“… And that’s the situation. So there’s no need to be on guard.”
“Hee~? I mean, they don’t really look like Acht in shape or size, but they do have a stony body just like him.”
After Sechs and Sieben had looked down from above to check the terrain, Drei brought them down to the ground. He then detached the rectangular container that the two brothers were in and quickly set off back home. Drei who could fly seemed to be particularly busy among the siblings.
The sides of the container had sliding doors, and the two emerged from there. Seeing the two who were larger than any of us, both the demons who were still awake and those just roused from sleep reflexively readied their weapons.
I hastily explained about the two of them. Upon closer inspection, several features such as the milky-white smooth texture and the blue areas where their eyes would be matched Acht’s characteristics. The tension between my comrades dissipated in an instant.
“Let me introduce myself again, I’m Sieben. Nice to meet you! Come on, big brother!”
“…I’m Sechs.”
The cheerful Sieben introduced himself brightly, while the quiet Sechs did so concisely. From just this, one could glean the essence of their personalities. Still, it felt as though Sechs used too few words.
“Anyway, take a look at this. Here we go.”
Sieben who was used to Sechs’ silence nonchalantly activated the lights in both of his eyes. At the same time, Sechs’ eyes also began to glow. When the blue light emitted from their eyes intersected, a three-dimensional hologram appeared; it was similar to the one Zwei had previously shown.
Since everyone had seen a hologram at least once before, there was no panic this time; they simply looked up with interest.
The hologram displayed was a collection of irregularly placed squares and distorted rectangles. Having traveled with the two of them before, I knew exactly what it represented.
“This is a top-down view of the place. These constructions look a bit rough since an amateur made them, but don’t worry. With Master’s design, our skills, and your cooperation, we’ll turn it into the finest city on the continent!”
“…Leave it to us, if you want.”
“They both say the same thing. When it comes to construction, please follow their instructions.”
The rectangles represented our homes, and the distorted squares were the fields. As Sieben mentioned, it was obvious that an amateur had hastily put it together. When I looked down from above, even I couldn’t help but smile bitterly at the sight.
Improvements were clearly needed. “Leave it to us,” Sieben said cheerfully, and Sechs said calmly but both of them exuded confidence. The fact that they were showing so much confidence must be backed by solid skills. I urged everyone to follow their lead.
Due to both their demeanor and my persuasion, my comrades agreed to follow their instructions. However, we weren’t going to start work immediately. They had arrived at dawn, and it was getting hotter by the minute. We planned to discuss the construction and other details now and begin the actual work when it cooled down.
“Since you’ve left it all to us, let me explain. I heard there’s a huge creature called the giant earthworm living here, so we need to extend the city walls deep underground. It’s going to be tough…”
“Safety cannot be compromised. Prioritize sturdiness.”
“Got it. And here’s the structure of the town we’ve come up with.”
Sechs and Sieben again crossed beams of light from their eyes and they created a three-dimensional hologram. It displayed a round city wall and numerous square fields spreading out beyond it.
“Making it round must be for easier defense, but do the fields really need to be in such neat shapes?”
“There is a reason. It’s easier to maintain if they’re in neat shapes… at least that’s what Master said, so it must be right.”
Tigar looked at the neatly squared fields and asked this genuine question, but Sieben responded by quoting Aiwass. According to Ein, Aiwass was said to be the seventh most knowledgeable person in the world. If such a knowledgeable person said that it would be easier to maintain, it would be wise to accept his words as the truth.
None of the others, including myself, showed any resistance. Most of them did not know anything about agriculture, and those who knew were mostly children. Both the adults who had no clue and the children could only think, “Is that so?
“Also, I want to create a water source in the center of the town. I heard it from Master. Didn’t you get a seed from a tree that produces water by itself?”
“Yes, we received it from the ‘Mountain God’.”
“Let’s plant it then. We’ll see how much water it produces and decide based on that.”
“Plant it? How many years do you think it will take to sprout and grow?”
“No, no, don’t underestimate Master! Just look at this.”
With these words, Sieben extended one of his six arms in a quick motion. As he slowly opened his clenched fist, he revealed a small glass vial in his palm. It was certainly a high-quality product since it was made of glass, but there was a faint blue liquid swaying inside. What could it be?
“This is a plant growth accelerator. If you apply it to a seed, it’ll grow into a sapling within the day.”
“That’s an incredible substance, but… wouldn’t it wither from being forced to grow so quickly?”
“No worries there. Master has tested it several times to adjust it so it won’t wither. Actually, the limit without forcing it too much is just up to a sapling.”
When Decius heard that a sapling could grow in just one day, he wondered if that might be too much stress for the plant. His concern was valid, but Sieben said there was no problem. Apparently, Aiwass had originally intended to develop a substance that could grow a tree to full maturity instantly but had settled for less in consideration of the plant’s well-being.
For us too, the plant given by the “Mountain God”, especially the great spring tree known to produce water, was a crop we dearly hoped would grow quickly. If it could be brought to the sapling stage in just one day, it would indeed be a welcome help.
“If you have any other questions, feel free to ask at any time. Now, here’s something we need from you.”
“Something you need?”
“Yes. You wanted me to create a base for our master as well, right? About that….it turns out he wants to build it on the island with an oasis floating in the sand sea.”
He wanted to build a base on the island with an oasis, the same place we had given up on. Perhaps because he knew the situation well, Sieben sounded apologetic.
I felt no anger, and neither did my companions. What we experienced was confusion and concern. Why? Because the reason we abandoned the island was due to its dangers.
“No… Is he really okay with that? Didn’t we get struck by a sandstorm over the sand sea?”
When we were hit by the sandstorm, it was impossible to go outside. The walls of the buildings were being scraped away, and the island on the sand sea would likely rock violently if plunged into a sandstorm. I wondered if it was really feasible to build and live on such an island.
“We can handle that part. But indeed, it’s difficult for just us to do the work.”
“So, you want help when the time comes. Naturally, we’ll lend our strength.”
But my worries seemed unnecessary. With Aiwas’ knowledge and technology, it was possible to prepare for sandstorms. If he was confident, it wasn’t up to us to interfere.
When Aiwas asked me to help him build his mansion, I should have agreed to that request unconditionally. Originally, we had planned to build Aiwas’s mansion ourselves. And it was natural for us to help since he was helping us as well.
“Alright! Let’s decide on the plans going forward!”
Sieben then confidently outlined the construction plans while addressing any questions we amateurs might have had.
During this, the usually silent Sechs stood with his arms crossed and didn’t say anything. Strangely enough, he was surrounded by cats. Perhaps they thought he was a statue because he was so still? They were climbing on him and sharpening their claws as they pleased.
But Sechs silently tolerated it all. Though quiet, he must be very kind-hearted. Many of us watched such a sight with a wry smile.
*******
TN: 300 chapters!
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