Chapter 98

Chapter 98:  Building a Breakwater? (2)

The coast of Mudside.

“Come on, pull from that side!”

 Kkieek… Kkieeeek!

A massive Cockatrice kicked up sand as it thrashed, while the Daphne Knights ran around gripping chains, restraining its body.

“Good heavens…”

“That’s impressive.”

From the laborers near the village to the retainers watching from a distance, everyone stared wide-eyed at the sight.

Then it happened.

“Alright, settle down now.”

Chwarrrrk! Chwarararark!

Hardin, standing atop the Cockatrice’s head, wrapped its beak tightly in chains, then leapt down to the ground with a thud.

And then—

“Aaagh! You damned chicken-head! Stay still for a second!”

Mikkelsen, straining and pulling at the chain from the front, came fully into view.

His grip on the chain was tight, and his face was twisted like a ghost’s.

Hardin smacked Mikkelsen’s back and spoke.

“Easy, easy. Pull like that and you’ll hurt the poor thing.”

“E–Easy? There’s no way that’s gonna work! Uwaah! Pull on your side! It’s dragging me away!”

Mikkelsen loosened his strength for a moment at Hardin’s words, only to be dragged along by the chain.

“Well then, good luck with that.”

“Nooo!”

Hardin smiled and simply walked past him.

Then he stretched briefly before tapping his lower back with his fist.

“Ah, my back, my neck…”

Cobalt, Malion, and the Daphne retainers standing further in couldn’t take their eyes off Hardin.

‘Huhhh…’

He really built the breakwater?

Their jaws wouldn’t close.

From hauling in the Cockatrice to finishing a stone breakwater in just three days—

Every single thing Hardin had done made no sense.

When he stormed out of the meeting, everyone had thought he was just being unreasonable…

‘To think he’d actually pull it off.’

‘Not in a month, but just three days…’

At this point, if someone wrote this into a knight’s tale, people would call it absurd.

Honestly, it was hard to believe this was even reality.

And the ones most baffled by the situation…

‘…’

Were none other than the father and son, Cobalt and Malion, who had been the most adamant in trying to stop Hardin.

At that moment, Malion spoke.

“Father.”

“What is it?”

“Brother… really did it.”

“So it seems.”

Their faces looked vacant, as if their souls had left their bodies.

The two blinked as their eyes darted between Hardin approaching them and the breakwater standing tall in the distance.

Hardin came right up to them, pointed behind him, and calmly said,

“Well, what do you think? The breakwater’s done.”

Flinch!

The two exchanged glances, then, with awkward smiles, opened their mouths again.

“…R-Right. Very well done!”

“It looks sturdy and well-built. Hoho!”

“…”

What’s with that complete flip in attitude?

When Hardin stared silently without reacting, beads of sweat formed on the two men’s foreheads.

Then they quickly raised their voices even more.

“As expected of you, Hardin! My proud son! I knew you’d do an excellent job!”

“I also knew you’d pull it off, Brother! Hoho! Don’t you all agree?”

Malion looked to the retainers as if asking for agreement.

“That’s right!”

“As expected of the Young Master.”

“Hoho, hohohoho! Magnificent! I knew you would succeed!”

Everyone clapped along with their forced laughter.

Then…

“Oh, it’s nothing great. I just did a bit of odd work, that’s all.”

Though he waved his hand dismissively, the corners of Hardin’s mouth wouldn’t stop twitching.

“Odd work? You accomplished something incredible.”

“I never would’ve imagined you’d do something like this.”

While the retainers showered him with praise, Hardin glanced toward Cobalt and Malion.

‘I… I didn’t think it’d turn out like this…’

Both men wore faces full of embarrassment and awkwardness.

Hardin let out a small chuckle before speaking.

“Hey, Father. Malion.”

“Ahem… What is it, Hardin?”

“Yes, Brother?”

When the two quickly forced awkward smiles, Hardin asked with a sly tone,

“I heard you two pulled all the people away, didn’t you?”

“Pulled them away? What do you mean…?”

“You evacuated all the villagers and laborers, right? Isn’t that so?”

Flinch!

Cobalt’s gaze wavered, unable to focus.

“Ah, well… That was a decision I made to prepare for any possibility.”

“What kind of possibility?”

“If… if the tidal waves were strong, the village could’ve been flooded. So I was just making preparations, hoho!”

When the two desperately explained, Hardin tilted his head.

“So what you’re really saying is… you didn’t trust me?”

“H-Huh? What are you talking about?”

“I told you I’d have the breakwater finished in a month, no matter what. You evacuated them because you didn’t believe me, right?”

“Not trusting you? Now that’s hurtful talk, hoho!”

“It was for just in case, I told you.”

Honestly, wasn’t it stranger to believe he could pull off something like this in the first place?

The two felt unfairly accused.

“That’s too much. Way too much. I work myself to the bone, and not a single person believes me. How’s a man supposed to be motivated to work like this…”

When Hardin shook his head in mock disappointment, their faces grew even more awkward.

And then—

Thunk!

Cobalt placed an arm over Hardin’s shoulder and spoke.

“Come on now, cheer up, Hardin. It’s a good day, isn’t it? A good day!”

“That’s right, Brother!”

“Just saying it’s a good day doesn’t exactly make me feel any better.”

When Hardin stuck out his lips in a pout, pretending to sulk, Cobalt carefully tested the waters.

“Is there something you want? Good food? A banquet? Tell me whatever you need!”

“Tell me too, Brother! I’ll do anything I can for you!”

As the two spoke eagerly with faces full of enthusiasm, Hardin suddenly looked at them differently and asked,

“You’ll really do anything?”

“W-Well… as long as it’s nothing too extreme…”

“Just tell us.”

What’s he planning to ask for now?

