Steel and Mana

Chapter 19 – Progress (1)

Working in the summer heat, people were already praising me, which, I will be honest… felt extremely good. I tried to remain nonchalant about it, but it was hard. The reason? Simple… with the water system in place, the workers, when tired and thirsty, just had to go to some of the finished fountains and could fill their canteens with fresh, cold water. Just like that! After the end of the day? They were ordered to take a bath! With soap! Okay, it was a soap they had to share... but still! I wasn't ready to stink up my new city just yet, hah!

Everything was going smoothly, so much so I was worried that something would go very wrong very soon. That would be more like my luck… the last time I felt so confident in my life getting on track, I died.

At the moment, I was working with the rest of the first team, building the palace where I would live. I walked amongst them, helping set up the wood and carve their shapes out perfectly, instructing them how to place them together. The foundations were already in place, and as I had previously planned, I was copying many things from the Forbidden City of my previous life.

It was easy to create the base, made out of its stone walls and steps. The difficulty came only later. It was hard to teach them how to carve out the wood how I needed them. We wasted a few weeks until they started getting it right, but it did not matter as I expected it. What was really helpful was that all the materials were weightless with Sasha around and my formations working perfectly. We could juggle around multiple heavy and tall wooden beams and rock slabs as if they were simple feathers… I just can't get enough of magic, it seems.

"Young Lord!" Oleg walked up to me hurriedly, and I was surprised to see him back so soon. A month ago, I sent him and my parents' men to visit my mother's region to procure more tools and raw iron for us. It was best to do so discreetly, and I was surprised to see him come back so swiftly.

"Already back? Everything went smoothly?" I put down my used and old tools, ready to take inventory of my new ones.

"Yes, we hurried as fast as possible, and the men are bringing in everything as we speak!"

"Great! We will first distribute the pickaxes and the rest to the mines to speed up their production! I want to have houses ready by the first snowfall and test out my designs!"

"You really plan to spend the winter here?" He asked, feeling unsure about my idea.

"It doesn't look much, but trust me! Plus, I have to spend a cold season here; I need to see how it is to modify my plans accordingly! It won't be easy, but it is crucial to do so! By then, the main room for me should be ready with a fireplace in it. I will survive! The problem is the flooring… I will have to lay down a nice parquet, but I also want some pleasant fur rugs… if we get beasts attacking us again, try to kill some and skin them carefully!"

"We will keep an eye out, Young Lord!" He saluted, taking it as a mission, "Also… there is something I think I need to report!"

"Hm? What happened?" I looked at him questioningly as his voice was strange.

"When coming back, we visited the mines and… I don't know what the little Merlin kid is up to. He is weird."

"Explain." I furrowed my brows, placing my hands on my hips. The kid was Weird. With a capital W. I still thought he was similar to me in a sense… but nothing happened whenever I tested him.

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"He was gathering the people around him and… teaching them."

"He was… teaching them?" That… was not something I expected.

"Yes. Reading, writing, and counting. He was even holding lessons about how to be a good citizen when getting the chance to move in here. I won't lie; it was a bit funny to see a small child standing on a stone slab, lecturing the adults… But then I forgot to look at him as a child. He was like any adult, My Lord."

"Teaching them to be a good citizen…" I repeated whisperingly, and my surprise was clearly visible on my face.

"We didn't intervene because he was saying only good things about you, My Lord, and warning everybody to behave and be thankful."

"He sounds like someone who will be a good negotiator… or a teacher… nice!"

"You are not worried?" Oleg asked, and I just smiled at him.

"Nope! Look, if the kid is smarter than me, has ambition and the skill… sure. Let him take over!"

"Young Lord! What are you saying?!"

"What?" I laughed, "I don't really care; if he can do it better, do it! I will survive; I will find a way to thrive!"

"We wouldn't let that happen, Young Lord! We would first die before abandoning your family!" Oleg shouted, slapping his chest.

"Okay, okay, I wasn't that serious… I wouldn't just go away; I don't like to be pushed around! But I'm not a sore loser, either. If someone beats me… so be it! I'm not afraid of starting over nor of death!"

