The day after securing the water, I headed to the planned town site. Count Daibern and his soldiers had already arrived.
「This is Holy Knight-sama! Welcome, welcome!」
「You’re already here!」
「Yes! We wanted to see the well that Holy Knight-sama created as soon as possible!」
He was holding a mug and beaming. He’s definitely been drinking from it…
「Right, your army has carpenters and craftsmen, doesn’t it?」
When I asked, the count called out to his subordinates.
「Yes! I’ve already summoned them. Please use them however you like!」
「Ah, got it… So when did you all arrive, Count?」
「Yes, last night. We’re having the tents packed up now, so we’re ready to move at any time!」
「Ahaha… I didn’t mean to push you so hard. Everyone can rest for now.」
At my words, the count blinked in surprise.
「But we cannot possibly waste Holy Knight-sama’s time…」
「It’s fine, it’s fine. This is something I actually want to do myself.」
「Muu…」
He still looked unconvinced. I figured it was better to let them rest first than to overwork them and earn resentment.
While we were having that back-and-forth, about fifty soldiers arrived, led by the earlier one.
「Sorry to keep you waiting! Thirty-six carpenters and sixteen woodworkers!」
「Thank you. Then let’s move to a different spot. I’d like somewhere more open.」
We walked to the opposite side of the hill.
「Um… Holy Knight-sama? Even if you brought us all the way here… without tools or materials, isn’t it impossible…?」
A young man with a slightly different helmet ornament from the others stepped forward, speaking with a noticeable accent. He seemed to be the highest-ranking among them.
「Ah, I’ve prepared the tools and materials. And first, I’d like to ask about the standard floor plans in this world.」
「Floor plans…?」
「Yeah. I was thinking of making slightly larger barracks for the bigger soldiers, but I haven’t really seen many ordinary ones around here…」
The royal capital only has guard posts with barely enough space for two or three people to nap. Most border forts use tents too.
In other words, I’ve never actually seen a proper barracks for regular soldiers in this world.
「In that case, it’s usually two stories. The first floor has the kitchen and dining area. The second floor has beds lined up.」
「I see… Then shared toilets and kitchens would be fine, right?」
「Yes～ That’s perfectly fine～」
The other soldiers nodded in agreement.
「All right then. Here’s the materials!」
With a heavy thud, I dumped the framing lumber and roofing materials from spatial storage (item box). Everyone’s eyes went wide.
「And here are the tools! Fuu…」
I laid out a huge pile of hammers, saws, nails, crowbars, planes, and chisels, all brand new. The craftsmen’s eyes sparkled.
「Will this be enough? This was pretty much all they had for sale in the royal capital…」
「No no no! This is more than enough! Right, everyone!?」
「「「「「Ooooooh!!」」」」」
They’re practically vibrating with excitement to use brand-new tools. Yeah, I get that feeling.
「Okay, the carpenters are set with this… Are there any among you who’ve made furniture before?」
「That would be us…」
A group of relatively young men, around seventeen or so, raised their hands hesitantly.
「Um… For simple beds to use in the barracks, what do you need?」
「Well… planks, straw for bedding, and cloth…」
「Hmm… We don’t have any straw…」
「In that case… would wood shavings stuffed into cloth bags work?」
「Wood shavings, huh… Would something like this do?」
I used wind magic to shave down a piece of wood. While everyone stared in stunned silence, a huge pile of shavings formed instantly.
I stuffed them into burlap sacks and handed them over.
「Uh… y-yes… that should be fine…」
They looked a little horrified. Did I do something that weird?
「All right. Then can I ask you to make simple bed frames?」
「Yes. By the way, how many do we need…?」
「Hmm… With this many people, you probably can’t make too many at once… How about a rotation where people sleep in beds every three days?」
Back when I was traveling or on expeditions, we mostly slept on the ground anyway. I figure it’s fine if people just use the beds occasionally.
「Yes, but even so, that’s still going to be a lot of beds, right?」
「Well, starting tomorrow we can have the regular soldiers make their own. For today, let’s just focus on the craftsmen team and the higher-ranking soldiers’ beds?」
「True… but even then, that’s quite a number…」
「Yeah. So how about this method?」
I explained the concept of flat-pack, assemble-it-yourself furniture from my world.
「If we just decide on the overall dimensions, then anyone can combine the parts to finish it!」
「Think the regular soldiers could handle it?」
「Yes. As long as they’re not extremely clumsy… So we’ll pre-make everything up to the point of assembly!」
「Got it. I’m counting on you.」
After that, I mass-produced a large stockpile of planks for the woodworking team and returned to the count.
「Ah, Count Daibern.」
「Y-Yes! Holy Knight-sama! Is something the matter?」
He hurried over and immediately knelt before me.
「I’d like to borrow some of your soldiers. Is that okay?」
「Of course! Everyone except the unit currently resting and the hunting party is available!」
「That’s perfect.」
I explained to him that we didn’t have straw for bedding and would instead use burlap sacks stuffed with wood shavings as makeshift mattresses.
「In that case, leave it to us! We will ensure that even Holy Knight-sama enjoys the utmost comfort and the deepest sleep possible!」
「Haha… I’ll leave it in your hands. Also, I’d like you to send some people to help the carpenters and woodworkers. We’re still in the planning stage, but once we start building we’ll need all the hands we can get.」
「Yes, sir! In that case, I will select those with dexterous hands and strong physiques. Since there are many, it may take until past noon, is that acceptable?」
「Yeah, that should be fine. I’ll be doing land clearing and installing the water pipes in the meantime.」
This world doesn’t have plumbing, so it’s a hassle.
「Water… pipes?」
「Yes. I’m going to run underground pipes to distribute the well water throughout the town.」
「Incredible!」
「Anyway, I’ll go make a big batch of wood shavings now. The rest is up to you～」
With that, I stepped away to start producing the shavings.
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