Badlands Saga: Reincarnation in a Different World with Extreme Charisma - Chapter 41

Chapter 41   Too Late To Die 4

In the barren wasteland of Tanukan, where nothing exists, the wind howls relentlessly through the winter.

Winters here were always a bit harsh.

The dry climate meant no snow, which was a relief, but enduring was the only way to survive the winters in this land.

With the Karakan mountain to the south to block the wind, no trees, and no firewood…

Yet, unlike the Makiano grasslands, where one must prepare with everything they have or freeze to death, the cold here wasn’t quite that extreme.

If you stayed indoors and endured patiently, you could somehow make it through—that’s the kind of winter it was.

And so, despite the many lacks of Tanukan, we have survived for hundreds of years without being wiped out.

That said, cold is cold.

“Compared to Tsutomuporita, this place feels much warmer,”

…or so said the princess from the northern country. But harshness is harshness—it’s just the way it is.

However, this year was a little different, and we were spending what should have been a harsh winter in relative comfort.

The castle, which was usually as silent as if all fires had been extinguished, was bustling with activity thanks to the fuel brought by the Makiano merchants. The fireplaces and forges were working at full capacity.

The rooms were warm, food was plentiful, and with the alcohol I had brewed, everyone’s faces seemed a little softer.

“This winter feels like heaven,”

…the captain of the knights even muttered those words unconsciously. That’s how comfortable this winter was.

On top of that, I, who often traveled back and forth even in winter, had clothing made by Harriett from Makiano.

Woven from goat wool, this outfit was incredibly warm—so warm that I would break a sweat if I moved around outdoors.

If possible, I’d love to outfit everyone in the castle with it. It was truly the ultimate winter gear.

All this fuel, food, and clothing were brought to this wasteland by the Makiano merchants, whom I had baptized.

“They say it’s a token of gratitude for their baptism,” but so far, all I’ve been able to give them in return are potions and alcohol.

To properly repay this debt, once the Rock Dwarves’ workshop is complete, I hope to produce many goods and return their kindness with significant profits.

This long-awaited Rock Dwarves’ workshop of mine—

At the construction site, many Rock Dwarves were bustling about, looking incredibly busy with their tasks.

“Sorry, Fusha-sama, for calling you over like this.”

“No, no, Kodara, you’re the busiest one right now…”

In the break area of the construction site, Kodara and I spread out parchment across a large wooden table stained with soup marks and embedded cheese crumbs, and began our discussion.

Kintman, who I’d brought along as a guard, had stationed himself in front of the room’s heater, warming his chilled hands after handling the horses.

“Anyway, before the workshop is finished, I want to finalize as many details about this ‘engine’ project as possible.”

“Of course, ask me anything.”

The moment I said that, a loud snore came from a pile of blankets in the corner of the room.

It seemed a Rock Dwarf was taking a nap there.

With an annoyed tsk, Kintman tossed a piece of coal onto the blanket pile. A muffled grunt followed, and the snoring stopped.

“Sorry about this—it’s the only room we’ve got right now.”

“Don’t worry about it. I understand how tough things are.”

The reason we were holding our meeting in such a place was simple: Kodara was far too busy to leave the site.

On top of managing the already sizable group of Rock Dwarves from Folk, he now had to oversee the new arrivals from Makiano as well. The burden on him was immense.

However, Kodara was the only one who could speak even a little Makiano language, so he had no choice but to give all the orders himself.

Even Kodara’s usually scruffy beard looked tired as he scratched his head and continued speaking.

“Uh, well… I’ve kind of heard about it, but what exactly is this engine you want to make, Fusha-sama? You said something about using it to go to Zvaibe?”

“Well, the engine is… basically a machine that creates rotation, kind of like a windmill or waterwheel in function.”

“Hmm, I see. And you mentioned that to make that, we’ll need a lathe, right?”

Kodara continued talking while jotting down the overall plan on the paper.

“Exactly, the lathe…”

Kodara spoke as he wrote, methodically laying out the plan.

Compared to the other Rock Dwarves, who often specialize in just one skill, Kodara was truly flexible and incredibly advanced.

Even though I was speaking from memory, with many gaps in the concepts from my past life, he didn’t dismiss anything I said but instead processed it in his own way. He even asked me what was missing from the plan.

For someone like me, there could be no better technician than him.

I heard he used to run a blacksmith shop with Kintman and the others. Given how he’s handling things now, he must have been well-loved by his customers and the shop likely thrived.

“Hmm… Just writing it all down, there’s a mountain of things we need to make. We need to keep meeting and planning, or we’ll never finish in time…”

Kodara said, glancing out the window and watching the Rock Dwarves running around with building materials.

He was likely saying that meetings were important, but he couldn’t leave the site.

Well, I had already figured that out.

“It’s fine, I’ll come by as many times as needed. This workshop is the key to everything.”

I had things to do as well, but getting the workshop finished and starting on the engine development was urgent.

