The Regressed Mercenary’s Machinations

Chapter 157: I Will Take Care of This (3)

Mercenaries are people who will do anything as long as they are paid.

In his past life, Ghislain took on many jobs other than fighting.

Of course, he handled distribution of work and fortress construction, and during wartime, when labor was scarce, he even took on building makeshift barracks.

‘If I hadn’t earned the title of King of Mercenaries, I would’ve been called the King of Construction.’

At first, he didn’t know anything and just used his strength, but after receiving similar assignments repeatedly, he picked up basic knowledge of construction and civil engineering.

After realizing that to win a war, it was crucial to have bases and housing where troops could rest, he even went out of his way to visit construction sites to learn.

With the knowledge he gained through practical experience, it wasn’t difficult for him to oversee the work.

“First, gather as many workers as you can. The more hands we have, the quicker it’ll be done.”

But people didn’t know that Ghislain had accumulated such knowledge.

To them, Ghislain was nothing more than an overconfident fool who was meddling despite not being an expert.

Still, they couldn’t oppose him. Who would dare to stop a lord from doing what he wanted?

Soon, a large number of workers gathered, and Ghislain, recalling memories from his past life, began issuing instructions for the work.

“Alright, first, lay the foundation and then start on the framework!”

At Ghislain’s words, the workers moved quickly.

Since the lord himself was directly involved, they couldn’t afford to slack off.

As they busily followed his orders, they began to form a decent-looking structure.

The craftsmen whispered among themselves as they worked.

“The lord seems to know something, but…”

“What is this, though? Isn’t it just a mansion he’s building?”

“Judging by how he’s dividing up the sections, it looks like he’s just making a lot of big rooms to shove people into.”

Dividing up sections like a mansion or military barracks and cramming people inside would indeed solve the housing issue.

It wasn’t the kind of home they could give out to people, but given the time constraints, using this method wasn’t a bad idea.

But did the lord really need to be the one directing this?

In the end, one of the carpenters raised his hand and asked.

“Lord, if you’re planning to build a large barrack, we can handle it from here. There’s no need for you to personally take on such rough work.”

“No, no. It’s not that kind of place. If you cram people into one spot, how can you call that a home? It’s just a pigsty.”

At this, another person raised their hand and asked.

“Isn’t what you’re building a mansion with many rooms, like a noble’s residence?”

Once again, Ghislain shook his head.

“Similar, but a bit different. If we were in a real rush, we might have to do it that way, but for now, we still have some leeway. This is the time to build it properly from the start.”

When the people looked at him with curious expressions, Ghislain let out a small laugh.

“Alright, I’ll explain it simply. You need to have a basic idea to follow along properly. What we’re building now is a structure where multiple homes will be housed inside one large, sturdy building.”

“Homes inside a home? Isn’t it just a bunch of small houses stuck together?”

In cities where space was limited, they sometimes built mansions close together in that manner. Since Ghislain’s concept was something new, that was the closest the people could imagine.

“No, it’s different. Inside the big building, there will be several smaller homes. It’s called a shared residence.”

“A home like that… does it even exist?”

Ghislain nodded emphatically.

“Yes, there will be one here soon.”

After a catastrophe swept across the continent in his previous life, many cities became fortified as the survivors gathered.

In the confined spaces within these fortresses, where many people had to live together, it was essential to use the space as efficiently as possible.

That’s where the concept of shared residences came in. It involved allocating independent living spaces for each household within a tall, large building.

Despite Ghislain’s repeated explanations, the people still wore puzzled expressions. It was a simple concept once you understood it, but they struggled to break out of their usual thinking patterns.

“Judging by your faces, it looks like you still don’t get it.”

Ghislain sighed and shook his head. Explaining a concept that didn’t exist in this era wasn’t easy.

That left him with only one option. As always, he would have to show them directly.

“Alright, enough chatter. If you don’t understand, just do your best to follow my instructions. Once you see the final result, you’ll get it.”

With that, Ghislain returned to the task at hand.

The construction quickly gained momentum. Even though only one more person had joined the project, the speed increased dramatically.

