Steel and Mana

Chapter 23 – Lothlia

While my Mother was away, going on a trip, bringing away the first batch of soap, and doing some scouting for me, I was back on the construction site. We had a lot to do. First, I marked out the new area where we were ready to open up the new mine of ours. It was not easy, and everyone finally realized how much of a blessing the magic formations were in transporting the rocks away. This time, it fell to me to etch a similar formation down when the new mine. I could only do it when it became big enough to start producing stones for us that we needed to continue building the city.

That is when a new surprise welcomed me in the form of Merlin. The youngster watched as I worked, and when I finished the first one, observing it activate and work flawlessly... he asked me to let him try. I didn't expect much, but oh boy, was I wrong! He not only put it down, but he perfectly matched my version! They were identical. I would have adopted him right there if not for the fact his parents were watching excitedly. This meant that I could leave them to continue establishing our new mine, letting Merlin put down the formations, and I could go work on the city! This was the best news possible!

Before leaving, I promoted him... well, his parents, to be exact, to oversee the mining group before I returned to the scene of my new city. By now, multiple houses were standing ready, and I was guiding them on how to build around the pipings. I was going around in the meanwhile, installing primitive valve systems. We should have no issues, not after reinforcing and repairing the damages we had in the winter. We should have constantly flowing water, and because of the pressure, I didn't need any fancy doodads. Only a simple open and close gate at the end of the stone pipes in the homes. When someone opened it, the pressure did its job, and water was flowing into the tub, and there it was. A primitive but working bathroom! Same with the toilets! Turn a simple knob, open the seal, and let the water wash it down into the buried sewers, carrying it away.

For now, the sewers led out of the city, pretty far away, but that was only a temporary solution. After mining is back to its fully operational level, my long-term plan was to make it go far into the river a few kilometers away. But that can wait! I should focus on where we are now. What was a pleasant surprise was how people got used to it almost instantly... I even caught some discussions between them, mentioning how weird it felt to go back to town and watch others throw the waste on the streets. Good! That is the thinking I want to take root in their minds! Better hygiene, longer lives!

"Is this really necessary?" Sasha asked as I showed her my plans for a fountain in the square that I planned to be where all trading would happen. It would be not just a market square but a whole block! The 'houses' here were different because I was making them out to be shops. They were not for living in, and I think the people here were also realizing it as they got finished.

"Yep! We need places like this! Where people could come, look at something, and say: Yes... This is only possible here! I want them to be proud of their achievement! Also... wouldn't it be nice to walk around here with a fountain that is always on? The real problem is that we need people who can sculpt. I don't want it to be extra fancy, but... it shouldn't be ugly either."

"That is why many in the mines have been chiseling some of the faulty blocks like there is no tomorrow?" She chuckled, remembering how many of the workers, even after their shift ended, were trying to make some statues out of stone slabs that were chipped or broken off badly and deemed useless.

"They do that? Heh! Good! I did announce that the one who gets the job to make the statues for the fountain gets his full name put on it!"

"Oh! That is... really generous!" She blinked her beautiful eyes with surprise. I know that people would be happy to have a headstone after death... It was still a luxury here. But having their names placed on a work in the middle of the city? That was akin to becoming immortalized.

I was about to answer her when Oleg came into the palace, gasping for air, clearly in a hurry.

"Lord!" He bowed, "A letter!"

"Oh?" I took it hastily as I recognized my Mother's vax stamp on it. The two patiently waited for me to read it, and after I did it twice, I closed my eyes, thinking. "Oleg, go prepare a squad of the best fighters Father assigned under me!"

"Yes!" With a salute, he asked no questions but rushed away, fulfilling my command.

"What's happened?" Sasha asked, a bit afraid but also curious.

"Mother found a bandit group I could use. They called 'Yuri's Banewraiths,' which I think is hilarious..."

"Eh? It sounds scary instead!"

"Chuuni, if you ask me."

"What?"

"Nothing!" I shrugged, "Mother says it is a group led by a young but vicious woman, going by the name of Yuribisaida... What a weird name."

"Oh, it is an Easterner's name!"

"A what now?" I looked at her, one eyebrow raised to the top of my face.

"I read about them!" She explained happily as, besides lovemaking, she was reading a lot through the winter. I had to move many more books over from the castle and start building a library wing ahead of time just for her. "They have an empire in the east, and ours clashed with them multiple times! From what I read, we occupied half of their country before the current peace treaty. So... there are a lot of easterners living under our rule, but... they rarely should appear here; they tend to stay in their old land and lead multiple rebellions against us."

