Chapter 157: I Will Take Care of This (3)
Mercenaries are people who will do anything as long as they are paid.
In his past life, Ghislain took on many jobs other than fighting.
Of course, he handled distribution of work and fortress construction, and during wartime, when labor was scarce, he even took on building makeshift barracks.
‘If I hadn’t earned the title of King of Mercenaries, I would’ve been called the King of Construction.’
At first, he didn’t know anything and just used his strength, but after receiving similar assignments repeatedly, he picked up basic knowledge of construction and civil engineering.
After realizing that to win a war, it was crucial to have bases and housing where troops could rest, he even went out of his way to visit construction sites to learn.
With the knowledge he gained through practical experience, it wasn’t difficult for him to oversee the work.
“First, gather as many workers as you can. The more hands we have, the quicker it’ll be done.”
But people didn’t know that Ghislain had accumulated such knowledge.
To them, Ghislain was nothing more than an overconfident fool who was meddling despite not being an expert.
Still, they couldn’t oppose him. Who would dare to stop a lord from doing what he wanted?
Soon, a large number of workers gathered, and Ghislain, recalling memories from his past life, began issuing instructions for the work.
“Alright, first, lay the foundation and then start on the framework!”
At Ghislain’s words, the workers moved quickly.
Since the lord himself was directly involved, they couldn’t afford to slack off.
As they busily followed his orders, they began to form a decent-looking structure.
The craftsmen whispered among themselves as they worked.
“The lord seems to know something, but...”
“What is this, though? Isn’t it just a mansion he’s building?”
“Judging by how he’s dividing up the sections, it looks like he’s just making a lot of big rooms to shove people into.”
Dividing up sections like a mansion or military barracks and cramming people inside would indeed solve the housing issue.
It wasn’t the kind of home they could give out to people, but given the time constraints, using this method wasn’t a bad idea.
But did the lord really need to be the one directing this?
In the end, one of the carpenters raised his hand and asked.
“Lord, if you’re planning to build a large barrack, we can handle it from here. There’s no need for you to personally take on such rough work.”
“No, no. It’s not that kind of place. If you cram people into one spot, how can you call that a home? It’s just a pigsty.”
At this, another person raised their hand and asked.
“Isn’t what you’re building a mansion with many rooms, like a noble’s residence?”
Once again, Ghislain shook his head.
“Similar, but a bit different. If we were in a real rush, we might have to do it that way, but for now, we still have some leeway. This is the time to build it properly from the start.”
When the people looked at him with curious expressions, Ghislain let out a small laugh.
“Alright, I’ll explain it simply. You need to have a basic idea to follow along properly. What we’re building now is a structure where multiple homes will be housed inside one large, sturdy building.”
“Homes inside a home? Isn’t it just a bunch of small houses stuck together?”
In cities where space was limited, they sometimes built mansions close together in that manner. Since Ghislain’s concept was something new, that was the closest the people could imagine.
“No, it’s different. Inside the big building, there will be several smaller homes. It’s called a shared residence.”
“A home like that... does it even exist?”
Ghislain nodded emphatically.
“Yes, there will be one here soon.”
After a catastrophe swept across the continent in his previous life, many cities became fortified as the survivors gathered.
In the confined spaces within these fortresses, where many people had to live together, it was essential to use the space as efficiently as possible.
That’s where the concept of shared residences came in. It involved allocating independent living spaces for each household within a tall, large building.
Despite Ghislain’s repeated explanations, the people still wore puzzled expressions. It was a simple concept once you understood it, but they struggled to break out of their usual thinking patterns.
“Judging by your faces, it looks like you still don’t get it.”
Ghislain sighed and shook his head. Explaining a concept that didn’t exist in this era wasn’t easy.
That left him with only one option. As always, he would have to show them directly.
“Alright, enough chatter. If you don’t understand, just do your best to follow my instructions. Once you see the final result, you’ll get it.”
With that, Ghislain returned to the task at hand.
“If we build like this, we can finish the residential construction much faster, don’t you think?”
