Two days after visiting the Artisan Guild, Lopple-san came to tell me the Guildmaster was calling for me, so we walked together toward the guild.
「Ano ano… Yuuki-sama, why did you decide to do something so dangerous?」
When the Guildmaster asked me the same thing earlier, Lopple-san had been busy arranging things, so she probably hadn’t heard the explanation.
「Well… the Saintess who was summoned with me isn’t actually from this era.」
「Fweh? W-what do you mean!?」
「Let’s set aside the whole ‘people from the future’ thing for now. To get back to our original time, we have to fulfill the purpose of the summoning.」
「And that purpose is… recapturing the fortress?」
「Ahaha… Well, more precisely, they want us to defeat the being called the Evil God who’s waiting beyond the fortress.」
「Isn’t that… kind of insanely reckless?」
「Yeah, I thought so too. But the divine revelation that told us to do this came from a goddess I actually know.」
「A goddess? Huh?」
「So, as the first step toward defeating that Evil God, we decided to build a frontline base for retaking the fortress.」
「Th-that’s… incredibly grand… Hearing about people from the future and gods feels like I’m listening to something outrageous… Wait! I just heard something super important without permission! I’m not going to get divine punishment for this, right!?」
Lopple-san started panicking and fidgeting adorably.
Surely Marian wouldn’t do something like that.
「It’s fine, it’s fine. That goddess isn’t that strict.」
I smiled, thinking of the scatterbrained goddess who was probably still apologizing to everyone even now.
Just then, the guild came into view.
「Hey, Lopple-san.」
「Yes? What is it?」
「Is it just me, or are there… a ton of people here?」
「What a coincidence. I’m seeing the same thing.」
「Phew… Good. If it’s not an illusion, that’s a relief.」
While we were both half-heartedly escaping reality, someone, probably a dwarf or halfling, noticed us and called out.
「Oi! You the one they’re calling Holy Knight-sama, kid?」
「Yes, that’s what people call me. Are you a dwarf, onii-san?」
「Yup! First time seeing a dwarf, huh?」
「Actually, yes… this is my first time seeing a pure-blooded dwarf.」
(Yeah… pure-blooded dwarves are new to me. In Aerith’s world, most are half-breeds, so I’ve never actually seen one like this before.)
He stood about 150 cm tall, but his muscles were insanely defined, his arms were easily three times thicker than mine.
His mustache was bushy right under his nose, while his chin beard was neatly trimmed and kept short.
As I stared openly, the dwarf brother looked a little embarrassed.
「Staring that hard makes a guy shy, y’know. Am I really that rare?」
「Yeah… The dwarves I know are all short-lived. They intermingled with other races to extend their lifespans.」
「Hmph… That must be frustrating as hell.」
「Yes. One of the dwarves I knew once said, ‘Having such a short life when you’re trying to master your craft… it only leaves regret.’ 」
While traveling long ago, the person who once forged my sword told me something like that.
He was from a long-lived family line because one of his ancestors had married a long-life species, but even so, he’d had to say goodbye to friends many times over the years.
「Whoops… No time to get all gloomy in a place like this. Oi, everyone, make way!」
I thanked the dwarf onii-san who cheerfully cleared a path for me and stepped inside.
The Guildmaster was waiting with a wide grin.
「Yo! Yuuki-dono, sorry for calling you out so suddenly.」
「No, it’s fine. I finished wiping out the remaining enemies yesterday, so I’ve got plenty of free time today.」
「As expected of the Holy Knight-dono… Anyway, the reason I called you here is because of the recruitment we put out the day before yesterday. We ended up with this many volunteers, 153 reckless, life-loving idiots in total.」
The gathered crowd grinned back at me.
They looked more like seasoned warriors than craftsmen, every single one of them built like they could wrestle bears for fun.
「Thank you, everyone. We’ll begin work early in the morning three days from now. I’ll send detailed instructions and role assignments later today!」
「「「「「Got it!!」」」」」
◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆
And then, three days later, before the sun had even risen.
At the outer perimeter of the future fortress site, a group of burly craftsmen and equally fired-up soldiers stood ready.
「Well then… please take care of things here.」
「「Yes! Leave it to us!!」」
The commander who came to see us off, along with the two on-site supervisors who would accompany the group, replied with confident salutes.
「I’ll head out ahead to scout while you all follow at a steady pace.」
「Understood. May fortune favor you in battle!」
I returned the salute from the soldiers and commander, then broke into a run.
The distance between the second and third fortresses was roughly thirty kilometers.
The gentle rolling hills between them gave a clear view of both locations.
「I’ve decided to place the fortress right in the middle, about ten kilometers from here.」
With body reinforcement, that distance was only about five minutes at a full sprint.
The plan was simple:
① Drive in the massive stakes we spent the last three days carving, then dig a moat around the outside.
② Once the craftsmen arrive, I’ll pull the stones out of my Item Box and they’ll start stacking.
③ While they work, I’ll prepare a huge batch of plaster.
④ As soon as sections are ready, the craftsmen will coat everything thoroughly.
That’s it, straightforward and clean.
The only real problem?
We have to finish everything before sunset.
Apparently, wild beasts come out at night.
I’d be fine staying out here alone, but the craftsmen say their work efficiency drops dramatically in the dark.
「Alright then… let’s do this!」
I pulled the first enormous stake from my Item Box and braced it in position.
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