Harem-Powered Kingdom Building: Empire of Carnal Sin-Chapter 62: Something More Fun

In a normal Realm, people’s professions were often closely related to their classes.

But right now in Hiro’s Realm, that wasn’t how things were going to be.

It doesn’t matter what Class people have. As long as it is a non-combat class, the vast majority of them should be contributing to one construction project or another. I’ll have a talk with Fiona later so that the contribution rewards can be adjusted accordingly.

Building up the Realm’s infrastructure was the need of the hour, after all. Thanks to the Contribution System, it would be possible for Hiro to easily manipulate the jobs that his citizens performed, without micromanaging them individually.

While the construction team was still present in the tent, Hiro brought up another pressing issue. "We need to address our water situation. Right now, we have people carrying water from the river and storing it in the container at the center of the settlement. Does anyone have better ideas?"

Bob cleared his throat hesitantly. "What about... canals or aqueducts?" His voice lacked confidence, clearly uncertain about his suggestion.

Targon immediately shook his head. "That kind of infrastructure would take far too long to build. We need better short-term solutions."

The group fell into contemplative silence. Various ideas were thrown around, including the radical notion of moving the entire settlement closer to the river. However, the uneven terrain near the riverbank made this impractical.

Finally, Hiro had Tara pose a question that had been on his mind for a while. "Why can’t we just dig a well?"

Considering how much it rained here, surely there should be ample groundwater to tap into?

It looked like Tara was also not clear on the answer, so she decided to take the fall for her Lord’s ignorance, and asked the question out loud.

Targon was the one to provide an explanation. "The earth here is heavily corrupted. Until that corruption is removed, it’s likely that even the groundwater has been tainted. All kinds of creepy and ominous diseases could come from contaminated well water. Digging wells isn’t an option until the nearby dungeons are cleared and the Earth heals."

He continued. "The only reason the river water is safe is because it’s constantly flowing, coming fresh from the snow-capped mountain."

Hiro nodded thoughtfully, now understanding the reason.

After a bit of thinking, he proposed, "Then let’s use rainwater collection in conjunction with our current water-carrying system."

Hiro’s idea was simple, but efficient – Instead of letting the water from the rain seep into the ground, why not just store it themselves? Yes, a little bit of effort would need to be spent on building a proper catchment area, but it would be much easier than building a canal all the way from the river to the settlement.

The suggestion was met with immediate approval. "That’s brilliant!" Vasquen exclaimed. "It’s always cloudy and rains frequently anyways."

Starius voiced his agreement, while Barbara remained characteristically silent, maintaining her usual slight scowl as she listened to the proceedings.

However, Targon raised a concern. "It’s a good idea, but what happens when winter comes? What do we do then?"

Fiona defended Hiro’s idea with a warm smile. "Targon, dear, it’s remarkable that we’re even thinking about surviving until winter in the Desolate Lands. We should focus on immediate needs first and discuss winter preparations later."

Targon sheepishly agreed, and Hiro smiled at the exchange. Now that that was taken care of...

"I’ll designate separate areas for bathing and washing," Hiro said. "Both for utensils and clothes. We’ll place containers or pits filled with water near each area."

With that, the water issue was temporarily resolved.

The discussion then naturally shifted toward another critical resource - clay. Hiro had purchased their current water container for a hefty price from the Stone Tablet Shop, but he no longer wanted to rely on the Shop for basic necessities. He felt like he was being robbed every time he bought something from that damned place.

Clay was essential to the settlement. Without clay, creating new containers, utensils, and countless other essential items would be extremely difficult, if not impossible. Without access to clay deposits, their settlement would remain perpetually dependent on expensive Shop purchases, or items bought by new refugees.

"Starius," Hiro addressed the Hero directly, "I want you and your exploration party to keep an eye out for clay deposits during your scouting today."

"Understood, My Lord," Starius acknowledged.

"Focus your exploration down the river, heading South-Southeast. That’s the direction of the water flow, and clay deposits are most likely to be found near riverbanks."

"Understood!"

With that, the construction related discussion was over. "Alright Bob. You and your group can leave now. You can discuss the finer details of the construction projects between yourselves."

Once they left, Hema and Rhonia were called into the tent to discuss food-related matters.

Now that she was in his presence again, Hema couldn’t help but steal several glances at Hiro. The previous day in the forest, she had sucked his cock after mildly drugging him in order to collect his semen.

