Chapter 91
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Translator: Prime Works
Chapter: 91
Chapter Title: The Bridge That Walks the Sky (1)
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"It's an important job, that's why I'm entrusting it to you."
"Huh?"
Julian's eyes shook violently.
An important job, so he's entrusting it to me.
Was he serious just now?
No, forget that for a second.
'Is this really Lloyd Frontera?'
He never dreamed he'd hear words like that from his own brother.
No, if someone had prophesied it even in a dream, he would've laughed it off heartily.
But it had happened.
Right before his eyes, so clearly there was no denying it.
'Important, so I'm entrusting it to you.'
He stared at the shovel in his hands.
He felt a bit dazed.
Still, it didn't feel bad somehow.
Then, suddenly, Julian remembered one crucial fact.
It was...
"Um, how exactly do I shovel?"
"What do you mean, how? Have you never shoveled before?"
"Uh, yeah."
He nodded.
He really never had.
But was it okay to entrust him with something this important?
'He'll be disappointed. He'll scold me, saying I can't even do that, and look down on me.'
He was prepared for at least that much.
And sure enough.
"Tch. No helping it. Hand it over."
Lloyd reached out his hand.
Of course.
Julian handed over the shovel with a small sigh of disappointment.
But Lloyd, who took the shovel, neither mocked him nor scolded him.
Instead, he rolled up his sleeves and cracked his shoulders with a series of pops.
"I'll show you just once. Watch closely."
"Huh? Uh?"
"Pay proper attention to the demonstration."
He didn't even wait for a reply.
Before he knew it, Lloyd had taken position in front of the mountain of dirt.
He lowered his hips and waist slightly.
He turned the back of his left hand toward the sky.
"Watch the left hand. Grip it reverse like this. Don't think of stabbing with the tip of the shovel—think of slicing, scooping, and lifting. See?"
"Uh, yeah."
"From this position, swing back to the left like this, like this!"
Splat!
The shovel, now loaded with dirt, traced a smooth arc. It shot back to the pile like an arrow. Dug in again. Sliced and scooped the dirt. Transferred it. Shook it off like sowing seeds. Piled it up.
"Got it?"
Thud.
Sometime during that, Lloyd was leaning on the shovel like a cane. The smile he directed this way was like that of a seasoned craftsman.
Julian found himself nodding unconsciously.
"Uh, yeah."
"Good. Now do exactly like what you just saw."
"Yeah."
"But straighten your back only once, after you've filled a full wheelbarrow load. Got it?"
"Why's that?"
"That's my style."
"......"
"Anyway, work hard. How quickly and neatly you shovel will determine how fast Bangul makes the wire. I'm off to check the site now."
Lloyd held out the shovel.
Julian took it reflexively.
The handle still held Lloyd's warm body heat.
The moment it touched his palm, a sudden question arose.
I'd admitted I couldn't shovel properly.
Why didn't he laugh or dismiss me?
Why teach me so earnestly instead?
And...
"Um, bro."
"What."
"I have a question."
He looked up.
He voiced what had been nagging at him all this time.
"Bro, where'd you learn all this stuff?"
He was curious.
It was weird.
He wanted to ask what his brother had been through all this time.
'It feels like he's a completely different person.'
His brother standing before him, Lloyd Frontera.
But he was so different from the Lloyd he knew.
He wasn't drinking.
He was being kind to him.
It was so unfamiliar it felt like hives breaking out all over his body.
"I'm curious. You didn't know how to shovel like this before."
"True."
"Summoning magic too. Those summons—you called them, right?"
"Yeah. True."
"And Sir Asrahan said you even got a Mana Heart."
"Uh, yeah."
"Bro, what the hell happened while I was at the academy?"
Something had definitely happened.
Otherwise, he wouldn't act like this.
But Lloyd's response was oddly evasive again.
"Circumstances. I'll tell you later."
"When?"
"When I'm ready."
"......"
Lloyd smiled wistfully.
His eyes held some untold story.
That look felt strangely unfamiliar and amazing.
Julian couldn't bring himself to pry further.
He'd tell when the time was right, probably.
That thought crossed his mind too.
In the end, Julian nodded.
Thanks to that, Lloyd secretly breathed a sigh of relief.
