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

Before leaving the Village Center, Gill went to a stone platform to make the job announcement.

[Hiring! Guards!]

[Potential Requirement: Class D]

[Requirement: Must be willing to fight for the territory, will not abandon post, and has cooperative spirit.]

[Salary: Starts at 300 copper/day]

[Register at the Village Center. Exams will be held tomorrow morning at the plaza.]

As the trio walked outside, some people had already ran to the Center, as if applying first would increase their chances of getting the job.

Gill nodded and proceeded to study the territory along with the other two.

Iron Mountains was not a small territory. Although a huge part of it was dedicated to the iron mines, the rest of the territory was built with dense buildings, with a certain portion along the perimeters dedicated to safe resource forests.

This wasn’t a surprise because the main component of Guia’s economy was iron and its slaves. It didn’t have as much need for other resources— which it could trade for its iron—and would thus not waste a lot of space for them.

It was also fairly rich. So, unlike most villages, this place was characterized by two-story buildings, and relatively complete facilities like restaurants and wells.

He observed the alleyways and the commonfolk who were just getting on with their lives. While there were no slaves anymore, he hired the old cleaners to keep things clean, while sister-in-law’s planning team would finalize what to do with this place.

”To be honest Guia is far superior to my village and it is difficult to propose its improvement,” Gio admitted, a little scared. Piko nodded feeling the same.

”It is much bigger and cleaner than mine as well.”

The two looked at each other and wondered if their uselessness would get them fired.

Gill sighed. Well, he should’ve known. Their minds were stuck in what they knew. To them, Guia really was the paragon of a rich village.

”It’s okay,” he said. ”You’ll know better in time.”

Despite the two’s lack of fruitful suggestions, they continued to peruse the place anyway. Occasionally (very rarely) Gill would utter a few words. ”This avenue could be widened,” he said, referring to one of the main avenues in the territory. ”This is to facilitate trade and traffic.”

”Oh…” the two would say, and they would recall many times when roads were blocked because people would start fighting after bumping into each other. It would also be frequently blocked because of the iron or other things being transferred through it.

A few moments like this happened as they walked around, and most of the time the two would nod and feel a little wiser. Although Gill did not speak much, the two would understand his words and their implications enough to feel enlightened.

There were many people around, a lot of whom stopped whatever they were doing to watch them traverse the place. Some even sent looks of dislike, but no one dared go against Gill anymore after what happened to those who defied him.

At some point though, a woman blocked their way and for a moment Piko was ready to defend. Unexpectedly, it was a woman. She stood very tensely in their way, and it took a moment for her to gather her courage to finally speak.

”Excuse me, sir, can I talk to you?” she asked, and Gio blinked as he recognized the woman.

”Yllana?”

This woman was Yllana, another slave. If Luis and Althea were here, they’d recognize her as one of the women who helped them find the token.

Her footprint was still on Baltimore’s rotting head—now displayed just by the gate—until now.

Gill looked at the woman, and then to the two aborigines next to him.

Although he knew Yllana was not a threat, the fact that Poki’s guard immediately went down when he saw it was ’just a woman’ would definitely get him a beating soon.

Anyway, he stared lazily at the woman blocking his way. ”What do you want?”

”Are you hiring guards? Can I apply?”

”I sent the notice earlier.”

”The hiring notice… it’s a little vague.”

Gill looked at her weirdly. ”No, I’m pretty sure it’s clear.”

”I mean… you hire… women?”

”Look,” he sighed, rubbing his forehead. ”In my place, women could do the jobs of men.”

”We will simply be implementing it here,” he said, ”But of course, the women had to be worthy of the job and be willing to fight—their tests would not be less than the men’s.”

Yllana did not mind the caveats, she was still reeling from his first sentence. ”Is it true? Can we really?”

Gill was really not the type to comfort or convince people. ”Up to you to believe it,” he shrugged, walking past her. Poki followed Gill without even looking at her, while Gio gave out an awkward smile.

Yllana did not stop them anymore. She just turned and watched their backs.

She had seen how the man cleaned up those jerks, and now with the new job openings she would like to participate, make a life for herself while she didn’t know what better way to go about this.

She had considered applying for the administrative jobs, but a part of her wanted to jump at something completely unexpected—something she wouldn’t have imagined she’d be doing months prior—as if it would erase everything that happened in-between.

Before leaving, Althea told her some things that had been slowly lighting a fire inside her. At the time, she was just happy Baltimore was dead, but when Althea asked what she wanted to do next… she came up with nothing.

At the time, death was okay—she simply had nothing to look forward to.

As a woman without a family, what else could she do?

”You know, even if men could be physically stronger, women aren’t inferior to them at all,” Althea had said, her voice gentle and comforting. ”In some areas, we are even better. The world has so many facets, and there is a place for everyone to excel.

”Women can also build a good life for themselves—whether or not they are attached to men. Try it, try many things, and you will find where you belong—where you will be happy.”

Althea’s words rang inside her mind and her heart and she turned away from watching Gill, and faced the direction of the Center.

Yllana’s eyes changed to one of deep resolve, and she walked towards the Village Center, ignoring the looks of the other people in the queue.

She… was the only woman there.

When it was her turn to the platform, more than a few people watched what she was going to do. When they realized she was applying for the same job as they were, they laughed at her.

”HAHA! She’s applying?”

”Heh, a woman?”

”She dares!”

Someone even wanted to pull her off the platform, but he was pulled back by his brothers. ”Oi! Do you wanna go to prison?”

”TSK!”

Since they couldn’t be too physical, they ended up just mocking her with words instead.

”Foolish! Don’t embarrass yourself, lady!”

”Girlie! I’m looking for a wife, wanna apply to my house instead?”

Yllana bit her lips and remained steadfast, ignoring the various hoots and voices around her.

No, she told herself, this time, she would make a world for herself!