The Locomotive

The next morning, we hurried to set off early. The steward had delivered the sealed letter of appointment stamped with the imperial seal, so my business in Brontia was done. After finishing our preparations, we departed in the morning, taking in the surrounding scenery at ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠a leisurely pace. I figured we had a bit of spare time, so this should be fine—but the gods clearly disagreed.

The gods who went berserk during the frenzy now seemed content to idly admire the scenery with me, but their words piled on the pressure. I'd filled their feeds with stimulating scenes so far; surely they could let a guy rest. But no, they weren't satisfied at all.

Boom! With no choice, I kicked off the ground. I soared through the air on winds and mana at an insane speed. Plus, with the tailwind blowing east, if this kept up, we'd reach the territory in under a week.

Whoosh! Warm winds brushed my forehead. The view from up high wasn't bad at all. Only then did the gods finally relax and enjoy the sights.

Tonight, I'd tackle the task I'd been putting off: opening the golden random box. It was a commemorative reward for hitting 10 favorites, so I had a good feeling something great would drop.

That night. Maintaining that blistering pace all day was no joke. Covering a distance that took months from the capital in just a week had drained my mana completely. After chugging holy water and potions, I lit a campfire. I'd brought well-seasoned chickens from the capital, so once the coals were ready, I'd pair them with wine. Time to crack open that golden random box?

As expected, the golden box wasn't a physical object. I knew it existed, but it was more like an abstract concept I couldn't pull out. Closing my eyes, I mentally mimed opening it.

Flash! Brilliant light burst outward. A rainbow of colors poured forth—felt pretty damn good. And then, a golden warhammer materialized. This was... a weapon?

"......"

What the hell were these broken options? I hadn't even started building up yet, but I'd set ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠the stage for rapid territory development. The only worry was keeping the gods from getting bored during the buildup...

The gods' voices chimed in.

I'd been planning to absorb the dwarves anyway. It was a tired cliché—one that popped up in every territory-building novel. Sometimes you'd recruit a clan outright; other times, you'd build relations gradually. In my case, holding Vulcanus's divine relic let me straight-up command them.

This was too clichéd. If I didn't shake things up, I might tank my own life story. The gods were backing me to block Odin, but they'd jump ship to other warriors if I bored them. Meaning, if my life got dull, they'd bail. On the way back to the territory, I'd have to brainstorm events to keep them hooked.

Boom!

A week into the journey. I'd kick off the ground, soar for about five minutes on a long parabolic arc, then repeat. The trick was riding wind and mana as far as possible. The repetitive boredom made it better to study flight techniques (?) instead.

The primordial martial arts compiled every method to boost travel speed. I researched optimizing mana flow, slicing wind resistance, and riding gusts perfectly. My speed ticked up a bit. I caught a cold once and spent a day bedridden from training, but the tweaks paid off—I hit the territory right on schedule, in a week.

Boom! To leap straight to the main castle, I kicked off again. The territory sprawled into view at a glance.

The standout feature: roads and rails snaking through the land. Before the war, I'd sent Aria here with max support. The order was to develop a mana engine and build a locomotive, no matter what. I'd forgotten about her amid the battles. Heading back for buildup, I'd wondered if she'd succeeded—and there it was, a locomotive on a test run.

"Whoa, impressive!"

The gods perked up too.

Wasn't this enough to satisfy them? They went wild dumping karma for big spectacles, but now even this barely registered.

Truth be told, a locomotive in this era was overpowered. And yet the gods weren't impressed enough to tip. Fuck these stingy bastards.

Apart from the rails, the main castle roads were complete. Walls repaired, districts rezoned with fresh buildings. Outside, reservoirs dotted the land, and vast farmlands had been cleared. While I was gone, old man Kane the steward had busted his ass developing the place. I hadn't ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠expected this much progress so fast.

I flew down to where the locomotive was testing.

Swoosh! As I descended from the sky, the territory folk gawked, then freaked.

"Kyaaah!"

"It's the lord!"

"Whoa! He flew down from the heavens!"

Aria, poring over blueprints, dropped everything and bolted over. She leaped lightly into my arms.

Come to think of it, Aria was head over heels for me. That's why she'd rooted herself in the territory—for the protagonist.

"I missed you!"

"Ahem, people are watching. Dial it back."

"Oops, sorry! I got carried away thinking I'd be your first wife!"

"......"

Handling Aria might be tricky.

Mahadev's sleazy voice rang out.

Sorry, but I hear everything. Protagonist perk or whatever—your cringey shouts always reach me. I sighed inwardly and peeled Aria off.

"Aria, good work. You did it."

"Hehe, who do you think I am? Genius magitech engineer? I built the mana engine—had to nail a locomotive!"

"Must've been tough."

"Love for you got me through!"

"Ahem. Anyway, can this pull a 30-car train?"

"Yup! Designed for up to 50. But building those trains needs tons of steel and blacksmiths. War jacked up iron prices—Kane can't import more."

"So just the engine for now?"

"Yes! He said we'd shop once you returned. Didn't expect you this soon! I'm touched!"

"So with steel and blacksmiths, we could rail the whole territory and run locomotives?"

"Exactly. Piece of cake."

Laying rails was "easy"? Rail construction was a massive money and manpower sink. Saying it so casually—Aria was built different. Any lesser lord taking her as a vassal would've bankrupted their territory.

Clatter clatter! Mid-discussion on rail plans, a roar echoed from afar.

"My loooord!"

Despite his age, the old man's vigor was overflowing. Territory steward Kane.

He yelled the second he spotted me.

"I need money!"

"Good to see you too."

"Hahaha! Sorry, greetings first. You've been through hell."

Finally a proper hello. Kane had been waiting desperately for my return.

"Don't we have plenty?"

"Huh? What? We're short 1 million gold right now!"

"...1 million gold?"

"That damn girl... Er, Aria sucked up funds for her locomotive! Had to borrow big from Amon's guild."

"1 million... We'll be broke after paying that off."

"Ooh! Did war net you 1 million?"

"That's the emperor's gift. Loot's coming with the main force."

"Hahaha! Perfect. So many projects—we were about to go bust."

"By the way, didn't you hear the news?"

"News?"

"1.5 million giants just became my people."

"......!"

Seemed like a bombshell. Old man Kane howled.

"You trying to bankrupt us on purpose?! If they fend for themselves, fine—but feeding and clothing 1.5 million giants? No funds for that!"

"That labor force means food's all we need. Pay 'em in grain and put 'em to work."

"They arrive in months—where's the food till then? Prices are skyrocketing!"

"Don't worry. I've got a way to harvest massive food in a week."