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

Cassie was puzzled, but she didn’t force them to rest or anything. If they wanted to go around, then who was she to stop them?

However, she looked at them in thought, knowing they wouldn’t be able to afford a guide.

Her eyes ended up on the old woman who reminded her too much of her own grandmother (who was hopefully resting right now), and decided to go an extra mile for them.

She pursed her lips, ”Then I can guide you to a place to eat before I leave.”

”Really?” Bumi said, a little louder than the others. When it got Cassie to give him a second look, he flushed in shame, and his tanned face was as red as a lobster being cooked.

The girl couldn’t help but giggle at her own metaphor, but the sight made Bumi’s eyes brighten.

He made her smile!

His grandmother wanted to cover her face in embarrassment.

Anyway, unaware of these subtleties, Cassie turned to show them the way to the Southwest Market. It was the marketplace nearest their dormitory so they wouldn’t be so out-of-way.

The newcomers were understandably amazed by the bustling area. It was an open area but with a roof and lined with several stalls—all with a queue—arranged in rows and columns.

There was also a large area with a lot of tables in several zones near these stalls.

Even from the entrance, they could hear some people yell the prices and what they could tell was it was so inexpensive! Some were even more affordable than what was being sold by the gates!

”This is our Food Court,” Cassie said, ”There’s a price hike though, you know how it is in droughts.”

Price hike?

This

is a price hike?

Other than this, they couldn’t help but notice the citizens were buying, eating, and chatting as if there was no mob outside!

Most citizens were also clean and well-kept and they honestly saw no signs of the Heat Wave at all!

This made the new group of arrivals—in similarly thin, dirty, and dazed states—much more obvious.

”Luke! Leo!” Cassie yelled, waving at them. The two men blinked when they saw her before breaking into smiles. They led their group in their direction.

”Cassie~ Showing new members around too, eh?”

”Hmn,” she said. ”Mine are aborigines, though.”

After a bit of discussion, they decided to merge the two groups. Anyway, they were all going to the same dormitory complex and they were bound to meet sooner or later.

The other group was also large, about a few hundred or so, and the tables of the entire market were mostly filled with just their two groups.

It was awkward at first, especially since one group was Terran and the other was of aborigines. However, similar experiences naturally brought them together.

They spoke about the horrors of the heat and the difficulty in gathering resources. This was noted by everyone, and when this was over, everyone would definitely gain a habit of stockpiling essentials.

The aborigines found out that the Terran refugees were also like the locals here, with their appearances and brighter dispositions.

They also spoke of elementalists in awe but also with ambition, as if it was only a matter of time for them.

Bumi’s eyes fixed on how Cassie was all friendly-friendly and touching the other men.

In fact, Cassie just high-fived them. It was very platonic, but to the eyes of aborigine men—who were not used to open and extroverted women—it showed a large amount of affection.

Bumi couldn’t help but look at the handsome men and how strong they appeared. He then looked down to see his pitiful self.

Bumi’s shoulders slumped immediately.

His grandmother saw her grandson’s inferiority but knew there was no fixing it in the meantime.

However, she was not too worried. Her decades of living allowed her to have an instinct about their situation, as well as their future.

She knew their lives would only get better, and so would this pitiful grandson of hers.

…

After eating, the groups were finally taken into the dormitory areas, with Cassie decided to guide them back. She had already done so much, might as well finish off the day with them.

They were assigned to different buildings, but they were adjacent to each other, allowing the groups to be closer because they knew they’d be neighbors soon.

After saying their temporary goodbyes, one by one the refugees settled in their own abodes, feeling warm in their hearts.

They admired their nice room, as well as the comfortable bed they could use for just 1 copper a day!

Of course, one of the disadvantages was the hygiene. Unless overtly dirty, the fabrics here were cleaned just once every two weeks, and longer now during the droughts. If the bed was occupied, the cleaning costs would be shouldered by the renter, too.

This was already very clean by aborigine standards, of course, but it was different for Terrans. Hence, there were actually very few Terrans in dorms except for those who had just arrived and didn’t have much of a choice.

”You can get your fabric exchanged for cleaner ones for 5 copper,” she said. ”After today, I suggest you take a bath and get it exchanged, so you’re more comfortable.”

Cassie explained the basics to them, which the aborigines really appreciated.

When she finally left, the refugees saw her off, promising to pay back her kindness someday.

Grandma held her hand. ”Thank you, child.”

The girl smiled, gently tapping the old woman’s wrinkled hand. ”No problem, grandma. I hope you live better.”

”Oh, we will,” she said. ”Otherwise, we’d have wasted this blessing of a new life.”

…

In the other building, the Terrans like Tot and the others quickly took a bath.

In contrast with the aborigines who were already touching their beds when they saw how soft they were, the Terrans didn’t get close to it lest they get it dirty.

They decided to clean themselves up the best they could first, and only then did they dare to get close to their beds.

The water was not cheap, but it was definitely inexpensive considering there was a drought.

To maximize the cleaning, they bought some towels (there was a store of household essentials on the ground floor) so they could wipe themselves well. They also bought basic soap and shampoo, and the Terrans almost sniffed the heck out of those bars.

In any case, even with the few small buckets of water they could afford, they felt cleaner and more refreshed than they had been for months!

To think they’d experience this in a major drought was unimaginable to them.

After a good cleaning and drying, they put on a change of clothes (some basic hemp shirts and pants were also available for purchase in the ground floor store) and crawled to the soft bed with a soft pillow.

As they laid, they thought they wouldn’t be able to sleep—and they were reluctant to do so. Who knew where they’d be when they woke up?

It was just that…, combined with their tiredness, the comfort the place brought them was overwhelming.

After a few breaths, they all fell into a deep slumber, dreaming of happy things and a hopeful future.