Chapter 214 The Dreamed-of City and the Mammoth!
Edited by: Kanaa-senpai
Since Ayumu had crushed the Minor Nobles’ League by force, more and more people recognized his power—and sought to use it. Even the petty nobles who had been beaten down now flocked to him.
Thanks to bright minds of this world, who modeled after the internal combustion engines of Ayumu’s original world, a new invention was born: the Magic Stone Powered Golem Engine. Using it, small numbers of vacuum trucks had begun to roll out.
Each time one was dispatched from Keldan, the petty lords eagerly sold off their peasants’ stored night soil—kept in crude clay-sealed barrels—and bought high-quality Keldan-made organic nitrogen fertilizers. Crop yields rose, and with them, the lords’ private coffers swelled.
It went without saying that supporting Ayumu was safer than opposing him. Yet what truly delighted them was the “alchemy” of turning what they once considered worthless filth and weeds into gold.
Even better, Keldan’s processing removed parasites and refined the waste into safe fertilizer through desalination and high-heat fermentation. Combined with Keldan’s deworming medicine, the peasants’ health improved. Longer hours of labor could now be squeezed from them without issue.
And the lords’ thoughts?
No matter how productivity rises, the tax stays the same! I won’t cut rates! All profits are mine!
Peasants will never see the benefit! And if they think of running away—absolutely not!
Meanwhile, those same lords muttered lecherously to themselves: Now then… which girl shall I have tonight?
Such was the honest heart of nobility.
The peasants beneath them worked on, sweat dripping, voices heavy with bitterness.
”Man… Keldan’s got it good. Low poll tax, even low property tax.”
”Stop. Just thinking about it hurts.”
”If only our lord hunted the monstrous beasts like Count Keldan does…”
Thus, by the cruelty of other nobles, Ayumu was revered like a saint among outsiders.
Rumors told even stranger things. Supposedly, Keldan had a water purification plant where clean water could be had cheaper than in villages or towns. In other cities, even drinkable water was a luxury. But in Keldan, not only was clean water affordable, they even had a fuel refinery that drew from “burning water” (T/N: oil/gasoline equivalent), so there was no need to cut, dry, and haul wood.
From this abundance sprang another miracle: a public bathhouse, once thought the plaything of aristocrats. And it was cheap! While other lords denounced it as wasteful indulgence, the people of Keldan enjoyed the dream of bathing and saunas.
Farmers in distant lands sighed in envy, then returned to their toil, resigned.
* * *
Meanwhile in Keldan, the Mounted Archer Unit lured in Yugan mammoths with arrows, driving them into the Ballista Unit’s range. Under Lurutie’s command, volleys of siege bolts flew. With thunderous cries, the colossal beasts toppled, shaking the earth.
As cranes hauled the carcasses, Ayumu praised:
”Splendid, Lurutie! To hit moving targets with perfect accuracy—well done!”
”Y-yes, Honorary Count! I’ll keep working hard!” Lurutie stammered nervously.
Ayumu raised his voice for the troops.
”Remember! Removing such threats step by step is what keeps our people safe to travel!”
Returning to his command car, he wore a proud face—fresh from a bruising victory over a mere Horn Rabbit. His men, of course, thought differently.
A Horn Rabbit? Even a child can handle one… and he nearly lost?
Poor fellow.
Yet Ayumu’s persistence showed: the same foe he once had to flee, he had now defeated. Even if no one else gave him credit.
* * *
After the mammoths were processed into hide, meat, and ivory in town, an imperial envoy arrived.
What now? Did I do something wrong? Ayumu worried, opening the letter.
It was from the Second Princess, Ronafermia.
”I heard you obtained rare mammoth meat, Sanai! Send me ivory, hip and spine tenderloin, and fillet cuts at once!”
High-handed indeed, demanding spoils taken with his men’s lives. But refusing was impossible. She was imperial blood, and Ayumu could not risk another whipping. He agreed to send it all.
There was a postscript. Using Sashima’s Heavenly Gift Skill and careful greenhouse controls, they had cultivated the rare Lukurusa Luxury Melon, the princess’s favorite. For months, Ayumu had sent crates daily to the court.
At first she had rejoiced. Now her tone was… different.
”No more melons, Sanaiꐦ! The court is drowning in themꐦ! Enough alreadyꐦ!”
Ayumu sighed. Really, what a selfish woman…
* * *
Soon after, he hunted more Yugan mammoths with his officers, feasting together on the prized meat. In thanks, he granted Lurutie a one-handed sword, its hilt carved from ivory.
Notes:
• Sashima – Family name of Hiyori. A quiet, caring girl from the library committee, empathetic toward Sanai. She followed as a Barrier Technique Adept.
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Edited by Kanaa-senpai.
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