By the Grace of the Gods (LN) - Volume 10 - Chapter 13

Chapter 7, Episode 13: After Playtime, Part 2

Hughes rushed up to me. “Heck of a show, Ryoma. At least you look like you got some rest... So this is what you take away from a few days of R and R? Oh, you don’t need to explain yourself. Actually, don’t even bother. You never know who could overhear.”

As he said that, he gave a side glance to my four stone-faced bodyguards. “Camil, you’re the magic expert. What’s your take?”

“Well, the scale of the sandstorm is one thing; I felt a great amount of magical energy at the beginning, and there are some advanced spells of that caliber. But reducing that giant building to a pile of dust? That is most certainly abnormal. Not even mentioning how this spell didn’t cause any damage outside of the grounds. It seemed to me like you were adapting and changing the spell dynamically as well. Even if you were casting other spells without an incantation, between all of the things I saw, anyone with a decent knowledge of magic would have immediately seen how difficult that spell was to pull off. I don’t know how you managed to do that, Ryoma, but if I were you, I’d make that your keepsake spell.”

“Keepsake spell? Is that like a spell passed down through family members through inheritance?”

“Something like that. To be exact, a keepsake spell is usually a magical researcher’s pièce de résistance, which gets passed down to a select few prodigies in their family. These spells can be uniquely complex. Powerful magic can be an effective weapon; a golden ticket, so to speak. There would no doubt be plenty of people who’d try to uncover your secret. Of course, you wouldn’t want anyone pestering you about it when you’ve done nothing wrong. A lot of magical researchers are rather secluded types, and most of the noteworthy families are nobles. So it’s an unwritten rule of sorts that you shouldn’t ask questions about keepsake magic. It’s mostly a noble thing, but it should still get you out of a hairy situation.”

“I see.”

“If they still won’t back off, come talk to us. You should be fine,” Camil advised.

“Will do.”

“That settles that, then,” Hughes said, changing the subject. “Since Ryoma’s spell took care of the whole demolition, how are we going about this for next time?”

“Oh, right.” There was actually something else I wanted to test, even in light of the big spectacle I’d just put on. “I came up with something when I was playing around during my time off, but I ran out of magical energy, so I didn’t get around to it...”

“Go right ahead. You’ve already made a big enough impression, and besides, I figure we ought to be there if you’re going to do it anyway. Safety in numbers and all.”

“Right...” I got the go-ahead from the group at Hughes’ behest, but they seemed rather reluctant about it.

Anyway, time for the encore! I gave my directions to the sand slime and cast the sand spell again. The mountainous pile of sand began to be picked up by the gust, but instead of making it do complicated maneuvers like before, I simply had it pile up the sand on one corner of the grounds. It almost looked like an enormous hourglass in action; the sand began to form a rectangular pile that looked like a giant slab of tofu.

Some of the spectators sounded surprised, but most of them seemed perplexed because the sand wasn’t making any intricate movement. Of course, they couldn’t see from the outside, but I could sense every detail of what went on underneath the sand... My vision just came to fruition.

Like an artist unveiling his new masterpiece, I swept the mound of sand away. As the flood of sand vacated the premises and into the empty lot beside it, a two-story building was left in its wake. Cheers of amazement rose out of the crowd. The building covered about a fifth of the grounds, with a large front door that led into an open area and stairs in the back, with hallways on either side connected to bedrooms and bathrooms, forming a relatively simple layout.

Revealing a complete building from beneath the sand proved to be more shocking than the demolition, at least after the relatively uneventful movement of the sand that led to it. The spectators continued to loudly clamor.

“You gotta be kidding me...”

“Talk about an overpowered spell...”

“Isn’t that the damnedest thing you’ve ever seen?”

Reversing the demolition process, I connected only the sand molecules that would form the building in the process of piling the sand, rather like a 3D printer. I was able to make more complex structures much more easily when I worked with the sand slime. On my days off, I was building and taking down many models in this manner. All I did differently this time was make the model big enough for people to live in it. I remembered how 3D printing technology was being used on Earth to build some houses, so with enough magical energy and sand, I was sure I could construct a structure in this manner.

“But I’m still—”

I was interrupted by some of the children who had been watching the process, shouting and jumping in joy.

“Wow!”

“That’s our new house!”

“Last one in’s a rotten egg!”

They made a mad dash for the new construction, as the older children and maids accompanying them were standing there surprised.

“Stop those kids!” I called, which got them to react to the bolting children, but two of the children were too fast—I wondered if they were beastkin.

“Teleport!” I caught them just before they made it into the building!

