Chapter 153 : Chapter 153
Chapter 153. The End of Captive Life
A new road was opened in Raviedel!
As soon as the news spread, the architect and workers sent by the 3rd Imperial Consort arrived in Raviedel. Along with them came a letter stating that she wished to gift Radel a villa, asking that it be a place where Inette could stay whenever she wanted.
Radel respectfully tucked the letter bearing the imperial seal into his chest.
“I still cannot believe it, Your Highness.”
Chariot clasped his trembling hands at Radel’s side. Seeing Prince Radel alone was already one of the greatest events of his life, but now there was even a chance that the 3rd Imperial Consort herself might come?
“To think a villa belonging to Her Highness the Imperial Consort will be built in our territory.”
“And you see Princess Inette every day already, do you not?”
Radel smiled at Chariot’s reaction. The territory already had Radel himself, Inette, and even Shartea staying there.
It was amusing to see Chariot, who encountered imperial family members daily, still acting like this.
“The Princesses are, of course, extraordinary people as well, but they are guests of Your Highness.”
Meaning they were people who would eventually leave. But a villa was another matter entirely.
A home of the 3rd Imperial Consort would be built in their territory. To Chariot, a native of the land, that fact felt overwhelmingly significant.
Moreover, seeing that the 3rd Imperial Consort personally sent the workforce to build the villa almost made Chariot faint. Even someone living in the countryside like him had heard of them. They were the most renowned architects in the capital.
The fact that she personally selected and sent the finest architects proved how much care she was putting into this. Realizing that this was no ordinary villa, Chariot kept patting his chest, unable to calm down.
“Once the villa is completed, Raviedel may truly become famous.”
“That is bound to happen.”
Radel replied calmly. She was not just any Imperial Consort, but one of the most prominent figures in the Empire’s social circles.
Though it was said to be a gift to Radel, everyone would know it was effectively her villa. Nobles would surely start stopping by the city just to see the 3rd Imperial Consort’s villa.
Before that, they would need to develop proper tourist attractions. And with an increase in visitors, a temple would naturally be necessary as well.
As the thought occurred to him, Radel took Chariot along to visit the site where the Apprentice Holy Knight Order was constructing the temple of the Supreme Deity Order. The Apprentice Holy Knights were rapidly stacking the temple’s pillars, working with the skill of seasoned construction laborers.
“Gusto!”
Radel waved when he spotted Gusto working off to the side. Gusto was mixing lime with water, then wiped his hands on his work clothes and approached.
“Your Highness, when did you arrive?”
“I just got here. I am not interrupting, am I?”
“It is fine. I have plenty of peers working in my place. They are usually lazy, so the Supreme Deity will surely understand.”
From afar, Gusto’s peers jeered at him. Gusto ignored them without a care. They looked as close as ever.
“Everyone seems quite skilled at this.”
“When you engage in relief work, you get used to building houses. This is also part of our duty.”
Gusto guided them around the construction site, explaining things to Radel and Chariot. Radel was able to gauge the scale of both the future temple and the Apprentice Holy Knight Order’s training grounds.
After sending Gusto back, Radel was considering what support to provide the Apprentice Holy Knight Order.
“To think a temple of the Supreme Deity Order will be built in our territory……”
Chariot, who had been assisting Radel, pressed a hand to his head as if he were feeling dizzy. The rapid changes in the territory seemed to have stirred his emotions too much.
“Is it that good?”
“Of course. Right now, our territory only has a few small clinics, and not a single priest. If the territory residents are seriously injured, they must go to the city without exception. I cannot express how grateful I am.”
Chariot stopped mid-sentence and looked at Radel, his eyes filled with emotion.
“This is all thanks to you, Your Highness.”
DING.
[The target’s Affinity has exceeded 10.]
[The target’s Affinity has reached 40.]
Radel could feel the trust of the acting lord, who cherished the territory more than anyone.
Was he doing a decent job as a lord? Seeing Chariot’s Affinity rise put Radel in a good mood as well.
“Now we will have a temple and a new road, and it seems the territory will only continue to develop. Oh, that reminds me. The Lizardmen will return to the mountains now, will they not? They have grown quite close to the territory residents, so it feels unfortunate.”
Chariot spoke as if the thought had just occurred to him. Indeed, since the promised reward to the Great Chieftain had been the opening of a new road, there was no longer any reason for the Lizardmen to stay.
But Radel thought differently.
‘The Lizardmen are leaving?’
After all the labor he had secured, they were just going to leave? He could not let that happen.
Radel began forming a plan to maintain the territory’s workforce.
***
“Whew, my dreams last night were really unsettling.”
“You too, brother? Same here. I planted potatoes, and would you believe it, someone dug up the field and stole the sprouts.”
“What? Even in a dream, who would dare lay hands on our potatoes?”
The Lizardmen woke up at dawn and went out to work the fields. It was an everyday routine, no different from usual.
In the distance, the fields they had carefully cultivated came into view. On one side, they could see the village farmers working alongside them.
