252-Making a castle together




 
 When each of them finished introducing themselves, Tornel, who was probably curious about it from earlier, looked up at the sand castle I had built and exclaimed.

''That's awesome, by the way! Hey, Master Alfried, where's the castle?

Big brother! You should have used a more polite tone!

 Quina cautions a flailing Tornel.

 'I'm no longer sure which of us is older.

'Really, we don't care either, and there's no one else around, so just keep your usual tone. Hey, Eric?

...No, no, no, even for a lord, distance is important...

 I cover Eric's mouth as he's about to make an airy remark, and I speak in a small voice.

'You're not going to have friends your own age because you're such a pain in the ass.

Ugh!

There's no one around, so it's a bit of a no-brainer.

 It's true that the line between nobility and villagers is important, but I think it's okay to loosen that up a bit, at least as a child. From the looks of it, Eric's parents and Luna-san seemed like hawks too.

''If you grow up badly, you'll feel self-conscious about being an aristocrat, and I don't think anyone your age would talk to you, right?

 I don't care if it's the second son or something that doesn't become a lord, Eric is considered the next lord.

 That makes it even more difficult for people of the same age in the village to talk to him, and if he continues to grow up and become a lord, he will definitely only be able to build a business-like relationship with them. Even more so because Eric has a mushy face.

 As a nobleman, that's not a bad thing, but it's his village, after all. He would want to get along with the villagers.

''Well maybe that's true.''

 After thinking about it for a while, I take my hand away from Eric's mouth when he makes a convincing noise.

''Yeah, I don't mind it either. Just talk to me like you always do.

Huh?

 But Eric's expression is so mushy that Quina looks confused.

 He's angry, isn't he? It's obvious that he thinks that way.

We both say that, so why not?

 On the other hand, Tornel is a bit light. To be more specific, he's about a villager in the village of Coriat.

''As expected, I'm still getting used to it, so please keep it up.

I'm going to be a regular guy!

Yeah, whichever is easier for you two.

 It's still our first meeting, and we're each comfortable with what we're doing.

'So, Alfried! What kind of castle is this?

Ah, that's Mithrit Castle in King's Landing.

'Oh! This is the castle the king lives in? This ain't even close to our house!

'I've never seen a real castle, but I think I can get a general idea of what it looks like just by looking at it.

 As I explain, Tornel and Quina look here and there with shining eyes.

 It's not matter if it's a village close to the king's capital, Eric's territory is also a long way from the king's capital. If they were villagers, they would indeed not be able to go to the royal capital.

 I'm happy to see the two of them looking at each other with happiness.

'But how did you make this? We were at the beach yesterday, but we didn't find anything this magnificent, did we?

Oh, sure.

I just started making it with earth magic.

'What? Seriously? 

'Lie! ........right?

 Well, that's the kind of reaction you'd get if such a big sand castle suddenly appeared.

 For the sake of the two people who are looking at me somewhat suspiciously, I use earth magic.

 Then, the sand in front of me stirred and began to form a small gate in front of the royal castle.

''Whoa! Seriously! Wasn't magic this awesome, Quina!

'What? I don't know! ...But I hear that the nobles are much better at magic than us commoners, and I'm sure the nobles can do it, right?

No, no, every nobleman in the kingdom will not be able to stand it if he's used as a benchmark.

 Hearing their conversation, Eric moans out.

''But Shelka was good at magic too, and a nobleman who's good at magic could do this much, right?

''Don't use one of the kingdom's leading magic nobles as a standard. Moreover, Sherka is a genius who would make an unorthodox jump in the magic academy.

 I knew that Shelka and Ra-chan's family were traditional magical nobles, but I didn't think that Shelka herself was such a great guy.

 I thought that a nobleman in the King's capital would be able to use magic that normally, but should I change my perception?

Wow, that's nice. Even the back side is engineered.

Big brother! Hands! I'm not supposed to touch it without permission!

 Quina cautions Tornel, who was so blinded by the sandcastle that he unconsciously touched the wall.

'No, it won't crumble right away if you touch it, so it's fine. There's still some places in the middle, like the castle gate and the interior garden, so if you want, you can build it with me?

'Oh! Are you sure?!

'Yeah! No, but as expected, there's no way we could get our hands on such a great piece of work.

 Tornel is expected, so we'll leave him alone, and Quina is also somewhat happy to be invited, although she's reserved.

 It's not that I'm not interested, but I have a huge desire to try it. That's about it, isn't it?

 Come to think of it, when Quina introduced herself, she said she was a decorator's daughter.

 Maybe this is how she loves to make things out of things.

'As I recall, when you introduced yourself, you said you were a decorator's daughter, right? I'd like to see some decorations for the castle gates and the roof or something, it's tasteless as it is, but...

'I can't build castles directly, but I do help out at home, so I'm sure I can help you with decorations.

 Oh, nostalgia success. She's a decorator's daughter, so let's hope she has design skills.

 I'm sure she'll make the sandcastle of Misfirito look brilliant.

Oh, but I'm not as handy as Quina, so don't expect me to decorate it.

'What? Really? So what does Tornel usually do?

 What does it mean to be the son of a decorator and not be handy and confident in your decorating? 

I gather shells, coral, bits of magical stone, fish, and demon fangs for my ornaments! Dad and Quina will process it and Mom will connect it.

