Published: January 13, 2026
Thanks to paving most of the mountain roads, we were able to return to Seato Village at more than three times the usual speed. Although I was worried about demonic beasts along the way, Ort and the others surprisingly agreed to escort us at a very low cost, so we arrived safely without any surprise attacks from demonic beasts.
“Lord Van, welcome back.”
“I'm home, Espada.”
Greeted by the Espada, I took a bath to wash off the sweat. Before I knew it, preparations for a grand barbecue party were already complete.
Huh? I didn’t give any instructions for this, did I?
While I was wondering about this, I found myself standing in front of a brightly burning fire, holding a skewer of meat, looking around at the Seato villagers with shining eyes.
“...Then, to celebrate the safe return of the Seato knight order, we will hold a grand barbecue party!”
“Wooooo!”
In a situation I didn’t quite understand, I gave a spontaneous opening speech, and everyone eagerly held their meat skewers to the fire. The aroma of the finest meat grilling spread instantly, and the villagers’ excitement reached its peak.
“Let’s eat!”
“Yes!”
After a toast, the grilled meat was quickly passed around to the villagers’ mouths.
The main street of Seato Village, where the barbecue was held, was filled with cheers and joyful laughter.
“This is delicious, Lord Van.”
Arte, sitting next to me eating meat and fruit, said that as I nodded and tilted my head in puzzlement.
“Yeah, it’s delicious, but... I was surprised when the barbecue party suddenly started. Who was the one to suggest it?”
As I asked with a wry smile, Arte blinked and looked at my face.
“Huh? I heard you said you wanted to have a barbecue party when you were in the bath, Lord Van...”
Hearing Arte’s surprised words, I nodded vaguely and spoke.
“Ah, right... I think I told Kamushin that I wanted to eat some meat. I see, they must have taken the hint and planned the barbecue party.”
Nodding a few times, I put some well-grilled meat into my mouth.
Yeah, delicious. After all, Van-kun’s special sauce is the best.
Afterward, I handled all the accumulated work each day.
“Lord Van! Our population increased by a thousand new residents, and we don’t have enough houses!”
“Lord Van! The Dwarves are making a fuss about wanting to forge Orichalcum weapons!”
“Lord Van! We can’t keep up with selling demonic beast materials! The commerce guild said they will dispatch staff to help with sorting and transportation!”
Various requests and opinions poured in, and I was running around dealing with them in chaos.
“For families with three or more members, should we build detached houses? For one or two people, is it okay to have apartment-style housing?”
“Radavesta-san, we haven’t received any ore from you yet, right? What? You have some? Then, tell them I want a cool spear.”
“It’s great that the commerce guild people want to help, but how much is the salary? What? One gold coin a month? That’s expensive! Let’s hire two people for one gold coin. If not, I’ll talk to the mary trading company. Send a letter to Apollo!”
With that kind of back-and-forth, I ran around for three days straight. I barely had time for meal breaks, and after dinner, I learned swordsmanship and scholarship from cheerful Dee and expressionless Espada.
By the time I went to bed, I was completely exhausted.
“I’m so tired... I should have stayed for the fortress assault in Yelinetta Kingdom...”
Half-floating in the large bathhouse that was reserved for us, I murmured.
“Good work.”
Kamushin politely bowed and showed his concern. I felt like crying.
“Next... there’s a request from Apcaluru and the others to build underwater residential facilities, and Bell Rango Trading Company wants additional warehouse construction. Oh, and there’s also a request to increase roads within Seato Village.”
I counted off the things I still had to do on my fingers. I felt like crying.
“Underwater buildings... If possible, I’d like to build something like a lake-bottom temple for fun, but building underwater is difficult, right? Maybe wear something like a fishbowl and have Radapriora pull me along... No, that would definitely end in mischief, so I won’t.”