I made my way back to the first floor and opened the conspicuously large double doors leading outside. My eyes widened as I took in the sight before me.
I spotted Panamera walking out of the fortress and waved a hand at her. “Panamera!”
She made a beeline toward me and placed a strong hand on my shoulder. It actually kind of hurt. “Boy, what is this?”
“Huh?” I tilted my head.
She seemed not to like that response, pointing up with a serious look on her face. “This. What is this building?”
I looked up at the new structure in front of us. I’d left the road itself open, constructing the building to either side and connecting both halves with an arch. The design resembled a Shinto shrine, although I’d given it an exorbitant series of embellishments and a unique roof. It was artistic and beautiful.
“Um, so this is the Yomeimon Gate—I mean, it’s a type of castle gate. Since this was the last thing I worked on today, I kind of went all out. It’s about forty meters tall, and I paid a lot of attention to its exterior design—”
“Hold on. I am struggling to follow you. A castle gate? Why would you build something like that here?”
It was rare to see Panamera so confused. The truth was that I hadn’t put all that much thought into this, but there was no way I could tell her that. I glanced up at Yomeimon, then set my gaze back on Panamera. “I know for a fact that His Majesty will win this battle, so I wanted to build a spectacular gate that he could enjoy once he returned. By the way, the second floor and everything above it are lodgings, so I plan on staying there for the evening.” I smiled.
Panamera looked up at Yomeimon with an exasperated expression and sighed. “You certainly have a vivid imagination. The decorations and carvings lend the structure a kind of divine aura. May I go inside?”
“Huh? Ah, um, actually…”
Panamera narrowed her eyes. “You made something else, didn’t you? I’m going to go have a look.”
“W-wait, that’s—Panamera!” This felt a lot like having the cops suddenly appear to search your house. I panicked. I’d never expected her to just barge into my home without permission. Actually, my home was in Seatoh Village, so this was more like a villa.
A villa, huh? I like the sound of that. Makes me feel like a celebrity… Wait, no! I have to stop her before she goes in!
“P-Panamera! Please wait!” I hurried after her, but she climbed the stairs with such vigor that she was already on the second floor. That was where she stopped.
“Boy… This…”
I felt her judging eyes on me. The secret was out, so I sighed and gave up. “…Yes. This is going to be my room.” I began to explain, starting with the sofa nearby. “This sofa is made from a rare monster hide. I also put a lot of effort into the table and shelving. The windows are double layered and capable of holding up against most enemy attacks while still allowing light into the room. There is a toilet, bath, and a bedroom large enough for ten people to comfortably sleep in. On the third floor is an even more extravagant bedroom and living room. The modeling, walls, pillars, and ceilings here are spectacular enough, but the third floor is even more magnificent…”
The more I explained, the more I sensed my excitement taking over, so when Panamera began to speak in a low tone, I shut my trap.
“So His Majesty will be staying in this building, yes?” she asked.
“Uh, actually, this is for me and my—”
“So His Majesty will be staying here, yes?”
“…Yes, that is correct,” I said reluctantly. Only then did she let out a satisfied sigh.
“You truly are a terrifying boy, you know that? It’s like you lack any concept of fear. If you were a normal child, this could be dismissed as foolishness, but in your case, no one could do that.” She was looking over the room, sounding slightly upset.
I understood what she was saying. Staying in a better room than His Majesty would cause all kinds of political problems. Even if His Majesty had no issues with it, he would still have to punish me because we were in the presence of other nobles.
Panamera was sticking her neck out for me by telling me to hand this building over to the king. That said, it still made me pretty sad; I’d put a lot of effort into it.
“Oh well. I guess I’ll make something else,” I whispered as I departed Yomeimon Gate.
Jalpa
I FELT IN MY BONES THAT MAGIC WOULD NOT PUT AN END to this battle—not for us and not for the enemy. After all, even if we destroyed a part of their fortress wall with magic, they would quickly repair it with dirt and strike back with magic of their own.
Thanks to our new fortress, we were able to fight on equal footing against Yelenetta despite our hill being lower than their fortress wall. Our situations had been equalized in terms of terrain—and when it came to the durability of our respective structures, we had an advantage.
But there was one other key element of this battle. Our fortress was on a narrow mountain road; theirs was a massive complex spread across flat land. Their battlements were wide, and they could focus their attacks on us in a way we couldn’t on them. In other words, while we could only attack in small numbers, they could attack us with their full forces.
“I am sure His Majesty has already realized this, but if we cannot spread our infantry and cavalrymen out, a castle siege will prove difficult,” I said.
The members of our Chivalric Orders had been swapping in and out as they ran out of magical energy, allowing us to keep up the attack, but few of our mages could actually strike the wall of the enemy’s fortress. Much to my irritation, Van’s ballistae were effective, but we only had so many bolts. His Majesty appraised them carefully, but his matter-of-fact conclusion was that they were ill-suited to taking down a fortress wall. In other words, he’d opted to save them for striking down Yelenetta’s formidable mage squad.
This was undoubtedly a difficult decision. Normally, speed was of the essence during any engagements in hostile territory, because the enemy could easily resupply and summon reinforcements. By that logic, the goal should have been to take down the enemy’s fortress as quickly as possible. From Yelenetta’s perspective, their full-force invasion attempt had failed, and now one of their defense points was under attack. An unexpected attack, at that. If things went poorly here, they might be able to request help from a foreign nation.