Chapter 115: Interior
Chapter 115: Interior
At present, less than twenty percent of the Wandering Castle's total space was actually in use. Only the corridors and rooms near the main entrances had been repaired and opened.
Even so, they had most of the essential facilities, but if one had to name the least popular place, it was unquestionably the sanctuary.
This was because neither Eugene, the Castle Lord, nor his subordinates and residents had much interest in religion.
-For a noble lord, faith is like formal attire. Whether you like it or not, whether it suits you or not, keep up appearances. Otherwise you may look shabby when receiving noble guests.
Varda's advice had kept the sanctuary well maintained, and now it finally had a use.
"That is a tremendous trophy."
"I've never seen a lump of gold this large. Is it pure gold?"
The guards waiting in the castle grew thoroughly excited as they watched the golden goddess statue being carted in.
"It is far too precious an object to sell. Shall we move it to the treasury?"
The tribal merchant who had come out to greet them, leading the servants, asked.
Spoils were stored largely in three types of warehouses.
The first was a place for keeping common goods to be sold off immediately upon visiting a village or city.
The second held liquid valuables that did not deteriorate with time and could serve as money in their own right: gold and silver coins, jewels, and ornaments.
The third was for items that could be classified as treasures. Things that would be kept rather than sold, the kind that elevated the prestige of the castle and the family.
But Eugene had no intention of placing the goddess statue in a warehouse.
"Fallen or not, a god is still a god. It would be rude to shove one who governed the virtue of tolerance into a warehouse."
And so, the sacred idol of Vanas was moved to the sanctuary.
As befitting a creation of the Ancient Kingdom, where polytheism had flourished most, several sanctuaries existed within the Wandering Castle.
The people of that era did not construct them in the form of a pantheon, perhaps because they considered it disrespectful to house all the gods in a single place.
"Small, yet vast."
"How in the world did the ancients carve stone like this?"
Even the dwarves, whose pride in architecture pierced the heavens, could only concede defeat before the masonry of the Ancient Kingdom.
"Do you remember the broken statue that was lying around when we first came in here?"
"Of course. Its neck had been severed in a single sword stroke. In other sanctuaries, there were ones smashed with hammers, too."
"At the time, I just thought they were shattered statues and had them cleared away. Looking back, those too might once have carried the will of a god."
The ancients, the castle's original masters, seemed to have abandoned their faith for some reason.
They had once been devout enough to build these magnificent sanctuaries with great care, so why had they abandoned their faith? There was no one left to answer.
"This goddess is fortunate. Isn't this place directly connected to the central gate, making it the best spot?"
Whether for faith or commerce, accessibility was always the most critical factor.
"First bonds are precious, after all."
"As expected of you, Sir Knight."
"And if the spot ever proves unsuitable, we can simply change it."
"...As expected of you, Sir Knight."
No matter how much nobles used faith as a means to establish their authority, there were limits.
Their piety could be casual, but given the limits of the age, no one could dismiss fear of and faith in the gods.
But wasn't the Castle Lord in front of them treating a god as though she were a mercenary company or merchant guild?
And so, the golden goddess statue was raised upon the dais of the sanctuary.
Bristle!
The instant it was enshrined, the dwarves' beards reacted. Though they were ignorant of magic, they sensed instinctively that some phenomenon had occurred.
"There is no need to be tense."
"But Castle Lord, a man whose beard stands on end and does nothing will be laughed at in the funeral hall."
"I am learning a dwarven proverb."
Having once fought undead enemies in the slave traders' hideout, the dwarves reacted with sensitivity.
"I assure you, it is nothing truly dangerous, so be at ease."
As a mage, Eugene felt the goddess statue's faint, nearly vanishing Mystic presence suddenly surge with life.
If moments before it had been a sapling, uprooted from the soil and withering, now it was as if its roots had been dipped into a hydroponic vat brimming with nutrient solution.
Having tasted sustenance that the twisted faith of the slave traders alone could not provide, spiritual rapture had seeped forth.
"The ancients built this sanctuary by pouring their skill and magic into it. There must be something about it that makes it a comfortable dwelling even for a god."
"It was certainly no sinister sort of sensation."
