Nine Sun God King Chapter 548

Castle Town Planning

I have defeated Demon King Sabnac and taken his lands.

His castle was destroyed, as I only wanted his people, but there was one problem.

The sudden increase in population meant that there was not enough s.p.a.ce in the castle town.

There were currently tents pitched in the town square, similar to a refugee camp, but this could not continue for long.

They needed to be put in houses and put to work.

This could be done by expanding the town.

But that would require a lot of materials.

Eve interjected here.

"Do you not think it would be better to use our materials for the strengthening of the castle and army?"

"That would be the proper thing to do, yes. But I want to focus on the town first."

"…Certainly."

"You don't seem to agree at all."

"Preposterous."

"It's written all over that pretty face. You want me to use the materials for the army."

Eve's eyebrows narrowed, then she said honestly:

"Your army is much smaller after that fight. Its expansion should take priority."

"I understand that, but I believe the welfare of these people is more important. The people must be strong for a country to be strong. And only then can I maintain a strong army."

"While that is not wrong…"

"It will be easier to hire mercenaries with more immigrants as well. Monsters are the central core of the army, but I want to add mercenaries to that core as well."

"You mean to hire human soldiers?!"

"I do, yes."

"Humans are treacherous."

"Oh? I have heard that the other Demon Kings hire human soldiers as well."

"But that is part of a strategy. They are stationed near the front with a command group behind them, ready to kill them if they show signs of treachery. Your army is not strong enough to do the same."

"Well then, we will have to gain the trust of the mercenaries then. I think creating a comfortable city to live in would be an efficient way of doing that."

"I suppose it might…"

Eve was still far from convinced, and so I felt like I had to show her the real thing.

The sight of demons, monsters, humans, and demi-humans coexisting and being productive.

And so I used the remaining materials to make stones and trees.

Anything else we needed was bought from merchants with the gold and silver in the treasury.

We began building as soon as we had the materials, but here too, I decided to do things differently.

Most castle towns here had winding roads.

These twisting roads and alleys were clearly not very efficient.

They were much like a maze, and they were built like this for a reason.

It was so they could buy time during an invasion, and make it easier to stop enemies from reaching the castle.

It wasn't just here, but a method I've seen used in other worlds too.

Many castle towns in j.a.pan also had narrow roads that were hard to navigate.

The castle lords may have needed such defenses, but I had a different perspective.

The economic development of the town was far more important.

And so the new central town would be planned as a grid, making transport and distribution easier.

When I told Eve of these plans, she was again hesitant, but ultimately agreed with my view.

No, she even praised it.

"It is quite unusual for a Demon King to aggressively pursue economic gains instead of running towards defenses and protection. However, I admire your lack of conformity."

And so she understood my aim and obeyed my orders.

The building of the new town was done mainly under her supervision.

I had quite the able commander named Hijikata Toshizou as well, however, he was close to useless when it came to anything other than war.

He could usually be seen reading a book in the officer's hall in the castle, or be wandering the seedy districts and drinking during midday.

Indeed, he was mad for war but could not be counted on to do anything productive.

However, he did have many things to say regarding a corner of the new town which would be the new red-light district.

In his mind, bedding prost.i.tutes was not all there was to it. One wanted to drink with fine ladies, enjoy conversation and sleep together until the morning.

His request was that I build an eastern style brothel.

I knew that he was no saint from the beginning, and could see the value in such an establishment, and so I agreed.

Eve scowled, but I explained:

"There is no respectable country in history that hasn't had these. I think of the worst times of a ravaged Soviet Union or the cultural revolution in China. Well, I am sure you do not understand what I am saying."

"I do not know those countries, but I catch your meaning. Perhaps I was only annoyed to see you planning so joyfully with Hijikata."

Eve said with a little iciness.

"I understand that it was planned from before, but I forbid you from visiting it yourself. If you ever feel like it, call for me."

Interesting. But I didn't take the conversation any further and left with Toshizou.

We were finished talking about this red-light district, but now we needed to discuss the new training house for the soldiers.

I wanted his advice on how to do this the most efficiently.

Well, perhaps that was half of it, and I also wanted to get away from a woman who was clearly in a dark mood.

I have lived for several decades, including my past life, but always found women difficult to deal with.

They could seem to be in high spirits one moment and quite the opposite in the blink of an eye.

I said as much to Toshizou, and he raised a bottle of sake in one hand and agreed.

"It is a mystery to me. It is much easier to pursue the way of the sword."

"Yes. It would be much easier to study the truth of magic."

We looked at each other and chuckled.

Eve did not take long to regain her normal att.i.tude, and she poured a delicious cup of tea for me upon my return to the office.

There was also some tart blueberry jam and scones.

If handling the role of intermediary in the building of a town while also baking pastries didn't make her the perfect maid, I didn't know what would.

"I am a tactician and an officer, but first and foremost, your maid."

She declared.

Her actions and words were definitely worthy of the five stars her 'Legend Rare' status gave her.

Having such a brilliant demon like her as my first subordinate was perhaps the best thing to have happened to me.

That is what I thought.

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