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

Everyone was promptly forced to go to the Palace, even those who were still half-dazed or unconscious.

Bleumrick stepped over a few, thinking they were fools for embarrassing themselves like this.

Speaking of fools who dropped down and were stepped on, Aetat groaned as he rolled along the grass next to him.

He felt uncomfortable and panicked, and the last thing he remembered was falling down and foaming in the mouth, all while being stepped on in panic. This was his last memory and seeing another set of feet triggered him.

He yelled, screamed, and gasped for air on his own. He even ended up eating grass by accident!

”Ptooey!”

He coughed out the dirt and looked at the rest of the people there. He saw that there were many people standing over him, and he immediately flinched, startled.

”Get up, Masters,” the guards said, talking to not just Aetat but the rest of the toolmakers there.

”The Lord is calling everyone to the Palace—ah, everyone who hasn’t signed a detailed loyalty oath to the Lord will have to make a basic honesty oath before heading there.”

”What?”

The guard this time was also a noble so he was more or less at the same stature as a low-level tool maker.

He didn’t really care as much about their feelings. ”It’s to determine the threats.”

At this, Aetat had no choice but to stand. He looked at the other toolmakers who were also feeling annoyed. They had almost died (at least it felt like it), and it was naturally annoying that they couldn’t just go home and rest.

He glanced around, wanting to make some snide comment to vent.

For example, he glanced for his senior Kalfene, who had looked similarly pale and seemed to be about to be eaten by the crowd or the smoke the last time he saw him.

Was he even still alive?

He looked around, eyebrows furrowed. Where is that guy? Did he die already? Finally? Too bad he didn’t see it...

”Where’s Kalfene?” he asked, at least wanting to see the corpse.

The toolmakers and guards similarly looked around. There was no dead body and by this time, even the physically weaker ones like Aetat had already woken up. Despite this, there was no sign of Kalfene at all.

”He probably escaped without us. Selfish jerk.”

Anyway, the guards assumed that Kalfene was simply elsewhere and others would bring them in. They thought he was no longer their problem and didn’t think too much about it anymore.

Aetat and his group also followed after them, definitely not imagining that the person was already tens of kilometers away from them as they speak.

This was the advantage of being so isolated. No one even remembered he was there to speak.

...

After about an hour or so, more and more people arrived at the palace.

Excessively domineering oaths were usually not honored by the system. Only slaves were essentially oppressed simply by the power of the system. This was why honesty oaths, despite their costs, were still relatively lax.

In fact, to make it most effective, a time limit had to be added, especially in relation to people with high levels of aether—i.e. high-leveled people, a.k.a. many people in the City.

For example, they had to be honest for a few hours, and so on. The shorter the duration, the higher the level of reliability. For this interrogation, the duration was six hours, and this was the maximum they could do for the average level of those they had to interrogate.

Still, it should be enough to just ask some questions, especially when it was Bleumrick himself asking them. Who’d dare lie to him?

Anyway, the hall was filled with people who attended the party, including the injured ones. The very pregnant Octavia was at the side, looking pale, though Bleumrick didn’t show much care about her.

On the other hand, Zinnia had no choice but to report her children missing. She would’ve preferred to just pretend they were never there, but the problem would be when she returned to Hassen Town.

Even if they were neglected, they were still the Lord’s children, and there would be a lot of questions about their absence. This was her chance to remove the suspicion from her and from the people actually responsible.

If she didn’t look now, she’d be questioned.

So as soon as she saw Bleumrick enter the room, Zinnia—who was already sobbing—cried even more loudly.

”My children!! Where are my children?!” she yelled, heading straight to Bleumrick. She was stopped by the guards blocking the way.

She glared at Bleumrick. ”Where did you take them, Bleumrick?! We went here in peace! In goodwill! What did you do? You let my children get kidnapped!

”Do you think Hassen City will stand for this?! What are you planning?! Is it not enough that you tore our family apart?!”

She was definitely making a scene.

Veronica was very impressed with her acting.

It seemed like she was fine in Hassen after all? She didn’t seem like she’d be bullied...

Veronica wasn’t entirely correct about this. Zinnia’s first decade in Hassen was horrendous.

However, after her first child died and after she almost lost Margaery when she was pregnant with her, she realized she could no longer stay as she was.

She was still weak, but emotionally much more stable, which in turn affected her children’s growth in a good way.

Bleumrick sighed and rubbed his forehead. He wanted to grab the woman’s neck for daring to speak to him like this, but that would be an affront to the territory she represented.

”We will find them.”

”You better! They are Hassen City Lord’s children! This is akin to you declaring war on him! He won’t stand for this disrespect!” she screamed. ”Hassen Town has only been low-key the past years, but don’t think they won’t attack!”

At this, Bleumrick’s already thin patience stretched. The aura around them changed and turned heavier, and by the way Bleumrick’s face reddened in ire, it was taking him everything not to hit her.

”You dare!” he bellowed. ”You, a mere woman with no family, speak to me like this?!”

”I am the Lord of Hassen’s wife! Regardless of my position in the City, I bore him two children—both of whom might be in your hands!”

”BE CAREFUL WHAT YOU SAY!!”

”If they’re not, then it’s not much better, is it? To think enemies got in so deep without much effort!” she screamed. ”My husband was right! Bluelle had grown weak!”

BANG!

A large depression on the floor appeared in front of Zinnia, a warning to her that she’d be next.

”Even if we didn’t find them, it’s not our fault; your own guards are useless! Why do you think we allow a guard per guest?”

Of course, those guards were also slow to react during the disaster.

Zinnia took this chance to back down, appearing humbled by the show of force. In fact, she was just purposely annoying to distract him from the real problem while planting some seeds of disagreement and distrust.

And looking at how the man looked at her, not just in annoyance but also in...wariness, she knew she had succeeded.