Atelier Tanaka

Book 4: Chapter 3 (1)

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Territory Pioneering 3

[Sophia-chan’s point of view]

After several days of travel by carriage, we finally arrived in Radius Grasslands.

More than a dozen nobles travelling along the roads in their grand carriages was truly a sight to behold. I had been put in Ester-sama’s carriage along with the Elf-san. Her’s was by far the classiest of them all.

It had only taken a day to travel this same distance along the dragon’s back, but I much preferred this slow, bumpy pace even if it took much longer. I’m much happier like this. Humans were never meant to fly.

Along the way, we were attacked by bandits, but among the normal nobles travelling with us, there were also exceptionally skilled students and teachers from a magical academy. Nobody travelling with us was injured in any way and, in fact, it was more of a one-sided slaughter. It was as if every mage accompanying us was using this attack as an opportunity to put their skills on display.

It was a little scary.

Like this, we arrived at Radius Grasslands….

Or, did we?

Something was clearly off.

“Hmm…are we in the right place?”

“Eh, oh, y-yes! I’m sure of it!”

Fahren-sama was questioning the driver of the lead carriage. The man had a similar constitution as me as I could see his face starting to turn blue as he stammered out a reply. I could understand Fahren-sama’s confusion as the scene in front of us was impossible to believe.

“Then, what is all of this…?”

After travelling along the well-worn path through the woods, we were suddenly face-to-face with a massive stone wall.

It stretched out as far as the eye could see and it looked as if the entire wall had been made out of one solid piece of stone as if it had been ripped from the very earth it was built on. Off in the distance, I could see what appeared to be a gate that would allow us to pass through to the other side.

I visited the Radius Grasslands with Tanaka-san before but don’t recall seeing anything like this before. Is this really the same area the Pussy Republic and Penny Empire fought previously? Fahren-sama seems to believe we’re in the right place but the coachman must have taken us to a city close to Tanaka-san’s territory.

“Well, whatever is going on here has me worried. We need to speak with whoever is in charge.”

Fahren-sama climbed down from the carriage and began a brisk walk toward the gate.

“Yes, I agree.”

“O-O-Oi….”

Ester-sama quickly followed after him with the Elf-san hesitating slightly before reluctantly joining them. I had no choice but to follow after them. There were many nobles here with their attendants so there was no need to worry about leaving someone behind to watch our carriage.

Many of the other nobles actually followed Fahren-sama’s actions and left their servants behind to care for the carriages. There wasn’t a single teacher or student of the academy that chose to stay behind. This strange wall just added to the curiosity that had already been building in each of them. Nannuzzi-sama led this group behind us.

“What…is this…?”

It didn’t take us long to reach the gate and Fahren-sama, who had been maintaining a swift pace, was the first to pass through it not far ahead of the main group. He stopped dead in his tracks and stood with his mouth agape staring at the wondrous sight that awaited him beyond the wall.

Our small group caught up to Fahren-sama and a similar reaction to his own quickly spread across our faces. The larger group of nobles passed through the gate shortly after us and each of them had the same astounded look on their faces that wasn’t befitting someone of their status. Naturally, I was just as shocked as everyone else.

“I-Is this a town?”

“Was there a town here? And who are all these people…?”

“F-Fahren-sama, who are these people? And I don’t recall ever hearing anything about a town like this existing so close to Tricklis.”

Even Nannuzzi-sama couldn’t hide her astonishment.

“Well, I umm….”

It was rare for Fahren-sama to be at a loss for words.

The nobles, faculty, and students alike all stared at him in amazement.

“Oh, is that you, Fahren-san? What are you doing here?”

The voice came from the direction of a building where I could just make out the silhouette of a person standing in the shadows.

It was a voice I felt I hadn’t heard in a long time when, in truth, it had only been a dozen or so days.

***

Some of Gonzalez’s macho men reported to me that a sizable group of people had appeared outside our walls. I was worried that they may be representatives from the Pussy Republic come to complain about me building so close to their borders, but I was told that they were citizens of the Penny Empire and had arrived here in luxurious carriages.

I quickly dropped what I was doing and made my way down to the outer gate. I was surprised to see a group lead by several people I recognized. The noble mage, Ester-chan, Sophia-chan, Edita Sensei, and a familiar older woman.

“Oh, is that you, Fahren-san? What are you doing here?”

I voiced my surprise as I walked down the paved road towards them. The other party was in more of a rush.

The large group all came rushing through the gates towards me. Behind the faces I recognized was a large group of nobles and students. It looked like the noble mage was a guide for a group of tourists. I don’t remember making an announcement about our grand opening yet, so I’m not exactly sure why they’re here.

“O-Oi, what is going on here!?”

“Well, that’s what I was going to say….”

I had several questions that I wanted to ask but the bloodshot eyes of the noble mage told me that I’d have to wait before asking them. I’ll just have to explain everything.

“Well, a lot has happened while I’ve been here and I originally decided I’d need a town here if I ever wanted this place to be a success. So I started building a town and had initially planned on something smaller but as you can see, I got a little carried away.”

“A…t-town? That can’t be….”

“Yeah, it was a lot of work and I’ve had to go the last few days without sleeping to get it to this point, but despite all of the hardships, I’ve never before felt quite as fulfilled as I have over these last several days. I can understand your passion for airships now.”

