Thirty-seven: Being trusted is something you don’t realize right away.

Back in the settlement, we started by explaining the situation to the villagers and adventurers.

“Wait—this place was nurtured with sweat by Kyle-sama and Craft! How dare they!”

“Damn it! Even if they’re nobles, I can’t stand this!”

“Hey! Everyone, calm down! Zaid-sama’s proposal isn’t wrong at all. We’re just looking to relocate—”

Before Kyle could finish, every villager and adventurer stood up.

“Of course we’re coming!”

“Yeah! We’re not staying behind!”

“Guildmaster! We’ll all move together—don’t tell me you’re gonna ask for escort fees like some idiot!?”

“We’ll build a village even grander than this one and blow their minds!”

“““Oooohhh!!”””

I just stood there, stunned, staring at the scene.

Zaid had promised far more than the meager startup funds given to the pioneers. I’d figured some of it would remain.

“Haha, Craft-sama’s always too modest when it comes to himself.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

“This village’s expansion? You’re the one who made it happen. Everyone knows that. If you’re going, they’ll follow—no question.”

But… is that really okay?

We’re heading to a place even more dangerous than this. I figured someone’d stay behind, just like normal.

And wasn’t it Kyle who had the real pull with people?

“Anyway, I guess Kyle’s sharper than I thought. Let’s get back to the plan.”

“Yes.”

Then came the sorting—village assets, personal assets, all of it.

Stamina Potions are gonna have to leave half behind.

Yeah, half of it’s already been bought by Seilra for the shop. Saved us a lot of trouble.

We’ll buy them back from the development funds and hand them out like usual.

Yeah.

Healing Potions and Cure Potions—both are mostly taken by the Adventurer’s Guild. Just one barrel left of each.

Wouldn’t feel right if there wasn’t some left. Zaid’s a pain in the ass, but I don’t want him dead.

Yes. What about alchemy and blacksmithing supplies?

Those are either from the production guild or personal assets.

No problem then. All the lumber’s going to stay behind, though.

Can’t help it. New settlement’s got forests too. Plenty of wood to go around.

That’s right.

Wood needs to dry for a long time, but magic or alchemy can probably get around that.

Just gotta push through it for now.

What makes Kyle sharp is that he stocked up on materials that could double as alchemy or blacksmithing supplies for the new frontier village.

Honestly, if we’ve got the raw stuff, we could brew stamina potions or anything else, as much as we want.

Most missing materials can be gathered on-site if we just ask the adventurers—big plus there.

“Just now, the guildmaster said he’s bound by contract and can’t move locations, so he’ll be staying behind.”

“Huh… so we’re stuck with the short straw, then.”

“Exactly. Once things settle, let’s contact the adventurer’s guild headquarters and get everything set up for the move.”

“That works.”

So the preparations moved forward at breakneck speed.

Normally, moving over a thousand people would be a nightmare, but it wasn’t much of a hassle for us.

First, protection.

Since the adventurers were moving with us, all they had to do was “protect themselves”—problem solved. And half of them were veterans who’d slain dragons. Reliable.

When the first giant, known as the “adventurer killer,” suddenly appeared mid-journey, Raidock struck with a single sleeve motion. A flurry of powerful attacks reduced it to scraps in an instant.

Damn, he’s gotten insanely strong.

Next, speed.

Thanks to stamina potions and cure potions, every villager was in top form. And they didn’t tire at all.

It felt like a picnic.

Finally, luggage.

I was carrying everything through spatial storage—so, really, just a picnic.

Fortunately, the tent had everything we needed.

...Still, just how much stuff can my storage hold, anyway?

Feels like there’s no limit. But it’s so convenient, I’ll just not think too hard about it. Maybe I’ll ask Professor Jabil later, when I’ve got time.

After entrusting the adventurer guild leadership to someone else, we settled into our new home.

No surprises at all.

On the way over, Azul muttered quietly.

"Raidock-san’s so cool."

"Huh?! W-what?!"

Yeah, that’s not exactly a problem, is it?

◆

Leifan and the adventurer party, who’d arrived earlier, greeted us at the new location.

"We’ve been waiting! Master Kyle, Craft-kun!"

"Hey, anything wrong?"

"We’ve thinned out the nearby monsters already, so it’s all good. And we’ve laid out the buildings based on the city design you gave us, Master Kyle."

"Guess you're reliable, Leifan."

"Ehehe."

"Alright, everyone! Let's start setting up those temporary living spaces! Leifan, you're on it."

"Got it!"

The row of tents lined up looked just like a military encampment.

"Leifan, I just noticed something lately."

"What?"

"The villagers—especially the ones who were here from the start—they all seem kinda stronger, don't they?"

"Yeah, I noticed that too."

"You noticed it too, huh?"

"Of course. The woodcutters, they’re carrying whole logs on their shoulders now. But why?"

"I have a theory. Maybe it's the stamina potions."

"Wait, those are just super-effective nutritional drinks, right?"

"Yeah, but think about it. Building strength usually means pushing yourself until you’re tired, resting, then doing it again, right?"

“Ah.”

Looks like Leifan noticed too.

“Yeah. Just work nonstop all day, sleep like a log at night. Repeat that every day. That’s how we’ve got a bunch of real muscleheads, especially the laborers.”

“Wait—could that include adventurers too?”

“Definitely. I think that’s the biggest reason why we’ve got so many people capable of hurting a dragon in such a short time. Remember Raidock from last time? In just a few weeks, he’s already taking down a cyclops solo.”

“So… we’re done handing out stamina potions?”

“That’s the thing. Kyle and I talked it over. We’re gradually weakening the effect for the ones we give to the villagers. After about a year, we’ll stop distributing them altogether.”

“Right. They were just meant as a temporary fix, after all.”

“Exactly. Make sure everyone understands that.”

“Yeah. Got it. What about the ones we sell to adventurers?”

"That’s how it’s been all along."

"Got it."

Adventurers can be strong all they want—no problem.

Kyle had decided to keep the stamina potions for villagers at the same duration but reduce their effect down to that of regular market goods.

Sure, it’s nice that the townsfolk get stronger, but Kyle concluded it’d be too much if they got too strong—could easily end up being used for military purposes.

Well, the original members are beyond fixing, I guess.

Truthfully, since there were so many lumberjacks, they were a huge help in establishing the new Goldendawn Village.

Thanks to this cheerful bunch—capable of brushing aside average adventurers with nothing but raw strength—the reborn Goldendawn Village was growing at an insane pace.

I mean, it’s wild.

Jitarou’s one of the original members (´・ω・｀)