After Brock and Sylphy both finished their meal, the two were left bickering at the table. “Sylphy, you know we can’t just stay here like that. Like Prim said earlier, there’s no way to make money here. And, without money, you won’t be able to eat these meals.”

  Sylphy recoiled back in shock, reaching for her coinpurse. “I-I have enough to last me for a couple of weeks, at least…”

  Brock, meanwhile, simply sighed. “There’s a more important matter that we need to worry about, too.”

  Hearing this, Sylphy lowered her head, her hands falling into her lap. Brock continued. “Those goblins just now were only an advanced scout. A goblin nest wouldn’t just be limited to a dozen monsters. Once they find out that the advanced scout has been taken out, they’ll gather for a proper assault.”

  “Of course I know that!” Sylphy shouted, keeping her head lowered. “If we just leave like that, who is going to protect Prim and this Land? She can’t leave, but if we’re here, then we can at least do something…”

  Brock’s expression softened. “In that case, we’d better run like our lives depended on it, shouldn’t we?” he asked, catching Sylphy’s attention. “Before the nest of goblins sends their full assault, we’ve got to run to Leonin and report the attack. If we want to make it in time for help to arrive, we’ll need to run like the devil itself is at our heels.”

  Sylphy’s eyes widened, and she clenched her fists, standing up. Without another word, she began unstrapping the metal plates of her armor, letting it clatter to the floor. Understanding what she was doing, Brock similarly shed his own armored plates, propping his shield up against the nearby wall. “Miss Prim, can we trouble you to watch over our things for a few days? As long as we’re not punished for taking the road when it was closed, we’ll be back soon to claim them.”

  Prim watched with wide eyes, looking at the two as they stripped down to nothing but linens and leather. “What are you doing?”

  “Our gear will just weigh us down,” Sylphy said in a firm tone. “If we run with all our might, we might be able to make it to Leonin before nightfall. I’m sorry that we have to leave like this, but please wait for us!”

  Prim blinked at that, before her smile became warm once again. “Of course, travelers. This place will always welcome the two of you.”

  Without another word, the two left, filling their waterskins at the well before starting to run to the south. Prim watched them, waiting until they had disappeared beyond the hills before closing her eyes. “It seems that they are good children, my lord.”

  Yeah, they were definitely good kids. I agreed readily. Honestly, I had been surprised when I saw the menu of the tavern, seeing options that I recognized from Earth. That led me to wonder what other types of items might appear later on as I unlocked more facilities. Surely there wouldn’t be something like firearms or electronics, right?

  Either way, the appearance of the tavern was another step towards a full, proper village. The first floor held a small bar and restaurant. If someone approached the counter, they would receive options for numerous alcoholic beverages, while anyone who took a seat at a table would be treated to a dinner menu.

  Meanwhile, the second and third floors held the other crucial component for any tavern, lodging. Each floor had ten rooms, though I wasn’t sure what the cost of these rooms were, as the duo left before that could be discovered. When Prim tried going to the room, she found that it opened without any sort of payment, likely because she was someone already bound to the Land--or well, to me.

  As for the news of the incoming goblin attack, there was nothing that I could really do. My only points at the minute were nine monster points, and the only thing that I could do with that would be to build nine more trees. My only option was to wait for the promised help to arrive.

  Similarly, Prim herself didn’t have any options as well. Item attunement slots cost points during entity creation, and I didn’t have any points to spare. So naturally, Prim can’t use the special properties of any of the gear that Sylphy and Brock had left behind.

  If I knew that there was going to be another wave coming soon, I… no, I probably still would have gotten the tavern. Even if I created another entity, twenty points wouldn’t have been enough to make an expert warrior or anything like that. And without the tavern, who knew if their resolve to get help would be so high…

  After thinking about that, I shook my nonexistent head. Prim, take their equipment to the second house. If they come back with help, that house will be reserved for the two of them from now on.

  Back in the tavern, Prim bowed her head, moving to gather the equipment and carry it bit by bit. “Of course, my lord. With their attitude, I’d say that they’ve more than earned a home here.”

  Well, buying houses was easy. They were only one point apiece for a small family home, so I wasn’t worried about running out of homes for people to live in. What I was more worried about was running out of space to place those houses, as I had not yet received any kind of options to expand my territory. Was there a population requirement, or had I just not earned enough points?

  Unfortunately, the system wasn’t very kind when it came to letting me know what my future options would be. I only learned of the option when it was unlocked and I had all of the points necessary to purchase it.

  The sun was starting to dip low on the horizon, and the gates of Leonin opened to reveal a small caravan getting ready to depart. Although it was a bit late for anyone to be leaving the city, that didn’t appear to be a concern for them. Lanterns were lit to the left and right of each wagon that left the city, driving out at a leisurely pace.

  The tale has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation.

  Soon after leaving, the driver of the front wagon narrowed his eyes, adjusting his glasses to activate their night vision feature. Up ahead, he could see two unarmed and unarmored people running at a dead sprint. Closer inspection revealed that their steps were uneven, their bodies swaying with every step. Their eyes seemed clouded with exhaustion.

  When the duo arrived at the carriage, they were barely breathing, leaning on one of the horses. “What’s the matter here?” the man asked, knowing that the road had been closed until just now. For them to come from the north, they would have had to have left during the prohibition.

  “New village… danger… goblin nest…” the woman of the duo managed to breathe out, before her legs gave way and she collapsed onto the road.

  The man’s eyes narrowed, looking at the still-standing man. “And you?”

