flypaper qvod

Chapter 336: Secret base under construction 1

Next day. Maia and I flew to the point indicated on the map using a horse-drawn carriage and found that Laila was working on the foundation in her dragon body. Or rather, Laila would continue to dig the earth in her dragon body all the way until the general framework of the construction was completed. The strongest black dragon is digging holes and piling up stones. In a sense, it was a surreal sight.

“Laila-sama. Dianne”

Since they are already far enough away from the city and the fort, Maia also calls out to them in her dragon body. It is a trick that I would like her to refrain from in normal places because it is quite loud.

“Ho”

“Maia. I’m glad you’re here. I have something I want you to do as soon as possible. There’s a nice rock pile over there and I want you to break off a piece of rock big enough to hold it. We will break them up and build the masonry here”

Dianne seemed to have been cutting wood near Laila and came running in response to Maia’s voice and immediately gave her instructions.

“Andy-sama”

“Fine. Go ahead. We’re here to help”

“Okay”

Maia looked at me for a moment as I got out of the carriage, and then she just took off again. And from inside the carriage, Neia and Aurora, two people with useful skills for woodworking. And the surprisingly tough Sharon and Almeida. And then Goto and Boyd, 「Speaking of architecture」 ogre group and a special guest, Great Knight Chief Lister, got off.

“Hmm. It may indeed be a good location. I didn’t know there was a vacuum for a demon invasion in a place like this”

Great Knight Chief Lister looks around the location and is impressed.

“Hopefully the fort will eventually be available for us to use”

“That’s fine. Even if Kalwin is found, it doesn’t mean that the demon territory will subside anytime soon”

“The first step in leveling the demon territory will come after the discovery of the country. We will build labyrinths in various places and gradually increase the safe zones……huu, aside from Lady Dianne, it may be difficult for me to see a peaceful Renfangas in my lifetime. The more good forts the better”

As I listen to the conversation between Great Knight Chief Lister and Dianne, I am reminded of the time scale of the project. That’s right. The exploration business we’re in is a clue to solving the tough problems of Renfangas, but it’s not the solution itself. Even if everything goes the way we want it to, we are still a long way from peace here.

“All right, each of you get to work. Goto and Boyd are over here laying the foundation for the dormitory and Neia and Sharon are working on the planks! Aurora and Almeida, I need you to help with the logging”

『Understood』

Each of us scattered to the work that Dianne had instructed us to do. And then it’s me and Great Knight Chief Lister who are left behind. Maybe it was awkward to come and have some free time and Great Knight Chief Lister gave a small throat clearing and offered to help.

“With this number of people, you won’t be in trouble. I’ll help you too”

“Thank you. If possible, logging”

“It’s my specialty”

He then placed his hand on a nearby tree to feel its texture, removed his gold gauntlet and threw it to the ground.

“Houaa!!”

A flash of the hand sword. ……After a while, there was no change and after an awkward moment, Great Knight Chief Lister coughed again. He then coughs again and pushes the trunk of the tree with his hand. It falls with a roar.

“Ooo”

I clap involuntarily.

“I was surprised to find that it did not fall down under its own weight if I slashed it horizontally. I was careless”

“No, I don’t understand what you mean anymore when you can cut such a thick tree with a chop”

“It depends on the training”

Maybe I could train for a thousand years and still not make it. ……Aurora was standing next to us, facing the trees.

“So you want me to cut down all the trees around here?”

“Yes, you can cut down as much as you can see now”

“We have to make sure the animals don’t get caught in the middle”

“The animals around here have scattered for fear of Laila. We’ll be fine”

“If that’s the case”

Aurora, inhales and after a moment’s pause, a blinding flash from within the sheath. Dogogagagagagagaga, an incredible sound echoed and I involuntarily stepped back. ……The forest collapsed, dozens of meters at a time. Aurora’s slashing wave severed every tree within range, toppling them in a chain reaction. It was like a landslide.

“……That……what. I really don’t think I can do much more than help”

“Ha, Hahaha”

Great Knight Chief Lister was a little dazed. I knew this technique was a foul. I guess it’s a foul.

“I wonder if I can get some cement or something of good quality around here……”

“I’m a little nervous”

Boyd and Goto were talking anxiously at the site of the foundation pouring. As one would expect in an unexplored area, they were uneasy about procuring all the building materials locally in order to build a proper building. Laila, who was repeating the process of excavating and leveling the soil with her huge body, sent a vision to them.

“Ho. If you want to harden the stone, there is a good magic”

“Really?”

“I’m under the impression that dragons don’t know much about magic useful for making things”

I’ve never heard of it either.

“I just don’t dare to make that kind of magic. We don’t care that much about buildings”

“How do you know that if you don’t make them?”

“Ho. Not me, but Dianne. I heard that she used to use it when she used to make hastily constructed camps. I only learned it from hearing it”

“Haa”

“Did you do that, 100-man commander”

……Well, Boyd and even Goto are younger than me, so they don’t know about the time when crossbows were in serious operation in the war. I actually don’t know much about it either. ……If you operate a crossbow with magical support in an environment with a proper vanguard, you don’t need to build a camp. I’m not sure if that’s what they used to make when 100-man commander Becker was a young man.

