Fun Territory Defense of the Easy-Going Lord – Chapter 57

8-10 minutes

 

Population Growth!

New residents are coming. And with them, livestock. What, you found a dungeon, you idiot, at this busy time of the year?

Van, the sole builder of the houses, was eight years old. He was almost nine years old, and was working the hardest.

They were saying I was a young man, but inside I am already around 30 you know?

Well, it didn’t matter. At any rate, I built fifty 3K one-story houses that were good enough for four people to live in. And I also built 50 2K one-story houses that were just right for two people to live in. Now we have houses for 300 people.

In addition, free space on the main street was reserved for stores so that the adventurers’ guild and innkeepers could come and set up stores.

After that, I think I would like to build a villa to accommodate the large number of adventurers that will be coming.

“Away from the city?”

“A small town for adventurers. If they want to settle down, that’s fine, but if they just want to stay for a while to explore the dungeon, they can stay there. You see, Ortho-san and the others are different, but there might be some unwanted adventurers, right?”

“Wait, you’re building a different town?”

Till was surprised and tilted her head.

“I know it’s a lot of work, but we have to build it, don’t we? Well, it’s just a small town that can be built in a month or so.”

“…Did you say a town can be built in a month…?”

I chuckled at Till, who tilted her head with a look of genuine wonder on her face, and launched the town building project.

“The town should be about the size of 300 to 400 people. It should be like an Inn Town for travelers and adventurers, right? The buildings should be tall, and the walls should be about five meters high. Fifteen ballistas for defense should be set up in the three directions outside the village. They would be ground-mounted and locked, so they can’t be abused.”

“How big should the building be and how many people should live in it?”

“Three floors. I would make a wide street in a crisscross pattern and build it to fit the street. If ten people can sleep on one floor, that would be 30 people per building. Ten buildings and five store buildings. Should we also build two or three inns?

“The Adventurers’ Guild will have a branch office, so it would be better to have a place for it. If I may be so bold as to say so, it would be better to decide if the stores and inns are to be rented or if they are to be run by Van-sama.”

Espada looked at me as he said this.

“I suppose it would be more profitable to run the place, and there would be a lot of flexibility, but it would be a hassle.”

“Then I think it would be better to have a new town representative, Van-sama will remain in the village, and we need someone to manage the town.”

“If I run the store, you don’t need a deputy? Ah, I see. You mean you want the manager of each store and Inn to be the town representative? Certainly, that would be less wasteful, and there would be more eyes watching over the town than if the town were left to a single administrator.”

Espada nodded deeply as he replied with a nod of understanding.

“That’s right. Or perhaps the establishment of a Knight Order. Fortunately, Dee is here, so we will have no shortage of help in establishing and operating it.”

Espada explained.

So, we would not be pursuing profits in the new town, but would want to decide what would be the most important thing: the security and surveillance of the town.

Town surveillance. Certainly, there would be a possibility that some people would appear who would want to take away various things or would have some kind of ambition.

In terms of a police force, a Knight Order would be a good idea, but I doubt it would be that easy to organize.

However, fortunately, we do have the budget.

“Let’s do it all. I’ll hold off on the store operation for a bit and let Bell and Rango run it for a while. The knights can be scouted from adventurers or mercenaries. I’ll leave the delegation to Espada.”

Espada seemed to think for a moment, but then quickly nodded his head.

“Understood. Then I will find someone that will be the administrator of the town. We are to establish one Knight Order for the village and one for the town,  right?”

“Yes, let Dee and the others would be the Knights of Seat in the village. The new town would be the Knights of Espada.”

“… is this retribution, perhaps?”

“What’s that about? I’m eight years old, so I have no idea.”

I chuckled at Espada, who looked at me with a stern stare. It was an amusing thing to do.

***

After only three weeks of surveying and preparing for the new town, the residents of the neighboring village came to our village.

“Thank you for accepting us. I am the head of Fabia village and my name is Spelvie.”

“Nice to meet you. I’m Van Nay Fertio. I welcome everyone to our village from today.”

I greeted the village chief in a friendly manner. Then he turned to the villagers in the back.

“Welcome to Seat Village! We welcome you all! We know you must be tired from your journey, so today we will have a barbecue party to deepen our friendship, and then we will let you sleep in the houses we prepared! Let’s start the barbecue party!”

As I announce the start of the barbecue, the residents of Seat Village start cheering and passing out drinks. The meat is already cooked and everything is ready for the three hundred people who are expected to show up.

The people from the neighboring villages are puzzled, but they can’t resist the smell of the roasted meat, and they scatter into the place.

Well, I hope the first interaction would be okay. I would appreciate it if there were no fights or anything like that happening later.

As I was looking around to see if I could make the rounds, Arte came trotting towards me.

“Van-sama, would you like to join us?

She seemed shy.

“I’m just curious about the interaction between the villages. I don’t mean to be rude, but would you like to walk with me while we eat meat?”

“Eh, ah, yes! I will!”

I smiled at Arte, who came up next to me with a gorgeous smile on his face, and Till and Camsin looked at me with smiles on their faces.

They seemed to want to say something.

“Shall we all make the rounds while eating meat?”

“Yes.”

“Then, follow me.”

Thus, the Lord of the place and his guardian Till begins their rounds along with Arte.

“…We need more chairs. Oh, you strong-looking guy over there. Could you please bring me three chairs?”

“Whoa! Van-sama! Chairs? Of course.”

The uncle moved quickly and hurriedly, and brought the chairs to the old men from the neighboring village, along with bringing some to us.

Hmmm. That’s a good move.

“Thank you, Uncle. If you like, maybe you should join the Knight Order of Seat we’re making.”

“Eh?”

“Think about it.”

“Oh, yes! I’ll think about it.”

Uncle replied in a confused but loud voice.

Good, good, we got one knight because if I don’t get the manpower before Espada, it could end up looking like a hodgepodge of knights. Those who could fight as warriors would be immediately recruited.

As I thought about this, I looked around and saw the residents of the neighboring village looking at me.

“Hmm? Is something wrong?”

I tilted my head, and the residents came closer to me.

“Um, my lord. Do you have any work for us?

“We need to find a way to make a living…”

“We don’t have any savings.”

They were all expressing such pleas and concerns, and I nodded my head in understanding. However, the original inhabitants of Seat Village also have minimal work to do in the fields, dismantling defeated monsters and beasts, and transporting materials. Mining for ore has not yet been taken care of.

“Right. Then for now I would ask you to manage the stores and inns that we will be starting soon. Or maybe you can help cultivate the new fields?”

When I responded, the residents raised their eyebrows in puzzlement.

“I’m fine with the fields, but I’ve never done business before…”

“Don’t worry, it will be fine. There are all kinds of jobs, like dealing with customers, keeping the merchandise in order, cleaning, etc. I’ll get someone else who can do the money calculations and other things. “

When I said this, everyone was relieved and patted their chests.

Good. Now I could recruit a lot of Seat Village residents into the Order. The more people we have, the more things we can do, so I’m looking forward to it.

Now, let’s hurry up and build a new town!