Chapter 50: Building Dreams
The next morning, Rosen City looked completely different. Buildings had collapsed. Several streets were covered in broken stone. The city walls were being repaired, and groups of workers moved through the streets carrying wood, stone, and metal. Tanaka walked beside Nira, looking around quietly. People stared at him. Some whispered. Others immediately looked away. A few adventurers even moved their hands toward their weapons before remembering who he was. Tanaka sighed.
"Everyone is still afraid of me." Nira looked at him. "Can you blame them?" "I saved them." "You also destroyed half the city." "I was fighting Zarathiel!" Tanaka sighed again. Nira smiled. "You really do sigh a lot." They continued walking. Tanaka looked at the damaged buildings. The destruction was much worse in daylight. Walls had collapsed. Roofs were missing. Entire sections of the road had been destroyed. Yet people were already working.
No one was sitting around waiting for someone else to fix everything. They were rebuilding. Tanaka found that interesting. They didn’t allow the chaos get to them.
Well I guess I have a lot to learn and a lot to teach.
Their first stop was a blacksmith. The moment Tanaka entered, the sound of hammering filled his ears.
A dwarf stood behind a furnace, striking a glowing piece of metal with a hammer. Tanaka’s eyes widened. The heat coming from the furnace was intense. He walked closer. "What are you making?" The dwarf looked at him. Then at Nira. Nira gave him a small nod. The dwarf returned his attention to the metal. "A sword." Tanaka watched the hammer strike the glowing steel.
"What makes one sword better than another?" The dwarf raised an eyebrow. "Materials. Forging technique. Quality of the metal. The person making it." Tanaka nodded. He picked up a small hammer from the table. It was heavier than it looked. He
"How many people work here?" "Four." Tanaka looked around the small workshop. Only four? He suddenly understood something. A settlement wasn’t built by soldiers. It was built by people like this.
People who made the things everyone else needed. "Do you make farming tools too?" "Of course." The dwarf stared at him. Tanaka nodded. Interesting. He was already thinking about his territory. His monsters were strong. But they still needed tools. They needed somewhere to live. They needed ways to gather resources. He thanked the dwarf before leaving. Their next stop was a carpenter. The smell of fresh wood filled the workshop. Tables, chairs, doors, storage boxes and wooden supports filled the room.
The carpenter was working on a replacement beam. "Do you build houses?" He asked. "Sometimes. Usually we work alongside masons." Tanaka nodded. "How long does it take?" "Depends on the house." "What about a small house?" "A few days if we have enough workers and materials." Tanaka looked at the wood. Then at the damaged buildings outside. So buildings could be constructed this quickly. Another useful piece of information. The mason’s workshop taught him even more. Large pieces of stone were being cut and shaped for the city’s repairs.
Tanaka crouched beside one of the workers. "How do you know where each stone goes?" The mason laughed. "Experience." Tanaka nodded. Experience. That was something he couldn’t simply obtain by devouring. He had powerful skills. But there were many things he still didn’t understand. That realization was becoming more common lately. They visited a tailor next. Tanaka stared at the rows of cloth. Different materials. Different colors. Different qualities. "You make clothes from all of these?"
"Yes."
Tanaka touched one of the fabrics. It was softer than he expected. "How much does this cost?" The tailor gave him a price. Tanaka blinked. "That’s cheaper than I expected." Nira looked at him. "You really don’t know how much anything costs, do you? How have you survived this long?"
The apothecary was the final shop. This one caught his attention immediately. Shelves were filled with herbs, powders and bottles. "Medicine?" "Medicine and potions." the apothecary replied. "We need an apothecary like this." Tanaka suddenly said. Nira smiled. "Now you’re thinking like a lord." Tanaka paused. A lord. He looked outside. The damaged city was slowly being rebuilt. People were carrying stones. Workers were repairing buildings. Merchants were reopening their shops.
Then he noticed something. A little boy was standing near a pile of wood. He was staring directly at Tanaka. Unlike the adults, he wasn’t trying to hide his fear. The boy slowly approached. His mother immediately grabbed his arm. "Don’t go near him." "But he’s a slime." Tanaka blinked. The boy looked at him curiously. "Are you really a monster?" Tanaka crouched down. "Yes." The mother looked terrified. Tanaka smiled. "But I’m not going to eat you." The boy stared at him for several seconds. Then he smiled. Tanaka smiled back. "What’s your name?" "Leo." "Nice to meet you, Leo." The boy nodded before his mother pulled him away.
