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

Gill and the other two were not aware of the growth arc someone was going through. They were just on the way to the mines, to do what was instructed to him by the bosses.

”We need to send out some goblins to the other satellite,” he said. ”So you will determine which ones would be healthy and strong enough for a long trip. We’ll need a few hundred.”

”O-Other satellite?”

”Hmn, Alterra got another territory with mines, and the goblins are needed.” Gill told them this very casually, but it made the other two gape.

Capturing an enemy’s entire land was rare enough… Alterra—a fellow village—had two!?

The other two couldn’t help but feel more and more curious about the new ’master’. ”I wonder what it’s like… and I’m also curious about those who are coming to lead us” Gio mumbled, looking at Gill with sparkling eyes. ”Will you tell us, Boss Gill?”

Gill’s eyebrows rose as he looked at the androgynous man. ”I didn’t peg myself to be the approachable type.” Few people would start small talk with him.

Gio blushed. He didn’t notice when he started letting down his guard, but he realized it went down surprisingly quickly that he could speak so casually with a man like Boss Gill. ”I…”

Gio was a naturally bubbly person and was raised in a decent family who appreciated him and his talents. He went through a lot but he was optimistic in nature.

Gill shrugged, not really caring. ”Well, the territory’s in good hands. Learn as much as you can.”

”Y-Yes!”

On the way to the mines, Gill wrote down a few observations and recommendations to submit to Althea, hoping it could help her out somehow.

Speaking of papers and pencils, Gio was fascinated. Such a light and convenient piece of papyrus and such a stick that could write and be erased—

Back in his ’school’, everyone just studied letters in the soil. They would write with sticks and then erase with their feet. It was convenient and didn’t cost anything, but there were many times he wished he could carry something he could write in.

When Gill handed him a few pieces of blank paper and a pencil, apparently giving it to him, he almost fainted from happiness.

They reached the Iron Mine after a couple of minutes. It was located within the territory, but had an extra level 3 wall separating it from the rest of the territory.

The foot of the mountains was the flimsy housing of the goblins, and also the temporary warehouse for the ores. At this time, it had a small mountain of them, and they would be moved to the Territory Warehouse at the end of the day.

Climbing further up was the mine proper, and it was bustling with activity.

They watched as hundreds of tiny little things flurried about, working diligently— almost nonstop—despite looking very tired.

They were working too hard—as if they were still… slaves.

Gill’s eyebrows furrowed and went to them. He approached normally, but to the small goblins it felt fast and barelling and they shivered in fear.

Seeing this, Gill immediately halted his steps, making sure there was at least a two-meter distance between him and them. ”Don’t be scared. I’m just curious why everyone’s still working so much. It’s break time now, you know.”

They looked at him oddly, and Gill looked at them with that straight face of his. They all shivered under his stare.

”...”

He hadn’t even glared at them yet.

He tried to school his face, though how could it be easy?” We already sent the regulations. This time is Lunch Break, and everyone can rest.”

The announcement was both written and auditory. The goblins could understand his words, so they should’ve been able to understand the rules and regulations.

However, they looked at him as if they really didn’t understand his words.

”You can understand me, can’t you?”

”...yes, sir…” they said, their little raspy voices shaky in apprehension.

”Why don’t you go and eat?”

Gill was expecting them to be having a break and then he’d go and ask who was willing to go to another place.

”We… our meal time is only at night.”

Gill suddenly remembered most slaves only ate once a day, and his shoulders slumped. Eating a midday meal was probably a foreign concept to them.

”You should’ve heard from the announcement that—whether you believe it or not—Iron Valley no longer keeps slaves, at least not as unpaid labor,” he said. ”You can rest and/or eat lunch. You can even buy food outside—

”Didn’t you check your wallet? Isn’t your pay there?”

The goblins frowned but followed the instructions. They rarely looked at their statuses. There was nothing there, anyway.

This was why they were extremely shocked to see there was indeed copper added to their wallets!!

”M-Money?”

”O-Our own?”

”Yes, that is what you earned by yourself.”

Their already-huge eyes widened and they all whipped their heads to look at Gill. They did it in such synchronization that even Gill found himself stepping back a step, not to mention the other two who lost their footing.

It had to be said: Hundreds of goblins could be really intimidating together.

He cleared his throat, redirecting back to official business. ”Like the announcement said, you are now citizens of Alterra who will have the right to free yourselves.”

”Alterra?”

”Yes, it’s the territory that took over Guia—now Iron Mountain.”

”You are no different in rank than the humans now,” he said. ”So you don’t have to act so humbly—they won’t be able to hurt you any more than they can hurt other races.”

They gaped at him, though his words were probably too good to be true for them to truly absorb it.

Gill didn’t force it. What they knew was something so ingrained in them. Adjusting to how Alterra wanted the place to be would definitely take a bit of time.

Speaking of that, another challenge in the Iron Mountains would be the integration of the goblin population with the rest of the territory.

Handling a 99% aborigine population was hard enough, but now they had to deal with their integration with another race the locals deemed ’extremely inferior’.

There was a mountain of challenges but, while he wasn’t one to be cheesily optimistic—not like Gio over here—Gill had a feeling it would work out somehow.