As soon as I returned home from my outing, I was met with the sight of active construction.
The kids were diligently working on the foundation for the railway stretching from the dungeon entrance through Slime Village, World Tree, Gnoll Village, and Nyang Village.
It was a massive project of unprecedented scale.
It might even be a larger undertaking than when we built Gnoll Village.
‘Well, it is quite a long distance after all……?’
If I had an unlimited number of portals, there would be no need to construct a railway, but I only had four portals.
Two of them were connected to the outside world—to the Middle East and China—while the other two led to distant locations like the sea and the Sky Island.
So, there was no other choice.
“You guys are working hard.”
“We’re giving it our all!”
Jung So-yeon had returned after her vacation.
Thanks to that, Kyler and his daughter, who had stepped away for a while, also came back, and I could see them just ahead.
“We’re back!”
“Ah, you’ve returned.”
Over the past few days, Kyler had explored the dungeon again and reported his new findings to me, though most of them weren’t particularly surprising.
The only surprising thing was perhaps the discovery of more wild Pururuks?
Right now, he was taking charge of directing the construction.
I had noticed since we started building the house, but Kyler was a multi-talented man who seemed to be good at everything.
“At this pace, the construction should be finished in about two weeks.”
“Oh, it’ll only take that long?”
“Since everyone’s skills have improved, the work is progressing much faster.”
In two weeks, the railway connecting all the villages would be completed.
Traveling between them would become much more convenient.
“In addition to the carts, we’re also discussing separate, faster transportation methods with the blacksmiths, especially Bell.”
“Oh! That’s great. Come to think of it, using carts when we don’t have much to carry is inefficient.”
“We’re planning to set up cart storage areas in each village and keep other modes of transport there as well.”
“I’m so glad we have Kyler. I’m always grateful.”
“No need. I’m just doing what I’m supposed to do.”
Leaving Kyler to supervise the construction, Ara and I headed toward Nyang Village.
While walking, I noticed that the foundational work was already about halfway done. The sight made me feel proud for no reason.
On the way, we stopped by the boar ranch.
In the past few days, the number of barns had increased to five.
– Squeal.
Recognizing me, the boars rushed toward the fence.
“Hello there. Have you been well?”
There was a fence, but it was more of a symbolic boundary rather than an actual enclosure. You could say it was essentially free-range beyond this point.
It wasn’t like the area was completely enclosed by the fence; it just marked the boundary.
Thanks to that, the area beyond remained an open, empty space.
However, the boars always gathered around the fence and the barns.
Since they were fed here, it was natural for them to stay nearby.
‘I did consider fully fencing them in at first……’
But then I thought, is it really necessary?
That thought turned out to be spot-on, and even with them roaming freely, everything was well-managed.
– You’ve arrived.
“It’s Ras!”
Just then, Ras emerged from the barn.
Three puppies, whom we’d chosen to become herding dogs, were by his side, giving the impression of loyal guard dogs protecting Ras.
Oh my! Too adorable, seriously!
“You’ve been watching over things, Ras? Thank you.”
– They provide delicious feed, so of course, I must care for them.
Although Ras and the gnolls enjoyed my crops, they naturally preferred meat.
It was almost unbelievable that they had survived solely on Lapipi roots until now.
Moreover, Ras and the gnolls didn’t just eat the meat.
They even relished the boars’ hides—the very tough hides that the Cats used as crafting materials.
Maybe because they’re canine, they treated the hides like bones with meat still on them, tearing and chewing them with delight.
– Today, we harvested a total of three hides.
“Ooh!”
– The breeding team took them to clean the meat off, and we decided to give one hide to Catsmith and keep two for ourselves.
“Well done, well done.”
Oh, and that wasn’t all.
The newly brought chickens had started laying eggs daily.
There were only 25 hens, so we got 25 eggs a day, which wasn’t much yet.
But if we increased the numbers, it would eventually be enough, right?
The goblins took care of the chickens. They were really good at such delicate work.
‘The eggs tasted great too.’
Honestly, there wasn’t a huge difference compared to Earth’s eggs.
Maybe just a richer flavor?
Of course, even with that small difference, Jae-seong’s eyes sparkled as he imagined all the dishes he could make with them.
For now, we decided to use the eggs only in the restaurant.
Since there weren’t many, it made more sense to allocate them there.
“Ras, take special care of Romrom. You can eat one hide now.”
– I will do my utmost to watch over them.
His tail spun like a propeller.
Despite his stoic face, Ras’s body gave away his excitement.
Lastly, I went into the barn myself to check on Romrom, the leader boar.
Her belly had clearly grown in just a few days.
Whereas only Seon-ah could tell before, now anyone could see she was pregnant.
– Squeal.
Maybe due to her swollen belly, Romrom lay comfortably in the hay pile, enjoying my touch.
Thanks to Seon-ah and Jung So-yeon checking on her daily, she was living a truly luxurious life.
Of course, I was one of the caretakers too.
“I can’t wait to see them.”
While petting Romrom’s belly, Ara pressed her ear against it, her eyes sparkling.
After checking Romrom’s condition, we resumed our tasks diligently.
Our goal was Nyang Village—to check on the portal.
‘What can I do in 30 minutes during my once-a-month visit?’
That thought popped up while talking with the Guild Master.
Maybe I should take a look around? Honestly, Poispois or Angel would be more helpful than me in that situation.
It happened to be the day the little humans were crossing over.
I should have a chat with them.
Maybe they had already arrived in Nyang Village?
“Master!”
