The Road to Heron
“You’re planning to build a main road running below Morta and Enol?”
After the two village chiefs departed, the next person summoned was Builder. He had just finished the construction in Morta Village and was now shuttling back and forth to Enol, looking as though he could use a second body.
“I’m going to make a wide, sturdy road that won’t even flinch under several carriages at once. To reach Heron, we currently have to go around the territory, which wastes too much time and carries a high risk of accidents. Monsters sometimes appear along the way, too.”
Chloe asked the question while recalling the map of the Grace region she had seen in the study. Heron lay to the east of Grace Territory. Despite the cold climate, its fertile land and lack of monsters had allowed commerce to flourish.
“Yes, travelers often suffer serious injuries because of that.”
“That’s why I want to build a wide, safe road and collect tolls.”
Builder’s body trembled with an indescribable sense of anticipation, even though he still couldn’t quite grasp the full scope of the plan. He had already found it hard to believe when he was asked to repair houses. Now he was being entrusted with a project of this scale. It felt like a dream.
“The construction costs won’t be small,” Scrooge said with a worried expression. His deeply furrowed brow suggested he was already calculating the expenses. It was a most appropriate attitude for the financial officer.
“Don’t worry about the cost. I can cover however much we need. And don’t ask where the money came from—you’ll only get hurt if you know. By the way, how’s the vault construction going?”
After boasting about her wealth, Chloe’s curiosity about the vault returned. She wondered what kind of vault the blacksmith—Smith or Smashing, was it?—would produce. Converting an entire room into a vault wouldn’t be easy.
According to Scrooge, the man’s face had lit up for the first time in three years when he received the details.
“He came by at dawn today to measure the room. He’s a diligent fellow, so I’m certain he’ll deliver satisfactory results.”
Scrooge spoke with the pride of someone who had been given the task himself, yet he also felt a quiet joy at the steadily growing finances of the territory, like fresh snow piling up overnight. At the same time, every time he saw the overflowing gold coins, he couldn’t help feeling anxious because he had no idea where they had come from.
But with the lord speaking so firmly, he could no longer ask any further questions.
“Recruit the workers from within our own territory.”
“From Lasen and Huka Villages as well, not just Morta and Enol?”
“Yes. From there, too.”
Chloe nodded naturally, even though she didn’t know much about Lasen and Huka. They were probably among the few villages that hadn’t fallen into Patrasche’s hands.
While she was wondering when she might visit those villages, she suddenly remembered the mercenary recruitment order she had given recently.
“How’s the mercenary recruitment going?”
“They’ve been arriving steadily since yesterday.”
Red Bear, who had been standing stiffly like a telephone pole in one corner of the office, answered immediately, as though he had been waiting for the question. The recruitment had been entrusted entirely to him.
“Will two hundred be difficult to gather?”
At Chloe’s question, Red Bear’s expression darkened.
“There seems to be a shortage of capable mercenaries. Quite a few of those who showed up don’t look like mercenaries no matter how I examine them.”
“Where are they from?”
“Most came from Lasen and Huka, with a few from Idor and Fron as well.”
“Then don’t send them back. Use them as construction workers instead. They probably came because they needed money right away. Ah, do we have enough rooms for the mercenaries and workers to stay in?”
Chloe knew Grace Castle was fairly large, but she had no idea how many rooms it actually contained.
Scrooge frowned slightly as he thought for a moment, then nodded.
“If we put four people in each room, we can accommodate them all. There are still many rooms left that the servants used to use.”
“How many rooms does Grace Castle have in total?”
Unable to contain her curiosity, Chloe asked while pretending to search her memory.
“Including the servants’ quarters, there are about one hundred and fifty rooms.”
“One—one hundred and fifty?”
“I’m sorry. More than fifty rooms have become unusable because they weren’t maintained properly.”
Scrooge quickly added the explanation, assuming Chloe was angry about the reduced number of rooms.
But Chloe was seriously considering something else.
Should I turn this place into a hotel?
“My lord, Helsa has come to speak with you.”
Just as she was earnestly pondering whether renovating the castle could turn it into a hotel, Delma’s voice suddenly broke in.
Delma had knocked and greeted her properly, but Chloe, lost in thought, hadn’t heard.
“Helsa?”
The name she had given while thinking of the Winter Kingdom and a health club came to mind, along with the image of the tall woman who laughed so brightly.
“Yes. She’s been waiting since morning.”
“Tell her to come in.”
“Yes!”
Delma quickly opened the office door and called Helsa inside.
Helsa walked straight into the room without looking around curiously like the village chiefs who had visited for the first time. There was something different about her compared to the people who worked here—ease, confidence, and clear eyes. It wasn’t just because of her muscular build and tall stature. Chloe watched her closely as she approached and bowed her head respectfully. The more she looked, the more intriguing the woman seemed.
“You wanted to see me?”
“Yes, my lord.”
Helsa’s voice was firm.
“Is the Dural harvest going well?”