The dwarves nodded, smoothing their beards.
"It seems our new family member is quite pleased with this place. That is fortunate."
Had Vanas felt ashamed by her own intense reaction? The waves emanating from the sacred idol quietly subsided.
"How is it? Was she satisfied, being enshrined in the sanctuary?"
When Eugene returned after finishing the work, Marbas hurried over and asked.
To him, a summoner, gods were one of the greatest subjects of interest. They were the mightiest and most mysterious beings among those with their origins in the Otherworld.
And it was a fallen god, one he could approach and study without interference from the major religions that had built great power in the world today.
Yet at the same time, her existence remained intact, and her fundamental nature originated from a benevolent domain.
For a summoner wishing to study a god, the conditions could hardly have been more perfect.
"Why not go see for yourself? Isn't seeing it once better than hearing about it a hundred times?"
"That is a bit..."
"Are you afraid?"
Marbas nodded meekly.
He was a man who had tasted bitter experience in the rashness of his youth. Even though his mind knew it was safe, the thought of facing her directly gave him chills.
"I was taught not to give someone a fish, but to teach them how to catch one. As a mage, you should face the Mystic yourself."
Eugene pushed Marbas along toward the sanctuary. By now, perhaps it should properly be called the Sanctuary of Tolerance, or the Sanctuary of Vanas.
"W-wait!"
"Would the goddess of tolerance possibly do you harm?"
"Have you forgotten that we slaughtered her followers?"
"She did not seem to harbor ill feelings over it."
"No, really?"
"She is a goddess born of tolerance. If she felt deep affection for the very slavers who reduced her to an accomplice in enslaving innocent people, that would be strange in its own way. The slavers were devout and Vanas granted them blessings freely, but their relationship seems to have been closer to a business arrangement."
"...Tell me more!"
Eugene explained at an easy pace while gradually pushing Marbas farther into the sanctuary.
If the sanctuary was the least popular place in the Wandering Castle, the most popular was the training room.
-You want to build a training room? We already have an indoor drill yard, don't we? Rather than that...
-Rex. The drill yard is a place for running to build stamina or conducting formation drills. What I am trying to build is a place for building this.
When Eugene tapped his arm muscles, Rex's face brightened.
-Ah! It absolutely must be built!
That was how the castle's training room came to be—the world's first proper gym.
Thud!
An iron dumbbell hit the floor with a heavy crash.
"Hey! Can't you put that down gently?"
"What if the floor breaks... well, it won't break, but what if the dumbbell gets damaged?"
True to a place constructed with the masonry of the Ancient Kingdom, the floor would not sustain so much as a scratch no matter how roughly it was treated.
Those working out here and there were, as expected, mostly dark elves. Humans and dwarf mercenaries generally detested the place.
They seemed to take weight training not as conditioning but as a form of punishment, so Eugene did not bother to press them. In time, they would naturally come to join in, one by one.
"The lack of mirrors really is a shame."
"I went around the castle picking out the intact ones, but this is the limit."
Rex said, scratching his head.
Most of the glass had shattered or cracked during the long neglect. The ones placed in the audience chamber, sanctuary, and other important locations could not simply be stripped away, either.
"If I had my way, I'd cover an entire wall with mirrors."
"That would be a luxury beyond even most great nobles."
Glass itself was treated as a precious commodity, and the highest-grade mirrors that would earn a passing mark by Eugene's standards were priced at whatever the seller wished to ask.
Elsewhere, Cassandra was doing pull-ups on a high bar.
"Beautiful, isn't it? And I'm not just saying that because she's one of ours."
Cassandra wore a sleeveless training garment of tribal tradition, one that left her back clearly exposed.
Her well-developed shoulders and back were fully exposed, and the dark elf's dusky skin tone made the definition of her muscles stand out even more.
"Hup!"
With a sharp breath, when her sculpted arms moved, her latissimus dorsi and trapezius muscles rippled outward like waves. It felt like unseen wings beating.
The problem was that she was overtraining. The cause was Homi, hanging right beside Cassandra.
"I told them to break the exercises into sets and make rest a priority."
"She's fiercely competitive."
The proud Cassandra could not accept stopping while Homi was still going.
