Chapter 84
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Translator: Prime Works
Chapter: 84
Chapter Title: Julian Frontera (1)
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"Let's start from here, shall we?"
It was an unusually sunny afternoon.
Under the blazing winter sun like that, Lloyd made a hand shade.
He narrowed his eyes in the shadow of his hand.
And looked around the Majena River.
'Survey.'
Zuzuzuzu!
A mystical energy settled in his eyes.
At the same time, his vision changed.
Countless pieces of information popped up over the original scenery.
It was like viewing the world through augmented reality.
Thanks to that, Lloyd could easily grasp the terrain information stretching along the Majena River.
'The sloped riverbanks are covered in neat stone paving. Above the riverbanks is a path for people and carriages, and right across the path are buildings... Hmm, this is going to be pretty tight.'
The Majena River, which cut through the center of the capital like the Han River.
But there was one difference from the Han.
The city stretched right up to the riverbank.
In fact, the distance from the riverbank to the roads where people walked and to the houses was as little as about 10 meters in the narrowest spots.
'In that sense, it's more like the Seine in Paris, France, or the Danube in Budapest, Hungary, than the Han.'
He had never actually been to Paris or Budapest.
But he had seen materials related to urban development cases.
Anyway, thanks to that, the place where he was attempting the survey now was far from serene.
It was a million light-years away from some deserted riverbank.
A horse pulling a carriage passed right by.
It neighed "Puhhing!" and snorted through its nose.
As a finale, it generously splattered horse dung and moved on.
And that wasn't the end.
Countless pedestrians were passing by.
It was like looking at Hongdae streets on a Friday evening.
Even more, most of the passing crowd stopped in their tracks. They gathered in groups of twos and threes, chattering and gossiping, throwing glances this way.
"Oh my? Look at that guy."
"How can a person be so handsome, like a sculpture?"
"The sunlight shines brighter because of him...."
"Hmm, impressive. A radiant appearance that reminds me of my younger days."
"Sir Gatekeeper, your looks are still shining bright."
"Hahaha, is that so?"
"Yes, your crown gleams sparklingly."
"Ahem! You, do you not want to come to work starting tomorrow?"
...Murmurs like that poured out endlessly. Of course, dozens, hundreds of eyes from men, women, young and old sparkled toward this side.
And the target of all those gazes was one place.
Haviel's face.
'Phew, this is driving me crazy.'
Lloyd let out a deep sigh.
And shot a resentful glance to the side.
"Hey."
"You called, Lord Lloyd?"
"Yeah, I did."
"What is it?"
Haviel replied toward this side with his usual calm, cool expression.
Lloyd shot a jab at such Haviel.
"What is it? Can't you just follow a bit behind me?"
"Pardon?"
"Pardon what? Look over there."
"......"
"What do you see?"
"People."
"Right? And what are the people doing?"
"They're murmuring while looking this way."
"If it were you, you'd hear every single detail of those murmurs, right?"
"Of course."
"So, don't you feel anything?"
"I do."
Haviel replied as if it were obvious.
"Before returning to the lodgings prepared in the palace, I think I need to get a basket."
"A basket?"
"Yes."
"Why a basket? To cover your head and hide your face?"
A snickering smile bloomed on Lloyd's lips.
What a sensible thought from this guy. Impressive.
The people gathering in groups to gawk at him, especially the women still increasing in real-time. His mind had been a mess because of those women who seemed ready to form a Haviel fan club on the spot. The surveying work had been interrupted.
"If you're going to wear it, a big one to cover tightly would be even better."
He threw a joke with a grin.
But for some reason, Haviel didn't laugh.
Instead, he tilted his head as if asking what that meant.
"Wear it on my head? Why would I need to hide my face?"
"......Huh?"
"I'm telling you in advance, but it's not for that purpose."
"Then?"
"To carry the things I'll receive back to the lodgings comfortably."
"The things you'll receive... you don't mean...."
"Yes, love letters."
"......"
"When there are only a few letters, it's manageable. But when they pile up, it becomes a problem. The stationery and envelopes come in all sorts of sizes. Plus, quite a few people hastily write notes on the spot and hand them over."