“…t-that’s not what I meant. You…built this place?”

“Me and members of the Twilight Company. Ah, she was also a big help.”

I saw Christina in the corner of my eye and pointed her out. She must have been on a break as she was casually walking around with a glass of juice seemingly admiring her own work.

I can understand that feeling, loligon.

My opinion of that girl has increased dramatically over the past few days.

It’s to the point now where I’d want to invite her out to eat after a long day of work.

“ But t-this was an empty field just last week….”

“Stone Wall is a simple to use magic. I wasn’t expecting much from it at first, but it turned out to be incredibly versatile and I was able to accomplish much more than I expected.”

“You c-can’t be serious. You built all of this using Stone Wall?”

“The finer details were made by the other men here using hand tools.”

“Don’t be ridiculous! A Stone Wall wouldn’t remain standing for that many days.”

“Oh? Is that true?”

But this is my first time ever using this magic.

The loligon never said anything about this though.

Will all of my walls come crumbling down? Did my beautiful town come with an unseen expiration date? That’s too horrible a truth to accept. Even if it will all collapse some day, I want it to at least last a year.

“No, if it’s your magic or that dragon’s it could be….”

I’ll have to worry about increasing the lifespan of my town later.

“For now, let’s put that issue to the side. Please, follow me and I’ll show you around.”

“A-All right….”

All of the nobles followed after me with the noble mage at the front.

I wasn’t planning on opening for a few more days but they’ve left me no choice. I guess I can just use them as practice for our official opening. With this thought in mind, I guided them down the main road through town.

“Hou…are these concentric walls?”

“Oh, yeah, that’s just how things turned out.”

The nobles following behind me reminded me of citizens of smaller villages in Japan coming to visit Tokyo for the first time. Their eyes were constantly snapping from place to place, never resting on any one thing for too long as they tried to take in as much as possible. I could hear a few of them discussing the specifics of my town and I could only hear good things coming from them. I was overjoyed to hear them praising my hard work.

I was doing my best to be a good guide, but I couldn’t help but feel nervous whenever their eyes would settle on me for a few seconds.

It should go without saying, but the capital city of Kalis is far more advanced than any other city in the country. My town may have its own unique points, but it was still a town that had been mostly constructed out of plain stone slabs. It probably looked like Mohenjo-daro not long after it was abandoned, and I was starting to feel embarrassed about how much they were staring at everything. They may have at first been impressed by a full town being created in a week, but the rough nature of many of the buildings was starting to become their main focus.

Thanks to the Twilight Company’s efforts, we were at least able to create a facade that resembled a real town. That macho army really did a great job.

“U-Umm, is this what you’ve been up to since I left?”

Ester-chan pushed her way to the front of the crowd and spoke.

“Yeah, that’s right.”

“…for me.”

The blonde loli was left in a dazed state as she seemed to be misunderstanding something. If I did this for anyone, I did it for myself, but I’ll allow her to live in the peaceful bliss of her delusion.

I had noticed earlier, but Nannuzzi-san had been looking ill since she arrived and her face had steadily grown paler.

“Are you okay? If you’re sick, I can show you to a bed so you can rest.”

“Eh? Oh, that’s not necessary! I’m fine!”

“Are you sure? Well, if it becomes too much for you, just speak up and we can find somewhere for you to rest. I will say that the accommodations here are inferior to what you’re used to at the academy.”

“O-Oh, that’s fine. Thank you for your concern.”

“It’s no problem.”

I can’t force her if she says she’s fine.

I just gave her a slight nod and took a step back.

If I think about it in another way, I was essentially inviting her to bed. Erotic.

The only people left that I recognized were Sophia-chan and Edita Sensei who were standing next to each other and had yet to say anything. It was amazing seeing these two beauties in their own right standing next to each other. My loli max sensei and Sophia-chan, the beautiful girl of marriageable age. The value of each of them doubles when in a set.

As their host, I have to be sure to treat them well.

I hope that you will enjoy the hot baths in our town and become addicted to the immeasurable pleasures that they bring. If they both choose to live here, I can live the rest of my life with no regrets. I could then devote all of my efforts to the challenge of mixed bathing with that blonde loli some day.

Edita Sensei sitting on the edge of the bath.

I want my head to be sandwiched between those thighs.

“It’s been a while Edita-san, Sophia-san.”

“Itta! I-It..tas! It has been a long time, hasn’t it!”

“Umm…i-it’s been a long time, Tanaka-san.”

Edita Sensei was incredibly tense while Sophia-chan was trying to avoid looking at me. Did something happen while I’ve been gone? I’ll start with Sophia-chan as she’ll be the easiest to address.

“I’m sorry that I left so suddenly without a word. I’m sure it’s caused many problems for you, Sophia-san, and I want you to know that I’m sorry. I wish I would’ve at least left a note for you.”

“Y-You don’t need to apologize! Umm, really, it’s fine!”

“Really? That’s a relief to hear.”

Even though she’s saying that she still feels like she’s trying to keep her distance from me.

Something must have happened after all.

I feel Allen’s presence here even though he’s nowhere in sight.

I enjoyed building a town, but with everything going on here, I’d forgotten about my life in Kalis.