Chapter 10: A Raise in Pay
The Treant walking down the main road drew a ton of attention, but when the carpenters explained that they were on their way to repair the river, we were spared a report to the civil protector. I was glad we avoided any trouble.
We led the Treant to the river, had it lie down, and with that, the foundation work was complete.
We had succeeded in building the bridge within the promised three days, but from here on out, we had a case for a pay raise.
The carpenters added their own fine touches to the bridge we had built.
Well, that’s why I had them accompany us in the first place.
The carpenters planed the giant log flat to make it easier to cross and attached handrails to prevent passersby from falling. They also added detailed designs, turning it into a splendid bridge in just two days.
The village chief who had commissioned us saw it and exclaimed,
“Wonderful!”
He praised it lavishly and gave us a raise.
Our pay went up from ten gold coins to ten times that: one hundred gold coins.
I gave all the extra pay to the carpenters, and they thanked me with tears in their eyes.
“To think you’d show so much mercy to us, after we did such a terrible thing…”
“Well, everyone makes mistakes.”
I didn’t say anything more patronizing than that and bid them farewell.
We were the first to cross the newly built bridge.
The carpenters and the village chief waved at us with smiles until we were out of sight.
“It feels good to do a good deed.”
“It does, doesn’t it?”
Fina and I continued our journey with smiles on our faces.
Our destination is the Benan region in the former Ishtar Kingdom.
The purpose is to revisit the place where Fina and I first met.
The main objective was to immerse ourselves in memories at the place where we, as a couple, first met.
It was a rather romantic and emotional plan, but the only drawback was that the Benan region was a bit far.
“I shouldn’t have decided with a berry-dart,” I grumbled, but it was too late for regrets.
As we trudged north along the main road, the next post town came into view.
It was far larger than the first one we stayed at. It seemed to be a central hub for this area.
Of course, not staying was not an option.
Because this post town had a hot spring.
“I’m grateful to have a hot spring episode this early in the game,” I muttered, to which Fina tilted her head and said, “Whatever could you mean?”
