No Reason to Turn Down Free Labor

Tae-hyun had absolutely no intention of stopping Yohas from bringing in more free labor. "Ahem. Well, it's fine to bring them along. What's the big difference between having one demon or two? It's all a burden I must shoulder."

"...?"

Yohas momentarily stared at Tae-hyun with a deeply suspicious look.

"Why are you looking at me like that, Yohas? Surely you don't doubt me?"

"Ah... No, of course not."

In the end, Tae-hyun imported the demons right in front of Yohas.

The Atali Kingdom had accumulated so much up to this point that it completely shrugged off the penalties of a massive demon influx!

While the Auston Kingdom, led by the Guild Alliance, boasted a massive size, a huge population, and immense military power, its high taxes and oppressive rule left its Public Sentiment, Divinity, and Public Security in the gutter.

In stark contrast, Tae-hyun's Atali Kingdom possessed the exact opposite attributes.

Seeing this, Tae-hyun quickly calculated the margins.

Hmm. At this rate, we could easily take in two or three more demon legions.

Not satisfied with just taking in the surrendered demons, Tae-hyun was already looking to hoard more! To Tae-hyun, the Demon Realm was nothing but a source of free military forces, and the demons were merely NPCs who would work for zero wages.

Why bother ruling benevolently to increase the human population? He could just hire demons!

Perfect!

"Um, Your Majesty."

"?"

Yohas spoke up hesitantly, his face practically screaming that he had a favor to ask.

"What is it, Yohas?"

"If I have contributed to our victory this time, may I ask for one favor?"

"Let me hear what it is first."

"Since we will be repairing the central square..."

The central square was in a disastrous state. Normally in Pangaea Online, a city's central square was a bustling hub where all sorts of crafting players set up stalls, bored players gathered to chat, and members of the Power Warrior Guild shouted cringey promotional skits like: "Man, our guild is seriously hopeless~" "What? Hopeless? Why's that?" "Because we have absolutely zero problems! Join the perfect, problem-free guild, the Power Warrior Guild!"

It was a place packed with all kinds of facilities and miscellaneous structures, but the recent raid had completely flattened it.

This much damage is acceptable.

Tae-hyun wasn't particularly sad. The damage was actually far less than he had anticipated. On top of that, he had managed to defeat a Demon Duke while saving his precious Orichalcum Arrow. It was an unexpected, glorious triumph.

This guy...

Tae-hyun looked at Cain with a warm, proud gaze. Cain was still sprawled on the ground, unable to get up due to the side effects and aftereffects.

"Blegh... Urgh... I-I'm so motion sick..."

"Hey, your face returned to normal."

Thanks to his race partially shifting to a demon, Cain's face had turned a bizarre color, but now it was back to its original state. Although his race had permanently changed to Chimera... well, appearances were what mattered most!

"Huh? Really?!"

"Yeah."

"Am I handsomer than before?"

"No... not at all. Don't go saying such shameless things so casually."

"......"

Having his joke shot down so ruthlessly, Cain slumped in disappointment. Still, thinking that Cain had done a genuinely good job this time, Tae-hyun offered some encouragement.

"But seriously, you did amazing this time. It wouldn't be an exaggeration to say you carried the whole thing."

"R-Really?"

"I'm telling you. See? Potions aren't so bad, right? Want some more?"

"No. That's... the taste was absolutely revolting, and the side effects are brutal."

Besides, he had only lucked out by turning into a Chimera. If he had been unfortunate, there was no telling what kind of horrific side effects he might have suffered. What if his race had changed to an Eight-Legged Beast...!

But Tae-hyun didn't give up and kept coaxing him.

"Nothing in this world is purely good. Where there are pros, there are cons. What matters is how great the pros are! Just think of the power!"

"The power... was indeed great."

"Excellent. I'll craft more essences for you in the future."

"......"

Cain got the distinct feeling that he was being slowly reeled into a trap.

"Um, Your Majesty?"

"Ah. Sorry. Cain was just so adorable."

Having been ignored mid-sentence, Yohas cleared his throat and spoke again.

"When we rebuild the central square, would it be possible to place even a small statue of Lord Phytos there?"

"?"

Tae-hyun was puzzled by the unexpected proposal. Of course, placing a small statue of Phytos in the central square wasn't a big deal. With all kinds of street vendors sprawling their wares there anyway, what difference would one more statue make? The issue was the intention behind it!

"It breaks my heart that Lord Phytos's church has vanished from this city... I simply wish to erect even a small statue for him."

"Sure. Do whatever you want. You're going to make the statue yourself, right?"

"Yes! Thank you so much!"

Yohas was overjoyed, practically leaping with excitement.

"Oh, come on, no way. He's getting a free statue of himself. Even if he can't say thank you..." Tae-hyun paused mid-sentence. "Wait, if Yohas gets scolded, isn't that actually a win for me?"

[......]

To discuss the repairs of the central square, the twelve players who held city management authority, or their representatives, gathered. (Evangeline and Choi Sang-yun were still hot on the trail of the Salavian Order.)

They fiercely bickered, each wanting to place whatever they desired prominently in the central square.

‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠

"Do you have any idea how hard the Paladins are working for this city? Let's put a massive Paladin statue in the central square! The Paladin statue buff is great not just for Paladins, but for everyone else too!"

"Boo! Go change your guild name first."

"You wanna die?!"

"I want to place a sculpture right in the middle of the central square. The effect ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠of this is..."

However, these arguments were utterly meaningless. Tae-hyun already held the majority vote!

"Wait a moment, Mr. Kim Tae-hyun."

"?"

"Are you planning to decide this by a majority vote?"