Up until that point, she had been resisting Hiro’s Ensnaring Touch with all her willpower, suppressing any attraction she felt whenever he had brushed against her.

However, the intimate act at the end had been too much for her resistance. Throughout the night, Hema had been randomly thinking about Hiro, visions of his handsome face stirring feelings she desperately tried to control.

Why am I feeling this way towards him? This doesn’t make any sense! Hema thought with some frustration. ƒгeewёbnovel.com

Clearly, for whatever reason, she did not want to submit herself to Hiro. But simply looking at his impossibly handsome features right now made her feel... things she didn’t want to acknowledge.

The ever perceptive Hiro barely picked up on her internal struggle, causing him to smirk inwardly. His gaze towards her was filled with untold meanings – meanings which no one other than Hema had any inkling about.

Regardless, the main agenda of the meeting was not interrupted. Unfortunately, their food discussion revealed several immediate problems.

"Ultimately, we have no real means of food storage," Hema said. "Farming is impossible on corrupted ground, so meat is our primary food source. Normal meat spoils within hours at regular temperature. Fortunately, we’re eating monster meat, which has residual mana. It won’t start spoiling for at least twenty to twenty four hours, even without any special storage."

"Still," she continued, "this means food acquisition is a day-to-day concern. We must hunt each day for that day’s meals. That’s far from ideal in the medium to long term."

Storage aside, lack of variety was also a bit of an issue. Their diet would consist almost entirely of meat for the foreseeable future. Fortunately, Selune didn’t mandate that her believers follow a vegetarian diet, or they would have been in serious trouble.

But neither of these things was as important as their most critical problem – their complete lack of salt!

"The non-combat class citizens won’t survive more than two weeks without salt," Hema explained grimly. "Within a few days, negative symptoms will begin appearing."

In normal Realms, salt was so valuable and essential to commoners that when people decided to take refuge, they made sure to pack salt with them—it was considered as important as clothing! The small amount of salt that some refugees had brought with themselves could last a few days if used sparingly, but it was obviously not a long-term solution.

Those who had contributed salt, utensils, and other essentials to the Realm would also need to be rewarded with contributions.

The gravity of the salt situation was not lost on anyone in the tent. Each person understood the severity of the crisis they faced.

Vasquen optimistically suggested, "Is it possible this barony connects to some coastline?"

Starius quickly deflated that hope. "Since I used the expensive method to manually choose this Realm when taking refuge, I have a rough idea of where we are on the broader map—very rough, but still an idea."

!!!

This was valuable information! Hiro had been meaning to ask about it since the previous night, but since Starius was busy spending time with Tara, he completely forgot.

Everyone leaned forward, deeply interested in this information. They were especially eager to know how far they were from being able to leave the Desolate Lands.

Starius’s information both worried and relieved them. "The barony we’re in right now isn’t immediately adjacent to the Shifting Sands region, but we’re not too far away either. Unfortunately, this is an inland barony—we won’t find any coasts here."

He pulled out the parchment on the table that Hiro had used previously, showing them what he had seen on the larger map when taking refuge.

Barbara spoke for the first time during the meeting, her voice cutting through the discussion. "Wait. The fact that you were able to come here using Manual Destination Selection means that other people now know about the existence of this Realm, right?"

A massive amount of gold could be paid to The World when seeking refuge, in order to be able to freely choose the Realm in which a person wanted to take refuge.

Of course, the choice wasn’t truly ’free’. The standard restrictions still applied. For example, it was not possible to seek refuge in a Realm which was in the Divine Domain of a different Deity.

Regardless, this was significant news! How would the outside world react to the presence of this barony?

Facing Barbara’s question, Starius shifted uncomfortably. "I didn’t personally inform anyone else about my Quest or the existence of this barony." He didn’t elaborate further on why this was the case.

"But," he continued, "other people most probably already know of this Realm’s existence. In fact, I’m certain they do."

Starius’ speculation was spot on. Right now, the fact that a barony had somehow been established within the Desolate Lands had become sensational news in the outside world. People were amazed, confused, and alarmed by the mysterious event.

Everyone had questions, but no one had answers. Moreover, most people wouldn’t dare take refuge in the Desolate Lands just to satiate their curiosity!