'Phew, it worked.'
Operation: Set the mood and dodge with a plausible excuse—success.
Having artfully manipulated the atmosphere to fool Julian, Lloyd quickly made himself scarce, saying he had to inspect the site urgently.
Left alone, Julian picked up the shovel.
"Hoo."
The unfamiliar shovel felt heavy.
Still, he resolved to do his best.
His brother had finally said he trusted him, after all.
Honestly, it was a bit odd, but it didn't feel bad.
No, he was even a little happy.
He didn't want to disappoint him.
Recalling the demonstration Lloyd had shown, he gripped the shovel and moved.
He thrust it into the dirt pile with what he thought was decent force.
But the result was nothing like Lloyd's demo.
Pfft!
The shovel blade slipped with a pathetic squeak.
It didn't dig into the pile properly.
Instead, it slid off course.
He lost his grip from the momentum.
"Whoa!"
Clang, clatter!
The shovel flew off into the distance, rolling noisily in the most embarrassing way.
Bangul, who had been watching, thumped the ground with its plump tail. Podong forgot about twisting the thin wires and wriggled its chubby body excitedly.
"Bangul! Pabababangul!"
"Podong! Pododododong!"
Were they laughing?
"......"
Julian's face flushed apricot-red as he ran do-do-do to retrieve the shovel.
The short young master's trials were only just beginning.
♣
Full-scale construction began.
The surveying and design were already done.
Trusses and cables for the suspension bridge deck were being prepared steadily.
Lloyd immediately started on the suspension bridge's main towers.
The first step was the foundation work.
Kiiiiing!
Lloyd's triple circle spun furiously.
2 to 3 to 3.
Centered on the alpha circle, the other two rotated in a 2:3:3 ratio.
Using that ideal ratio as a springboard, they collided fiercely.
At that moment, Lloyd plunged the shovel into the ground.
He channeled the full power of the triple blast into it.
Whoooosh, quaaaaang—!
Right at the precisely calculated spot.
With monstrous force.
A colossal hole—2 meters in diameter, 35 meters deep—gaped in the earth.
One per day.
Nine holes on each riverbank.
Holes for the on-site poured piles that would support the main towers.
He poured massive amounts of cement into them.
Just like when creating the artificial seabed in the trading city of Creemo, cement made from Bangul's volcanic ash filled the holes tight. It hardened. Becoming gigantic cement piles driven deep underground.
Right after finishing the foundations, spring rain fell.
It was the spring monsoon.
Torrential rain poured for over ten days.
The Majena River's water level rose rapidly.
And at the old stone bridge site, 100 meters downstream from the suspension bridge construction area, cracks appeared.
The first signs of collapse after 61 years.
Lloyd chuckled inwardly.
'Perfect timing. Even the heavens are helping this site.'
The old bridge showing signs of collapse.
Thanks to that, the royal family's attitude shifted.
Instead of repairing the damaged stone bridge, they began pouring active support into the suspension bridge site.
Massive investments flowed into the suspension bridge construction.
Large-scale labor forces were a given now.
Skilled stonemasons and such were of course included.
Support from royal mages was just icing on the cake.
'Thanks, overwhelming thanks!'
Mages assisting in construction.
Construction gained insane momentum.
Lloyd's microscope-precise surveying and data-based designs.
Combined with the royal family's full financial backing and top-tier manpower.
The result was hyper-speed construction.
'Insane. This is seriously insane.'
Even Lloyd, overseeing and directing the work, was awestruck.
Stone blocks for the main towers.
He just had to specify the sizes for cutting.
Teach them the block shapes and functions, and expert stonemasons swarmed. Mages joined too. Processing done in a flash.
Stacking them on the towers was the same.
Blocks that would've required human-powered cranes or Podong's strength to lift—massive, heavy ones too big to hoist more than ten a day no matter how hard they tried.
But with mages, it changed.
Not just any mages—royal mages.
Shaaaah......
Magic enveloped the massive stone blocks.
Reducing their weight to a mere 1/5.
Construction speed transformed completely.
"Pull! With cadence!"
"One! Two! One!"
Every time dozens heaved the crane levers, huge blocks rose steadily.
Haviel and Podong receiving them up top had far less burden.
Below, enchanted and lifted with magic.
