48. Rework

Nicely done!

buildings were built in Ashvilam, which used to be an empty field. The Goblins, who were busy, cut down trees and pulled out stones stuck in the ground to prepare the site.

When the installation of the building was completed, their luggage was moved, and the interior was cleaned.

They thought it would be over soon, but it took longer than expected since many things needed to be considered, such as whether it would be appropriate to put a warehouse there or not since it might block the way, and other various concerns.

Still, all the construction was completed before evening came. Ashvilam was no longer a field full of tents. There was only a residential village lined with neat-looking buildings.

‘Is this okay?’

The dwelling place illuminated by the solar-powered lamps was quite outstanding from a modern person’s aesthetic perspective.

It certainly lacked sophistication compared to a global city with a thick forest of buildings. However, there was that unique soft and gentle atmosphere that could only be felt there.

‘I used 541,900 crystals in total.’

The small notebook in his hand was full of numbers. Every time a building was built, Ko Byeong-gap recorded the price.

A total of 52 buildings were built that consumed just over half a million crystals.

‘It was similar to the money used for Doran. If you think about it that way, it’s cheap.’

Ko Byeong-gap shoved his notebook into his pocket and circled the residence.

The restaurant building faced the forest, and it was currently the largest building in Ashvilam.

There was a warehouse for their supplies and a house for Doran and Ea to the south of the restaurant. The 24 accommodations exclusively reserved for the Goblins were at the west.

‘I hope the kids like it.’

The Goblin dormitory was thought of the most by Ko Byeong-gap. Each building could comfortably accommodate 18 to 20 Goblins. Of course, for big guys like the Giant Goblins, ten people would be the limit.

In any case, 50 or 60 people no longer had to join each other in a small tent.

‘Tomorrow, I’ll have to buy beddings.’

Of course, the buildings purchased from the ancient shop were just buildings with no furniture.

Bedding and furniture had to be provided at will. It would cost a lot of money to buy bedding for 326 people, but he decided not to worry about it since he had already planned the money he decided to spend.

Anyway, on the east side of the restaurant, buildings for various purposes were built.

To the north of the residential village was the workshop for Ko Byeong-gap. He moved the combustion units there to make it easier for him to craft things. Next to it was a small house only for him.

“My dream of buying a house came true in Ashvilam. Oh, come on.” Ko Byeong-gap burst into laughter. Outside, he had to pay rent monthly, but in Ashvilam, he had a house and even a private workshop. Ko Byeong-gap hummed.

“Wait… It’s not just about owning a house, is it? In fact, isn’t all the land here mine? Forget being rich. I’m almost like this land’s emperor, and that’s a good feeling.”

After what he said, he left the residential area for a bit. A tall clock tower stood in the open field, which was set up to make him feel better. Well, that didn’t mean it was only a decoration.

‘We can use it as a gathering place, tell the time, and if I want to, I can go up and smoke there.’

Behind the clock tower was a large field. As he walked a little to the south, he saw the fence that locked up the chickens.

The chickens were doing well and healthy. Next to the chicken coop, there was a warehouse that stocked up the supplies needed for livestock.

Wasn’t it a pretty decent estate? It was nice to look at.

“Wow!”

“Really. Ashvilam is… It’s a legend!!”

“My heart. It’s wonderful…”

The Goblins, who returned from mining, were amazed to see the new campsite. They scanned the area with their mouths wide open like a tenant who had just moved in.

“Dorma, how do you like it? Pretty good, huh?”

“Lord…” Dorma looked like he was almost about to cry.

“It’s like I’m dreaming. The previous Ashvilam was very cool, but I think I’ll have to write a poem to express the beauty of today.”

“Come on. You’re overreacting again.”

“Lord is amazing. I think you’re doing a miracle.”

“Hey, it was possible because the kids worked hard. Would I dare try this if I were alone? Ea also helped me a lot.”

“Huhuhuh. I see, but I don’t know if we deserve this much.”

“What are you talking about? I bought all of these with the crystals you dug up.”

Ko Byeong-gap went on with a cigarette in his mouth. “Actually, we still have a long way to go. There are a lot of things that need to be fixed for the kids to continue their lives without me.”

Dorma was surprised to hear that. He asked with a flushed face, “Lo… When the Lord is gone? Are you saying you’re leaving somewhere?”

“No, that’s not what I’m saying… We might have to get out of the fog one day. At that time, I may not care about this place. You want to prepare in advance.”

“Ah, that’s what you mean.”

“By the way, when we leave the rocky mountain, I will take you with me, Dorma.”

Dorma was too advanced to only be stationed as a mountain worker. He nodded with a delighted look and said, “Of course. I will always take care of the Lord.”

“Okay, let’s go eat—”

“Goblins! Please eat!”

“You idiots, eat!”

Just then, Ea and Doran whipped them over their heads and shouted.

“Let’s eat.”

“Are you going with me?”

“Okay, let’s go.”

Ko Byeong-gap and Dorma headed to the restaurant. The Goblins were eating food on clean tableware and sat on the bare floor.

Ko Byeong-gap let out a small sigh.

‘Oh, I’ll start with tables. There’s no point in setting up a restaurant building like this.’

He decided to bring tables in tomorrow.

***

The next day.

Ko Byeong-gap drove down the road in a one-ton truck in the morning. He headed for a waste factory site located in Yangpyeong-gun. It was the last place he went to in a subjugation. There were no humans there, only empty factory buildings.

There was only one reason why he went to such a place on purpose. It was to receive the products he had ordered. He had to get there before the delivery man, so he speeded up.