They also saw Pirenzo wearing an apron and stirring a ladle, and Armandy preparing a hoe. As usual, the Lizardmen approached them to pick up their tools.
“We are taking the hoes.”
“Should we pull weeds over there today?”
But Pirenzo and Armandy’s reactions were different from usual.
“You are here.”
“Ah, you do not need to work anymore starting today.”
No need to work anymore? The Lizardmen’s eyes widened.
“What do you mean? No need to work?”
“The new road is finished. You are no longer prisoners, so there is no need for you to pull weeds or plant potatoes.”
They did not have to work the fields anymore. The Lizardmen felt strangely dazed.
“I see. So we can just go back now?”
“Yes. You have worked hard.”
“Take care.”
Pirenzo and Armandy greeted the Lizardmen and returned to their own tasks. Just yesterday, the Lizardmen had been crouched there, pulling weeds or planting potatoes.
And once the work was done, a delicious meal had awaited them. It had been a deeply rewarding time, equal to the sweat they shed.
Those things had been taken for granted until yesterday.
“With the days getting longer, we really should be pulling weeds diligently…….”
“Indeed, brother. Those weeds are stubborn.”
“Our potatoes…… will they endure among such rough weeds?”
They had thought they would be happy not to work.
But strangely, they felt worried. It even felt disappointing, as if the potato fields were being taken away from them.
As the Lizardmen left the fields, they kept looking back. The baby potatoes they had planted not long ago seemed to be waiting for them there…….
“Damn it, that is enough! Farming, of all things. It never suited us warriors in the first place!”
They shouted to shake off the feeling.
“That is right! What suits us is hunting!”
“Wooo!”
“Let us go, to our hunting grounds!”
The next place the Lizardmen headed to was the sea. The territory’s hunters were gathered there, their usual companions in monster hunting.
“Hahaha, you waited long, did you not? We are here!”
The Lizardmen greeted the hunters with hearty laughter, but the hunters looked troubled upon seeing them.
“You are here. But you do not need to hunt anymore.”
“What is that supposed to mean?”
“Thank you for everything, but we have grown accustomed to hunting ourselves…… and we cannot continue taking help from you now that you are no longer prisoners.”
The Lizardmen were flustered. Thinking about it, it made sense.
Even when they first went sea hunting, they had only done so because the human lord ordered it. From the humans’ perspective, this had been work as well.
“I-I see. Understood.”
“You really worked hard. Let us meet again.”
“……Yes.”
The Lizardmen trudged back to their temporary residential area. Lando Chau, the acting chieftain of the Chau tribe, felt just as drained.
They had completed the road promised to the human lord, and the pickaxe work was over. Naturally, he should now take the warriors back to the mountains.
‘What is this hollow feeling?’
It was strange. Having been freed from captivity, they should have been happy. Yet rather than enjoying freedom, he found himself wanting to do something more fulfilling.
Something like working…….
“What am I even thinking……?”
Lando Chau was startled by his own thoughts. How could he, as the acting chieftain, have such weak ideas?
The more he thought about it, the more absurd it seemed. He sat in his room, then abruptly stood up and went outside, feeling suffocated.
“……You?”
There, he encountered a visitor who had come to see him. It was the human lord of Raviedel.
***
Of course, it had been Radel who ordered that the Lizardmen stop working.
What would happen if Lizardmen who had come to know the satisfaction of labor were suddenly given no work at all?
Had they never known, it would have been different. But these were Lizardmen who had grown accustomed to labor. They were bound to be confused.
From Radel’s perspective, the Lizardmen were never a lazy race. They simply took pride as warriors, but they liked moving their bodies.
Moreover, they were quite satisfied as long as appropriate compensation was given. The fact that productivity increased when they were given bread in proportion to the weeds they pulled proved it.
Later, they even shared meat from monster hunts and mingled with the territory residents. They had come to understand the joy of working together.
Radel spotted Lando Chau stepping outside and smiled. Pretending to check whether they had already left, he spoke.
“You are still here?”
At Radel’s words, Lando Chau’s body trembled.
Just as Radel had expected. Even though they had the chance to return, they could not bring themselves to leave.
“Why are you still here instead of returning to the mountains?”
“I was going to go back! I am just resting for a moment!”
Lando Chau answered in a fluster. Seeing his reaction, Radel sighed as if he did not notice anything.
“Really? That is a shame. Our territory actually has a lot of work to do. We need many helping hands, and you all were a great help.”
“……Is that so?”
“Of course. What are we supposed to do now?”
As Radel lamented, he casually sat beside Lando Chau and asked,
“Your captive life is over, but would it be awkward to suggest working here a bit longer now that things turned out this way? Well, you probably prefer hunting and living in the mountains anyway. I did not mean to make you uncomfortable…… It cannot be helped.”
Radel brushed it off as if he had spoken unnecessarily and stood up.
At that moment, Lando Chau unconsciously grabbed Radel.
“Huh?”
When Radel reacted in surprise, Lando Chau cleared his throat and spoke.
“C-Cough, so…… how much are you willing to pay?”
Radel grinned.
It was time to reclaim the workforce that was about to walk out the door.