Chapter 347: Replenishing Personnel

Regular duties as a lord, Esparda’s cram-school style education, and Dee’s demonic training. Amidst this packed schedule, I was pushing forward with personnel recruitment.

Incidentally, we are so short-handed right now that I’m having Arte and Till help out as well.

“With this, we have ten people learning territory management under Esparda. Five assistants for the operation of the Chivalric Order. Five to assist Brother Murcia. Two to manage the adventurer town…… I feel like this is quite a significant replenishment of personnel.”

When I muttered that while checking the report, Esparda, who had been compiling reports on non-critical matters, stopped his hands and turned around.

“Indeed. The population is still increasing, so we cannot let our guard down, but once the new personnel are trained, things should settle down for the time being.”

Even the cautious Esparda gave his stamp of approval, which was rare. After all, we now had three people for Seatoh Village’s budget and material management. Five for recording resident registrations and changes. Two for negotiations and coordination with merchant guilds. Five for facility management, and so on…… Tasks that were previously handled by Esparda and a few disciples could now be tackled by more than double the staff. If they learned their duties smoothly, the administration of my territory would surely stabilize.

In the meantime, the next generation of talent would likely grow as well.

“Phew…… Can I take it easy for a while now? There probably won’t be a reply from the Kingdom of Fiesta just yet.”

“Thank you for your hard work.”

Till brought me some tea at the perfect moment. I picked up the teacup placed in front of me and took a sip of the warm tea. She seemed to have prepared it at a temperature that was easy to drink. The aroma was rich, yet it was smooth and delicious.

“It soaks right into my soul.”

“Fufu, you sound like an old man, Lord Van……”

When I voiced my thoughts, Arte covered her mouth with her hand and giggled. How cute. As I watched Arte and Till with a warm and fuzzy feeling, Esparda cleared his throat lightly and spoke.

“Now then, the recruitment and reallocation of new personnel is complete. The next vital step is to inform each person in charge and swiftly organize the new structure of domestic administration. Furthermore, while you are here in Seatoh Village, Lord Van, you must build housing for the new residents.”

“Eh!? Is that…… ur-urgent……?”

Just as I was thinking of stretching my legs and relaxing in the large public bath, Esparda threw a killer pass at me. My voice cracked involuntarily. However, Esparda simply stated the necessary details matter-of-factly to the exhausted and pitiful Van.

“Currently, there are over twenty carpenters in Seatoh Village constructing and repairing houses and walls. However, they cannot build the four-story-or-higher residences that you build, Lord Van. This is due to simple construction techniques, as well as a lack of manpower and time. Therefore, they are currently building two-story houses and making furniture.”

“……In other words, looking ahead to the future, we need more large buildings that can house many families? Indeed, I suppose I’m the only one who can do that.”

“Precisely.”

When I confirmed with Esparda, he affirmed it effortlessly. However, the content was something I couldn’t ignore. Should I just accept that it can’t be helped……?

“……By the way, how many buildings do we need, and how big?”

I asked just to check. Esparda produced a document from somewhere and started flipping through it.

“Fumu…… The current population growth rate is about fifty times per year. However, since the denominator is different, it likely won’t increase fifty-fold again in the next year. So, let us assume a simple scenario where the same number of immigrants arrive. By my calculations, all current buildings will be filled in one to two months, and within three months, there may be residents without homes. Depending on the Kingdom of Fiesta’s response, you may not be able to return to the territory for over six months, Lord Van. Therefore, I request that you build about fifty of those four-story residences you built previously.”

“Fi-Fif……”

At Esparda’s casually spoken words, I shifted my gaze to the setting sun visible through the window.

“……It’s a beautiful sunset. That’s right. Let’s have omelet rice for dinner tonight. Is that okay, Till?”

“Lord Van? Escaping reality is not something I can admire.”

I tried to gently change the subject and escape, but I couldn’t run from Esparda. Being looked down upon by Esparda, who had knitted his brows slightly, I felt the illusion that I had shrunk.

“Let us set the deadline for three days starting tomorrow. Even if news comes tomorrow that the Kingdom of Fiesta has replied, three days for departure preparations will not be a problem.”

“Y-Yes…… I’ll do my best.”

His reasoning was sound, and Esparda pressed me with more than enough persuasiveness and intensity. I couldn’t possibly defy him, so I had no choice but to agree.