The residents and adventurers of Drintle, whose outer walls had changed significantly, were all surprised.
A new wall, ten meters high, had been built outside the city walls in just one day.
The new wall was surrounded by a moat and was so magnificent that it could be mistaken for the castle of a small kingdom.
Just by looking at the new wall, it was clear that its construction was on par with the capital city walls of Esfort.
Drintle, which was originally a small town measuring only two kilometers on each side, had expanded by two kilometers in all directions, becoming a large town measuring six kilometers on each side.
In terms of area, it had become nine times larger, making it as expansive as other large towns.
Cain decided to return to the capital after asking Alex and Rula to design the basic infrastructure.
During the day, he attended classes at the academy, and after school, he transferred to Drintle to continue the work.
The area between the old and new walls was a grassland, and mainly required mowing and land preparation.
However, if the residents entered, Cain's magic would be exposed, so he built a three-meter-high fence on both sides of the path from the old gate to the new gate to prevent them from seeing the vast site.
Cain used his magic to level the vast expanse of land that Drintle had become.
"I didn't think I'd have to work so much..."
Although he could use unlimited magic, the repetitive work gradually became tedious.
Even Cain felt like complaining.
"Lord Cain, just a little more. Please keep going!"
Alex, who also had duties as a magistrate, continued to work with Rula and Dalmecia, moving around the site.
Alex was handling public relations with the residents and coordinating with the town's influential figures. With the addition of two new gates, the placement of guards also needed to be reconsidered.
The expansion of Drintle and the arrangement of materials and workers for the future construction of houses were entrusted to the excellent butler, Dalmecia.
"I will take care of it."
Dalmecia's response reassured Cain.
While listening to Rula's encouraging words, Cain continued to use his magic. Despite the work being done after school, Cain's extraordinary magic allowed the major tasks to be completed in four days.
During Cain's time at the academy, Rula had drawn up plans, and a rough infrastructure design was already in place.
The plans were simple, mainly deciding on the layout for the academy and orphanage and ensuring that the new roads were wide enough for carriages and pedestrians.
Moreover, Rula was utilizing her knowledge from her previous life to research concrete. She planned to use concrete for the construction of the academy and orphanage, maximizing Cain's creation magic.
However, without Cain, it would be impossible to build concrete structures.
As the days passed, the amount of construction wood gradually increased. A large amount of wood had been placed over a few days.
"Dalmecia, this wood..."
"Of course, it has been harvested from the forest. My familiars are doing the harvesting. Should I call them?"
Cain shuddered, remembering the time he had tried to summon familiars at the mansion.
"No, there's no need to call them. Try to avoid being seen by adventurers in the forest. It could cause problems if strange reports are sent to the guild."
"Of course. The work is done at night when everyone is asleep, so please rest assured. However, building houses will be difficult for my familiars, so I plan to ask the merchant guild. This will help the town's economy by circulating money."
Cain nodded at Dalmecia's words. To increase the population, it was necessary to provide jobs. The economic development through public works, where the lord provided funds and jobs, was a common practice in any world. Cain had learned a bit about this in his previous life. As the number of jobs and people increased, the merchant guild's sales and tax revenue would also rise.
Cain wanted to turn Drintle, which currently had a population of only three thousand, including adventurers, into a town with over ten thousand residents.
With the work mostly completed, they took a break with the tea Dalmecia had prepared.
"It's almost done."
Cain muttered, looking at the leveled land and the piles of materials.
"Once the old wall is dismantled, I think there will be a major construction boom. I'm arranging for workers through the merchant guild in the capital, so the population will gradually increase."
Dalmecia, who was standing behind, informed him. Cain was impressed by Dalmecia's versatility.
Rula, sitting next to him, was looking at the plans she had drawn.
"Alright, let's dismantle the old wall."
After finishing his last sip, Cain stood up and declared.
"Even if you say that, dismantling is a big job."
Rula said, but Cain had unlimited magic. He thought it would be more challenging to walk around Drintle again.
Cain placed his hand on the old wall and channeled his magic.
'Dismantle.'
At Cain's command, the wall began to collapse with a loud noise. The stones used in the wall were stored in Cain's item box for future use as paving stones.
"...That's too much of a cheat."
