I'm sorry to have to ask you to do that.
No, no, no, don't worry about it.

　With a smile on his face, the King of the Knight Kingdom of Restia waved his hand. He's as handsome as ever. As expected of my brother-in-law Reinhardt, the elder brother-in-law. I haven't married Hilda yet, though.
　We are now riding in the carriage of the Knight's Kingdom of Lestia, heading to the Felsen Royal Palace. The knight king has arranged for us to meet with King Felsen.
　It's not a good idea to barge into the palace at the gate, so I transferred my carriage with my knight guards to the front of the royal capital, and from there I came with Knight King Reinhardt in a clatter.
　When I showed the knight king the results of my investigation into the theft and told him that Felsen was suspicious, he crossed his arms and twisted his neck. I asked him why.

What can I say I wonder if that King Felsen would do such a thing?

　Restia and Felsen are neighbors. Because of its geography, Restia only borders Felsen and the Lyle Kingdom, basically, it has a close relationship with these two countries.
　I've heard that in the long history of the two countries, they've been hostile to each other, but for now, they continue to have a good relationship.
　The knight king says that King Felsen is an unrestrained, unscrupulous person, doesn't bother with details, and doesn't resemble a wizard at all. His hobby is physical training, which is unusual.
　It is said that the previous king of the Felsen Kingdom was devoted to researching magic, but he was killed in an accident during his research. It is said that he was succeeded by his younger brother, the current king.
　Unlike his older brother, the current King Felsen, Blanje Frost Felsen has always been more interested in martial arts than in magic since childhood. That doesn't seem to have changed now that he has become king.
　This time, the ostensible reason for the visit was about Enrash Island, which is located in the center of the four countries of Rhodomea, Felsen, Lyle, and Restia, in the Rond Sea, which is connected to the great river of Gau.



　The island is part of Restia's territory, but there are no resources to be mined, and there are apparently many powerful magical beasts on the island. The land is so barren that not much crops can be grown, and there are also magical beasts that attack ships lurking in the large rivers in the vicinity, making it an island that honestly can't hold on to.
　But when I looked at the location of this island, I had an idea and made a suggestion to the Knight King Lestia.
　I'm sure it's not too early to say, but I'm going to connect the four countries around this island with a bridge.
　It's a huge bridge, but it's not impossible. This would make it possible to trade from Restia to Rhodomea and from Lyle to Felsen, making it much easier. It would also make it possible for the island to develop into a commercial market, if buying and trading could be done here.
　Of course, each country would have to set up a kind of customs office to control the import and export cargo.
　I'll build the bridges between the island and the other countries. In exchange for taking on the responsibility of exterminating the island's magical beasts, I will also receive a portion of the tolls that pass through the island.
　I've already received permission from Lord Mare and Lyle. All that was left was to get Felsen's permission. Even if they don't get permission, the three countries are planning to build a trade route alone, so I don't think they will do anything that will harm only their own country in this situation.

''I heard that Felsen has developed magical technology.
''Yes, I heard that you're also researching magic tools (artifacts), ancient magic, engraving magic, granting magic, charms, ninjutsu, ninjutsu, beast manipulation magic, and other magic arts that are already out of date.

　Basically, there are only seven attributes of "magic", but there are also "jutsu" that use magic power that has developed independently apart from these. Tsubaki-san's ninjutsu is an easy one to understand.
　These, like magic, are not dependent on such things as aptitude. They are said to be something that anyone can master. However, they require incredibly rigorous training. There are people who take five years to learn it, and others who can master it for ten years, but only the most rudimentary techniques. In that sense, it may be a field that requires more talent than magic.
　Also, there are some that are only passed down in certain regions or in certain families, so it is difficult to grasp all of them. As I recall, I thought the Fujinjutsu was Euron's, the art used by those guys called Daoists.

''Fuyoru-dono also has it, but almost 60% of the weapons and armor that are granted magic are made in Felsen. Unlike Fuyoru-dono's Enchantment, it doesn't have a 100% success rate, so it's probably not enough to allow for consistent mass production.
'Does that mean you make a lot of mistakes? How likely is it to happen?
Apparently, one success out of ten is a good thing.

　It's less than 10%..... That's a lot of money.
　There seems to be a way to increase the success rate of the granting magic or something in the "library". No, if it's a lineage that developed independently, there might not be. In fact, ninjutsu was born in Yisheng, but apparently no one lived there 5000 years ago....
　While I was thinking about this, the carriage passed through the castle town and entered the Felsen Royal Palace.
　The castle of Felsen was different from the French mansions in that it had the feel of an English fortress. It was not like a French mansion, but it had the feel of an English fortress. Built on top of a hill, it has a retro-chic wizard's castle feel to it.
　When I arrived at the entrance of the castle and got off following the knight king, a man was standing at the entrance hall entrance.
　He is over 40 years old. He's quite tall and wears armor of brawny muscles. He looks like a football player or a professional wrestler.
　His beard covers the lower part of his face, and his messy, stroked, all-back hair is somewhat gray. His short white cloak was embroidered with gold, and in his hand he held a platinum king tin.
　What caught my attention more than that was the large claw marks on his cheeks. What is that? Did you fight a tiger?

