Just as Planned (5)
It was done. With this, he had secured a rock-solid backer. Yohan pumped his fists in silent triumph. No matter how self-serving and bureaucratic the Lord of Balifield was, even he wouldn't dare reject a proposal backed by the name of an imperial marquis.
"Thank you so much," Yohan said, bowing deeply to Marquis Waldeck with genuine gratitude. His unusually earnest demeanor made even Wilhelm widen his eyes in surprise.
"Since you've lent us your name, I'll make sure this succeeds no matter what."
"I hope everything goes as you wish," she replied.
From the Waldeck family's perspective, there was absolutely no reason to grant his request. It was essentially a complete stranger from a foreign land barging in and asking to use their prestigious family name for a business venture. The only reason Marquis Waldeck had agreed so readily was out of affection for her younger brother, Wilhelm.
"Good. Then, Yohan, we should head out immediately—" Wilhelm spoke up, clearly eager to return to Westania as quickly as possible.
"Stop right there. You've traveled a vast distance to get here. Stay at least one night before you leave."
"Ah, no, Sister, it's just..."
"Forget it. We're not in that much of a hurry anyway, so let's do as she says," Yohan interjected.
Wilhelm had been ready to ignore his sister's insistence, but with Yohan chiming in, he couldn't hold out any longer.
"Sigh." He finally nodded, looking thoroughly reluctant.
Before they knew it, the sun had fully set. Guided by a servant, Yohan was escorted to a VIP guest room. The room featured a bed massive enough to comfortably fit four grown men lying side by side, and it even came with its own private bathroom.
Flash!
The Unnamed Goddess, who had remained in her spiritual form the entire time, manifested in the air.
"Mmmph—!"
She hopped onto the bed barefoot, stretching her arms and legs wide.
"This place is incredibly spacious! I want to build lots of houses like this in our village someday."
"Hmm. A fine ambition," Yohan joked, and the Goddess beamed in response.
"Or... should we redecorate our single-room pocket dimension in this style?"
"Well, do as you please. We have plenty of divine power, but I highly doubt your impoverished imagination could pull it off."
"Shut it, you."
She always has to ruin the mood, Yohan thought. Leaving the bed entirely to the Goddess, Yohan sank into a sofa in front of a square table. Just as Marquis Waldeck had suggested, it seemed best to get a good night's rest.
"And... you did well, my Apostle."
As Yohan was catching his breath, the Goddess suddenly floated over to his side and whispered in a soft voice.
"It is plain to see that both of them are terribly stubborn and unable to be honest when it matters most. You served as an excellent bridge between them."
"Hmph."
Yohan snorted at her praise. Marquis Waldeck had claimed she wanted them to rest and recover from their travel fatigue, but her true motive lay elsewhere. She wanted a chance to talk to her brother, whom she hadn't seen in over twenty years. However, the Marquis wasn't the type to lay her feelings bare, and Wilhelm was just as emotionally guarded. The siblings didn't just share the same fierce, tiger-like eyes; their personalities were identical. Well, in Wilhelm's case, his guilt over his past mistakes probably made him want to flee as quickly as possible out of sheer embarrassment.
"Then, once we return to Westania, will you immediately negotiate with the Lord of Balifield?" the Goddess asked.
Yohan shook his head.
"No. First, I need to fill in old man Henry, and then I'm going to clean up the area around Junk Town before we make our move."
"A wise choice. We haven't hunted down any wanted criminals in the area under the name of our Knight Order lately."
"Exactly."
This godforsaken fantasy world was absolutely crawling with bad guys. Bandits and highwaymen infested the lands to such a degree that Yohan seriously wondered if they had some kind of respawn anchor hidden somewhere. For a while, Yohan had stayed in the village and practically wiped out every wanted criminal in the vicinity. But because he had been away dealing with matters in the Holy Kingdom, the scum had begun to swarm back.
"And talking to Marquis Waldeck made me realize something important."
"What is that?"
"Our weight class. Regardless of how reasonable our proposal is, we need to make ourselves look much bigger and more formidable first."
"I understand what you mean. You intend to solidify our internal foundations, at least until the two thousand new residents have fully settled into the village."
Yohan offered a silent nod of agreement. Satisfied, the Goddess floated back up into the air and drifted toward the bed.
Their brief journey to the Empire came to an end. Wilhelm and Yohan parted ways, heading back to Junk Town and the Nameless Village, respectively. Along the way, Yohan took some time to stop by Balifield and reveal his true goal to Henry. He had tried to pitch the Goddess's faith to him while he was at it, but unfortunately, his proselytizing fell flat.
This was a world where agnosticism regarding the existence of gods was impossible. Yet, precisely because the gods' existence was an undeniable fact, there were those who chose not to devote themselves to any faith at all, and Henry was one of them. Still, their cooperative partnership remained rock-solid. In fact, Henry seemed fully intent on passing his shop down to Charles once he grew too old. Since Charles was a devout believer of the Unnamed Goddess and a member of the Goddess Knights, Henry practically had one foot in their church anyway.
Another two months flew by. In that time, the Nameless Village transformed so drastically that its former self was completely unrecognizable, bursting with vibrant life.
First, they cleared a proper dirt path leading from Billy's old secluded cabin straight to the village, allowing travelers to find their way naturally. Inside the settlement, they paved decent roads using dirt and gravel, and the residents began constructing sturdy houses with bricks they molded themselves. Thanks to these efforts, the village was reborn into a settlement that rivaled Junk Town—and in terms of structural quality, it far surpassed it.
However, it wasn't all smooth sailing. As the population swelled, a proportional number of problems inevitably cropped up. First and foremost was the occasional threat of wild beasts. Ever since the man-eating trolls had been wiped out, the surrounding mountains and forests had teemed with wildlife, and some of those beasts were aggressive predators that targeted humans.
