The following morning, a large military caravan arrived from Dunlap with many workers and soldiers. There were nearly a hundred crossbows and they had an additional four ballistae for the giants.

A battle hardened looking dwarf approached Phaestus, “Greetings Master Hephaestus, I am General Douglas of the Dunlap military. We came here with two hundred troops and one hundred craftsmen. We completed one hundred crossbows, four ballistae, three-thousand crossbow bolts, and another one-hundred ballista bolts. We also have two hundred vulta powder bolts, which have been given to our best marksmen.”

“Thank you General Douglas. Aalra! They brought four more ballistae and more ballista bolts!” Phaestus shouted out to a tough looking forest giant.

“General Douglas, this is Aalra, he is the best hunter of the forest giants, and most familiar with dealing with large monsters.” Phaestus introduced the two to each other and began explaining the plans.

A civic craftsman joined the conversation to give his input. They formed a solid planned schedule. With the help of the giants, they would not need large equipment or need to use large amounts of time. The dwarves would work on flattening and hardening the ground while the giants would clear the path of trees and rocks, to turn them into building materials for the walls that will surround the road.

“But what will we do about monster’s attacking the walls? It would be a pain to patrol it all the time. Not to mention that monsters might try to go around it, leading them here or to the other side of the forest.” The head civic dwarf asked.

“But what can we do? We want the road to be safe don’t we?” A few civic dwarves were arguing.

“WOAHDA VELL.” Aalra said.

They looked at him confused, but Phaestus answered.

“He asked, ‘What about digging underneath? Create a path for monsters to migrate between sides, lessening the chances of them attacking the walls or moving along them,’ end translation.”

“That is a great idea! But, it just really confuses me how so much was said with that…” The civic dwarf scratched his head causing Aalra and Phaestus to smile.

Dite walked up to Phaestus after she finished instructing the marksmen of where to aim the vulta bolts. “Phaestus, I finished their training and instruction. Everything should be ready for tomorrow.”

“Thanks Dite.” Phaestus stumbled a bit.

“Phaestus!” Dite caught him.

“I’m alright, I just need some rest is all. I have been so busy that my exhaustion just caught up with me.”

“Hmm, if we were back in Dunlap, I would have recommended you go to the hot spring. The Queen would probably let you even use the one reserved for royals.”

“Then I’ll do that then. Shift us from our place to where we desire to go. Instant and fast, bring us to our final destination. [Mass Teleport].” Phaestus grabbed hold of Dite and they disappeared once the circle was just enough for the two of them.

“Wah! M-Master Phaestus? What are you doing here?! I thought you were at Uulwer!” Prince Alfa seemed to be returning to the palace from the city.

Phaestus had teleported them right to the entrance of the palace. Prince Alfa noticed Phaestus’ exhaustion as Dite supported him.

“Please, come into the palace. I will get permission from mother for you to use the royal hot spring, it is well known for his healing effects.” They were taken to a waiting room for him to rest.

Stomp, stomp, stomp, STOMP, CRASH!

The door to the room burst open and the Queen entered.

“Phaestus! Are you alright?!”

“Yes, just tired is all. General Douglas mentioned that you had hot springs here, so I thought I would come enjoy one to recover.” He said with a tired smile.

“Then, to the hot spring with you!” The Queen picked him and Dite up, hugging them to her chest and sprinted off to the royal hot spring.

“H-how, the hell did this happen?” Eric asked, his clothes changed to a bathing robe, his mask removed, sitting in a massive hot spring.

Micah was sitting next to him in much the same way.

“S-so soft…” She mumbled, remembering how the queen carried them.

Before them was the Queen in her own bathing robe, relaxing in a deeper end of the hot spring that was like a swimming pool.

“Hahhh, I always try to relax in here at least every other day. How are you feeling now Eric?” The Queen asked.

“U-um, much better.”

These robes are too see through!

Eric was having a massive panic happening in his mind, wondering if the king might have him executed for this.

