Chapter 86 – I Built A Fortress!

“Good. Now it’s complete.”

I wiped the sweat from my brow and looked at my surroundings.

“Wh-what is this? It’s surrounded by rocks!”
“I think we can go up those steps to reach the top?”
“Is this like a cave?”

The elves raised their voices in surprise when they saw the walls and houses that I had built.

For now, I had surrounded the whole sandbank in stone walls and built about a hundred houses inside.

The sandbank was not that big, and you could walk from one corner to the other in about three minutes.

And so I made all of the houses two-stories tall, and they were close together.
But they had proper roofs and windows, and should be comfortable to live in.
All the entrances had doors, and there was even simple wooden furniture inside of the rooms.

I had wanted to create a water system as well, but could not, due to the foundation. Furthermore, I had to make adjustments to the water system in our own village, and so for now, I just made a well and a tank for waste.

“You must be tired, Sir Joshua. Take this.”
“Oh, Iria. Thank you.”

I drank from the bottle of water that Iria handed to me.

“This is amazing Joshua. You worked so fast. Now they will be able to sleep in peace.”

Melk was in her wolf form, and lay lazily on the stone floor that I had made.

“Ms. Melk… You lower your guard too much.”
“It should be fine if we’re within the walls. Asuha should sleep too. It is so cool and comfortable. And I like the sounds of running water.”

Said Melk, and then she made Asuha lie on the stone floor as well.

In spite of her protests, Asuha seemed to enjoy it as well.

Upon seeing this, Fletta also rolled onto the floor.

“It’s true! It does feel nice!”

Then the other elves started to copy them. Most were children, but for some reason, Albert was there as well.

“Hmm… It is not terrible… A…choo!”

It’s because he hadn’t put any clothes on… He’s going to catch a cold.

Just then, Monica called out the elves.

“Both of you, this is a disgrace! Sir Joshua built this place just for us! You should be grateful!”
“Now, now, Monica. Let me give you a tour of the facilities. Follow me.”
“Yes!”

First, I took Monica to the bridge.

Trees had been planted along the streets. This was to reinforce the foundation, but also to add color to the gray town. I had even planted some wild flowers beneath the trees. The ents had brought them from the riverside.

We took the west street, which led to an arched gate, and beyond it was the bridge.
It was the same bridge we had crossed earlier.

“We came through here a short while ago… But, what is that string-like thing?”

As Monica said, there was something like a string that connected the top of the wall to the other side of the bridge… Well, it was much too thick to be string.

“It is an iron chain. Since this is a river, I thought it should be a drawbridge. If you turn this… Iria, can you help me?”

I pointed at something that looked like a wheel that was on the inner side of the walls.

“Yes! Leave it to me!”

Iria quickly took the wheel and started to turn it with ease.

And then…

“What!? The bridge is rising!?”
“This is a drawbridge. Now you can stop the Minotaur from getting inside, see? The actual gate is also made of iron. So it will be difficult for them to break through.”

I then made Iria turn a different wheel.

Monica watched silently as the heavy gates closed shut.

“Th-this is astonishing… It is so easy to cut off the outside world.”
“Isn’t it? Ah, but you should have at least five people when turning this wheel.”

This was not something that one person was supposed to be able to do alone. Iria could do it only because she was a Kijin.

“There is a similar gate on the south side of the sandbank as well. But that one is just connected to a pier, and so you cannot enter or leave.”
“A pier?”
“Let’s go.”

Next, we headed to the south side.

“Oh, this is just like the other one.”
“Aye. But when you go outside…”

Outside, there was a pier made of stone.
And there was one boat floating in the water.

“What is this?”
“A port. Now you can use a boat to travel to and from our village. I haven’t made a pier in Fendel yet, but I plan to make a system so that we can eventually trade large quantities of goods.”
“I see…”

Minica looked like she didn’t quite understand.

Well, they were not able to make tools, so she did not know what to think when it came to boats either.
But she would understand once she saw us return to our village by boat.

Monica looked around her and muttered.

“…In any case. Now we will be safe no matter what direction the enemy comes from. We are surrounded by water and also stone walls. I feel so relieved.”
“Aye. I was hoping that would be the case. But…”

Suddenly, I was thinking about water buffaloes, which were similar to cows.

They were able to move through water with ease.

Minotaurs had the blood of cows… Perhaps water would not be an obstruction for them.

Of course, I still doubted that they could move with enough speed to break through the walls.

I turned to Monica.

“However, the best defense is offense. Ultimately, it will depend on your skill with the bows… I can also make other weapons for you, but do not forget that.”
“Yes! You have done so much for us. We will do our part and fight! But, how can I thank you…”
“You don’t need to worry about such things now. You should think about ways of stopping the Minotaurs attack. And I’m sure you have to search for your other friends as well. We will do what we can to support you until then.”

I wanted to make fishing rods and nets so they could catch fish.

Monica bowed her head.

“Thank you… But when things do calm down, allow me to repay you.”
“Aye.”

I nodded at Monica’s words.

However, just then, I heard a voice rise from the northern walls.

“Mi-Minotaurs! I can see the Minotaurs!”
“Wh-what?”

And so we rushed towards the wall with Monica.

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Seisan Mahoushi no Rakuraku Henkyou Kaitaku - Saikyou no Ajintachi to Howaito Kokka wo Kizukimasu!