"So, you're going to get a basket for transporting love letters?"
"Yes."
"......"
Haviel nodded so confidently. He acted as if this situation was utterly natural.
Lloyd unconsciously bit his lower lip.
'Ugh, damn pretty boys.'
Scummy, underhanded bastards.
I hope they all get hemorrhoids later.
And chronic constipation as a set bonus.
Cherishing that small(?) wish in a corner of his heart, Lloyd growled.
"Fine, the basket whatever. Anyway, follow from a distance."
"Why must I?"
"Because I can't concentrate."
It was the truth.
"Never mind their chatter, they're blocking the view. What are they doing, just clustering there with nothing better to do? To survey properly, you need to carefully check the riverbank and the banks, find good spots. But what is this? It's not like a top star descended or we're monkeys in a zoo. Ugh, these are the end times, end times."
"So, you're saying those people are interfering with your surveying, Lord Lloyd?"
"Obviously."
"If I walk separated from you, will the interference lessen?"
"Probably?"
"Even so, I cannot obey that order."
"......Why?"
"Because watching you seethe with jealousy up close is quite entertaining."
"Urk."
"I'm kidding."
"That didn't sound like a joke at all?"
Lloyd glared with guppy eyes.
Haviel replied with his still composed, cold expression.
"It is a joke. After all, I am your bodyguard, Lord Lloyd. This is a busy place with many passersby. Close protection is essential in case of unexpected incidents."
"And while doing that, you enjoy watching me fume?"
"Is that how it feels?"
"Yeah. You protect my body, but beat up my mental state instead. Fun times, right?"
"Your point is so obvious it's redundant."
"......"
"Heh."
"......"
Just shut up and survey.
Swallowing the sorrow of having a historically handsome guy next to him, Lloyd refocused on the survey.
In truth, the onlookers gathered to see Haviel were indeed a hindrance. But since he couldn't chase the people away(?), he used his feet instead. He changed observation spots here and there, gathering detailed data.
Then, a fact naturally came into view.
'There's a reason the bridges keep collapsing.'
Traces of periodic river flooding remained in spots along the riverbank. With the naked eye, he might have passed them by, but with surveying, they were clear.
Thanks to the subtle differences in components left on the stones and soil.
'A very small amount, but soil of a different quality from the city soil remains slightly up to where the river rose, over there. Components you'd see in colluvial deposits upstream.'
Probably, soil from different components upstream on the Majena River had been swept down by floods and risen to the flood height in the city, leaving traces.
But that height was considerable.
Higher than expected.
'The highest rise submerged not only the bridge piers but the flat upper parts, the sections for people and carriages? No wonder ordinary stone bridges couldn't hold.'
The upper part of the bridge, the roadway for people.
If water rose that high, the bridge was done for.
The long, wide spanning structure would be pushed by massive river flow, receiving lateral hydraulic pressure.
Not only that, but also affected by the buoyancy of the filled water.
The balance of forces designed and maintained from construction onward would be completely disrupted.
'But they couldn't just make the bridges arbitrarily high either.'
To make stone bridges taller, the piers supporting them had to be sturdier and larger. But then, the piers' volume would obstruct the river flow. That meant receiving even more hydraulic pressure.
The sturdier it got, the more pressure it received.
The harder they tried to build bigger bridges?
The risk increased ironically alongside.
A kind of dilemma arose.
'As expected, insisting on a suspension bridge was the right call.'
Lloyd nodded inwardly.
The suspension bridge he proposed to the king.
Building that would overcome most problems the other stone bridges faced. It would avoid the same misfortune as the collapsed bridges.
Because there would be no need to build piers in the middle of the river.
'The river width is about 238 meters. That's enough to place main towers on both riverbanks, in spots not submerged by the river.'
Build the main towers like that.
Drape cables over the main towers.
Use the cables to suspend and support the bridge deck in the air.
Even if the river swelled or flooded, the bridge deck would barely take damage.
That was Lloyd's calculation.
Of course, it wasn't easy at all.
No, honestly, it was a massive challenge.