“You don’t have to worry about my husband. I will treat him right tonight in exchange.” She said with a sultry smile.

Eric started to wonder how that worked, but a cold look from Micah stopped that. Eventually Eric stopped caring about the situation and just relaxed in the hot spring.

“Haaaah, this is truly divine. You must add one of these to your Haven Eric.”

“True, but how would I do the water though?”

“I could help with that.”

Eric sat up realizing there were two new voices.

The senior goddess and Luna were now in the hot springs, and it was Luna who mentioned having one installed, and the senior goddess who offered to help.

“Hmm? Who are you two?” The Queen asked.

“Ah, pleased to meet you. I am Black, and this is White.”

“Oh, I remember Delenia mentioning you two, you are companions of Eric. Welcome.” The Queen smiled.

“Though I am curious. What is this Haven you speak of?”

Luna tensed up, as Eric, Micah, and the senior goddess turned to look at Luna.

“O-okay, yes, this is my fault. I am sorry, I will apologize to Elder ****** later. I am sorry.”

“Hmm? Elder ******? Are the two of you gods?” The queen asked.

Eric, Micah, and the senior goddess turned and looked at Luna again.

“HOW WAS I SUPPOSED TO KNOW SHE COULD UNDERST-!” Luna disappeared in a flash of blue light.

She was called away again, by the elder goddess… Poor Luna, I will try to make something nice for her whenever she gets back.

“You know of the gods?” The senior goddess asked.

“I do. I once met the god of this world, nearly sixty years ago, I believe he called himself Lystmour. He asked me a bunch of questions and requested that I try to push the Church of Light out. Oh, by the way, I am one-hundred and thirty two years old. Anyway, he didn’t really need to request as I had every intention to do so after what they did at Alta. I will NEVER forgive them for what they did.” The queen made a terrifying face, but calmed down after a bit.

“My apologies. My elder brother tried to help save the people and stop the slaughter, but he was stabbed in the back after the Heroes faked agreeing to withdraw. I will never forgive the Heroes.”

“Your majesty, did the god Lystmour not tell you the truth?” Eric asked.

She looked at him questioningly. Eric then went into explaining the Church of Light, the Heroes, and the Mark of Domination, how he came to the world, his Haven, his first meeting of Heroes and how much is disturbed him, how he saved three of them, and how they are in a deep sleep until the mark can be removed.

“I, had no idea, just how evil the church really was. Nor did I know that Heroes are just as much victims as my brother. Also to learn that you are from another world as well, this truly is so much to take in.” The Queen went into deep thought.

“GRAH! I CAN’T TAKE IT ANYMORE!” The King came charging into the hot spring in a bathing robe and a battle axe.

“How dare you keep me wife to yourself?!” He hurled the axe at Eric in a fury.

The other’s tried to shield him, but he jumped to his Haven on reflex.

“E-Eric, are you okay?”

“Mmmph! Mmph!”

Can’t breathe!

“Ah!” Micah sat up and Eric took a deep breath.

“My, that was dangerous.” The senior goddess seemed unfazed.

“Hmm, is this your so-called Haven?” The queen asked.

“Y-your majesty?!” Eric realized he just kidnapped a monarch on accident.

Yup, I am going to be executed.

“Eric, would you be so kind to send me back there so that I may properly punish my husband?” The queen asked with a pleasant smile.

I’ve seen that face before, Princess Delenia made that face and it was nowhere near as terrifying…

“Yes ma’am.” Eric sent her back out.

“So, how long do you think we should wait?” The senior goddess asked.

“Um, however long it takes for us to make a hot spring here?” He asked, no one disagreed and got to work, with the cries of a regretful dwarf king echoing through the barrier.

“Eric, can you hear me? You can come back now!” The Queen’s voice could be heard through the barrier.

The senior goddess decided to relax in the new hot spring while Eric and Micah returned to the world. They appeared back in the royal hot spring where the queen waited, fully clothed in her regal attire.

“My sincerest apologies Master Eric, Miss Micah. I have thoroughly punished the King for his actions.” The queen bowed.

