Chapter 48

"Hey, Noll. You're early again today. I really appreciate it."

"Yeah, there's still a lot to do, so I can't afford to be late."

For the past few days, I've been showing up at the reconstruction site in the capital at a fixed time every morning.

The capital's recovery is still far from complete.

During the previous attack by the Imperial forces, hundreds of houses were destroyed, and the ground was severely gouged. The royal castle, which was located in the center of the capital, was completely demolished. Many people lost their homes and jobs, and are now wandering the streets. It won't be easy to return to the peaceful life we had before.

Despite the situation, my daily routine hasn't changed much. I continue to work as a gutter cleaner. After the chaos, the gutters were clogged with debris, and it took a lot of effort to clear them, but now they are much cleaner. I finish my gutter cleaning early in the morning when there are few people around, then head to the construction site. After finishing my work there, I do my usual training and go to bed. This has become my daily routine.

"The boss is as early as always."

"Of course. How can I be late when the higher-ups are using this place? Someone's always coming in early, so I have to get up early too."

The boss laughed.

"I'm sorry. Should I come a bit later?"

"... Idiot, what are you saying? I'm praising you. As you said, there's a mountain of work to do. In such times, it's a relief to have someone who comes to the site earlier than anyone else every morning. There's no foreman who wouldn't be grateful for that—don't make me say it, it's embarrassing."

That's right, there's still a mountain of work to do.

Still, I think the reconstruction is progressing quite well.

This is thanks to the 'Black Sword.'

To rebuild a house, the ground must be firmly compacted to prevent the house from tilting after a few years. This requires driving stakes deep into the ground at key points.

Typically, a house requires stakes to be driven into about a dozen points, and larger houses may need up to a hundred. Normally, it takes five people a whole day to drive in a few dozen stakes, meaning they can only complete one or two houses a day. Driving a single stake requires several people to take turns hammering it in, which is quite a heavy labor.

However, with this 'Black Sword,' the results are astonishing.

By raising the sword and bringing it down straight, the stake is driven into the ground with just one strike. While three people are needed to hold the stake, it only takes a few seconds to drive it in. It's so smooth that it becomes almost enjoyable.

By repeating this process, I can finish driving in stakes for ten houses by lunchtime, and sometimes even thirty by the end of the day.

But that was only at the beginning. After further improvements, we now have a team of two people holding the stakes vertically for each house, and I drive them in one after another, like an assembly line. This allows us to easily finish driving in stakes for fifty houses a day, significantly speeding up the construction.

As a result, I'm quite appreciated for taking on the most difficult work.

In reality, it's a bit different.

– It's simply enjoyable.

Driving stakes into the ground at the construction site is, to be honest, very enjoyable. I would do it even if no one asked me to.

However, I don't intend to monopolize this enjoyment. I thought about letting others do it, but it seems that no one else on the construction site can handle the heavy sword except me. ... Leen's father could lift it quite easily, though.

That's why I ended up taking the lead in driving stakes. As a result, my nickname became 'Stake Driver.' This is the first nickname I've been given as an adventurer, so it could be considered my 'title.'

In other words, I am Noll, the Stake Driver.

– Not bad.

Maybe I'll introduce myself with this title next time.

"Still... what is that black, flat sword-like thing made of? It's unbelievably hard, and it doesn't bend even after driving in so many stakes. It's so heavy that only you can lift it. I've never seen anything like it before."

The foreman looked at the 'Black Sword' by my side. Realizing I didn't know much about it either, I replied:

"Sorry, I don't know much about it. It was a gift."

"I see... But it's probably a 'Dungeon Relic.' I haven't seen many, but it seems that sometimes strange materials are excavated. They can fetch a high price at auctions. Maybe it's worth something?"

"Maybe. But I have no intention of selling it."

"Yeah, that's probably for the best. It's better for you to keep it."

"I've grown attached to it after using it for so long. That's my intention."

This 'Black Sword,' which I now carry with me all the time, has become like a partner. It looks bad, but it's very practical. The more I use it, the better I think it is.

Recently, I haven't had much time for training due to the construction work, but thanks to this sword, I don't feel like I'm lacking. The weight of the sword makes even just swinging it a good workout. I think I'm getting as much practice as I did when I was in the mountains, even though my training time has shortened.

Not only that, but this sword has saved my life multiple times and is useful on the construction site. It's also great for scraping off stubborn dirt in the gutters during gutter cleaning jobs—selling it would be out of the question.

I really got a good thing.

While we were chatting, I saw other workers coming in one by one.

"Well, let's get started."

"Already? Isn't it a bit early?"

