Not long after Alec and his crew had shown up, more adventurers began pouring into the village. Naturally, the biggest draw was the dungeon, and they all seemed thrilled that it sat directly across from the inns. The dungeon had grown so popular that no one even bothered with the Forsaken Zones anymore.
That wasn’t a problem for us, though. The hunting party still brought back plenty of orc meat from the forest, just like they’d used to.
Ally, the dungeon master, was also pretty thrilled. She’d already expanded the dungeon to ten full floors.
“Dungeon Points are pouring in like crazy!” she’d said once. “I’m, like, swimming in rewards over here!” I used Villager Appraisal II to screen every new adventurer before granting them a Blessing. Not all of them turned out like Alec and his party, but many had Gifts that were useful for adventuring.
The dwarves’ Blacksmith Gifts allowed the village to mass-produce high-quality weapons and armor, which had turned out to be a huge hit. We could keep supply high and prices low because we got the raw materials straight from Ally.
Dungeon materials were perfect for crafting powerful gear. For better or worse, it’d completely removed the need for me to custom-make weapons via Facility Customization.
To that end, I’d used my Gift to create a proper workshop, where all the smithing took place.
Workshop
>>A workplace tailored for arts, crafts, smithing, tailoring, and more. Boosts creativity and dexterity.
The dwarves loved it. They’d told me their work went faster now, and their hands always moved exactly how they wanted them to. Some had even said they couldn’t stop brainstorming designs for new pieces of gear.
Aside from the adventurers, we’d been constantly getting new residents. At one point, it felt like only yesterday that we’d hit three thousand residents, but now we had surpassed six thousand. At this point, the village was the size of a small city.
Naturally, that meant word had spread, and the more people heard about us, the more they wanted to move here. It was a positive feedback loop.
Around that time, Dant, the governor of the North, visited us six months after his previous visit. His captain Bazara accompanied him.
Hm? Isn’t that sword Bazara’s wearing one of ours?
“It’s good to see you again, Lord Luke.”
“Nice to see you too, Dant.”
“I can’t believe how much the place has grown since last time. You never cease to amaze me. It’s been one shock after the other since we arrived!” Dant said, buzzing with excitement. He started talking my ear off about all the changes he’d seen in the village on his way over.
It sounded like he was already up to speed on most of the major developments, including our expanded commerce, the elves and the dwarves, and of course, the dungeon.
“I couldn’t believe the quality of your village’s weapons!” Bazara said, even more excited than Dant. “I never dreamed of buying gear this incredible at such low prices! I borrowed money from Lord Dant just to buy more!”
So it is one of our swords!
But even with our pricing, I guess he didn’t quite have enough money on hand.
Dant gave me an awkward smile. “Anyway, Lord Luke, the reason I came here today was to deliver an important report,” he said, his expression turning serious. “House Arvale has defeated House Schneiger.”
Seriously? Already? I thought.
“But didn’t the battle just start?”
“Mm-hmm. The entire conflict lasted barely a month. Arvale’s forces stormed right through Schneiger’s major cities one after the other, charging right to the capital. That’s where the final battle was held, and Arvale won a decisive victory. House Schneiger surrendered unconditionally right before the castle fell,” he said.
A month was absurdly fast for a campaign of that scale.
With Schneiger’s defeat, Arvale had become the most powerful house in the kingdom, both in name and in might.
“Your younger brother Raoul played a major role in the battle and performed impressively for his first campaign. Because of his actions, he will be entrusted with managing the March of Arvale’s original boundaries.”
He went on to tell me my father planned to stay in the former Schneiger to stabilize his newly conquered territory. Since the March’s lands were more secure, Raoul could manage it despite his youth.
“I’m afraid it’s only a matter of time before Lord Raoul catches wind of this village. I came here today to advise you that it would be wise to begin preparing for that.”
“Hmm...” I tipped my head. “I doubt he’d do anything even if he did find out about this village.”
After all, he was set to be the next marquess of Arvale and had just made his major debut in an important battle. Why would he care about some remote village in the middle of nowhere?
“You’re being naive, Lord Luke.”
“Myria?”
“If Raoul suspects his position may be threatened, he’ll do everything in his power to eliminate that threat—especially if that threat is his own brother.”
“She’s right. He acts all high and mighty, but deep down he’s a total coward!” Seren said.
“You too, Seren?”
Wow, these two really hate Raoul’s guts.
“I’m not doing anything to threaten him, though.”
Both Dant and Bazara blinked in disbelief.
“How can you even say that?!”
“Are you serious?!”
“The marquess would completely change his tune if he knew you’d built all this in such a short time, and Lord Raoul would be terrified!” Dant insisted.
“You really think so?”
“I know so. I’ve already received an order to investigate you. I managed to sweep it under the rug once, but with the way rumors are spreading now, it’s only a matter of time before Lord Raoul hears about it,” Dant said.
“Hang on... Isn’t that kind of...bad?”
That meant Dant had filed a false report. If anyone found out, he could lose his position, or even worse...his head.
“Don’t worry! I’m fully prepared to go down with you, Lord Luke!” he said cheerfully.
“Huh?!”
Seriously, don’t throw your life away on my account!
“Regardless, this can’t be ignored. You need to continue bolstering your forces, just in case. And we should do what we can to delay this village becoming too widely known.” Dant’s seriousness suddenly gave way to a quiet chuckle. “Not that I really need to tell you. I can see you’ve already been reinforcing your strength, drawing in adventurers via the dungeon, mass-producing high-quality weapons, distributing potions, and even building a training facility to muster a proper military force.”
Well, yeah, but I didn’t do any of that because I was planning on going up against Raoul.
The dungeon, weapons, and potions had all been a natural progression of things. I’d intended to build a standing army. As for the training grounds, the adventurers had been asking me for one for a while now. The mages had especially wanted a safe place to practice their spells.
But in the back of my mind, I had to admit that I’d always figured it was a good idea to be ready to defend the village, considering the way the world worked.