“No, it is fine. I didn’t get hurt anyway.” Eric looked over to see a bit of the stone missing where he was sitting.

That king has a really accurate throw.

“So um, we will go ahead and get changed. Then we will head back to Uulwer to start the road project in the morning. Oh right, Elder Ooolba requested a larger ballista that would be more appropriate for her size.”

The queen laughed elegantly, “Fufufufu, I will see it done and have it out there in the next couple of days.” Eric and Micah changed into their disguises and he teleported them back to Uulwer to rest. They both chose to ignore the sad, crying, and apologizing that was coming from the other side of the hot springs entrance, as they felt that they might be traumatized by what they saw.

“Alright everyone! Keep it up! We are making good progress!” A civic craftsmen dwarf was shouting motivation to the various groups.

The giants would cut down the trees in the path and moved the stumps. Some trees, especially young ones, they would sent back to be replanted elsewhere. Craftsmen from Dunlap converted the trees and stone into components for the walls, while others worked with some giants to set the walls up. The soldiers and ballista equipped giants took care of any monsters that appeared.

“CHIMERA!” The monster came charging toward them, only to be hit with a vulta bolt, blinding it, making it an easy target for the ballista’s that tore through it.

“DOWN! CONFIRMED DOWN!”

“NO OTHER SIGHTINGS!”

Every sighting they would go into high alert, eliminate the target, verify no other dangers, and then go back to scouting. They had been continuing the process about week, making a third of the way through the forest. They had made tunnels under the road, which ended up being a phenomenal addition as they made the tunnels big enough for a twelve-foot giant could walk through without hitting their head.

“Hey! Swap out to the next team for hardening the ground!” Another civic dwarf ordered a changing of the teams for the ones that were casting magic to make the road smooth.

“Collect and Pack. [Earth Harden].” The team cast the spell, flattening the road smooth.

“Hey! You need to adjust your level. You’re uneven to the rest of us!”

“S-Sorry!”

Phaestus stepped ahead of them, “Take a break. I need some practice."

“Oh! Of course, thank you Master Phaestus.”

“Collect and Pack. [Earth Harden].” A large section of the road instantly flattened evenly. Phaestus continued to flatten the land as he walked forward.

“Sheesh, that guy’s magic is insane.”

“Yes it is. Did you hear? He is the one who came up the weapons.”

“Yeah, that and using vulta to blind the stronger ones. You hear it works on basilisks too?”

“Yeah! I heard the story about what happened at Gould! The church was furious over some priest that lost all their Heroes to it and committed suicide in the end.”

“Yeah, that ended up being a huge incident.”

“Speaking of huge incidents, you hear about the King? He went too far with his antics, making the Queen the angriest anyone has ever seen her. She berated him so badly, he seemed like a ghost of regret. He sat out front of the royal hot spring for twenty hours, prostrated, apologizing to the door to people who apparently teleported out.”

“I heard that was Master Phaestus. The Queen took him in there herself. The king got jealous even after she promised him a ‘happy’ night. Sigh. Our king is kind of stupid huh?”

The dwarven team regretfully agreed.

“How goes the progress?” The Queen asked as they were relaxing in the hot spring in Eric’s Haven.

“Quite well your majes-.”

“What did I tell you?”

“Um, Lady Delvirra.”

“Mmm!” She smiled happily while drinking from a large cup.

“This is because you’re too soft Eric.” He couldn’t argue against Micah’s words.

Before they left Dunlap, the Queen made him promise to let her enjoy the hot spring in his Haven, along with some of his cooking.

“Ahhh, this is so much more relaxing than having that fool bug me.” The queen sighed happily.

“Um, Lady Delvirra, I am sure the king is regretful of his actions. Could you not-.”

“Nope.”

“But-.”

“Nope.”

“He-.”

“Nope.”

She cut Eric off each time, not giving him any chance to convince her to forgive the king.

I am sorry your majesty, I tried. And why is she in the hot spring completely nude?!

