We went to the royal capital of the Yellenetta Kingdom, and as planned, we secretly discovered the hidden treasure and completed the inventory list. Now, all that was left was to report to the King and receive our reward. Success!
I had Cosworth and Erhart review the inventory details, and without much resistance, they both signed off. After bidding farewell with a smile to the royal family of the Yellenetta Kingdom, who had solemn expressions, I left the capital with Panamera.
“Boy. That was quite a clever bit of sarcasm,” Panamera commented.
“Huh? Sarcasm?” I replied, confused.
“Did you see the faces of the Yellenetta royal family? That’s the final say now. Not only was I, a mere count, not criticized, but neither could even you, a viscount, be rebuked. It’s clear that, mentally, their country is now fully a vassal state of ours,” Panamera explained with a smug grin.
“Is that so? I guess I’ve done something bad, huh?” I chuckled awkwardly.
“…Boy, you seem to have remarkable knowledge in many areas, but haven’t you learned the proper conduct of a noble? A kind noble like you will soon be ruined. I’ll be sure to inform Espada about this,” she said seriously.
“…Please don’t do that,” I replied, not wanting to deal with that kind of trouble.
While chatting, we made our way back down the road. Along the way, we arrived at the fortress city of Murcia and immediately noticed that the population had clearly increased.
“Oh, the residents have finally...!”
I said, looking around at the city, when I was spotted by none other than the city lord, Murcia himself.
“Oh, Van!” he called out.
Hearing my name, I stopped in my tracks and raised my hand.
“Murcia, brother! How have you been?”
“Not good, really!” he responded, breaking into an unusually bitter tone.
His words made me feel guilty, but I tried to ease the situation.
“Ah, haha… Well, the number of residents has increased, so the town’s operations are about to get underway for real, right?”
“It’s not funny… Not funny at all, Van…” Murcia shook his head.
I could see he was struggling. Poor brother. But, being a handsome, refined man, it was fitting that his troubled face made him even more attractive. I’m sure the noblewomen wouldn’t leave him alone.
However, I quickly snapped myself out of these idle thoughts.
Right now, in the fortress city of Murcia, not only the immigrants and adventurers sent from Ceat Village, but also many immigrants from within the Yellenetta Kingdom’s territories had gathered. Normally, they would have gathered in the fortress city of Cayyenne, but for some reason, many had chosen to settle in Murcia.
Thanks to that, the population of the fortress city of Murcia had suddenly increased by about seven hundred people. Given the land area, it could be considered overpopulated. Considering it had less than a hundred people before, this was an alarming population surge.
Normally, increasing the population would be a good thing for the upkeep of the city. However, this only works if the infrastructure to support the population is already in place. The fortress city of Murcia, at present, only had defensive facilities, and just recently, thanks to the Bell-Rango Trading Company, a few stores had been set up. Right now, a few carpenters had been sent, and everyone was helping to build shops and houses.
What was truly challenging now was recording the names, genders, ages, and other details of the immigrants and preparing the registry. Moreover, with the varying backgrounds and statuses of the immigrants, disputes were common, and resolving them was undoubtedly demanding work.
As we continued on, Murcia led us to the castle's main keep. Panamera, too, followed with a look on her face as if she’d found something amusing, but it was clear that Murcia had no time to entertain her.
When we entered the office in the keep, we found three people working with determined expressions. These were the three administrators-in-training that Espada had personally trained. One of them, Emira, had been sent as Murcia’s assistant right after the establishment of the city.
They noticed us and immediately looked up, their eyes wide. Emira, in particular, looked close to tears, just like Murcia.
“Van-sama!” they called out.
“We’ve been waiting for you!” they all exclaimed.
“C-could we have a moment…?” they asked, a little flustered.
They quickly put their papers aside and ran toward me.
“Ah, it’s been a while, everyone. Alright, let’s talk,” I said with a wry smile, sitting down in a chair.
The three of them looked to Murcia, who nodded at them, then he sat down in front of me and began to speak.
“First, regarding the immigrants, we’ve finished confirming their names, ages, races, genders, occupations, magic aptitudes, and household details. The registry has been completed. For now, the knights are staying in the soldier’s barracks. My knight brigade has now fully mastered the operation of the ballistae, and we’ve divided into three units to take turns on patrols and training. As for food, supplies, and daily necessities, Bell-Rango Trading Company and Mary Trading Company have been helping out, so things are manageable for now.”
“Wow, that’s great! As expected of my brother, Murcia!” I said, genuinely impressed.
However, Murcia’s expression remained somber.
“…The problem is that many of the immigrants are from Ceat Village. It should be fine under normal circumstances, but this city doesn’t have a proper sewer system like Seat Village, nor does it have proper housing, so there’s a lot of frustration building up. Also, there aren’t enough carpenters, so the buildings are taking time to be constructed… There are even women crying, saying they want to bathe in a large public bath,” Murcia said, clearly distressed.
I considered that it might be homesickness or just selfishness on their part, but I also understood that I couldn’t ignore it.
Indeed, compared to Ceat Village, the infrastructure in Murcia was severely lacking. Then again, Seat Village was unusually well-equipped compared to other towns and villages.
Still, if this situation continued, those who had come to settle in Murcia might end up returning to Seat Village. That would be a major problem. Both fortress cities, Murcia and Cayen, would serve as key points for future communication with the Yellenetta Kingdom. If these two cities failed to develop, it would be an issue.
I wasn’t too concerned about Ceat Village itself since the dungeon there naturally attracted people, but Murcia was a different case.
While thinking about this, I looked over at Murcia and Emira and nodded deeply.
“…I understand. Then, let’s continue having the carpenters build houses. I’ll handle the infrastructure and make sure there’s a bathhouse for the residents.”
When I said this, Murcia and the others let out a collective sigh of relief and nodded.
Meanwhile, Panamera, who had been quietly listening until then, opened her eyes halfway and spoke.
“…This is good, since we’re ahead of schedule, but how long will the construction take?”
“About a month, if all goes well…” Murcia began.
“Three weeks. That’s the limit,” Panamera interrupted firmly.
“…Understood,” Murcia replied with a resigned nod.
With Panamera’s approval, the remodeling plans for the fortress city of Murcia began immediately.
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