The fifth day since the Bima tribe’s assault had ended.
Kazan’s night had regained its usual chill and silence.
But atop the walls, someone’s hands were still busy at work.
“Heat Field.”
As Danil recited the spell, the air around him grew hot with him at its center.
The snow and ice frozen over the wall melted in the heat, sending up plumes of steam.
The patrol paths and stairways, cleared of ice, returned one by one to their original state.
The clogged drainage channels also thawed, letting water flow through them once more.
“Blue Sign Light.”
Light flashed from Danil’s hand.
The moment the blue lamp-like glow shone across the wall, cracks and split bricks invisible to the naked eye revealed themselves.
“This spot and this one look like they need inspection. Please check them.”
“Leave it to us, Sir Danil.”
“Hey! Bring the concrete!”
The sappers swarmed in and began working.
Danil moved on to the next site.
“Telekinesis.”
In accordance with Danil’s gesture, telekinetic force lifted the heap of snow piled on the watchtower roof and tossed it beyond the wall.
The sight of a snowdrift that would have taken an entire company two hours of nonstop work to clear vanishing with just a few gestures from him was truly spectacular.
“To think snow removal could be finished this easily.”
“So this is why they give mages special treatment.”
“Magic is freaking awesome.”
“Well then, keep up the good work.”
“Yes, Sir Danil!”
“Thank you for your hard work! Watch your step, sir!”
The soldiers bowed toward the mage as he departed after finishing his task.
Ordinarily, mages tended to hoard magic like a precious treasure, insisting it should be used only for important matters.
Danil was different.
Every night, he came out and used magic to promptly resolve bothersome tasks that required manpower.
It was only natural that the soldiers’ gratitude and respect soared higher with each passing day.
If Danil had been an officer, a clandestine military faction with loyalty at MAX centered around him would surely have formed.
Today as well, people bowed their heads in respect to the mage working the night shift.
The magic knight, Sir Danil.
A celebrity known to everyone in Kazan.
Today, too, he flew through the night sky, helping troubled neighbors with magic.
*
A rest break came around dawn.
Danil, who had the rest sentry post the soldiers had provided all to himself, took a sip of the cocoa he had just brewed.
“Delicious.”
That one simple word held two meanings.
The cocoa warming his body was delicious.
And the marshmallow was delicious.
In the past, controlling mana had rapidly drained his concentration to the point that his brain grew exhausted.
Now, it was different.
Mana moved naturally, as if it were part of his body. Because of that, his magic unfolded precisely as he desired.
The sense of control that came from perfectly controlling mana and magic. The taste of rapture born from it!
It was sweeter and more addictive than any delicacy Danil had ever tasted.
This was also why Danil volunteered to work overtime.
To Danil right now, night work was not boring, painful working hours, but playtime.
Playtime where he could freely indulge in the crystallization of all the achievements he had built up until now!
Like skating or skiing on a winter night, Danil pretended to work while indulging in marshmallows that only he could taste.
Even the harsh northern night weather was nothing more than an option for enjoying his playtime to the Danil of now.
“Okay. Break’s over. Let’s go play again.”
Having recovered his stamina, Danil left the sentry post once more.
*
Of course, Danil was not volunteering for night work solely for the sake of enjoying marshmallows.
He had another aim as well.
“Sir Danil. You’re working hard!”
The patrolmen he happened to run into below the wall bowed their heads when they saw Danil.
One of them held out a thermos.
“Have a cup of mushroom soup. It’s cooled a bit, but it’s still warm.”
“Thank you. Then I won’t refuse.”
This kind of thing did not end after just once or twice.
Sometimes it was soldiers, sometimes officers, and sometimes the families of soldiers.
Whenever people saw him, they waved with smiles, and from time to time, they gave him snacks or gifts like gloves.
“That mage is so diligent.”
“Right. Thanks to him taking over the night work for us, we don’t have to pull night duty as often.”
“Is that all? How many times have we had to go to sleep late because something came up during patrol? Thanks to the mage, we don’t have to worry about that these days.”
“I don’t know if I should say this, but that mage is really good at his job.”
“It’s the first time I’ve ever seen the sergeant major just lick his lips and not make a move.”
“Hey. You too? Me too!”
“Well, I’d want him too if I were in his shoes.”
“You think it’s only the sergeant major? If that man weren’t affiliated with the Magic Tower, every officer would have swarmed him by now and then some.”
Night work was something everyone in Kazan avoided.
Cold, sleepy, dangerous, and dirty work.
But then an all-purpose worker appeared who volunteered for such work, never missed a single day, and did it perfectly?
It was only natural that people’s favorability toward him broke through the roof.
And this was exactly what Danil had aimed for.
‘If you take on difficult work people don’t want to do, points are bound to pile up.’
People were the same wherever they lived.
That was a truth of the world he had learned as a reincarnator.
In other words, the theory of point-scoring he had learned through social life in his previous life applied here just the same.
Night duty in cold weather?
It was hard and exhausting, so everyone hated doing it.
If he took it on himself and dealt with it every single day?
The result was right before his eyes.
The soldiers showed respect, the knights showed trust, and the citizens showed friendliness.
Having become popular with everyone, Danil smiled.
‘Good. With this, I don’t have to worry about my back.’
Winning the favor of the locals was not simply to make work easier.
