Chapter 35: Analyzing the Situation of the Fortress City of Montvan

Morning.

Lying on the straw-bed mountain, I suddenly noticed several things.

The stones of the castle walls surrounding the fortress city were neatly layered in orderly courses. Multiple workshop signatures were carved into the stones. This meant there were many highly skilled stonemasons in the country. Since the surrounding area was barren wasteland with no nearby quarries, it was clear that the lightweight volcanic stones used for the walls had been transported from distant locations.

The walls had arrow slits for firing from inside, suggesting that bows and arrows were still effective in this world of magic. Or perhaps long-range magic attacks had limited power, or bows could be enhanced by enchanting them with magical power.

Inside the city, many houses were made of brick. Producing bricks requires burning a large amount of wood, yet there were no forests nearby. The surrounding wasteland had exposed soil and didn’t look like the remnants of a cleared forest. This meant the bricks had also been imported from far away.

If Montvan were producing its own bricks, there should have been many kilns lined up outside the walls, with visible fire and smoke day and night—but I saw none. Earthen kilns are about the size of a small bus, so they would be impossible to miss. It was also unlikely that they had finished producing all necessary bricks and removed every kiln without leaving any traces.

Additionally, though it was hard to tell from the outside, some houses were actually wooden structures with brick patterns merely painted on the walls. The owners probably couldn’t afford real bricks and painted them to keep up appearances. This supported the idea that bricks were expensive imported luxury goods that weren’t easily obtainable.

Montvan is located in the north, so winters must be bitterly cold. Yet there was no firewood for heating, nor even charcoal for daily use, anywhere around the city. For a city of this size, it wouldn’t be strange to have a huge forest nearby with charcoal-burning villages constantly sending up smoke.

In other words, Montvan was a fortress city deliberately built in a place with neither wood nor stone. The residents built houses with expensive imported bricks and relied on trade for all daily necessities. So, what exactly was this city in the middle of the wasteland exporting in return for all those imports?

From the above facts and questions, it was clear that building a city here—in this location—was worth an enormous investment. The king, or the local lord, had judged it so.

It was easy to imagine that the reason was military.

The gatekeeper had said there were many ferocious monsters to the north, so this city was likely built as a defensive stronghold for humanity. It could be called a frontline base for gradually expanding human territory.

However, there were also unnatural aspects. When Iferaski and I walked around the city three times the other day, I didn’t see a single scaffolding for wall repairs. I also didn’t see any manual hoists for lifting stones. Those large pulley systems turned by people walking inside them would be impossible to miss if they existed. This meant the walls were already complete and not under repair. While that might seem normal, it was actually quite strange.

The fact that a major fortress city near enemy territory showed no large-scale repairs meant there had been no attacks from hostile forces in the past several years. Obviously, the walls existed because there *were* hostile forces. Yet there were no signs of any attacks.

This suggested conflict not only with monsters but with organized human armies. If there were neighboring nations that were enemies due to ethnic or religious differences, and a peace treaty had been signed, that would explain the lack of fresh destruction. The absence of holes dug in the ground to avoid arrows, or destroyed catapults and pavises scattered outside the walls, further confirmed that no human attacks had occurred in recent years.

I hadn’t seen any large wheat or grape fields around the city, so beer and wine were probably also imported. With no pastures, cheese was imported too. Of course, so was bread. Even the straw I was using as a bed couldn’t be found within visible range of the city. Building a city in such an inconvenient location with no river strongly suggested its primary purpose was as a frontline military base.

From what I saw while walking yesterday, the city had a peaceful atmosphere, but if the king ordered it, many soldiers from across the country would gather and be stationed here. The current residents were essentially caretakers, maintaining urban functions for the day when the city would be fully used as a military base.

If Montvan was a military base, that would also explain why young kemololi girls like Iferaski were working in the sex industry. There were probably many other prostitutes as well.

Generally, prostitutes lived outside the city walls. Their social status was considered low, so they weren’t allowed to reside in the city center. Customers also preferred not to be seen, and it was more convenient for travelers to visit shops outside the walls. For the city residents, it was safer to have travelers of unknown background stay outside at night.

Therefore, the outskirts of large cities usually had rows of inns that doubled as brothels, but there was nothing of the sort around Montvan. This likely meant the population was still small and there was plenty of land inside the walls. That in turn meant few people wanted to settle here, which further supported the military base theory and suggested this area was indeed a dangerous zone.

From all this, it also became clear why the female knight Iria was being treated so coldly. She had been given a remote territory consisting of scattered villages unprotected by any castle walls. It made sense that she was fighting an orc horde alone. She probably had almost no subordinates. She likely lacked the funds to hire villagers as soldiers or the weapons to arm them.

Furthermore, her opposition to the slave system had earned her this treatment. It seemed to be a deeply rooted issue. The kingdom of Arasgard might be harboring dark problems regarding race and human rights. Perhaps the only "product" Montvan, a city with no resources, was exporting was beastman slaves...

Even more troubling was the fact that the powerful figure who could mobilize enough people and money to build such a large fortress city at a point bordering enemy territory approved of slavery.

There was one striking possibility that could overturn all the previous analysis about why a city was built in the north:

Montvan might lie on a pilgrimage route to a holy site, built to protect travelers. If motivated by religion, people would build cathedrals even in the most inhospitable wastelands.

However, the likelihood that this was a holy pilgrimage route seemed low. If this location were religiously significant, the church I was staying in would be far too small. It could only accommodate about ten pilgrims, and Raffilia alone was clearly understaffed to manage it.

Why am I noticing all these things right after waking up?

Because Iferaski sucked my morning wood and made me cum, of course...

The ejaculation while half-asleep felt as pleasant as a first wet dream, and I woke up in full "sage mode."

Since we slept in the same room, I had expected and even looked forward to this, so I’ll allow the morning blowjob.

But when I calmly think about it, I’ve been the one getting sucked and made to cum repeatedly at Iferaski’s convenience.

I’m supposed to be the owner here, right?

I’m not saying she’s become my personal sex slave, and I respect her rights as a beastman, but if we’re supposed to be equals, it’s unfair that only I’m the one getting sucked. No matter how much I neglected her last night, sucking my morning wood without permission isn’t okay, is it?

I should also have the right to eat her pussy whenever I want.

However, Iferaski was lying face-down with her ass right next to my head. After sucking me dry and feeling satisfied, she had apparently gone back to sleep. What a free-spirited girl. Time to use her bare ass as a pillow. I rested my head on her soft butt.

*Boing boing.* I rolled my head left and right, fully enjoying the squishy softness.

*Clang clang—* 𝕗𝐫𝐞𝕖𝕨𝐞𝗯𝚗𝕠𝘃𝐞𝚕.𝐜𝗼𝚖

The sound of a bell rang out from directly above. Since this was a church, Raffilia was probably ringing the morning bell. She seemed to use a water clock for precise timing, as similar bells could be heard ringing from far away as well.

"Hey, Iferaski. It’s morning."

...She stayed asleep.

Was she really sleeping, or just pretending?

Either way, I decided to play with her asshole.