Chapter 380
**Our base is steadily taking shape.**
We started from the bottom-most infrastructure: the first layer as a military stronghold, the second layer for transportation networks, the third layer for workshops and commercial districts.
And finally...
"Finally, we can get to the residences."
"The shops were more luxurious than the houses we used to live in, weren't they?"
...the construction of the topmost residential district has begun.
It will soon be a year since we started building this frontier village.
Some might say it's impossible to construct buildings on this scale in just the time it takes for the seasons to cycle once. But by mobilizing all my knowledge, we managed to create something of this magnitude with our small workforce.
And now, the construction of the first, honorably initial residence has begun. However...
"Isn't it too big?"
"Isn't it normal for the house of Liberta, the most important person in this town, to be this size?"
"Is that so? It's bigger than the villa we borrowed from the Duke. Even including us, only six people will live here, you know?"
My house is being built on the prime plot in the topmost district, and its scale is massive.
Even just the foundation work makes its size clear. The construction speed of the dwarves, whose levels have risen and whose artisan skills are now complete, progresses as if watching a time-lapse video.
The blueprint is nothing short of a mansion. With just the number of rooms being eight times the number of residents, I felt uneasy about maintaining such a large house. When I asked Nel, the fox beastkin with red hair tied in pigtails standing next to me, she assured me it would be fine.
"But when we considered adding various facilities, we ended up needing this many rooms, right? Like a room for my singing lessons."
"We also included a training room, counting myself."
I wondered if it was really necessary, but Amina, the avian with tanned, healthy skin and chestnut-colored feathers standing on the opposite side from Nel, reminded me. Upon reflection, I remembered that when the dwarf Don asked for our wishes, I ended up piling everything on.
Claudia, with her beautiful, well-kept gray hair (thanks to the spirits), her honed body, and scars worn like polished medals of health, also had her idea incorporated: an indoor training facility to further train her already taut body. With all that, I guess this much space is needed.
"And then, we went all out on the kitchen area too, huh?"
"Yes, thank you for accommodating my request. This will allow me to provide even more delicious meals."
And if we were taking requests, I had to be fair. So, I granted all the requests from the female members for facilities they wanted built within the mansion, aside from their individual rooms.
Ingrid, whose pale blue hair swayed in the wind and who had recently started showing more emotion on her face to us party members, was wearing her maid uniform today as usual. Perhaps looking forward to the completed kitchen, a smile played on her lips.
"Please also look forward to the large bath I supervised!!"
"That one was amazing. Just looking at the blueprint, I could feel incredible passion."
"Indeed! The public bath wasn't bad, but a dedicated bath is still necessary!"
Perhaps the sight of the mansion being completed at high speed is simply fun. Lady Esmeralda, despite being a duke's daughter, was in high spirits, wearing a sunflower-bright smile. Her perfectly styled golden vertical curls swayed beautifully today.
"Also, a dressing room, a guard room, a food storage, a stable... This is practically a noble's manor."
"In terms of quality alone, it surpasses my father's mansion. Some of the materials used are from dungeons, and the magical tools for the facilities were made by the spirits... We'll be living in a house better than the royal family's."
"It seems like it's going to be an incredible house when it's finished."
Watched over by the party members, the construction steadily progresses toward completion. According to Don, the house itself shouldn't take more than a week.
He said it would take about two weeks total to finish because they wanted to be meticulous with the details, but at this pace, it might be done in about three days, right?
With dwarves moving with the precision of fine machinery at high speed, building a mansion or two is probably a trivial matter.
"This is what they mean by 'poignant,' isn't it?"
"But Ms. Ingrid, this is still incredibly fast, right?"
"Yes. Normally, to develop an area like this, even if we used a full year, we might not have even finished clearing the land. Considering the monsters, we definitely wouldn't have achieved this scale."
I nodded at Claudia's words and was relieved that Amina also thought this construction speed was abnormal.
Fundamentally, it's strange that this fortress—it can hardly be called a frontier village anymore—was built in just the time for the seasons to cycle once.
No budget, a workforce of less than four hundred total.
If you asked any master craftsman to develop monster-infested land from scratch and build something like this, they'd probably give up.
"That's right. Even using ducal power, it would be impossible to build something on this scale in a mere year in such a remote area."
"Only Liberta could do it."
"No, even I couldn't do it alone."
At this point, all we can do is leave it to the craftsmen's skills; there's not much else we can do.
We can honestly entrust it to the professionals, allowing us to devote ourselves to other matters.
"But if it were Liberta, you'd somehow manage to build something amazing by yourself, wouldn't you?"
"No, a situation where I had to build such a huge structure alone would be problematic... If I had to, I'd create a mobile golem and prepare living quarters inside it. That would suffice."
"You say such unfamiliar things so casually. Living quarters in a golem?"
"It's about competing with ideas, you see."
