered with a tired smile and voice, Bell opened the warehouse doors. He swung open the large double doors, built oversized for massive magical beast materials, and showed Apollo and the others what lay inside.

At that sight, not only Apollo but even Diane and the others lost their voices.

Before them stretched a path just wide enough for two adults to walk side by side, and on both sides of it materials were piled high enough to be mistaken for small mountains. And from the look of them, nearly all of those materials were from rare magical beasts.

“This is…”

Apollo murmured something in a hoarse voice, and Bell nodded shallowly as he led the way.

“Near the entrance we keep the large materials that are difficult to transport, such as fangs, bones, and hides from large magical beasts. Farther in are the smaller magical beast materials, which are easier to move.”

“I-impossible… to think there would come a day when I would see this many rare materials all at once…”

Whether he was listening to Bell’s explanation or not, Apollo simply kept staring wide-eyed around the mountain of materials.

“S-so you truly hunted this many magical beasts…?”

Rosalie looked up at the stacks and murmured that in astonishment.

“That’s right. Lately the adventurers who use this town as their base have been turning in huge quantities of magical beast materials, so Bell keeps looking more worn out by the day.”

When I answered that with a laugh, Bell smiled wearily in return. A short silence followed, and then Diane turned to me with a smile and spoke.

“…That Armored Lizard hide there has been cut up very cleanly. What sort of blade was used for that?”

At that question, I smiled and nodded.

“Yes. I prepare large knives made from wood or iron, and use those…”

I answered all of their questions sincerely, but the three of them only looked more and more doubtful.

Maybe they thought I was lying again. Perhaps I really ought to demonstrate it in front of them.

While I was thinking that, Till and Kamushin, who had been following quietly, silently brought over some materials.

Holding a log and some iron ore, they looked at me with somewhat annoyed expressions. What they wanted to say came through so clearly it hurt, and so I returned a bitter smile and gave a nod.

“Then let’s try it once.”

Saying that, I took the log first and focused my thoughts. I poured mana into it.

I’ve made Wood Blocks often enough that if I close my eyes, the process comes to mind automatically. So from start to finish, the time it takes me to create one is only about a second or two.

As the log broke apart, it was transformed piece by piece into a Wood Block, and I heard Apollo and the others suck in their breath.

And then, before giving any of the three a chance to speak, I began processing the Wood Block into a knife. A large knife close to a dagger in size.

It had no guard, but I had decorated it with detailed ornamentation. I’m sure it would be popular even in a souvenir shop.

When I handed that knife to Kamushin, he accepted it with due reverence and quietly placed the edge against an Armored Lizard hide.

There came a soft slicing sound, and the edge of the hide came away.

“…Eh?”

At that sight, Apollo and the others widened their eyes and froze, while Rosalie made a strange little noise full of question marks.