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Chapter 17
Caius treated me like a lunatic witch and told me to send the cute golems back, and I said I couldn’t do that, citing Clause 3 of the contract.
You said all I had to do was build a wall!
You told me to use magic freely—so why is this not allowed?!
This is a breach of contract.
In the end, only after I gave a long-winded explanation about how harmless the golems were and about our deal did things finally calm down. The golems, who had been sitting quietly and watching the whole time while I argued with Caius, played a big role.
[Small human, Charlotte, does not harm. We, friends.]
[If you touch our friend, we get angry.]
[Golem smash. Human flat.]
…Were they really just sitting quietly?
Every time Caius looked at me with a murderous smile, they did protect me, at least. Faced with the pure, innocent sight of the golems shielding me, Caius seemed to lose all will to fight.
“…So you’re saying you’ll line these things up instead of a wall?”
“Once a golem reaches adulthood, it sleeps for about 360 days of the year unless something special happens. The remaining five days are just to shake off the dust that’s built up, so if we manage them properly so dust doesn’t accumulate, it’s fine. And in an emergency, they can be used as defensive forces for the territory.”
[Golem stop intruders.]
[Golem strong.]
[Golem tough.]
“See?”
Caius fell silent, his face thoughtful.
Even though the recent massacre had made people extremely wary, in the past golems had been practical magical beasts, elite defenders of defensive lines. As long as they behaved, there was no real reason for a lord to refuse them.
“…For whatever reason, the golems seem to listen to you. I’ll accept it for now. But you’ll be held responsible for your words.”
“You’ll thank me later.”
I said it confidently.
Just wait a bit.
Thanks to them, the territory that would have been half-destroyed will be perfectly fine.
They’ll stop landslides too—and, huh? They’ll even block the army that bastard behind the scenes is going to bring.
[Kyuu kyuu!]
Suddenly, Golsooni started hopping around at my feet. Tugging at my skirt, she poked insistently at her moss-covered back.
Ah, right.
I’d made a promise.
“So, about that—could you lend us some of the territory’s troops?”
“What are you planning to do this time?”
“It’s nothing major. I promised to remove the moss growing on the golems. Since they’ll be the territory’s walls, having moss all over them wouldn’t look very nice.”
As if to back me up, the golems turned with heavy thuds and showed Caius the moss on their backs.
“…I’ll lend you thirty elite soldiers from the ducal guard.”
“Oh, elite troops won’t be necessary. There’s a security unit stationed nearby, so if you could call them instead, that should be fine.”
Caius looked at me in surprise for asking for the security unit rather than elite soldiers, then nodded, saying I could do as I pleased. Either way, calling the nearby unit was more practical in terms of distance.
Of course, that wasn’t my only reason.
“Thank you. I’ll take care of the rest. Please head back safely.”
After politely seeing Caius off, I asked the golems to move to the territory’s boundary. Each golem walked to its assigned position, settled down, and sat neatly in place.
“Wow…”
I couldn’t help but marvel.
A wall made of golems looked sturdier than any other boundary the territory had.
Definitely worth bringing them.
Way more efficient than passing out for three days and nights building a wall.
“See? You like it here much better than the swamp, right?”
[Sun. Warm. Body dries.]
[New home. Satisfied.]
“Now rest. While you sleep, we’ll remove all the moss. I’ll also ask His Grace to station troops to maintain you regularly.”
[Charlotte. Good friend.]
The golems bowed their heads, nodding off.
The more I got to know them, the gentler they seemed.
Honestly, they slept most of the year—could you really call them magical beasts? They didn’t harm others unless provoked, lived together in their habitat without causing damage… Shouldn’t creatures this kind be called sacred beasts instead?
Imagining someone scolding me for deciding that on my own made me chuckle.
Just then, one golem called out to me—the leader golem I had woken back in the swamp while scrubbing its back with a wooden brush. I knew it was big, but I hadn’t realized it was over a thousand years old.
“What is it?”
The golem held something out to me.
[Charlotte. You gave token. We also give. Token.]
It was a fragment of a blue gemstone, different from a golem core.
[We sleep. But we awaken. Charlotte calls. Anywhere.]
“So with this, I can wake you no matter where I am?”
[Correct. We friends.]
The leader golem nodded, then turned to Golsooni, who was clutching my skirt.
[Baby golem stays with Charlotte. Please.]
[Kyuu, kyuk!]
Golsooni nodded vigorously. From the look of it, the leader was entrusting me with Golsooni, since she wouldn’t be sleeping.
For some reason, my chest tightened.
How is a little crumb like you supposed to protect me?
Protect yourself first.
“Don’t worry. Get some rest.”
[Charlotte. Thank you again.]
“For what?”
My kind golems.
I’ll protect you too.
If anyone dares to target your cores, I won’t let it slide.
“Um… Mage? We’ve arrived under a conscription order.”
Right on cue, the security unit arrived. Thirty soldiers spotted the golems talking with me and flinched, their bodies trembling.
“Oh, you’re here. This way. Don’t be scared.”
Ignoring their fear, I handed each of them a wooden brush and a bucket of lye water.
“Starting now, we’re cleaning this entire wall. Scrub until there isn’t a single bit of moss left.”
“C-cleaning… the golems?”
“Golems? There’s only a wall here.”
I deliberately gestured behind me. Including the leader golem I’d been talking to just moments ago, all the golems were now crouched, completely indistinguishable from ordinary boulders.
“No, just a moment ago, that—”
“Yes, yes. We need to finish before sunset, so hurry up.”
Clapping my hands, I urged them on. After hesitating, the soldiers each grabbed a section of the “wall” and began scrubbing off the moss vigorously.
I sat on a nearby hill with Golsooni, leisurely supervising them.
Running around doing everything myself had been exhausting—outsourcing really is the best.
Before I knew it, the sun was tilting westward. A cool breeze drifted by. I leaned back into the grass.
So peaceful.
The weather’s nice, the breeze is nice.
If things kept going like this, even if I couldn’t return… I might just settle down in the ducal territory—
“Are you crazy? Get a grip!”
[Kyuk?]
“No, just some pointless thoughts.”
[Kyuu, kyuu.]
I slapped my cheeks lightly and shook my head hard.
Settle down? No way. I have to go back. I have my own world. I can’t stay in this one.
Just then, I saw a figure in the distance. A man was approaching from the opposite side of the wall, his face twisted in a scowl. After exchanging words with a soldier scrubbing moss, he spotted me sitting on the hill and stormed over at an intimidating pace.
“Hey.”
The man stood with one leg cocked, glaring down at me in irritation.
“I am Robert Gale, captain of the security unit. Why are my soldiers here without my consent?”
“Hello, Sir Robert Gale.”
So you’ve finally arrived, you jerk.