Part of it was because the workers, mindful of Ghislain’s presence, weren’t slacking off, but there was a bigger reason.

“Let’s do this!”

Crack! Crack, crack!

Every time Ghislain shouted and swung his axe, smooth pieces of lumber flew out.

He was cutting the wood into shape by himself, in the blink of an eye, something that would normally require several people to do. The workers were stunned.

“Wow… I’d heard rumors that the lord was skilled with a sword, but he’s also incredible with an axe.”

“Can you believe this? How can a person swing an axe like that? He just moves his arms a few times, and the planks are cut perfectly.”

It wasn’t just that. He would grab a handful of nails and, by simply scattering them, drive them in all at once. Anything that needed breaking was smashed to pieces with a single hammer strike.

For tasks that required time, like drying mud, he even brought in the mages to finish it all in an instant.

Because of this, the others were busy trying to keep up with Ghislain’s work speed.

Since their priority was to finish what they were told to do, they didn’t even have the luxury to wonder about anything.

“Pant… pant… Are we really building a house right now?”

“The speed is insane. It kind of feels like we’re assembling something…”

Of course, Ghislain wasn’t just building things randomly.

Even if he brought in the structure and design from his past life, he had to adjust the plans to match the current estate’s level of technology and available resources.

Ghislain continuously explained the concept of Co-living housing to the engineers assisting him and implemented it through thorough division of labor.

He incorporated all the elements necessary for living properly, sometimes taking advice from the engineers, and other times pushing them hard.n/ô/vel/b//in dot c//om

“The cooking stoves will be separate, and we’ll use fireplaces for heating. We’ll build individual smoke channels for each floor, and by setting up multiple chimneys on top, there’ll be no worry about smoke leaking.”

“For the toilets, we’ll need to install drainage pipes that will channel the water into a large pit.”

“This goes like this… and that goes like that…”

As time passed, people gradually began to understand what Ghislain was building.

“See? Showing it once is better than explaining it a hundred times, right?”

At Ghislain’s words, the people nodded with blank expressions.

They didn’t really know what they were making; they had just done what they were told, yet a rather decent-looking building was taking shape.

Even Claude, who occasionally came by to observe, started to look increasingly perplexed.

‘What is this? Is it for real? Are they really building a house?’

When Ghislain first took charge, Claude was convinced that the lord would cause a problem by recklessly setting things up as he pleased.

The reason he hadn’t stopped him, despite thinking that, was simple.

People only learn humility and reflection after experiencing failure at least once.

But contrary to his expectations, something that genuinely resembled a ‘house’ was being constructed.

Moreover, the speed of construction was beyond imagination. Even the mages, who had been working on the farmland, had been dragged in by the collar, so it was no surprise.

And so, in just four days, the ‘Co-living housing’ that Ghislain had spoken of was completed.

It was a three-story building with four apartments on each floor.

“Hm, this should be decent enough.”

With a satisfied smile, Ghislain slung a massive hammer over his shoulder and looked at the completed building.

Since it was built in a rush, there were no decorations, and it had a rather rough, unpolished look. However, the large and solid structure, so different from the usual styles, stood firm, and even that roughness gave it a reassuring feel.

Those who had worked on the project alongside Ghislain stared blankly at the Co-living housing. At last, they clearly understood the concept the lord had been talking about.

“Uh… I can’t believe this actually worked.”

“How did the lord come up with something like this?”

Even though they had helped build it themselves, it still felt unreal to them.

With a dazed expression, Claude asked Ghislain,

“Hah, how did you come up with this?”

“Well… since the work kept getting delayed, I just tried to find the quickest and most efficient method.”

Ghislain spoke with a touch of pride, but in reality, such Co-living housing had been very common in his past life.

Back then, with the help of magic, the houses were not only easier to maintain but also much more comfortable to live in than what he had just built.

There were more units on each floor, and the buildings were advanced enough to reach as high as seven stories.

Of course, nobles and the upper class still lived in mansions, while only commoners resided in Co-living housing.

Ghislain glanced around at the engineers and said,

“If we build like this, we can finish the residential construction much faster, don’t you think?”

