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Chapter 72

When the sun passed overhead, marking the passing of noon, it paid no heed to our circumstances as sunlight continuously shone down on us. Its heat sunk into the wind and the land both, burning and baking us as we worked hard in the fields. As soon as noon passed though, the village people took shelter in any small pieces of shade that they could find, drank some water to rehydrate, and took a suitable break.

Among them all, I was able to keep moving around energetically, as if I had no limits and felt no fatigue, but I was still worried about Selina’s stamina levels.

In order to shelter herself from the sun, she was wearing a large brimmed straw hat, and she wore a long sleeved one piece dress made of thin cloth as a measure against sunburn.

Selina was an excellent water magic user, so she could adjust the levels of water in both her body and the atmosphere around her, to regulate her own body temperature. Besides that, swaying against her ample chest, was a handmade charm that she always kept on her, which constantly protected her from hyperthermia and heatstroke. So there shouldn’t be anything to worry about, but I couldn’t help but worry.

Anyway, I would do my work while keeping a careful eye on Selina’s condition at the same time.

If I became too focused on working, and Selina’s health ended up declining due to my negligence and lack of caution, then I would never forgive myself for the rest of my life.

Now, with that in mind, Selina and I arrived at the village’s south gate, where collected rocks had been connected to the carriages driven by the white wind Horse Golems.

From here on, Selina and I were planning on doing some work outside of the village for the next two to three days.

In front of me, I walked around the literal mountain of rocks and stones, then took out a set of simple alchemy tools that I had purchased at the Galois Magic Academy, and quickly prepared to perform an alchemy spell.

In my surroundings from a distance, not just the curious village children, but even the adults, all stopped everything they were doing to watch my alchemy spell. Hmm, then I mustn’t make even a single mistake in front of my audience.

「You’ve become the center of attention, haven’t you? Fufu, are you getting nervous?」

「Very much. At least, if I said that, would you be satisfied?」

「No. I just wanted to try asking. I know very well that you aren’t that cute of a person」

「Selina, you’ve grown to be able to say such cruel things now」

「Fufu, well, we’ve known each other for a long time now, so our reservations with each other have disappeared. Do you dislike it?」

「I like these types of silly conversations, so I don’t mind it.

Since we went to Galois, I’ve met and become friends with many other people. But talking with you is definitely the most comfortable for me. It just feels right when I’m with you」

「I’m very happy to hear you say that」

Selina, who said that with a brilliant smile, was very cute.

As Selina and I exchanged this peaceful conversation, I kept a part of my mind focused on moving my hands and magical energy, and an alchemy formation was drawn on the ground, emitting particles of light.

The number of particles quickly increased, and surrounded the pile of rocks. The light altered the rocks’ molecular structure, changing the placement of the molecules according to my will, therefore changing the shape of the material as well.

Ohh, the spectating villagers said, with surprise and wonder in their voices. It was quite satisfying to hear.

From within the alchemy encirclement, the rocks and stones moved to take on a humanoid shape, twice the size of an adult man. I made more and more, until they filled up the whole circle.

They were instant Stone Golems. We weren’t planning on using them long term, so the models were very simple.

There were no rough, uneven bumps on the faces, and some of the rocks even remained unchanged in places.

「All right, this should be enough for now. Shall we get going?」

「Yes」

Taking along the gray colored Stone Golems, Selina and I exited the village from the south gate, and headed out on the road that led to the nearby Clauze Village.

We sat in the driver’s seat in the front of the carriage, pulled along by the white wind and the row of Stone Golems ahead of us. We were sent off by the two village guards and the four battle golems that protected the gate.

Immediately after we left the gate, we stopped to move the golems so they covered the whole width of the road as they walked, and numerous gray lines fell from the golems in their wake, spreading flatly across the road to create a pavement.

The thickness of the stone pavement was uniform, but since the individual stones that made up the pavement were all different shapes, there were still small gaps in the pavement. But within the Stone Golems’ bodies, there was flowing asphalt, working much like blood would in a human. The asphalt spilled out of the golems along with the stones, filling up the gaps easily.

The roughness of the ground beneath the pavement was filled up and leveled off with the asphalt, and Selina also used magic to conjure a hot wind that would immediately dry the pavement. And so, in the blink of an eye, the stone materials were being fixed in place on the road.

「Hmm, we did plenty of inspections and test runs, but this is running better than expected. Selina, let’s keep on going, just like this. The sunlight is still going strong, so be careful and keep track of your remaining stamina and magical energy」

「Yes. But when the people coming to visit Bern Village see that this road is now paved, I’m sure they will be very surprised」

「We’re doing this to surprise them after all. If they aren’t surprised, then there isn’t any point in us doing this」

We continued onward in this way, sacrificing the materials that the Stone Golems were made up of as we went, to lay down the pavement on top of the previously bare path. We would continue like this along the road on a one-day long trip to Clauze Village.