The steam and milky mineral color of the water helped to obscure things so he didn’t see anything. He was sure that the king would cry blood if he saw her in the buff with him.

“Ah right, Eric come here.”

“Huh?”

The queen grabbed him and wedge him between her chest.

“WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING!? STOP! THE KING’S HEART WILL FAIL!” Eric struggled with all his might but she merely laughed and held him there.

“Lady Delvirra, I would appreciate it if you did not use Eric as your plaything. You have your own toy at home, even if you are mad at it, that one is yours.”

The queen smiled wryly and released him. His face was beat red and his heart was beating like a like a racing engine.

“Eric, are you okay?”

“S-so, soft… Heart, won’t stop.” Micah grabbed his head in both of her hands and kissed him passionately.

“Ho, ho! My apologies Miss Micah. I will not mess with him again.”

She let him go, “How’s that?” Micah was blushing a bit.

“Um, much better.” He squeaked out, causing the queen to laugh.

“Well then, I guess I should get back and forgive that idiot. Thanks for the food and relaxing time Eric and Micah.” She stood up, out of the water, revealing her full body.

“Ah.” Eric went face first into the water as his brain just shut down.

“Hmm?” Eric slowly opened his eyes. His head was laying on Micah’s lap.

“You awake?”

“Yeah, what the hell happened? I remember the Queen asking to be returned, then, nothing?”

“Wait? Are you serious?” Micah asked.

“Yeah, I really don’t remember. What happened?”

“N-nothing of import. Anyway, the senior goddess came down for a bit, relaxed in the hot spring, and sent the Queen back out before heading back to the divine realm.”

“Oh, okay.”

Seriously, what happened?

The project continued with not a single loss of life and only a few irresponsible injuries.

“Let’s see, that is thirteen chimera, four red tigers, seventeen wind scythes, and two basilisks. Weeks ago, I would never have believed me eyes Master Phaestus.” General Douglas said, looking over his report.

“I am glad everything is working out so well. Have there been any attacks on the walls?” Phaestus asked as Dite was hanging on him.

“Um, just a few. They said that a monster would test the wall a bit before losing interest and just move through the tunnels. U-um, did something happen Master Phaestus?” The General felt a bit awkward, trying to have a serious conversation while Dite was lovingly cuddling against Phaestus.

“Honestly, I have no idea. I stopped trying to find out hours ago.” Phaestus said with a sigh.

“Oh, uh, well, here are the reports and the requests for supplies.” The General handed the paperwork over to Phaestus.

“Thanks General, I will take these to the Queen-.”

“I will!” Dite cut in.

“Uh.”

“I will take the reports to the Queen. You wanted to explore the city right? You do that while I take the reports to the Queen.”

“But, I would rather go around with you.”

“Then I will give them to Minister Warf, then we can go.”

“She really doesn’t want you meetin’ the Queen Master Phaestus.” General Douglas said, wondering what might have happened.

“Um, okay…” Phaestus seemed like he had just given up trying to argue with her on it. They got ready and he used [Mass Teleport] to get them back to Dunlap.

“Welcome back Master Phaestus, here with the regular report?” The palace guard asked.

“Yes, could you have Minister Warf meet us at the entrance?” Dite asked.

“Oh, you are not going to meet with the-.”

“We have a bit of a busy schedule, so if we could just hand these off to the Minister, we would appreciate it.” She had an uncompromising smile on her face.

“Y-Yes, ma’am. Right away ma’am!” The palace guard had someone swap with him so he could get the minister. They handed the documents to a very concerned and curious minister when he arrived, then headed off into town.

“Oh! There’s a blacksmith there, how about we check that place out?” Dite asked while walking arm in arm with Phaestus.

“Uh, sure.” They went inside and were greeted by the dwarf working the counter inside.

“What can I do for such a wealt-, lovely couple?” Phaestus did not miss the dwarf’s slip up.

“Do you have any rare metals?”

