I Build a Modern Shelter in Fantasy World

Gideon went to clean himself, while Lena and Luke escorted Queen Anastasya and Princess Hannah to the front of the Baron's residence.

They had just witnessed the execution of many soldiers because of Hannah's mistake, and that was enough to leave Hannah in shock.

She kept her head lowered while sitting on her horse, feeling guilty over the deaths of her 17 soldiers.

Lena noticed Hannah's behavior, worried that it might leave a traumatic impact on her psychology. Before leaving, Lena handed over a tranquilizer pill to Queen Anastasya.

"Give this to Princess Hannah if she looks anxious or anything like that," Lena requested.

"Thank you, Lady Lena, Sir Luke."

"Please send my farewell and my apology to Lord Gideon," Queen Anastasya said softly.

"Of course. We'll let him be alone for a while to calm his mind. He'll get better soon."

After saying their goodbyes, Queen Anastasya's carriage left Rockvalley Village heading toward Mischo City.

It was much better for her to be in that city rather than staying at Baron Gideon's residence, especially after the tense events from just an hour ago.

They left through the northern route to reach Mischo City faster, while Lena and Luke stepped back inside to check on Gideon.

Surprisingly, he had not cleaned himself. He was sitting on the lounge chair, sipping wine from his glass.

One bottle was already empty, replaced with another of the same kind.

When the door opened, Gideon glanced over and smiled, asking them to join him in drinking wine. Lena and Luke exchanged looks, then cleared their throats. Neither of them wanted to bring up the earlier incident.

"I met Kuro earlier," Gideon explained.

"Kuro? Who's that?" asked Lena.

"The tailor in the village. I went to ask him to sew a flag."

"Whoa! We're going to have our own flag?" Luke asked. Gideon turned and nodded.

"That's right."

There would be many uses for that flag, such as showing identity, strengthening the profile of the villagers and soldiers, and also serving as a tool for negotiation if anything happened between Gideon and the mythic races. A flag was necessary for him.

"What will the flag look like?" Lena asked.

Gideon set down his wine glass, then described the colors and symbols that would be on the flag. Lena and Luke listened, and they both liked the image he gave them.

"Not putting any weapon symbols is the right choice. People will think we're a non-aggression group," Luke said.

"I doubt they'll notice details like that," Gideon replied.

"The important thing is that we have a flag, our own identity. Our soldiers will be even more motivated to fight if they have a flag to protect," Lena explained.

"I agree," Luke added.

"You'll see it later. Kuro is working on it right now."

Lena and Luke nodded. Lena took a deep breath and slowly let it out. Before Gideon could drink more wine, her slender hand held his.

"Are you alright?" Lena asked.

Gideon fell silent for a moment, his eyes still fixed on his glass of wine. Slowly, he drew a deep breath as he set the glass and bottle aside, leaning his body back against the lounge sofa.

The earlier incident had shaken him, especially since he almost died because of Hannah's lie. It made him angry, because in his eyes Hannah had treated human life too lightly by lying.

The public execution was not just because Gideon was angry or upset, but because he wanted to prove that cheap deaths would leave a different kind of psychological effect. Hannah felt extremely guilty, even kneeling to beg for forgiveness.

Her soldiers would see her in a different light. They might realize that Hannah was only a coward and a liar, whose reckless actions had caused 17 soldiers to die in vain.

"I'm fine. I just need to relax," Gideon whispered with a faint smile.

Lena kept staring into Gideon's eyes, noticing something different in his gaze this time. But she still could not be sure of what he was thinking.

She also could not force him to talk if he was unwilling. All Lena could do was wait until that moment came.

"Alright. I'm glad you're okay."

Gideon nodded. He finished his drink and stood up, saying he would return to his room, clean himself, and get some rest. He also told Lena and Luke to finish the remaining wine in the bottle.

Lena and Luke agreed, sitting back down to enjoy the wine. Luke was still curious about the change in Gideon's behavior, especially since Lyra's death at the hands of the Wolf Race.

"The burden is heavy on Gideon because Lyra didn't die on Earth. He's not just acting as our captain now, but also as our eldest brother," Lena explained.

"Of course, an older brother would never let his younger siblings get hurt or die, right?" Lena asked.

Luke agreed. Slowly, he had begun to accept the fact that Lyra had died. But Gideon had not. The shadow of Lyra's death still lingered vividly in his mind, reminding him that he had to work even harder to protect his team members.

The burden he carried was truly overwhelming. Lena and Luke could not help him.

***

Three days later.

Rockvalley Village.

Gideon, Luke, and Lena were ready that morning. Winter was over, the river had thawed, and the trees had grown thick with leaves. It was time for Gideon and his team to go to Dergon to deal with the problems there.

The carriage arrived, with Lucas coming along with several of his soldiers. Luke and Lena had never been to Dergon, so they did not know the village's condition for sure. But Gideon briefly explained the situation to them, giving Luke an idea of what to expect.

Without much thought, they left the village using the southern route, the fastest way to Dergon.

Lucas brought around ten soldiers with him to guard Gideon, even though he knew Gideon and his team were already a tactical military unit.

They could protect themselves with or without Lucas. He was only coming along to fulfill his duty.

"The last food supplies sent were two weeks ago. I don't know what the condition is now," Gideon explained.

"In times of hunger, they might ration their meals. But that's not a wise action," Lena said.

"True. Especially for the workers who do heavy labor, rationing food will only make their productivity decline," Luke replied.

"So, what's our plan?" Luke asked, looking at Gideon who sat across from them.

"First, the river. Check its condition. See if it's possible to purify the water like we did with the river in Lamia Village."

"Second, the soil condition. Check the soil's pH. Pollution from the river might make the pH unstable, which could lead to poor harvests or even poisonous crops."

"Third, the wells. For now, irrigation of the fields will rely entirely on well water. That's ideal while we wait for the purified water to show results."

"Fourth, the people's health. They've been living in a polluted environment. Do a thorough health check, diagnose their illnesses, and make an overall conclusion."

"Fifth and last, make sure Hector's textile factory keeps its agreement, which is to build a waste storage pool and stop dumping waste carelessly."

There was quite a lot of work to be done. Luke and Lena realized that the three of them would not be enough.

They needed many more people to work together to restore the village's condition for the better.

"We'll need a lot of workers," Luke said.

Gideon nodded. Luke would definitely say that, since much of the work involved construction and repairs. Gideon would focus on the condition of the village and its people.

"If the people in Dergon are willing to cooperate, then we'll rely on them."

"And if not?" Lena asked.

"Then we'll bring the volunteer soldiers who are still training over to Dergon. Think of it as community service."

"As for the captured bandits, I'll pardon them if they cooperate in repairing their village."

Lena and Luke nodded. They left that matter completely to Gideon. The two of them would only step in if they truly needed more people for this mission.

"Alright, Capt!"

"This is Operation Green Village. Do it carefully and thoroughly. Hungry people are quick-tempered."

"Understood, Capt."

Both of them left the place to carry out their own duties.

Lena went to the villagers' homes to check on their condition, starting from their symptoms and diagnosis, then preparing medicine or herbal remedies to cure the villagers' illnesses.

Luke went to observe the area, from the river to the farmland. He checked the soil's pH condition and felt its moisture level with his fingers. It was too dry and dusty.

Gideon was different. He walked toward Hector's textile factory with the purpose of meeting the owner. Gideon needed to make sure whether Hector was keeping his agreement properly or not.

"Wait!"

"Who are you?" asked the factory gate guard, stopping Gideon.

"I'm Gideon. I want to see Hector!"