Steel and Mana

Chapter 225 – Summer

It was a hot day. The sun was out in full force, with no clouds in sight, glaring down at the workers like a magnifying glass on a group of ants.

"Boss, are you good?" Asked Lorbek, a sturdily built middle-aged man with a sunkissed complexion. He walked up to his sweating supervisor with wide strides before handing him a wet towel he had just soaked into the flowing river next to their construction site.

"I'm fine, I may be an old one, kid, but I'm not weak!" Bartholomeo, or as everyone used to call him, Bart, answered while taking it and wiping his face off.

"Kid? Old man, I am already thirty! I am no longer the green-nosed klutz you can order to run around!" He laughed while many others who were there with them were working on laying a massive foundation, followed by their own laughter. "I have grown twice your size~!"

"I know, I know…" Bartholomeo smiled, throwing the towel over his shoulders and reopening the plans he was given two weeks ago. "But with this… I do feel like a teenager once again. The last time we built something grandiose like this one… Ooooh, I'm just shivering by thinking about it!"

"It does look like a masterwork…"

"It is!" The brigade leader nodded, his aging voice filled with renewed vigor. "This is what it means to be a builder! I always wanted to create things like this! When I visited the capital for my studies as a lad, I saw their walls, the houses of nobles, the bridges over the rivers… It was everything I wanted. Why do you think I joined the Royal Masons Guild? Yet… what did we end up building? Where did I meet half of you?"

"Building fancy stables for nobles to house their horses." Many answered in unison, making themselves and Bartholomeo sigh. Just because most of them were faraway parts of the Empire, they were less trusted with grandiose works, unlike those guild members who were born closer to the central regions within Ishillia.

The group present on this day was among the people Clara brought with her. They not only built the train station in Lothlia but also began laying the railways, something they were baffled by, thinking it was a nonsense endeavor. Until they were raided... After their capture, they passed Merlin's and then the multiple officer screenings and were now temporary citizens of Avalon. Many of their families were already transferred over, openly or covertly, before being discovered and disposed of by Avalon's enemies. They were unsure what would happen to them, but after entering the city, seeing how it was built, and witnessing the inventions displayed at every corner, they were awed by it. Especially as devoted professionals, they wanted to see all the masonry within the city, spending weeks doing nothing, just walking around and asking questions from either ministry clerks or whoever came by them and were willing to tell the tale of how the city came to be.

Then, when Bartholomeo was called to the office of Minister Rennar, who was this city called Avalon's Minister of Architecture. Bart didn't know what to expect, but luckily, the minister was straightforward, and he got right into the matter of things: they got a new job offer. The moment he looked at the blueprint, he accepted it, no questions asked, not even if they would be paid or not. All he wanted was to go to his new home, study the plans, and begin building it. When he gathered his team, all the people he had met throughout his life, they were ready to follow him without asking for details. They were people who Bart had mentored or supported to go through the official royal channels; become part of the Royal Guild... Finally, at this faraway place, everybody had the chance to prove they were worthy of the title of Master Craftsmen.

The factory they were building was unlike anything he had ever seen before, and learning that it was something called a Coal Plant just further excited him. The best part was that they were going to work with magic! Bartholomeo only once had the chance to operate with formations, which happened back when he was in training. They used magic that canceled out the weight of materials while wearing magical boots that kept them stuck to the floor. It was an experience that always returned via his dreams.

Now, it was a chance to do it again! When he was first told that after laying the foundation, when construction truly started, they would be given tools that had the same effect on hastening their work, he couldn't believe it. But it had to be accurate because the blueprints also had magic drawn on them. When asked about it within the Ministry, he was told that the Prime Minister himself, a mage, would come and etch them on, teaching them how to copy formations from paper to metal. It was a skill that was mandated for them to learn... This was unbelievable because Bartholomeo only knew the Guild Masters, a very selective group, to possess the knowledge. It was something that, even after the formula of cement was made public, remained a shrouded secret.

"Aren't you nervous?" Lorbek asked, pointing at the magic symbols, "We never did something like this…"

"I am not. I am excited! You shouldn't be worrying, either. We will be taught, and we will learn. That's it! Don't you realize? This is our test! The local building guilds, if they have any, are used to working with magic… Whoever we asked, they talked about lifting blocks as heavy as fifty men by themselves! If people who never attended a proper academy, never worked within the Royal Guilds, and never had to put up with nobles' nagging and hysterical wishes can do it, then we can do it too!"