Some truly eccentric high-level individuals might be willing to take the risk, but the World had Rules in place controlling refugee transfers. There was an upper limit to the level of refugees that could arrive in Hiro’s barony, capped at Hiro’s level plus fifty.

This limit could be further reduced to just Hiro’s level at the Refugee Arrival Station, but Hiro hadn’t tinkered with any of those settings.

This created additional speculation in everyone’s minds. Based on the refugees who had arrived so far, it seemed like Hiro’s level wasn’t particularly high?

This was deeply suspicious, given how incredibly strong Hiro appeared to be. Not to mention, the fact that Hiro had been assigned as a Ruler in the Desolate Lands was itself a massive mystery. Such a Ruler assignment should’ve been impossible.

Everyone looked at Hiro with their burning questions. Alas, Hiro simply gave them a mysterious smile and pretended as if there were profound secrets to this situation which he couldn’t discuss.

Only he knew the utterly comical circumstances behind his "punishment"—back then, he hadn’t realized he was truly standing in the presence of an actual Deity.

"Hmm... I say the issue of salt is more important right now," Hiro said with a smile.

Right! Salt!

Everyone suddenly realized they had digressed from the main topic. For now, they had no choice but to suppress their doubts. It wasn’t like any of them had the ability to force out answers from Hiro.

Hiro smoothly commanded Starius. "Keep an eye out for any naturally occurring salt deposits or brine water during your exploration."

"Yes, My Lord," Starius acknowledged, though he felt invisible pressure settling on his shoulders from this added responsibility. His personality often drove him to try too hard, and he cared deeply for the common people. He wasn’t going to let them die from salt deficiency!

With that, the food discussion was over.

After Hema reminded Hiro that she still needed a private building for her herbalist work, she and Rhonia left the tent.

The meeting was nearing its end. The group discussed several more issues in ten or so minutes.

For instance, they talked about producing clothes suitable for colder climates and the creation of bathing areas, washing stations for utensils and clothes, drying areas for garments, and larger communal bathrooms.

The creation of fuel like charcoal became a topic of interest, along with furniture production—beds, mattresses, and other essential items for comfortable living.

Food preservation occupied their thoughts briefly, but they couldn’t develop immediate solutions without access to cold temperatures or salt.

The importance of clay was reiterated multiple times.

Metals, weapons, armor, and blacksmithing were discussed, though none of this was currently possible. They lacked both a blacksmith and raw materials, though these would be essential for future development.

The conversation briefly touched on stone quarries and the eventual possibility of finding a way out of the Desolate Lands.

Soon, the meeting began to wind down, and people started filing out of the tent.

Barbara was the last to leave. But with arms folded in front of her chest, it looked like she wanted to say something to Hiro.

"I got bored enough to doze off during parts of that meeting," she said with typical sarcasm. "Was there even a need to invite me?"

Hiro looked at her with a smile. Apparently, Barbara was of the opinion that the meeting could’ve been an e-mail.

Hiro replied nonchalantly, "Would you rather not be invited to the next one, then?"

"Grr..." Barbara tapped the floor with her foot in frustration. Being completely left out of the council of decision makers wasn’t ideal either.

In any case, she had just wanted to pick a fight with Hiro, not really expecting anything to come out of it.

But just as she was about to storm out of the tent...

"That being said... I agree. I was also pretty bored during the meeting," Hiro casually remarked.

He couldn’t wait for the day to come where he did not have to personally handle matters like this.

His words caught Barbara off guard and stopped her in her tracks. "Hm? Really?" she asked sceptically.

"Yes," Hiro said, before lazily turning his eyes towards her. "If you want... we can do something interesting. Much more interesting."

"What do you mean?" Barbara asked with a small frown, clearly confused.

Her confusion didn’t last long though. Hiro’s eyes, which were previously staring at her own, moved down her body.

He leisurely appreciated the beautiful sight in front of him. The healthy beige coloured skin, the hazel eyes and the dark golden hair, her exposed neck and shoulders.

And then moving down... his eyes lingered for a while on her stomach, or on her navel to be more precise, before moving back up to her face once again.

His gaze was so intense that Barbara felt that her skimpy tribal attire hadn’t obstructed his vision at all. That was of course, a mere illusion.

But now that she was locked on by such a fiery gaze, she clearly understood what manner of ’fun’ Hiro was referring to.