Chapter 10

As the three of them started to move, Ellie and I were left behind.

Lowering her eyelashes, I called out to her, who was standing with her hands tightly clasped below her stomach, looking down.

"I thought about asking Ellie to check on the children, but we needed you to stay behind."

"Me?"

"Yeah. After all, someone has to guard me, right? I plan to go check on the people who are staying here."

"Yes!"

Honestly, didn't she volunteer to be my guard? Was she feeling down because she didn't get any instructions?

But these housekeepers, despite saying there's no danger to the residents, don't forget to be extra cautious.

Still, if monsters or something were to attack... we have quite a number of people here, so it shouldn't be too difficult to repel them.

But I'm glad the four housekeepers, even if they're being overprotective, are concerned about me.

Thinking about the worrywart housekeepers, I chuckled and said, "Oh well."

"By the way, Ellie. And everyone else too..."

"Is something unexpected going to happen...? I'm sorry, but I don't sense any hostility."

It seems my chuckle backfired. Unfortunately, I don't have any danger detection ability.

I don't understand how my chuckle could lead to such a conclusion, but I think it's better to keep it simple and ask directly.

"I don't think there's any danger."

"Is that so?"

This isn't a post-apocalyptic lawless zone, you know. Ah, but it is lawless, isn't it?

Still, we need to establish some basic rules eventually...

Anyway, while walking, I remembered something and decided to ask Ellie.

"You don't make any sound when you walk, right? I heard from Rumburg that it's a butler's etiquette, but is it necessary for gardeners and maids too?"

"Training is required. Making noise would disturb... no, bother you, sir."

"Ah, I see... I can't do that."

I heard this from Rumburg a while ago, so my memory is a bit fuzzy, but the housekeepers in this world are really tough.

Alru, being a cat person, seems naturally good at walking silently, but the other three are human like me.

How do you even run without making a sound? If I walk slowly, I might be able to... but not really. The floor in the mansion I'm staying in creaks.

"Sir Joshua, please remain as you are. Your intellect and noble spirit, overflowing with compassion, are truly a gift from the gods. I am overjoyed to protect... to serve you."

"O-oh. Thanks. I appreciate it."

"Yes, with my life."

Heavy, so heavy. The maids in this world.

Even though they use such serious words, they blush and sigh. Haha, a dry laugh escaped me, but I decided not to delve into this matter any further.

◇◇◇

Wow. Amazing. With this many people, it's really fast.

Watching them cut down trees vigorously, I exclaim in admiration.

Even though they are scattered, within a 100 to 200-meter range, quite a number of trees can be cut down.

The felled trees are immediately stripped of their branches and turned into logs. Most of the logs are sawed into planks.

Yeah, logs have many uses too.

Thinking, "No need to worry. Everything will be fine," I smile.

Everyone is sweating, and I feel a bit guilty just standing here watching.

However, the situation changes when Torre, with a stern face, approaches.

"Is there a problem?"

Maybe someone got injured from a falling tree.

I was worried, but what Torre said was completely different from what I imagined.

"There isn't any."

"None?"

"That's right. There's absolutely no sign of 'combustion stones.'"

"Really... not even a little bit?"

"Exactly. Garam took some of the young ones to search by the river."

"Seriously...?"

"Perhaps the reason we couldn't settle here is the lack of combustion stones."

It's possible.

Without combustion stones, the foundation of our life would change.

In the duchy, I thought they would just dig up and find them easily.

They were so common that you could find them among the stones on the ground...

"Did you make a mistake?"

"Of course not. Just to be sure, I even tried channeling magic power into each pebble, but there was no reaction at all."

"Umm..."

It seems you've already done what I was thinking.

Combustion stones emit heat when a small amount of magic power is channeled into them.

In this world, everyone has magic power in their bodies and can use it.

To use what's called magic, you need a certain aptitude, but everyone has a weak flow of magic power.

I don't know much about magic power, but it's said to be part of the energy that moves living beings. In other words, as long as you eat and move, you will have magic power.

Everyone, humans and animals, all living beings, have magic power.

"Should we order combustion stones?"

"No, I don't want to rely on another country for something so fundamental. Let's find a substitute."

"Hehehe. As expected of the wise king! How about making charcoal?"

"Sure, let's start with charcoal. We can cook with it too."

"Let's make charcoal from firewood."

"Thanks. We'll need a lot."

"Leave it to me."

It's a good thing it's spring. If we were exiled in late autumn, it would have been tough.

Torre immediately gave instructions with a hearty laugh.

He didn't say it, but I understand. Charcoal alone won't be enough.

"Ellie, can you prepare a horse?"

"Yes, Sir Joshua's horse is always ready."

"Preferably a carriage, but I should have asked if we can ride a carriage from here to the Rubicon River."

"I think it's possible. Let's return to the mansion."

"Right, we came here by carriage from the duchy."

The journey from the duchy had some rough spots.

It turns out carriages can handle quite a bit.

"Yes, I heard from Rumburg the distance from here to the Rubicon River. It's flat."

"Got it. Let's go now."

"Understood."

Ellie placed her hand on her stomach and bowed deeply.

◇◇◇

We picked up Garam on the way and headed to the Rubicon River.

I wanted to go by carriage for this reason.

We didn't need to rush to the Rubicon River, but I thought it was better than just watching the logging.

About 10 minutes after picking up Garam, we arrived at the river.

It's as close as I heard. The mansion seems fine as it is.

But the center of the town, the core, will definitely be along the Rubicon River.

Getting off the carriage, I observed the Rubicon River closely.

The river is about 20 meters wide, as I heard. The current is quite fast, but it doesn't seem very deep.

"Sir Joshua?"

Ellie, with a blank expression, asked me, who was nodding thoughtfully with my arms crossed.

"Yeah, this should work. Where's Garam?"

"Over there."

Garam and his apprentices immediately started searching the riverbank for combustion stones... I wonder if they'll find any.

"Finding combustion stones would be lucky, but I'm planning to proceed on the assumption that we won't."

"Then why the Rubicon River?"

"Yeah. I want to build water wheels. The current is fast enough."

We'll need several water wheels to establish a foundation for our life.

Let's make use of the natural bounty of the Rubicon River.

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