Starting with the defeated female knight

Once everything was ready, the new investigation team set off from the capital and headed towards the border.

Of the two seeds in the capital, one remained in the capital, while the other returned to Edith, traveling with the investigation team and observing the scenery along the way.

Both sides were calm.

But the mountains that are covered with Green, Green's home base, are not in very good condition now.

As for the reason...

[And nobody told me there could be so many refugees!]

Yes, with the increase in tentacles and the training he received while building Dawn City, Green's thinking and multitasking abilities improved significantly during this period.

The problem is that while his improvement was significant, it also brought with it a growing number of problems.

The construction and renovation of Dawn City need to be considered, right? The farmland and pastures outside the city need to be planned, right? And we need to find solutions to some of the problems that humanity is facing that we can't solve, right?

After Dawn City is completed, we need to plan ahead how to allocate resources. We also need to find ways to stabilize the chaotic order that's starting to form as the population grows.

Should I keep Ella company in the cave? I can't ignore Edith's attempts to talk to me, can I? And I need to keep an eye on Cecilia's tentacle armor every now and then.

Especially after getting a top-notch doctor like Morphia, Green has recently become even more engrossed in his research with her.

Don't get me wrong, the research I'm talking about here isn't research on tentacles.

Although Green admitted that it was quite comfortable, and it was also quite amusing to see the usually serious Morphia occasionally make a mess of herself due to various experimental accidents.

But what he's really obsessed with lately is learning and applying various 'basic technologies'.

"I don't know what 'soap' is, but if we're talking about things used for washing the body, the Grana tribe does have one, the recipe is..."

"I know a few plants that can be pressed for oil, I can recommend some to you... Do you have them here? Then we can compare them..."

"I know the methods for some things, but the craftsmanship isn't my forte... Are there any experts in the camp? Then I'll have to trouble you..."

In fact, it wasn't just Green; although she didn't show it on the surface, Morphia also quite enjoyed it, and one could even say she was somewhat addicted to this kind of life.

Although she appears to be very knowledgeable, and is indeed quite learned, it is precisely because of this that she is able to see more of the 'unknown' than others, and understand better the value of knowledge.

God knows what kind of effort she put in to acquire this knowledge in the past.

It wasn't that the beastmen were asking for exorbitant prices. In fact, after learning how to make medicine, she didn't have to spend much effort to exchange medicine for the technology she wanted.

But it's one thing for the orcs to be willing to trade, but it's another thing if they can't be taught.

"Many of the orcs' techniques are based on their own racial talents. For example, some orcs can identify the toxicity of plants by smell alone, some can reach their claws directly into pools of poison to retrieve them, and some can even bathe in lava and use the heat of the lava to process some metals..."

"They really didn't hold anything back."

"But I really can't learn it."

Unfortunately, lacking the corresponding racial talent, Morfia could only work backward from their performance, deconstructing and replacing it with methods she could apply.

That process was very painful.

The orcs' poor communication skills, the barren and desolate environment of their tribes, and the occasional suspicion and expulsion they face because of their half-orc identity...

But now, the tentacles are right beside her.

Although communication was somewhat difficult due to her inability to speak, and she occasionally needed to ask a translator, Mofia could sense that the other person was not only intelligent but also had a much broader perspective than her. The other person could casually mention many things that she knew but had never thought of, instantly opening up her mind.

Furthermore, this was the first time in her life that she had experienced what it felt like to have someone fully support her research.

Rare materials covered the table, and any tools needed could be made immediately. There was no need to hide one's half-orc identity, no need to bother explaining to others that one wasn't practicing evil magic, and even the tentacles could be used to test medicine when necessary...

She had never fought such a lucrative battle in her entire life.

So, with Morphia's abilities combined with Green's previous learning and experience, the two quickly concocted a bunch of gadgets, including but not limited to improved toothpaste, soap, simple gunpowder, various plant oils, and a new type of potent recovery ointment made by mixing nutrient solution, etc.

Of course, this is not only the result of Green and Morphia. In fact, there are also some related technologies on the human side, but they are scattered and relatively crude.

What he and Morphia did was collect these materials and then, based on their knowledge and technology, optimize and improve them, resulting in lower costs and better effects.

And most importantly, and this is the point Green emphasizes the most.

[It must be capable of large-scale mass production]

Only in this way can a solid foundation be laid, allowing for further construction.

However, despite the significant achievements, Green's excessive focus on technological advancements caused him to slightly neglect his attention to Dawn City.

Although the previous procedures were indeed maintained, he would personally supervise and verify each time refugees arrived.

Although he was a little puzzled as to why it seemed like more and more people were coming each time, he didn't pay much attention to it since nothing really happened and the assimilation and assessment process went very smoothly.

However, when the experiment ended and Green was about to gather everyone and promote the technology he had just developed,

Staring at the sea of ​​people in front of him, a crowd comparable to the tourist attractions during holidays in his memory, his dark green eyes froze on the spot.

Wait, what's going on?

Why are there so many people all of a sudden?

Volume 1: Chapter 30: Dawn City Wasn't Built in a Day

The population of Dawn City didn't increase overnight.

It was many days.

The reason Green hadn't been wary of the population explosion before was that, before he became engrossed in research, Dawn City's recruitment of refugees was not very fast, and could even be described as inefficient.

After all, there were only so many people in the original camp. In addition, newcomers needed to be educated and reformed until they accepted and adapted to the rules of Dawn City before they could enter. The whole process would take an unknown amount of time, and the increased population would only be a fraction of the original number.

In fact, at the very beginning, Green was worried that if the number of recruits continued to increase at this rate, it would be difficult to recruit enough staff even by next year, and whether he should relax the entry restrictions.

However, Green overlooked one thing at that time.

