This young master truly has the ambition of a hero.

Chapter 074: Dick's Thorough Preparations

In the eastern district of Lagug town, Dick was inspecting the results of the street renovation. The entire main street had been drastically transformed according to his requirements, with old houses demolished on both sides of the street, widening the originally congested one-way street to a width that could accommodate four carriages side by side.

The original residents of this street were relocated to other streets in the town.

There are many empty houses in the town of Lagug, and most of the properties belong to the governor's mansion. Demolishing any house is just a matter of Dick saying a word.

The renovated East District Street will become a new commercial street in Laguge. Dedicated land has been reserved on both sides of the street for building shops, while the original old commercial street will be used as a place for foreign caravans to stay and store goods.

Dick simply disliked unscrupulous merchants who engaged in speculation and profiteering, but he still welcomed honest businessmen.

Accompanying Dick on the inspection was Hongyu Zhitong. The female demon queen had undergone a relatively simple disguise, making her originally stunning face look more ordinary. At the same time, she deliberately chose a loose robe that did not accentuate her curves, making her look like a plump country girl at first glance.

Similar to agricultural upgrading, the commercial street was originally one of Dick's ideas. Later, Ruby Eyes took over and modified and improved the details before construction began.

The two strolled along the street, which was at least twelve meters wide. When the workers around saw the Governor and the "Chief of Staff" inspecting the area together, they put down their work, stood up, and bowed to greet them.

"Young Master, what do you think? Are you satisfied?"

"Very satisfied. In the future, all four main streets in the east, west, south and north can be built according to this standard."

"In that case, the entire town would have to be expanded."

"The urban area will definitely be expanded. Don't be fooled by how empty the town is now; it will surely become the most prosperous city in the entire northern region in the future!"

“However, our population growth rate is not optimistic. This month, less than two hundred settlers have moved in, but there are quite a few newborns. In the past two months, the number has increased by more than a thousand. Therefore, I have a suggestion: could we open a specialized maternity hospital in our territory? I have done a survey, and the rates of difficult labor and infant mortality are very high in the local area.”

As Hongyu Zhitong spoke, she took out a data report she had prepared beforehand and showed it to Dick. It detailed the number of newborns and survivors in various villages within the Laguge territory over the past ten years. Compiling this data wasn't difficult; one simply had to go door-to-door asking how many children under ten years old they had, and how many had died. Finally, the data was compiled.

The results were surprising: the infant mortality rate in the area exceeded 50%!

On average, only one in 2.3 children survives.

This is just the overall average. The situation in poor families is often even more tragic. It takes about one out of every four or five children to survive to adulthood. Therefore, the poorer they are, the more children they have!

There was no other way; the unusual natural environment of Laguge in the past was too harsh. But even so, the locals could only grit their teeth and continue to live there.

Upon hearing the suggestion from the Crimson Eyes, Dick pondered for a moment. He admitted that he had indeed been negligent and oversighty, focusing all his energy on military matters, busy training troops and suppressing bandits everywhere.

However, there are priorities. Without solving the bandit problem, there will be no stable social environment, no initial capital to exploit, and no thousands of free laborers, making it difficult to carry out other projects.

Now that his chief of staff had brought it up, Dick immediately said that there would be a maternity hospital and a school would be built.

As for schools, currently in Laguge, there are only some basic literacy classes for ordinary people, while the best teaching resources are actually in the orphanage run by Dick.

Dick's orphanage currently houses over six hundred children, the youngest being under three years old and the oldest no more than twelve. This is because boys over twelve are already capable of working and earning a living.

The children taken in by Dick were subjected to quasi-military management in the orphanage, with strict rules and moderate corporal punishment used to remove the wildness from these orphans.

Dick also discovered some promising talents among these children and divided them into two elite classes, magic and martial arts, according to their talent types. Dick would take some time each week to visit the orphanage, teach the children in the magic class, and cultivate them as high-end talents.

These children, who once slept on the streets, now have enough to eat and wear in the orphanage, and teachers who teach them to read, write, practice martial arts, and even learn magic.

