TD Chapter 42: An Equal Alliance

TL: Theredsargeant
Tentative TL: Cooper Schmidt(Yay, welcome!), Stratos780(Yay, welcome!)

---

　On top of the yet-formed wall, my subordinates hurriedly bowed. I don’t know much about the etiquette of this area, so I looked at Till and Kamsin for reference.

(T.L. Note: Please don’t ask me why he doesn’t know. I don’t either.)

　As I turned to look at them, I saw Arte bowing as well, for some reason. Why is she doing that? She is not one of my subordinates.

　Panamera, smiling at the formation of the alliance, extended one hand and placed it upon her chest.

”This is an event that deserves commemoration. If you give me one of those ballistae, I will lend you a hundred of my soldiers for two weeks to augment your labor force.”

　In unison, Panamera’s soldiers saluted in my direction. Considering Panamera’s character, they must be quite well-trained and strong soldiers. A hundred of them, no less. They will certainly be more reliable than mercenaries.

”Good. So, it’s just that one ballista, right? What about the trolley to be carried or the arrows which it requires?”

　Panamera nodded in consideration, walking towards one of the ballistae to observe it.

“It looks pretty heavy. I guess we’d better set aside a wagon for transport. The arrows are… chunks of iron. We can probably make such arrows locally without having to import any.”

　Panamera mumbled to herself. At her words, Till and Kamsin looked at each other.

“Lord Panamera. I think it would be better to use Master Van’s arrows.”

　When Kamsin tells her that, Panamera tilted her head.

“Why?”

“This is a sword called the ‘Great Sword’, Master Van made for me…”

(T.L. Note: It is unclear whether the sword was named ‘Great Sword’ or whether the sword is classified as a ‘Great Sword’. I chose to believe that Van named the random sword he made the ‘Great Sword’… because that is just a Van thing to do.)

　Saying this, Kamsin drew the longer of the two swords at his waist. It was an iron sword that was presented to him just a few days ago during the celebration festival. The blade is over a meter long, with its weight being just as impressive. But Kamsin cries with joy and swings it every day before going to bed.

　This sword has a slightly thicker blade to make it more durable, but even so, it is the sharpest sword in the world.

(T.L. Note: I mean… probably?)

　Kamsin showed the sword to Panamera.

“… I mean it is an interesting sword, it certainly has a unique shape. But, I think it would be ill-suited to fighting against armored opponents… or shields.

　As if reassuring the quizzical Panamera, Kamsin nodded his head.

”Do you have a disposable sword, miss?”

“Disposable? Well, swords are consumable items. I don’t care if you rough up one or two of them.”

　With that, Panamera held up her sword. It was thick to the point that some would rather call it a machete than a sword.

“This is my spare. It’s a little short, so it is easy to handle. Swords like these have saved many a life in battle.”

“I see, please forgive my waste.”

“Yeah, yeah. It would be great if you could chip it a little.”

(T.L. Note: I just interpreted what Panamera would have said in this situation, this is the raw MTL. “Please Yeah. It would be great if I could make a spillover.”)

　In stark contrast to Panamera’s wry smile, Kamsin assumed an apologetic look as he swung his Great Sword.

　A sound rung out as the wind around the blade parted and Kamsin’s sword met the loaned blade.

“I have thought you would have done some damage, but it looks like you’ve hardly scratched it. In fact, I’m shocked at how little was damaged, considering how hard you swung.”

　Then, in front of the confused Panamera, the blade split clean in half.

　As the severed metal hit the floor and sonorously rung out a metal tune, everyone’s eyes widened.

　Kamsin sheathed his sword with a proud expression, and Till punched the air in excitement while everyone else was still in shock.

　Then, a moment later, Panamera raises the broken sword and spoke.

“… Broken? No, umm… did the durability run out naturally? This is high purity steel, not some cheap pig iron! What is your sword made of? It can’t be iron, can it?”

　I shook my head in response.

“No, it is iron. It’s just that the way it was processed was different.”

　Panamera then silently turned her gaze to the stump of a sword that she was holding.

　Then she finally remembered what the original topic was about and made a snap remark.

