Chapter 332 – Situation Assessment and Inspection

“Today, the city of Meuseberg is attracting unemployed subhumans from neighboring towns and villages.”

“Why?”

“Because I have allocated the budget to encourage the neighboring towns and villages to do so. As a result, Her Majesty arranged for Meuseberg to be the first to receive the honor of Your Highness’ benevolence.”

“I see. Viscount Travis is a shrewd man.”

“Thanks to the elven goods and rare preserved foods sent by the royal capital, Meuseberg has been well supplied. We are simply giving that back to the people.”

Saying this, Viscount Travis–Simon smiled elegantly. Hmm? That’s quite an auspicious statement, but I’m really not sure how much of it he really meant. In any case, is there any part of it that is inconvenient for me at this point?

“That’s a noble aspiration that I should learn from. Now, can you tell me more about the location of the pioneer village?”

“Yes, I will explain.”

Viscount Travis spreads out what looks like a map on the reception desk. A map of the area centered on this city.

“Regarding the establishment of the pioneer village, I was told that the quality of the soil and the availability of water sources are irrelevant, but only the convenience of the location should be considered, so I decided to do so… Are you sure about this?”

“No problem, no problem. It’s a rather even distribution. Is there anything else I should be aware of besides the availability of a water source and the quality of the soil?”

“Those are the two most important things to look out for. These selected sites are dry wastelands with poor vegetation. There are hardly any animals or even monsters in these areas.”

“Is the environment similar to that of the Great Omit Wilderness? Maybe there was a large-scale magic battle long ago… Well, I have experience in cultivating farmland even in the Omit Wilderness, so there is nothing to worry about.”

But there aren’t many sprinkler magic tools for spraying water. I think I should make a water tower with a built-in infinite water source and use an aerial canal to supply water to the farmland. I could mass-produce sprinkler fixtures with a golem workbench, but that would be expensive to maintain. It would be better to devise a way to distribute water to the fields in as simple a manner as possible. Since there is the possibility of expanding the fields with their own hands later on, it would be better to make the waterways expandable as well.

“Your Excellency…?”

“I think he’s contemplating how to build the pioneer village. It would be better not to interfere with his contemplation.”

How can I decide on the size of the village if I don’t know how many people are going to move into it?

“Do you know the number of settlers and their family structure? If we are going to settle people for generations to come, we need to have a certain amount of farmland and land for building houses.”

“Yes, we have all that here.”

It seems that Viscount Travis had made a list of those who wanted to settle in the area and grouped them by the village. He is very competent. I don’t know if this is his work or the work of his staff, but there is no doubt that the Viscount Travis family is capable at this point.

“What about the transportation of the crops?”

“Construction has already begun. We are in the process of laying out the roads to the areas to be developed in each of the pioneer villages. The pioneers are doing the work.”

“I see. So you are letting them build their own roads for their own use?”

“Yes. In the meantime, the Travis family is guaranteeing their livelihood.”

“That’s good. I will go to the pioneer village and see how the road construction is going. May I have a copy of this map and list?”

“Please take them with you. We have a copy here.”

“You are very skilled. Let’s get to work right away.”

I received the map and the list of pioneers from Viscount Travis and stood up. Viscount Travis looked up at me with a slightly surprised look on his face.

“Y-you haven’t been in Meuseberg for long, have you? You might want to rest for at least one night.”

“I know I sound like an impoverished man, but I’m not very comfortable with the idea of relaxing while I have work on my hands. I would like to receive your hospitality after all the settlements have been set up.”

“Is that so…? I understand. At that time, our chef will prepare a very special dinner for you.”

With these words, Viscount Travis stood up and bowed gracefully.

☆★☆

After leaving Viscount Travis’ mansion, I was on the air board again, heading to the Merinard Kingdom’s Western Military Headquarters with Ms. Zamir.

“Are you going there after this?”

“That’s the plan. After checking on the road construction on the way, I will enter the area and establish the pioneering base. If possible, I would like to pick up a consultant from among the pioneers who are making the roads. I also want to get the opinions of the people who actually live there.”

“I see.”

While we were talking like this, we arrived at the headquarters.

“Then we will head to the site as soon as possible. If there is anything you need, please make a list. If I can prepare for it, I’ll do it while I’m here.”

“Are you sure?”

“Of course. That’s what I’ll do.”

“Yes, take care.”

After parting ways with Ms. Zamir, we headed southwest toward the village we planned to build in the southwestern direction of Meuseberg. This is the place where road construction is progressing the best.

“How are things going this time? Will there be any trouble this time?”

“Hmm, I don’t know. It is possible that Viscount Travis has something on his mind, but he seems to be pushing things too far. I think we can rest assured for the time being.”

“Well, that’s fortunate for us, isn’t it?”

“It would be better if we didn’t have our turn at all.”

“Though it would be a bore.”

“If you’re so bored, then I can keep you company. I’ve been a little bored lately.”

“Hyiee…”

It seems that some tragedy is happening without my knowledge, but don’t worry if you get hurt; I’ll give you a life potion. If you can fight a dragon to the extent that you don’t die, you won’t have time to be bored, and you can train to your heart’s content.

After about 30 minutes of running on the air board while listening to Bella’s desperate resistance to involving Shumel and Tozume in the “exercise” with Grande somehow, and ahead of us, we could see a crowd of people. It seemed to be the front line of the construction site of the road to the pioneer village.

They seemed to have noticed our air board approaching at a great speed from afar, and when we arrived, armed soldiers were on alert.

“Hello, hello, we are construction workers from the pioneer village, coming from the royal capital. Here is the letter of appointment from Her Majesty the Queen, here is my ID card, and this is the map and list of pioneers that Viscount Travis gave me for the job.”

“O-oh…?”

The soldiers who had been on alert lowered their spears as if they had been deprived of their venom when I leaned forward from the air board and presented the documents one after the other. The appointment letter and ID card are not shown in the contents, but the royal coat of arms alone is outstanding enough!

“We are on our way to a new settlement for work, but first, I wanted to talk to some of the people who actually live in the villages. I’ve brought some relief supplies with me, so I was wondering if you could take a break. I’ll take responsibility if anything happens.”

“No, even if you say so. What in the world authority do you――”

“Well, well, well…”

After getting off the air board, I asked the human male soldier who seemed to be in charge of organizing the soldiers guarding this work site to take another look at the letter of appointment in Sylphy’s handwriting and my ID card. At first, the captain looked doubtful, but as he looked through them, his face began to sweat greasy sweat.

“Um, this is…”

“As you can see, it’s the real thing. As I said before, if today’s delay becomes a problem, I’ll take responsibility.”

“Yes, as you wish.”

If I work for 30 minutes, I should be able to make up for a day’s worth of delays. Well, it can be managed. First of all, we need to see how the gathered subhumans are doing.

Thinking of this, I began to walk toward the people who were looking at us warily.