Chapter 62: Great job, Commander
“I’ve heard tales of it, but this place is unbelievably pleasant, isn’t it…”
“Yeah…that heavenly bed, that bath you can use whenever you want, those fantastic food…and that toilet!”
“Yeah, yeah, that toilet! It’s so amazing! I ended up trying it a bunch of times. My, these humans, they really live a great life, don’t they…”
“No, apparently, this village is special. Everything here is supposed to be because the village chief has a powerful Gift.”
I saw some elves talking about something, so I came closer to greet them.
“Good morning. Did you have a good sleep?”
“Village chief-dono!”
“Y-yes, thanks all to you!”
“Glad to hear it.”
After the barbeque party, the elves stayed the night.
They said they didn’t mind sleeping outdoors, but as expected, it would look bad upon us as hosts to let them do so if it could be helped.
Fortunately, we still had apartment units left unoccupied. We also had my estate and the already-built estate for guests. For the remaining elves, I built a new two-story apartment building. Thanks to all that, the more than 200 elves all slept indoors last night.
◇ ◇ ◇
“Luke-sama, there’s actually something I’d like to discuss with you…”
Leonius-san politely said so.
He was looking so much better than he did yesterday thanks to having a good night’s sleep.
“We’ve sent someone to look at our hamlet, but as we suspected, the damage to it was tremendous…it’s possible to repair it so that we can live there again, but that would probably take some time. Especially now that it’s winter…”
“Then, until that time, how about living in this village?”
“M-may we!?”
“Yes, of course. In case you haven’t heard, this village is composed of immigrants from all over. So, aside from your race, your circumstance will be pretty similar to the ones we’ve accepted and the ones we will happily continue to accept.”
“I see. Thank you very much. (it might be for only a while, but this means I get to use that toilet!)”
“Sorry, did you say something?”
“Ah, no, nothing at all.”
Their first priority must be fixing their hamlet’s walls. Otherwise, they would be very vulnerable to monster attacks. Especially from the remaining orcs.
“Actually, if you don’t mind, how about I go make going to and from your hamlet be completely safe?”
“…? How will you do that when that forest full of monsters lies in between…?”
“By going underground.”
“Excuse me?”
◇ ◇ ◇
“So, this is your hamlet. By the looks of things, it would certainly take a while before repairs are done.”
“Yes, we really can’t stay here as it is.”
What was originally a beautiful settlement that blended with the forest was now in ruins after the orc hoard’s rampage. Of note was the walls surrounding the hamlet. It was now totally incapable of keeping monsters out.
By the way, this was my first time inside the forest.
My presence was required this time, so going here myself couldn’t be helped.
The villagers were worried for my safety and thus tried to stop me from going, but because the hunting team led by Selen accompanied me, they didn’t push the matter.
“But are you sure you don’t want me to help repair the hamlet? It’ll be easy for me…”
I could build residence units, but that might conflict with the aesthetics of the hamlet, so I was more referring to building stone walls. It was at least one less thing to worry about.
“Your offer is generous, but with all due respect, we don’t want to rely on you that much. This is our hamlet, so I think it’s only proper that we handle the repairs ourselves.”
“I understand.”
One of the elves’ virtues was their indomitable spirit.
“(Alright, that should allow us to stay in that pleasant village for at least this winter!)”
“““(Great job, Commander!)”””
…did something happen? The elves somehow look like they’re so pleased.
“Well then, may I use this area?”
After a short tour around the ruined hamlet, we approached the southern gate.
“What for though? What exactly did you mean when you said you’ll make going to and from your village be completely safe?”
“Let me just show you.”
<<This place is already under someone else’s control. Would you like to take over?>>
I was asked an unbelievably unsettling thing, but I simply agreed.
This was the [Territory Takeover] village skill I got when the village became level 6.
<<Takeover complete. This place is now part of the village.>>
I have now confirmed that Territory Takeover could indeed make an area part of the village.
<<Build an underground tunnel?>>
And now that it was part of the village, I could build facilities in it.
After paying 20 points, a staircase leading underground appeared.
“What is this!?”
“Come on, let’s go.”
I urged the surprised Philia-san to go down the stairs.
Beyond the stairs was an underground tunnel. It was a dead end after a few meters though.
<<Build an underground tunnel?>>
I used another 20 points to extend the tunnel.
If I repeat doing this enough times, we should eventually reach the village.
I knew this would need a considerable number of points, so I saved up for this.
And just like I hoped, when I only had about 100 points left, we finally arrived.
All that was left was to build the staircase leading up.
“We’re back.”
“You really did connect the hamlet and the village…”
After going up the stairs, Philia-san was surprised to see the fields.
“This tunnel should make repairing the hamlet not only safer but quicker as well.”
“Y-yeah, you’re right…(but it’ll also make our stay here in the village shorter…alright, we’ll just have to work slower.)”
