Ch.35The Homeless Test Subject (6)

Thanks to Brasya, it seems like we can put our worries about the pig farm to rest.

Cultivation continues to increase in production, and this trend is likely to continue.

With the large influx of refugees from the Zilke Republic, we’ve been able to secure enough labor.

Along with that, thanks to the feed potion, the fishing yield is substantial, so it seems we won’t have to worry about food shortages.

Setting aside the composition of the diet, we’ve achieved self-sufficiency.

This alone is a great achievement.

Until early this year, we had to survive on dry bread for days because there was nothing to eat, but now we have three meals a day.

So what we need to do next is population influx and infrastructure maintenance.

We need people to keep coming in, and to accommodate them, we need infrastructure.

Conversely, infrastructure is needed for people to come.

Who in their right mind would come to a village farming in the middle of nowhere?

“So, Administrator. Are you listening right now?”

“Huh…?”

The Administrator, who had been resting her chin on her hand and staring at me gloomily, blinked slowly.

“What did you say…?”

“I asked if you were listening.”

“What were you saying…?”

“Administrator. Focus. We’re talking about policies to revitalize the village.”

“Ah, right….”

And again, the Administrator rested her chin on her hand and stared at me blankly.

“I’m listening….”

I shook my head and continued what I was saying.

“After looking around the village, I found that there are many quality trees in the mountains. Let’s expand the existing logging facilities to produce timber in large quantities.”

“Sounds good….”

“First, let’s use the processed timber to repair the old houses in our village, make furniture, and do various other things.”

“Yes, yes….”

“Let’s also make more boats to float on the river. And I’ve been thinking, shouldn’t we start trading soon?”

“That’s right….”

“Judanto’s distribution margin is too high. Of course, considering the risks of land transport, it’s not unreasonable, but it would be good if we had our own trading group.”

“Mm-hmm….”

“In that regard, how about trying water trade using the river? It’s much safer than land routes, cheaper, and we can transport more.”

“Sounds great….”

The Administrator mumbled with droopy eyes. This isn’t going to work.

“Administrator.”

“Yesss….”

“Can I just handle this on my own?”

“I’d be happy if Jack takes the lead….”

“Understood. Then please sign here.”

What I handed over was a delegation of authority.

If the Administrator signs this, I become the Administrator’s proxy with full authority except for a limited set of powers.

This uses the law that in very small villages without an assistant administrator, the administrator can appoint a trustworthy village resident as an assistant administrator by administrative authority.

Since the Administrator wasn’t in good condition, I had been thinking that I might have to temporarily take over that role at some point.

“You know this can’t be canceled, right…?”

I asked, grabbing the Administrator’s hand as she was about to pick up the pen.

“What are you saying? Can’t be canceled? As far as I know, the assistant administrator position isn’t for life?”

“Hmm…? Assistant administrator…? Ah….”

After reading the document carefully, the Administrator scratched her head with a gloomy smile.

“So it’s not a marriage registration….”

“Administrator. Did you take your potion today or not?”

“I did….”

The Administrator pointed to several empty bottles rolling on the floor.

“I told you to drink just one a day. Why don’t you listen?”

“Because drinking makes me feel so good….”

“Good grief.”

Our village’s gloomy, mentally unstable Administrator Bellamy suffers from severe depression.

Despite passing the difficult central bureaucrat exam, for some reason she was assigned as the administrator of this remote Starting Village.

After trying various things in this rural place with nothing, she eventually broke down mentally and emotionally when no results came.

Then her depression seemed to improve gradually when I gave her healing potions.

But what do you know?

As her mind cleared when she drank them, the Administrator became addicted to the feeling and started downing several bottles of potion a day.

For ordinary people, there would be no side effects no matter how much they drink.

Healing potion isn’t that kind of thing to begin with.

But for special cases like the Administrator, it’s a different story.

Beyond just feeling better, if she drinks too much, she becomes loopy like this and just keeps smiling.

That’s why I clearly limited her to one bottle a day, but…

It seems she secretly went to the store when I wasn’t around and lied to the others to get a few more bottles.

“From now on, you really need to drink just one bottle!”

“Okay, from now on…. Then I’ll drink that one bottle now….”

“I didn’t bring any. I’ll give it to you tomorrow.”

“I know you’re hiding it in your clothes…. I can smell it….”

The Administrator sniffed around and dug into my waist.

And finally, she snatched a potion I had hidden deep inside and gulped it down.