When one person asked, the others cast anxious glances.

If Kim Tae-hyun monopolizes everything with his sheer numbers, there was no point in us working so hard to get these administrative titles!

Tae-hyun was highly sensitive to their mood. One must always offer a carrot!

Just like during the recent Demon Duke raid, these twelve people were suckers—no, diligent players—who used their own gold and mobilized their guild members to develop the capital. Since they were such valuable assets, they needed to be placated properly.

Honestly, being the general manager of the central square repairs isn't even that useful.

Taking full responsibility for the repairs meant having to shoulder a portion of the construction costs. For Tae-hyun, as long as the central square was rebuilt properly and restored Public Security and Public Sentiment, that was enough! He was more than willing to yield on this.

"Haha. Deciding by a majority vote seems a bit too unfair to you all. How about this? Let's draw lots. Whoever draws the winning ticket becomes the general manager and gets to do whatever they want."

"Oh!"

"Really?!"

When Tae-hyun conceded, everyone rejoiced.

If I win the draw...!

If I win, I'm going to engrave my name in massive letters right under the statue!

Ten minutes later. Tae-hyun drew the very first lot and immediately won.

"......"

"......"

"Ugh, what a pain."

He wanted to go meet Esla as soon as possible, but now he was saddled with this chore. Though annoyed, Tae-hyun decided to wrap up the task before leaving. Whenever a tedious chore popped up...

"Pelmas! Galakpad!"

...he could just dump it on his subordinates!

"Take charge of the central square repairs and do a good job."

"Yes, Your Holiness!"

"Understood!"

The two quickly bowed their heads. But the moment Tae-hyun vanished, they grabbed each other by the collar and began to brawl.

"We must build the grandest statue of Archisus right in the center of the square! So that all citizens can bask in his divine blessing!"

"Does a statue feed you?! We need to lease the square out for businesses to rake in gold!"

The two clashed fiercely! Only after fighting for over an hour did they finally reach a compromise.

"Let's just stay out of each other's way and do our own thing!"

Galakpad would handle the central statue, while Pelmas would take charge of the surrounding area!

Galakpad immediately went out to gather people.

"Gathering believers to participate in the construction of the holy statue!"

"......"

"Mora City Contribution Points and Archisus Church Contribution Points will be awarded on a first-come, first-served basis..."

"Me! Me!" "I'll do it!"

Pelmas refused to be outdone. He sought out the high-level players and guilds within the city.

"Would you gentlemen perhaps... like to show off your guild's name or advertise your own?"

"?"

"If you donate gold, we will engrave your names in the central square. Huhuhu..."

"?!"

Pelmas was planning to sell off every available inch of space—the pathways, the walls, the base of the statue, and more!

At first, the players looked at Pelmas as if he were a madman, but upon closer reflection, it was a highly lucrative deal. For just a bit of gold, they could permanently leave their names or their guild's name in the capital!

"I'll do it!"

"Excellent, excellent. This wall will be a wall of fame. I shall engrave your name at the bottom."

Once one person started, the hesitant others began raising their hands one by one.

"I-I'll do it too! Which spots are still left in the central square?"

"I want to mount a plaque right under the statue..."

"Ah, that will incur a bit of an extra fee."

"I'll pay the extra! Just let me do it!"

"I said it first, you jerk! Why are you cutting in?!"

A fierce competition erupted just to secure the prime real estate of the central square! Pelmas wore a blissful smile. He could practically hear the sweet sound of gold rolling in.

His Holiness needs to see how diligently I am securing our finances...

While Galakpad was running wild and overspending in the name of the church, Pelmas was meticulously gathering every single penny.

"Can't we engrave on this wall?"

"Ah, ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠that wall is reserved for advertisements. We will rent it out periodically for gold."

"......"

Even in the midst of this, Pelmas was finding all sorts of ways to maximize their revenue.

"It is grand and beautiful..."

Galakpad gazed up at the statue of Archisus with an overwhelmed, emotional expression. It looked exactly like Tae-hyun, but officially, it was Archisus.

In his heart, Galakpad had wanted to craft it out of pure, blessed gold, but Pelmas had nearly suffered a seizure the moment he heard the suggestion. Ultimately, they had settled on using blessed bronze as the primary material!

Still, thanks to the joint efforts of high-level sculptor and blacksmith players, the statue boasted an incredible, awe-inspiring majesty.

The statue of Archisus looked down upon the world with supreme arrogance!

"How is it going, Galakpad?"

"Yes, Your Holiness! We only need to apply the finishing touches, and it will be complete."

"Right. It feels a bit strange to erect a statue that has my face on it..."

People who enjoyed such vanity would have been ecstatic to have a statue carved in their likeness, but Tae-hyun had no such tastes.

By the way, that pose is incredibly cocky.

The gaze with which Tae-hyun—no, Archisus—looked down upon the world was so arrogant that members of other religious orders would likely take offense just by looking at it.

Fortunately, he had already driven out all those other religious factions beforehand!

"Your Majesty! I have finished crafting the statue of Lord Phytos!"

"Ah, Yohas. Right. You can place it wherever you'd like."

"Thank you for your kindness, Your Majesty! I shall place it..."

Yohas suddenly trailed off. There was simply no place to put the statue of Phytos he had brought to the central square.

The culprit was the statue of Archisus! With such a massive, gloriously majestic statue anchored right in the center, placing this tiny statue anywhere near it would make it look pathetic...

Furthermore, given Archisus's highly arrogant pose, placing Phytos nearby would inevitably create a rather... compromising composition that was bound to be misunderstood.

It was a situation that seemed destined to yield a very awkward result!

Yohas panicked.

W-What do I do?