”…Wait a minute. It couldn’t be that that ballista arrow is also…”

(T.L. Note: That that is correct grammar… probably.)

“Like that sword, it’s an iron arrow that’s a bit sharper than normal. Nothing too special, just enough to pierce through two or three armored dragons.”

“It can pierce armored dragons!?”

　Panamera lost her composure and shouted without any of the demeanor of a noble. The soldiers also looked at the ballista with surprised expressions.

(T.L. Note: I am running out of synonyms for shocked.)

”I don’t mind the price, name anything you see fit. In exchange, please allow me to buy your arrows as well as the ballistae. As long as I have the economic leeway, I will be sure to stock up!”

“Your business is appreciated.”

　I smiled in reply to Panamera, my esteemed future customer.

　That night, the village was wrapped in a festive mood for a second time.

　Well, strictly speaking, it was a barbeque party but its scale had quickly spiraled out of control.

　And of course, the villagers ran with it.

”I see! Lady Arte is a daughter of the Ferdinand family! Please take good care of our Lord Van.”

“Ever since Lord Van came, the village has never been better!”

“It would bring us all joy if such a beautiful girl could marry Lord Van!”

“Idiot, address the lord with more respect.”

　Arte’s eyes were nervously darting around as she was being smothered with the comments of many villagers. Panamera laughed while watching from the sideline, eating some good food to add to the experience.

　No, please help me.

(T.L. Note: This one line is from Arte’s perspective. The rest is in Van’s.)

“Hey, guys! Please don’t be too pushy towards our village’s valued customers.”

　I put my hands together and clapped to get the villager’s attention. As soon as the crowd turned their attention away from Arte she ran, teary-eyed, over to my side.

”Your prince has come for you!”

“As expected of Lord Van, look at how closely Arte is sticking to him now.”

“Make no mistake, this is the wedding night… the first night of our Lord’s and Arte’s marriage!”

　I guess that even in a fantasy world, old men say embarrassing things when drunk.

　Arte’s face turned bright red as the men excitedly made small talk with each other.

“Also, you uncles should be a little more quiet. I will be confisticating your drinks.”

“What?”

“Please don’t do this…”

　I heard sobbing voices behind me, but I simply ignored them. Although Till’s face held a red tinge, she quickly calmed after looking towards me.

“Do you want to come over here and eat with me?”

　When she heard that, Arte nodded silently.

“Well, how long will the wall take to construct? A month?”

“Yes, roughly. The scale of this wall is enormous, so it will take a while.”

“In the meantime, I hope nothing happens…”

　Arte nodded her head at the conversation between Kamsin, Till, and I.

“Are you talking about a fortified section facing the road?”

“No, we are talking about the entire wall.”

“Every…thing?”

　Arte stuttered. It was a reasonable reaction. Normally, city walls would take much longer to complete. As I recall, I heard that the royal capital took three years to construct its outer walls. The expansion work after that has been steadily progressing year after year even to the present day.

　Even if you have a large number of workers, it is common sense that a wall would take an incredibly large amount of time to construct.

　Incidentally, in the old days, territorial disputes were particularly fierce, new countries were established, the old powerhouse countries were swallowed up, and the world’s maps changed at a dizzying pace.

(T.L. Note: I can’t believe a MTL happened to create this coherent sentence.)

　Because of this, most of the valuable four-element mages were used to roam the battlefields or protect strongholds, leaving the construction of new castles and cities to prisoners of war, slaves and commoners.

　Because of that, there must not have been anyone like me who has had a top-notch four-element magicians engaged in castle wall building every day.

(T.L. Note: Were there no top-notch magicians within the POW’s?)

　 Well, even if you build a wall of clay with magic, if you leave it as it is, it’s just a lump of clay. It’s no wonder that no one would have thought to place a production magician in charge of construction.

I’m going to make it without regard for normal procedures and construction times. Ideally, I’d like to at least build the inner walls before the peddler Lango comes to the village.

“A peddler? Why, is he someone dangerous?”

　I smile at Arte, who was looking uneasy.

“Well, I want to give him a big surprise.”

(T.L. Note: With the help of people from discord, we have finally completed a chapter after… 20 days. Sorry, college is a time sink.)

Previous Next