After Retirement, Living a Stud Life in Another World - 224

Chapter 224: The Wall

It turned out to be a busy winter, but finally, peace—though it might be only temporary—has returned to our lives.

After that, I returned to Baden with the Fourth Magic Corps, mostly made up of earth magic users, and I designed earth walls to surround the city of Stuttgart and the surrounding farmland. Well, I didn’t do much except silently agree with the initial plan, which was created by the corps commander and “wife” Gretel. I have no talent or knowledge in civil engineering, and it will be my reliable childhood friend who will risk her life using these defensive walls. It’s best to leave such things to the experts.

So, for just over a month now, the area around the city has been in a construction frenzy. Sure, the area of wheat fields has decreased a bit due to the walls, but when you’re told that monsters will come crashing down like waves in the near future, there’s no time to hesitate. Thanks to Beato’s amazing magic, we’ve had an unexpected surplus of “spring wheat,” so the people’s food supply is no longer a problem. It’s fine, I suppose.

Even so, the civil works by the earth magic users are incredible. Two hundred or so women chant together, and when they point their magical staves forward, the ground in front of them is instantly excavated, three meters deep, three meters deep in height, and about two hundred meters wide, floating into the air.

The floating earth moves several meters through the air and then drops with a thud. Essentially, it’s like digging a three-meter deep trench in front of them and building an earth wall of the same height behind it. This huge project can be done in just a few seconds. I knew it, but it’s still amazing how powerful magic is. Of course, after that, the prisoners of war do the job of solidifying the mound and building watchtowers.

If they repeat this ten times a day, the city is quickly surrounded by earth walls. In just over a month, the first round of walls has been completed, and now they are constructing the second round of walls just a few dozen meters away.

“It’s been a while since we’ve had such a large-scale project, so everyone is really motivated,” says the leader of the Fourth Magic Corps, who is overseeing the construction with me. She’s a kind-looking woman in her mid-fifties, the illegitimate daughter of a count.

“I’m sorry for all the trouble,” I say.

“No, no, this is nothing. During wartime, we use magic like this dozens of times a day… The magic recovery doesn’t keep up, and we have to chug down potions just to keep working. That’s tough,” she says, with a wry smile.

She talks about the last war with the Empire, where they had to dig up the ground with tremendous force to stop the enemy advancing as human shields. It was hard work, but since the queen herself, the kingdom’s best earth magic user, led the civil engineering team, they couldn’t afford to slack off.

“If only we had more people with better magical powers, we could be of more help to Her Majesty the Queen. I’ve heard that His Grace the Marquis possesses ‘God’s seed’ to make female mages stronger. If you’re willing to consider our contributions, perhaps you could look at some of the women in our corps? If any of them catch your eye…”

Oh boy, the commander’s turned into quite the matchmaker. But it seems like her motives are pure. According to what Liese sister told me, the Fourth Corps, which specializes in civil engineering, is a loyal group that feels deep admiration for the queen, the top earth mage. I’m easily swayed by such serious people, but…

“Yeah, unfortunately, I can’t choose a partner on my own. I do think they’re all attractive, though…”

“My apologies! To ask His Grace directly for ‘God’s seed’ is a great disrespect. We must work ourselves to the bone to make Stuttgart’s defense perfect, so we can earn Her Majesty’s recognition. Once we have that recognition… “

Ugh… knowing Her Majesty, she’d probably say, “Yes, I permit it!” just like that. These people aren’t bad, and I do want to show my gratitude, but the fact that it’s tied to my seed… well, that’s a bit much. I need to make sure Beato is prepared and adjusts the situation to the minimum.

“Oh, how rude of me. I was talking about such a crude matter, but that’s not your concern right now, is it? Your beloved concubine, ‘wife,’ is about to give birth, after all.”

The commander, who had been pushing hard earlier, now smiles with a soft look, like a grandmother waiting for the birth of a grandchild.

Right, that’s right. My beloved childhood friend is now in her ninth month, and in a few days, she’ll surely give birth to a beautiful little daughter. I can’t wait!