Chapter 60: That time when I received complaints from the aquatic demonkin
TL: kizen
ED: Filip/Gecko
It’s the day after I trained with my children and did nightly activities with my wives . I went to the carpenter’s place where I was introduced by the chief to a quarter dwarf worker who will be coming with me to the island . After making sure that we had the necessary tools, we proceeded to stack as many materials as we could on the leftover s.p.a.ce . Since we’re going to get some honey soon, I’ll also buy some extra empty bottles .
「The name’s Root . Nice to meet you . You’re pretty famous around the village so I know about you but you probably don’t know me, do you?」
「Sorry but no」
I’ve met a lot of people because I keep being conspicuous and move around from place to place a lot, but I honestly only remember the ones who I was actively involved with . I think this is the first time I’m meeting Root-san though .
「No no, don’t worry about it . That should have been obvious since why would Maou-san know about little ol’ me?」
Root-san said that like he was teasing me but it doesn’t seem like there’s a hint of sarcasm in his words .
「Well then, shall we go?」
「Yeah, pleasure to work with you」
I activated the transportation magic and went back to the island together with Root-san, who was recommended to me by the chief .
「Whoa…… so this is the sea」
That was his first impression of the area .
「I had the same reaction when I first saw it you know? It’s really pretty, isn’t it? Let me explain some things for the time being」
「Yeah」
「When it rains in these kinds of area, it rains really hard . During those times, those waves you see over there reach great heights and in worse cases, it may even reach up to here . If you get swallowed by those waves and carried away, the worst that could happen is that you’ll drown and die . ** We still haven’t experienced something like that though」
「That’s pretty scary, isn’t it……?」
Root-san was listening to what I had to say with a serious look on his face .
「Now, the humans’ temporary housing is pretty close to here so our manpower would decrease if they get washed away and die . If that happens, our chances of survival on this island would also decrease and at worst, we’ll all die . All of our lives can be saved if we just board the s.h.i.+ps we’ve been trading with though since we’ve been doing that a lot lately」
「You’re like the village chief, aren’t youー? You were acting as some kind of a.s.sistant to our village chief a while back so I guess you we already good at thinking about the whole picture back then」
「They were entrusted to me after all, so I feel responsible for their lives . Also, if I was alone on this island, I think I’d just be wandering around, unsure about what to do . Either that or I would just do whatever I suddenly think of . Like dancing naked on the sand, for example」
「I guess that’s to be expected . Your way of thinking is pretty strange after all . Thanks to that, the village has had five bountiful end of the year festivals . You have some kind of plan right?」
He ignored the nude dancing on the beach part . I was quite serious when I said that thoughー . If we’re talking about what you would first do when you’re on an uninhabited island, you’d think about things you would normally do right?
「Haha, I don’t have anything like that you know? I’m just doing things at random」
「……I see」
Don’t be so surprised by that .
「It’s just the product of having a flexible mindset . Well anyway, I’ll continue with my explanation . There are basic houses over there but it’s still in a relatively dangerous area . There’s also no fresh water source over there but there is one at the direction where the sun starts to set . There’s a slightly wide area so that’s where I’m thinking of having the houses built . There’s a well with drinkable water there」
「Why was the well built way over there?」
「The water would have been salty if we had built it close to the sea you know? Also, although the water can still be used to wash the body since it’s also drawn from the forest, it would only be dangerous to drink if it’s not boiled」
I didn’t dig to confirm, but even in my previous life, there weren’t a lot of wells on coastlands and tourist islands .
「I see」
「Shall we introduce you to everyone then?」
A dwarf carpenter . I introduced Root-san to the islanders like that, then informed everyone about the previous Demon Lord’s planned castle site . I told them how the area could be dangerous if there are heavy rains so I took half of the reclamation group to the site to fix up the area .
First thing that we have to do is to set up a wide gazebo with the well at its center . The gazebo will be some kind of meeting spot so all of the other houses will be built with that it mind . It will also serve the purpose of making sure that garbage doesn’t end up in the well .
