I, reincarnate as the leader of the villainous knight order

Chapter 101: Building Inspection

“Hey, you lot! What are you looking at? Get back to work!”

Jules shouted at the craftsmen peeking out from the workshop. Perhaps because he looked like a stereotypical noble, the craftsmen hastily withdrew their faces. Since there shouldn’t be any nobles among the craftsmen, they likely feared being reprimanded without recourse.

“Jules, if you keep acting high and mighty like that towards subordinates, you’ll come off as petty. There’s a big difference between being authoritative and being dignified. You’re competent, so stay calm and composed. Have you ever seen His Majesty shout?”

“Uh… oh, right. Yeah. It’s been a while since someone said I was competent. I usually get work dumped on me by seniors and superiors, and they always say I’m slow.”

It seems he hasn’t been blessed with good colleagues. Maybe that’s why he usually acts so irritable.

“For now, Basil seems satisfied with your work. If you keep it up, you’ll probably get more assignments directly for you. That might even lead to a promotion, regardless of your tenure. This job is quite significant for the country, isn’t it?”

“Yes!”

Jules’ grip tightened on the documents he was holding. It seemed he was now motivated. Having someone rise in rank who I have connections with is a welcome development, as it can be helpful in various ways.

As we talked, three two-story workshops had been completed. They appeared to be casting some sort of magic on them.

“Basil, what are they doing over there?”

“Oh? They’re using hardening magic to strengthen the structures. Otherwise, the walls could break just from a little scuffle among us! Also, they’re casting soundproofing magic. The second floor of the nearest workshop is a makeshift sleeping room for when we can’t let the forge fire die out, so it’s necessary.”

“That’s impressive. You can do that much? Humans use limited-range magic tools or carpets enchanted with magic. Dwarves’ techniques are really different.”

There might be some magic that humans haven’t learned because of the difference in magical capacity.

“Ha ha ha! Well, we dwarves have different lifespans and magical capacities compared to humans! Dwarves don’t live in human countries much to prevent our techniques from being misused and leading to larger-scale wars. If all dwarves united in a war, several human nations would be wiped out.”

Basil grinned provocatively. Jules looked pale, but I knew they wouldn’t actually do such a thing.

“If you were at war, you wouldn’t be able to do what you love, creating things, right? Weapons would be mass-produced rather than crafted with care, and resources would be diverted to reconstruction rather than used in workshops.”

“Ha ha ha! You understand well! To avoid that, dwarves live hidden in settlements across the land. If something happens, you, Jest, or Jeanne will handle it, right?”

“Yeah, I also think that with monsters to fight and an evil god’s revival to worry about, there’s no time for humans to be at war with each other.”

“That’s reassuring. Oh, it looks like they’re done. Now it’s my turn! Let’s go build our new home. Jules, Yugo is good at carpentry, so bring in the materials as quickly as possible. We’ve brought tools from the settlement, so no worries there. They’re eager to start right away.”

After giving Jules his instructions, Basil headed quickly to the wagon. Yugo and Coom were already measuring window and door frames with their tape measures.

“I’ll go talk to the head carpenter.”

Jules headed towards the workshop. We should leave a wagon for Yugo and Coom to return to the mansion. I instructed the driver of the wagon without Basil to wait until Yugo and Coom returned. Then, I got into the wagon with Basil and Jules and headed to the Third Knight Order.

“Basil, you mentioned tools earlier. Do they have magic bags?”

“Oh, yes. We carry self-made magic bags. It allows us to fix things on the spot if needed. I’d love to carry a forge, but that’s not feasible! Ha ha ha!”

Thanks to Jules’ question, I learned something new. All dwarves can make magic tools. It might be worth consulting them if I need any magic tools in the future. When we arrived at the Third Knight Order, Jest and Justin’s subordinates were coming towards the entrance.

“Oh, the captain is really back! Jest’s scouting ability is truly amazing.”

“Right? I can always sense Justin’s presence without mistake!”

Apparently, Jest sensed my presence and came to check things out with Justin’s subordinates. It saved me the trouble of calling him over, as I wanted to show him the construction progress. I got off the carriage and easily lifted Jest up.

“Jest, Basil is about to build the dormitory where Jeanne and the others will live. Want to watch?”

“Yes!”

“Alright then, with an audience here, let’s get started! This spot looks good. ‘Creation!'”

Even though the dormitory was a three-story building, larger than the workshop over there, the tremors were smaller this time. It might be due to the precision of the magic manipulation, a testament to Basil’s expertise.

“Wow! Amazing!”

While Jest clapped his hands in delight, the subordinates were left gaping in astonishment.

“Let’s apply hardening magic to the entire structure and soundproofing magic to the dwarves’ rooms. The rooms where children are will remain un-soundproofed so we can keep an ear out for any noise.”

Following Basil into the building, we saw a double spiral staircase beyond the entrance. Similar to those in parking structures, these had separate routes for ascending and descending. In emergencies, this setup would allow quick movement using both staircases. The subordinates tried to enter, but Jules held out his hand to stop them.

“Only authorized personnel are allowed beyond this point.”

“Why not? We’re part of the Third Knight Order, so we’re authorized!”

“No, until the construction is complete, only those involved in the construction are allowed.”

“Jest went in, didn’t he?”

“He’s the familiar of Vandière, the Knight Captain, so he’s considered authorized.”

“You little…!”

“Hmph, rules are rules. Please leave.”

Simon was about to lash out, but Jules remained calm. I was worried he’d collapse again due to the murderous intent, but it seemed Jeanne’s influence had toughened him up.

When entering the building, I heard him mutter, “Compared to her, this is nothing,” so there’s no doubt about it.

Original Author’s Comment:

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Thank you all for the many congratulatory messages!
As for the update frequency, I plan to keep it the same as it is now.
I’ll update once every 2-3 days, at least twice a week at minimum!
I’m not updating daily because I’m worried about running out of ideas before the book gets published… 🙁 ;´꒳`;)

(Note: Here’s the link to author’s homepage https://kakuyomu.jp/users/azusa_s )