Chapter 52 No longer a Village (Patreon)

Thanks to the fast-paced construction, the city walls and ballistas were completed. The number of ballistas was 100 in each direction. Incidentally, there were only a hundred villagers, so they would never all be in operation at the same time.

"Van-sama, why don't you take a break soon?"

Till, who brought a lunch box and a water bottle, suggested that it was already lunchtime, to which I nodded.

"Yes, I guess so. Well, since it's a good opportunity, let's go up to the tower and have a meal while admiring the view."

Saying this, I looked up at the two fifty-meter high towers built on the north and south side of the village.

"Oh, I'd like to go to the Origo tower, where I can see the street!"

Camsin, who liked the heights, said with a gleeful grin, while Till nodded with a wry smile.

"I also like the Grape Tower, which overlooks the lake, though."

Laughing along with their conversation, I stood in front of the Origo tower.

And there were Dee, Arv, and Roe standing in armor. Arv and Roe already looked like they were about to die, but Dee had a big smile on his face.

"Oh, Van-sama, are you going to climb the Origo tower? I was thinking of climbing it for a bit of training, but then perhaps we should climb the Grape tower instead. Have a pleasant day."

With that, Dee ran to the tower on the other side of the village, while Arv and Roe followed him, screaming.

Those two had guts, we thought.

Then we opened the door to the tower and climbed up the spiral staircase. It was a tough climb, though it would have taken us about ten minutes if we hadn't rested.

Camsin was carrying everyone's bags, but kept skipping up the stairs.

"You're in good spirits, aren't you?"

"You have quite the stamina, Till"

"I won't be able to move after the climb."

Being in the normal physical condition group, Till and I talked like this as we leisurely climbed the stairs.

When we reached the top floor, a moderate breeze greeted us. The view from the top floor, with only pillars and a roof, is pleasant.

"Phew...we're finally here."

Till said, leaning against a pillar and looking out at the view below.

The handrail was thin and not obstructive, so when she moved to the edge, the view was truly panoramic.

High mountains and forests, endless meadows and roads. Looking down, we saw the hexagram-shaped walls and villagers on patrol. There was even an Apkallu in the waterway.

"It's a little too big for only a hundred villagers, isn't it?"

Leaning against the railing, I muttered with a wry smile, and Till began to spread out our box lunches, chiming in with a "Yes, that's true."

"Still, the buildings and facilities are not what you'd call a village, so maybe it's time to give it a name and make it a town."

"Eh. You'd all be fooling around again and name it Van Town, wouldn't you? I rejected the idea of Van Village, but they didn't back down."

Till laughed, looking troubled.

"That's good. I think Van Town is nice, and Van City, too."

"You're definitely making fun of me, aren't you? I can't help but think that you're just messing with me."

"No, I'm not."

When I narrowed my eyes and looked at her with suspicion, Till impatiently denied it.

If I was not careful, they would give it a strange name, that's for sure. If that was the case, should we just call it Van Land?

While I was thinking about this, Camsin, who had been looking at the street, interjected.

"...Van-sama, that there."

"Hmm?"

When I looked at what was said, I could see something at the far end of the road. However, even if I strained my eyes, I could only make out a line.

"Your eyes have been getting strangely better lately, haven't they? You are developing like the people in this village, you know. I haven't reached that level myself yet, but..."

Camsin nodded and replied, feeling confident.

"Probably not a soldier or adventurer. That said, they don't look like peddlers either. There are many children and old people, but also a group of slavers..."

"Oh, really? You have improved your eyesight by that much? You have become a fine member of this village, Camsin."

I was simply astonished to hear Camsin's report.

Meanwhile, I could hear voices from the walls below, indicating that someone was coming. The people in this village really have superhuman eyesight.

Half-amused, I turned to Till and sat there.

"It's going to be over an hour before they get here, so let's have lunch."

"Huh? Oh, ye, yes. Today I have Van-sama's favorite egg sandwich, and thanks to Bell-san, the quality of the bread has improved, so I'm sure it will be delicious."

"Yay!"

We enjoyed our delicious lunch.

As we climbed down from the tower, we saw Arte running toward us. Her swaying white hair reflected in the light like a beautiful thread of silvery white.

When Panamella left the village, Arte wasn't sure what to do, but the Count had said that she should stay in the village for a while.

Or rather, Panamella decided so.

"Van-sama...!"

I think it was cute to see Arte running up to me calling my name, but he is still a child. I just feel like patting her head and telling her how cute she is.

"What's wrong, Arte?"

I couldn't help but pat her head. Arte turned red in no time at all and became speechless.

What a cute little creature.

"Oh, uh...this village? I was told that an inquirer came to the...."

Now you have just put a Question Mark on the Village.

Should we start calling it a town? Maybe I should give it a name, too.

With that thought in mind, I urge Arte to continue.

" I guess it's the people coming here from the road. Do you have any idea how many people are there?"

"Uh, yes. They are walking from the back of the street. There are many people. What should we do? There is nothing from the walls to the village here, and would you like to speak in the lord's mansion?"

Arte said in a firm tone of voice as she regained her composure. It seemed that she had become accustomed to speaking in a fairly normal manner recently. Although she still seemed a bit intimidated, she still seemed to have a positive attitude.

She even made friends with some children in the village, and it makes me smile to see them speaking with each other.

I smiled at Arte and nodded.

"Yes, that's right. I guess we should have a meeting at your house, after all, it would be a bit awkward to have a conversation here at the tower. But first, let's see if the visitor is friendly toward us. Ortho-san and the others are going to the forest again, right?"

"Yes. They just left before noon, so they probably won't be back until the evening or night.

I crossed my arms and groaned at Till's reply.

"Well, let's call Dee and the others back and have Espada attend as well."

"Okay! I'll go get them!"

As soon as they heard my words, Camsin ran toward the Grape tower on the other side of the village.

How energetic. Maybe it's because I'm doing muscle training while I'm building. I feel like I have a big gap between them in terms of physical strength.

"...Camsin-sama, you are remarkable."

Arte blinked her eyes as she said that. Mmmm. As expected, even in this world, the heroes among children were the ones who were fast on their feet and good at athletics, right?

Well, never mind.

For now, I should go back inside the lord's mansion and wait for them with dignity.

If they are just guests or travelers, we should also appeal to them about this village.