Chapter 44

In the planned residential area, many of the villagers were working hard, drenched in sweat.

The gathered villagers, who were engaged in various tasks, had been camping out in this area.

Though I hadn’t given any instructions, they were digging wells properly and distributing the food they had brought among themselves.

Additionally, it seemed that a collection team had been formed without my knowledge, securing the edible fruits, vegetables, and tubers I had mentioned.

I learned about the collection team from Rumburg, who had just passed by on patrol.

He seemed apologetic, saying, "I should have told you," but I told him to keep up the good work at this pace.

I can’t handle everything myself. The fine details of daily life must be managed autonomously by the villagers to make things run smoothly.

Though I hadn’t explicitly said it, it seemed that the knowledge of what was edible had spread among the villagers, which was a great relief.

To prevent hunger, I had asked them to gather various items from the first day.

Hmm. It felt awkward to stop and call out to them amidst their busy work.

Just as I was thinking of leaving, I met the gaze of a well-tanned, brown-skinned man.

The man, who had been giving instructions to the carpenters, whispered something to an older carpenter and then bowed deeply to me.

I think that man was Paul, whom I met the other day. He had explained the situation to me on behalf of the carpenters.

"Master Joshua!"

Paul, who had run up to me at full speed, called out my name without even catching his breath.

"Sorry. It seems I’ve made you stop your work."

"No, no. That’s not the case at all. Just the presence of Master Joshua here has boosted everyone’s morale!"

He smiled, showing his white teeth, and clenched his fist with enthusiasm, leaving me at a loss for words.

"Thank you for working so hard on the construction. However, please be careful and prioritize safety. Make sure to take proper breaks."

"Your compassionate words are greatly appreciated. A noble who tells us to rest is rare, like Master Joshua."

"I’m not just saying this out of kindness. In the long run, taking breaks will actually speed up the work. Without breaks, sustained labor is impossible."

"Few people can think as wisely as you. We are so eager to complete our homes as soon as possible that we might try to work without breaks."

"Are you taking turns to rest properly?"

"Yes. Master Joshua’s intentions have been conveyed through Lady Ellie. Please leave it to us!"

"Then I’m relieved."

If someone collapses from overwork, it would be a problem.

There’s no place to rest properly, and without adequate rest, they would quickly become exhausted.

"By the way, it looks like you’re building houses for families. Do you plan to build ‘insulae’ as well?"

"Yes. The ‘insulae’ that Master Joshua emphasized are, of course, planned for construction."

"Oh, oh. That’s not something I came up with. There were already buildings similar to insulae."

"Is that so! But please leave it to us. We plan to build the insulae along the street."

An insula is a multi-story apartment building from ancient Rome.

Typically 3 to 4 stories high, the ground floor is used as a shop, and the upper floors are residential. The rooms are divided for one or two people, and it is considered the prototype of modern apartments.

Most are made of stone or brick, but it has been found that using stone only for the foundation is sufficient for structural integrity.

Since this is a residential area, I think the ground floor will also be used for living.

The principality has the technology for multi-story buildings, and five-story structures existed when I was reincarnated into this world.

What I did was to standardize the specifications.

When reorganizing the districts of the capital, Rosenheim, I created the specifications for insulae. By standardizing the specifications, the preparation of materials became more efficient, and the amount of wasted materials was significantly reduced. Additionally, the uniform appearance of the insulae reduced the number of "blind spots" between buildings.

With better visibility, security became easier, and the crime rate decreased.

Here in Nellac, we are building a town from scratch.

So, we will first lay the roads and then build the buildings along them. Once completed, the town will be divided into distinct districts.

It will be easy to communicate locations, like "the fifth district of the third street."

"Collecting materials and construction must be tough, but I’m counting on you."

"Yes! Please leave it to us."

I smiled warmly at Paul’s strong response.

At that moment, I noticed something noisy happening in the distance.

Is there a problem?

No, this is... cheers.

"Master Joshua’s statue in the square!"

"Master Joshua! I will pray every morning!"

"Long live the Margrave!"

Oh no. They heard.

I gently grabbed Alru’s hand and pulled her along.

"Master Joshua?"

"Let’s go. Alru. Quickly, right now."

"Yes!"

Alru, who didn’t understand what was happening, raised her right arm energetically.

◇◇◇

The land development is going smoothly. We have started planting seeds in the cleared areas.

We are still focusing on cassava as the main crop, but we plan to plant other types of crops in the future.

While cassava can be managed with the current setup, irrigation will be necessary for other crops.

When setting up the water supply and drainage systems, we plan to create canals to supply water to the farmland... but it’s better to establish the infrastructure as soon as possible.

Once we can secure the minimum necessary food supply, we might need to mobilize all our forces, including the construction team, for a major project.

The city walls, which are important for security, are a lower priority.

Currently, Rumburg is handling the town’s security, which is sufficient. However, we must not let our guard down.

I want to build watchtowers first.

"Master Joshua, this way."

"Thank you. I’m sorry to trouble you."

"No, no. We have no cargo to bring back, so anyone would want to ride this raft with Master Joshua!"

Indeed, I changed my plans and came to the banks of the Rubicon River.

After the inspection, I visited Rumburg to ask for an escort for an exploration.

It turned out that another escort request had just come in.

It was about the glass becoming unreliable, so we decided to go to the other side of the Rubicon River, where the glass sand was found, with the villagers and the escort.

Here, with the escort present and the blacksmith Sequoia on standby in case of emergencies, I boarded the raft prepared to transport the glass sand.

This was an area I had planned to visit anyway, so it was perfect.

With so many people, we would notice if anything happened, and it was a good opportunity to ensure safety.

As I boarded the raft, I noticed the shafts of the water wheels extending from the water.

"Wow, the additional water wheels are already completed..."

"Two water wheels, Master Joshua."

I also confirmed that the completed water wheels were already in place on the shore... this is a bit too early.

Ah, I see. When I said I wanted two or three water wheels during the construction of the first one, they might have prepared them in advance.

At this rate, the power generation experiment might be close... perhaps even tomorrow.

As I boarded the raft, I felt confident that this was the right decision.