Easygoing Territory Defense by the Optimistic Lord

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Starting with the castle walls and ballista, they heard the story of Dee slicing a dragon’s neck in one stroke, and then they asked about the sword as well.

As I answered those questions, they next asked to see my house, so apologizing to the villagers, we held a tour much like a housing exhibition.

"What are the walls and roof made of?"

"They are made of processed wood. It's a special material, so only Seato Village has it."

"What about durability and water resistance?"

"You can think of it as iron that doesn’t rust."

"…This furniture is made of ordinary wood, huh?"

"Yes, it's mostly handmade by the villagers."

"Then, what about this moat?"

"We all worked hard on it. The butler, Espada, was in charge of the moat, river, and foundation of the castle walls."

"…By the way, how many years did it take to build such a moat and castle walls?"

"Five months... no, practically four months, I guess?"

As I answered each question one by one, at last King Dino stopped and held his head with one hand.

"…Do you understand it now?"

"Not at all. If that’s the case, wouldn’t it be best to just show us how it's done?"

In their conversation, I exchanged glances with Espada and spoke up.

"Is there somewhere we can build?"

"How about the lake behind the village you mentioned earlier?"

"Yeah, let's do that."

After a brief discussion, I turned back to King Dino and the others.

"Then, let’s head to the lake behind the village."

"The lake. I saw it from above earlier. The view must be nice there."

The king also showed interest in the lake.

We cut through the village and decided to go to the lake through the back gate.

The bridge was lowered and the gate opened. There, a beautiful lake spread out, with boathouses and barns by the water and a peaceful ranch scene.

At the rest area’s gazebo next to the boathouse, elderly people were gathered, drinking tea.

As I was looking at the scene, I suddenly felt a wave of shock from behind.

"Th-this is…!?"

"No way…!"

Not only King Dino, but everyone was unsettled.

You see, along the water’s edge were fifty to sixty adult Apcalurus. Toward the center of the lake were about a hundred young Apcalurus, enjoying playing in the water.

"...They're increasing!"

I was shocked. The Apcaluru population was clearly growing. Could it be that Apcalurus grow to about ten years old in just three months after birth?

"Isn't that the son-in-law?"

"Oh, the son-in-law of Radapriora?"

"I haven’t seen you for a couple of days."

The Apcalurus noticed us and started making arbitrary comments.

I approached Radavesta and spoke.

"Radavesta, I’m not the son-in-law, okay? I’ve told you many times."

"My daughter Radapriora’s…"

"I’m not dissatisfied or anything, but I think Radapriora should marry a promising young Apcaluru of the same kind."

As Radavesta and I talked, King Dino and the others cautiously approached from behind.

"If my eyes don’t deceive me, those beings are the illusory species called Apcaluru."

"What a coincidence, Your Majesty. They do look like that to me as well."

Listening to their conversation behind me, I spoke to Radavesta.

"These Apcaluru have increased without me knowing—are they relatives or part of the clan?"

Radavesta shook his head.

"No, they are the Aft Tribe, living further upstream. They came to see me through tribal communications, and somehow made it to this lake. They liked it so much that they want to bring their clan. They arrived last night."

"Do they plan to live here?"

"Yes. Is it okay to let them live here?"

"There’s still plenty of space in the lake, so it’s fine."

As we talked, a plump Apcaluru swam over from behind Radavesta.

"So you are Baron Van, son-in-law of Radapriora and clan leader of this land? I am Aftbath, clan leader of the Aft Tribe. I heard from Radavesta about how wonderful this place is, and we too want to live here."

"Sure, no problem, but sometimes bring fish or underwater minerals, okay? Then I’ll build an extra boathouse."