The Burden of Reconstruction
Neromeltia remained hunched over the architectural plans, her head aching. While many sections of the city reconstruction designs had progressed considerably, the sheer number of critical matters left her unable to set them aside. The recent completion ceremony for the large-scale purification magic circle around the Demon Lord’s Castle had drawn cheers and toasts from many, yet countless other urgent issues still loomed without end in sight.
Construction of her own residence had long been postponed to an indefinite future. She had to focus on building the city hall for handling all important administrative work, barracks to train the army, workshops to produce every necessary iron and pottery tool for the city, and research facilities to develop magical and technological advancements. Half-finished structures with only walls and roofs would never function properly, and halting departmental work midway to rebuild would be unacceptable. Every building had to be constructed correctly from the start.
She first designated optimal locations for the most important structures, then designed a road network shaped for maximum convenience and efficiency. This was followed by plans for sturdy outer walls, and the very designs Neromeltia was now laboring over, her hands stained with ink, were precisely those walls. Beyond them lay planned farmlands, pastures, watchtowers, military outposts, inter-regional roads, and the checkpoints that would guard them. Even as countless minor issues inside the Demon Lord’s Castle remained unresolved, problems outside the walls sprawled in every direction.
And this was only the matter of constructing facilities. The multifaceted problems required to run an entire nation were vast enough to make the current issues seem like mere fractions.
One of those problems had just arrived.
“Hwaaaah…!!”
“Welcome back.”
“Hnn… Yesss…”
Lusteria staggered into the tent, her strength completely drained. The usual sight of her politely asking permission and greeting her master before carefully entering had vanished. Instead, she collapsed onto the bed the moment she stepped inside, utterly exhausted.
“Secretary, you are before our master. Mind your manners.”
“It’s fine, Beatrice. We’re past the point of such formalities, and I know how hard Lust has been working. I’d rather she rest comfortably whenever she can.”
Neromeltia was well aware of Lusteria’s efforts and had been carrying that concern in her heart. The day before, Lusteria had toured multiple construction sites in Neromeltia’s stead. After sunset, she had inspected safety measures, managed food supplies, handled personnel assignments, and worked through the night on administrative documents. At dawn, she had used levitation magic at the coastal cliff entrance of Under Barkus to transport massive quantities of supplies—flour sacks, apple crates, water barrels, potato bags, and more—all the way to the Demon Lord’s Castle.
Because the only entrance to Under Barkus was a steep coastal cliff, land transport was impossible, forcing someone capable of magic to handle the deliveries. This in turn required personnel with sufficient magical power to move large amounts of food at once. In the end, only Neromeltia, Lusteria, and Beatrice could perform the task. While some magicians existed among the Demonian survivors, they could not leave Under Barkus due to their duty of maintaining the artificial sun. Thus, all magical support for the Demon Lord’s Castle above ground had fallen to the three of them—and Lusteria had been shouldering most of it, including today.
With so many responsibilities constantly weighing on her, Lusteria could not help but grow increasingly exhausted. Though she appeared overwhelmingly powerful to those with limited lifespans, and though she was a pure-blooded demon who had risen from hell through a contract, even she would tire without proper rest or sleep over several days.
“Hnn… I’m all sticky… I want to bathe…”
“Then why not head down to Under Barkus, wash up, and take a nap? If you’ve been working without sleep, I should have sent Beatrice instead.”
“No! Someone must always—absolutely—without fail—stay by Master’s side! If we’re ambushed, we need someone willing to lay down their life to protect you!”
It was always like this. Determined never to lose her master again, Lusteria had drawn an unyielding line: twenty-four-hour close protection. Crawford, Lusteria, and Beatrice—the three trusted powerhouses—had agreed that at least one must always remain at the Demon Lord’s side. Even Lusteria, who worried it might be overprotective, had concurred, and Neromeltia respected their decision. Artis, who was not among the three, had also voiced his strong support.
Consequently, when Beatrice went to handle the food transport from Under Barkus, Lusteria had taken on the task herself rather than leave Neromeltia alone. Calling Crawford, who oversaw all construction and resident management, was out of the question, further narrowing their options.
“It’s all right, Master! If I rest a little and switch with Beatrice, I’ll get to spend some quiet time alone with you!”
“Of course, from evening onward you’ll be busy with personnel administration, so you’ll have to switch with me again soon.”
“It’s still unfair, Beatrice……”
“You are the secretary, and I am the maid. It is only natural.”
Once Beatrice relieved Lusteria, she would head to the supply division to train the cooking staff on food preparation and ingredient handling while overseeing their work. Neromeltia had personally assigned her this role, believing that Beatrice’s overflowing abilities should not be wasted merely standing guard. Even though her words carried a hint of teasing, Beatrice was shouldering a heavy workload as well.
“Ohohoho! In that case, I believe I can be of some assistance!”