That is, those who are recruited, after being transformed and assimilated, are also able to take on the same work.

Furthermore, because they were all refugees and had a better understanding of others, their recruitment efficiency and speed were much higher than those of the original camp members.

In addition, the larger the population, the stronger the assimilation ability, and with Green's presence, no one would be willing to cause trouble.

After that, it started to snowball.

Coincidentally, just as the snowball started rolling, it was also the time when Green was diverting his attention.

Therefore, in his view, the recruitment speed at that time was not only not in need of control, but even somewhat inefficient.

However, he was thinking of "better to have nothing than something bad," so he didn't change his mind.

And now...

[Wait, where did you guys come from?]

Looking at the sea of ​​people in front of him, Green felt his head was spinning.

According to his original estimate before he lost focus, by the time Dawn City was completed, there should be a few hundred people here, at most a thousand.

But now, just by looking at him, he could tell that there were at least two or three thousand people in front of him, and more were still arriving.

Having a large population is certainly a good thing, as long as you can afford to support them, they are all high-quality laborers.

But the problem is how to support so many people.

The food problem is secondary, although Edith estimated that he could only support a thousand people at most.

However, Edith's estimation method was inherently an aristocratic method, resulting in distorted data, and it also failed to take into account Green's existence.

Resources on the ground are indeed scarce, especially given the impact of the demonic tide. The ecosystem is already fragile and cannot withstand further damage.

But who says it has to be something on the ground?

In fact, long before the humans arrived at the camp, Green had tried to create a small plantation in the mountainside out of boredom.

While most are used to grow tentacles, there are other uses, such as in some botanical gardens and mushroom farms.

The reason Green asked Edith to bring some food wasn't because he was worried the group would go hungry, but simply to make the menu more varied, so they wouldn't eat mushrooms every day and end up turning into real mushroom people.

Therefore, for Green, the biggest problem in feeding this group of people has never been food.

It's about management.

Once humans gather in groups, the difficulty of management increases exponentially with the growing number of people.

When there were only a few dozen people in the camp, Green could easily manage them by devoting a little of his energy and tentacles.

Later, when the number of employees reached several hundred, the workload increased, so he promoted some capable people to assist him in management and established more rules.

Now, facing this dark mass of people, whose exact number is unknown, the manpower recruited and the rules established before are actually far from sufficient.

The fact that they've been able to maintain this stable position until now is almost entirely due to Green's own presence.

While others believe that there are gods watching over them, in Dawn City, you might accidentally step on a god's limb if you're not careful while walking.

Even so, Green doesn't think this situation can continue indefinitely, and he doesn't intend for it to continue.

But the question is, what if you don't want to continue like this?

All the people have been recruited and reformed, and they are all high-quality laborers, so it's definitely impossible to drive them away.

Promoting more people to assist in management? It's a feasible solution, but he had already looked at the group. Although there were all sorts of people with various skills, including several high-level professionals, there was no one who knew how to manage.

It's not that Green was unlucky and failed to recruit talented people who could manage things; rather, in the Empire, people with such abilities and experience often hold positions in noble families, churches, and magicians' associations, and their positions are usually quite high.

Even if such a person encounters a demonic tide, it is impossible for them to become a refugee. With a little effort, they can move to other regions to continue their lives and would never come to seek refuge with him.

Edith does meet Green's requirements, but firstly, she hasn't arrived yet, and secondly, she's not an expert in this area. Her previous management largely relied on the quality and cooperation of Cecilia's knights.

Moreover, Green's requirements for management go beyond simply maintaining basic order.

Although the people of the Empire thought that maintaining order was already more than enough, the people in Dawn City were even more enthusiastic, now treating him almost like the sun, practically ready to raise their hands and pledge their loyalty.

But as someone with experience, Green knows very well that management is not just about maintaining order; it also includes people's livelihood, culture, construction, and even development...

But you can't find many people like that, not even in the capital, let alone on the border.

If that doesn't work, let's just promote some people to make do for now.

Let's maintain basic order first. When we have more time later, we can open a tutoring class and start training from the basics.

This is the only option left.

However, despite saying that, Green also knew that he didn't need to be in such a hurry.

Even setting aside the suppression he himself faces, the construction of Dawn City and the things he is about to promote will stabilize the situation for quite some time.

Although we've considered a whole host of things, there's actually a simpler and more straightforward way to maintain and manage things.

That is development.

As long as there is continuous development, as long as each day is better than the last, as long as people feel a constant sense of accomplishment and satisfaction, and as long as there is enough food to keep them from starving.

Humans are the easiest creatures in the world to raise and manage.

Coincidentally, although he already has a lot of cards in his hand, enough to play for a long time, on the other hand, with the increase in population, the cards in his hand are constantly multiplying, making it difficult to play them all quickly.

So, the only remaining question is naturally...

I want to die.

After a long day of hard work, I finally finished dealing with the backlog of problems, restored order, and even promoted a wave of new work. My hands were limp and lying on the ground, my eyes vacant.

Then, thinking about the future, he estimated that he would have to maintain this workload until he successfully cultivated management talent who could help him share the burden.

Furthermore, I will even take time to teach them the basics of management.

Green couldn't help but fall into despair.

He would rather fight the demonic tide for another three hundred rounds and increase the enemy's forces tenfold than face this terrifying task.

[Could you please open a console and conjure up a powerful and obedient high-ranking official out of thin air? Or at the very least, could you just have a capable and compliant executive fall from the sky?]

But just as he was lounging and resting, lost in thought, Ella curiously came over and started stepping on him playfully with her little paws.

The ground trembled slightly.

His flowing eyes paused for a moment, then quickly lifted, gazing into the distance.

Then, he narrowed his eyes slightly.

Hmm? This feeling...