Chapter 443
Regarding Petra, the only option is to handle it carefully, so we decided to shelve the matter for now and hold a dedicated meeting about it later. With that, the new personnel recruitment meeting for the day came to an end.
There were other agenda items as well, but after that point, it was just sharing information through confirmation and reports, so it didn't take much time. The Freihait executive meeting concluded.
After that, everyone dispersed to return to their respective departments.
"Well then, shall we go check on the completion status of the school building? Gato-san, let's go."
"Indeed."
Next on my schedule is an inspection of the completed school building together with Gato.
"Can I come too?"
"Me too!"
"Sure, you're welcome."
"I will accompany you as well."
Having already finished my paperwork, I plan to use this time afterward to look at the school building.
I had heard about the construction progress of the building and had visited the construction site several times.
However, this will be my first time seeing the completed building.
Nell and Amina will also come along, and Ingrid will quietly be stationed behind me as well.
Within the walls, we don't need Genjirou and the others as guards, so the group heading out consists of these members.
"Well then, Don. Please guide us."
"Righto! Leave it to me!"
Don is the one who supervised the construction.
The academy, which will become the namesake of Academy City, was built on the vast site between the first and second walls.
And Freihait is endlessly vast. If you tried to travel within it on foot, the sun would set by the time you reached your destination.
"Are we taking the train?"
"If we don't, it'll take an insanely long time."
The meeting was held in the original fortress city located within the first wall.
We're tentatively calling this area Central.
In the future, it's planned that only正式 residents of the city will be allowed entry, but for now, anyone can come and go freely.
Central, the heart of Freihait, has a station connected to all train lines.
Perhaps you could call it the central hub. Anyway, as long as you can get to Central, you can board a train to anywhere.
With this mode of transportation in mind, we've built elevated tracks crisscrossing Freihait, enabling free movement across the vast land. Additionally, we've created a loop line on top of the second wall that circles the entire Freihait area.
Starting from a vast empty lot, we could say we were able to build a beautifully planned city and railway network.
Currently, most of these trains are freight trains; there are only a few passenger cars.
For construction workers and security personnel, running is faster, so these trains mainly transport materials.
"Running is faster, you know?"
"Flying is faster for me."
"Don't say that. That's why no one uses the trains."
I never thought the副作用 of leveling up would manifest like this. Placating Nell and Amina, I head towards the station, deciding that at least I will use it.
"Lots of trains running."
"What area are they constructing now?"
"We finished the student dormitories the other day, so now it's the training grounds. We need to be able to deploy dungeons there and use attack magic and skills during combat training, so they have to be built sturdy. That requires a lot of materials."
On the platform, dwarves are working, and loud shouts can be heard from various places.
I watch with satisfaction as they call out to each other to ensure safety while working. Amina gets a bit excited seeing the materials loaded onto freight cars continuously departing from the station.
"Really, no one uses them at all, huh."
But seeing the workers, after the cars depart, sprint from the station and jump off the elevated tracks, Nell lets out a wry smile.
I understand that superior physical abilities are more convenient, but I wish they would use civilized tools a little more.
The box-shaped trains, left unused and looking lonely, appear forlorn.
Don gets into the driver's cab of a train intended for passengers, drives it up to the platform, and the doors open.
"We've told them they can use it, you know..."
He seems accustomed to driving, but judging by how neglected it looks, no one really uses it.
The number of users will probably increase in the future, but for now, it's just an ornament.
After confirming everyone has boarded, Don closes the doors, and the train slowly begins to move.
Departing from the platform and heading onto the elevated track route, the train starts slowly and gradually picks up speed.
"Wow."
"What a nice view."
As the train leaves Central and runs along the elevated track, the scenery inside Freihait's second wall becomes visible from the windows.
"Is that the school?"
"Yeah, that's right."
"Seeing it like this again, it's really big."
"Which is bigger, this or the school in the royal capital?"
"Ours is definitely bigger. Right, Liberta?"
"Yeah. We built it large so we could do various things."
From the train window, among the buildings under construction, you can get a panoramic view of the completed academy building, which stands out for its size.
Based on the blueprints I proposed with a modern design, Don and the others made adjustments.
A large, five-story building stretching left and right.
Over a hundred classrooms, a large auditorium capable of holding several hundred people, a large cafeteria and cafeteria for mass dining.
Grounds and a pool for physical activities.
A splendid school stands there, rivaling the scale of mammoth schools from my previous life in Japan.
"Gato-san is going to be the principal of that school, right?"
"Yes. Becoming the principal of such a large school makes me a little hesitant."
Gato gives a wry smile at its scale, but he's accepted it since it's already decided.
"It's okay, it's okay. I'll support you if anything happens."
"With such encouragement, I'll just do my best."
Of course, I don't think we can run a school of this scale with just the personnel whose recruitment was decided in the previous meeting.
We'll probably struggle with it at first.
But for now, it's fine because we're just in the startup phase, operating and accumulating educational know-how.