Until now, this path was uneven whenever it rained, which made it hard for travelers to walk through. But now it would change into an organized and well established road.

The road was wide enough for four carriages to pass by each other without a problem, and the road itself was made at a slight slant, starting from the middle and inclining downwards toward the ends of the road. This was for the drainage of water.

To also aid in water drainage, ditches were dug along both sides of the road, and to prevent falls into those ditches, the Stone Golems used their materials to place down rails. Both ends of the ditches were connected to a river that passes through Bern Village, so it created a system for rainwater to flow through the river instead of flooding the roads.

Along the way, we passed by people who were traveling toward Bern Village, but they all started to point out various things, like how we were riding a carriage pulled by Stone Golems, or there was a lamia sitting next to the driver, or that there was a line of Stone Golems getting pulled along behind us too. Whatever it was they said or thought, we just stood out a lot.

Although it would create a small problem for getting to Clauze Village, if we were going to stick out, I figured we might as well take advantage of the attention, so I sewed on an advertisement for Bern Village’s latest specialty product on our carriage.

I wasn’t expecting it to be very effective, but if it could catch people’s eyes and earn the village a little profit, then it was worth a shot.

That was how we spent a whole day steadily constructing the paved road, and then we returned to Bern Village.

By the time we got back to the village, and got started on other work that we had to do, news of the new paved road that stretched between Bern Village and Clauze Village had spread. The gossip could be heard all across the newly built public lodgings, the stands at the plaza, and the eateries on the first floors of stores.

But it wasn’t just the new road that people were talking about. Of course, people were talking about the public bathhouse that had been constructed in Bern overnight.

In order to scope out the gossip and the state of the bathhouse’s use, Selina and I proceeded to the bathhouse’s resting room, curious to what everyone thought of the bathhouse. We sat inside, slowly sipping away at our fruit juice drinks and chewing our grilled fish, as we observed the customers and their reactions.

「Wow, I didn’t think I’d be able to enter a bath that big in a place like this」

「Don’t you think this bath is pretty similar to that famous one in Galois? You know, the one that got remodeled by a student from the Magic Academy」

「Ah, I’ve been there before for a soak too, I guess it was kind of similar. Well, whether it’s similar or not, the bath feels great in both.

Plus, the fee is cheap, and the sake and food after the bath are delicious. But I was surprised about the small golems walking around everywhere though」

「You don’t see that very often in Galois, you know. Bern Village looks like it’ll become popular from here on.

There might be seeds lying around all over this place, about to become trees that’ll grow gold」

We heard the voices of all the merchants who were visiting the village, laughing while they grabbed frothy beer and filled their mouths with roasted beans and skewered chicken. We also saw many of the village people. Several of them, having never used such a large bath before, had been confused about how to use it at first. But now that they knew there were several different cheap options they could choose from, they had become regular customers to the bathhouse.

Until now, the people in Bern Village had simply gone to bathe in the river during the summer, but now they realized that soaking in hot bath water was great for melting away fatigue, and so the bathhouse was quickly becoming popular throughout the village.

「Hmmm, it’s off to a great start, huh」

The public bathhouse, officially named The Bern Bathhouse, was getting plenty of traffic. In response to my slightly happy whisper, Selina added onto what I’d said from where she stood coiled up next to me.

「Jenna-san was smiling really happily. The entrance fee is really cheap, but if you add in food and drink, the add-ons for the bath, and the sales of soap, then it seems like we really will gain a lot of profit」

「The goal is to get people to use this bath to heal the fatigue of their daily lives, after all. I never intended for the bathing fee to make much profit.

If a lot more people start visiting Bern Village, we’ll have to start preparing to expand the facilities and mass produce the bathing-related goods」

It just opened, but The Bern Bathhouse was clearly a good omen for the future business of the village, and the newly paved road wouldn’t cause any more problems now either.

All that’s left is to decide on a way to process the increasing influx of people, and how to receive the people who will wish to immigrate into the village permanently.

Thanks to the cow, horse, and human-shaped golems that are being mass produced, there was no need to worry about a shortage of labor, and the fields were being expanded all the time. And the villagers have already been taught about how to operate the golems as well.

Even if the golems break, they can take the magical energy that exists in the earth and in nature, and use it on their own to repair themselves. So even if I left the village, the golems’ repairs and maintenance can be done without any problems.

After filling ourselves up on fruit juice and grilled fish, Selina and I exited the bathhouse.

Bright sunlight shone down on us, making us squint our eyes. The sweet scent of roses tickled our noses, carried in by a warm breeze.

Selina and I instantly recognized the scent and remembered its owner. We looked back against the wind.

On the other side of the loosely meandering road, with her body decorated with black roses, we saw the figure of an ideal, refined lady, then a young elf girl, and a small fairy.

The spirit of the black rose kind, Diadora. A resident of Cywest Village inside Ente Forest, Fio. And then, Fio’s friend, the fairy Marl.

Since the day Selina and I entered the Galois Magic Academy, this was our very first reunion.