“Now I got you! Stop!”

The repetition of casting space magic to collect mad salamanders’ carcasses had paid off.

“Leggo!”

“Our new house!”

“I wanna see it!”

“W-Well, it’s still dangerous, so you’ll have to wait.” I kept the children at bay for a few moments longer, before Lible caught up with them first and snatched them up.

“What do you think you’re doing?!”

“Aww...”

“I told you not to go in until the grown-ups say you can! Construction sites are dangerous!” This silenced the children immediately, as Lible passed them onto a few older children that caught up to him. “Sorry about that.”

“No harm done.”

“If you say so... That’s some potent magic you got, though. You can tear ’em down and build ’em back up however you want.”

“This is just a test run, so to speak; it’s not fully refined yet.” While I was confident in my creation, structures made with sand magic became a sandstone-like material, which was easy to shape but also prone to deteriorate. Because it absorbed more moisture, it could freeze and break in the winter, making it relatively unsuited for exterior walls. Not to mention that this was my first time creating a structure of this size; there could have been some cracks or imperfections, so I thought it warranted an inspection of stability and safety.

“This orphanage needs a more thorough build. That’s why I called the workers over, after all.”

“Why don’t we check, just in case?”

“What?” I turned to find Zeph, the team I had been talking to earlier, and Arnold.

“We got your back. More than half of the workers here today are familiar with construction. Why don’t you have them inspect the place?”

“Are you sure?”

“Just a slight change in their job description. You’ve built this much already, and think those kids would feel better once they got a stable roof over their heads.”

That made me realize that the kids who bolted might have been anxious about losing their home...

“Say, Lible, I was planning on building a yard for the children to play in. Would a yard as large as this building suffice? We can take it down once the home itself is fully built.”

“We wouldn’t dare ask that much. We just want a place for the kids to be safe. As long as this building’s safe to live in, that’s good enough for us.”

“Understood. In that case, Zeph, could you call over the workers? I’d like them to inspect the building for safety, and if everything’s okay, check the measurements for doors and windows. After that, we’ll build a wall that encircles the grounds.”

“Got it!” Zeph ran off.

“We’ll get back to our jobs, then.”

“Please do. I see we’re attracting a bigger crowd.”

“See you later!”

Hughes, Jill, and Camil scattered to organize the crowd; in their stead approached Arnold, from the clerk’s office.

“Hello.”

“Hello, Master Takebayashi. I had the pleasure of watching you work, although the process was rather different than what I had imagined.”

I returned a weak laugh. I assume he imagined a traditional hammer-and-nail process or a more conservative use of magic. That was exactly what I would have done if I hadn’t noticed the use of the sand slime over my time off...

“I didn’t expect so much to be done in so little time,” Arnold added. “Should we push ahead with organizing the district?”

“Yes. I can’t handle all the sites, so we’ll need the workers to help out, but there’s no need to spend too much time on demolishing existing structures. Since we can start building them sooner, we should have a shorter turnaround. And while I want structures like this one inspected, they won’t fall apart in a matter of days. Personally, I think they can be used as impromptu evacuation sites or temporary shelters... So why don’t we do this with a little more flexibility?”

“No objections here. That’s a great idea.”

“Please make sure the residents are fine with it, though.”

“Of course. With Lible’s assistance, I’ll try my best to keep all of the residents happy.” He looked to Lible with a confident smile.

“As long as the city’s coming clean with us, we’re not gonna stir up any unwanted conflict. Looks like you got your head on straight, at least. We can help.”

“Thank you. I find it fortunate to make an acquaintance of a local leader; it’s much easier for me to receive the community’s sincere feedback that way.”

“Hmph.”

“Well, I should be going... I have other business to attend to. If you see me at the Cat’s Forehead Cafe again, please talk to me anytime.”

“We’ll see you around. Oh, and by the way, I heard at the cafe that you’re ordering more cakes as takeout. Try and eat a decent meal once in a while, will you?”

“I’ll take that under advisement,” he chuckled.

“That’s a definite ‘no’ coming from him,” Lible remarked, echoing my sentiments.

“No kidding.”

Lible left shortly thereafter; he also said something about business that needed taking care of.

Zeph’s workers concluded their inspection and reassured me that it was safe to inhabit for at least a short amount of time, although it remained to be seen if the structure would hold up to the climate of this area, and for how many years.

After that, we measured the windows and doors before I delegated the crafting of them to the slimes and the crafting of the parameter walls to the workers using the stones I crafted with magic. With the extra time, I built the foundation for the more substantial orphanage until sundown came to conclude our work for the day.