Chapter 99

A few days later in the evening .

Kazura was in the mountainous region northwest of Isteria with Liese and Zirconia .

The place where they were now was a riverbank near the mountainside .

There was an abandoned farm a short walk away from here .

The sky was already turning sunset, and soldiers and their followers were preparing for the encampment around it .

Bonfires were being built here and there throughout the encampment, and one after another, tents were beginning to be pitched .

Including the guards and craftsmen, there must be well over 100 people in the camp .

It was a large group camp .

My back hurts . That carriage is rocking too much no matter how much it takes

Kazura put his hands on his hips and stretched out to warp his body .

The three of them had traveled by carriage up to this point, but the mountain roads were bumpy and the shaking inside the carriage was terrible .

There was no shock absorber or similar mechanism, so the vibrations were transmitted directly to the entire carriage .

Unaccustomed to moving in a carriage, Kazura and Liese was unable to rest slowly and kept clutching a handkerchief soaked in essential oil to prevent sickness .

The next time he returned to Japan, he could look into the history of carriages and bring their vibration mitigation techniques to this world .

I can buy the shock absorber parts for the carriage itself and bring it here, but if you have some other method, I can try using them .

Liese-sama, are you alright? Please sit here .

Yeah, okay . Thank you .

Sitting down in the round chair that Eira had pulled from the wagon, Liese gave a small sigh .

She looks quite tired and limp as if shes tired of being much more tired .

Near Kazura and the others, the squires were beginning to prepare dinner .

With their attendants, Marie is also moving about in a hurry .

Both Eira and Marie are not dressed in their usual maid uniforms but are dressed lightly so that they can easily move around outdoors .

The footwear is also wearing leather boots instead of the usual shoes .

Kazura-san, are you okay?

As Kazura held his waist and groaned, Zirconia called out to him with concern .

Somehow Im fine . But its painful as expected after four days of carriage travel .

It was quite bumpy on the road . Eira, after dinner, you can rub Mr . Kazuras waist .

Understood

Oh, no, its all right up there . You just need to rest a bit and youll be fine/

When Zirconia gives Eira instructions, Kazura hurriedly refuses them .

Its a good idea to be able to have a good idea of what youre looking for .

Im sure its a good idea to have them serve you, but I dont feel comfortable asking them to do that much .

Incidentally, the squires and craftsmen like Eira and the others who take care of Kazura and the others are also moved by carriage .

Moving on foot are the soldiers and other servants of the escort, as well as the civilian workers who have gathered to recruit the workforce .

I understand . But please dont take it too hard . If Kazura-san collapses on you now, I will die of overwork .

Zirconia says jokingly to a hesitant Kazura .

Perhaps its because weve been seeing each other from morning to night for so long now, but Zirconia has taken away some of the stiffness she had before, and theyve begun to joke around more and more recently .

At that time, I will give you lots of rejuvenating drugs, so please gulp them and do your best . I support from the shade of the leaves .

I absolutely hate it I mean, Kazura-san should take the medicine, not me . We can postpone it .

Uh that medicine is specific to the people over here, so it doesnt work very well for me . Its not that it doesnt work at all .

When he said that, Zirconia looked a little surprised .

But immediately, she nodded, Is that so? and returned her gaze to her followers who were continuing their work .

They didnt intend to ask in-depth questions about these things, as they always did already .

Even so, it took you a long time to get here, didnt it? I didnt expect you to spend four days just to travel

The trail was unexpectedly steep and we spent two days getting here from the base of the mountain .

It also took us two days to reach the base of the mountain from Isteria, so today was our fourth day of camping .

We have a lot of people with us, and weve brought a lot of mortar material and camping gear with us . I think its rather good that we got there in four days .

Wagons loaded with lime, sand and other supplies brought from Isteria are parked around the encampment .

There is still not enough material to make the mortar for the ice pond hike, so it will have to be transported several times in the future .

There are dozens of craftsmen and laborers stationed at this site to work on the mortar, so food needs to be brought in regularly .

An ice pond is a reservoir where water is stored to make ice .

Weve decided on the location for the water wheel, so tomorrow well get up early and go to work on something else right away . Lets get to work . We should have all the work orders out to the workers by nightfall . If its possible, Id like to leave early in the morning after tomorrow .

Zirconias expression as she said this did not show the slightest hint of fatigue .

Zirconia didnt seem to move in the swaying car, leaning against the wall and taking a quick nap .

Kazura and Liese were stunned at how she could sleep with all that shaking .

Thats right . If we leave early in the morning of the day after tomorrow, it will be seven days later at the earliest to go to Grisea village well, I suppose its about time for me to pick up the construction plans

The first delivery date of the flood control plan will be soon, and I hope to be back in Japan by then .

A few days delays in receiving the documents will not be a problem, but the director of the construction company that is designing the project has not been able to contact Kazura .

If they didnt hear from him for any length of time, they would be worried, no matter how much money they had paid in advance .

Incidentally, Ive talked to Zirconia and the others about the river construction plan .

