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

”I… please help me get my brother—no, even some news will do,” he said. ”I am willing to increase the atonement points I have to carry out.”

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”I’m not sure you have enough to offer to mobilize our resources,” Althea said. Her tone was not dismissive at all, simply stating facts from someone who supposedly was just an ’employee’.

”I… I wasn’t a slave in Basset Town,” he said. He already said this during the inquisition. ”I wasn’t bound by oath—I was born there, there should be information you’d find useful, right?”

He was not a slave in either territory and wasn’t required to take oaths there so he could tell as much as needed.

Althea looked at him. She hadn’t had the chance to read the reports yet so they hadn’t begun any ’follow up’ interviews and interrogations just yet. This was basically just doing it in advance.

Seeing as Althea was ready to listen (while being fed by her daughter), Ansel took out a Voice Blocker and activated it.

Althea nodded in approval before turning to Jest. ”What do you know?”

”While my stature doesn’t allow me to be privy to a lot of things, I can tell more about the every day life and what we found threatening.”

To most people, this was useless information. They’d dismiss Jest and even blame him for wasting their time. However, Althea and the others knew never to underestimate even the smallest detail.

At this, Althea nodded for him to tell them more, and Jest heaved a sigh of relief.

First, he told them about the everyday life of the citizens there which was, for the most part, just the typical life in this world. The difference was that there were a lot more merchants from other places there than most.

Basset Town could be said to be the less-developed and less-planned Ferrol of the area.

That was to say: It did not have any special resources, technology, or mines of its own, but it took advantage of its location between Bleulle City and Warrior City—even if it was thousands of kilometers away from either of them.

He also told them about the most famous families in their Town—the ones even the most uneducated citizen would hear of. There were also a few gangs and powers he mentioned, though it was limited to whoever was active in the area he lived in.

While Jest did not have a complete list of the players in their territory, he did have the main ones. Interestingly, he mentioned a familiar group.

This group affected the daily lives of even the poorest of peasants there, and it was obvious that Jest hated them in particular.

”The Rongo Mercenary Team is the most powerful and disruptive force there,” he said. ”They arrived about two decades ago… setting up base there. Immediately, the already-difficult living conditions got worse.”

”Of course, there was a lot of bullying and suffering even before that—but they took it to another level,” he said, gritting his teeth. ”They treated human lives as playthings.

”They would pull whatever women—or men—entered their fancy and do their way with them, and no one could say anything about it!”

”They would beat up anyone they thought to be eyesores until they were half-dead!”

”Even if people were lucky enough not to catch their eye, they affected their living too. The mercenary team made close deals with the Lord so they could add protection fees—on top of the taxes they paid directly to the Lord—to any local who was doing business in the territory.”

”Then… they built casinos—turning hard-working men to useless people who only knew how to spend money!”

They let him finish his soliloquy on his own. He was very passionate. Seeing his face change from his mild—begging—stance to a passionately angry one, they could tell he must’ve suffered a lot back in Basset.

At this time, the babies had already finished eating the cotton candies on their own, staring at the passionate outburst of a random adult in front of them.

Eventually, he did calm down, immediately feeling embarrassed at the outburst. ”My… my brother’s name is Jord, and we live in the Western slums of the territory,” he said. ”I just… I just want him safe.”

”Okay,” she said. ”I’ll take note of this.”

For a moment, she did consider just sending him there to help out. But her people there had been camping for a long time. She didn’t want to risk anything at this point.

Jest bowed to them before leaving to continue his work. He did not have high expectations, but it was enough that they would try.

After Jest went away, the family continued on to the Post Street, arriving at the middle of it.

By this time, there were already bikes using the main road, so those on foot were constrained to use the pedestrian lanes.

The family looked at the two buildings in alteration, looking at the quality and its fit to the streetscape. Fortunately, it looked good.

”So how much did these buildings cost?” Ansel asked. They hadn’t turned off the Voice Blocker yet so they could talk as they wanted.

”3000 Wood, 2000 Stone, 2000 Gold. Each. Plus a few hundred for customization.”

Ansel whistled.

”I hoped we can modify some functionality too,” Althea said, sighing. Baby Pepper who was snugly carried in her arms, sensed her disappointment and kissed her cheek, making Althea chuckle. She kissed her back of course.

”Mwama!” Little Meatball called, extending his little arms to her to ask for kisses too.

While she took her jealous son with her free arm, she looked at the Pharmacy again, telling her brother about her Pharmacy Wish List.

”I had hoped we could add our own formulas and let it make them automatically as long as we had the raw materials,” she said. ”I would be willing to pay a few thousand gold for that.”

Ansel rubbed his nose. Rich people problems, he thought. Though to be fair that really would be awesome.

”Well,” he said. ”I’m sure there would be something like that out there.”

Althea nodded. ”If not, we’ll find a way to make it ourselves.”