"But the crew is already here. They've been influenced by you and are coming in early. So, let's start early and finish early. It's better that way."

"Alright, I understand."

The work started immediately, and I took my position, following the boss's instructions as usual. The stake driving is almost done, so today's main task is transporting materials for construction preparation.

The faces of the workers around me are the same as always, and I know them well. However, not all of them are from the kingdom. Some are former soldiers from the Empire who were captured and are now working on the reconstruction.

Apparently, the Empire is paying a substantial compensation, and they are being paid to work. Initially, I was surprised to learn that the person working next to me was an Imperial soldier, but they turned out to be decent people.

Most of them were originally poor farmers or fishermen from rural areas. Many joined the Imperial army out of desperation, seeking a salary and a secure position. They were given swords, but they were not well-trained.

Hearing this, I understood why I didn't feel much of a threat when I confronted them. They were really just untrained people. I think they are doing a much better job now.

They seem to be more lively now. Many of the Imperial workers had been told distorted things about the kingdom, but they found it to be a good place. They say the treatment as prisoners of war in the kingdom is much better. Some are saving money to return to their homeland, while others have decided to stay and even want to bring their families to the kingdom. It's a bit complicated, but it's not impossible.

There are all kinds of people on the construction site. There are enough of them, so the reconstruction is progressing smoothly.

In the end, the incident is called the 'One-Day War' because it was resolved so quickly. The kingdom and the Empire signed a peace treaty, and the walls and fortresses that separated them suddenly collapsed, leading to increased interaction.

It's a rather anticlimactic story. From what I've heard, they had a long-standing feud, but if they could get along like this from the beginning, it would have been much better.

While I was thinking about this, one of the workers called out to me.

"Noll, can you tell us that story again during the break?"

"The one about the goblins? Sure, but I can only tell the usual story."

"Yeah, I know. That's why it's good. I'll let the others know."

He went back to work.

He's a man I usually spend my lunch break with. The break is a fun time for me, not just for idle chatter, but also for sharing stories about monsters I know as an adventurer.

I'm not a particularly experienced adventurer, but—

The break is quite long, and there's nothing else to do besides eating, so everyone is probably bored.

Most of the stories I tell are about goblins. I've also told stories about poison frogs, but when I mention that they are good to eat, people ask me to stop, so I mostly stick to goblins. I don't have many other stories to tell.

When I talk about goblins, people make slightly strange faces, but I can understand why. In this kingdom, only professional adventurers and those who have been victims of goblins have seen them. Most people have never seen a real goblin.

That's why they want to hear the stories, I think.

◇◇◇

"So, the story of when I first met a goblin—It suddenly appeared out of nowhere. When I noticed, a giant, green creature, taller than the tallest trees in the deep forest, was looking down at us. I thought I was going to die. I had never seen such a large creature before."

As I started talking after finishing my lunch, the usual laughter followed.

"Stop it, goblins aren't that big."

As usual, the heckling began. It's understandable—people who haven't seen the real thing would think that. I thought the same thing before.

However, the people here have heard the story many times and know what happens next. They just enjoy the heckling. Everyone understands, so I continue the story.

"Yeah, I thought the same thing—Then, it pulled out a tree with one hand—held it like this. It had one in each hand and swung them around like twigs."

"Really, a goblin?"

"Yeah, a goblin."

Laughter followed, as it always does.

Everyone enjoys my stories, but many don't believe them. They think I made them up to entertain them. I exaggerate a bit to make them more interesting, but everyone seems to enjoy them, so I end up smiling.

I continued the story.

"Then, it was incredibly fast. I had heard that goblins were quick, but it slipped between the trees in the blink of an eye and was suddenly right in front of us. It knocked down trees and picked them up, throwing them at us."

"Wow, goblins do that?"

"Yeah, it was tough. I could only deflect the trees with my sword. If it weren't for my 'Silver-Rank' mage companion, I would have been dead. But the goblin dodged the huge ice spikes the mage shot and kept coming. It was a terrifying experience. I'm amazed I survived."

Laughter followed again.

"You deflected the trees with your sword? That's amazing."

"Well, you know, Noll can do it."

More laughter followed.

I'm just telling the truth, but it's hard to believe, I understand. I wouldn't have believed it either before I saw a real goblin.

"Still, why is such a powerful creature working with us on the construction site?—'Silver-Rank.' That's impressive. Goblins must be tough if they can even challenge a Silver-Rank adventurer."

"Yeah, she struggled too. She had talent and knowledge but lacked experience. She was surprised when she first met a goblin."

"Then, you pulled out the huge magic