Chapter 13: Please Throw Them Into The Jailhouse
While the new villagers cautiously entered the newly made terrace houses…
“Alright, time to expand the fields.”
At present, the village had four fields. The crops grown from these fields should be able to feed 50 people, but only for a while.
So, I decided to build additional fields on the vacant areas of my expanded and reorganized village.
“Let’s see, I think having 10 fields in total will do for now.”
The fields occupied nearly half of my village.
Planting seeds in all of them will be a lot of work…should I ask the new villagers to help?
It wasn’t just extra sets of hands that I could receive, but advice as well. Their previous village was an agricultural one, so they were probably more knowledgeable than me.
“After that…oh, right, I think I have another of those village skills.”
The first skill was called [Reposition]. It allowed me to move any already built facility to anywhere I wanted, as long as it was still within the village of course. It was quite convenient.
“So, what does [Villager Appraisal] do?”
<<It allows you to appraise the villagers.>>
“Appraise them?”
<<It is recommended to try it for yourself. To activate, try saying [Appraisal] while looking at a villager. >>
At the perfect timing, Belrith-san walked by.
“Village chief-sama, these fields…?”
“We have more people now, so I thought I should add more fields. I know you’re tired, so resting your tired bodies should be your priority, but after that, I’d really like it if you can help in planting the seeds.”
“We’d be happy to help! Not only have you given us food, but shelter as well. If we can repay that favor even a little, it’d be our pleasure to help.”
“Ok, but don’t overexert yourselves, ok?”
While looking at Belrith who proudly declared so, I uttered [Appraisal] under my breath.
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Name: Belrith
Age: 36 years old
Village Bond Level: High
Suitable Occupation: Coordinator
Gift: None
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When I did so, a set of text appeared in vision.
The first two lines were as straightforward as things could be, but I wasn’t sure what ‘Village Bond Level’ meant.
<<It is one’s loyalty and sense of belonging toward the village.>>
So, because Belrith-san’s says “High”, does that mean he thinks favorably of the village already?
<<That is the case, yes. A villager with a Low Village Bond Level is more likely to perform criminal acts within the village or even incite insurrection, so please do be careful of them.>>
I see…
Thinking about it, the risk of having such a villager becomes higher as the population grows. However, through this skill, I would be able to tell who were likely to cause problems.
I wasn’t quite comfortable on peeking at other’s minds though…
<<If such people become present in the village, please throw them into the jailhouse.>>
Oh yeah, I became able to build a jailhouse when the village reached level 3. I hope building one never becomes necessary though. Anyway, how about Suitable Occupation?
<<As it name implies, it is the job that is advisable for the villager.>>
In other words, Belrith-san’s current position was just right for him.
<<As much as possible, assign villagers to duties that match their inclinations. For example, a villager with a Suitable Occupation of [Farmwork] will likely excel in agriculture, while someone with [Sentinel] might be great as a guard or a peacekeeper.>>
Wait, is it really alright for me to be able to get that much information that easily? I mean, I’m not complaining, but isn’t it too strong..?
Just that alone could rival a powerful Gift. The only thing that might hold it back was that it could only be used on my villagers.
The next morning, I gathered everyone in the center of the village. It was a space large and open enough to be used as a public square.
“Good morning, Belrith-san. Were you able to sleep well last night?”
“Yes. Thanks to village chief-sama’s comfortable beds, we’ve been able to sleep well for the first time in quite a while.”
The residential units in a terrace house weren’t especially spacious, so I worried if they were able to sleep well, if at all. Apparently though, just having a place to sleep was enough to make their sleep feel heavenly.
Or it might be because of the joy of surpassing their hardships.
“I’m glad to hear that. Well then, let’s talk about why I wanted everyone to gather here. For the sake of our future endeavors, I’d like know each of you one by one. I believe learning your name, age, family structure, and so on will help me in assigning which jobs will be best suited for you.”
“Ahh, yes, you’re right. But then in that case, won’t it be faster if simply tell you those kinds of information?”
“Maybe, but I’m going to have to say no. As the village’s leader, I want to memorize each and everyone’s faces as much as possible.”
And so, I gathered and recorded information from each of the villagers. Of course, I was also secretly using [Villager Appraisal] as I met with them.
By the 7th one, I was so surprised that I unconsciously shouted ah!
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Name: Balrath
Age: 32 years old
Village Bond Level: High
Suitable Occupation: Soldier
Gift: (Swordsmanship)
======================
…there’s something in the Gift line, but why is it enclosed in parentheses?