Ive already explained that the reason Ill be returning to Grisea Village next is to collect the plans .

While Kazura-san is at Grisea Village, Ill recruit the workforce . How many people do you need?

Well I dont know the details of whats in the plan, either, so I dont know how many people were going to need . We dont know yet if were going to mobilize . I think we should keep some carpenters and plasterers on hand .

Carpenters and plasterers I hope we dont need too many carpenters since were already pulling them from many places

Zirconia looked anxious when she heard that they were going to pull out more craftsmen .

I hope we can finish the partial renovation before next years rainy season, so theres still plenty of time to get the job done If you cant get a craftsman, then set the whole plan back a little bit . This is the only way to go about it .

Well it depends on the nature of the work, but most of us who were in the military were in camps and fortresses . I have experience in construction . If its simple carpentry work, youll be used to it, so lets give priority to those with military experience to mobilize .

I see, Okay, thats a good idea .

The river improvement work being done is partial, so it wont require such a large number of people .

But there is an overwhelming shortage of craftsmen due to the fact that we are pulling out from many places .

We cant afford to delay the development of machine tools, so the river work will have to be delayed .

Also, the citizens who will be assigned to work on this project will be asked to work on the main renovation and street maintenance after the partial renovation . We want to get it . So please dont dissolve the contract after this work is done, but keep the contract going . We can have them put the work on to other jobs during the rainy season .

I understand . Well have some breathing room, and well keep the contract with you to take care of the unemployed . Ill have them work on the citys barriers during the rainy season .

Hey, Kazura .

Hmm?

As Kazura and Zirconia were talking to each other, Liese, who had been listening quietly until then, approached them .

Are there any other people like Kazura in the land of Kazura? Ormasior-sama or Greysior-sama .

Liese speaks in a whisper as if she is concerned that the soldiers around her will not hear her .

Ormasior is the god of battle, and Greysior is the god of commerce .

Speaking of which, they are there . All sorts of things like that .

Yeah, right . Then why dont you bring someone in that field directly to help you? Kazura, mercy uh, salvation and fertility are your jurisdictions, right? I dont feel like Kazura has to do anything all by himself .

Liese says with a smoldering expression, and Kazura chokes on his words, wondering what he should say .

Its quite a touchy subject, but when I think about it, I find it strange that this kind of story didnt come up until now .

The idea of abandoning the God setting and just getting it all out in the open came to mind .

It was clear to everyone that Kazuras actions to date were far more than Greysoirs lore .

If Kazura fessed up and said, Actually, Im not a god, Im just an ordinary person from another world Even if it was, Oh, I didnt know that! Youre a liar! Im going to beat you to death! I dont think they would do that .

However, to be frank, the only merits are that there will be no need to explain the troublesome lies, and there will be no guilt for lying .

On the other hand, when I thought about what the disadvantages would be, a number of unpleasant thoughts came to mind, such as the possibility that Kazura himself might be imprisoned or tortured for siphoning off knowledge, or that the villagers in Grisea Village might be taken, hostage .

I dont think Nelson and the others are the kinds of people who would do such a thing, but I cant be sure about all this .

But I am sure that Nelson and the others wont probe anything and wont put any restrictions on Kazuras actions because they believe that he is a god named Greysior .

Thinking about it this way, he felt that there was little merit in daring to reveal his identity .

If things are going well for him, it would be better to just let him go through with it, even if he set up as a lazy god as it is .

Since there are no guidelines for what God is like, Nelson and the others would have to wonder if this is how it is .

(I wonder what exactly God is)

There are a lot of things going on with you, Kazura-san . Were forcing her to help us, so we shouldnt give her too much trouble, okay?

When Kazura was shushing her with such thoughts, Zirconia interrupted her to admonish Liese .

Eh, I didnt mean to

Well, Ill go check the road to the field while Im at it . Have your dinner first .

Zirconia said that and walked off into the dim forest alone .

Liese stared at Zirconias back as she left, with an unrepentant expression on her face .

About an hour later .

Kazura was sitting on a rock alongside Liese, looking out at the river and having dinner .

The two of them were sitting on a large flat rock that sat on the river bank .

Next to each of them was a padded cloth, a wooden bowl with a stew, bread, and fruit wine .

Normally they would have eaten inside the tent, but at Kazuras suggestion, they had decided to eat on the riverbank .

The flames of a nearby campfire softly illuminated the surroundings, and the sound of water flowing in the river reverberated through the air .

I dont know if its the transference effect, but this was the best meal Ive had in a few days in this beautiful natural setting .

I see, if you did that, I would certainly say I wish you were dead,

Right? There were a couple of times he had touched me before, and I was already really uncomfortable .

Liese is pouting and angry as she shreds the bread and throws it into her mouth .

What the two of them are talking about now is about Lieses visitors .

Seeing Liese, who is exhausted from dealing with her frequent visitors, Kazura has been wondering for some time what kind of people would come to visit her .

