The Matter of How Only a Political Rival Duke, Not My Own Family, Recognized My Worth After I Was Disowned ~When I Turned a Remote Frontier Territory Into the World’s Greatest City, the Noble Lady Assigned to Supervise Me Became the Best Fiancée~ - Episode 21: The Black Sun and the Baptism of the Wasteland

Episode 21: The Black Sun and the Baptism of the Wasteland

“—A burning stone, you say? Milord, you can’t be serious.”

The dwarf Gran stared suspiciously at the black stone I had picked up.

It was understandable — in this world, stones simply don’t burn.

“It’s faster to show you than to explain.”

I smiled. Then I took Gran and his apprentices back to our base camp.

At their temporary forge, I borrowed their furnace and had them make a few simple modifications under my instruction — improving the air intake and reinforcing the heat retention.

Even that much was enough to pique the dwarves’ curiosity.

Once preparations were complete, I lit a fire with ordinary wood first.

When the furnace was sufficiently heated, I tossed in the crushed coal.

“…It’s just smoking. Nothing more,” 

One of the apprentices muttered.

True — at first, it only gave off black smoke. It showed no sign of burning. 

But I knew what was coming — the ignition point. The switch that would turn this into a “sun.”

A few minutes later—

*Goooooooh!!*

With a roar like a beast’s cry, a brilliant flame erupted skyward from the furnace! It was white tinged with orange.

The temperature around us shot up instantly — even several meters away, the heat felt like it was scorching our skin.

“Wh-what’s with this firepower!?”

“This is nothing like wood fuel!”

“The furnace’ll melt at this rate!”

The dwarves shouted in astonishment and excitement.

Amid their clamor, only Gran stared into the fire. His eyes were wide. His voice was trembling with awe as he spoke like a man whose soul as a craftsman had just been struck.

“…Milord. With this… with this alone, we can work any metal, no matter how hard — as if it were soft candy. No… we might even be able to forge new alloys that were thought impossible!”

His eyes gleamed. They were the eyes of an explorer who had just discovered a mountain of treasure.

At that moment, our project’s success was all but guaranteed.

◇

That night. 

Surrounded by the astonishingly warm campfire fueled by coal,

I gathered the project leaders and outlined our master plan.

“Our plan is divided into three major phases.”

I spread out a hand-drawn schedule.

“Phase One: Establish our survival base.

We’ll prioritize constructing sturdy lodgings and warehouses, and food storage to last through the winter.

We’ll also install a simple heating system using coal.

Gran, I’m counting on you.

Meanwhile, Duncan will build defensive fences and watchtowers — security first.”

“Phase Two: Infrastructure and industrial activation.

Gilbert’s trading company will establish transport routes — from Grindel, for iron ore, and from the capital, for additional supplies.

During that time, we’ll start foundational work for the highway to the capital and begin construction of the steelworks.”

“Phase Three: Full-scale construction of the base city.

Once the groundwork is complete, we’ll build our town.”

The plan I laid out — concrete yet vast in scope — left everyone breathless.

No one spoke of fear or despair for this land anymore.

◇

The next morning, our camp buzzed with energy and optimism.

Everyone understood their role and was ready to move forward toward the future.

The plan was off to a perfect start—

—or so I thought.

“C-Count! It’s terrible!”

A guard was pale-faced and out of breath. He came rushing in.

“On the eastern edge of camp—by the forest boundary—there are… huge footprints! Lots of them!”

“What!?”

I hurried to the site — and froze.

On the ground were enormous three-toed footprints. Each of them was as big as a wagon.

Judging from their depth, the creature that made them was unbelievably massive.

At that instant, my skill [Territory Design] emitted its most urgent alert yet.

[Warning: Hostile presence with high-energy reaction detected over wide area.]

[Category: Dragon-type (Sub-Dragon) — high likelihood. Estimated count: multiple.]

(…Looks like our welcome party’s a little late.)

I narrowed my eyes toward the dark forest beyond.

It seemed the Alma Wasteland wasn’t going to accept intruders like us so easily.

The true “masters” of this land were about to deliver their savage baptism.