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

While the territory saw various farewells, a very thin man with a lisp was in a very good mood.

”Ohhh my goodneth! Thith ith increthible! Finally managed to get thith jerk to deliver a methageth!” he yelled, looking at the small birds perched inside their cage.

They were looking at him, looking adorable, as if they didn’t almost blind him!

This person Reddit, the zoologist in-charge of training the birds. He had a bandage on his head. He was almost blinded by the birds a few days back. Fortunately, the food in Alterra was great so he still had his eyes.

However, not all was lost in his case, because he and Chucky had finally made a breakthrough!

Although it was still within the territory, they had managed to get the budgers to finally deliver a message! And they were super quick too! It only took a couple of minutes for them to get from point A to point B!

They still needed to try larger distances, but they were confident it’d work!

Contribution points here we come!

…

An hour later.

Jonathan and the others were finally leaving, and Gill, Althea, and the others saw them off. This time, no Alterran would be coming with them as there were too many going-ons in their area. Instead, they asked Jonathan to send their team back in Ferrol a sealed letter so they didn’t worry about anyone coming.

On the contrary, the aborigine members were asked to recruit a few more warriors.

They also sent them a ’loft’ but without a bird, as well as some vague instructions on how to use it. This would be targeted by the bird (that’s still ongoing training) when it was sent there. It should be ready by the time the ’loft’ gets into the hands of Kleid and the others.

Jonathan nor his team had any idea what it was for, of course.

”We’ll definitely come back soon,” Jonathan said, ”Hopefully with the new luxury villas already built.”

Speaking of the luxury villas, he was still a bit bitter about it.

Sad to say, the luxury houses had already been leased out before he came (with his cousin, Veronica, and the Golds taking a few sets).

He was still too slow!

Althea smiled, ”It’s still being discussed, but the mountain villas should be built within the next... several months,” she said, ”They’re designed to have small pools like the bathhouse.”

These houses would be even more exclusive than the current villa community, designed to have their own pools and maybe even hotsprings.

Though there was no volcano nearby, they determined that the groundwater was very warm, and they knew there was still geothermal activity. They planned to maximize that. Of course, a lot of digging was involved so she estimated they’d take some time to build them.

Jonathan and the others didn’t have an exact image, but the mere word that it would be even grander than the current villas made their eyes shine. They even offered to pay a bit more than the leasing price, as long as she guaranteed them a house.

Althea agreed, wanting to have a closer relationship with this rare open-minded aborigine lord. Speaking of this, she stepped forward with a smile, handing him a token. ”Oh, Lord Jonathan, here’s a gift from me.”

The man looked at the piece of carved wood, and its aether signature told him this was a tool. A Magic Tool.

An eyebrow rose and he looked at her. It was a low-leveled one, but magic tools were not common in these parts.

”It’s a protection amulet. It may not be much for your level, but there’s no such thing as too much protection,” she said, smiling. ”I got a few as loot from Fargo, and I thought of giving you one.”

Jonathan nodded, appreciating the gesture. ”Thank you.”

…

____

It took about a day of leisure travel on a beast cart before Jonathan’s caravan entered the vicinity of his hometown.

They could soon see Ferrol from a distance, and Jonathan couldn’t help but look to his side, staring at his cousin.

”Can you handle them?” he asked, referring to her family and her situation. If she asked for help, he could see what he could do.

It wouldn’t be much—but he was still a lord, after all. He’d like to think he’d be able to help his only cousin.

Cassandra didn’t speak, pondering. With a sigh, she patted her neck to feel the outline of the protection charm given by Gill.

”Of course, I can,” she mumbled, but her voice was soft. Jonathan looked at her, confirming.

”If you need some support…”

”Thank you…” Cassandra said, but she didn’t dare take so much of his time again. Jacoba Town was much farther to Ferroll than Alterra was. She’d effectively be taking Ferrol’s lord—or an important person in his forces—for at least two weeks.

Besides, she didn’t want to risk tension between the two towns for her own cause—especially when she felt he wouldn’t be able to do anything for her anyway.

Jonathan looked at her and confirmed whether she was being sincere. He sighed. ”Actually, before going to Alterra, I did hear a few rumours…”

”Just say it.”

”I heard that your father is trying to make that illegitimate brother of yours legitimate and the heir.”

”What?!”

If it proceeded, then she wouldn’t have a choice, not really. The fact that her family was trying to marry her off probably had a lot to do with this!

Speaking of, there were two husband candidates. One chosen by her father, and the other by her mother. One was a good-for-nothing but with a weak family, while another one was relatively decent with a good family. Both were womanizers with houses filled with women.

One was to finally rid of her, while the other was to use her to retain control of the family—at least just until she gave birth to a son.

Heh, what a life she had.

But her hand found the necklace again and she immediately felt calmer.

The atmosphere in the carriage stagnated, with the two people entering their own thoughts. Veronica could only watch, low-key eating a nice candy she got from Alterra.

Soon, the carriage entered the cleared pathway heading to the gate. This signalled that they’d be entering the walls in a few minutes.

However, midway there, they went past a beast carriage that had just been to Ferrol, and it immediately halted at the sight of them.

Jonathan narrowed his eyes. ”Guia Village?”

Baltimore went out of the carriage to greet him. He did some basic show of respect but his expression was bland and bored, as if just going through the motions.

”What is it?”

”We were tasked to study the new territories. You came from there?”

”Yes, I partnered with one.”

”Oh? Is it the one associated with the Terrans? Alterra Village, correct?”

Jonathan paused at this, and the girls also narrowed their eyes. ”Why do you ask?”

Baltimore’s face didn’t change. ”I’m simply curious, Lord Jonathan.

”Alterra,” Jonathan began, ”is my ally.”

Baltimore paused at this and looked at him. ”Your warning has been noted,” he just said, before turning to head back to his carriage. ”Now, I will excuse myself, I wouldn’t dare hold the lord away from his territory for too long.”

Jonathan nodded, though his suspicious eyes didn’t part from him until his carriage disappeared from view.

”Cousin… are you…?”

Jonathan shook his head. ”Nothing happened yet and, even if I did, I may not be able to stop anything,” he said, feeling a little powerless.

He heaved a deep breath. ”For now, we can only hope for the best.”

…

As the Guia’s beast carriage breezed through the dense forest, the lord sat still on his bench, mind reeling in thought.

Baltimore’s eyes sharpened as he recalled his findings not too long ago.

After torturing several goblins, he found that there was a space stone in one of the goblins the Terrans took!

Space Stones!!

The Goblins were one thing—quite a loss in and of itself—but Space Stones were also another matter. That was a rare treasure that even nobles from the cities may not have!

And more than its value, it was a status symbol that he believed he deserved!

Those bastards dared take it away from him…

The man’s jaw tightened, and an atmosphere of vindictiveness surrounded him.

And it was time to take it all back.