Worry and curiosity mixed on their faces when Hardin crossed his arms and said,

“Alright then, I’ll ask for just one thing. No more, no less.”

“What is it?”

“Build me a birdcage.”

“A birdcage?”

“What… are you planning to keep a pet bird or something?”

When the two frowned in confusion, Hardin pointed his thumb behind him.

“No. I want you to make a cage for that thing.”

“Huh?”

Their gazes followed to where the Cockatrice was bound tightly in chains.

“When you say ‘that thing,’ Brother… you mean the Cockatrice?”

“Yeah, that’s right.”

“…”

Just then, the Cockatrice thrashed, letting out a cry through its slightly open beak.

– Kikik! Kiiiiii…

It hung limp, exhausted from the constant work, unable to move with all the chains wrapped around it, but its massive body alone was enough to radiate an oppressive presence.

And he wanted them to build a cage for it? Why?

Malion asked with an uneasy expression, half-dreading the answer.

“Are you… planning to keep it?”

“Of course.”

…What?

The faces of the two men and the surrounding retainers went pale.

Cobalt forced himself to keep his composure and quickly blurted out,

“W-Wait! Keep the Cockatrice? But the breakwater’s already built!”

“Come on, if we have it around, we can use it for other construction later. And besides, there’s no other option.”

At that, Malion flung out an arm and shouted,

“What do you mean no other option! We can dispose of it!”

Smack!

Hardin’s palm came down on Malion’s head.

“Hey, what’s with ‘dispose of it’? Watch your mouth.”

“Huh?”

“It built the breakwater for the sake of the family and worked itself half to death, and you’re talking about getting rid of it instead of treating it like a treasure?”

“And why not! That thing’s obviously dangerous just by looking at it! If something happens while you’re keeping it, how are you going to handle it?”

“That’s why I’m asking. Build a sturdy cage so even if that thing goes wild, nothing bad will happen.”

“But…”

Tap tap!

Hardin patted Malion’s shoulder and smiled.

“From here on, I’ll leave everything to you two.”

What kind of cage is he even asking for?!

Leaving the two standing there with dumbfounded expressions, Hardin walked away.

“W-Wait, Brother! Hardin, Brooootheeer!”

“H-Hardin…!”

Malion stretched out his arm in a rough cry, while Viscount Cobalt couldn’t even find the words to respond.

---

From the day the breakwater was completed, the construction of the trading port advanced at lightning speed.

“Move that over here!”

“Today we’re finishing the base work!”

“Yes, sir!”

Materials were carried, hammers pounded, saws cut—everything ran like clockwork.

Under the direction of several Daphne retainers and foremen who came to supervise, over 300 workers moved all over from early morning until sunset.

Meanwhile…

Near the massive iron cage built a short distance from Mudside—

“Alright, everyone! It’s dangerous, so step back!”

“Yes, sir!”

At Beryl’s gesture and shout, the workers nearby quickly scattered.

– Kkieeeek!

Then…

The Cockatrice, its ankles bound in thick chains, spewed petrifying venom onto the ground, and large chunks of stone rose up where it landed.

– Kkieek… Kkieeeek…

“Good work.”

When the Cockatrice panted as if exhausted, Beryl patted it lightly on the side and encouraged it, then slung a pickaxe over his shoulder.

“Alright, let’s get started.”

“Yes, yes.”

Kaaang! Kaaang!

Four or five Daphne Knights, including Mikkelsen, rushed in with pickaxes and began breaking the stone into usable sizes.

“Damn it, this is killing me.”

“Aaagh…”

Kaaang! Kaaang!

Complaints and groans poured from the knights’ mouths.

And the reason they were all putting themselves through this…

– Alright, you lot will split into seven groups from now on and take turns at the construction site each day.

– Huh? Us, at the site? There’s no need for that…

– Without you, we can’t make use of that chicken-head.

– No, seriously, if you’d just dispose of it from the start, this whole—

– Dispose of it? What did you just say?

– Ahem… nothing. I’ll do it.

And so, under Hardin’s merciful(?) orders, the knights began taking turns managing the Cockatrice and processing the stone it produced.

Once the stone was all broken down into usable sizes…

“Alright, take it.”

“Yes, yes.”

The workers waiting outside the cage quickly loaded the stones the knights passed out onto carts and hauled them to the construction site.

Mikkelsen wiped the sweat from his brow and muttered,

“The construction really is moving much faster than I thought.”

“That it is.”

The speed was unbelievable.

With over 300 workers hired and a Cockatrice nearby supplying high-quality stone without end, the conditions were something Daphne could never have even dreamed of before.

It was like strapping wings onto a lion—progress shot forward at a blistering pace.

Of course, one might think the knights were suffering a little… no, quite a lot in the process…

But that wasn’t necessarily the case.

When the knights closed their eyes for a moment, memories of training with Hardin resurfaced.

– Hey! Run faster! Do you think you’ll improve at that pace?

– Nooo! How am I supposed to go any faster here?!

– Want me to make you run faster?

– Aaaagh! It hurts! It hurts!

Honestly… this might actually be easier on them.

Just imagining it made their teeth grind and their bodies tremble.

And in the midst of all this, the ones suffering from the trading port construction weren’t just the workers and knights.

“Lord Syllot, they’re asking to increase the food shipments from Mudside by about ten percent.”

“What? Increase it even more? Aren’t we already sending as much as we possibly can?”

“I’m not sure. The Young Master said even if we have to cut our own wages, we’re to send it no matter what.”

“What the hell—why’s he cutting our wages for this?!”

At Calpion Castle, Lord Syllot and his retainers had to produce a constant flow of food, construction tools, and all manner of supplies, shipping them to Mudside without rest.

The phrase “breaking one’s back” couldn’t be more accurate.

And so, time in Daphne passed… peacefully(?) enough.

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