87 To spring

Leo looked around and was in complete amazement at what he saw. The dwarves had worked continuously at rebuilding Asdarge, and several of the buildings around him were already rebuilt. It had only been two weeks since they started, yet almost a quarter of the city was under construction, and half of that was completely rebuilt. Hundreds of those camping below had already moved to the city, and the dwarves had even started on the palace stating that if Leo was a king, he needed a palace to live in. He tried to protest, but no one would have it, even Iris and elder grandma wouldn't take his side in this.

One of the other projects the dwarves were working on was building an underground garden like at the village. As it was already autumn, they would need one to survive the winter. Leo also tried to introduce the idea of greenhouses, but they would have to wait due to the need for resources they didn't have. As time went on though, the ruins stared looking like an actual city again. Besides the houses they also rebuilt the running water ways, roads, and started opening shops as well. They didn't have a formal currency though, so they mainly bartered goods.

The beastmen that had also started living there stayed on the ground though, as they were focusing on the gardening, and a couple had joined the hunters and warriors. Thankfully the dwarves and beastmen both brought livestock, so they were also able to get produce like eggs and milk, plus an emergency meat source if the worst situation happened. As Leo wasn't able to help with most of the rebuilding, he joined the hunters once more. No one argued with this, as with the dwarves joining under him Leo was now unbeatable by any monsters in the forests. No one was surprised when he went to hunt alone once, and brought back another behemoth that he killed with his bare hands, or rather claws.

One thing he did appreciate though, was the Royal bath. Though he had been cleaning himself, Leo hadn't been able to take a real bath since arriving in this world. When he first dipped himself in the waters warmed by heat magic crystals, he felt as if he would never leave. One factor was that he was also joined by Iris in the bath, and loved cuddling with her in the warm water. The dwarves told him the crystals were only temporary, and that they were working on finding a way to pump water from heated underground rivers to Asdarge. This was one thing he actually encouraged.

***

It only took another week for the snow to start falling, signaling an end to the outside gardens. If anything, the snow actually increased the workload, as they not only needed to hunt more, but the dwarves also focused on completing the underground gardens. The beastmen started working on this as well, since they would be the ones tending it under Lucy's instructions. One thing that surprised Leo was finding out Lucy was actually half elf, though he made the connection before finding out about mutants. Similar to the dwarves subterranean echolocation, elves were able to grow plants better than any other race, sometimes even using their magic to grow them almost instantly. Leo recalled that he had seen Lucy use this skill several times.

As the snows got higher, so did the buildings. They climbed by the day as the dwarves kept working, Leo once again felt guilty at the amount of work they were doing, even during winter. But no matter what he said they insisted they enjoyed this work, even during winter. The weeks turned into months, and spring came once more. As the warm weather returned to the north, the city was finally being finished. The dwarves had completely restored the city and prepared for the increase in occupants.

The forests below the city had long been cleared, and numerous farmlands now spread out, waiting to welcome those who would work them. The mines were a seemingly endless supply of ores and stone, as the projects never seems to end, even though the city was mostly restored. Leo was sitting in the palace that he had been forced to move into when it was rebuilt. He had finally agreed, but only when those around him agreed to move in as well.

He was looking at the throne the dwarves restored, what elder grandma said would be his once he managed to win over the elves, and beastmen. Though he was recognized as King, it was also decide the official coronation wouldn't take place until then. He didn't mind, as the idea of sitting on a throne wasn't to appealing to him, and he wasn't in a hurry to do so. It wasn't until halfway through spring, that news was brought to Asdarge that accelerated their plans.

(A.N. I had severe writers block for this whole area of the series, hence the reason why the releases were taking longer and getting shorter. Now that I'm getting into a part that I have been waiting a while to write, I hope to start picking up soon. Thanks for sticking it out with me.)