Welcome to Felsen. The Knight-King of Restia and the Young Duke of Brunhild.

　Then that huge man - the King of the Felsen Kingdom, Blanje Frost Felsen, grinned.




I see, a bridge to Enrush. It is true that this will bring a great deal of benefit to each of the countries. But...

　King Felsen strokes his beard as we speak.

Is there a problem?
'Even if the bridge is built, Enrash is still Restia's territory. That said, wouldn't it be possible to stop the trade of other countries depending on Restia's intentions?
'Don't worry about that. As soon as the bridge is built, that island will be divided into four parts and given to each of the countries. In return, we will ask Brunhild to pay ten percent of the bridge's tolls to his country for its construction.

　King Felsen's concern was answered once and for all by Knight King Restia.
　To be honest, I would have been happy to build a bridge for free, but the governor of all the provinces in Rhodomeer said that it would be better to receive this kind of thing strictly for a fee, so I decided to take it.
　It's pretty cheap, but it's still quite a lot of money, since it's a pretty long bridge. We made a deal that the money would be repaid by getting ten percent of the toll tax, and once it was full, we wouldn't get any more. If all goes well, it will be repaid in ten years or so. Of course, if you can pay it all in one lump sum, then you can have it paid off.
　I was actually planning to install a transition gate or something, but in that case, I'd be the only one who could fix it if it broke. The bridge is better for the future.

"But, King Brunhild. Can you really build four bridges, one for each country?

　The one who opened his mouth to say so was an elderly man who was also sitting at the round table we were sitting at. He had chestnut-colored hair and blue eyes. He was the vizier of Felsen, with eyes like a hawk. His name was Amond, as I recall.

'If you have the right materials, you can build it in three days. It's not like we're building a complicated bridge.
'Isn't three days too much to ask? Even if you used the giant named Flame Gear that the Lord King has, how could you possibly do four bridges in three days?

　Amond gives me a suspicious look, though not blatantly. Well, it's hard to believe. Besides, we don't use frame gear to build it.
　We're just going to do the same work we did when we built Brunhild's castle in the "workshop". It's more work than that, but with the increased power of the Tower, the Workshop can complete it in that amount of time.

We don't use frame gear for construction. There's one that can take materials and transfer them into a specified shape. In other words, you can take a block of stone and remake it into a bridge shape.
...Is it an artifact?
Well, that's about it. Only I can use it, though.

　A gloomy man, too skinny to know what he's thinking, interrupted me from the side. A moment ago, he had eyes like a dead fish, but now his eyes were glittering. One of the court wizards of the Felsen Kingdom. 'Rudor, was it?

''Why is it that only the Lord King can use it?''
That's the artifact, that's all I can tell you. Please don't let this be a top secret in our country.
'Well..... I'm sorry.

　With a small sigh, Rudolph's eyes went back to looking like a dead fish again. He seems to be indifferent to anything that doesn't interest him.
　King Felsen chuckles and turns his attention to me.

I'm sorry," he said. He's tired of being stuck in his study.
Oh, no. Don't worry about it.

　We're used to seeing people overreact to unknown magic. Like Charlotte of Belfast and her master, Lean.
　There's me and King Restia the Knight King, King Felsen and his vizier, Amond the vizier, Rudolph the court magician, and one other person here.

I'm sure His Majesty has some wonderful artifacts and tools, such as the Titan Soldier. After all, it was found in the ruins somewhere?
Well not all of them. I made some of them myself.
Oh, I see. His Majesty possesses enchantment and has all the attributes. I really envy you.

　The one who laughed at that was the guildmaster of the huge guild of wizards, artisans, merchants, and everything in Felsen, the 'Masonic Trade Association', Yezes. He has gray hair and wears sunglasses. I didn't know sunglasses existed..... Moreover, they are somehow tinged with magical power. There's no doubt that there's something attached to it.
　It's stinky. Well, it's not a good idea to conclude that just because he wears sunglasses that he's suspicious.
　Honestly, after meeting King Felsen, I don't think this guy is the mastermind behind stealing the frame gear, as King Restia Knight says. It's just a gut feeling, though, so maybe he's hiding his true nature well.
　Amond, the Prime Minister, Rudolph, the court magician, and Yezes, the merchant chairman.
　Perhaps one of them could be the mastermind. What if they were working on their own without King Felsen's permission. All three of them must have that much power.
　This is bad. It would be impolite to suspect anyone of anything.

I agree with you about the bridge. If the construction is complete, then we'll do what the other three countries have done and pay Brunhild a portion of the tolls to repay the construction costs.
Your Majesty. Are you sure?

　Amond, the Prime Minister, asks for confirmation.

If we don't get on board with our country, we'll have a lot of money to spend. It's too elaborate to think that the other three countries are conspiring to invade us. And with King Brunhild acting as an intermediary, will the Duchy help us if something goes wrong?
If it comes to that, that is.

　These four countries can be said to be on friendly terms at the moment. However, anything could lead to war. It is possible that the bridge could be used as a route of invasion. We're going to build a defensive barrier or a partition wall to prevent that from happening.

I'd like to have a look at this bridge, but there's something I'd like to show to King Brunhild, if you don't mind.

　Looking at me, King Felsen grinned and smiled wryly. What is it?