Foreigner Volume 9, Chapter 206

Volume 9 Chapter 206, Demonic Dragon ~ 21

　Late last night, at the request of the most skilled craftsman in Deligrande, who was running around the town, the leading dwarves of the town were gathered in a conference hall in the center of Deligrande.

　In Dwarven society, skill in blacksmithing and skill as a warrior are two especially important things. The mayor of the town is a different matter, as he requires a different set of skills, but the influence of Vance the Black Bear, who boasts of his outstanding skills as a blacksmith and warrior in Deligrande, or even in Arsweta, is extremely great.

　The craftsmen in line at the unexpected request of such a man all looked at each other with a difficult expressions on their faces.

「Toxins, eh......」

　The one who raised his voice in this manner was a craftsman who boasts of his ability second only to Vance. Vance is a jack-of-all-trades who does whatever is asked of him, but this old man specializes in weapons. If it were only weapons, he would be considered a craftsman equal to or better than Vance.

「But are you sure that the water from the factory town is the cause?」

「We all know that there is an epidemic of unknown origin in Liese. The disease is certainly prevalent in the northern part of the city, downstream of the Jaw Stream. On the other hand, it is also true that the southern part of Liese, which does not use the water of the Jaw Stream, is not affected by the disease.」

　Vance spits out gravely with a stern look on his face. It was his wife, Eldy, who looked into the situation here. The men of Deligrande, who know the unique information network of the country's best craftsman and his wife, all maintain a difficult look on their faces.

「I don't think it's a good idea to discharge dirty water directly into the river in the first place, though it's a little too late for that.」

　Deligrande became the second most powerful town in the country thanks to the discovery of a vein of high-quality steel nearby. It has been several hundred years since the town was established here, and iron production has been steadily increasing. Eldy was also keen to point out that the quantity and quality of wheat in the leases downstream had been declining, albeit gradually, in response.

「Can you guys drink the water straight out of the factory? Can you give that water to your own children?」

　The men groaned at Vance's point. The water that flows from the factory town into the Jaw Stream is sloppy, viscous, black, and dirty. They don't use that kind of water in their daily lives. Even if they were asked to drink it, they would refuse. They had thought that the great nature would purify it, but was that just naivete?

「If Liese goes under, we will be in trouble too. Coexistence and co-prosperity, that is the relationship between us dwarves and humans. If there is a possibility that the water we are pouring out is carrying disease, isn't it our duty to destroy it, even if only a little?」

　Vance the Black Bear's words are serious.

　The Seven Days Disaster of 500 years ago killed off most of the human race in the Magical Kingdoms, and the Dwarves were in danger of extinction as well. The Dwarves were also in danger of extinction because they depended on humans for their food production.

　Coexistence and co-prosperity with the human race remain a common understanding among the races that have overcome the Seven Days Disaster.

「But what to do now?」

　When asked by an old man of the town, Vance brushed his beard.

「We will make three reservoirs and place slime in the pathways. Everyone knows that the water that passes through the slime will be purified.」

　A murmur erupted.

　Slime is also used in this town to dispose of fecal matter. Slime is a monster that takes in almost anything and drains it out of fresh water. Certainly, there is a high possibility that toxins can be purified by passing through slime. But.

「But, what about pouring the slime water into a river? That seems more objectionable.」

「And three reservoirs in the path of the water? That's going to destroy a section of town.」

　Water discharged from monsters is repugnant even if it is known to be fresh water. And even more so if it is water that has passed through slime, which is also used to dispose of fecal matter.

　The water that passes through the factory town is carefully routed through the water supply system. It is a part of the town's basic design.

　Vance did not even change his face when the complaint was raised, as it should have been. He just snickered, as if to raise a complaint itself was wrong.

「You're just rambling on and on. If you have a better idea, but all you do is complain, you don't need this place.

　The room fell silent at Vance's intimidating point of view. Vance's attitude could be described as haughty, but his influence is that strong and his words are reasonable, so there is no further rebuttal.

「Calm down, Black Bear.」

　The chief who was in charge of this Deligrande with a bitter smile raised his voice. Vance jilted and gave the chief an impassive look.

　The chief looked around the dwarves, saw that everyone had calmed down, and then declared gravely.

「We will follow the Black Bear's opinion.」

　There was a murmur of voices. There was a rebuttal, but the chief turned his attention back to the group by slamming the table with a bang.