The logic was simple: if there was a limit to how many buildings one person could oversee, then increasing the number of people who could live within each building would solve the problem.
And it wasn’t wrong. In the time it would take to build two or three small houses, they could construct this one building.
“Yes, this method would drastically shorten the time needed. Just ten of these buildings could house as many as 120 households.”
“Good. I’ll provide more support for the workers than before, so pick up the pace as much as you can.”
“Understood!”
The engineers responded loudly, looking at Ghislain with eyes full of admiration.
Detailed blueprints had been prepared during the construction, so there was no issue replicating the design.
The engineers, even more than Ghislain himself, were beginning to realize just how remarkable this Co-living housing was.
The more they analyzed it, the more they concluded that this was the most suitable construction method and a revolutionary housing style for the current situation.
Who would have thought that simply twisting the conventional concept of a house a bit would result in something like this!
Watching the engineers excitedly gathering in groups and chattering among themselves, Claude decided not to think too deeply about it anymore.
‘Yeah, I was wrong. I shouldn’t have thought of him as a regular person.’
As Claude wore a slightly sour expression, Ghislain spoke to him in a chiding tone.
“What are you doing? Are you still not paying attention? The work speed is going to pick up, so bring in a large number of laborers.”
“Ah, understood. I’ll immediately put out a notice to recruit more workers.”
At Claude’s response, Ghislain raised an eyebrow as if he’d heard something absurd.
“How long do you think that’ll take? Let’s push forward faster. We don’t have much time right now, do we?”
“Sorry? What exactly are you suggesting...?”
“I’m talking about the migrants. We’ve been feeding and housing them well for the past few days, right?”
“Yes, there are still a few sick ones left, but most of them should have recovered their strength by now.”
At that, Ghislain grinned slyly and said, “From now on, it’s not recruitment; it’s conscription. Bring in everyone who can move. The free meals end here.”
* * *
The migrants who had been living comfortably up until then felt that the inevitable had finally arrived once the conscription orders were issued.
To those who firmly believed that a lord who gave something for free simply didn’t exist in this era, it was an expected announcement. Some even felt relieved to hear about the conscription.
As a result, no one resisted. They all simply responded to the call, like sheep being led to slaughter, without any enthusiasm.
Every migrant capable of moving was forcibly assigned to the construction of residential areas and the clearing of farmland.
Those who had been working mechanically saw their attitudes change once they started moving into the “Co-living housing.”
“It was true? They’re really giving us houses, not just tents? I thought it was a lie!”
“When they said ‘Co-living housing,’ I thought we’d all be living in a barrack together... but this is incredible!”
“Owning a home... Was it really this easy?”
Most of the migrants had been people who were more or less forced out of the slums.
The places they used to call home were dilapidated ruins, tattered tents that barely kept out the rain, or makeshift structures haphazardly built with wooden planks.
Born into poverty and lacking any skills, they had lived believing it was natural to endure hardship and humiliation.
But it was different here. Working hard brought them substantial rewards.
Though it was called a Co-living housing, it was much larger and cleaner than a shabby hut, and each family had a clearly designated living space.
For those who had lived as paupers, it was an immense gift.
“At first, I really hated coming here, but if I hadn’t, I would’ve missed out big time!”
“The lord here is incredibly generous! Coming here was the best decision ever! Even loyalty is starting to come naturally.”
“How can you say you made a good decision when you were driven out? Still, it was a stroke of luck to get kicked out.”
For those who had lived without being treated like humans, Fenris Estate was a land where they could seize a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.
Not wanting to return to their previous lives, the migrants threw their all into cooperating with the construction efforts.
Thanks to this, the progress of the work accelerated to an unprecedented speed.
Ghislain, watching them work joyfully even through the arduous tasks, wore a satisfied smile.
“They’re all moving together as one for the sake of the estate. With this kind of morale and passion, there’s nothing we can’t achieve.”
Claude could only agree with those words.
“That’s a relief. With this level of enthusiasm, the other projects will finish faster too.”
“That’s good news. We need to keep moving busier than ever, especially with the war preparations ahead.”
At the mention of war, Claude’s expression darkened.