I made each subsequent floor wider yet. When all was said and done, the second, third, and fourth floors looked like an umbrella eclipsing the mountain road. The third and fourth floors followed the slope of the mountain to either side, so I shaped them to hug those slopes. Building the base along the road made it long and visually striking—a rather avant-garde design, if I did say so myself. It would have been even classier as a high-rise, but that was impossible with only wood blocks on hand.
As it was, the first floor functioned as both a lobby and a hallway, and it was stupidly long. I separated several sections of it into rooms. At the entrance, the center of the first floor, and the back were stairs leading to the second floor, which had rooms for resting, eating, and bathing. All the lodgings were on the third floor, while the fourth held individual rooms designated for royalty and nobles, places to hold meetings, and a storage area for important items.
“A fair number of people can rest here. Oh, right—His Majesty told us to stay the night. Sorry guys, guess we’ll be heading home tomorrow.”
I turned around to find Arte and Till looking relieved.
“Is that so?” asked Arte. “The evening is almost upon us, so it would be a relief to be able to rest here tonight.”
“It worries me a little to be right on the front lines, but I know we can trust your work,” said Till. “Will we be staying on the third floor?”
I held up a hand and quickly corrected them. “No, no. Staying in the same place as the other Chivalric Orders would be far too dangerous. Remember, we were attacked not too long ago. I’ll be building our accommodations some distance away.”
“…You mean right now?” Till asked, wide-eyed.
I folded my arms. “Yeah. Don’t worry, it shouldn’t take me more than an hour.” Just take a look at how thick my trusty biceps are getting! Pretty macho for a nine-year-old, right? Okay, yes, Till’s sweets are so good that I may have a little bit of a belly, but let’s just call that part of my charm! “Now then, one final push.”
Panamera
“FLAME JAVELIN!”
I cast my spell, destroying another portion of the enemy fortress walls. At this point, a number of mages had landed magical attacks on the structure, but it was still holding up. Well, that was to be expected of a fortification built to defend a strategic point. Our enemies had proven themselves plenty capable of defending against our mages’ attacks, even going so far as to strike back.
“I’m almost out of magical energy,” I groaned. I took two steps back, prompting Count Ventury to pat my shoulder and swap places with me.
“Go and rest.”
“Understood.” As I turned my back to the battlefield, climbing to the fortress’s second floor, the sounds of the battle followed me.
I clicked my tongue slightly and asked myself, “Have I been too hasty in pursuit of glory? I didn’t expect their defenses to hold after more than half a day’s fight alongside veteran mages. It appears that we underestimated our enemy. Our fortress is made of stronger stuff than theirs, though, so as long as we stay alert during the night, it will only be a matter of time before… Hmm?”
As I reached the second floor, I sensed that something was off. Had the interior of the fortress always looked like this? I’d been in this spot so recently, and yet…I was confused. It was different from what I remembered.
For one thing, there’d been no doors there before. I knew I was in a heightened mental state from the combat, but even so, I wouldn’t forget something like this.
I put a hand on the double doors and pushed them open. Beyond it was a hall that was comically long.
“What? What is going on?” I asked aloud. There was, of course, no one present to answer. I had ordered my people to support the other Chivalric Orders on the third floor, so none of them were around.
The hall was wide enough for two or three people to walk abreast, with evenly spaced doors going down either side. These rooms went all the way down the hall. The hall itself curved gradually to the right. It must’ve been built along the road itself.
Only one person could have thought this up and built it. “He’s made yet another strange thing,” I whispered with a sigh, then put a hand on my hip and shook my head. “Fascinating. I must find and complain to him directly.”
Knowing Van, he’d prioritized practical considerations when designing this structure. As one of the people on the receiving end of his surprises, though, I had to complain regardless. Moreover, if I did not locate him posthaste and have him provide a guide for His Majesty, this could turn into an actual problem.
“Everything he makes is impressive, but his way of thinking is certainly childish,” I said, smiling to myself as I proceeded down the long hallway.
So he had come up with a long building that followed the length of the mountain road… A fascinating concept that nobody would ever think to implement on a battlefield. Still, even the most massive castles I’d been in had never had a hallway as long as this one. The fact that it was mapped to the shape of the road, hugging the mountain’s slopes, made it all the more interesting.
On the way, I noticed stairs leading upward. I passed by the first set, but when I reached the second, my curiosity got the best of me. I ascended to the next floor, only to find yet another hallway. Behind the door closest to me was a large room, similar to the soldiers’ lodgings in the bases we had used on our journey here. The biggest differences were the sheer quantity and size of these ones.
The fourth floor had a number of private rooms, but they were unfurnished. “I suppose he wouldn’t have had time for that. Still, even this much is impressive.”
My ability to judge these things had been impaired ever since I met that boy. I smiled at the thought, then exited the room and headed back down the stairs. Plenty of the Chivalric Orders had yet to enter the fortress, and they wouldn’t come through this area unless ordered to. That explained why I seemed to be the only person present.