As I had expected, the little humans had already arrived.
Verna had come with them.
Coincidentally, Mammon and Frey were also in Nyang Village, chatting away so enthusiastically that it was hard to believe they had ever fought.
‘The Sins didn’t even seem to remember they fought in the first place.’
In any case, it was better that they were getting along well.
“Hi, guys. Have you been doing well?”
“Thanks to you, my lord, we’ve been doing very well! At last, we’ve finished repairing the city walls and the houses inside the city. And that’s not all—we have amazing news too.”
“Amazing news?”
At Choro’s words, Ara and I tilted our heads in curiosity.
Then Choro raised his hands in celebration and shouted.
“The power my lord bestowed upon me! I didn’t know how to use it at first, but I finally figured out how!”
“You’re saying I granted you a power?”
“Huh?”
What was he talking about?
As I tilted my head in confusion, Choro mirrored me, also tilting his head.
“My lord gave me the power to summon slimes, or so I believe!”
“What? That kind of ability exists?”
“Gasp! You didn’t know either, my lord?!”
This was the first I’d heard of it.
It seemed that Choro had gained the ability naturally upon becoming my subordinate.
“You can summon slimes? Show me.”
“I can only summon one per day, but I already summoned one today before coming here.”
“Aha.”
“The slime is about the size of my head—much smaller than the ones you summon, my lord.”
That’s true. The slimes I summon are about the same size as the little humans.
“So, what’s the way to use the ability that you discovered?”
“I didn’t know this either, but the slimes have been farming on their own!”
“Ooh.”
Even if they’re smaller, slimes can still farm. Regardless of size, slimes are all farmers.
I felt relieved hearing Choro say they had opened a path to become self-sufficient in food.
Helping Choro and the others was never really difficult.
But helping them endlessly without any return wouldn’t lead to good results either.
‘They need to be able to sustain themselves.’
There’s that saying.
Don’t just give them fish—teach them how to fish.
Thanks to the slimes, they now had a way to produce their own food, and with that help, they should be able to live well.
“Oh, Choro. I can now use your portal.”
“Gasp! Really?!”
“Yeah. But only once a month, and only for 30 minutes.”
I wasn’t sure what I could even do by going there.
Maybe just look around. I was curious how the little humans lived, and what the village I helped build looked like.
“Are you coming today?!”
“No. Since I can only go once a month, I need to plan ahead. How about during the next visit? Three days from now.”
“Understood! We’ll do our best to prepare everything by then!”
“No, no. Don’t overdo it because of me. I want to see things as they naturally are.”
“Hmm, if you say so……”
Choro looked slightly concerned, maybe feeling a little conflicted.
“Can I go too?”
“Huh? Well…”
At that moment, Ara, who had been quietly listening, narrowed her eyes and stared at me.
“I want to go too!”
“Hmm, okay. Let’s check if you can come with me.”
Unfortunately, only slimes below a certain level could travel through the portal, so Ara, who was over level 10, couldn’t go.
But what if she went with me this time?
The exact conditions weren’t clear, but it was worth trying.
“Oh, and I have one more piece of news! This one’s really surprising too! Although, my lord might not find it so important……”
“What is it, what is it?”
Choro glanced around and then spoke.
“We’ve discovered a group of survivors. It seems there are survivor groups scattered throughout our world.”
“Ooh. That’s great news!”
“We haven’t made contact yet. I thought reporting to you first was the right thing……”
“What do you want to do, Choro?”
At my question, Choro seemed to ponder for a moment before replying.
“They are also people of Chiyon. I want to accept as many of them as possible.”
“I agree. Try to bring in as many survivors as you can.”
“Thank you, my lord!”
I didn’t know why he was thanking me, but I nodded anyway.
More importantly, knowing there were still survivors made me wonder if other cities besides Choro’s might have endured.
‘Should I ask Verna?’
I saw Verna’s small wings flapping nearby as she chatted away. Even when not in a good mood, they fluttered with energy.
“Verna.”
– What is it, Demon King?
“Choro told me there are other survivors. Since you’re a goddess, I figured you might know—could it be that cities besides Chiyon have survived?”
– Hmm, I-I am a goddess, but that doesn’t mean I know everything. The only place I could perceive was Chiyon, where the Hero’s Sword was embedded.
“Oh, I see. So the Hero’s Sword isn’t in any other city?”
– Chiyon is the capital of Chiyon’s nation. I couldn’t sense the situation in other cities, since they weren’t the capital.
“Then what do you think about my idea that other cities might still be alive?”
– Hmm, w-well, I suppose it’s possible! I’ve never thought about that before.
As expected, this self-proclaimed goddess was far too pure.
Honestly, not just Verna, but the other Seven Virtues might be this pure too.
– I-I need to go back and check right away!
Suddenly, Verna sprang up and flapped her wings, shouting.
She might be a little lacking, but she had a strong sense of justice.
– Then take this with you.
– Huh? What’s that?
Mammon handed her two small bottles.
– A poison that interferes with perception. This one’s the antidote. Take the antidote first, then apply a little poison on yourself. That way, monsters won’t recognize you, and scouting will be easier.
– A-a terrifying poison like this exists! So this is how you defeated us! But I’ll gladly accept it!
Verna took the poison and immediately flew into the portal.
“……”
– Great Lord, Goddess Verna seems really simple-minded. I’ve never seen anyone so simple.
Frey, I don’t think you’re one to talk.
We all stood silently for a moment, just staring at the portal Verna had disappeared into.
Cliche Novel 