Steel and Mana

Leaving the room of Elliot was... weird. I mean, I felt weird. The guy was... weird... Shit, my family is weird, as I think about it! Aaaaargh... Whatever! If my Mother says he would be a better ruler, I will trust her on it. His ideas did sound nice... If he really has connections to people and I could import critical resources through him, that would be perfect. Plus, if I invent, I mean... Let's be honest: if I steal and implement some ideas from my previous life, I could sell them through him. Make him the inventor of it publicly... I was beginning to like the idea more and more.

"Lord!" It was Oleg who waited for me in my room, saluting at once, presenting me a letter. He was wise to say nothing as there could be spies here... I read a lot about ancient castles having secret passages and hiding holes between walls... although that pig couldn't fit into them, that is for sure!

"Good job." I nodded as the letter was a clear report that the crazies had agreed to my terms and listed everything they wanted. Including a base from where they can operate and ambush their targets... and have it as soon as possible. "Here."

What I gave him was a prepared order that he opened and read through twice before... eating it. I looked at him strangely, and then I couldn't help but nod towards the fireplace, making him smile sheepishly. My instructions were clear... he was to remain here with the rest as a connection and oversee their preparations. Only return by escorting them over and keeping an eye on the group at all times. I will return home and repurpose the old logging site where Sasha lived previously... I am going to lay down some magic formations hidden from them, and if they ever rebel, a firestorm will welcome them one night, burning them to a crisp.

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It was a relief when we began heading home with my Mother. I finally didn't have to listen to my Uncle and could relax my mind.

"I heard everything went smoothly?"

"You could say that! We will see later! I met with-"

"I don't need to know about it!"

"But, Mom..."

"It is best if you do it your way! Don't make me worry with the gory details, hm?"

"O-okay..." I nodded with a small smile, rubbing the ridge of my nose, "Don't worry, it will go without a hitch!"

On the way back, she didn't ask about it anymore, and I took it as her confidence in my abilities. On the other hand, the one who asked a ton of questions was none other than Sasha, jumping on me the moment I appeared.

"I am also happy to see you again!" I grinned after a kiss and held her by her bottom, and I could tell she was excited as she didn't reprimand me even when others were watching. "I will tell you about it slowly at dinner, hm? Instead, it's your turn! Tell me, how things are? Did I miss something big?"

"Yes."

"Please say it isn't some accident..."

"It isn't!" She giggled, holding my arm happily. "We finished the school building, and you won't guess who is teaching the people how to read and write..."

"Merlin."

"How did you know?" She yelled, surprised as she wanted to surprise me with the strange news.

"Sixth sense. The kid is weird, and he was also teaching people back at the mines. I am not surprised he got a knack for it... my surprise is more because the people listen to him..."

"Well... he is funny as he can only reach the... um... what its name..."

"Blackboard."

"Yes, that! So he can only reach it while standing on boxes, but you know... I get why no adult is complaining about it or mocking him!"

"I'm all ears because it is still a mystery to me!"

"How would you feel if a small kid who is yet to get hairy can read and write better than you?"

"Errr... okay. Point taken!" I answered by twitching my mouth, but then again... I was in an excellent mood, seeing how well my city was coming along. Magic speeded up things way more than modern technology. With my new 'inventions,' blocks that should weigh as much as a modern-day car were lifted up like they were nothing and put in place effortlessly. It was like building a city from Lego sets... it meant I didn't need to focus on it any longer, and people could take care of it by themselves. Good!

"What is it?" Sasha asked, noticing my smile and snuggling up to me.

"I am just happy. Seeing how all is coming together, I can focus on different things! You will come with me tomorrow as I am going to try to set up my very first smithy!"

"You mentioned it before, so I was taking some liberties!" She said proudly, her eyes sparkling, "We finished the building!"

"You did...?" Now, I was really shocked. She... did it all by herself? Perfect... I couldn't help but hold her close and kiss her deeply. "You are full of surprises... I am loving you more and more!"

"Hauh... Leon..." She moaned, turning bashful but wiggling her butt happily. "You spoke about it multiple times, and you had some drawings, so... I talked with Merlin, and he had some ideas, too! After that, I made sure everything was compatible with your sketches, and we built it! So... I didn't... do anything out of order, yes?"