By noon, he reached his destination. Looking at the abandoned factory, it seemed that no one had come yet.

Ko Byeong-gap smoked a cigarette in his spare time.

“The landowner would be frightened to know.”

The work needed to bring things into Ashvilam… As long as he didn’t have a lot of stuff with him, there was no problem. However, there was a problem if he wanted to carry many bulky items such as mattresses and furniture.

“There’s nowhere to put it.”

He didn’t even have a personal warehouse, but he couldn’t send things to Ashvilam in front of everyone else. So he decided to rent that land for a while. Of course, without the owner knowing.

How long had it been? The items he ordered arrived one after another. The delivery people were confused, with expressions saying, ‘Isn’t this an abandoned factory? Did I come to the wrong place?’.

Ko Byeong-gap quickly led them.

“Here, I think. Please leave it here.”

“Ah… Yes, yes.”

The items piled up inside the abandoned factory. 350 sets of bedding, a multi-seater dining table used in schools and the military, and other various daily necessities.

He spent more than 10 million won on that day alone.

‘I’m ready, but I’m really going to bend my back. I’ll have to make a lot of things.’

Ko Byeong-gap smacked his bitter appetite while he looked at the long table. His alchemy achievement rate should’ve gone up so that he could make it himself.

“Oh!”

“Huh.”

The delivery workers were sweating profusely to carry the goods. Ko Byeong-gap also joined in and helped with the work. While many others stuck together to move one thing, Ko Byeong-gap moved several by himself.

People’s eyes widened at the bizarre sight.

Time passed, and all the items were finally brought into the abandoned factory. Ko Byeong-gap carefully checked the items in case anything was missing. It wasn’t long before he was satisfied.

“No problem.”

“Yes. Please sign here… Yes! Thank you.”

“Take care.” He sent all the delivery workers away.

“Whew, I guess we’re moving this again? I have to be diligent.”

His work wasn’t over. He transported all the things he had piled up like a mountain to Ashvilam, and the work was done quickly.

Ko Byeong-gap stopped by Ashvilam to arrange the items he had brought in and then returned to Seoul. After returning the truck to the rental company, while on his way home, a clothing store suddenly caught his eye.

‘Should I buy some clothes for Ea and Doran?’

Doran and Ea were the only women in Ashvilam. The Goblins were wild enough that it seemed like they could live well naked, but Ea and Doran were a bit different.

Shouldn’t he at least buy them underwear? It occurred to Ko Byeong-gap.

‘Besides underwear, do they need sanitary pads or something? So far, they haven’t had any problems.’

Needless to say, Ko Byeong-gap didn’t know much about the women, but he knew at least that they had something ‘magical’ a few days in a month.

‘Are Goblins and Spirits the same as humans? It bothers me for no reason. There’s no one to ask.’

It was embarrassing to ask, but he didn’t think it was right to pretend when he didn’t know what to do.

He stood on the side of the road like a fool and agonized for a few minutes. After a while, he finally made a decision. He entered the women’s clothing store with embarrassment on his knees.

The first floor was an underwear store. He sweated a lot since he had no place to put his eyes until the employees joined him.

“Oh, you want a present?”

“For your girlfriend? Or your mother?”

“Uh…”

“What’s the age range of the person you’re going to give it as a gift? Do you know their size? What kind of preference do you like? This line is a bit flashy, and that side is a plain style.”

“…”

“I’ll show you around slowly. Whoo-hoo!”

Ko Byeong-gap was dragged around by the staff and was forced to learn about women’s underwear.

‘A cup? B cup? They both don’t look that big… Can I just buy A cup? What is 85A, and what is 75A? I’m going crazy.’

He put about 15 sets of women’s underwear in the basket. He was worried that the employees might see him as a crazy pervert.

After he bought underwear, he also bought casual clothes. He headed to the checkout counter like he was running away.

“The total is 1,139,000 won.”

“What?! How much?”

Ko Byeong-gap freaked out. He couldn’t believe it was over a million won for a few pieces of underwear and clothes. It was crazy.

In the end, he paid 1.13 million won. On his way back, he stopped by the mart and bought two boxes of sanitary pads.

‘I need to think about increasing the number of women in Ashvilam.’

Ko Byeong-gap decided to seriously consider the matter. Two was too much, and if he increased it further, he might not be able to handle it.

Ko Byeong-gap came home exhausted. He visited Ashvilam with a load of embarrassing things. He quickly went to Ea and threw it away.

“You can share it with Doran on your own. I’ve bought enough, so you’ll have more than enough.”

“What? What is this? These are clothes! Are you really giving it to us?”

“Yes. That’s right.”

“Huh? What are you two doing?”

“Doran, look at this! Your Lord brought us some clothes!”

“Really? Wow. It looks similar to what Lord is wearing.”

The two of them rummaged through the clothes with a big smile. Meanwhile, Doran picked up a piece of underwear and spread it around her eyes.

“By the way, what’s this? Is this also an outfit? Even if we wear this, we’ll be able to see all our bare skin.”

“Doran. That’s called underwear.”

“What’s that?”

“An underwear is… Like wearing it under your jacket. Hmm? Doran. Where’s the Lord?”

“Huh? What? He was just here. Where did he go?”

“I guess he’s gone. I didn’t even know he was gone. He could’ve at least said something.”

Ko Byeong-gap, who never stepped down even before dozens of monsters, had suddenly left.

He had to taste the bitterness of retreat after a long time.