The logic was simple: if there was a limit to how many buildings one person could oversee, then increasing the number of people who could live within each building would solve the problem.

And it wasn’t wrong. In the time it would take to build two or three small houses, they could construct this one building.

“Yes, this method would drastically shorten the time needed. Just ten of these buildings could house as many as 120 households.”

“Good. I’ll provide more support for the workers than before, so pick up the pace as much as you can.”

“Understood!”

The engineers responded loudly, looking at Ghislain with eyes full of admiration.

Detailed blueprints had been prepared during the construction, so there was no issue replicating the design.

The engineers, even more than Ghislain himself, were beginning to realize just how remarkable this Co-living housing was.

The more they analyzed it, the more they concluded that this was the most suitable construction method and a revolutionary housing style for the current situation.

Who would have thought that simply twisting the conventional concept of a house a bit would result in something like this!

Watching the engineers excitedly gathering in groups and chattering among themselves, Claude decided not to think too deeply about it anymore.

‘Yeah, I was wrong. I shouldn’t have thought of him as a regular person.’

As Claude wore a slightly sour expression, Ghislain spoke to him in a chiding tone.

“What are you doing? Are you still not paying attention? The work speed is going to pick up, so bring in a large number of laborers.”

“Ah, understood. I’ll immediately put out a notice to recruit more workers.”

At Claude’s response, Ghislain raised an eyebrow as if he’d heard something absurd.

“How long do you think that’ll take? Let’s push forward faster. We don’t have much time right now, do we?”

“Sorry? What exactly are you suggesting…?”

“I’m talking about the migrants. We’ve been feeding and housing them well for the past few days, right?”

“Yes, there are still a few sick ones left, but most of them should have recovered their strength by now.”

At that, Ghislain grinned slyly and said, “From now on, it’s not recruitment; it’s conscription. Bring in everyone who can move. The free meals end here.”

* * *

The migrants who had been living comfortably up until then felt that the inevitable had finally arrived once the conscription orders were issued.

To those who firmly believed that a lord who gave something for free simply didn’t exist in this era, it was an expected announcement. Some even felt relieved to hear about the conscription.

As a result, no one resisted. They all simply responded to the call, like sheep being led to slaughter, without any enthusiasm.

Every migrant capable of moving was forcibly assigned to the construction of residential areas and the clearing of farmland.

Those who had been working mechanically saw their attitudes change once they started moving into the “Co-living housing.”

“It was true? They’re really giving us houses, not just tents? I thought it was a lie!”

“When they said ‘Co-living housing,’ I thought we’d all be living in a barrack together… but this is incredible!”

“Owning a home… Was it really this easy?”

Most of the migrants had been people who were more or less forced out of the slums.

The places they used to call home were dilapidated ruins, tattered tents that barely kept out the rain, or makeshift structures haphazardly built with wooden planks.

Born into poverty and lacking any skills, they had lived believing it was natural to endure hardship and humiliation.

But it was different here. Working hard brought them substantial rewards.

Though it was called a Co-living housing, it was much larger and cleaner than a shabby hut, and each family had a clearly designated living space.

For those who had lived as paupers, it was an immense gift.

“At first, I really hated coming here, but if I hadn’t, I would’ve missed out big time!”

“The lord here is incredibly generous! Coming here was the best decision ever! Even loyalty is starting to come naturally.”

“How can you say you made a good decision when you were driven out? Still, it was a stroke of luck to get kicked out.”

For those who had lived without being treated like humans, Fenris Estate was a land where they could seize a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.

Not wanting to return to their previous lives, the migrants threw their all into cooperating with the construction efforts.

Thanks to this, the progress of the work accelerated to an unprecedented speed.

Ghislain, watching them work joyfully even through the arduous tasks, wore a satisfied smile.

“They’re all moving together as one for the sake of the estate. With this kind of morale and passion, there’s nothing we can’t achieve.”

Claude could only agree with those words.

“That’s a relief. With this level of enthusiasm, the other projects will finish faster too.”

“That’s good news. We need to keep moving busier than ever, especially with the war preparations ahead.”

At the mention of war, Claude’s expression darkened.