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

They were led past the ’entry plaza’ where they saw a store with ’Beast Inn’ and there were actually a few beasts lounging in there. Even rich villages rarely saw beast carts, and this place had a parking lot full of them…

Then they saw what they’d later learn to be called ’bikes’ as well as broats used as transportation. The newcomers watched in fascination as they entered the main avenue and zoomed through it as quickly as a high-leveled person dashing.

Eagle looked at them, used to this reaction from newcomers. ”Welcome to Alterra,” he said, pointing at the avenue. ”The wide avenue is for fast-moving vehicles, while the ones on the side are for foot traffic.”

”Follow us,” he said, and they headed along this wide avenue and they couldn’t help but admire the overall aesthetics.

They couldn’t help but look at the stores in curiosity too, though they could not move around like tourists could. They were slaves after all.

Surprisingly, some people who forgot this pulled away and ended up in the shops.

Ladron’s eyes twitched, pulling a few of them back.”Oi!”

One of them was even Landi, who flushed in shame. ”I…”

”You forgot we’re slaves?”

”I did.. I’m sorry,” he said, feeling embarrassed.

”You also have no money. What are you going to use to buy anything?”

Landi sent him an awkward smile and took out a couple of coppers. ”A few people handed me some ’snack money’...”

”...”

Must be nice to be pretty…

Ladron sighed and just turned to Eagle, wondering what he should say to excuse their behavior. They were really being unreasonable for slaves.

However, he realized that the guards didn’t seem to mind at all. Each one was even chewing on their own snacks.

In retrospect, it seemed that they—the slaves—were not ordered to behave at all?

Ladron narrowed his eyes. ”I heard that Alterra did not take in a lot of slaves.”

Eagle nodded. ”Technically speaking, only those who had truly wronged Alterra would receive a true slave’s fate,” he said. ”Otherwise, you should be fine. With a bit of hard work, you’ll be able to free yourselves.”

They didn’t really absorb this much, and soon they ended up in a much larger plaza with gardens, heading over to a unique-looking Village Center at the center.

They had never seen such a beautiful Village Center before…

They entered as a group, with Eagle patiently explaining the instructions. ”You will not be prisoners of war—at least not yet— but, until you buy your own freedom, you’re still technically slaves.

”However, in Alterra, you can get an identity by registering here. With this identity, you can eventually get jobs and such. Note that you’d be signing non-betrayal oaths as well, the cost of which would be added to your debts.”

He took them to the platforms and asked them to queue properly. ”You will be registered here,” he said. ”Be honest and be as informative as you can. Who knows… maybe it can help you get good jobs with decent money.”

They lined up obediently, even when they realized they weren’t ordered as slaves. They weren’t entirely certain what was happening, but they instinctively didn’t want to misbehave any more than they already had.

The guard said they were not prisoners… yet. They’d rather not test out what was required to become one of those.

As they registered on the large stone tablets one by one, they saw an old woman walk down the grand staircase.

”Elder Mathilda!” the locals greeted, and the newcomers unconsciously made salutes as well.

The old woman had an aura about her that demanded respect. No wonder she was an Elder.

Mathilda smiled at the locals, before turning to look at them. ”Let the leader come with us,” she said and Ladron nodded.

This was it. The time for a deal, which the Lord had told him about.

Ladron went up with her. He forced himself to keep calm. He was a strongman in Yasof, he reminded himself. He was raised and born a fighter, and he had won all the wars he went to. (Until now, but he refused to think about that for now).

He raised his chin and puffed his chest, hoping to retain a bit of prestige under the circumstances.

Although he was a slave here, Yasof was still his home with his friends and family. He wanted it to have an advantageous deal—and that was something that could be done if he managed to hold his ground somehow.

He was led into a large meeting room filled with people with similarly strong auras as the old woman.

Ladron gulped. The room was large and comfortable, but for him he felt intimidated despite the fact that he was of a higher level than most of these people.

”My name is Ladron, I am the head guard of Yasof Village,” he said.

The elders nodded, but their faces remained impassive. It was Mathilda who began the conversation. ”Speak. Why did you surrender?”

”I was told by the lord to surrender as soon as I felt certain we would lose. I think your show of powerful weapons—ones we have not seen—is a good enough indicator.”

This made the Elders silent and just looked at him, as if trying to see how much of his words were the truth. ”I am a slave,” he said, ”I cannot lie.”

”We did not order you to,” one said. ”But I suppose you didn’t know that.”

He blinked, realizing this was the truth.

Ladron gulped and took out a parchment from his space. ”This is a letter the Lord asked me to hand over in the event of our loss.”

He handed it to Mathilda, who read it out loud for the others’ sake.

/I hope this letter finds you well. My name is Yassop, the Lord of Yasof Village. If this letter is with you, it means that we have lost the war and my trusted right hand, Ladron, is now your slave.

/My contract with Basset Town expires in a few more months, and I plan not to renew it. I would like to ally with Alterra, instead./

The Elders looked at each other with raised eyebrows, before turning to Ladron, who tried to keep his composure as much as he could.

He was a bit sweaty though, and it betrayed the nervousness he was feeling.

Ansel smirked and laid back, arrogantly crossing his arms and legs. He liked intimidating people when he could, and it was particularly satisfying when the dude had a higher level than he did.

”You better be prepared to make good deals,” he said. ”Our standard for allies is quite high.”