Episode 45 — History Moved Across the Monitor
The only sound echoing through the living room was the quiet, steady whir of high-performance cooling fans.
I was sitting in front of my newly assembled PC.
On the massive 4K monitor, a drone’s-eye view of New Felsen was displayed in all its glory. Orderly stone-paved streets, white-walled residential districts built with magic...
Every bit of it was born from the BS blueprints I’d stayed up all night drawing.
...Alright, the color temperature is perfect. At this resolution, I could probably see the nose hairs of the craftsmen on-site.
I took a sip of my ice-cold cola and leaned deep into my chair.
From outside the window, I could hear a distant, earth-shaking roar of cheers. Today was the inauguration ceremony for the new city—the day celebrating the completion of the residents' relocation.
Ding-dong.
The intercom rang. As expected, the monitor showed Bartos, clad in full plate armor and clutching the digital camera as if it were a sacred relic.
Master Zect! Please excuse my intrusion!
The moment he stepped into the living room, Bartos bowed with such intensity I thought his knees might hit the floor.
It is over... The ceremony has concluded without a hitch! The citizens were in tears as they touched their new homes. ...Master Zect, it truly should have been you standing upon that stage. I wanted you to see it firsthand—that whirlpool of joy, the brilliance of the water you unleashed with your own hands!
Bartos, I’ve told you a hundred times, I don’t want to be in the spotlight.
(Standing for hours in heavy clothes in the middle of a crowd sounds like a nightmare. Watching stupid videos at home is ten thousand times more meaningful.)
...To cast aside even such fame with such grace. I am in awe.
Bartos, as usual, settled on his own extreme interpretation and held out the digital camera.
I have captured everything with the Magic Recording Device you entrusted to me.
The video played on my TV screen.
The first person to appear was Elishua. She was on the podium, letting off magical sparks while winking at the camera and striking a series of poses at perfect angles.
I know this is her usual thing... but this is a historic ceremony, right? Why is she acting like she’s filming a promotional video for a solo concert?
Lady Elishua said, 'Since this will become historical record, I must preserve my most beautiful self for the future.'
For a while, it was just an Elishua PV (Ceremony Version), but then Gustav took the stage.
He looked out over the citizens and raised his voice.
'People of Felsen! This city is our pride! Using this miracle as our fuel, we begin our immortal march forward!'
The citizens thrust their fists into the air, chanting 'Lord Gustav!' and 'Lord Gustav!' with frantic devotion.
Watching that, I let out a sigh of relief.
Perfect. The name Zect wasn't mentioned once. Everything was being handled as the achievement of the Lord. My peace was officially secure.
...By the way, Bartos.
I pointed to an unusually gaudy, golden carriage visible in the corner of the footage.
That carriage in the corner with the tacky decorations... what’s that?
Bartos’s expression suddenly turned grim.
...Apparently, they are messengers from a low-ranking noble who came from the capital to inspect us without permission. Having heard that a frontier town has developed rapidly, they were spouting nonsense about 'investigating whether we are indulging in insolent luxuries.'
...Figures.
I looked at the footage with cold eyes and tapped the thick stack of files on my desk.
Inside were all the original copies of the water and sewage blueprints, the city layouts, and the magic plate specifications I’d created.
(I made the right call recovering all the original blueprints and blueprints I’d lent to Gustav.)
Bartos. ...The craftsmen on-site only have copies of the parts they actually need, right?
Yes. All originals are under your management, Master Zect. Even the Lord said, 'Zect should be the one to manage these.' Any copies given to the craftsmen were completely incinerated after the work was finished.
...Good call.
(A Kingdom is just a giant pile of heavy legacy systems. If you give people like that the source code, they’ll just rewrite it to suit their own convenience and then blame me when the bugs inevitably show up. ...I saw that happen way too many times at my old job. I’m done with that. Forever.)
I’m going to make this place a perfect closed environment and spend the rest of my life as a shut-in.
The ceremony on the monitor was reaching its climax.
Gustav turned the faucet of a public water station in the plaza.
The moment clear water gushed out with force, the roar of the citizens' cheers surged like a tremor.
At that exact moment, a notification sound chimed from my phone.
L-Points: +200,000,000L (City Operational Bonus: Launch Success)
...!!
There it is. Two hundred million points in one go.
Now, finally, that item is within my reach.
...Alright. Bartos, sorry, but that’s enough for today. I’m about to get busy.
I watched Bartos leave with high spirits, then opened Lumina Shopping with trembling fingers.
Aaaand... click!
Purchase Complete: The Throne of Sloth
With this, my shut-in life should be ironclad. I mean, it’s a throne, after all.
I don’t care what the Kingdom says or how many complainers start shouting; I’m just going to sit on this throne and drink my cola.
Meow. (You bought that just because of the name without even knowing what it is, didn't you?)
Tama, who was curled up on my lap, let out a purr that sounded exasperated yet somehow pleased.
A new OS called Felsen had just officially booted up.
I didn’t give a damn how the world changed. My peaceful sleep would be protected by my throne and my high-end PC.
Looking out the window at the city of Felsen, I couldn't help but let out a small, natural smile.
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