Derrick was watching outside the town hall"s window, waiting for the reports concerning the diplomatic missions" success. He wondered just how many of the 50 groups would come back intact as today was the limit set before he gave Eloise full authority on how to proceed subsequently.However, he couldn"t just wait around while doing nothing.
"System, show me Akata"s stats"
[Akata Village]
[Level : 4]
[Population : 30 943]
[Soldiers : 1516]
[Funds : 67 934 iron coins, 892 gold coins]
[Tax : 5% on sales (Income : 2234 iron coins / day)]
[Businesses : Iron Mine (Production : 1 ton / week), Gold Mine (Production : Unknown / week) Resources Factory]
[Inst.i.tutions : Forge, Military Quarters, School, Akata Loans (In Progress), Market (In Progress)]
[Mood : 89/11]
It seemed the influx of people remained steady, with the number of soldiers slightly increasing as well. The city also gained a single point of satisfaction, but the numbers were already through the roof, so every increase afterwards was considerable.
He was curious as to why the Gold mine"s production was unknown, but figured it depended on the work rate of the Orcs. Plus, the System had no data on what to base its estimations on since it was a new type of mine.
He also remembered that Alma would come in two days, and with her would be the goods that would send his people in a frenzy. After all, it would be the first introduction of luxury goods in the city. He stayed on that thought for a minute before hitting his forehead.
"I forgot to advertise it…"
He called a guard to go fetch Lacha, which arrived shortly after, happy to once again see Derrick alone. She was still as s.e.xy as ever and the woman"s devastating charm made the necromancer"s heart flutter, but he held on, not succ.u.mbing to his urges.
Seeing this reaction made her blush, and she quickly sat on the chair facing him.
"What can I do for you, husband?"
Derrick straightened himself before continuing.
"Have you brought the quill and parchment?"
"Of course"
It had become a habit of hers to always bring those things as she often wrote announcements for Derrick.
"I want you to advertise our upcoming market. Just enough to rouse the interest of everyone. I forgot about it when we spoke of Akata Loans, but the market will be coming soon, and I want everyone to be aware of its opening"
Lacha was surprised by the sudden announcement, and her eyes flashed with a glint of desire. She began to speak, hesitated, but continued in the end.
"Uh… Will there be new clothes?"
The question, completely out of the blue, made Derrick stare at her before erupting in laughter. While continuously laughing, he took out his magical pouch and grabbed 200 gold coins before giving them to her.
"You"re my wife, of course you can get what you want"
Lacha was over the moon. It had been too long since she had gotten new clothes, and hers were starting to become very, very ragged. He stood up, went to her and, out of nowhere, kissed her cheek before leaving the hall.
"I"ll leave you to it then!"
Lacha was beet-red from the interaction, and so was the leaving Derrick, who still wasn"t used to interacting with women on a personal level. Even though he didn"t want to attach himself deeply, the last few months had, unbeknownst to him, did their work.
"Guess it"s time to tour the city and see what other problems there are"
He went outside, saluted by the guards that were posted at its entrance. Since the town hall would be temporarily converted into their loans building, the security had been greatly increased, attracting the gaze of many curious pa.s.serby.
"Guess I"ll have to wear my cloak to not be recognized"
Derrick was usually walking in his armor throughout the town, and people instantly recognized him. The only people that had never seen him were the ones who immigrated by hearing of Akata, but they were instantaneously told of its mighty ruler by the locals. He was a mythical figure no matter where he went.
He donned his cloak and began his tour in the new and flouris.h.i.+ng downtown, where stalls were more and more packed, to the point where it began to seem overcrowded. Adding that to the increasing traffic in people, moving around was starting to become a ch.o.r.e. This was definitely something that had to be looked at.
"System, can you take notes for me?"
[Affirmative]
"Add note : Permits will be required to do business. They will be handled by Akata Loans. I"ll have to tell Lacha quickly"
[Note added]
The System really was too convenient. He didn"t want to think about living without it.
He continued his tour, and arrived in the restaurant district. This was also the result of the exploding population and was, as well, unregulated. With the arrival of the new currency came an explosion in the number of businesses, and this was one of the sectors that had benefited the most. It had been a while since he had eaten anything, so he decided to check one out.
To gauge their level, he went to the most expensive one. It was filled to the brim with people, and he had to wait 30 minutes before getting a table located at the very end of the small shop. Its decor was simple, but in good taste.
A young lady came and announced herself as his waitress, before iterating the items offered today. There was a nice diversity, but everything that contained meat was super, super expensive and so were the drinks, ranging from water to alcohol. When asked about the reason, the waitress simply pointed out the booming population.
Hunters weren"t able to respond to the soaring demand, making the highest bidders the sole party being able to afford them. As for the drinks, the infrastructure, namely the wells, wasn"t developed enough to support everyone. Clean water was then harder to come by.
"Add note : Cattle development. Also, breeding horses for military purposes. Utility infrastructure needed"
[Notes added]
These were the notes that Derrick made after his meal, which had been pretty tasty all things considered. The meat problem had also made him realize a glaring issue with Akata"s military : its logistics.
Making all his equipment run on magic was unrealistic, and when bigger campaigns came about, like the siege of Terra in the future, horses would be needed. This major oversight hadn"t even been mentioned by Eloise, which showed her inexperience.
As for the infrastructure problem, he would have to remedy it right away. It pained him because that meant he would have to divert workers from the wall, but it was necessary. He couldn"t allow his people to fall ill because of poor planning.
He continued roaming the streets, and a foul smell caught his nose. It felt so repugnant that he even pulled a part of his cloak to cover his nose. Derrick grabbed a pa.s.serby and asked from where it came from, and the answer frankly disgusted him.
"It comes from people s.h.i.+tting in the streets man! People usually just shovel it to the side afterwards, so others don"t step in it. Are you new here? It"s been done like this forever"
Derrick thanked the man for his answer and gave him an iron coin before dismissing him. He had completely forgotten about this issue! Since reincarnating, his body had never felt that need, and even in his previous life, he had always used a hole that he would cover up after doing his deed. This was another thing that needed to be addressed right away.
"Add note : Facilities to improve sanitary conditions"
It seemed that tonight"s meeting was going to be jam packed...