To further develop the economy in this region and beyond… perhaps I’m being a little grandiose…

But honestly, it was to honor the investment of the Makiano people, and to fulfill the trust placed in me by those in Zvaibe who believed in me and my reputation.

And of course, to prepare for the uncertain political situation in Folk in the future, I needed to secure a fast means of transportation, the motorvation.

I had made a promise to visit Zvaibe within three years, and I had to keep it.

Zvaibe was a mighty nation with a sibling-like relationship to Makiano, and breaking my word to them would mean the end of this wasteland.

However, if I took six months or a year to travel by horse, I couldn’t predict what would happen with Folk in the meantime.

This Rock Dwarves’ workshop, the most important facility to me personally, was carrying the weight of my anxious position, stuck between all these pressures.

“Well then, sorry to call you out like this, Fusha-sama, but for a while…”

As Kodara scratched his temple with his pinky, a red-haired Rock Dwarf casually entered the break room.

He stared at us in silence for a moment, then suddenly bolted out of the room, shouting.

“Fusha-sama’s here! Is that the head? It’s Fusha-sama!!”

“What!? Grab him by the legs if you have to! We need him to check the consistency of the concrete!”

“No, we’re first! I need to talk about the strength of the plastic bottle for the alcohol!”

Along with those voices, I heard the sound of people running toward us.

I suppose I could blame myself for moving forward with everything haphazardly…

But it seemed like there would always be reasons for me to come here during the winter.

On the way back from the workshop construction site, I noticed that large buildings were beginning to be constructed in the town below the castle as well.

The location was next to the Tadra Church… and next to the Macchano tribe’s Arima Church.

The buildings, being built with the help of townspeople who had some free time, were going to be the first orphanage in Tanukan.

“Looks like this one’s almost done.”

“Well, this one’s just for people to live in, isn’t it?”

“That’s true. The workshop, though, has to be fireproof, so it’s a different story. Maybe I should’ve made the workshop a bit smaller in the beginning.”

As Kintman and I chatted about that, walking down the main street, two men came running toward us from the orphanage on either side of the road.

“Hey! Hey! It’s Fushanklan-sama! As you can see, the construction of the orphanage is going smoothly…”

“Ah, that’s good to hear. I’ll stop by again soon.”

“The Wastelands’ Fusha-sama! Come here and have some tea! Ours will be even grander than the one across the street!”

“No, no, I was just passing by… I’ll take you up on it next time.”

The priests of the Tadra Church and the Arima Church were bickering, standing on either side of me in the middle of the street, despite barely being able to communicate with each other.

Behind them, children, dressed in somewhat shabby but seemingly warm clothes, peeked out from behind the priests and watched us.

Yes, the fact that an orphanage was needed meant that there were more orphans in Tanukan.

Last spring, all the orphans in this town were taken in by my knights… but that didn’t mean there were no more orphans left in the world.

Tanukan was a final disposal site for people from the country of Folk.

Criminals, the poor, orphans—they kept coming, one after another.

I couldn’t keep putting the burden on my knights by having them care for any more orphans.

So, after discussing it with my father and setting a budget, I decided to entrust the operation of the orphanage to the church, which had become much quieter than it was when we first arrived, almost to the point where I wondered what had happened to their earlier arrogance.

I was surprised when the Makiano Church suddenly announced that they were going to build an orphanage with their own funds…

Well, eventually, orphans from Makiano would probably appear too, so it won’t go to waste.

“Make it bigger than the building across the street!”

“Hurry up! The children are freezing!”

“Alright, good luck, but don’t rush too much and cause any accidents.”

“Of course!”

“The Wastelands’ Fusha-sama! Are you leaving already?”

“I was just passing by, but I’ll come again next time!”

I greeted the priests and left the church, surrounded by the noise of construction.

Then, on my way to the castle, I stumbled upon another construction site.

In that area, where only the remains of houses with mud walls were left, it seemed they were carrying out a large-scale demolition project.

“Huh, looks like they’re rebuilding here too.”

“Ah, yeah, I heard Benga’s wife is opening a tavern, so maybe it’s for that.”

“Oh, really? A small restaurant, huh.”

Benga is one of the knights in my order.

Since all the women in the castle cook together, I can’t really judge her cooking skills.

But owning a shop must mean she has some confidence.

I heard that my father recently gave the knights a war pension ahead of schedule, so maybe she used that as seed money.

By the way, the currency used for the pension was the Makiano coin, Laonix, which I brought into the household. The Folk side’s gold Tadulion is also used for taxes…

But with Makiano capital flowing into Tanukan right now, the Makiano coin is much more convenient to use.

“Right now, the only stores around here are Makiano tribe shops, so it would be nice to have a shop that the people in the castle can casually use.”

“That’s true.”

However, the currency used at her shop will probably be the Makiano Laonix…

Thinking ahead, it might be a good idea to have Medubal, who manages the finances of the Mystic Army, handle currency exchange as well.

About a week later, when I was thinking about these things, he returned from his business trip with an unexpected guest.