Fun Territory Defense Chapter 141 (Patreon)

I'm Not Going, Okay?

"Eh? Van-sama doesn't have to go?"

Arte asked back in the office of the lord's mansion, where everyone had left after the military meeting. Laughing at that, I nodded, holding one of the wood blocks in my hand.

"Because I told His Majesty last time. My territory is still in its infancy, and I don't have any knights to fight in the war. So, this time, I'm going to cooperate with them as a relay base for their invasion of the Kingdom of Jiernetta."

"Is that so? I'm surprised that His Majesty, who values military might, approves of this."

To Arte's surprise, I showed her a map. The map shows a winding mountain road and the location of a fort on the side of the Kingdom of Jiernetta, a short-distance away.

"In return, I have to help them attack the city in perfect condition. I've already built a few armored carriages with ballistas, so that's good, but the problem is building a base. Well, I'm thinking of something like a foldable container."

"Containers...?"

Arte tilts her head with a difficult look on her face as she mutters her own thoughts.

Then Till and Camsin entered, after knocking on the door.

"Van-sama, everyone's tour of Seat Village is over."

"Thank you. You worked hard."

Till and Camsin, who had guided the participants in the military meeting, responded in a tired voice, "I'm tired...". Well, it's not every day you get a chance to meet such a big guy, so I'm sure you must be nervous.

While I was thinking about this with a wry smile, Camsin opened his mouth.

"His Majesty the King and Jalpa-sama went to see the Dwarven Furnace, and Venturi-sama went to see the Ballistas. The rest of the people are working to check on the status of the various encampments and to procure supplies."

"I see, I see."

Listening to Camsin's report, I manipulated the wood block like clay in my hands. The image I have was that of a foldable container. The wall sections were folded inside the box, and when all the walls were folded down in turn, the box becomes a slab.

Conversely, the container would only be fixed into a box when all the wall panels were raised in a certain pattern. The box was rectangular, with a door on the short end.

It was a simple structure, but as I folded and reassembled it several times, Arte and the others were delighted, saying, "This is very interesting".

"Will it not break?"

Camsin asked me, pointing to the inside of the box.

"There are grooves in the top and bottom plates, and once it snaps into place, It will be pretty sturdy."

I replied, and Camsin nodded, honestly impressed.

"But this would be too heavy, so inevitably I can only make a base the size of a horse-drawn carriage. I'll either have to eliminate some of the side walls so that they can be connected, or I'll have to separate them by building a framework and planks to be assembled on site..."

I groaned and made another kind of box that could be assembled. It was the type where you assemble the framework together and then fit the panel boards in it.

The folding type is easier to set up, but the type that uses an interconnected framework was more flexible. It would now be a matter of choice on what they would like to use.

"Okay, let's actually try it."

I said, standing up with the materials on hand.

"You want to try assembling it?"

"Wait, you already completed a prototype for the base?"

I nodded to everyone's surprise and lifted the materials to show them.

"I was thinking that it would be better to have those who would use it to actually build it and then decide which one I should make."

Arte blinked, while Till and Camsin looked at each other.

Wood blocks were stacked in a pile on road street after everyone helped to transport them. Close to the pile, the encampment tents of the various Knight Orders were lined up in rows, filling the area.

"Okay! Then, let's try the folding box first!"

"Yes!"

Ortho and the others responded loudly to my words and raised their arms in the air. This time, the adventurers were requested directly by the Royal Family and the various knights to guide them along the mountain paths, alert them of magic beasts, and even scout out the area for them. So I asked them to help me with the demonstration.

The knights would be responsible for the transportation, but even so, the adventurers were doing an impressive job.

However, the reward for this was great, so everyone seemed very enthusiastic about their work.

The soldiers around the tents turned their attention to us to see what was going on as about 30 adventurers, including Ortho, gathered around and me and made a lot of noise.

Without a hint of concern under the soldier's gazes, the adventurers crowded around the prototype I made.

"Those at both ends, lift the topmost board! Alright! Then the next person lift the second board to the right side... Oh, the right side from my point of view! Keep pushing! And the person holding the top board, hold still! Yes! Now lift the third board and push it to the other side! When it's all locked in, let go of it!"

With loud instructions, each panel was assembled, and at about the same time, a freestanding tunnel-like box was created. Seeing this, the soldiers, who had turned into a gallery, also sounded impressed.

"Oh!"

"That's easy!"

"If it's this sturdy, we won't need a tent!"

I heard various comments, but I ignored them and continued to assemble the tent.

"Alright! Now, please raise the rest of the walls! In order!"

"Yes!"

The adventurers shouted as they followed the instructions. The prototypes were made to be large enough to serve as a base of operations, and the planks that would form the walls and ceiling were quite heavy. However, the strong adventurers were undaunted as they built the container house.

The last board had a single door installed beforehand, so the door was attached at the same time the container house was completed. Opening that door, the adventurers emerged from inside.

"Oh! This already looks like a house that was quickly built!"

Their expressions and words were like a scene out of a commercial. The other adventurers were so excited that they shouted with joy.

"Really?"

"We want one of these!"

And perhaps because it was easier than they had imagined, they were more impressed than I expected. Maybe they would be happier if I changed the reward from gold coins to a container house.

After that, they were so pleased that it looked so good that they let their friends set up an assembled prefab-like base, but it was a failure.

They complained that the result was too small for the effort needed to assemble it.

And so, I decided to focus only on creating container houses.