Dick was their benefactor, their brother, and their most revered idol!

Following the model of the orphanage, Dick plans to establish a public school for ordinary children, implementing simplified basic education and vocational training.

As for how to attract children from ordinary families to enroll, Dick plans to take a two-pronged approach: coercion and enticement.

On the one hand, legislation stipulated that five-year-old children must enroll in school and receive three years of primary (compulsory) education. On the other hand, it stipulated that the selection criteria for grassroots officials of the Governor-General's Office were graduates who had received three years of secondary education.

This is an example of using the promise of a government job to lure people into studying!

As for "higher education" beyond that, it is currently undecided, as Dick's current teaching staff is not yet capable of supporting such a large undertaking.

In short, let's take it one step at a time. As long as we keep moving forward, the road will continue to extend!

Dick was chatting with Ruby Eyes about future schools and school district housing when a strange feeling suddenly washed over him, making him shiver.

Dick immediately realized that this was his sixth sense giving him a warning; the magician's extraordinary mental strength also enhanced his perception.

Noticing that someone was watching him in the dark, Dick remained outwardly unmoved, casually raising his hand to fiddle with his right ear.

This action was a warning to the female ninjas hiding nearby, and the one on duty as a guard today was none other than Momiji, the most experienced of the three legendary ninjas.

After issuing the warning, Dick suddenly grabbed Ruby Eyes' hand and walked straight to a newly built shop on the side of the road that had not yet been occupied by any merchants, saying that he wanted to go in and take a look at the interior.

Ruby Eyes was slightly taken aback at first, then quickly realized that Dick had squeezed her hand a couple of times, and immediately understood that something was going on around them.

As soon as the two entered the shop, Dick immediately hid in a blind spot by the wall, took out a magic wand from his spatial bracelet, and then took out two sets of pre-tied amulets. He handed one set to Ruby Eyes and urged her to put it around her neck quickly.

"Take precautions, a fight might break out in a minute!"

Chapter 075: Centralized Protection

"That short man is the governor of Lagug."

On a clock tower not far from the new commercial street, Hammuradi and Yzak were spying on Dick, who was patrolling with Ruby Eyes not far away.

The two sides were hundreds of meters apart. Hammuradi could see clearly with his eyesight alone, but Yitzhak was, after all, a mortal human being, and one of his eyes had been injured when he was young, resulting in slight vision impairment. Therefore, he brought a monocular telescope, which made it a little difficult for him to see.

Hammuradi had no intention of attacking Dick himself; it was only after learning that Dick was the son of Duke Best and a half-elf that he brought Izak over to take a look.

Although Ytzhak had never met Dick in person before, as the head of Count Hoffman's spies, he had recently sent people to collect a lot of intelligence about Dick and had also seen the sketches brought back by his men, so he was able to identify the target from a great distance.

"My lord, shall we make a move?"

"No, I just came to take a look."

"Just to look?"

Hearing Hammuradi's words, Yitzhak was somewhat puzzled, but he didn't ask any further questions. Hammuradi, meanwhile, looked at Dick not far away, lost in thought.

As the two were observing, they saw Dick pull the "fat girl" into a building facing the street. Before Yitzhak could figure out what was happening, Hammuradi suddenly grabbed Yitzhak by the back of his collar and lifted him up like an 80-kilogram kitten.

"We've been discovered, let's go."

As Hammuradi spoke, a red light flashed in his eyes, and he grabbed Yzak and disappeared into the shadows of the clock tower. Less than three seconds after they disappeared, a gentle breeze blew into the clock tower, and then Red Leaf appeared, cautiously looking around. His gaze fell on the spot where Hammuradi and Yzak had stood, but there was no trace of footprints or anything else.

So Hongye spat out a leaf from her mouth, whistled twice, and notified Baiqiangdai, who was several hundred meters away and ready to throw his lance, that he could put his weapon down.

"Ran?"

"They might be here to conduct reconnaissance."