Tanaka watched them leave. Nira smiled. "You’re surprisingly good with children." "I’m good with everyone." "Sure." Tanaka ignored her. They continued through the marketplace. The more shops they visited, the more Tanaka realized how much he didn’t know. Everything had a purpose. Everything had a price. And almost everything was connected to something else. "Nira."He called out. How does all of this get here?" "What do you mean?" "The materials. The food. Everything." He continued.
"Through trade? Merchants travel between settlements and kingdoms. They buy things where they’re cheap and sell them where they’re needed." Tanaka nodded slowly. So his territory wouldn’t just need resources. It needed a way to move them. They eventually reached a merchant’s shop. Tanaka suddenly remembered something. "I need money." Nira stopped. "Money?" Tanaka nodded. "I want to buy things." "Like what?" "Tools. Materials. Maybe some books." Nira stared at him. "You don’t have money?" "I have some stuff." Tanaka opened his storage ring. A collection of monster materials appeared on the counter.
Fangs.
Claws.
Scales.
Herbs.
Monster cores.
Magic crystals.
The merchant nearly dropped his ledger. "I want to sell these." The merchant carefully examined the materials. His expression slowly changed. "These are high-quality." Tanaka smiled. "How much?" The merchant hesitated. He looked at Nira. Then at Tanaka. "I can give you a fair price." Tanaka nodded. The merchant eventually gave him a price after analyzing the materials. Tanaka stared at the coins. "So this is silver?" Nira sighed. "Yes." "How much is one worth?" Nira stared at him. "You really know nothing about money."
She explained the basic currency system to him. Tanaka listened carefully before placing the coins inside his storage ring. He smiled. Then he noticed something. The merchant had tools displayed along one wall. Tanaka walked over. Hammers. Shovels. Pickaxes. Ropes. Lanterns. Knives. Small farming tools. Containers. Tanaka picked up a shovel. He tested its weight. Then swung it lightly. "How much?" Nira looked at him. "You’re buying it?" "Yes. It will be useful I’m sure." Tanaka picked up a pickaxe. This one was heavier. He swung it once. "How much for this?" The merchant gave him the price. Tanaka nodded. "I’ll take it." He bought several tools. The items disappeared into his storage ring one after another. Tanaka smiled. This was convenient. He could carry an entire workshop without actually carrying anything.
He looked at the merchant. "Do you sell cooking equipment?" "Yes." Tanaka bought a pot. Several bowls. Cooking utensils. Containers. A few blankets. Needles and thread. Tanaka stored everything inside his ring. He was beginning to enjoy this. Every object he bought represented something he might eventually need. He looked around the marketplace again. People were buying and selling. Merchants were talking. Workers were carrying supplies. Children were running through the streets. It suddenly made sense. A settlement wasn’t just buildings. It was people. People with different skills, different needs, and different purposes. Tanaka thought about the forest. His monsters were strong. But what good was strength if they couldn’t build? He needed blacksmiths. Carpenters. Masons. Tailors. Apothecaries. Farmers. Merchants. He needed people who knew things he didn’t.
"We have a lot of land outside our settlement that we can probably use, we need to grow."
Eldrin, I wonder what changes you would have implemented by the time I return.
Ah home. Names uh. I should be strong enough to give more names.
Tanaka looked down at his storage ring.
Inside were the tools and materials he had purchased. They weren’t particularly valuable. Not compared to the monster cores or Greater Wyvern scales. Yet somehow, they felt more important. They were things he could use to build something. Something that could last. Tanaka smiled. "I still have a lot to learn."
Tanaka looked toward the distant forest. Rosen City had taught him something important. A territory wasn’t made strong simply because its ruler was strong. It became strong when the people living inside it had everything they needed to grow. He had spent so much time thinking about monsters. Their strength. Their evolution. Their skills. Now he was beginning to think about something else. A home. Tanaka smiled.
"Let’s see what we can build."