Greatest Alchemist? Chapter 90

Chapter 90: Appearance of a Fortress Town at the South of Volton

Is this a dream I am seeing?
Today, this thought I had who knows how many times just kept getting stronger as I arrived at the site.

The moment we, the knights, stationing soldiers, and pioneering villagers, left the south gate of Volton in the early morning, we had our first surprise. Not taking into account the highway leading to the southeast, a highway leading straight to the south was completed. It is wide enough for two large carriages to pass each other by and maybe because of the paved stone, even the shaking of the carriage was slight.

Typically, the journey on an unpaved road stretching 100 km isn’t too long, but it isn’t something that even a Demon Horse could reach in a single day. Though it might be possible if it is the specially-made carriage pulled by Iruma-dono’s Ryuuma. We had estimated it to take 2 days, but we arrived while the sun was still high.

Yes, we were supposed to have arrived at the land intended for the pioneering village.

「……… What is that?」

I suspected my eyes had gone strange.
That had to be the case. What was visible to me was an enormous fortress town protected by high walls that wouldn’t lose to the one in Volton.

As soon as we approached the castle, my surprise had gotten even larger. There lay a moat encircling the those high walls. There appears to be an aqueduct drawing water from the river, but it was likely made underground as there was nothing that could be seen above ground.

We took the drawbridge at the northern gate. Once we entered the town from there, districts were arranged tidily along the main street and the ground was level. Above the small hill stood a castle surrounded by castle walls.
Really, I don’t know how many times I’ve been surprised.
The castle on the hill has a feeling of refinement. One could see it was not just from the beauty of its architecture, but also from its strong appearance.

「Ah, Knight Leader Dorn-dono.」
「Ou, if it isn’t Sylphide-dono. Where could Iruma-dono be?」
「I believe Takumi-sama is at the reclaimed agricultural land.」

Guided by Sylphide-dono, we saw a splendid agricultural land.

「「「「「…………………………」」」」」
「…W-what is the meaning of this! Iruma-dono!」
「Ah, it’s you, Dorn-san. Everyone of the pioneering people and escorts, thank you for your hard work.」

Hearing our arrival, Iruma-dono appeared.
It seems he was preparing the agricultural land. Afterwards he had shown us that the agricultural land had a completed irrigation channel. I think the pioneers were more surprised than I am. They had come to this land with a grim resolution to prepare their dwellings and till however much of the agricultural land in the three years they are exempt from tax. They, who had failed once before, had their backs against the wall. If they were to arrive seeing that their residences were complete, moreover, to even have a Toilet Purifier DM installed in them. And the agricultural land can even be immediately sowed seeds on. It’s probably inevitable that they’d be thrown off balance.

「…… the land is ready.」
「Yeah, the land is soft.」
「The water in the irrigation channel is clean too.」

The pioneering people were excited over the agricultural land.
They touched the earth directly, unable to accept the reality of it.
The children of the pioneers were overjoyed at having been allotted their own houses. Of course they would be. It’s likely more fitting to call the dwelling the pioneers had before as shabby huts. And those people had been allotted legitimate stone housing. There is no way they could not be delighted.
The pioneers gathered here lost all their possessions because of foolish nobles’ lack of policies. And they weren’t from just a single pioneering village. They were an assembly of people herded from three abandoned pioneering villages. The three villages felt resentment towards the nobles that lacked of policies who had shut their villages down, it is likely that nobles that possess compassion, righteousness, morality, wisdom, and honesty such as my master are rare.
The pioneering people who had fallen to debt slavery were saved by Earl Rockford and my Lord. There were no elves, but their races varied from Humans to Beastkin, Dwarves, and a few Devils. Due to the nature of the pioneering village, many are fundamentally married couples and families, but a few widows exist. I must consult with Iruma-dono regarding the treatment of those individuals.

Afterwards, we separated from the pioneering villagers and were shown the barracks, and the soldiers were astonished by the building.

「The residence of all the soldiers will be expanded in the future, but I believe it can house 1000 people for the time being.」

The barracks built is a large three-story building where 2-4 people can live together in a room. Several private rooms were made to be assigned to the commanding officers.

「Knight Leader Dorn, isn’t this better than the Volton Castle?」
「Yeah, there is no doubt this castle is stronger. And the castle can be used if the residents have to be evacuated.」

The castle on top of the hill and its walls were laboriously crafted, and the architecture of the castle was unlike what I’ve ever seen before.
There was no interior design and furnishing, but that is to be expected. I must report this to Godwin-sama immediately.
The duties of the governor to be dispatched to this town are too heavy of a burden for a baron. At the very least, they would have to be in the class of a viscount.
Truly, it is a luxury to be able worry about things going too well, isn’t it?

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Footnotes:

1. The Demon Race (Mazoku) will be changed to Devil race. I think it’s really just confusing in english if there are demon-like monsters and demons as a race.