"Woah, Boss, relax, you will get a heatstroke!" Lorbek laughed, but Bart just grinned, closing the blueprints.

"Not even the Goddess of Death, Ariana herself, can take me now, kiddo! I will see it through at all costs. We will show the locals that we have arrived and can build just as smoothly… if not quicker!"

…
….
……

"Did something happen, Merlin?" I asked, yawning, seeing him stand ready while I left my dining room after I was finished with my breakfast. "I was up until late… If it isn't serious, we can postpone it. I want to rest for a day..."

"Well… it isn't serious, but it is."

"Which is it, kid?" I shrugged, looking at him, and even as an almost grown-up, he barely reached my chest, remaining baby-faced.

"The new builders. They are ahead of schedule… by a lot! I brought our professionals there to examine their work, thinking they were cutting corners, but they were not. Their work is as solid as it can be."

"Good news then."

"Yeah, but now our workers feel annoyed…"

"Ahaha, a bit of rivalry, eh?" I laughed, rubbing my chin but realizing that, yeah, I couldn't let the two groups go at each other. They were now both considered Avalonians. Friendly rivalry is fine, but if it grows into animosity, that's no good. "Did you start screening our men? For the underground project?"

"I did, but… the construction of the boring machine has just started. It will take time to finish, so I didn't want to be hasty about it. I trust that those who I pick won't blabber, but I want to be extra sure."

"You know what?" I asked, stopping, making him almost fall over as he followed suit in a hurry, looking up at me, "If they want to build so much, we will put out a new event. Tell them that they can try to design a proper bathhouse! The winner, just like with our old fountain competition, is going to be announced after I review all their submissions. As for the reward, the building will wear its creator's name! The Something-something Bathhouse!"

"A bathhouse?"

"Yep! Make it grandiose. It would be a place where people can go and relax. Make sure to tell them to make it so that it has indoor and outdoor parts. It can then be used in the summer and in the winter! After I decided which one won, while building it, those who performed well could be selected for our secret project. They will have ample opportunity to show their talents in extreme circumstances and build an underground city if they are so worked up by some newcomers."

"Hmm… Rennar and the rest can host it… I will see to it, Leon!" He chuckled, smiling before hurrying away.

It was good to see that he was back to normal, being the Merlin I knew initially. He was, once again, doing a hundred things at once and enjoying it. Since becoming a man, he never once mentioned his old self either. Hehe… Everything was going back to normal. I just had to not think about it, or I may jinx it!

"Faster!"

"Faster!"

Turning towards the shouts, I wanted to laugh but ended up twitching my mouth instead because it was Leyla and Arthur racing through the corridors of the palace on Yuri and Luna's back, respectively. Are they… ruining my little angels? Because this time around, they were wearing reins and biting onto the part that ends up in horses' mouths… Kinky bastards. I just hope those two idiots don't think about naughty things while indulging in my kids' playtime.

"Ah, Leon!" Mikan appeared, holding Lancelot, feeding him, and having her left breast out while my son was suckling on it with the happiest face possible. That's my boy! Khm. "Sasha was looking for you! It's about the train ride!"

"Oh yes, yes, it is tomorrow. Gotcha! Thanks~! I almost forgot." I walked up to her and gave her a kiss before stroking my son's head, "I am having an off day today. I wanted to head out for a walk to move my joints! Want to come along?"

"Not now; I am overseeing the two; they just run too fast…" She answered with a shy smile mixed with a bit of frustration because of Yuri and Luna's antics.

"I have a feeling you are talking about Luna and Yuri and not about our twins."

"I am." She nodded, being a hundred percent serious. "They are becoming very cocky, especially when Sasha is not here. You should speak with her; she is still trying to create that... flamethrower weapon, but she is frustrated she can't shield the user from the heat of magic."

"I see. Maybe he does need a little bit of rest and to let her steam out... Hmm! You know," I leaned close and whispered into her ear with an evil grin, making her blush with my words, "just tell Sasha that the two idiots are a bad influence on the kids... Then we can play one night in a way where you will be the one giving them a lesson~!"

Leaning back and looking into her eyes, I saw she was red as a tomato, but to my surprise, she simply nodded her head, licking her lips with her gorgeous pink tongue. Oh yes... this will be a fun day off for me!