Above, received without risk of back strain.
Every process meshed like flawless gears.
Underpinning it all was Lloyd's meticulous design, of course.
Time passed like that.
The winds grew warm.
Magnolias bloomed and fell.
Cherry blossoms danced in the breeze.
Rose scents wafted every morning.
Julian's arms grew toned from shoveling.
And finally, on the day the first cicada cried out fiercely.
90-meter main towers stood proudly facing each other on both banks of the Majena River.
Citizens of the capital watching cheered.
The old stone bridge had been precarious.
They feared it'd collapse anytime.
They crossed reluctantly, hearts pounding.
But now, the new bridge's completion was imminent.
Plus, the suspension bridge's unique form drew huge interest from the capital's citizens.
"Hey, what are they planning with those sky-high towers?"
"Didn't you hear?"
"Huh? Hear what?"
"They're stringing a rope between the tops of those towers."
"A rope?"
"Yeah, apparently. Like hanging laundry, whoosh."
"What the......"
Some citizens scratched their heads while chatting.
Others showed anticipation.
"Oh my god, did you hear? They're hanging a clothesline."
"A clothesline? Between those towers on both riverbanks?"
"Yeah. The lady next door said so. Hang a clothesline, and it becomes a bridge."
"No way, does that even make sense?"
"It's true. They're stringing it this afternoon, I heard."
"Really?"
"Yeah, really. I've already saved a spot to watch."
"No kidding. Mind if I join?"
"Of course."
People gathered in groups along the riverbanks.
They spread mats in spots with good views of the main towers. Unpacked lunches. And were shocked.
They'd seen the true form of the cable being brought under the towers.
"Wh-what is that......"
"Oh my god. It's insanely thick."
"A clothesline? That?"
"I've gotta hear about this clothesline thing."
"Thicker than a decent tree trunk?"
"And that's no rope—it's solid metal."
It was true.
The cables were entirely metal.
Bangul spun 5mm wires, which Podong braided.
120 strands twisted tightly together.
The exterior coated seamlessly with chainmail-like links.
Far too heavy and serious to dismiss as 'just a clothesline.'
Citizens seeing the cable all shared the same doubt and worry.
'How the hell do they get that across to the other tower top?'
'Does a strong giant throw and catch it?'
'Or ferry it by boat? Nah, no sailboats on this river. A mediocre boat would sink trying.'
Everyone wondered.
And worried.
Could that huge, heavy metal rope really span the air between the tower tops like a clothesline?
It seemed impossible no matter how you looked.
Attempting it might cause an accident.
Amid worries and expectations, thousands of eyes fixed on the tower tops.
Lloyd and Bangul were there.
"You know, Bangul?"
"Bangul!"
"Grab, puff, got it."
"Pababangul!"
Bangul, already gigantified, nodded its round head.
Soon, the cable rose from below the tower.
Lightened by mages' spells, hoisted by crane.
A chain was tightly braided to one end.
Lloyd pulled the chain and set it aside.
He picked up a prepared bucket.
It was filled to the brim with dirt.
"Alright, Bangul? Time for something tasty."
"Bangul!"
Bangul opened its huge mouth wide.
Lloyd dumped the bucket's dirt straight into its maw as if waiting.
Then quickly backed away.
"Go on, Bangul. Just like we practiced."
"Waguwagu, Bangul!"
Bangul gulped the dirt down.
Twirled its round head.
Snatched the chain Lloyd had set aside.
Then crouched.
Bubble bubble!
Chemical reaction in Bangul's belly.
The dirt it chugged digested at warp speed.
"Bvengul! Ppvengul!"
Jingle jingle!
It wagged its plump tail.
Clear bell chimes rang in everyone's ears around the tower.
The next instant.
A ferocious volcanic eruption blasted from Bangul's rear.
Quaaaaang—!
Spewing rough volcanic ash and gas.
Bangul's body rocketed forward like a rocket from the recoil.
Still clamping the chain fiercely in its jaws.
The cable trailed firmly attached to the chain.
"Bveeeeeengul—!"
Fwooooosh......!
That day, the capital's citizens witnessed the spectacle of cable-laden Bangul streaking across the Majena River skies like an arrow with a rope tail—and gasped in awe.