This was not a company, but a battlefield.
And when a mage stood on the battlefield, he absolutely needed allies to protect his back.
‘Favorability is a shield. A living, moving automatic shield that will protect my back on its own when a fight breaks out.’
Danil had not forgotten.
He was a mage who had come here to fight.
A battlefield where attacks could fly in from above, below, left, or right. Insurance to prepare for that was essential and fundamental.
“Now then. Shall we get going again?”
The moonlight shone upon the wall, revealing a new task.
To taste the marshmallow once more, Danil prepared his magic.
However, Danil’s enjoyable marshmallow-indulging night playtime was forcibly brought to an end after a week.
“You’re working hard again today, Sir Danil.”
“……?”
‘No. Why are you here?’
As Danil blinked, Rainer, who had been waiting on the wall, grinned.
*
Danil had made one mistake.
And that was working too hard.
From Danil’s perspective, he had merely focused on playing under the guise of night work in order to taste marshmallows, but he had overlooked the influence this would have.
Danil’s marshmallow-enjoyment period did not end as simple point-scoring.
The soldiers sent fervent support and trust toward Danil, who did their work in their stead.
Moreover, since they could focus on their original duties, the soldiers’ task performance rate naturally rose day by day.
It was only natural that reports of this reached the ears of Kazan’s ruler.
“So the soldiers’ work efficiency has increased by thirty percent?”
“Yes.”
“Hah, remarkable. But it makes sense.”
Rainer nodded.
“He’s a diligent fellow. Let alone doing such chores, no one would say anything even if he simply stood by and did nothing. As expected, he’s no ordinary talent.”
“Do you still desire him?”
“Would I not? He’s only one person. Yet thanks to that one person, the city of Kazan is stabilizing and growing lively. Even Father would covet him, not just me.”
“……”
Cyril silently agreed.
“If I had my way, I’d pour gold, silver, and treasures on him and scout him right away, but… it would be difficult.”
“He is a man who refused an elixir for the sake of his duties, after all.”
Rainer wore a bitter smile.
A man who even refused an elixir. What method should be used to draw in such a talent?
It was a difficult problem that still had no answer.
“A gift better than an elixir… would be difficult after all.”
“The soldiers may accept it, but the officers and knights will not. At least postpone it until the war is over.”
“Grr. Then what method am I supposed to use?”
To his groaning lord, Cyril spoke in a suggestive tone.
“Instead of thinking too hard about it, why not take a simpler approach?”
“A simpler approach?”
“Yes. Approach it not as recruiting talent, but as getting to know a person.”
“……!”
“If you become friends, then in the end, he will be on our side all the same, will he not?”
“Friends. Friends, is it?”
It was, quite literally, a change in thinking.
Not becoming his superior, but becoming his friend!
Of course, because Rainer was no ordinary person in terms of status, there were several demanding conditions that needed to be satisfied in order to become friends.
Fortunately, Danil met all of them.
‘Right. If it can’t be done quickly, then I just have to proceed slowly. I can start as friends and gradually make him one of my people, can’t I?’
“Nice, Cyril. As expected, you’re the best brain I have.”
“I am honored by your praise.”
“But friends, huh… What a pity. If this were the academy, it would have been easy. First, I’ll have to close the distance between us. What would be good?”
“I believe you must first become close enough that neither of you feels awkward when you meet. If I may humbly suggest it, why don’t you go to Sir Danil in person, my lord?”
“Me?”
At the unexpected suggestion, Rainer tilted his head.
“Sir Danil has been standing night duty every single day without fail. So under the pretext of a night inspection, you should visit the site yourself. Bring him some frost black tea and tell him to warm up while sharing this and that in conversation. Then the distance between you will naturally shrink, and the awkwardness when you meet will disappear, will it not?”
“I see.”
Rainer’s eyes sparkled.
“Not bad. Good. I’ll start tomorrow at once. Prepare it.”
“Yes.”
Cyril bowed his head to the lord who had accepted his suggestion.
If it were Rainer’s usual style, the standard approach would be to raise favorability first with a barrage of gifts under the name of bribes, then grow close. But this time, the opponent was a poor match for that.
How could a gift offensive possibly work on a man who postponed even an elixir because of his work?
It was better to avoid it, since there was a high chance it would have the opposite effect.
What was needed now was only trust between person and person.
And that could only be obtained by investing time and effort.
‘If it means obtaining a talent like him, I’ll do as much as needed!’
Rainer willingly decided to make that investment.
*
“You’re working hard again today, Sir Danil.”
“Young Duke? What brings you here?”
“What brings me here? It’s just a simple night inspection. I heard you were here while passing by, so I stopped in for a moment.”
Rainer shook the steaming thermos.
“Would you like a cup of frost black tea? It tastes especially fine when drunk on a cold day like this.”
“…I’ll have a cup, then.”
“Here you are.”
From that day onward, a new item was added to the night duty schedule for Kazan’s walls.
[Night Worker — Danil]
[Site Inspection — Mayor Rainer]
Strangely enough, the two of them encountered each other atop the wall every single night.
A strange schedule in which the mage worked, and Kazan’s visiting mayor handed him tea and shared teatime with him.
Before long, this schedule came to be called:
“The Young Duke and Sir Danil’s Night Duty Date.”