  The man was gasping for breath, clutching his chest and barely remaining on his feet. “Goblins attacked a new settlement down the road… we fought them off, but the nest… likely attack soon. We ran to get help… there should still be time…”

  “I see,” the wage driver nodded his head in acceptance, snapping his fingers. “Load the two of them onto the rear wagon. It seems that we must make haste for our destination.”

  “Yes, sir!” a group of guards all called out, rushing off of the wagons to help the duo board. The front driver took a deep breath, holding the reins of the horse as his magic surged. Dozens of green arcane circles appeared, floating through the sky before condensing into one large ring in front of his horses.

  “Hyah!” he called out, ushering the horse forward. It ran ahead, straight through the ring of magic, at which point its body became lighter and stronger. Similarly, the horses pulling the other wagons behind all benefited from the same enhancement as soon as they passed through the ring.

  Night passed without any signs of Sylphy or Brock returning. While I knew that it would likely take time for the reinforcements to arrive, I couldn’t help but grow anxious. There was no telling when the goblins would come to level the village.

  I doubted that they would have anything capable of killing me, but I still didn’t want to see them kill Prim, or destroy any of the other buildings that I had created. If I had some kind of direct defensive ability, that would be great. Unfortunately, my power seemed to come purely from whoever was living on my land.

  As dawn broke, Prim’s ears suddenly stood up. She climbed out of bed and left her home after getting dressed, walking out towards the road. At first, I was worried that she had heard the sounds of goblins, but she was facing towards the south. After a moment’s hesitation, I looked through her eyes, spotting a line of horse-drawn wagons running down the road, kicking up dust wherever they passed.

  Soon, the caravan entered my territory, quickly slowing down as they arrived in front of Prim. I could tell that the horses were exhausted after a hard run, but Prim stood her ground, looking at the man leading the first wagon.

  “Is this the unnamed Land?” the man asked, wiping the sweat from his brow. He was a blue-haired elf with green eyes, and he smiled down at Prim. “And you must be Prim, if the reports are to be believed?”

  “I am,” Prim confirmed. “I assume, if you know me, you must have been sent by the guild?”

  “Of course. My name is Wesley, a B-ranked adventurer from Leonin. I’ve been tasked with the mission of serving as the settlement’s guardian while you develop.” As he spoke, he dismounted from his wagon, leading the horse off towards the side of the road. “Pardon, but do you mind if we treat our steeds to some of your appas? They would appreciate that better than any standard feed, I believe.”

  Prim didn’t hesitate, gesturing for the man to help himself. “I assume that your role here is to serve as more than just a guardian, no? You will no doubt be reporting back to the guild to let them know of our progress, and any potentially hazardous developments.”

  Rather than being offended, Wesley smiled brightly. “It’s always so nice to speak to someone with a working brain. Yes, that’s right. The guild has determined that this Land likely has good intentions, and so they want to cultivate a beneficial relationship. However, its powers also have the ability to be used for evil, so I am to make sure that it doesn’t go down that path, and nobody comes along to attune to it to push it down that path.”

  Prim’s eyes widened, briefly glancing back to the east before looking at Wesley. “Would someone truly be able to take control of the Land in such a manner?”

  “It’s a possibility,” Wesley confirmed. “I was made aware that you’re lacking in common knowledge here, so I won’t hold that against you. Rather, the fact that you are an artificially created being is rather interesting. But yes, there are many awakened items that, when attuned, have the control of their growth stripped away from them by their new wielder. If an individual comes along and attempts to control the Land in such a way, it is my job to eliminate them and any future threats by attuning to the Land myself.”

  Prim’s body tensed, but Wesley held up his hands. “Easy, easy, that’s only a last resort. A plot of land like this won’t just take one or two attunement slots. Most people, even if they had nothing else to their name, wouldn’t be able to attune with an object this large, I assume. That’s why I’m here, since I had an unusually high amount of natural attunement slots.”

  As they spoke, Wesley unhooked his horse, as did the others, leading them towards the fruit-bearing trees. Along the way, he caught sight of the tavern, his eyes widening. “My, that building wasn’t in the report. Might that be the tavern? The investigation team said that the option to create it had been mentioned, but that points were insufficient.”

  Prim let out a sigh, nodding her head in confirmation. “Thanks to a pair of brave travelers, the points were gathered in defense of the Land.”

  “That must be the duo that we picked up along the way,” Wesley mused aloud. “By the way, would it be alright if we get our own houses? According to the report, killing monsters on the Land will provide points that can be spent on houses, so we brought a few captured monsters to offer as tribute.”

  Prim closed her eyes, one hand coming up to massage the bridge of her nose. “How many houses do you need?”

  “I’d say ten houses should do?” Wesley said, looking back at the precession of wagons. “Most of the people that I brought are regular civilians, each with their own trade. A few of them are in families, though, so they can share.”

  Prim blinked at this knowledge, seeing just how much the guild was actually investing in this settlement. “What sort of repayment is the guild looking to receive from the Land in the future?” she asked suspiciously, causing Wesley to laugh again.

  “Nothing that they said. If I were to put myself in their shoes, they probably want you to owe them a favor. That way, if the Land grows to the point where it can offer any special products or services, the guild will have priority.” After saying that, he leaned in closer. “Also, between you and me, the guild probably thinks that it is more trouble than it is worth to look for a disposal method for your Land, so they want to make sure that it has as little reason to turn hostile as possible. While not unheard of, soul-killing artifacts are incredibly rare, and often single-use treasures. Compared to how much it would cost to acquire such an artifact, this investment is basically nothing.”