Chapter 39: The Manor at the Foot of the Mountain
Rue hadn’t decided to widen the road. We still didn’t know how much extra charcoal we could make or sell, so enlarging the road first made no sense.
But we did need to learn how much of the road Rue could alter on its own.
“We’ll ask the manor,” the chief said.
I knew only that Elmer came from a manor near the mountain’s foot, which handled villages and roads and reported to a lord above it.
“Elmer may not visit soon,” the chief added.
Then we could go to him.
“…I’ll go. Ask about road.”
My short phrases were becoming easier to connect, though speaking still required conscious control of my mouth.
The chief agreed, provided I remembered that we had made no decision to widen anything.
“…I know. Ask what village may do.”
He and Dario described turns in the road and terrain landmarks. I couldn’t read human writing, so forests and clearings were more reliable than signs.
◇
The flight was short.
Comparing their directions with the landscape I had seen before, I descended once to confirm my location, then saw a building larger than a village house. Smaller buildings and enclosures surrounded it, with people and horses coming and going.
I landed in open ground some distance away. My Adult Dragon body took too much room to descend near anyone.
Approaching on foot, I saw men carrying loads in and out, horses being led away, and cargo inspected beside buildings.
Unlike Rue, people didn’t appear to live here as one village. They came, finished business, and departed elsewhere.
Near the fence, a man finally noticed me.
“A dragon!”
Everyone looked. Two armed men stepped forward.
I stopped.
“Wait!”
Elmer came through the crowd.
“That dragon is Val from Rue. Don’t attack.”
The guards didn’t lower their weapons until they confirmed Elmer’s report, but finally the blades fell.
“…Elmer.”
“You can say my name normally now.”
“…Can speak better than before.”
He stared, then exhaled. “You really are improving little by little.”
“What happened? Is there trouble in the village?”
“…No. Want ask about road. From Rue down to highway.”
“You want to widen it?”
“…Not decided. How much may village do?”
He understood.
“We’ll talk out here. You won’t fit inside.”
He was right. My shoulders were higher than an adult man’s head, and forcing my head and wings through the doorway would only harm the building.
We moved to the side where we wouldn’t block traffic.
◇
“Ordinary repairs inside the village and immediately around it don’t need manor approval,” Elmer explained. “Don’t ask permission whenever you remove a branch, stone, or collapsed earth.”
That made sense.
“But widening the whole route for carts is different.”
“…Why?”
“Because Rue might not be the only user. A cart road could increase traffic. You may cut slopes or change water flow. Villagers can’t decide alone and then say sorry after a collapse.”
“…So you inspect?”
“Yes. If Rue truly considers it, notify us first. We’ll examine the sections and pass the matter upward.”
“…Upward?”
“To the lord’s side.”
I looked at the manor.
“…Lord not here?”
“No. This isn’t the lord’s residence. We collect reports from villages, road conditions, and other matters, then forward what needs higher attention. People like me do that work.”
That connected his visits to Rue: inspecting the village, confirming my presence, and carrying back information about roads and magical beasts.
“…Elmer works here?”
“Yes.”
“…Always?”
“Not always sitting here. I visit villages and inspect roads too.”
People entered the manor even as we spoke. One brought a small parcel. Two carried written sheets.
Then voices rose nearby.
“You can’t tell only our side to repair it!”
“We don’t have spare workers either!”
Two men were arguing.
“Again,” Elmer sighed.
“…What?”
“A road dispute.”
Even here, roads.
“When two places use one route, they argue over who repairs which section. Deciding before it becomes a fight is part of our work.”
Elmer approached them.
“Stop shouting and explain from the beginning. Where is it damaged?”
He heard both sides rather than ruling immediately and called another person. I waited where I wouldn’t interfere.
I now understood that this wasn’t simply a large house occupied by important people. Reports about villages and roads came here and, when necessary, continued upward.
That was why Elmer visited Rue.
◇
When he returned, he repeated the instruction.
“If Rue decides to widen the road, notify the manor before beginning. We’ll inspect it.”
“…Understood. Haven’t dug.”
“Widening isn’t only digging.”
True.
“And don’t begin just because charcoal may sell.”
“…Chief said same.”
“Good.”
It wasn’t distrust. My body was simply capable of moving rocks faster than humans, so they sensibly confirmed I wouldn’t begin on impulse.
Elmer asked whether I had flown to the highway and seen the town. I told him I had seen it only from afar.
I didn’t ask more. Today was about the road, and I had already learned much from seeing the manor.
“…May come again.”
“If you have business.”
“…I will.”
“This isn’t a sightseeing spot.”
I hadn’t come as a tourist.
After walking far enough away to take off, I looked back once.
From above, the manor wasn’t exceptionally large.
Yet it connected Rue and other villages to the lord’s administration.
Like the southern highway, it was another kind of road leading beyond the village.