After Surviving the Apocalypse, I Built a City in Another World

”I’m curious because we’re so new to this world… our village also needs to have more children, so we want to know more.”

”Well, it is more difficult to have children as one’s level increases,” Olga said. ”So I recommend making more babies while the average level in the territory is still low.”

There were a few exemptions—like her mother—but it was better to be safe than sorry.

”As for powers… Children generally start battling outside at 12 years old, because it’s the age most people would be mature enough to hold a legitimate weapon and not just drop it to the ground.

”However, some noble children would receive some training from captured beasts much earlier,” she said. ”Regardless of the circumstance, the chance to see if one has special abilities is still level 10 for everyone.”

This meant that if a child reached level 10 early on, then they would still have the chance to exhibit power. This was the case with that guy from Holt City, who exhibited an element as early as 11 years old.

He might be younger than Oslo, but he was really much more talented in terms of fighting. The only reason he hasn’t reached level 40 was because of an unfortunate accident that delayed him for ten years.

”I see… thank you.”

At this, Althea was both relieved and troubled.

She was relieved to know that her children seemed to have a guaranteed ability—which equated to a layer of protection for them—but at the same time, she was also troubled because they seemed to have no idea how to deal with it.

Before she could go deep into worry, the door opened abruptly, making everyone turn their heads with raised guards.

It was Garan with red eyes. He strode forward and grabbed her shoulders, immediately shielding her from the others.

”Are you alright?!”

He was sweaty and panic-stricken. They had obviously rushed to get back.

There should still be a few more hours of travel left. Since he said they’d do a leisurely pace before, then he must’ve consumed a lot of energy during the last leg of the trip to get back here so soon.

However, it seemed like Garan went on full-on panic mode that she couldn’t ask.

Althea was very confused. ”Of course. What makes you think otherwise?”

”I received the announcement to the Elders and…”

Oops.

He meant that announcement to all elders to keep a consistent story while she was dealing with the aborigines. She couldn’t have everyone saying different things, right?

In retrospect, the notification saying ’Received an order: Never allow Altera to be a subsidiary’ was indeed a little misleading. He probably thought she was ’held at gunpoint’ or something.

She sighed and handed him a bottle of water and potions to heal him. ”Calm down, everything is okay…”

The drenched Garan heaved a deep breath, taking the bottles to drink.

While he was doing so, Althea cleared her throat, looking at her guests with an awkward smile. ”This is my husband, father of my children.”

Garan turned to them, guarded, and although the man had a lower level than, well, all of them, they still felt a chill.

It was here that Garan realized there were acquaintances in the room. He nodded, cool as a cucumber as if he wasn’t just super fazed earlier on.

”He’s your husband?” Jonathan blinked. They hadn’t been in the territory long enough to gather such gossip, nor would they put two-and-two together even if they did.

But his shoulders relaxed in the end, and he couldn’t help chuckling a bit. ”Well, thinking about it,” he paused. ”No one else would suit each other more than you two.”

…

They decided to finalize and formalize all their deals later in the day in the village center, especially since a number of them would be selling items for the soon-to-open Contribution Store as well.

There were still a few more things Althea had to discuss with the Golds, so Jonathan’s party had to excuse themselves.

With that, only the couple and the Golds remained in the verandah. Althea entered small talk with them while her husband changed clothing. He arrived some minutes later with a clean, refreshed, and very handsome demeanor.

”What would you like to discuss with us?”

”It’s mostly about tools,” Althea began. ”Let’s start with that tool maker of yours.

”Can he create something that could block ’unregistered’ aether letters?”

The Golds looked at each other, a bit puzzled. ”What do you mean?”

”Aether letters are extremely convenient to whoever uses it. I want to be able to control the enemy’s use of it, particularly during wars. Similarly, we need to regulate their use within the territory.”

They were against villages and those territories were unlikely to even get ahold of aether letters, but even so, they dared not belittle them. A few messages could affect the tide of war. This was even truer if they were against Towns.

The Golds’ eyes widened a bit at this, a little enlightened. They… had never thought about this before.

”We don’t know, actually. I can’t imagine how it’s done.”

”We can.”

”What?”

”Well, in theory. We have several directions, but we couldn’t even test out any of them unless someone could actually create the special parchments.”

She didn’t even try to ask if they could get the masters to teach her about the arrays, judging by how stringent things were here. At least not until she could prove herself with her own skills.

”We had similar tools back in our home, but the medium is different. If we could partner with your tool makers…” Althea began, ”Then we can control and block the flow of aether letters around the territory, keeping the enemies from using it.

”Of course, if we receive enough assistance from you, you will also get a share of the product we’d end up producing.”

The Golds brightened at this and they immediately agreed. But the discussion did not end there. They also asked about the tools they got from a person named Belize and explained their uses. They weren’t particularly special, but the couple seemed to have found a lot of use for them, even if it wasn’t the intended use…

Then they continued with several other discussions and the Golds quickly found themselves a little lost. Obviously, they were the ones who knew about tools, why did the couple have so many ideas?

Although some of the ideas went over their heads, one thing was clear: Altera was becoming the land of innovation—and their growth was inevitable!

…

Outside, the cousins Jonathan and Cassandra chatted a bit, left alone by their friends and companions to do their own thing. Now that the deal was about to be finalized, Jonathan knew he would have to get back home soon.

Speaking of getting back home. He looked at his cousin. ”You really overstayed here, Cassandra.”

The girl gave him a pointed look. ”Can you blame me?”

”...”

No, he could not.

In the end, Jonathan sighed and took a piece of fancy-looking papyrus and handed it over to her. He… had actually forgotten about it until now.

Cassandra’s pretty eyebrows furrowed at the sight of the envelope. It was sealed in wax with a stamp of her town’s characteristic flower—the Isatis.

”Best read in private,” Jonathan said, turning away to give her some privacy. ”See you in the Village Center in a few hours.”

He hadn’t opened it, of course, but he knew her family. Such an official letter would definitely entice some emotions to the girl—for better or for worse.

Cassandra rushed over to her room and opened it. She dreaded doing so, but she was raised to prioritize family over everything.

Her hands shook as she looked at its contents. Unsurprisingly, it was another authoritarian letter.

And she was asked to go home, at the soonest.