So, I casually mentioned the incident at the store the other day, but the result is that complaints spill out of Lieses mouth, which was filled with exasperation, like a dam .

But if you dont like it that much, why dont you just say no? If youre not going to marry this guy, theres no reason to keep visiting him .

Hmmm, it doesnt work that way . I dont want to be able to say no so easily and spread a bad reputation, Most of them support the Isteria in commercial deals and business overtures and the like Many of them have become more flexible in a lot of ways since I started visiting them, so Im not going to say no to them without resistance . It would be a problem for your father and mother if I did .

As Liese speaks that way, there is not a trace of the reserve and stiffness that was felt a few days ago .

Liese was trying to be completely honest with him, just as Kazura had suggested, to stop using honorific language and go out with him in her honest state .

But to be honest, she still isnt completely used to it, and she does feel that its hard to do .

Eh, does that mean that everyone is looking out for Liese and paying attention to the Isteria family in many ways?

There are a lot of people who are courting me for my position as a lord, so not all of them are in it for me . I dont think so . Its been like this for years now, I guess .

Lise speaks matter-of-factly, without any emotion .

So Im not going to marry anyone unless its someone with some power and riches . That said, hes a creepy guy like Nibel, or hes going to be a lord and do whatever he wants . I definitely dont like people who seem to be thinking about it . And on the other hand, I dont like people who are too stingy, either .

Seriously . Liese must be having a hard time too because everyones been courting her to get married from the start .

It seems to be an awkward position to be in, and Kazura says as if he feels sorry for her .

The status of being the daughter of a lord is too great, and even if there were many people who wooed her, theres no way she could casually fall in love with them .

Moreover, among those who come to visit, there seem to be several men like Nibel who are out of line with the norm .

The stress of having to deal with such people must be quite a burden on the young Liese .

This is what being a lords daughter is all about . Theres no way you can fall in love and get married in a proper way .

As Liese said this, she turned her attention to the river and brought the food to her mouth with a crunch .

It was a lonely feeling for Liese who seemed to be contemplating .

You can get a lot of things from the people who woo you for that, so you can sell them and eat good food and be beautiful . Im buying clothes and stuff . Even if I do that much, no one would complain .

Oh, I see, youre playing around with the money from the sale of the gifts as a way to relieve the stress of visitation .

Yes .

But if youve got so many visitors, you couldnt find one or two that caught your interest?

If there was, Id be married by now .

and that too .

Liese stopped eating and looked at Kazura with her eyes .

Then she placed the bread she was holding on the cloth and turned her gaze back to the river, saying, Oh no .

I thought Id finally found someone nice . But that person is going to hate me with all their might, and I dont know what Im going to do now

No, I dont hate you .

Really?

Yeah, thats true .

Will you marry me?

Thats a different story .

Boo .

Kazura laughed a little at Liese, who was puffing out her cheeks .

Liese must have joked around a bit, taking care of the testy atmosphere .

By the way, Zirconia, arent you slowing down a lot? Is the field that far from here?

I looked at the map before we left Isteria, and I dont think it was that far . Sure, its a bit late for that .

Liese had looked at the map beforehand and had drummed the topography of the surrounding area into her head .

The field must have been a ten-minute walk from the river, so it certainly seemed too late to return .

I wonder if theres something wrong over there . Shouldnt we go check on them?

But with an escort

As she was about to say that much, Liese remembered how Zirconia had looked when she left .

Zirconia had gone into the forest alone, without anyone with her .

That meant that now Zirconia was alone in this dark forest .

Wandering around the mountains at night alone, where wild beasts might appear, is an extremely dangerous act .

(Why would you do such a dangerous thing)

Your escort, you didnt follow me . Lets get you out of here as soon as possible . Something may have happened .

Wait .

Liese grabbed Kazuras arm as she stood up hurriedly and held her back .

Lets just wait a little longer, shall we?

No, you should go get her right away . We cant undo it if something happens .

I think this is my mothers hometown, you know .

Home?

Yes .

Lise nodded to Kazura, who gave her a snorting look .

Because no ones lived here for a long time now, right? I heard that the village down the road is also abandoned

About ten years ago, there was an incident in which several villages around here were attacked by wild thieves and all the residents were killed .

A surprised expression appeared on Kazuras face at the story he hadnt expected .

Killing everyone . then, Zirconia-san .

Yeah . Shes a survivor of that village .

Liese said, her eyes narrowing as she stared at the dark forest beast path Zirconia had walked down .

So lets just wait a little longer, shall we?

Okay .

The two persons remained silent and stared into the dark forest .

At the same time, Zirconia was sitting in front of three graves piled high with dirt and piled high with stones, looking at the moon .

One small grave sat between two tombs, the light of the pale moon illuminating the area .

In front of each grave was a number of wildflowers that Zirconia had picked along the way .

In front of each of the smaller tombs was a small doll dressed as a girl, made of woolen yarn .

Zirconia continued to look at the moon for a while, but with a small breath, she stood up and walked back to the encampment with her back to the grave .