Gato and I have already discussed that the immediate goal is to prepare an environment where many people can attend and learn in the future.
"But you really built a huge school building. Was it necessary to make it this large from the start?"
"If we don't build it now, securing the land later would be a pain. Management is troublesome, but it's not impossible."
The academy building is quite large compared to other buildings in this world.
The reason for preparing this scale was to avoid having to expand later when the population increases and the site becomes cramped.
It's not that bigger necessarily covers smaller, but we judged it better to have excess space than to run short later.
"Well, I suppose so. But with only a dozen or so teachers at best, and whether the students even reach a hundred, using that building will be..."
"Luxurious, right?"
"Yes. And with other facilities besides, it's indeed a luxurious situation."
In a world where construction technology isn't that advanced, by conventional standards, building something this large would require several years, or even decades, of work, plus a lot of manpower and money.
"Is that the training ground?"
"Yes, sir. We're also building several facilities over there."
And it's not just the school building.
Under the name "combat training grounds," five Colosseum-like buildings are being constructed in parallel.
Even if students enroll, we don't plan on easily培养 high-level combat personnel. However, even for rear-support personnel like artisans, leveling up is essential for their development.
Therefore, places where dungeons necessary for the training environment can be opened are needed.
"What else are you building?"
While driving, Don points and explains the construction plans.
"Over there, we're building workshops to train craftsmen like blacksmiths and artisans. Next to that, we're also building a smelting facility. Over that way, we're planning to create farms and pastures."
"You're really building all sorts of things, aren't you?"
"Plus, we'll have horseback riding, civil engineering lessons, cooking lessons, map drawing, and so on. Well, it's a place to train personnel who can be active in various fields."
"No, Lord Liberta. Being able to prepare such luxurious facilities is something only you could do. Not even the king of any country could arrange an environment like this."
Teaching practical skills that can't be learned through classroom lessons alone.
The理念 itself isn't wrong, but normally, finding the budget to prepare for it is impossible. That doesn't apply to me.
"Well, that's just how I am."
"For us, being involved in creating something this amazing is a craftsman's greatest reward."
I do it because I want to.
That's all there is to it.
While we were talking, the train arrived at the专用 station directly connected to the academy.
Trains can enter the school grounds, and since this line also connects to the student dormitories, it can be used for commuting within the school premises as well.
"The platform at the station directly connected to the building is also spacious."
"The building's maximum capacity is estimated at three thousand people. If those three thousand are getting on and off, the platform needs to be spacious too."
Since we envision gathering talent from various fields at this academy, the building needs to be on a corresponding scale.
Anticipating a commuter rush—or rather, a school rush—we've made the station platform generously sized.
"Once everyone's levels go up, won't they just run from the dormitories instead of taking the train?"
"Yeah, that would be faster than the train, right?"
"...Surely, there will be people who use it."
But Nell and Amina suggested that maybe no one would use it, giving me a bad feeling.
However, that can't be right. At lower levels, it will be used, and we're planning to require exams for class advancement within the school curriculum.
So, students who can commute faster than the train shouldn't appear anytime soon. Averting my eyes from that bad feeling, I head towards the entrance connecting to the building.
"It's a beautiful building."
"It's freshly built. We haven't removed the protective covers yet, so it's still pristine."
The building's main entrances are the front door and this entrance from the platform.
Desks, chairs, and nothing else have been brought in yet, so it's just a space with a lot of rooms.
Nevertheless, the school, built with care by Don and the others, is a magnificent structure that exudes dignity.
Even the corridor we're walking through now isn't just a passage; it has detailed craftsmanship in places.
While I instructed prioritizing functional beauty, it's also true that the artisans' individuality shows in the细节.
"So this is where we'll study."
"Yeah. Amina and Nell, if there's anything you want to learn through classroom lessons, you can attend too."
"Hmm, ah! I want to study singing!"
"That would be you teaching, Amina."
"We'd have to find someone who can sing better than Amina."
Entering one of the empty classrooms, we look around. Aside from the view of the grounds outside the window, it's just a spacious room.
It's a space with no particular appeal, but Amina and Nell seem to enjoy the school atmosphere itself and eagerly go further ahead.
The men follow after them.
"Yeah, no problems. This means we can welcome students."
"I'm relieved to hear that. I've never built such a large building before."
"Ho ho ho! Everything is a learning experience!"
"You're absolutely right."
Naturally, this results in a group formation: me, Ingrid, Gato, and Don watching over the two who are gleefully running ahead.
"Also, diplomats and exchange students are coming from the House of Edelgard. We need to prepare to receive them as well."
"The embassy building is complete, but the people coming are mostly nobles, right? I wonder about our teachers. It will be difficult to prepare teachers capable of instructing nobles."
"They understand that. They also know what would happen if they tried to spread ideologies tainted by strange noble privileges. They're aware."
Imagining how this building will be used and what kind of people will come, we discussed the future of this academy.