"No, you didn't! I was hoping for this: my people making their own decisions! Perfect! More than perfect! Let's go, show me!"

Not far from the palace, in a street where multiple, for now empty houses stood, I arrived at a completed blacksmith's workshop. Of course, it wasn't furnished; only the building was ready, along with the kilns and the forge; everything else needed to be put in place. There were still many things I had to get and install before I could call it prepared to start operating. But that didn't matter...

"Good job, Sasha... this is perfect!"

"It is still barebones..." She murmured yet beaming with happiness.

"It's enough! Most of the completed houses, along with our palace, are pretty empty, but not for long! I got ourselves some dogs to send out and hunt... so when they start doing their job, we will start building up our treasury."

"And we will buy resources and furniture from what they get their hands on?" She asked me, trying to put it together, and she was correct. Mostly.

"Partially, yes. The gold will go towards that. But I am guessing we will have many items I do not need, like jewelry. It isn't very helpful to me right now, so those gold and silver knick-knacks are going to be melted down right here! Along with the scrap metals! I will have to create molds to reforge the tools we need... but that shouldn't be hard. The furniture part will be easy! You see, the fountain competition also helped show me who are those who have a good hand. I will recruit them to start making wood furniture pieces and help them set up their first businesses! But now, let's focus on this forge... I will have to make it ready for a formation..."

"I already put a formation of fire in the main forge... I hope it works..." She added after hearing that, and I immediately looked over; more than that, I climbed into it. "Hyaaa?! Leon! What if it turns on!" She held onto my leg that was sticking out and pulled at it with all her might.

"I would worry about that if Merlin was here... but with you? Nah, I'm safe!" I laughed while checking it and crawling back out after a few minutes. "Nice! Superb work! Let's test it!" I grinned, throwing my boots into it as fuel. When Sasha circulated her mana, it immediately came to life, and the fire burning inside was more intense than I anticipated. "Woah!" I was forced to take multiple steps back, shielding my face from the heat. "Turn it off! Quickly!" I shouted as I still felt the heat rise, and only she was unbothered by it.

"Y-yes!" It took her more effort to halt its workings than to start the fire. But after a few seconds, she managed to cancel it out. Luckily, by now, Sasha's control over fire and her mana was way better. "D-did I... do it wrong? What... happened?" She asked nervously, looking at me, seeing if I had any injury.

"I have a theory..." I muttered, watching the glowing insides of the forge, the formation still flashing with a bright red color, "You remember what I taught you, yes? About how the mages use a conduit for their spells?"

"Yes. Would it... be able to control the heat?"

"Here are my current thoughts! Mind you, I could be wrong! The formations I put down are relatively weak when activated because I am magicless. I copy the laws of nature but do not have any genuine effect on them. They work at their minimum capability. A fire formation put down by you... just look at how hot it was burning! I think it would easily melt tungsten... It was like... fires straight out of hell! Awesome!"

"What is that? Tungsten, I mean..."

"Not important now, a type of metal. But this is a small problem we will have to deal with... no human could work in here if the forge is on with this kind of fire..."

"Hauh... so I did mess up!"

"No, no, you didn't! This just shows that we are missing a crucial ingredient! This showed me that if I was the one to place down the formation, it would not be strong enough for what I needed it for... Yours is way better, but it is untamed! We need something that helps you focus your powers! I bet if we have those focusing crystals or whatever they are called, you could lay down formations that you could easily manipulate! So, in short... I will have to get my hands on some!"

"Where could we find any? We can't just walk up to the empire or the church to ask for it!"

"No, we can't... but I know a group of crazies who can steal some for us! Ahaha... Come! I will need you to lay down some similar formations, all hidden from untrained eyes!"

"But if they will make this kind of fire..."

"It is exactly the kind of fire I want! I do not trust them, so they will become ash if they rebel! Sasha, my dear... this uncontrollable hellfire is what I need against the dangers of this world!" I grinned, hugging her close and sharing a kiss that she returned with much more passion than I anticipated.