Artis entered the tent with his usual hearty laugh. Wearing a triumphant smile, he exchanged a friendly glance with Lusteria before approaching Neromeltia and extending his hand. Long accustomed to his gentlemanly gestures, Neromeltia naturally offered hers, and Artis kissed the back of her hand with a slightly ticklish greeting.
“I offer my respect and reverence to the benevolent goddess who bestows equal love and grace upon all her people.”
“I praise the one who carries out her will beside our most precious Demon Goddess.”
“I extol the one who devotes her body to protecting our foundation, the Goddess of Luina.”
After bestowing the same hand-kiss upon Lusteria and Beatrice, Artis delivered his news in an old-fashioned, courteous manner. Neromeltia had grown somewhat used to being addressed as a goddess, but Lusteria blushed in embarrassment while Beatrice frowned slightly at the touch.
Standing properly before Neromeltia, Artis reported his good news.
“The goblins can now proceed with their work without my direct supervision! Of course, I’ve already selected and appointed capable goblins as managers for each department. From now on, I only need to receive progress reports from those managers and issue instructions accordingly. Aside from that, my only remaining duty is goblin education at scheduled times, so I suddenly have quite a bit of free time.”
“…Then……”
“I should be able to take over some of the secretary’s excessive workload starting today. Ohohoho!”
“Waaah! Artis, you’re the best!!”
Overjoyed to the point of tears, Lusteria bounced on the spot before throwing her arms around Artis in a tight hug. Buried deep in her ample bosom, Artis stood perfectly still, showing no sign of struggle despite clearly being unable to breathe. Given that goblins were only half the size of adult Demonians, Lusteria’s generous chest was overwhelmingly large for him—his head had vanished entirely between them. Yet he remained motionless.
Sensing something suspicious, Beatrice gave Lusteria a gentle warning.
“Secretary. The Goblin King appears to be somewhat uncomfortable.”
“Ah! I-I’m sorry, Artis! I haven’t bathed, so I probably smell of sweat… I got carried away with joy…!”
“Huu… N-no. Rather, this is a reward… Ahem! No, you don’t smell of sweat at all! Ehehehehe!”
Though his true intentions seemed rather dubious, Lusteria, oblivious, simply looked relieved at his words. Meanwhile, Artis’s excessive laughter and repeated sniffing made it clear he was enjoying himself immensely. When Beatrice shot him a suspicious glare, he quickly changed the subject.
“In any case, since Master’s reconstruction designs for the Demon Lord’s Castle have also advanced considerably, you probably won’t need to pick up your pen for a while. On the contrary, there’s an urgent matter that requires you to travel quite far, isn’t there?”
“You knew?”
“Ohohoho! How could I, who has absorbed every scrap of knowledge buried in Hemonigent, possibly not know?”
“What are you talking about?”
Artis spoke with clear implication, and Neromeltia responded with surprise, confirming his accuracy. Lusteria, the only one left out of the loop, grew curious and asked Artis directly.
“We’re short on building materials. Aside from rubble from the ruins, there’s nothing usable near the Demon Lord’s Castle.”
“Timber and stone. Without securing those, proper construction cannot proceed. Lust, you know this as well—we’re currently gathering usable stone from the ruins and using lime mined from Under Barkus to build temporary housing. While providing immediate shelter is fine, we cannot continue this way indefinitely.”
“Ah, you’re right! The civil engineering department’s report stated that the locally felled trees are completely unusable!”
“Exactly. Those trees are rotten and saturated with pollutants. They’re not only unsuitable as building materials but also release toxic smoke, making them useless even as firewood.”
Overwhelmed by her heavy workload, Lusteria had lacked the mental bandwidth to consider anything beyond personnel administration, her primary responsibility. Now understanding, she clapped her hands and nodded in agreement with her master. The workers currently assigned to construction were only collecting usable stone from the ruins to pave roads or build temporary shelters; they had made no further progress. While this alone would take considerable time, preparations for erecting proper buildings and walls needed to be completed in advance. Only after society’s foundations were somewhat stable could they afford to focus on farmlands and pastures beyond the walls.
Even with countless critical national affairs demanding attention, an urgent fire that could not be ignored had arisen, forcing everything else to be set aside. Fortunately, as Artis had said, Neromeltia had already handled a great deal through sheer effort, so most remaining tasks could be postponed without issue.
“First, I’ll head to the Dekastras Mountains. Most of the range is forested, making it convenient to survey for timber, and further down lie the dwarven settlements, which should help with stone procurement and recruiting skilled craftsmen.”
“Waaah! That’s a wonderful idea!”
Lusteria enthusiastically agreed, and Neromeltia smiled warmly at her adorable secretary. Yet her mind was not filled solely with hopeful thoughts. She always had to consider the worst-case scenario, and given the current atmosphere, that worst case was highly likely to come true. She sighed inwardly but could not show her anxiety to those who looked up to her.
Is there anything left intact…?