Chapter 38: Ch 38: City Development

"You are right. We need to start looking for more people. Moreover, we should start doing some events that would attract people from outside the known sphere and spread our goddess’s name. Let’s hold a festival."

A festival held in the name of a god or a goddess was quite common. But it was effective for creating hype and inviting more people into the village.

So Aiden wanted to create such an atmosphere for his goddess. Not only would it spread her name, but it would also show off her newly reconstructed temple.

"I see. A festival will be a good way to promote the religion and also get more people interested. Please let me know what I can do to help you and when we can hold one. The sooner we do it, the better it will be."

Lord Rain offered his help, and Aiden nodded.

But unfortunately, he could not hold the festival too soon.

To hold the festival, he wanted the main temple to be repaired and some changes made to the village temple as well.

Moreover, he wanted to renovate the village homes to provide basic plumbing facilities and show off the prosperity of his Goddess Apophis’s followers to the other people.

A festival was a good way to boost his goddess, but it was also a good time to invoke jealousy and curiosity in other people and make them want to settle in the nearby village.

"Let’s do it in a month’s time. There are a few things I need to prepare before that...and I would also need a lot of money and other resources that would take time."

Aiden pointed out as an excuse, and Lord Rain made an understanding sound.

Of course, the resources were an excuse. All Aiden lacked was money. But he had a feeling the coffers would fill up quickly now that he had more people to offer his goddess offerings of food and other stuff.

"I understand. For now, I will make sure to put this portal to good use and hand the offerings over once a day. Please look forward to it."

...

The portal made travelling so much easier, and Aiden was back at the main temple before he knew it.

The main temple also looked far different from when he had last seen it.

Instead of the shabby and worn-down place, the temple looked brand new, with heating and cooling tiles, sanitation, plumbing, and even electricity ports all over. It looked even better than the highest-star hotel Aiden had seen in his world before.

Of course, it was all thanks to the system and the dwarfs that were working so hard for his sake.

Aiden put his goddess back to bed as she looked tired before he decided to look for the dwarfs.

They were working on the temple and looked happy to see him.

"How is the work going? Do you have any idea when you will be finished?"

Aiden asked the hard-working dwarfs, and they looked at him with happy expressions as they pointed things out.

"We will be finished within this week. We are just finishing the main stuff, and then we will add some extra stuff that we read about in the document you gave us. I have to admit that this new technology is fascinating and amusing at the same time."

The dwarfs looked happy to be working, which was nice. Aiden had a feeling that his next conversation with them would go even better because of this.

"Actually, I have a proposal to make. Is it possible for you to continue working for me even after this task is over? There are a few more places I want you to reconstruct. Of course, I will pay for it."

Aiden quickly talked about the compensation, which was the main problem during such tasks. And then he waited for the dwarfs to decide if they wanted to take his offer or not.

He noticed how they all looked at each other before they looked at him and nodded.

"Actually, that was what we wanted to talk to you about as well. May we sit down and have a talk?"

The dwarfs asked, and Aiden nodded and showed them their seats. He handed them all some tea so that the conversation would go better, and the dwarf leader spoke up first.

"Actually, we are fascinated by your technology, and there is so much more we need to learn from it. As such, we would like to settle in your village for now. Of course, we won’t ask for money in return. We just want a place we can call our home again."

The dwarfs told Aiden, which surprised him. He had not expected the dwarfs to agree to come, much less suggest this themselves.

But their faces told him that there was a story behind them.

He did not want to overstep his authority and ask, but the dwarf leader decided to tell it anyway.

"The news has not travelled far yet, but our nation and our god fell due to a sudden and cowardly attack by another god. We dwarfs value honor and are unwilling to serve the new god, so he is about to banish all of us, and that is why we were desperate to take any task that would take us in. We were hoping for this village and Goddess Apophis to take us in."

It felt like a stroke of good luck for Aiden, but he did not want to smile and show them how happy he was to hear these words.

So he controlled his expression and turned it into a concerned one.

"I see. That’s a tragedy, and I feel sorry for you. As for our village, of course you are welcome to stay here. Please think of it as your home as well, and if you need anything, please don’t hesitate to ask."

Aiden told them, and the dwarfs looked elated at this offer.

"Then, we won’t feel unwelcome and will settle soon...also, it would be nice if you have any technology about village development. We are interested in all kinds of study and improvement. We might as well work on our village while we are here."

The dwarf leader pointed out, and Aiden looked at the system window to search for it in the shop.

[Blueprints for city development are available in the shop. Would you like to view them?]

Of course, the system had them in stock.