"I bet none were successful yet... figures..." I murmured, thinking, already imagining a fair, Asian-looking girl... huh, this should be interesting! "Well, these 'brides,' I mean, 'wraiths,' are a criminal gang that came to power in my Mother's birthplace. The region has been having a problem with them for a decade or so... and she writes here that they became even worse since a new leader of theirs appeared. She is this Yuribisaida who renamed the whole gang after herself."

"What will you do?" Sasha asked me, holding onto my hand, and I could feel she was extremely nervous.

"Set up a meeting with them, then try to recruit them! If I can manage to convince them to serve me for my goals, it would be great! So far, from what I heard from Father, none of the nobles are interested in any change. Good for me! I can sick my new hounds on them without remorse!"

"You are already talking as if you convinced these evil people to serve you..."

"Confidence, my dear Sasha!" I grinned, holding her waist and giving her a deep kiss, "I conquered you, no?"

"Bully..."

"Ahahaha~! Maybe I am one! Anyway, while I'm gone-"

"What? I am going too!" She shouted, looking at me with enlarged eyes.

"Are you a fighter?" I asked, flicking her nose. "Listen! I am going because it is my idea; I have the cards! My plans are in my brain, and nobody else could do it besides me! I will go with soldiers who are trained against beasts, which are much more unpredictable than humans!"

"But-"

"I won't bring you! End of the story! Sasha, you are not a warrior nor a fighter! You are smart and my wife, even if there was no ceremony yet! It is my duty to make sure you come to no harm's way! So you will stay and coordinate the construction in my place! Your strength lies in your head! You understand what I want from this city, so keep helping me build it, okay?"

"But... but... spells... magic..." She sniffed, her eyes going wet in an instant.

"You can't even cast a fireball yet, no? Come here..." I chuckled, hugging her close and stroking her head, and I could tell she was afraid to be abandoned once again, reverting to that of a little girl. "I will be careful and back before fall! Promise!"

"Promise...?" She whispered, not letting me go.

"Pinky-promise~!" I grinned, showing it her how to do it, finally drawing back a smile onto her face.

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Riding a horse was still a bit uncomfortable, but I was getting used to it. Armed and ready, we were heading to the borders and would soon be crossing over to the home of my Mother's family, Lothlia. It was my first time coming this far, and I was excited to see how it fares to my home... and it did surprise me.

A lot. First of all, it was like crossing a strange barrier. The mountains were gone quickly, and the hilly, bumpy lands soon turned flat. Just as flat as Sasha was when I first saw her. Next, the forests were replaced with a sea of gold as wheat was swaying in the wind, dancing like some kind of otherworldy ballerina.

The villages we were coming across were all small, housing the families working the fields and a minor noble who was responsible for collecting the tithe and delivering it. There was nothing outstanding, only the identical wooden houses that made up our towns. When we arrived at their capital city, it was finally time to see something that was more aligned with what a fantasy-esque medieval city should look like in my mind. Of course, that doesn't mean that all buildings were made of rock or bricks, but there were significantly more than in ours.

"Surprised?" My Mother chuckled, welcoming me at the gates and leading Oleg and me in while the rest of the soldiers I arrived with were housed in a different part of the city.

"A bit. Is it more... advanced? It's hard to pinpoint what I feel. Yet I know this place is ruled by a baron while our family is a viscount."

"Our territory is focused on battling the beasts, so all efforts in building it up were concentrated on our castle! This place is not so single-minded, so... of course, it had more time and resources to grow bigger and be a better city. Also... the population in this region is double that we have!"

"Huh... I see. So... Am I going to meet with my grandparents then?" I asked, grinning, changing the topic.

"No." Mother sighed, shaking her head, "They long passed away. You are going to meet with my eldest brother, the current baron of Lothlia. I warn you in advance to not let him push down on you; he is a bastard through and through! Even though we outrank him, and they are decreed by the Emperors of the past to serve us in our efforts of defending the passage, it also made him cranky."

"Huh?" I grunted, and I also realized why my Mother never mentioned my grandparents or her side of the family. So it wasn't all nice and lovely... figures. Noble families and their intricacies... I already hate it. "Why?"

"Because he always dreamt about being a knight in shining armor but never achieved it. He wasn't even accepted into the imperial army."

"Let me guess, it is our fault? Somehow?"

"What I am saying is to not show weakness! Or he will try to exploit it! Also, he does not know why I am here for real! He thinks I only brought the soaps and want to sell them; introducing you is just the excuse to let you explore the city and make contact with the gang... though..."

"I will be careful!" I shrugged, but then she just patted my shoulder, smiling and whispering into my ears.

"I'm not afraid of that... I wanted to say I would not be angry if you lit a little fire under his butt... You see, I have a younger brother, too, and I would happily see him sit where my idiotic eldest brother resting his useless bottom right now."

"Ah..."

I couldn't help but stop and look at my smiling Mother... As I said... Noble politics. I hate them.