"That's interesting. With your skills, Hongye, the fact that you were detected by them means that it's most likely that Hammuradi who came."

Upon hearing Red Leaf's report, Dick immediately guessed that this was merely a reconnaissance mission, and that the one who came was none other than the famous Hammuradi.

However, it shouldn't have been him who was exposed just now. A Saint-level expert, and an assassin at that, shouldn't make such a basic mistake, unless he did it on purpose.

Realizing that a super big fish had come, Dick felt both regretful and somewhat relieved.

Unfortunately, the other side managed to escape, but thankfully, a real fight didn't break out.

If a battle were to break out in the city, given Dick's overall combat strength, it wouldn't be difficult to forcibly keep Hammuradi in the city. The challenge would be minimizing the damage to the town and reducing casualties.

Back at the castle, Dick immediately convened a "cabinet" meeting, informing everyone of what had happened during the afternoon inspection, and specifically reminding several girls who lacked combat ability and were easily targeted.

“Not only Shizuka Marikawa, but also Tia, Lily, and Ruby Eyes, all of you are very likely to become targets of the enemy. Even Joel cannot be careless, your magic resistance is too low.”

“Master, I have a suggestion.” Rita suddenly raised her hand as if to ask for permission to speak.

"speak."

"To better protect the VIPs, I suggest that during this period, everyone stop sleeping in separate rooms and gather all the important personnel together. What do you think?"

"I agree! Let's choose the young master's bedroom as the location. It's spacious enough that we can sleep on the floor without any problem."

"It's kind of like a pajama party! I agree!"

Before Dick could say anything, the group of girls agreed with Rita's suggestion one after another, and then got up quickly and went back to their rooms to get their bedding.

Dick was completely bewildered, thinking to himself, "I'm the boss! You guys are requisitioning my room without even asking for my permission?" But then he thought about it and realized that Rita's suggestion did seem feasible.

That night, Dick's room had more than a dozen makeshift beds on the floor, and the girls, dressed in different styles of pajamas, were as excited as a group of high school girls on a school trip from a Japanese anime.

Honestly, it's really noisy, but it's also quite pleasing to the eye.

Natasha was dragged here by her roommate, Shizuka Marikawa. If she were alone, given her personality and thick skin, she would never dare to enter Dick's room in her pajamas in the middle of the night. But if it was a group of people together, then it was acceptable.

However, once she got there, Natasha realized that she had been careless!

The team consisted of about ten people, a real mix of all sorts. Each of them wore a pajamas that were incredibly alluring, especially the few free-spirited older women who even brought alcohol with them.

"With this atmosphere, I doubt anyone's planning to sleep!"

Like Natasha, Ruby Eyes was a mature and somewhat sassy older sister, so they naturally huddled together and hid in a corner of the room to watch the others make a ruckus.

Just then, Dick, who had just finished his bath, pushed open the door and entered. The noisy room fell silent in an instant, and more than a dozen pairs of eyes turned to Dick. The half-elf boy, fresh from his bath and clean-shaven, had fair and rosy skin that was just as translucent as any of the girls present. Coupled with his handsome face, he made the older women present feel their hearts flutter and felt an urge to hug this cutie and give him a good rub.

Dick, who was being stared at intently by a group of older women, suddenly felt a sense of crisis, like a tiger entering a flock of sheep, and stood at the door, hesitant to take a single step forward.

"Master, it's still quite chilly at night, please don't stand at the door."

Belfast's gentle voice came from behind Dick, and two incredibly soft and bouncy objects pressed against the back of his head. Dick's body was immediately pushed forward by a gentle force, followed by the sound of a door closing and locking.

For some reason, Dick suddenly felt a little panicked.

Chapter 076: A Night for "Ladies"

Dick was pushed by Belfast to the center of the room, while the girls slowly gathered around him, forming a circle around him.

This scene inexplicably reminded Dick of a past life when he visited a zoo and watched the zookeepers feed the crocodiles in the reptile house. To make it more entertaining, the zookeepers hung a live young rooster upside down and put it into the center of the crocodile pool. The crocodiles swam over and formed a circle around it, and then the poor little rooster was physically devoured.

