Chapter 86

In the center of the Central Grand Square stands the statue of Joshua.

The carpenters, who were diligently working on building houses, all lamented something every morning when they paid homage to the Joshua statue.

It was nothing other than the fact that the statue of Lord Joshua stood there all alone.

Nerac, which was planned to become the central city of the border barony, was promised great development. No one in this town doubted it.

If there was any doubt, it would be Joshua. The only other one who showed no interest in the town's development was a penguin. He was an existence outside the realm of human affairs, so it wouldn't be an exaggeration to say he was too peculiar.

Enough with the preamble; not only the carpenters but all the increasing number of barony residents were worried that the Joshua statue stood alone.

However, the border baron, who was deeply concerned about the residents, had already shown the way when he originally planned the construction of the Joshua statue.

It was just a frame for now, but he wanted to make a fountain centered around the Joshua statue. That was the baron's intention.

Was it good to leave it as it was in the middle of the plan? Was it good to leave the statue, which was beautiful but just a carved stone, as it was?

No, that wouldn't do.

The carpenters were roused.

In their busy schedules, they took turns, with at least one person always working on the statue, placing bricks at the site of the planned fountain, and gradually advancing the construction.

They borrowed all the help they could. The craftsmen poured their skills into it without reservation... and the very next day after the completion of the houses, they finally achieved it!

"Oohhh!"

The craftsmen, regardless of race, gender, or age, raised their voices in joy and embraced each other.

They were comrades who had worked together toward the same goal.

Other residents, hearing of the completion, took time off from their work to kneel before the completed Joshua statue and fountain.

Many were moved to tears. Some were so moved they couldn't return to work and had to be pulled away by others.

Among them was a refined man who had pressed a silk handkerchief to his eyes.

◇◇◇

(Sudden shift to Joshua's perspective. Beware!)

---

Joshua.

What the hell is this! When did this happen!

I did try to avoid coming to the square as much as possible. Even when I had to come, I tried not to look at that wimpy statue.

That was a mistake.

Today's companion is Ellie. She is shedding tears and staring intently at one point.

It's like this. The square was unusually noisy, so I poked my head out to see what was going on, and this is what I found.

A magnificent fountain had been built, and in its center stood the wimpy statue.

Moreover, the statue was coated in silver!

The wimpy statue of me, reflecting the sunlight and emitting an eerie glow.

What kind of harassment is this, ohhh.

I don't know if they heard the rumors, but all the gathered residents were kneeling and worshiping the wimpy statue.

It's quite a sight. Well, I'll secretly change it to a fox statue. No, a fox is a bit off-putting.

How about a penguin?

"Hmm. It's quite impressive."

"It's not that. I never meant to slight the fox."

"What are you talking about?"

Suddenly, Sequoia appeared from behind, which threw me off.

I might have been muttering that a fox wasn't necessary.

"What's wrong with that statue..."

"The statue's craftsmanship is, of course, impeccable. As expected of Torre."

"I don't deny the craftsmen's skills, but..."

If it weren't my statue, I might have praised it wholeheartedly.

The fountain and statue are so earnestly crafted by the craftsmen.

"Do you know what the silver is? It's also filled with indescribable craftsmanship."

"Beautiful! I can only say 'beautiful'... Please forgive me..."

Yeah. It does look shiny. Yeah.

And, Ellie, can you stop praying soon...

"It's not silver, right?"

"Yes, it's mithril. I don't know much about the construction methods, though."

"If it's mithril, it doesn't rust, it's hard, and it's resistant to damage, right?"

"Yes, but it's also difficult to process."

"I think Garam did it easily."

"That guy has reached the pinnacle as a blacksmith. He has abundant innate magic power and is skilled in handling it, though his skills are specialized in blacksmithing."

"Garam is really amazing. He can even solidify concrete."

"Dwarves and gnomes have long taken pride in 'craftsmanship.' Therefore, their techniques are specialized in that area."

"I wish I could use a bit of magic."

When I learned that this world had magic after reincarnation, I thought, "Magic, here I come!" But it wasn't that easy.

I had no time for magic practice with my busy schedule.

Sighing sarcastically, I noticed Sequoia had moved in front of me and was looking at me with a very awkward expression.

"It's impossible."

"What is?"

"Handling magic. For you."

"Eh? That's not true. If I really tried, I could probably do a Fireball."

"Your magic power is barely enough to infuse a magic item. You can't even gauge someone else's magic power, can you?"

"Eh? Isn't that obvious? Only experts can measure magic power, right?"

"It's the basics of the basics."

"Eh, eh..."

People have their strengths and weaknesses. Yeah.

If you can't do something, no matter how hard you try, you can't do it. Haha.

Don't even think about pointing out that I haven't even tried!

When I covered my ears, Sequoia turned away with an incredibly displeased look.

"No, giving up is important. Even if I trained, I wouldn't be able to use magic."

"If I stuck with you for about three months, you might be able to light a candle."

"Really? Just three months. How many hours of training a day?"

"At least six hours. And your basic stamina is lacking, so maybe two hours of running?"

"No way!"

Farewell, dream of using magic.

Dreams are just dreams, fleeting things.

That night, I learned that mithril coating is an incredibly labor-intensive process.

The mithril is ground into a powder and then magically "stretched" after being thinly applied.

Grinding the mithril into powder is already a daunting task, and the "stretching" process is even more so.

Such a high and steep path... it wasn't necessary for that wimpy statue...