'Oh, yeah. That's great.

 I can't help but admire Tornell's words as he says them with his chest.

 I see, I don't know if I'm not good at processing, but I'm contributing to my family in other ways.

 It's easy to put into words, but that's not something that's easy to do.

 Tornel is a bit worried about the way he looks and acts, but he's properly proud of the work he does.

'My brother is very good at diving in the sea. He supports the house by collecting materials while training as a harpooner's apprentice.''

 It's a good thing that you're able to get a good idea of what you're looking for. It's a good idea to have a good idea of what you're looking for.

I'm sure you'll be able to find out more about it. It's a good idea.

 Even Eric, who doesn't usually praise people much, couldn't help but admire them.

 Even the place called the sea is dangerous. In this world, there are even demons that attack people in the sea, and the level of danger has risen dramatically. But even so, Tornell continues to dive under the sea, and I think it's amazing that he's like an adventurer.

 It's a job I could never do.

I'm not awesome. I'll tell you what, let's just finish this amazing castle.

 Tornel scratches his head shyly as he scratches his head, as if he's embarrassed to be praised by us.

'That's true too. 'Well then, let's finish the Misfirito Castle.'

'Oh! What am I supposed to do?

 Tornel had declared himself to be clumsy with his hands. Then it would be better to let him do the general part of the work rather than have him do the detailed work and so on.

''Then Trunel, level the ground in the castle.

'Oh, we just need to level the ground, don't we? That's easy!

I have a job chopping the veins of leaves in the garden, though?

'No, no, no, I don't need it because it's important to level the ground! Then I'll go level the ground!

 Tornell hurriedly walked inside, probably very uncomfortable with the chopping of the veins of the leaves.

 As I was looking away from him, Eric called out from behind me.

'What do you want me to do?'

Yeah. Eric, you should work with Quina on decorating the castle gate. Eric has seen the Misfirith Castle and the gates, and he can help you, right?

'Yeah, right. Mr. Eric, it's nice to meet you!

I don't know what I can do for you.

 Look, this is the kind of casual care that is backed up by this theory.

 Humans are naturally united when they work together. This is Eric's first step in making friends.

 The two of us still seem to have a hard time with each other, but I'm sure that by the time we're done, we'll be able to get to know each other a little better.

 Now, I'm going to make some adjustments to the whole thing, or what's missing, with magic.

 Passing through a gate that one adult can pass through, I went inside.

 As I walk through the gates, there's a single path that leads to the royal castle and a large courtyard. There is a lush green lawn and several separated flower beds with brightly colored flowers.

 Of course, it was only roughly created with soil magic, so it doesn't have any color to it. Even the flowers look like that from a distance, but up close they look rickety. Even the veins of the leaves are not drawn. I'll have to magically shape them one by one.

 However, that's the last place I should start when I have time to do it. I won't work on the details until I've completed the whole thing.

 As I walked around the courtyard, I saw Tornell busily leveling the ground in the courtyard with his hands and feet.

 As expected, even though he was only leveling the ground, it looked like it would be a lot of work just to do it with his hands and feet.

 Realizing this, I generate a dragonfly with soil magic and pass it to Tornel.

''Oh? What's with these weird sticks? A harpoon?

It's not a harpoon. It's a tool called a dragonfly to level the ground. Just by pushing and pulling it, you can easily level the ground.

'Push? Pull?

 Tornel nodded his head, as if he couldn't understand when I explained it. So I borrowed a dragonfly from Tornell and put it to practice.

 As I push and pull the dragonfly, the uneven ground quickly becomes flat.

'Oh! That's what you did! Let me have a bit of that!

 I guess he wanted to do it when he saw me doing it, and Tornel sounded excited.

 I handed him the dragonfly easily, and Tornel started pushing and pulling it in the same way.

 The sound of soil being pushed and pulled by Zsa Zsa Zsa sounds. 

 I've missed it. I remember once helping a friend of mine who was a club member playfully level the ground. I liked the feeling of working so mindlessly that I did it for hours.

 I ended up leveling half the playground for nothing.

'I don't know how it works, but it's so convenient to get the ground leveled so easily! I want this!

 As I was reminiscing about past events, Tornel sounded amused.

'It's made with earth magic and I'll give it to you. It didn't cost a dime.

'Seriously? Are you sure?!

Yeah. I don't know when it will break.

 I've never given you a tool made of earth magic like this. It's a consumable tool, so it's hardened by compressing its magic power in its own way, but how long will it last?

 I'm sure that when it comes to dragonflies, they're still used quite a bit, and they won't be able to keep it that long.

'Thanks! This will clean the front of your rickety house!

 Unlike big cities and royal capitals with cobblestones, villages in the countryside, for example, are usually dirt roads. As expected, it's impossible to do a large area, but the front of the house will be clean, at least.

Then, after the courtyard, we'll go to the back of the castle. And take care of the outside of the gate as well.

'Oh! I'll take care of it!

 The scope of work is increased quietly, but Tornell replies happily, thanks to the joy of getting a dragonfly.

The first thing that comes to mind is the fact that the ground will be gouged out if you put too much pressure on it. You have to be careful.

'Whoa! Seriously! It's grinding!

 Is he okay? Don't tell me you thought you were going to level it out but it turned out to be uneven, right?