Dick felt like a chick about to be eaten.

Dick suddenly remembered that Rita had specifically asked him to prepare some snacks and drinks to bring into the room, saying that everyone wanted to have a "ladies' night".

Dick, without any suspicion, readily agreed.

Now he finally understands.

So I'm just a "snack" then?! Are you guys being polite?

Dick didn't consider himself the kind of vegetarian who wouldn't dare to eat meat even when it was right in front of him, but as the old saying goes, everything should be done in moderation. He liked to have fun, and it wasn't bad to be played with occasionally, but the situation in front of him gave him a vague feeling that he was about to be severely "abused".

So Dick coughed lightly to cover up his inner fear and pretended to be calm.

"Well... these are extraordinary times, so please bear with us a little and go to bed early."

"Master, with so many beautiful women around, can you really resist going to sleep?"

Among the crowd, the staunch female supremacist and uncensored riding queen—Black Gun Dai—was teasing Dick with a wicked grin. She was wearing a nearly transparent open-chest nightgown, paired with black stockings, gloves, and garter stockings. As she spoke, she deliberately leaned forward, pressing her arms inward, presenting Dick with a deep, secluded valley that could ignite a strong desire for exploration in men.

This wicked woman is clearly a guard, yet she brazenly comes here dressed in this "night combat outfit," clearly intending to "murder" her master!

Meanwhile, most of the women present who had already had physical relations with Dick were staring at him with predatory eyes, completely ignoring the fact that there were still many virgins present.

Seeing that the situation seemed to be on the verge of getting out of control, Dick was so nervous that he swallowed several times. At this moment, Tia suddenly laughed out loud and then waved to the others.

"Alright, everyone, stop teasing the young master, it's kind of scary."

"???"

Hearing Tia's words, Dick was slightly taken aback. Then he saw the lustful women who had just been eyeing him menacingly, ready to devour him, were now all laughing hysterically. He realized he had just been tricked. Natasha, who had already shrunk into a corner, also breathed a sigh of relief.

The female doctor was so nervous that she wanted to run away. She knew that many members of the team had already established a "deep connection" with the young master, so if they really started messing around in front of her, Natasha had no idea whether she should stop them or join in.

Just as Dick said, the current situation is a "critical period" where the enemy is in the dark and we are in the light. If a Saint-level assassin is determined to hide, they may not be able to find the other party. So they can only wait for the other party to make the first move.

Don't be fooled by the girls' seemingly ladylike evening party in Dick's room, dressed in cute or sexy pajamas, laughing and joking, snacking, chatting, and playing games. They all bring their fighting gear with them. If an enemy attack occurs, they can all change outfits in a second and instantly transform into battle mode.

So, as long as it doesn't interfere with his work, Dick never forbids his female subordinates from relaxing and having fun. Even if they treat him like a human-shaped self-heating body pillow, taking turns hugging him and touching his ears, he won't get angry.

After the ladies' party ended, Dick lay down on the only large bed in the room, and the girls all crawled into their makeshift beds on the floor. The room already had a soft, thick carpet, and the girls had added extra soft mattresses, so although they were sleeping on the floor, it was quite comfortable.

After the lights were turned off, the room was plunged into complete darkness.

Dick had just lain down and was trying to fall asleep when he immediately felt something crawl into his blankets from his feet and climb right onto him.

Dick thought to himself that this was too audacious. Not to mention that the lights had only been off for less than five minutes and none of the dozen or so people in the room were asleep, even if they were asleep by the middle of the night, given the vigilance of the combat team members, any unusual noise would immediately wake them up.

At this moment, the person who had climbed onto the bed had already crawled up. The huge, soft, spherical object pressed down on him, and the hands that touched him and the entwined thighs had a very silky feel. Coupled with the faint scent of blackcurrant flowers, even though Dick couldn't see the other person's face in the dark, he could immediately recognize the other person's identity.

"Blake, what are you doing?"