As Rula was amazed, the wall that had protected the town for decades collapsed over several hundred meters. Moreover, the debris from the collapsed wall had disappeared. Everyone was shocked by this extraordinary event.
Although the area near the wall was marked as off-limits for dismantling, the loud noise attracted the residents.
They were surprised to see their lord, Cain, standing on the opposite side of the dismantled wall.
Cain stepped forward and addressed the gathered residents.
"I'm sorry to surprise you all. I am Lord Cain von Silford Drintle. To expand Drintle, I had to remove the old wall. As you may have heard, the new wall you can see behind me is now part of Drintle. We plan to develop the town according to the new layout. If you have experience as a carpenter or in construction, or if you are looking for work, we need your help. Of course, I promise to pay a fair wage."
The residents were delighted at Cain's words. This area was close to the slums, and many people were unemployed. Although the magistrate had been spreading the news around town, many were skeptical. Now, seeing the lord directly offering new jobs and promising wages, they were all welcoming.
"γγγOhhhhhh!!!γγγ
Cain raised his hand to calm the cheering residents and continued.
"We will also build new housing in this new area. The existing slums will be dismantled, and the people living there will be provided with new housing and jobs. Please understand this. That's all I have to say."
The people in the slums were also happy to be given housing and jobs. Cain turned his back on the gathered residents and moved to the next dismantling site.
He dismantled the old walls one by one, storing the debris in his item box, and then moved to the next site to level the ground.
After a few days, the dismantling of the old walls was completed.
Cain and the others returned to the mansion and took a break in the study.
"From now on, I'll leave it to you all."
Cain handed Alex the funds for materials and construction. It was a small bag of platinum coins he had saved, containing about a hundred coins, equivalent to about one billion yen.
The coins came from selling monster materials, goods through the merchant guild, and glass products to the royal family.
Even so, Cain's item box still contained a similar amount of platinum coins.
"With this, I think we can manage. I've also requested additional guards from the capital. Once the workers arrive, we can start."
Alex said after storing the funds in the safe in the study.
"Summer break is coming soon, so I want to stay here a bit longer. However, I've been called to the Marbique territory by Telez, and I also need to visit Tiphana's family, so I won't be able to stay for long."
The academy had a two-month summer break, which was long because the noble children came from various territories, and the round trip could take a month for those from distant places.
Some had mansions in the capital, but most lived in the dormitories within the academy.
"Understood. I'll take care of it while you're away."
Cain nodded at Alex's words.
Leaving the management of Drintle to the three of them, Cain transferred to the capital.
After transferring to the study of the capital mansion, Cain informed Coran and Sylvia of his return.
"---Lord Cain, a letter has arrived..."
Cain took the letter from the embarrassed Coran and checked the seal on the back.
It was the same emblem as the flag on the castle he was often called to.
He opened the letter and read the contents.
The letter contained only one sentence.
"Come to the castle immediately. Rex Terra Esfort."
Cain sighed deeply and handed the contents to Coran. Coran read it and seemed to have expected it.
"Coran, I'm going to the castle now. Can you arrange a carriage for me?"
"Understood. I'll have the carriage ready at the front of the mansion immediately."
Coran, aware of the summons from the castle, quickly left the study to prepare the carriage.
After being informed by Coran that the preparations were complete, Cain got into the carriage and headed to the castle.
It was already dark, and there were no carriages heading to the castle except in emergencies. The gate guards had been informed, so there were no issues entering the city.
Cain was immediately led to the usual reception room.
While drinking tea prepared by a maid, the king and the prime minister soon appeared.
Cain stood up from his seat and observed proper etiquette.
"It's urgent."
The king sat in his usual seat, with Prime Minister Magna beside him.
Cain had expected to be reprimanded for Drintle, but his expectations were wrong.
"In fact, a holy maiden from the Marinfort Kingdom is visiting our country for an inspection. It will be around the time the academy is on summer break. She is expected to stay for about a week, and the current holy maiden is around your age. You will be accompanying her with Telesia and Silk. As you are close in age, it will be more comfortable for the holy maiden."
Despite being busy with Drintle's internal affairs, Cain was faced with a new task.
---
Thank you for your continued support.
I was able to make progress over the weekend and am posting this earlier than planned.