「We're talking about the future of our children, all right? And if the toxin is true, it will affect Liese's wheat. It's even out there now, you know? Are we going to allow our children to drink ale made from it?」

　The master of the workshop in Kuniichi and the head of the town shared the same opinion, so there were no objections. Dwarves, as a race, have a tidy way of thinking. They do not make as much fuss as the human race.

　Vance's plan required some rezoning of the town, so the administrative officer and the engineer who specializes in civil engineering immediately began a heated discussion. Vance was probably satisfied that his opinion was accepted. He stood up without making any further comment. The chief spoke to Vance very lightly.

「Black Bear. I'm surprised you noticed.」

「Not really. It wasn't me who noticed. It was my friend.」

　When Vance responds with a discouraged "Oh," the chief looks at the country's foremost craftsman with a surprised look on his face.

「Unusual for a man with so few friends. He's that good, huh」

　Vance is a proud man. He also maintains a level of integrity commensurate with his skills. The chief also knows that Vance is selective in whom he calls his friends.

　In response to the chief's question, Vance smiled, showing his white teeth for the first time since he came to this place.

「He is more than that.」

　＊　＊　＊　＊　＊　＊　＊

　Now, what was the man who was described as "more than that" by the dour dwarven craftsman doing the next morning?

　He was swinging a mallet in the mountains where they had landed for a short break.

　He had installed a toilet in the cabin of the Yamato, so they could continue to fly and travel, but even though the cabin is reasonably spacious, it is not good for his mental health to be confined to the inside of the cabin. Also, although it is not a problem at the moment, they will need to replenish their food supply.

　Therefore, it was decided that they would go down at the opportune moment, without deciding when.

　The sound of a wooden mallet clanging in the morning mist echoed through the smoky forest.

　Satoru is now working on the mezzanine floor. He is working with steel to create a support, and then threading a wooden board through it. Solor and Leia's wooden planks are made in a uniform size, and Yamato's cabin has no distortion at this point, so it is easy to work with.

　The boards are put through the metal fittings, and the positions are adjusted by tapping them with a mallet.

　Liz was in charge of preparing breakfast today. Isolde went hunting during her morning training, and Solor accompanied her. Perhaps training is also involved―Satoru has decided to stay out of it as much as possible.

　Rico and Minerva are helping Satoru. Rico is at Satoru's side handing out nails and other tools, while Minerva is hard at work polishing a board with a stone file handmade by Satoru. Leia is just looking on in relief.

「All right」

　Satoru exclaimed with pleasure as he carefully inserted the last board. The mezzanine floor is set at a height of six and a half feet (195 cm) to accommodate Satoru's upper body height. The boards are 2 inches thick, so the height of the mezzanine is about 5 feet 3 inches. It is a little too short to stand up and walk around, but it should be enough for sleeping.

　The rest is a ladder to go up to the mezzanine floor, and nails are adjusted by bending them with heat to prevent the boards from floating, and then they are hammered into place. After setting up the ladder, Rico, who had rushed up to the top, peeked out at him.

「Hey, hey Satoru. Can we sleep over here?」

「Ouh. You don't want to?」

「No. I think it's better to have a clear distinction than on the ground. But there's not enough room for such a large area of the leather, is there?」

　Satoru even removed the bearskin in that area when he built the water area, but as expected, there is not enough to fill up the floor surface made as a mezzanine area.

「Ahem. I've thought about that too.」

「?」

　Satoru, concentrating a little, created a sheet of stone about 2 inches thick and laid it on the floor of the mezzanine without any gaps. The steel supporting the mezzanine creaked, and Satoru imagined the stone slab he had created and gave it a light, soft, and lasting impression.

「Ah! This is from when we were in the bath!」

　Rico immediately shouted when she realized Satoru's intention.

　When Satoru had built an open-air bath during the night camp after breaking through the Labyrinth of No Return and passing through the Dalewood Gorge, he had used the stone slab created on Leia's advice as a bed by applying the 【Softening】 art to it. Satoru remembered that the mattress felt like a low rebound mattress and was just right to be used as a bed.

「That's right. That was soft, wasn't it?」

「Wow. Still as squishy as ever. If I get used to sleeping on this, I'll never be able to sleep on the ground again」

　Rico, who had quickly climbed up, turned a troubled smile toward Satoru. The floor is so supremely soft that even Leia, a former royalty, could not remember it. To be able to sleep on such a floor is a tremendous luxury.

　Now all that's left to do is to prepare the shelves to put the luggage on.

「Breakfast is ready. Isolde-san and Solor-san have returned.」

「Coming」

　Liz, who had just appeared in front of him, calls out to them.

　――Just the other day.