“Yes. In addition to the Dural field you discovered, we’ve found two more. They’re closer to the Black Forest, but there’s no problem during the day, and they’re twice as large as the first one.”
“Really? That’s wonderful! If you need more workers, just say the word. We’ll be getting reinforcements soon.”
Chloe couldn’t hide her joy.
“How did you find them?”
“Helsa discovered them while scouting the area,” Delma answered proudly on Helsa’s behalf. Helsa smiled awkwardly, as though embarrassed by the praise, and fiddled with her hair for no reason. She looked just like a shy young girl.
“Financial Officer!”
“Yes, my lord!”
Scrooge, who had been just as delighted by the news of the newly discovered Dural fields, answered promptly without wiping the smile from his face.
“Give Helsa a special bonus of two gold coins.”
“Pardon? Two gold coins?”
“Yes. Why? She discovered an enormous Dural field. I think she deserves at least that much, don’t you?”
Everyone in the office stared with their mouths agape as they watched Chloe shrug her shoulders as if it were only natural. Two gold coins was a huge sum that a maid would have to save for several years to even touch.
But Helsa, whom they had expected to be overjoyed, answered with a calm expression.
“I will gratefully accept what you give me. However, I didn’t accomplish this alone. I’ll divide the reward equally with my companions.”
“How many people were with you when you found the field?”
“Just in case, ten of us moved together.”
“Then each person will only get two silver coins?”
“Yes. That’s more than enough. If I receive too much, I’ll feel anxious and won’t be able to sleep at night.”
Helsa answered with a good-natured smile, her unusually white teeth showing neatly between her full lips. The more Chloe saw of her, the more she liked her.
“All right. Then from now on, I’ll make sure to give special bonuses to more people, more often.”
“Thank you.”
“Is there anything else you wanted to say?”
Chloe asked as she looked at Helsa, who remained standing instead of leaving right away. She didn’t seem like someone who wanted anything more.
“Yes. The fertilizer made from Dural leaves has been completed.”
When Handsome had told her that Helsa had been put in charge of fertilizer production, Chloe had wondered if the task was far beneath her abilities. But Helsa had always given her best to whatever work she was given, and she truly looked happy whenever she was farming.
Since Helsa had started the work, Chloe had expected it to take several days, possibly even weeks. Yet Helsa’s success had come much sooner than anticipated.
“Really? I thought it would take at least another week.”
It hadn’t even been many days since she ordered the fertilizer to be made. In that short time, Helsa had already produced fertilizer using Dural leaves and Mohr moss.
“When we mixed Mohr moss with the Dural leaves, the compost formed at an incredibly fast rate. At first I thought adding more Mohr moss would make it even faster, but that wasn’t the case.”
It seemed the women’s collection of Mohr moss had also been successful. Chloe smiled contentedly as she thought of them happily receiving their daily wages.
“There must have been an optimal ratio.”
“Yes. I wrote it down.”
Helsa held out a sheet of paper she had prepared in advance.
On the small piece of paper, which looked as though it had been torn from a notebook, the exact ratio for making fertilizer was written in elegant handwriting.
The moment Chloe saw her penmanship, she became certain that Helsa was no ordinary servant.
“Helsa, how long have you been working at Grace Castle?”
“This year marks my fifth year.”
Helsa answered in a calm voice.
“May I ask your age?”
“I’m thirty.”
“So you entered Grace Castle when you were around twenty-five. I’m curious what you did before that. Would you answer if I asked?”
“If it is your command, I will answer, but I would appreciate it if you could give me a little more time.”
Chloe felt strangely satisfied just hearing that response.
“Of course. Tell me whenever you feel ready. I have no intention of forcing you to speak.”
This time, Helsa looked slightly surprised. She had expected Chloe to demand an answer regardless, so she hadn’t imagined hearing such words.
“You really should receive a reward for completing the Dural fertilizer, though.”
“I only followed the method you taught me. I didn’t put in enough effort to deserve a reward.”
Helsa answered firmly.
Chloe found herself liking Helsa more and more.
“Then how about treating all the hardworking servants to a grand banquet?”
“A—a banquet?”
Helsa’s eyes widened. She hadn’t even blinked when offered two gold coins.
“Yes, a banquet. I’ll have the tables piled high with food until the legs break.”
“Will we be able to eat fried Dural too?”
Helsa clasped her hands together as if praying and asked with sparkling eyes. Steamed Dural was easy to make, but frying it wasn’t. Oil was far too expensive.
“I’ll have mountains of fried Dural prepared.”
“Hah!”
Helsa covered her mouth with her large hands in delight.
“I’ll also have all kinds of fried dumplings served.”
“Dumplings?”
Dumplings were a food that didn’t exist here.
The instant noodles that were always available in the servants’ dining hall had already been a strange and wonderful food, so everyone was very curious about what dumplings would be like.
“They’re delicious. You can fry them, steam them, or eat them in red soup.”
Even without knowing what they were, Helsa swallowed hard.