"She's going to hurt herself at this rate. Why don't you go stop her?"
"She'll ignore anything I say. But one word from you, Sir Knight, and she'll come right down."
"..."
This was precisely why equipment that was relatively simple to make and highly effective—like barbells—had yet to be installed.
Weight training using heavy implements carried a risk of injury, and his subordinates were still far too unprepared for it.
He planned to give them more thorough instruction before gradually adding new equipment.
As he approached the pull-up bar, a wave of heat and a faintly sweet body scent washed over Eugene's face.
Cassandra hauled herself upward with clenched teeth, sweat pouring off her trembling body.
Sweat ran down her long neck, smooth armpits, and deeply curved waist, gathering in droplets at her toes. A small puddle was beginning to form beneath her.
On the other hand, Homi beside her was perfectly at ease. Her white tail between her legs drooped limply as she descended and curved into a U-shape as she rose, receiving her strength. It was an exceedingly adorable sight.
"Keep it up, Lady Cassandra."
"Don't lose."
Cassandra was so exhausted that the cheers of her close aides barely registered in her ears.
"Nngh!"
She gritted her teeth and struggled upward, only for her body to suddenly become much lighter.
"Didn't I tell you you'd get hurt if you overdid it?"
"Kyaa?!"
It was because Eugene, who had approached behind her without her noticing, had taken hold of her flanks and lifted her.
Startled, she suddenly let go and dropped to the floor, landing on her backside.
Tap.
Homi, on the other hand, landed quietly and then offered an elegant bow.
"Are you all right?"
"Ah, yes. Thank you."
Cassandra frowned at the pain in her backside and the sting of defeat, then quickly smoothed her expression into a gentle smile.
After all, she could not take the hand the Castle Lord offered her with anything but a smile.
"Pull-ups only work properly if you use good form. I'll spot you from behind, so why don't you rest a little and try again?"
Cassandra, who had been about to accept eagerly, saw her own sweat-soaked body and let her buoyed shoulders sink. Her nose moved slightly.
"I am glad for your consideration, but I will stop here for today. It would be troublesome to overdo it and get injured."
"Good. That is the right mindset."
Cassandra, in a posture near attention, moved her feet hurriedly and exited the training room.
"I was right, wasn't I? Even that stubborn girl listens immediately when the Castle Lord tells her something."
"I don't know. I don't think that was the only reason."
Eugene tilted his head.
"Do dark elves have a keen sense of smell?"
"Not as much as beastkin, but they're more sensitive than humans. Why do you ask?"
"I did not smell anything at all, but it was endearing how she got self-conscious and embarrassed all on her own."
"Pardon?"
To the puzzled Rex, Eugene merely smiled.
The place universally popular among all, regardless of race or age, was the armory.
Though called an armory, it also stored armor. Spoils obtained from battle and newly purchased equipment were kept here.
The various weapons and armor acquired through each engagement were, in themselves, a fine spectacle.
Mercenaries looking for weapons that suited them better came by, as did promising youngsters who hoped to become the next generation of warriors, their faces full of curiosity.
Under Eugene's policy, equipment could be borrowed free of charge, with only a modest repair fee due after combat, so inexperienced mercenaries visited often.
This was because trying out different things was the surest way to find the weapon that suited one best.
"What is the lending status?"
"Fifty-two weapons are currently checked out. Training rarely damages them, so there usually aren't even repair fees. They're practically free."
The armory manager reported.
"They are being used more than I thought."
"Because of the cost, many mercenaries have to make do with whatever weapon they can get their hands on. Plenty spend their whole lives using weapons that don't suit them. A lot of them are using this chance to find what fits them best."
Eugene intended, in the future, to take responsibility for all weapons and armor of the troops under his command.
Under the Castle Lord's management, even recruits would be issued equipment of at least a certain quality and trained with it.
That kind of standardization was something Eugene had long dreamed of for the haphazard armies of this age.
Additionally, he planned to set up a bank where spoils from battle could be immediately disposed of at the castle for a fair price, and where the money earned could be safely stored.
Eugene wanted an army in which warriors could focus entirely on two things: training and battle. It was an ideal possible only in this castle.