Published: January 17, 2026
As part of my usual duties as lord, I was juggling Espada’s intensive training and Dee’s grueling drills. Amid this packed schedule, I was also pushing forward with talent recruitment.
By the way, we’re really short-staffed right now, so Arte and Til have been helping out as well.
“Now, we have ten people learning about territory management under Espada, five assisting with the operations of each knight order, five supporting Brother Murcia, and two managing the adventurers’ town… I think we’ve made quite a bit of progress in replenishing personnel,” I murmured while reviewing the reports.
Espada, who had been summarizing reports on non-critical matters, paused and looked up.
“That’s right. Although the population is still growing so we can’t be complacent, once these new talents are trained, things should stabilize for the time being,” Espada said cautiously but with rare confidence.
After all, with three people handling the budget and material management of Seato village, five for resident registrations and updates, two negotiating and coordinating with the merchant guild, and five managing each facility… the work that Espada and a few apprentices used to handle alone will now be tackled by more than double the staff. If they learn their duties smoothly, the governance of our territory will surely become stable.
Meanwhile, the next generation of talent will also be nurtured.
“Phew… looks like I can take it easy for a while now? We probably haven’t received a reply from the Fiesta Kingdom yet,” I said.
“Good work,” Til said, bringing over some tea at just the right moment. I picked up the teacup placed before me and took a sip of the warm tea. It seemed she had prepared it at a perfect drinking temperature. The aroma was rich, yet it was easy to drink and delicious.
“It really seeps into you,” I said.
“Hehe, Lord Van sounds like an old man…” Arte chuckled, covering her mouth. She was so cute.
As I looked fondly at Arte and Til in this peaceful moment, Espada cleared his throat lightly and spoke.
“Now, the recruitment and reassignment of new personnel is complete. The next priority is to inform each responsible party and swiftly establish the new form of internal affairs. Also, Lord Van, you must build new residences for the incoming villagers while you are still in Seato village.”
“What!? D-Do we need to rush that?” I asked, startled. I had just been thinking about relaxing in the large communal bath, stretching my legs.
But Espada calmly laid out the necessary points to the tired and pitiful Van-kun.
“Currently, there are more than twenty carpenters in Seato village building and repairing houses and walls. However, no one can construct the four-story or taller residences that Lord Van builds. It’s not just a matter of construction skill; there is a shortage of both manpower and time. Therefore, we have been building two-story houses and making furniture for now.”
“...In other words, looking ahead, we need larger buildings that can house many more households? That’s definitely something only I can do,” I said.
“Exactly,” Espada confirmed without hesitation.
But the matter itself couldn’t be ignored. I wondered if I should just resign myself to it...
“...By the way, how many buildings of what size do we need to construct?”
I asked just to be sure.
Espada pulled out some documents from somewhere and began flipping through the pages.
“Hmm... The current population is increasing about fiftyfold annually. However, the base numbers differ, so it won’t be a fiftyfold increase next year. Thus, let’s assume the same number of migrants arrive. It is estimated that within one to two months, all current housing will be fully occupied, and after three months, some residents may have no place to live. Depending on the Fiesta Kingdom’s response, Lord Van might not be able to return to the territory for over six months. Therefore, we request about fifty four-story residences like the ones you built previously.”