Gacha Kingdom Building

As expected of one of the cities of the northern territories, the so-called frozen lands, Licerce was cold.

It wasn't only the city. The vast territory it belonged to also had an incredibly harsh climate.

However... I was a little impressed by it.

Or more accurately, I was impressed by how full of life the city was.

The buildings were almost all grey. The sky was an even darker shade.

The brightest thing around was the never-ending snow. The ground was filled with it and every step felt so much harder than what it had any right to.

Yet, in this colorless city, there was this ironic warmth.

People would stick close to each other. They would talk in low tones.

Even in busy districts and streets, instead of seeing a flow of people going in one direction, we would find many small groups, talking in a circle or a semi-circle.

It felt oddly peaceful, comforting and even inviting to some extent.

I was particularly fond of seeing the children leave their homes to play for a while, only to rush back inside after feeling cold.

This was a quiet place... But it truly had a charm all of its own.

Miwen: "Makes it hard to concentrate..."

We were staying in a building provided to us by the territory's lord in advance.

My desk was close to the window, so I'd often waste some time looking at the street below.

I could have moved it any time, but... It felt like a shame.

Mia: "Oh... I imagined that if you were going to complain about something, it would be about the girls not showing as much skin around here."

Miwen: "I guess that's a downside, but... In exchange, I get to keep you close to me like this, so it's not bad at all"

Mia: "Hnnm... Just so you know, the moment someone enters, I'm standing up."

Miwen: "Of course..."

It was already quite surprising that she did not complain about our distance or my head pats.

Normally, she gets angry when I do it out of the blue and pushes my hand back after enjoying it for a few seconds, but perhaps because of the climate, she seemed to be in a great mood and allowed me to do as I pleased.

Because I was already pushing my luck I had no choice but to accept her unfair conditions.

Mia: "What are you looking at?"

It was pretty early in the morning, so her voice was a little more mellow than normal.

This cute side of hers was hard to see since her normal routine in the kingdom includes exercising at this hour.

Miwen: "I received the girls' reports yesterday night, but I thought I'd give them a final read before discussing with them."

When we arrived at the city, Isabella asked me if I had any ideas about what to do regarding her assignment.

However, due to the lack of information about Licerce, most of my ideas required using [Gacha Kingdom Building] in one way or another.

This was a bit of a problem since it wouldn't be beneficial to her growth and would also risk creating unnecessary questions if someone were to pry into it.

Thus, I decided to explore our options a little.

Immediately, I thought about using the mountain range on Licerce's west border.

The place is known to contain a few cave entrances, but most of them have not been fully explored.

It's believed that there's potential for many different metals to be found there.

However, I had to give up on this idea for the most part.

While it would certainly be an achievement if we were able to establish a good mine there, the risk was also quite high.

The snow mountains are quite dangerous. It's hard to reach the interesting spots but working there is just an accident waiting to happen.

Especially if Isabella is the one leading the expedition.

While certain sacrifices would definitely be worth it in the long run, our time frame was tight, and even if we managed to get a gold rush going, that could also lead to problems for a small city like Licerce.

However, I didn't discard the idea of trying some sort of economic development since it would be pretty easy to recognize or at least make a case about if it came down to it.

But the mine idea was left to the side.

Instead, I wanted to see if we could establish a product.

However, I would need more information for that to work, so I spread the girls around.

The first pairing was Licia and Claire. Those two are always eager to work together, and they always do an excellent job, so I was more than happy to let them go to one of the neighboring cities to see if there was any gap we could exploit.

Licia is attentive, sensitive, and creative with problems, while Claire is very familiar with politics and economics.

Frankly, it's impressive that they seem to complement each other so well even outside of fighting.

Miwen: "So you guys can imagine my disappointment when I read your reports, right?"

Claire: "Eh? Why? It was heartfelt!"

Licia: "Hm... I don't understand the problem. We did exactly as we were told."

"Exactly" is not how I would put it.

I told them that watching the townsfolk's everyday lives could be a good idea to get a feeling for their wants and needs, and they followed my advice by spending quite some time in the city square.

They also visited different stalls and stores since I said they should explore the local commerce as much as possible.