“Oh yes! I recently came into possession of come mithril ore, as well as,” he paused, trying to be dramatic, “a small amount of orihalcum.”

“Please allow us to take a look.” Dite said.

“Well, with such rare metals, showing it would put me at risk, so how about a down payment of a couple of silver?” The greedy dwarf asked.

“We’re leaving.” Phaestus turned to leave, and the dwarf knew got too greedy.

“W-wait! No deposit! One moment!” The dwarf moved to his store room and came back with a small crate. It had mostly unprocessed ore.

“Reveal which is unknown [Identify].” Phaestus said the name of the spell in the forest giant tongue so the dwarf would not know what spell he was casting.

Low quality, low quality… There is barely any mithril here, and this isn’t orihalcum, it is low quality gold.

“How much?” Phaestus asked.

“Well, since you are such a lovely couple, I would be willing to part with this quality mithril for twenty gold. But since orihalcum is so rare, I will have to ask for fifty gold for it.”

“Hmm, I will give you five gold for all of it.”

The dwarf looked insulted by the offer and flew into a tangent. Phaestus calmly heard the irate dwarf out. He then pointed at each ore clump, explaining the quality, quantity, and the act that he was trying to pawn off some low quality, dirty gold like it was premium metal.

“I-I, it’s not, orihalcum?” The dwarf was looking over the ore clump in a panic. He slumped onto a stool.

Oh, seems as though he was cheated.

“I’m sorry sir, I cannot sell you the items…” The dwarf seemed pretty depressed as he held the fake orihalcum in his hand.

“I paid forty gold for so little…” He muttered to himself.

Phaestus felt pity for the poor dwarf. “Tell me, how much could you get if it was refined?”

“Hmm? If it was refined, I would be able to make most of me money back. But a special forge is needed, as well as tons of time. Gettin’ the ore is one thing, but refining it cost extra.”

“Alright then, tell you what, I can refine the ore for you. In exchange, I want a permanent discounted price at your shop.”

“Hmm? Can ye truly refine it?” The dwarf looked like he was willing to grasp at any hope.

“Yes, Dite, stay here for a bit and find out some more information on who cheated him.”

“Understood.”

“Shift.” Phaestus vanished with the crate of ore.

Eric took off his mask and set up his divine furnace. Eric started saying the word ‘Shift’ to make it look like he casted a spell to move in and out of his Haven. Though most people thought he was teleporting to some far off location. He loaded up a crucible with the ores and lowered it into his forge.

Thanks to Luna, the furnace could melt any metal to absolute purity with no slag what-so-ever, as well as melting at an accelerated rate. In about ten minutes, the metal was ready to be poured. He set up an ingot cast and poured the metal in. He then melted the gold ore while the mithril cooled. Shortly after he poured the gold into a tiny ingot cast since there was so little. He dropped the cooled metal into a bucket of divine water that purified the ingots even more, with no need to clean up the mirror like surface. Donning his mask he shifted back to the shop.

“Oh! You turned… Are those…?” The dwarf saw the ingots, which Phaestus handed them to him.

“T-this, I have never seen something like this! And so quickly! M-Master Hephaestus, I swear upon the name of me ancestors, Lacroix, that I, Manji, will repay this debt. Any time you need ores, let me know and I will do what I can to get them. I will speak with my brother Sanji, you will always be welcome here. If you come back in a few days, me brother will be back with a large shipment of ores from our family mine.”

Phaestus thanked him and asked where Dite was.

“Oh, she heard the Queen singing and was listening to it.”

“Singing?”

“Well, it is in the tongue of the mountain, so it sounds like singing to all of us. She speaks to her people every so often.” Manji answered.

Phaestus headed outside where he could hear. “Oh, Phaestus, you have returned. How did things go?” Dite asked.

“Good, though I think he will get more than his money back with those…”

“PHAESTUS DON ALN VI SUUN GAL VAY!” The Queen’s voice could be heard across the city.

“She keeps saying the sam-.” Phaestus grabs her and casts a [Mass Teleport] spell as quickly as possible.