Knowing that, Lloyd holed up in his palace lodgings from the evening he finished surveying. He pulled all-nighters until dawn, day and night, devoted to the suspension bridge design. He repeatedly created and tested numerous models using the simulation option of the design skill.
Naturally, the biggest issue in this design became cable manufacturing.
Cables could be called thick ropes woven from wires.
"Bangul?"
"Bangul?"
He was deep in thought about cable manufacturing methods.
Lloyd had a sudden idea.
He asked Bangul, who was rolling around beside him.
"You, with the Steel Poop Discharge thing."
"Bangul!"
"Can you spin it out much thinner than usual?"
"Ppa-bangul?"
"Like, um, about one yo thick?"
Lloyd held up his hand in front of his eyes, narrowing his thumb and index finger.
The gap was about 5 millimeters.
"Exactly like this."
"Baaang-wool?"
"Is it possible?"
"Bang-wool?"
Bangul tilted his head haughtily.
Was it yes or no?
A somewhat ambiguous reaction.
It even seemed like he wanted something.
Lloyd probed slyly.
"If I do something for you, then it's possible?"
"Bangul!"
Only then did Bangul nod.
Pleased that his intent was understood, his words flowed properly.
"Ppa-bangul! Bangul! Bangul-bangul-bangul! Ppa-bangul! Ppa-bbangul!"
"......What? Mix oil-based modeling clay called Uto with kaolin clay in a 1:1 ratio? And add iron-rich sand and crushed stone, plus gravel?"
"Bangul! Ppa-bangul! Bangul!"
"Make it like pizza?"
"Ppa-bangul!"
"Spread the clay like dough? And the rest on top?"
"Bangul!"
"While you're at it, top generously with basalt, obsidian, olivine, lapis lazuli, talc, and tin?"
"Ppa-bangul!"
"Customer, anything else? How about some loess cheese crust?"
"Bangul!"
"......Good thing that's all."
Bangul's explanation was that if fed the right types and ratios of soil, he could extrude thin, elastic rebar like wire.
Fortunately, the materials Bangul mentioned weren't impossible to obtain.
"Got it. I'll request them from the palace, saying they're needed."
"Bangul!"
Right away, Lloyd went to a palace official.
He requested the materials Bangul mentioned. He added that they were absolutely necessary for the suspension bridge construction under Her Majesty's orders.
Thanks to that, he got a reply that everything would be prepared in a few days.
'Even if we have to go that far, we absolutely need those thin wires.'
With them, we make the cables.
Especially, the 5mm diameter wires he requested from Bangul were key to this construction.
It was to make the parallel wire strand (PWS) cables he had in mind.
'Phew. Now everything's ready to go.'
He had devoted himself to design for days, even skimping on sleep.
It was the first time coming out after holing up in the lodgings. The built-up tension eased a bit.
Maybe because of that.
He felt a bit dizzy, head throbbing.
'I need to clear my head. Let's rest just for today.'
Lloyd rubbed his stiff nape.
There were still piles of designs left. But pushing on like this would make him collapse first.
'And conveniently, there's other work I can handle while taking a breather.'
Suddenly, a wry smile formed.
Now he remembered.
The entrustment he had completely forgotten amid focusing only on the king since arriving in the capital.
'When you go to the capital, make sure to deliver this to your younger sibling. Don't forget to say we love them.'
The scene from the day they left the barony suddenly surfaced.
The baron couple's entrustment in that scene.
The large bundle they handed over.
'It was packed with bacon made directly in the territory, winter coats and blankets, and tons of small stuff. What is this? I'm not a peddler.'
Remembering it, the wry smile deepened.
The image of the baron couple packing the bundle thinking of their child was vividly clear.
That's why.
'Today, time to get some air and move around.'
Lloyd returned to his lodgings.
He picked up the large bundle from the baron couple and headed out. He crossed the capital's streets. Thus, he headed to the Magenta Academy, the Royal Academy, to run the errand for the baron couple.
Julian Frontera, mentioned in the novel Iron-Blooded Knight as Lloyd's blood relative. A pitiful talent who studied at the Royal Academy but never bloomed.
The moment to meet that unknown younger brother was approaching.