“Don’t worry. Dianne’s construction plan is a big deal. I’m just worried that we’re going to focus so much on getting it done quickly that we’re going to end up with a poor facility”

“Well, if the foundation is well laid, there’s plenty of room for expansion”

“That’s right. I’m worried that we’ve compromised too much for a small group like us and it will be too cramped for Renfangas to use”

“The space is quite spacious. I’m not sure if it’s safe for a group of commanders to sleep in……”

“Do you think we need more storage or something for later use?”

“Hoho. Don’t do so much. It is not too late to build more if you need to”

A construction site where dragons and ogres chat and work together. I wonder if it would be called a funny picture if it were painted.

Sharon and Neia were using their respective super senses to turn the logs that Laila had apparently brought earlier into planks one after another.

“Haa!”

“Taaa!!”

Neia swings her ax to chop a log lengthwise. Sharon slides a shortsword and dismembers logs one after another. Both are amazing acrobats.

“Aurora’s is the very art of battle, but Neia and the others are virtuosos……”

“It’s certainly hard to use these things in a fight, though”

Neia stops splitting logs and smiles. Sharon spins the shortsword around, holding it in her forward or reverse hand with surprising dexterity.

“But this kind of 『Eye-reading』 ability……can also be applied to earth drives, so you could say that this is also a warrior’s skill”

“Really?”

“Dwarves seem to be born with this kind of sensation. I, for example, was trained by Berga for quite a long time……to feel these things and use them is the secret of that technique”

“Hee……”

So it’s not just a sense that works with trees. But it is true that Neia can also use earth drive by watching and learning and if you think about it that way, it is a sensibility that is integrated with the art of warfare, isn’t it?

“If I train myself, will I be able to control the earth drive at will?”

“Earth drive is a matter of sensitivity, but it is also a matter of experience. The expanse of the veins and the way they are struck vary widely and the only way to improve your earth drive is to shoot a lot and learn”

“……I see”

Neia nodded, staring at the ax.

“Do you want to use it?”

……Well, Sharon doesn’t know that Neia can shoot? Well, I’ve only seen Neia’s earth drive once, in that Battle against Orn.

“No, well……I thought it was an interesting technique. As for that one, I’ll see if I get the chance”

Neia denies it with a vague laugh. Did she think she didn’t need to go to the trouble of learning it again, or did she think there was no use for it? ……I hope she didn’t think she’d never have a chance to use it again or something.

“Anyway, Sharon, can’t earth drives be used to build forts like this?”

I shake the subject to change the air. Sharon made a difficult face.

“It’s difficult. We’re only moving what’s under the ground, so any terrain that’s changed too drastically is going to be fragile……”

“Is that so……but on the other hand, it could be used for something like a siege”

“I haven’t given it much thought, but I certainly agree”

It is a modest technique, but like the shockwave, it holds a lot of potential. It is a little bad for Sharon, who is using it as her signature technique, but if not only Neia but other girls start using it, it could make them even stronger. I don’t want any of my girls to fight wars willingly, but there is no better way to increase the chances of winning and surviving.

“In the meantime, could you teach Anzeros and the other girls, Sharon?”

I’m going to ask for the wrong thing.

“It’s quite difficult and if you use this as the basis for your standing, you’ll be fighting in a completely different way than a normal swordsman, but……”

“Well, still. I dream of all my female slaves being safe and having my babies”

“……Right. Because that’s what’s good for you, of course……Berga’s going to be angry”

“Umm”

As a master, surely technique leakage is a problem? ……Maybe I’ll ask to do that one of these days.

-

After watching Neia and Sharon make planks for a while, Maia returned. She brought in a rock the size of a house and lowered it into the center of the camp. ……I saw her hand slip as her claws crunched the edge of the rock.

“N, Not good”

It’s not like she’s going to throw it off to a ridiculous place with her momentum since she’s not already moving, but if a rock that size falls with unintentional force, she’s going to……!

“Jump, both of you!!”

“!?”

“Smithson-san!?”

They couldn’t imagine what Maia, whom I was watching closely, had screwed up. Sharon and Neia, who were working on the project, looked confused. I quickly threw myself down to get down. Sharon realized what I was trying to do a moment too soon and jumped up, but Neia, not understanding what was going on, tried to jump with me, but failed to support my ground dive and fell down with me……

Dozuun!!

“GGu……!”

“Hyah……!!”

The vibrations caused by the massive mass hit us directly. We choke for breath and wind up in the dust that has rolled up. And

“Look out, Smithson-san……!”

Neia, who had fallen down tangled up with me, looks up and shouts. The log that Neia was about to cut was about to fall on me. Neia handled it easily, but if I was crushed by it, I would be in big trouble. Horrified, I twisted around to check, but that was as far as I got and I involuntarily gritted my teeth……

“Nuaaaaa!!”

“Soryaa!!”

I was stunned to witness shadows flying from the left and right, blowing the logs to smithereens.

“Eh……”

Flying pieces of wood. I avoided the rain by falling on my face and when I looked up again, I saw……Boyd and Great Knight Chief Lister each kneeling in the opposite direction from where they were a few seconds before.

