Chapter 223: The Result of Playing Around (1/2)
The next day.
After my long three-day vacation ended, it was finally time to start working.
And so, I happily went down the mountain and headed to Gimuru.
“Good morning!” [Ryouma]
I greeted the men guarding the northern gate, and then I headed to a corner of the slums.
Upon arriving in front of the large old building, I noticed that a crowd had gathered.
“Excuse me. Excuse me… Ah!” [Ryouma]
I pushed my way through the crowd, and when I finally reached the front, I saw the seven people dispatched by the duke. The president of the Morgan Company, Serge-san, was also with them, and even the head of the government office, Arnold-San, and the manager of the slums, Revel-san, were there too. Men who appeared to be their guards and their carriages could also be seen. As a group, they were clearly different from the rest of the crowd.
When I walked up to them to greet them…
“Ryouma-sama? Oh, please don’t worry, it’s still some time earlier our promised time.” [Serge]
“We were just early. The kids haven’t finished their preparations yet either.” [Revel]
Everyone greeted me, and Serge-san and Revel-san gave me a brief explanation of the situation.
Also, the ‘kids’ Revel-san was referring to were none other than the children living in the large old building. There were several buildings like this in the slums. They’re meant for children with nowhere to go and are known as a ‘children’s home’.
But…
“This isn’t my first time seeing it, but it sure is old…” [Ryouma]
My remark might offend someone, so I made sure to choose my words.
“That’s a given. According to the records, this building was used to store the raw materials when the town was being built. In other words, it’s even older than the town itself. The storehouses for raw materials are often expanded and relocated during construction, and the ones no longer in use are usually sold to the people.” [Arnold]
After receiving Arnold-san’s explanation, a lot of things suddenly started to make sense.
The reason why this stone building was built so plainly with an emphasis on space and robustness was probably to make it easier to bring things in and out of it. There are two entrances and exits on the front and back of the building, all of which are big enough to accommodate a carriage.
Moreover, the doors to those entrances and exits were thick as though the makers wanted to take care to prevent theft. The windows were small, and they felt like they were made just big enough to provide ventilation and lighting. There were high walls surrounding the building too, and there were even traces of a thick gate that made sure to separate the inside from the outside. But what’s more is that it’s so old it seems attempting even the simplest construction if done irresponsibly would cause the whole thing to crumble.
…But of course, as far as I’m concerned, it’s just an abandoned building, not fit for kids to live in.
“Revel-san. I just want to make sure, but once the kids are ready and they leave and we’re sure that there’s no one left in the premises, we can start dismantling・・・・ the building, right?” [Ryouma]
“The sooner you work, the sooner you’ll be able to reconstruct・・ those kids’ house, after all. We’ll take care of the kids while the house is being rebuilt, but it’ll be a lot more reassuring to have it ready sooner.” [Revel]
Although his face was grim and his words were rough, he was thinking about the children. That’s why he agreed to my proposal in the first place, and talked with the owners of this building, the people supporting the children, and the children themselves.
My goal is the construction of a garbage processing plant and a factory, but he probably believes that cooperating with me would improve the living conditions of the people here.
That’s why I’m able to dismantle this house today.
“Thank you for your cooperation. I’ll be sure to build it well, so as to not betray your trust and expectations.” [Ryouma]
“I’m counting on you. Not just me, but this whole crowd of people as well – I’m sure you’re well aware.” [Revel]
“Of course!” [Ryouma]
And then speaking of the devil, it was at that moment that the kids started leaving the building one after another.
All that’s left now is to confirm a few things…
“Were you able to prepare the helpers I asked for?” [Ryouma]
“I secured about 30 people. They’re waiting somewhere nearby, so I can call them anytime.” [Hyuzu]
“Thank you very much.” [Ryouma]
Looks like we have enough for our first day. In that case…
“Serge-san and Rurunez-san. That thing I asked you.” [Ryouma]
“The old clothes for the kids? We’ve purchased plenty. They’re inside my carriage. We washed them just awhile ago too.” [Serge]
“The cleaner slimes you lent us are inside this carriage. The children and the contractor, Lilian, are on board. I’ll guide you.” [Rurunez]
“Perfect. Thank you for your help.” [Ryouma]
What I’d asked the three maids was to prepare a full body cleaning service via the cleaner slimes for the children. Once the kids have been cleaned, we will be distributing the old clothes to them to compensate them for the trouble we’ll be causing them.
“They’ll be getting a new house just before winter fully sets in. Personally, I don’t think they’re troubled at all, but… Well, I’ll thank you for your concern anyhow.” [Revel]
“Likewise… Now then, it’s still a bit early, but shall we begin? Everything seems ready, so…” [Ryouma]
“Right, let’s.” [Rurunez]
The children gathered by the entrance of the building ranged from a pre-schooler to a middle schooler’s age. There were 50 of them all in all. Presently, the older kids were counting heads.
“I’ll leave the kids to Revel-san, Serge-san, and your group, Rurunez-san.” [Ryouma]
“Leave it to us.” [Revel, Serge, Rurunez]
“Hey.” [Hyuzu]
“Let’s make sure there’s no one left.” [Ryouma]
I used my search magic and confirmed with Hyuzu-san’s group that there was no one left inside the children’s home. After making doubly sure that there was no one left, it was finally time to start demolishing the building.
“I’ll call the workers then.” [Zeff]
“Ah, Zeff-san!” [Ryouma]
“Yeah?” [Zeff]
“After you call the workers, please have them wait for a while. I discovered something that might be useful while playing with the slimes during my break, so I want to test it out a bit. The odds of success are pretty high, and if this works out, it’ll be quite useful.” [Ryouma]
“A-Alright.” [Zeff]
“As usual, you get really heated when talking about slimes, huh.” [Hyuzu]
“Ah, my bad…” [Ryouma]
I did it again, but anyway, they agreed, so let’s start the experiment.
First, I got Hyuzu-san and the others to leave the premises too, then after confirming that there was no one left, I left.
I’m sure it must be starting to get quite annoying hearing me drone endlessly about confirming that there’s no one left in the premises, but safety is priority number one in construction work.
After leaving the premises too myself, I opened my dimension home and took out a large jar I prepared. With this, preparations were finally complete.
“Hey, is our work not starting yet?” [Worker 1]
“What is that kid doing?” [Worker 2]
“I don’t give a rat’s ass. I just hope we can get started already…” [Worker 3]
I could hear the unhappy voices of the workers from behind me, so—
“Fu fu… Since I have an audience today, I might as well put on a show!” [Ryouma]
—I put a lot of mana into the jar!