Easygoing Territory Defense by the Optimistic Lord

Dee blinked as she glanced sideways at the members of the Seato Village knight order, who were busily hauling wood into the central plaza with incredible speed.

“What are you planning to build by bringing all that timber into the central plaza? The castle walls aren’t even finished yet,” Dee asked.

I explained the urgency of the situation to her since she had taken the initiative to gather wood earlier and needed to understand the context.

“Goodness! That sounds serious…! But wouldn’t building the walls be more important?” she replied, still unable to shake her focus on defense.

That was understandable. In a world with demonic beasts, safety must come first. Still, not being able to take a bath was something I couldn’t overlook.

“Yes, I understand your point, Dee. But for today, improving our living conditions takes priority. Don’t worry, we’ll install ballistae on top of the fort as a proper defensive measure.”

“Hmm, if that’s the case, it should be fine… and we also have the armored carriage! Then, let’s gather the construction materials!”

Upon hearing my plan, Dee immediately switched gears and went to help with preparations. Truly admirable.

As I watched Dee running off, Kamushin spoke with an expectant look on his face.

“Lord Van, we’ve gathered a considerable amount of materials. What sort of building are you planning to construct?”

Behind Kamushin, I could almost see the word ‘excited’ hovering. He seemed eager for something new. After all, we had already built a star-shaped fortress, a massive Dwarf forge, Baroque-style structures, and even a triumphal arch all the way to the Yangming Gate, almost as a joke. What more could we possibly create?

Lost in thought, I suddenly recalled a famous place I had actually visited.

It was the strongest castle in Kyushu—Kumamoto Castle. I had also seen Osaka Castle and Nagoya Castle, but Kumamoto Castle was my most recent visit and thus freshest in my memory.

At the entrance, a bespectacled gentleman explained that the stone walls with their musha-gaeshi (warrior repelling) design reached twenty meters high. Beyond the large and small main keeps, there were enormous turrets. It was truly a fortress. While creating moats would take time, eventually, a long moat could be formed, making it the ultimate stronghold.

Seizing the moment, I immediately summoned the earth magicians, who were exhausted from building the walls. Meanwhile, the Seato Village knight order continued collecting materials, amassing them in heaps.

Standing before the stone and timber piles, I noticed the earth magicians looked a bit pale.

“First of all, I want to thank everyone who has worked so hard from day one. Truly, thank you,” I said with a bow.

The magicians seemed a little surprised. They probably thought I was an unusual noble. But since they were fairly high-level four element magicians, they were likely treated well by other nobles and didn’t typically show much humility.

“Now, one last job: I want you to create a mountain. The area is this entire plaza.”

When I announced this with a smile, I felt the color drain from everyone’s faces.

Just two hours later, a stone wall had been completed in the center of the plaza. By then, the magicians were sitting on the ground, completely spent. Feeling sorry for them, I asked Til to prepare a barbecue party. With enough materials on hand, the entire Seato Village knight order pitched in to set everything up.

“Alright,” I muttered, looking up at the massive stone wall like a towering skyscraper. The curved stone wall radiated an overwhelming sense of power. A huge steel gate stood at the front, now wide open.

A passage large enough for carriages ran inside the stone wall, where warehouses built from wooden blocks stood. Climbing the three-story warehouse, the rooftop matched the stone wall’s uppermost level. All that remained was to pave the floor with stone and enclose the sides with walls. Of course, it was a Japanese-style castle with a roof. There were protective shuttered windows, too.