"Please stop, Young Lord… this could place perilous ideas into some heads!"

"You are right." I nodded, scratching my chin, "You see, I will have to think about defending ourselves too, but… oh well! Too many things to deal with, too little time! How much raw iron did you manage to gather?"

"20 ton, Young Lord. A whole yearly output of a small mine!" He answered proudly. "It did cost a lot for us, but… we managed to do it!"

"Good! You did not disappoint me, Oleg! Hah! I hope you will follow me when the city is ready; I need a general under me!"

"It would be my honor!" He replied with twinkling eyes, going to his knees immediately.

"We erected a temporary warehouse; go and place them there! In the winter, I plan to perfect the new magic circles and create a blacksmith's workshop… one that the world has never seen before!"

"It sounds exciting, My Lord!"

"It does! With the new tools and with what I will be able to make, we can start up our own mine in earnest. Dig out that sweet ore vein and fire up an industry! No more buying expensive shit from others! We will make our own tools and weapons!"

…
….
……

"Phew! You are still just as good with your hands!" I moaned as Sasha was sitting on my back, massaging my shoulders. None of us wore anything right now, and most of the camp was already asleep.

"Thank you…" She whispered, still a bit shy, but after what happened previously… she no longer complained when I did something. "Isn't my hands rough? I have been helping with chiseling the wood, and it's…"

"Nope." I cut in, enjoying her touch with closed eyes, "It is perfect… Don't stop, please."

"At first…" After a brief pause, she murmured, "I couldn't see how the buildings would work… but now? It will be beautiful, Leon. I had never seen anything like it before and how it all comes together… it is nothing like the houses in the town! Nothing!"

"Style over function~!"

"Huh?"

"What I mean is that sometimes, things have to look cool. Beauty is something to be looked at, and enjoy it!" And with that, I surprised her by turning around. A moment later, I was lying on my back, and she sat on my stomach, looking a bit troubled but touching my chest. "Yep… I was right~!"

"I'm not that beautiful…"

"Then look behind you."

When she did, I chuckled, seeing her body jump a little because of noticing the spear between my legs.

"See? I'm not lying!"

"Should… I…?” She asked with such a weak voice I almost missed it.

"I would be thrilled if you did!"

That night, it turned out to be it was my time to be fiddled with. Like how I did it to her previously, this time, she took advantage of the situation and played with my recorder. I couldn't help but get hypnotized by her swaying hips and glistening valley, so when she was least expecting it, I pulled her back and took a deep lick.

"Tasty~!" I mumbled with her on my face, drawing out surprised and panicked moans, but I wasn't letting go.

Luckily, she is a quick learner. When she realized I wouldn't stop, she copied me, and my personal popsicle landed in her mouth. She was immature with it… she even scraped it with her teeth multiple times… but damn, it felt good! The pure, raw passion behind her actions, the loud slurping noises… the wildness in her, wanting to please me just as much as I was doing it to her, it was the best blowjob I have ever received.

To top it off, she never let it go, not even when I warned her. She simply took it all in, drinking it without a fuss. When no more was coming out, she didn't let go, only continued cleaning it up from top to base before finally sitting up and looking back at me, gasping for air.

"It is really bitter…"

"I bet…" I answered, just as out of breath as her. "You are something else!"

With a chuckle, I grabbed and hugged her close while she snuggled up to me.

"Will we…?" She asked, letting me caress her body while she put her leg over me as if clamping down on me to not run away.

"Not here. Not in a tent. Wait until the winter, when we have our own room, and then we will do it there. It will be the perfect blessing for our new home~!"

“Um… okay…” She smiled, looking way too cute with her innocent eyes.

"I am curious about something."

"What?" She asked at once, already in a chatterbox-like mood.

"Do witches give birth to magical children? Or not?"

"...!"

She had gone mute at once, her whole body turning pink and burying her face in my chest, no longer wanting to talk to me… but somehow, her hold on me got even stronger, and I was sure… something extremely sweet was tickling my nose for the rest of the night.