Volume 5 Chapter 35 The Style Of Digging Tunnels And Breaking Through The Mountains
The headquarters of the Order of the Sealed Dragon lies beyond the western mountain range.
Yes, it's a *mountain range*, not just a single mountain. A whole range.
To cross it, you need the right way to travel.
Of all the methods Horace has used, the *flight golem* is the fastest. It's unbelievably quick, covering 3,000 kilometers from the World Conference headquarters to the Diamante Kingdom's capital in just one hour.
But there's a big problem: it's a single-seater, with no way to add more space.
Horace's mindset is simple: if he's part of the problem, he'll solve it alone. So, a fast, single-seater vehicle is all he needs.
This time, though, the flight golem isn't an option.
Ginji and Artia have crossed the mountains before, so taking a carriage would work. But the terrain is tough, making travel slow and difficult.
So...
"It'd be faster to drill through with a giant drill, using pillars and paving to keep the path stable."
"It won't be faster, though, big brother. It'll be handy later, but not quicker."
The horses pulling Horace's carriage are incredibly smart, so they don't need a driver. At their steady pace, the *construction golem* showed its power.
It dug through the mountain, paved the ground for smoother travel, and set up pillars to prevent collapses. All the materials were Horace's creations, designed to resist corrosion and last a long time.
The horses were confused at first—like they couldn't believe this was real. But they accepted that the world is full of strange things and kept moving, creating the tunnel as they went.
Well, since they were convinced just by thinking, *"The world is full of strange things,"* these horses must be used to odd situations. That's just how it is.
"What kind of technology is this?"
"Yes. Moving forward while creating a tunnel. And at the carriage's top speed. I've never heard of anything like this."
"It's about ideas, Ginji, Artia. Research on making magic tools larger hasn't really progressed. Small, handy tools are useful, but having bigger ones like this makes things easier later."
"Easier... or maybe not. It just feels a bit unsatisfying."
After Ginji replied, Horace relaxed inside the carriage. In this world, magic tools are usually designed to be small—something individuals can handle.
Even large tools like refrigerators or heaters (called *home appliances* from the Great Summoning Era 1,800 years ago) are still meant for household use.
Infrastructure-level magic tools seem to be developing, but progress is slow. Often, work is done without using magic tools while researching.
Simply put, many ideas take too long to become profitable, even with heavy investment.
Technology grows through experience, but large-scale magic tools lack that experience in many areas, so progress is limited.
To change the topic, instead of relying on magic tools, people often improve water management by mastering earth magic.
So, tunneling with large magic tools is rare. When someone like Horace does it, it's shocking.
"Well, you managed the Diamante Kingdom's castle alone for ten years, so maybe this is natural?"
"It was really tough. Running a country is hard, Ginji."
"I've never heard that phrase before. *'Running a country is hard.'*"
"──Well, only someone like big brother would say that."
No one in the world has single-handedly run the capital of the World Conference's Permanent Council Members for ten years.
Whether you *can* do it or *will* do it doesn't matter.
Just foolish.
At least Horace doesn't think he's smart.
"By the way, what happens to this tunnel?"
"What do you mean, Ginji?"
"If people on the other side notice it, it could cause trouble."
The mountain range acts as a barrier, keeping dangerous creatures from the demi-human lands away from humans.
But a tunnel shortens the harsh mountain path.
The Order of the Sealed Dragon's mission is to seal the strongest race, dragons, so demi-humans (who follow the law of the strongest) don't bring danger into human society.
They fight solely to maintain order in human society.
Ginji's team is special, but they've been trained in the Order's principles. If that collapses, it'd be a problem.
"We can use concealment magic, or fill it in when leaving."
"..."
Horace doesn't feel attached to the tunnel. To him, tunnels can be dug or filled in easily.
Combat golems need many safeguards, but with tunnels, *"Filling them in solves everything."*
"...Actually, all the soil and stones I'm digging are going into the *Other Space Storage (Item Box).*"
"Big brother, once you've dug up the soil, it's easy to fill it back in, but what then?"
"I'll improve and reinforce it."
Horace's Golem Master skills combine earth magic, magic tools, and alchemy.
Adjusting soil quality is no problem. The stones and soil being dug are also being made easier to work with using those techniques.
The speed at which he does this is inhuman.
Well, he's a monster who died 12 years ago, was revived with a resurrection item, and has had parts—including his brain—turned into golems. So, it's fair to say he's *"ceased to be human."*
"That's amazing, brother."
"In real combat, nothing is impossible; outside of it, nothing goes wrong."
Horace said that and fell asleep soundly.
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