“……Well, you’re just in time……aren’t you hurt, 10-man captain Smithson?”

‘Umm. ……That’s pretty fast for an ogre”

It seems that the log was caught almost simultaneously by Boyd’s diving straight and Grand Knight Chief Lister’s high-speed leaping kick, shattering it with two heavy blows.

“Thank you for saving my life……Boyd……and Great Knight Chief Lister”

“I’m sorry I had to do that. The young ogre was enough”

Great Knight Chief Lister folds his arms and looks at Boyd, strangely pleased.

“Good fighting……no, it’s not a technique. Or should I say, a sense of smell for the moment. Anyway, you’ve got good material”

“Ah, I’m being trained by 10-man captain Anzeros”

“Hmm……you could be a lot faster if you moved a little more. Can I borrow him for a minute?”

“Eh, hey, I’m still working……!”

“What’s the big deal? If you learn this gait, all your attacks will be 30% faster”

Great Knight Chief Lister gleefully grabs Boyd by the back belt and pulls him off. I look away from it with a pout and then realize that I’ve been pushing down……on Neia almost like I’m holding her. No, Neia was sticking her hand out from underneath me as if she was holding me and trying to catch the log.

“Ne, Neia……are you okay?”

“Eh, well……”

“Smithson-san!”

Sharon, who had been pouting for a few seconds at Great Knight Chief Lister and Boyd’s trick while landing nearby, also rushed over.

“Andy-sama……I’m sorry”

Maia, who had returned to her human body, also came running apologetically.

“It, It’s okay, I’m fine……”

“Mud everywhere”

“Neia-san too”

Maia and Sharon were right to point this out. The soil, which had just been leveled by Laila, was still soft and we, who had fallen in, were in a state that could best be described as brown.

“W, We got dirty……”

“Well, it was better than getting hurt”

Neia stands up, a little embarrassed because it was from a hug-like state. I try to dust myself off somehow too, but I can’t……help it.

“I think a dip in the water would be quicker”

“M, Maybe. Please go ahead”

“No, Neia first”

We knew there was a river nearby, so I gave in. But it was an awkward parallel.

“Andy! Are you all right?”

“Andy-san!”

Dianne, Aurora, and others came running up to us from afar, noticing something was wrong and they all looked at us with subtle expressions on their faces at how dirty we were.

“……Go wash”

“If you like, I can do your laundry while you bathe?”

“I, I’ll take care of that! Princess Aurora can work many times faster than I or Dianne can……”

“Almeida-san, would you mind not being so boorish?”

“Nonsense!”

“No, I can at least do the washing myself……

I had no choice but to head for the river and Neia ended up following along.

“……Neia”

“Emm……that”

Neia walks next to me and spreads her cloak a little wider. The flash sword at her waist glowed.

“……Something like that, so……could you give me a moment of your time?’

“Okay, but……

It’s rare that the flash sword asserts itself.

-

I take off my clothes in the river and start to wash them. The only thing Neia got dirty in her clothes was her cape and hat, but the large amount of mud in her hair was terrible to look at.

“Neia. ……I’ll wash your hair, you get in the river”

“Umm, I’m a little……embarrassed about that sort of thing”

“I’m just going to wash. And I just want to see your tits”

“In the open!?”

“That’s fine, I’ve seen it a few times already……besides”

“?”

“Neia, you don’t have anyone else in particular to show it to, do you?”

“Wh, What are you talking about……”

“Anyway, I won’t allow you to have such a messed up hair”

I strip Neia of her clothes and drag her into the river. She didn’t resist too hard, so I wondered if she trusted me or if she had given up.

“Ah, I’m just going to wash you, okay?”

“Yes. It’s cold”

It is still the end of winter. The freeze has thawed and the river is flowing……but it is indeed cold and I can’t stay in it for so many minutes. ……The flash sword shines assertively once more when I pick up that hair. Neia sighed and muttered a small spell, holding her chest in her hand. It’s a voice barrier.

“What is it, Flash Sword?”

“……Thought you might like to talk to the next hero once in a while”

“Shall I take it off?”

“What are you sulking about? ……It’s been a long time, Andy Smithson. The hero’s vessel

I nodded appropriately at the sword as it spoke to me in a friendly manner.

“Thank you for the opportunity to flirt with Neia”

“Never mind”

“What do you want with me, Flash Sword!”

“Don’t be so crabby about the joke, Neia”

……These two, or rather one and one, have a strange relationship, something like that.

“……And I thought you might misunderstand if I didn’t explain a little about what happened yesterday”

“Yesterday……?”

“It’s about Kalwin”

“!”

Neua’s expression becomes intense.

“Misunderstanding……?”

When I asked back, the flash sword shook with light as it nodded.

“Neia was merely explaining. ……I didn’t disagree with your opinion. I didn’t support the kingdom and stop thinking”

“Flash sword, that’s it”

“It’s just……that more than once I’ve done something I can’t take back. So I just got upset”

“Flash sword!”

Neia sounds like she is about to cry.

“……There was a person who said the same thing as that girl called Naris. Once”

- ToC -