「This is where the previous Demon Lord abused his slaves . It’s the Demon Lord’s castle grounds . For the time being, we’re going to clear it out . I’ve already started by building a well in the middle of the area . There’s a quarry nearby but it’s still pretty much untouched . They didn’t get much work done since my predecessor abused his slaves so recklessly that he was immediately subjugated by the hero . Because of that, when managing the human workers, please don’t forget to let them take a short breaks, one between breakfast and lunch, and another after lunch and before the work day ends . You should also give them a day off every ten days starting today . Please take those things into consideration when coming up with the work schedule」
「Got it . I’ll give them plenty of breaks and let them have days off . To be honest, I think that giving them those is just right you know? The worker’s morale would rise if they’re able to rest when they’re tired after all」
「Well then, I’ll draw on the ground what I have thought up in my head」
I picked up a stick and drew a square around the well to give them the rough shape . I explained to them that I wanted the well to be in the center of the main crossroad and the buildings will be constructed around it in a grid pattern similar to that of a Go board . I think this might have been a troublesome request but I wanted the central main road to be some kind of shopping district with stalls lined up in the future so I wanted them to build with that in mind . The quarry that I found the other day will be part of some kind of industrial district where stone, lumber, and meat will be processed . However, for the time being, I requested for them to focus on the gazebo in the central area first .
Considering that the rest of the workforce are amateurs, I think they’ll just be tasked to hoist up the pillars and add the beams but that’s still not certain . Well, I should just let them know that the water in the well is safe .
「Hmmー that’s a lot of requests but it’s doable within reason . The stone that will be taken from the quarry will be processed and be used as foundation . The excess that comes from that can be used for the roads or to make stone walls . There’s also a need for a wood processing area . The wood would rot if it gets wet due to rain, so the place needs to be roofed」
「I know that this is going to be a difficult project but please focus on this area for now」
I bowed my head down while asking that .
「No, don’t worry about it . Please raise your head . In fact, I even feel grateful to you Caam . Even though you became a Demon Lord, you didn’t change the way you interact with your fellow Demonkin as well as the humans after all . The treatment towards mixed Demonkin like me also got better . I think it’s thanks to you leading the development of the village as well . Well anyway, seeing as you’re still settling down here, I can understand why you’re in a hurry but I’ve been told that you’re in need of houses for the residents to move into so I’ll be focusing on those first」
I’m pretty much mixed race too though…… Also Root-san doesn’t look like a dwarf at all so I don’t really get it .
「Thank you very much . Please let me know if there’s anything you need help with . Securing a place to live and a water source is our top priority after all」
「Got it . The water would remain clean as long as no dead leaves and such enter the well, right?」
「Yeah, I’ll leave it to you . Well then, shall we check out the quarry before getting lunch?」
We went to inspect the quarry after that . We discussed how much stone we would need and which side we should take from, then we went back to the coastline to have lunch . We served some salt.w.a.ter fish to let him try the taste .
In order to increase the output of our salt maker, I asked Root-san if he could make a larger salt.w.a.ter container at our Ryuukstyle saltpan . I also asked him if he could repair the handles on our tools . I just used some appropriately sized branches as a temporary fix on the handles of the axes that broke after all . As for the ones with chipped blades, I just made a makes.h.i.+ft grinder using a rounded rough stone rotating at high speed to temporarily repair them, but I really want to build a smithy with someone capable of manning it some time soon .
「Well, I can see how hard Caam is struggling to develop this place that’s why I’ll also do my best」
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「Thanks」
After we finished lunch, I was reminded by the others about another place where we could get wood if we don’t have enough .
「Ahー, I forgot . If there’s any useful materials you can take out of that sunken s.h.i.+p in the bay, please feel free to make use of it . The former pirates are still residing in the part that is still afloat, so just make sure that their roof won’t leak okay?」
「I won’t ask how it sank but I am interested about how you were able to break such a thick post」1
「It’s a secret you know?」
I tried to say that all cutesy as a joke but I feel like it wasn’t quite well received .
「Haha! You’re still eccentric and secretive as ever, aren’t you? I can still remember how surprised I was to hear that you beat your father with a shovel you know? Looking at that s.h.i.+p though, I can somewhat understand how . Anyway, we can use that broken pillar to make support posts . If it’s just something like the gazebos with triangular roofs, we could probably even make two . We’ll just have to cut down the ones that are still standing I guess」
It seems like he’s just treating me normally after that joke . He’s acting like it never happened I guess .
「Just leave that part to me . Even if they’re former pirates, as long as the task isn’t something unreasonable, they probably won’t complain」
「Yeah yeah . Now you just need to draw the thing you came up in your head then you can leave the rest to me」
「Got it . If you want to go back to the village at any point, just let me know so that I can send you back」
「The chief will get mad at me if I go back just like that you know?」
We both laughed and with that, our conversation ended .