Hell, they even visited the port, something I had emphasized more than anything else.

Miwen: "I'd love to hear how you guys managed to turn this into a date."

Licia: "Well, the mood was nice, so... We kind of just went with the flow..."

Quite impressive considering that they had two full days from the moment they arrived there. The mood must've been incredible.

And to think that wonderful mood was almost ruined...

Thankfully, Licia made the incredibly brave decision to leave the port just a few minutes after they had arrived there.

All because Claire disliked the smell.

Licia: "Hehe... Sorry?"

Miwen: "You know I can't forgive you that easily, right?"

Claire: "Please?~ We can go together next time~"

Not only were they not sorry at all, but one of them missed the point completely.

However, I ended up getting defeated by their smooches and forgave them.

Mia: "...Huh. You seem to have forgiven them pretty easily."

Miwen: "...Licia works hard 24/7. As for Claire... she's a free-spirit, but she always goes the extra mile when I need her. For better or worse. I think it's fine for them to enjoy themselves."

Actually, Claire wasn't all that off-mark either.

I did get a little bit jealous when I read their report.

But more than anything else, I was glad they seemed to be happy.

And it's not like they were the only ones I sent out...

Miwen: "So you can imagine my disappointment..."

Next on the list was Bea and Ellie.

There is a small forest next to Licerce and I was curious if we could find anything useful in that area.

This seemed like the perfect job for Agatha. She's very knowledgeable about herbology and she truly enjoys researching and collecting herbs and plants.

However, there were rumors of strong monsters roaming around the area, so I decided it would be best to send some fighting power.

Thus, I landed on Ellie and Bea.

The former is an elf, a forest dweller, and the latter is a witch who secluded herself and lived in a cabin in the woods.

While they weren't as knowledgeable as Agatha, they knew enough to identify something interesting or out of place.

At least, that was what I was hoping for.

Instead, what I got was a very short report. From both of them.

While it had some differences here and there, enough for me to know they didn't write a single one, there was definitely something missing.

Actually, a lot was missing. They barely wrote anything.

Bea: "We ran into a few problems, but it's all resolved now..."

Miwen: "I'd love to hear more about it."

Their situation was a little different from Licia and Claire's.

Beatrice ended up being a little too worried about Ellie, which is understandable to a certain degree, but because Ellie is curious by nature, this made her a little upset since Beatrice was doing everything.

The two of them ended up having a small discussion, but thankfully, it seems like they made up before returning.

They even shared a bunch of stories, which also didn't help them make any progress.

Miwen: "I see... Well, as long as you two are doing fine, it's alright."

They are both mature people, although in somewhat different ways, so even when they have a problem, they can reach a solution by themselves.

Their friendship seemed to have grown stronger thanks to it too, so it's not like I could say that nothing good came out of it.

And then we had the last group... Anna and Cassandra.

To be honest, my hopes weren't too high.

Cassandra is pretty much a deviant. It's rare for her to take anything other than sex seriously.

And her report also showed a lot of that. She knew I was going to be the one reading it, so she wrote... Something different than what I requested.

Cassandra: "My letter was full of pure love~"

It was full of love. Just not pure.

However, I was pleasantly surprised this time.

Miwen: "Anna... I fucking love you."

Anna: "Eh? Did I do anything?"

Miwen: "Yep. You did exactly as I told you. The report was also pretty good."

Perhaps I underestimated her.

She's pretty used to receiving orders and reporting on them.

As for their mission, I sent the two to a pub in Licerce. I wanted them to gather info on anything useful, but... I was half expecting them to drink themselves out for two days.

Thankfully, that's not what happened. They were surprisingly able to do their job well.

They were able to meet the North Fleet Admiral, and they discovered something pretty interesting.

Miwen: "If this is true, and they are really having a problem with pirates, then we might have found Isabella's achievement."

And I was also really interested in perhaps acquiring a fleet.

Cassandra: "Hm? Does that mean we get a reward?"

Miwen: "Yeah. Meet me here later."

I couldn't play with them since Mia had fallen asleep.

Once she woke up, she rushed out of the room, ashamed that she lost almost the entire morning because she relaxed too much thanks to me patting her.