First Order

“I heard the story from Eve…
But, trying to restore the land like this feels like being made to fill a hole I dug, you know?”

“…What?”

In response to the words uttered by Keaton, I couldn’t help but ask.

“Could it be that you’re the one who created the Land of Death?”

“Yes, it was the order of the previous Master.
Unlike you, the previous Master believed that everything should be done solely with the power of humans or modified species.
However, it was deemed too cruel to destroy ‘Mamiya,’ so a harsh environment was created to seal her there, where humans couldn’t enter.‘’

The answer was delivered with a flat voice, however…
To me, it was a shocking fact.

The Land of Death.

My beloved homeland, the Kingdom of Lombard, can comfortably fit in the Land of Death. But it is technically part of the kingdom’s territory and has become my domain.
There is a reason for the term ‘technically.’

It’s impractical because it’s not an environment suitable for sustaining life.
There is no discernible water source, and the parched land where heat always rises is cracked, with only rocks jutting out, a desolate wasteland.
Only the insects that miraculously adapted seem to thrive here….

Having a knack for magic and burning with an unusual determination, I persisted in my exploratory mission here for five years….
A regular person would not endure beyond three days before their corpse lay exposed.

Therefore, there is absolutely no human intervention here….
It served as the exile land of the Lombard Kingdom and as the extensive border line with the adjacent Fain Empire.

I never would have imagined it was man-made…!

No, upon further thought, I should have anticipated this.
As I have come to understand over the past five years, the geology that makes up the Land of Death, at least from the kingdom’s perspective, is far too different from that of the neighboring Margrave Harkin territory.
It’s like a joke from the gods.
Actually, it was all because of Keaton, who knelt before me.

“Every word Keaton spoke is the truth.
He followed the orders of the previous Master, creating the area that the new Master referred to as the Land of Death.
In other words, paradoxically…”

“Of course, it means that I can also return things to their original state.
It took quite a long time back then, so it couldn’t be done in the blink of an eye.”

Keithon himself takes over the Eve’s explanation.

…It can also be restored to its original state.

That one phrase raced through my mind over and over again.
In other words, it is the long-cherished desire from before losing the Lombard surname. My wish to change the Land of Death into greenery will be fulfilled…
My focus now shifts to laying the groundwork for a new nation by securing fertile lands.

“First and foremost, I want to see Keaton’s power.”

With a burning sense of duty and ambition in my heart, I spoke calmly.
Knowing Keaton’s true abilities is essential.
In that case, let’s try something a little unreasonable and see what his limits are.

“I’m not saying we should revive the Land of Death in its entirety right away…
Indeed. Right above the grand cavern we are currently in.
Is it possible to create a sufficient water source there?”

At present, I am the only one present who could be considered human, but looking ahead, a water source is vital.
But, as I have spoken thus far… what lies directly above is a barren wasteland with only cracked earth.
Creating a water source there is tantamount to creating something from nothing.

However, it must have existed in the past… the current situation was probably created by damming a river that flowed from either the Margrave Harkin territory or the Fain Empire territory.

Then, creating a water source here means creating a massive artificial river… that should be the case.
No matter how advanced the super ancient technology is, it doesn’t seem to be a simple matter.

…Making an unreasonable demand of someone you just met may seem impolite, but let’s steel our hearts and test him here.

“If it’s just that, it’s a piece of cake.
But is it sufficient to only create a water source?”

“Eh?”

Keaton’s reply was incredibly casual…
I accidentally let out a stupid sound.

“The order given to Eve is that you want us to turn the land into a land full of greenery, right?
In that case, in addition to the water source, let’s say…
For now, I’m thinking of transforming an area of about five hundred meters in radius into greenery. Would that be fine with you?”

“If that can be done, of course, nothing would be better than that…”

…Huh!?
I was utterly overwhelmed by the unexpected response.
Boasting is all well and good, but this is something that must be verified.
No matter the undertaking, deadlines are always present.

“…But this will be time-consuming, correct?”

In my turmoil, my voice became strange.
But, it is only natural to ask this.
Needless to say, plants take time to grow.
Even if he managed to find a water source in about a week, he would have to bring seeds from somewhere…
Yes! No matter what magic is used, it will take at least a month!
…Still, it is more than enough to be a work of God.

“Well, it’s been a while for me too… This is where it gets interesting, right? The time that has passed doesn’t matter to a robot.
Setting that aside, it’ll take about thirty minutes in total.”

“Huh? Thirty minutes?”

Ignoring my foolish voice that slipped out once again, Keaton continued the conversation smoothly.

“Alright! In that case, haste is of the essence. Shall I choose the plants to be planted with my sense of style?
Eve! Make sure to broadcast my work to the Master!”

“Understood.”

When Eve nodded expressionlessly, her hair changed color faster than before.

“Oh!?”

It’s not unreasonable that I was surprised and jumped in shock…
Out of nowhere, the space in front of me was framed as if on a square border, revealing the outside of ‘Mamiya’ and portraying the view of a massive void.

Well, can this be described as being drawn or not? I wonder…
That is not a painting, but rather…
It felt as if the scene of this moment was captured in a frame.

“Well then, I’m off!”

No sooner said than done…
In the same way as when I was brought underground, Keaton’s massive figure was enveloped in a mysterious light, disappearing from the hangar.
Then in the frame, the majestic figure of Keaton standing proudly outside ‘Mamiya’ appeared.

“Eve, I’ve been curious about this since earlier. What’s this?”

“I am live streaming the exterior.”

“Explain it in an easy-to-understand manner.
Is it okay to interpret this as showing what is happening now?”

“Yes.
There is no mistake in that interpretation.”

“I see…!”

Finally understanding the phenomenon happening before me, I dive headfirst into it.

“It’s been a while since I had work! Let’s do this!”

Inside the frame, Keaton was energetically raising his arms.