Chapter 137 – Showing Off Seat Village

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Translated by Sylph

Read it only at Novelbyu.com & Utoon.net

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Perhaps he had been that shocked, because Daddy had almost stopped talking altogether. In contrast, Brother Mulsia was looking all around at the buildings like a country person visiting a city for the first time.

“As I explained earlier, this is the town we built for the adventurers and traveling merchants who rapidly increased after the dungeon was discovered. Along this central street are shops for weapons and armor, clothing, daily necessities, and the like, as well as eateries and inns. For example, that three-story building over there is one inn all by itself.”

“…This whole building is an inn? So the Mary Company is putting that much effort into it…”

Muttering that, Daddy looked up at Kusara Hotel. It seems he assumed the Mary Company had invested in it and had it built.

“No, no, the Mary Company does have a store here, but about half the shops around here belong to the Bell-Rango Company, and the rest are stores with individual owners. For private individuals, the basic arrangement is that they borrow money from me, so they can start doing business with only a small amount of capital.”

When I corrected him like that, Daddy wore a difficult expression and sank into thought for several seconds.

“…Show me around Seat Village.”

“Understood.”

I do not know what conclusion he reached, but for the time being I obeyed Daddy’s wishes.

“A-Amazing. I had no idea Van’s territory had developed this much…”

When Brother Mulsia murmured that while we walked, Dee shook with laughter.

“What are you saying! If you were surprised by the adventurers’ town, then once you see Seat Village your legs will give out!”

“I-Is that so?”

Dee went and said something unnecessary, and Brother Mulsia let out a startled voice. No, no, in sheer visual impact the adventurers’ town probably has more of that, so why are you raising the bar?

Feeling slightly uneasy, I guided Daddy, Brother Mulsia, Stradale, and the others onward.

When we stopped in front of the walls and the water moat, the ballistas were readied. They were not directly aiming at us, but the sound of bolts being loaded rang out clearly enough to show they could fire at once.

“…They are not intending to aim at us, are they?”

Daddy asked that in a low voice, but I pretended not to hear and raised one hand. Then Dee gave a loud command.

“Open the gate! Lower the bridge!”

When that voice rang out, the drawbridge came down before long. Then the gate slowly swung open with ponderous weight. After silently watching that, I turned back toward Daddy and the others.

“Welcome to Seat Village.”

When I said that with a smile, Daddy gave a small nod while keeping a furrow in his brow.

“Van, that large tower…”

“That is Origo Tower. On the opposite side there is Grape Tower, and they allow us to keep watch over the surrounding area. Of course, the ballistas are aimed in all directions, and there are always at least ten knight-order members standing watch atop the walls.”

“Come to think of it, the shape of the walls was very unusual too. Is there some meaning to that?”

“Seen from above, it has a shape something like a star. The pointed sections are not connected except by the rooftop drawbridges. So when attacking this village, you first have to capture the pointed sections, and only after that can you break through the moat and the walls.”

“…That certainly is quite a solid defense. If I remember right, I heard that ballista even shot down a flying dragon in a single blow…”

“If it is something like a wyvern or an armored lizard, it can kill it in one shot. The members operating them have improved too, so they no longer miss. By the way, the range exceeds one kilometer. It can also fire twice in succession.”

“A-An armored lizard? Surely that is a joke.”

Talking like that, we moved deeper into Seat Village. The only one asking questions was Brother Mulsia, while Daddy and Stradale followed behind in silence.

This is bad. I rebuilt the bathhouse inside Seat Village into a large bath, and with the power of the dwarven furnace we can circulate boiling hot water too, but in sheer spaciousness it still loses to the large bath outside. It lacks impact. The lord’s residence is still about the right size and has not changed all that much after all, so I am not sure what I should show them.

While I was thinking that, Espada, who had been silent until now, cleared his throat once and pointed deeper into the village.

“Lord Van. I believe you still have not shown them the dwarven furnace and the lake.”

Hearing that, I nodded. That made sense.

“You’re right. Since we have the chance, I suppose I’ll show them that area too.”

When I replied with a laugh, I heard Daddy murmur softly behind me.

“…Dwarves, you say?”

When I stole a look at his expression after hearing that voice, Daddy’s eyes were already fixed on the smoke rising from deeper beyond the buildings.

“Those dwarves who are famous for hating people are living in your territory, Van?”

“They are a little stubborn, but they are all good people.”

I answered Brother Mulsia’s astonished voice lightly and resumed leading them. Passing beside the lord’s residence and going deeper and deeper in, a massive furnace appeared before us. It is frightening to think that even this was made considerably smaller than originally planned. By the way, when refining orichalcum, the materials and fuel are apparently piled nearly to the top of the furnace.

At the sight of the giant furnace and forge, Daddy and the others all froze with their faces tilted upward. Watching them from the corner of my eye, I peered into the forge. In the tremendous heat, Habel and the others, blackened all over, happily swung their hammers.

“Oi, look! Bet you lot can’t make this, can you!?”

“Shut it! I’ll learn how to forge a katana myself in no time!”

“Yours is more like a slender falchion than a katana anyway, Habel!”

Perhaps because they were talking amid the ringing noise of hammers striking iron, Habel and the others spoke in what was almost shouting, and laughed loudly. They really were enjoying themselves.

“Heeey! I came by for a quick visit!”

When I called out, Habel and the others turned around.

“Ohh, Lord Van! Well? It’s become at least a little more like a katana, hasn’t it!?”

Saying that, Habel held up a dark single-edged sword. It gave off a dull gleam, and the sword certainly had a powerful presence. Still, if asked whether it was a katana, the shape leaves room for doubt.

“I think it’s really good. Though I think it should be a bit thinner, and it ought to have more curve.”

“Even thinner than this!? Then it’ll bend too easily…”

When I answered, Habel looked at the sword he had forged himself as if in thought. Seeing that, the other dwarves burst out laughing.

“See!?”

“You’re supposed to fold the plate over again and again, you know!? Yours was what, only three or four times!?”

“Shut up! It’s the shape, the shape! I folded it back five times! And even when I increased the number uselessly, it didn’t make it any tougher, did it!?”

“But when you fold it back ten times, the sharpness improves, doesn’t it!?”

“Say that after you’ve made one yourself!”

Before I knew it, it had turned into something like a shouting match. Thinking there would be no settling this, I casually picked up one of the swords Habel and the others had forged from the jar they were stuck in. Naturally, I chose one that had not just been forged, so it was not hot. The dwarven swords had much more presence than those brought in from outside. The one I took up was a longsword with little decoration. An iron sword feels heavier than one of mithril.

Thinking that, I looked at Habel while holding the longsword.

“I’m taking this one for a bit!”

“Ohh! The ones around there are only second-rate pieces! Take as many as you like!”

“Habel, you bastard! The one there is one I made, damn it! Well, fine, he can take it!”

With a wry smile at Habel and the others remaining noisy to the very end, I went outside carrying the sword the dwarves had forged. It seems they had come right up to the entrance, because Daddy and the others were looking at me as though they were seeing something unbelievable.

“This is the sort of lively way they’ve been making weapons and the like.”

When I said that with a wry smile and showed them the sword, everyone’s eyes gathered on it. Dee’s and Stradale’s eyes in particular were serious. Daddy, perhaps because he is a landholding noble, had a grim expression.

“…This is of the highest quality among anything I have seen thus far.”

When Dee said that with a groan, Stradale silently nodded. Daddy listened to that with a bitter look on his face.