　While Satoru and Rico were working on the mezzanine floor, Minerva, who was sanding and polishing the remaining boards, came a little closer to Leia, who was staring blankly. Leia can prepare fire and water, but she can't help with meal preparation, and although she's a watchdog and a guard, the beasts are too afraid to approach Yamato, a mass of iron.

「Say, Leiaー」

「Hmm?」

　Leia replies as she sees Liz sitting on a fallen tree, preparing breakfast a short distance away. Minerva glanced around and then slowly opened her mouth.

「When we were in the dwarven town, you examined Liz's body, didn't you? Why did you lie to Danna-sama at that time?」

　Leia could not give an immediate answer. She stared back at the third magical slave who had revealed what she had been hiding with a surprised expression.

「......Why did I do that? Is that a foolish question? You've always been able to tell a lie intuitively, haven't you?」

　Minerva is a Flying Dragon, although she has become accustomed to her human form. As Leia has said many times before, communication among beasts is not based on language, but on reading the emotions in their roars and other sounds. That is why Minerva can read the slightest emotion in the voices.

　Minerva lowered her gaze to the board and continued sanding until she was done.

「Somehow, Liz's body was acting weird, right? It felt like she was misguided(?).」

「I'm not sure that I'd call it strange. Misguided, yes, you're right.」

　I can't hide anything from you now, Leia replied honestly. Liz, the target of Leia's desire to keep this fact hidden, was some distance away, and Isolde and Solor were not there. Satoru and Rico are both in Yamato, so she decided that it would be better if she only told Minerva.

　However, there is only one question

「But again, why now?」

「It's just her feelings, but Minerva thought that it would be wrong if she told Danna-sama and Liz about it.」

　At Minerva's reply, Leia rolled her eyes and looked back at Minerva. The dragon girl was looking for an opportunity to talk with Leia alone because she decided that it was something that Satoru and Liz shouldn't hear.

「......You too have grown」

　Minerva stopped her hand and smiled shyly at the honest words of praise.

「Nehehehehe.」

　Minerva scratched her head with a hand full of wood chips, which caused them to cling to her quirky indigo hair. Leia smiled and stood up, brushing the wood chips away from her hair, and put her mouth to Minerva's ear.

「But I'm glad you made that decision. Don't tell anyone that I misled her at that time, okay?」

「Because Danna-sama and Liz would be sad if Minerva told them?」

「Yes.」

　Minerva looked a little difficult. Minerva was not sure what Leia meant by a gentle lie. But even so, she doesn't want to see her beloved Lord or the lovely half-elf girl sad. So.

「.......Mmh. Minerva got it. She'll keep it a secret.」

　Minerva is incapable of lying. However, if she doesn't tell from the beginning, it is not a lie. As she began traveling with Satoru, Minerva's naivete gradually increased, but she accepted that it was inevitable since she was traveling with other people.

「I'm sorry.」

　Minerva shook her head from side to side in a grandiose manner as Leia thanked her with a soft smile.

「Nn. Minerva, you see, Minerva like Danna-sama the most, but she also like Rico, Liz, Solor, I...... Ijyou? But of course, she also likes Leia.」

　Minerva, who still can't pronounce Isolde. She was wary of Solor, but not so wary of Isolde. Solor's voice was so void of emotion that it seemed eerie, but Isolde's was not. She is even more honest than Satoru.

　Of course, Minerva also loves Rico, who still watches over her with tenderness, and Leia, who is the smallest but the best big sister among Satoru's slaves. Next to Satoru.

「Minerva doesn't want to see a crying face. She wants everyone to smile.」

　Minerva's smile, which is so bright and clear, has no trace of pedantry. It is dazzlingly innocent. Minerva is indeed ignorant, but that is why she can be so innocent. Such Minerva looks dazzling in Leia.

「......I think so, too.」

「If Minerva can avoid crying by keeping it a secret, then she will.」

「Yeah,......, right. You're right, Minerva.」

　Leia lightly pats Minerva on the back as she sniffles and declares.

「Minerva is glad. Leia praised Minerva.」

　Noticed that Leia's voice had become a little shaky, Minerva smiled. The emotion in Leia's voice now was that of happiness and gratitude.

　Minerva felt Isolde and Solor's scent in the distance, and Minerva replied "Coming~" to Liz's voice, "Dinner is ready!"

　Leia muttered very quietly as she looked off the large back of the woman.

「......There's no way I can say that. Liz's period at that time was not a period, but a miscarriage.」

　Leia's mutterings were sucked into the void.

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