Afterword Chapter 15: Former Townsman A Conducts a Field Survey

2025/02/15: Corrected typos. Thank you for the feedback.

After dropping Milly and the Hentai off at the Elven Village, we headed back to Wiechen and went straight to see my father-in-law.

"Oh! You’re both back! How did it go?"

"Well, we finally figured out what the God of Wind meant," I replied. "We're going to build a labyrinth and turn it into a temple."

"What? A labyrinth? Is that something that can even be made by human hands?"

"With Lord Roh’s help, we’ve been studying the contents of some ancient texts. I’m going to use my Alchemy skill to construct a Pseudo-Labyrinth. Then, by borrowing the power of two gods, we’ll stabilize it into a true labyrinth. That way, the place will be permanently filled with wind and ice. We intend to make the deepest floor a temple dedicated to the God of Wind and the Goddess of Ice."

"Is such a thing truly possible...?"

"Father-in-law, do you remember those ruins near Luluden that were thought to be the remains of an Ancient Labyrinth?"

"The ones you two were researching?" he asked, nodding.

"Exactly. It turns out those were the ruins of a Pseudo-Labyrinth. Since they can't receive Divine Protection on their own, they eventually lose their power once the mana stored in their core runs dry."

"...But don't labyrinths spawn monsters? Is that really the work of a God?"

"According to Lord Roh, labyrinths only start producing monsters when people stop offering their prayers."

"I see... I never knew such a mechanic existed. Does that mean if we offered the proper prayers, we could neutralize the threat of existing labyrinths?"

"It’s a possibility, but I think it would be difficult in practice."

Admittedly, monster-spawning labyrinths are a massive headache. On the other hand, places like Altomunt rely on them to support the local economy. It’s a complicated issue. While people should be offering proper prayers, things are never that simple.

Besides, we don't even know which gods are enshrined in the labyrinths we already have. Why that knowledge has been so thoroughly lost to history remains a mystery, but practically speaking, restoring those ancient traditions would be a tall order.

"I suppose you're right," my father-in-law conceded. "So, you two are going to build your own?"

"Yes."

"What kind of location do you need?"

"Anywhere with a decent amount of land will work. More importantly, though, I’d like to build a town nearby to ensure that the prayers never cease."

"Hm, I see. We were already discussing entrusting a territory to you two. This might be the perfect opportunity."

With that, my father-in-law spread a map of the Kingdom of Ramslett across the table.

"In that case, how about this stretch of the western coast? There’s a massive, untouched forest out here. Building there won't provoke the Est Empire unnecessarily. Centlaren and Westerdale might not be thrilled about it, but it’s a far better alternative than agitating Est."

"Understood. I'll head out and conduct a field survey soon."

"Good. See that you do."

And just like that, it was decided that we would receive the undeveloped forest along the western coast as our new territory.

"It’s forest as far as the eye can see."

"It certainly is."

Ana and I were currently conducting an aerial survey of our prospective territory from the cockpit of the Vytol Custom 2.

Below us, a vast, dense forest stretched all the way to the shoreline. Looking inland, the higher ground was still quite a distance away. Given the terrain, it seemed wiser to build the town and the labyrinth a bit further back from the coast. I hadn't heard of any major earthquakes in the Kingdom of Ramslett, but the region definitely saw its fair share of storms.

"Allen, perhaps it would be better to avoid the immediate coastline?"

"I agree."

It seemed Ana was on the same page. I immediately banked the craft north toward the interior, searching for a more suitable construction site.

As we flew, the Vytol Custom 2’s sensors scanned the terrain, recording the data into its onboard computer.

The Vytol Custom 2 was a larger, upgraded version of the original Vytol Custom, outfitted with various sensors specifically for surveying and mapping. Of course, I’m a total layman when it comes to civil engineering, so I couldn't exactly draw up a professional blueprint.

However, after eating the Seeds of Moon Magic Grass, the mana levels Ana and I possessed had reached a point where I wondered if we’d technically stopped being human. Thanks to that massive pool of power, I could now manifest objects and structures based on nothing more than a general mental image.

Once I realized that, my inner engineer’s heart caught fire. I’d ended up finishing the craft with an absurdly high-tech—or rather, "magic-driven," since it ran on mana—design.

After flying north for a few minutes, the forest's vegetation began to change noticeably.

"The soil probably has a lower salt content around here," I noted.

"How can you tell?"

"Most plants wither if there's too much salt in the ground, so the trees near the coast are likely salt-resistant species. From this point on, even high waves probably don't reach the soil, so we're seeing more typical forest growth."

"I see," Ana whispered, looking impressed.

Come to think of it, I don't recall this kind of knowledge being taught at the academy. It might not be common knowledge in this world.

We flew a bit further until a wide river came into view.

"Ana, let's go check out the upstream section of that river."

"Right behind you."

With that, we adjusted our course and headed toward the water.