Chapter 2: Make A Village Here?

The one to suggest that I be sent to develop the wasteland was my step-brother Raul.

It was next to impossible to develop such a horrible place, so it was only a mission in name. In reality, it was me being exiled.

Be it from starvation or from the monsters in the area, there was a high likelihood of my death. Yet, no one, not even my mother raised an objection.

To them, I was such a disappointment that dying horribly and alone was the fate I deserved.

“Luke, the Gift you got was called [Village Building], right? Then developing this wasteland should be easy! Gyahahaha!”

Even now, I could still hear Raul’s laughter.

Perhaps it was because he was always being ostracized that he grew up have a twisted personality. But then again, maybe someone with his disposition might just be what was needed in this turbulent time.

To be frank, I wasn’t quite fond of fighting.

I had been trained with the sword—and was able to get proficient in a short amount of time—but the act of killing people just didn’t sit well with me.

My instructor would often remark: you’re talented, but you’re just too kind, Luke-sama.

“We’ve arrived.”

Along with that announcement, the carriage stopped.

About a week had passed since I left home, but only now did we reach the wasteland I was banished to.

“I’ve been told what this place is like…but it’s somehow worse.”

All around me was a wasteland.

There were scarcely any plants, and most of the mountains that dotted the place were bald and rocky.

The only saving grace were the forest to the north and the lush mountain range to the east. However, these were also where the monsters lived. The monsters liked those places, so they rarely ventured outside…but rarely is not as good as never.

Once the luggage was dropped off as well, the carriage quickly departed.

There was only one servant that stayed behind with me.

“Luke-sama, it’s just like we’ve heard, there really is nothing out here.”

Her name was Millia.

I had never asked for her age, but if I had to guess, I would say she was probably around 20.

She had beautiful black hair and a good figure. She was tall too.

She was my personal maid, but that was before I was banished here. She was an excellent maid and was therefore an important personnel at my father’s castle, so she didn’t have to come with me at all.

“You sure about this? I mean, you can make head maid sooner or later if you stayed…”

“What are you talking about, Luke-sama? When I became your personal maid, I swore an oath. That no matter what happens, I will continue serving by your side. Those feelings haven’t changed.”

“Millia…”

To think that there was someone who would care for me like she does…

“(Fufufu, after all, I love young boys too much! And you, Luke-sama, are my perfect type! Gufufufu…)”

Huh? Did a chill just run down my spine…? Nah, must be my imagination. Yeah, yeah, that must be it.

“Well then, Luke-sama, it might be too sudden, but I believe you have to choose between two options.”

“Two options?”

“Yes. The first is live off the land. At the moment, our supplies can last up to maybe a month. We can cultivate the land and farm, but as you can see, the land is terribly barren. Even if we somehow make it work, harvesting enough for the two of us within a month’s time is unbelievable at best. Of course, we can hunt and forage in the forest over there, but, well… either way, it’d be extremely difficult.”

Once again, I thought of what an outrageous place I was sent to.

“The other option is for us to escape from here and go to some faraway city. No one’s here to stop us or even tell on us, so it’ll be an easy thing to pull off.”

Somehow, I got the feeling that Millia was suggesting the second option.

Which made sense since it was the more practical option.

I would have gone with it right away, but I had something I wanted to try first.

“My Gift, [Village Building], I never really learned how to use it after I received it. I don’t even have an idea what it does…”

I didn’t know how, but I just knew my Gift would be useful at this moment.

And then…

“Make a village here?”

The characters for those words then appeared at the edge of my vision.