Back when they had used the Guardian Deity's Ring to encircle the entire village with a wooden palisade, there hadn't been a single gap for wild animals to squeeze through. But as the village rapidly expanded, vulnerabilities inevitably appeared. Although they erected new palisades along the outer perimeter of the newly expanded territory, there was no stopping the natural population boom of the local wildlife.
Of course, a few starving beasts wandering into the village posed no real threat. If anything, the villagers—especially Falco—welcomed them with open arms, rejoicing at the chance to feast on fresh meat.
There were also occasional raids by bandit packs, but those usually ended with the bandits getting thoroughly thrashed by the villagers and chased away—or, more often than not, getting stripped of all their valuables in reverse. According to the Goddess's doctrines, striking down armed bandits was strictly self-defense, and seizing their belongings was considered legitimate spoils of war. Thus, the villagers plundered them back without a single shred of guilt.
Aside from those rather adorable incidents, peaceful days stretched on. Until one day...
"Sigh..."
Inside his log cabin, Yohan sat slumped in his chair at his desk, clutching his head and letting out a long, heavy sigh. His grand plan to build the Nameless Village into a city rivaling the Holy City was finally on track. But that also meant the cost of maintaining and developing the village had skyrocketed.
"This is no joke," Yohan muttered, scratching his head as he pored over the ledger detailing their cash flow and resources. The Nameless Village was now a massive settlement boasting a population of two thousand. By numbers alone, it wouldn't be strange to call it a small town. Even at this very moment, new residents were busy building their own homes, and it was obvious the scale of the village would only grow over time.
Consequently, they could no longer manage the village's affairs by having a few elders gather around to chat. As they established a proper administrative system, Yohan naturally ended up taking on the role of village chief. And out of all the administrative duties, the one that gave him the biggest headache was, without a doubt, money.
Granted, they had a massive reserve of funds plundered from wanted criminals. The profits from selling High Potions were also substantial. Even the royalties from his Fable Books, though modest compared to their other revenue streams, helped keep the household afloat. The problem was that their expenses were growing even faster.
They had managed so far because their expenditures on food and medicine were practically zero, but they couldn't rely on this trend forever. They needed to transition the village into producing its own high-value goods, or at least secure an additional source of income that could easily cover their current deficit.
"Sigh..." Yohan stared up at the ceiling, letting out another soft sigh.
Click.
At that moment, the front door swung open, and someone stepped inside. Even if Yohan had left the door unlocked, there was only one person who would barge in without knocking.
"Hey, would it kill you to knock before you barge in?"
The elf who preferred punching to talking.
"Everyone else is asleep, but your light was still on, so I came by."
Just as expected, the uninvited guest was Falco.
"And what were you doing up so late anyway?"
"Nothing. Just couldn't sleep."
She was holding a pair of steaming wooden cups. Catching the sweet aroma wafting from them, Yohan let out a chuckle, instantly recognizing the drink. It was mulled wine, a beverage that had somehow become a favorite among all the villagers.
"You must be bored. Have some of this."
"Sure. Thanks."
Yohan took the wooden cup from Falco and took a sip. Meanwhile, Falco naturally dragged another chair over and sat right next to him, peering at the ledger on the desk with a curious expression.
"Our mouth count suddenly shot up to two thousand, and the village's finances are taking a hit day by day. Though, thanks to you, we have more than enough crops."
"You must be incredibly busy. Even if we have an almost limitless supply of raw timber, the labor required to process it all is no joke."
That wasn't all. Materials that couldn't be produced via the Guardian Deity's Ring had to be gathered from outside the village or purchased with hard cash from other cities.
"Honestly, compared to our days running around with those grave robbers, we've gotten ridiculously busy. Don't you think so too?"
"Yeah."
Back when Yohan and Falco had worked as grave robbers under the Undercity Family. Both of them simultaneously recalled memories of those days.
"Still... my mind is a lot more at ease now compared to back then. Maybe it's because I decided to live a good life?"
At Yohan's playful remark, Falco's lips curved into a gentle smile. She slowly shook her head, looking quietly amused.
"Anyway, since we're going to get official recognition for the village from the Lord of Balifield, we need to establish a proper administrative system to match."
"If you become the official ruler of this village, that means you'll have to pay taxes to the Lord of Balifield every single time."
"Exactly."
The problem was that the Nameless Village didn't have any goods or currency to collect from its residents as taxes. As for food, the most common substitute for taxes, they already had an practically infinite supply thanks to the power of Falco's ring.
"The first thing that came to mind is brewing and selling alcohol. We have a massive surplus of grains and fruits in this village anyway, so brewing booze won't cost us a thing."
If push came to shove, they could always request aid from their allies in the Holy Kingdom. Since Yohan had literally saved the Holy Kingdom from the brink of destruction, he had more than enough leverage to ask for material support. Still... it was always best to solve their problems internally if possible.
"Ha. When you think about it, it's actually pretty hilarious."
"What is?"
Yohan suddenly burst out laughing. Falco tilted her head in confusion.
"Just that this is supposed to be a village of people serving the Goddess of Justice, yet our local specialties are booze and potions."
It was just a joke, of course. The "potions" weren't illicit substances, but healing medicines meant to save lives. Besides, religious groups sustaining themselves through brewing alcohol was a common practice even back in his original world.
"Ugh. Whatever. That's enough for today. Time to pack it up."
Yohan stood up and stretched.
"Alright, what are you waiting for? Out you go. I'm going to sleep."
With that, he kicked out Falco, who for some reason was pouting with puffed-up cheeks.