Has she now developed the ability to detect potion smells like a dog?

Impressive.

* * * * *

And so I temporarily became the village’s assistant administrator.

I summoned Sir Hostante, the refugee representative, and other village leaders to announce this.

No one objected to my decision.

Since the village had improved thanks to potions, far from opposing, everyone welcomed it.

Right there, I established the village council.

With the Administrator as the chairperson, me as the secretary, and the rest as members.

Of course, the Administrator is just a figurehead, and all the actual authority lies with me.

After establishing the council, I quickly implemented policies.

The first thing I did was set up a logging site.

I established a logging site right below a hill I had previously selected while exploring the surroundings.

I recruited strong men from Sir Hostante’s Potion Knights to start logging.

Since the trees had never been logged before, they were all thick and straight, perfect for timber.

I wonder why they hadn’t logged until now.

Probably because it was just the Starting Village until I was possessed, so no economic activities were undertaken.

We quickly processed the accumulated timber to repair the village buildings.

Thanks to this, even the slum dwellers were able to escape their shantytown conditions.

After repairing the buildings, we made furniture to fill the shortage.

Although the quality was rough due to the lack of skilled craftsmen, everyone was happy.

The logging site establishment was a great success, and as a result, the residents’ housing problems were largely solved.

From this time, various offerings began to pile up in front of our store again.

Since almost no one truly believes I’m a god, it seems more like a sign of respect rather than deification.

As the quality of life improved somewhat with timber production, I began to think about the water trade I had mentioned to the Administrator.

According to my knowledge of the original work, the river flowing beside our village extends beyond Odelin City.

If we can float a large boat, water trade isn’t just a far-fetched dream.

But there’s one problem.

None of our villagers know how to build a boat.

Building a boat is a completely different concept from carpentry.

They might be able to make a ferry, but a large boat that can carry lots of goods is impossible.

Should I bring someone from Odelin City?

But even in the game, there were no boat-building craftsmen in Odelin City.

What should I do?

I decided to put it on hold and consider land trade instead.

I’m sorry to Judanto, but economically, the village needs to conduct its own trade.

It would be good to form a group with two wagons bought from Odelin City and about ten troops to guard them.

“Sir Hostante. What do you think?”

“It’s excellent. If we have our own trading group, we can save a lot on fees. Judanto is too expensive.”

“Good. Then let’s start by sending about ten people.”

So I dispatched the first trading group to Odelin City.

The Administrator prepared the related documents, and I appointed the most senior member of the village’s security team as the trading group representative.

And since it was the first trade, I decided to send Liberone along.

Just in case they unfortunately encounter goblins or other monsters again.

While a gang of robbers would never dare attack ten armed troops, monsters are different.

According to my knowledge of the original work, there are almost no very strong monsters in the area around the Starting Village and Odelin City.

This is because the area up to Odelin City is classified as a beginner region.

Still, you never know.

After Liberone left, I gathered other knights.

I assigned them the task of scouting around the village.

The area near the Starting Village is an unknown territory not even implemented in the game.

If they’re lucky, they might discover a mineral vein while exploring.

If not that, they might find hidden artifacts or treasures.

Although I never explored around the Starting Village while playing the game, I feel like there might be something.

After sending out the reconnaissance team, I formed another team.

This team will be sent to Mestopin’s Junkyard.

Mestopin’s Junkyard is a place that drops quality items at a low probability.

Like the Shadow Coat that the monster killed by Mirella was wearing like a scarf.

I was too scared to go alone before, but now that we have quite a few people, I’ve formed a team to professionally excavate.

I had multiple copies made of the junkyard map I had and distributed them, and also taught them how to distinguish between trash and items.

The heavily armed search team departed on the northern road.

I hope they bring back good items.

Only Mirella and I remained at the store after a long time.

“Hehe, brother. You know.”

Mirella approached me with a grin.

“The knight won’t be back until tomorrow or the day after, right?”

“So?”

“That means it’s just the two of us until then, right?”

“That’s right.”

“Hehehehe, so today….”

Mirella sat on the desk with a mischievous smile and started caressing my cheek with her foot, raising her bare leg.

As she lifted her leg, her white panties were visible under her short dress.

Is she really crazy?

“I’m back!”

As Brasya cheerfully shouted while entering the store, Mirella jumped back in surprise.

“Oh come on! Nothing ever works out!”

Mirella stormed off to the second floor in frustration.

“Why did she get upset again?”

Brasya tilted her head and smiled brightly.