Chapter 52

"Are you saying you want to clear the forest behind the detached palace?"

"Yes. I will try to cut down the trees with magic, so could you watch over me?"

The person who came to the detached palace was Carter, a carpenter with short, graying brown hair. Carter, with his sturdy build and amiable demeanor, gave the impression of a good-natured uncle.

Before starting the actual construction work, I had been inspecting the site with Carter, the head carpenter.

"I think I'll handle about 20 trees in that area today."

First, it's just a trial.

At first, I thought about burning all the trees growing in the dog run area with magic.

Manipulating flames is one of my specialties.

I thought that if I burned them to ashes, the cleanup would be easy.

...But the scene would be a bit too dramatic, so I vetoed the idea.

Flames roaring in a part of the royal castle, with columns of smoke rising to the sky.

...Would it look like a coup or something?

Even though I have the king's permission to renovate the detached palace, using flamethrower magic would be visible from far away.

It would lead to all sorts of misunderstandings.

So, although it will take more effort, I decided to seal away the fire magic and use other magic instead.

I turned to the front courtyard of the detached palace to prepare.

"Fon! Come here!"

"Kyaah!!"

A sharp cry echoed.

The sound of wings grew louder in an instant, and Fon landed in front of me.

"Good boy, good boy. Thank you for coming. How about we take a little walk in the forest together?"

"Kyaah!"

Fon nodded up and down, as if to say, "I'll gladly accompany you!" His decorative feathers on his head bobbed.

I nodded to Carter, who was surprised by Fon, and stepped into the forest with Fon. I chose a relatively open area and walked, placing my hand on Fon's back. As I felt the smooth fur and the powerful muscles beneath, a bush ahead of us rustled, and a small shadow darted out.

"Oh, a squirrel."

How cute.

The squirrel, shaking its brown tail, scurried away from us.

The squirrel ran away because Fon was approaching.

Fon, a griffin with the head of a bird of prey and the body of a lion, is a mythical creature that can run on the ground and fly in the sky.

The arrival of such an absolute superior, even if a group of ordinary animals banded together, would be no match.

Squirrels, sensitive to the presence of predators, fled in a hurry.

The squirrels that come to this place near the detached palace are used to humans, and when I approach, they just keep a little distance.

Looking at their round, black eyes is soothing, but if I use magic, the squirrels will be caught in the crossfire.

So, I decided to use Fon's power to drive the squirrels away.

Since this area is too close to the detached palace and the squirrels don't build nests here, I decided to have them move temporarily to a distant place.

Just to be safe, I carefully checked the bushes where the squirrels and small animals might be hiding and performed a thorough animal repelling ritual.

I petted Fon for his cooperation and moved a little away from the forest.

I cast magic with a chant, aiming at the trees that seemed a bit quieter.

"――――――――――Wind Blade!"

An invisible, intangible blade rushed through.

Sharp blades of wind were generated and flew horizontally toward the trees.

"What is this...?"

Carter tilted his head.

"What did you just do? Unfortunately, I am not very familiar with magic...――――――――Oh!"

Thud!

The trees fell with a loud thud.

Each cut surface was smooth and neatly split in two.

"1, 2, 3... 18, 19, 20. Good, exactly 20!!"

"Milady Letitia, that was impressive."

Yes!! It worked.

Lucian's praise felt good.

Not too strong, not too weak.

By adjusting the strength of the wind blades, I successfully cut down exactly 20 trees.

It feels great.

Making convenient gadgets through alchemy is fun, but using magic on a large scale is also refreshing.

Feeling self-satisfied with the suddenly widened view,

"Your work is impressive. I am truly impressed."

Carter, taken aback, was observing the cut surfaces of the fallen trees.

"Even experienced carpenters and lumberjacks would find it difficult to cut so cleanly."

"Can you handle the processing of the cut wood?"

"Of course. I will gather young, strong men to carry them out in sequence."

"Thank you. The usable part of the wood is the upper section that has been cut, and the lower part connected to the roots is not needed, right?"

"Yes. While the lower part has no value as wood, we will dispose of it as well."

"Understood. I'll prepare it for easier handling."

"Easier handling?"

"Watch this."

There was a suitable spot diagonally ahead.

The cut trees seemed to have fallen far due to the impact, leaving only thin branches and leaves near the stumps.

"――――――――――Wind Blade!"

The blades of wind swirled and flew as I willed them.

Instead of horizontally, the blades of wind were drawn vertically into the ground.

I cast the magic repeatedly, cutting the roots buried in the ground into a diced pattern.

"Is this good enough? The remaining trunks and roots have been cut, making transportation much easier."

"......It was like you were chopping ingredients in a kitchen......"

Carter's slightly taken aback words were accurate.

Digging up each root from the ground is troublesome.

To make it easier, I decided to chop the roots, just like Gilbert would chop ingredients.

"Truly, Milady Letitia, you are so strong. If you can use magic like this, even the knight corps would be no match, cough, cough! You won't have to worry about being attacked by bad people!!"

......What were you about to say, Carter?

There are many things that catch my attention, but I decided not to pursue them deeply.

"......That's it for today. I'm tired from using magic, so I'll take a rest."

"Understood!! You used magic so boldly. Take a good rest!!"

I pretended to massage my shoulders and headed back to the detached palace.

I wasn't actually tired and still felt energetic, but that was a secret.

I'm pretty sure if I wanted to, I could cut down and chop the roots of all the trees in the dog run area in one day.

But considering Carter's reaction, it was appropriate to stop here.

If it becomes known that I can cast such powerful magic repeatedly, it might attract trouble.

I have no intention of staging a coup or dispersing the knight corps.

I plan to keep my serious magic as a self-defense measure for emergencies and use it moderately.