The fortress city of Murcia already had water supply installed from the start, and it was also set up for boiling and disinfecting. Because of this, drinking water was not an issue, but the problem was the insufficient drainage system. Due to the concentration of wastewater, regular cleaning and maintenance of the sewers were necessary to maintain sanitary conditions.
While there were accommodations for the defense facilities, the lord, and the knight brigade, there were still not enough resources for the new residents. According to Espada’s prediction, the population would continue to grow rapidly.
As the number of new residents increases, Murcia’s work would visibly increase as well. In Ceat Village, I had been issuing instructions to create household registers, and the same was true for the fortress city of Murcia. It seems that the registry for the newly arrived immigrants was completed, but every time new residents arrived, the workload would increase. This is why Espada likely wanted to hire more clerks, but in reality, the same situation existed in Ceat Village and Adventurer's Town. The fact that Espada was handling such massive amounts of paperwork with a cool demeanor was actually abnormal. After all, Espada had single-handedly handled the registration for the first four hundred people.
Next, the problem was the public facilities. In large cities, there are usually offices for various registrations and procedures, schools, hospitals, and other essential facilities. Of course, depending on the location, schools and hospitals might be places only accessible to the wealthy or nobility.
By the way, while not impressive, Ceat Village does have an educational facility similar to a temple school. Ideally, I would like to create different educational curriculums based on age and knowledge levels, but with so many people of different backgrounds and ages, that had to be abandoned.
In addition, there were many public facilities in Ceat Village. However, when it came to installing similar facilities in the fortress city of Murcia, there was still a lack of personnel. Murcia knew this, but he probably tried to prioritize solving the problem of housing, which had received the most complaints.
“Can’t be helped, huh, Murcia?” I muttered jokingly while checking the map of the fortress city that Emira had created.
“Huh? Van-sama?”
“Did you say something?”
Both Arte and Kamshin, who had been looking at the map with me, tilted their heads upon hearing my mumbling. I quickly tried to cover it up with a laugh while taking a sip of the tea that Till had prepared for me.
After a brief pause, Emira, who had been explaining the situation in detail, cleared her throat softly and spoke.
“Umm, Van-sama? May I continue with the discussion?”
“Ah, please!” I said hastily, straightening my back.
Emira nodded and pointed at the map, replying, “As I mentioned earlier, considering the shape of the fortress city, I believe this area should be designated as the residential district. Currently, we are opening up the barracks for the soldiers, but it seems the new residents are comparing this to life in Seat Village…”
“Well, private space is important, right? Yeah, I get it. If they’re at the age where they’re going through puberty, they probably wouldn’t want to leave a locked room. I understand, yeah,” I said, trying to empathize with the residents’ feelings.
Emira and Tyr gave me strange looks.
“…Van-sama? Isn’t that kind of feeling more typical of later years?” Emira asked.
“No, Tyr. I think it’s possible for Van-sama’s age to experience such rebellious tendencies… though, it doesn’t really seem like it,” Emira said.
“Ah, rebellious phase… Now that I think about it, I remember you snapped back at your father recently…” Till said.
“Eh? At the Marquis? Well, that could be considered a proper rebellious phase,” Emira mused.
The two of them began whispering to each other about me. I shifted my gaze uncomfortably toward Arte. When I did, Arte blinked and looked at me.
“Van-sama. What does ‘rebellious phase’ mean?”
“Eh? Ah, I guess it’s when you feel like everything’s just too much, and you just don’t want to deal with it anymore?” I replied.
“Oh, I see. Certainly, Van-sama has been complaining about Panamera-sama giving you unreasonable tasks lately, so I guess that’s like a rebellious phase…” Arte said, misunderstanding completely and building a mental equation that Van equals rebellious phase.
“No, no, no, Arte... Panamera’s unreasonable demands make anyone want to rebel, not that it’s a rebellious phase. Honestly, it would be more of a level where you go on strike!” I clarified.
“Oh? What kind of ‘unreasonable demands’ are you referring to?”
Suddenly, I heard an extremely intense voice from behind. Was it just me, or did it feel like I was hearing the roar of a giant monster emerging from the sea right in front of me?
“P-P-Panamera-sama?” I stammered, trembling, and turned around to find Panamera tilting her head with a gentle smile.
“Hm? Are you implying I’m some silly, carefree Panamera? Haha, what’s wrong with that? I’m the cheerful Panamera after all!” she said with a chuckle.
“U-uh, that’s far too honorable of a comparison…” I said, trying to compose myself.
“What? Scared? What a horrible thing to say to such a delicate young lady. I’m much more terrified of what’s in store for your future,” she teased.
“…So, you mean there’s some terrifying future waiting for me?” I asked nervously.
“I didn’t say that at all, now did I? Right, Van-sama?” she said, narrowing her eyes with a playful grin.
“Scary! I can’t take it anymore! Please, just act normally!” I finally shouted, unable to stand Panamera’s smile any longer.
Panamera continued to smile brightly as she stood behind me, chatting nonchalantly.
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