The vertical farm for food production, the infrastructure generating water to support this urban area, the fortress and walls for defense, the railway network for transporting goods, the workshop for weapon crafting, and the commercial district aimed at earning foreign currency.
We've created something quite good as an activity base.
However, it's still insufficient to challenge the central continent.
"So, Liberta. The future plan is as we discussed, right?"
"That's right. We'll start scouting to secure personnel."
The base is built, and the minimum necessary facilities are prepared.
But even so, we are still far from ready to launch an assault on the central continent.
The Elixir development foundation promised to Maddeto isn't ready yet.
The reconstruction of the northern territory is also underway, so it will still be some time before Maddeto can come here.
So, in the meantime, we will also take action to secure people.
And this time, it's about quality over quantity. We will seek out individuals I believe to be capable, based on what I know.
"Capable individuals are scattered all over this world. Some are using their talents and shining in the light of day. However, in reality, there are many whose circumstances prevent them from flourishing."
Yes, we're aiming for named characters.
Until now, our activity base was the villa we borrowed from the Duke—a place we were essentially lodging in.
Securing a large number of personnel there was fundamentally impossible.
However, now we have our own foundation and can guarantee a stable life.
In terms of scouting, you could say we've gained a foundation that allows us to compete.
"I understand that point. However, those with hidden talents often go undiscovered precisely because their talent isn't recognized, or they hide it because they don't want to reveal it. Finding them will be quite difficult, I think."
"Even so, we'll do it. There are patterns where we act, but we'll also proceed with preparations to properly gather them here."
"You mean the school. It's already decided we'll build it, accepting talent from outside the nobility as well."
The prime example of that foundation is the school.
A building planned to be constructed within the second wall that will encircle the area outside this frontier village's existing walls.
Construction is scheduled to begin after this residential district is finished, but we'll also gather the crucial personnel in parallel.
The foundation of an activity base is education.
Honestly, me remaining solely as the provider is starting to become a factor hindering our activities.
"With motivation and perseverance, you can manage anything, but educators aren't born so easily. I want to secure someone with know-how at all costs."
"If I recall correctly, Liberta's wish was for someone passionate about education, not tainted by elitist ideas."
"Exactly, it would be troublesome if they started advocating noble supremacy here."
So, at this point, I'm scheming to establish what in games would be called an auto-leveling environment, aiming to secure talented individuals in various fields all at once.
Mass-producing Class 7 individuals would likely cause problems with public order and security, so we'll aim to raise everyone up to Class 4 as part of a compulsory education-like system. Advancement beyond that will require passing exams.
The difference from the game-era FBO is that this world is reality.
Ideology and personality directly impact daily life.
I nodded at Claudia's words with a wry smile.
Even among named characters, there are those types, so we definitely can't accept such individuals.
It's perfectly clear that accepting them would lead to disaster.
"And then there's securing military strength. I've asked Genjiro to introduce people he might be able to bring from the east... but the real problem is the entertainers. For people working in the intelligence division, trustworthiness comes first. Also, whether they can adapt to that group with their rich personalities... I asked Claudia and Esmeralda, but did you find anyone promising?"
Well, as a countermeasure for potential trouble when accepting people, we're also securing combat strength.
The first people I had in mind were Genjiro's acquaintances.
Seeing how hard he's worked here, he seems quite duty-bound.
And during our many meals together, I heard about his harsh circumstances.
It seems there are many people in similar situations—skilled but smoldering with discontent. So, I thought, couldn't we bring them over? I had Genjiro identify prospects, and if possible, I plan to dispatch members of the Oniwabanshu to the eastern continent to scout and bring them back.
There's also the calculation that if we can bring in masters of Genjiro's caliber, it would be very advantageous.
We plan to gather personnel from various fields, but we must carefully select them, which is a hassle.
Whether they are named characters or not, that part doesn't change.
I also asked the two with likely extensive networks to look around and am now hearing their results, but...
"The nobility-related side is a no-go. It would be nice if there were someone like Marquis Cazes, but unfortunately, such individuals hold important positions."
"The temple side was naturally impossible. But I had some leads among people I met during my travels, so I've written and saved up several letters to send. Whether we get a reply is a gamble."
Lady Esmeralda shook her head sideways, indicating that path was closed. Claudia's leads offer only a 'maybe' level of possibility.
"Understood, thank you."
I'm grateful they looked for me.
I express my thanks for that.
"Liberta, you have someone in mind, right?"
"Yeah. We talked about scouting once the residence's completion was in sight."
And if I left it all to them and Genjiro, I'd have no standing.
Receiving expectant looks from Nel and Amina, I nod.
"Yeah, there's one person I absolutely want to meet."
When I decided to secure named characters, there were many I wanted to secure first.
But that was all under the premise of an environment protected by the game system.
The number of individuals I'd still wish to come even without that system protection is relatively small.
And among them, the person I recommend the most...
"Gatou. To my knowledge, the foremost scholar on this continent."