Chapter 246: Foundation Building

The next morning, Axel was in his office, managing paperwork that required immediate attention.

This included applications for new furnaces and requests to build homes near the world tree, primarily from the recently introduced races—the newcomers.

As he worked, Beatrix couldn’t help but notice the copious amounts of sex appeal he was exuding—enough that she didn’t need to speculate about what might have happened the previous evening.

“Did you enjoy last night?” she teased, a grin spreading across her face.

Axel set the papers down and looked directly into Beatrix’s eyes with a sigh. “Well, I did. But at the same time, I’m tired.”

He didn’t see the point in hiding the truth from her; even if he tried, she could simply ask her niece, and the truth would eventually come out.

“Those four will probably be out of commission until noon, so let them sleep.”

“I see… Looks like they enjoyed their first night. I’m relieved.” She smiled as she handed him another stack of papers. “This is the application for the Valkyrie Knight Order, and these are the rejected ones. Please take a look.”

“That’s a lot…”

Axel sighed and began to review the files.

“Hmm…”

As he suspected, all the applicants who passed were female.

He had noticed this trend earlier, but the Valkyrie Knight Order was effectively 100% female. It wasn’t that he was opposed to this, but focusing their selection on just one demographic meant they were missing out on half the potential manpower available.

“Shouldn’t we consider creating a new Knight Order for men?” he proposed.

With their population having surged to over 30,000 residents, the Valkyrie Knight Order would face challenges. There were only a few hundred members, and now they had just accepted over 5,000 trainees.

He was fairly certain they would be short-staffed for a while until the recruits became somewhat competent.

“That is actually already under discussion, Sir,” Beatrix informed him. “Currently, the former bandits are collaborating to establish the foundation for that. They’re quite eager to engage in meaningful work rather than just mundane tasks.”

“I see…” Axel nodded. “Then, will you introduce those who failed the screening to the to-be-created knight order?”

“That…”

“Hm?”

Axel raised his gaze, looking at Beatrix in question.

Realizing her pause was quite abrupt, she quickly continued. “Actually, before that, we have a more fundamental problem: currency.”

“Currency?”

Currently, Axel and the girls were using coins from the shop as currency. They were essentially buying the coins to distribute to others, which was technically sufficient for their current needs. However, Beatrix seemed to have concerns about this approach.

“With Eve reaching legal age, she can now marry you formally, Sir Axel. That means our Axevaria Kingdom will soon become a real kingdom with a proper king—you.”

“… I guess that’s true.” Axel nodded. “So, you’re saying we should mint our own coins?”

“Exactly, sir.”

Having your own currency is a proof of a nation’s power.

But, of course, that wasn’t the only issue.

They also needed to find a more efficient way to distribute resources.

With the population spike, it would take an entire day just to distribute food to each family. This would require everyone to line up for the whole day, losing time that could be utilized for work.

“So, basically, you’re saying we should stop relying on the shop entirely and build actual governing bodies, like a Department of Agriculture, Finance, Security, and so on.” Axel sighed, leaning back in his chair. “Although it feels premature for us to step into that stage, I suppose we must if we’re considering efficiency and ease of ruling.”

“Yes,” Beatrix agreed. “To be specific, we first need something to represent us: currency, and something to bind our residents: laws. Once those are established, everything else can follow.”

Axel placed a hand on his forehead, as if a headache were coming on.

“Ugh… Laws are one area where I’m weak.”

Before he came to this world, he had been stripped of everything he owned, “lawfully.” Back then, he felt utterly powerless. He had paid for everything, for a sin he didn’t even commit.

“Well, that can wait until later,” Axel sighed as he stood up. “First, I need to create all the buildings the new residents requested.”

“Sir Axel…”

Beatrix smiled as she watched his figure fade around the corner, leaving the office.

Her gaze returned to the desk, prompting her to chuckle. “Just say you don’t want to do paperwork; I would’ve handled it all myself.”

Finding it amusing, she sat down at her own table and began to work on the tasks she could manage, trying to lighten Axel’s burden, even if just a little.

…

Axel didn’t waste any time.

As soon as he stepped outside, he began terraforming the area.

The “river” flowed straight from one side to the other, running from east to west. This was beneficial, but it also meant that it only reached a limited part of their kingdom.

Thus, his first task was something that wasn’t even listed in the people’s requests.

“Let’s see…”

Checking the system’s map, he quickly modified the layout. He created branches from the main line, extending around the entire fourth wall, almost like a moat within the wall spaces.

This way, the new sections would have easier access to water than before.

“If possible, I want to implement real plumbing, but that’s outside my expertise,” he sighed.

To install proper plumbing for water lines, he first needed a pump. A pump would require electricity, which meant he would also need to create a power plant.

And to build a power plant, he needed to acquire a bit more technology. In short, while he could tackle it now, it wasn’t at the top of his priorities.

Moreover, the girls were already researching those branches, exploring whether they could rely solely on magical technologies to create specific artifacts for that purpose.

Once he finished extending the river, he began addressing the dwarves’ request. He constructed a forge on one side, designating it as the “worker’s district,” away from the residential area. There, in addition to the forges, he added a few more buildings.

Specifically…

“This will be the Crafter’s Guild!”

A guild building.

With that completed, he moved to the next location: the area beyond the World Tree.

Although the elves requested homes close to it, he couldn’t build them “right next” to the tree. Instead, he selected the section of the fourth walled area nearest to it and built homes for the elves there.

Of course, in addition to their homes, he also constructed another building.

It was similar in structure to the Crafter’s Guild, serving almost the same purpose.

“This will be the Gatherer’s Guild!”

Finally, far from the other two, he created several more buildings. This area was designated as the residential zone, meant to replace the tenement homes everyone had been living in… but that wasn’t all.

On the edge, bordering the main road, Axel added another guild building.

This one was larger, rougher, and more intimidating.

He smiled, satisfied with the outcome.

“And this one…” he said. “Will be the Adventurer’s Guild!”

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