Chapter Eleven: It takes a city to build a city

Kate and I were eating breakfast together, just as we usually do, but I couldn't see how I could eat any more food after yesterday's birthday feast. Kate, on the other hand, devoured her food as always. That beastkin appetite is something else, but she is still growing, so it will most likely go away after a few years. Kate has already started growing taller and is now taller than I am. I can tell that she may end up being taller than some of the men of this city.

I wonder if I should also let Leon train her? There's no doubt that her height and beastkin senses could be a significant advantage on the battlefield. Kate's ears and tail start to point up, signaling I'm staring at her. She turns her head to see me looking at her. "Is something wrong, Lenka?" "No, but you should eat up. We have a lot of work to do today." "Huh?" She gave a puzzled expression. "The city revival project." "We're starting that today?" "Yes." "Okay, Lenka. Let's do this!" She quickly devoured the rest of her food. Then, she grabbed our plates and ran into the back room to wash them. Well, at least someone is excited about this.

We went to the storage building right next to the manor. It was now filled with bricks, wooden planks, tools, and bags of quicklime. I walked over to the supply of tools we had and grabbed a toolbelt, hammer, and some nails. After grabbing the tools, I grab a spare set and hand it to Kate. "What's all of this for?" Kate asked. "To build." She looked somewhat annoyed. "Well, I know that, but why do I need a hammer and nails to lay bricks?"

I guess she hasn't thought about it all the way, though. Then again, I don't think she has seen the blueprints yet, so it's not her fault. "What do you think the floors and roof supports will be made of?" "Oh, you're right. I never thought about the floors or the roof." I reach over and pet her head, which is becoming increasingly difficult due to our height difference.

That book said that beastkins grow faster, so maybe one day I will catch up to her height, or at least come close. Whatever, I have more important things to deal with than worrying about height. I walk outside, call some guards over, and have them start loading up the carts with bricks, wood planks, quicklime, empty buckets, and buckets of sand.

After gathering the supplies, we brought them all to the front of the manor, where the usual crowd of miners was gathering. Today would usually be a day when they would go out and mine, but I will need all of them for this project. "Listen up! Today, we will start building. We will split into two teams. Team one will work on digging out a trench for the sewer system, and team two will begin building the first new building."

"Now, please grab some of the carts and follow me." The sewer is one of the most critical components at this stage of the project, as the sanitation issue needs to be addressed. Without proper sanitation, diseases can easily spread. At least they are not adverse to cleanliness, and they bathe and wash their hands frequently. However, when it comes to garbage and waste, they lack long-term plans for their disposal. As for the new building, it will be the construction office.

The office will be where we will stage and plan new buildings. After all, it would be too much of an undertaking for me alone to do all of the work, and teaching some of them how to build would benefit the city's future. The building will also help identify and resolve any problems that may arise during construction.

We arrived at the city center, where the well was located. I separated the group into two teams. The larger team is responsible for digging out the trench for the sewer. The trench would require a significant amount of manpower and time to build, and it would need to span the entire city, as well as have an inlet and outlet. Luckily, there is a river nearby from the city that goes from the mountains to the ocean. Since the water is flowing downhill, it remains fresh. This is beneficial because we can divert the water for use in the sewer system and also utilize it for drinking water.

The only problem with that is that we would still need to purify the water by filtering and boiling it, which would require us to build facilities for these processes. Needless to say, we have a lot of work that needs to be done, and that is just the start. We will also need to tear down some homes to build the sewer, which means we will have to provide new homes for those citizens.

I can already tell this project will take years to complete, and this is only stage one. We will eventually need to build defenses. I just hope that those wars to come won't happen anytime soon. This city is almost completely unprepared for life, let alone wars. Well, there's no use in complaining about it. Hard work and impossible tasks are something I'm used to.

After directing the sewer team on where and how to dig, I went to an open plot that wasn't too far from the city center. The team consisted of Kate, me, and four men. I began instructing them on how to flatten and level the plot so we could build a foundation. It's not that the men don't know how to build, but we need a standard practice when constructing. That way, I know all buildings are consistent and are not thrown together.

The building will use bricks for walls and foundation pillars. There will be a crawl space to save on bricks and offer room for ventilation and future utilities. We will use wood planks for the floor, roof supports, and inside walls. The roofs will be made of clay tiles and will be sealed with mortar. Most buildings will be two stories and have bare brick walls, but will at least have limewash to help with sanitation. The floor plans of the buildings will depend on the occupants' needs, but I have a few cookie-cutter plans for each building. There is a lot of building to be done, but I hope the planning and similar designs will help speed up the building process.

After several hours of work, it was time for lunch. I walked over to grab my lunch that Mary dropped off, but I noticed something was missing. Where's Kate? I looked over at the construction site, where Kate was on a ladder laying bricks. "Kate, it's lunchtime." She continued laying bricks. Is she ignoring me, or maybe she's too in the zone?

I took a deep breath. "Kate!" I yelled. Her ears and tail spiked up in shock. Unfortunately, the shock caused her to lose balance and fall off the ladder. I ran behind her and caught her. We both slammed to the floor with a loud thud. "Are you okay, Kate?" I asked. "I'm fine..."

Kate finally realized what had happened, and she gasped as she quickly rolled off me. "I'm sorry, Lenka. Are you okay?" Kate said in a panicked voice. "I'm fine. The real question is, are you okay?" Kate's behavior has always been odd to me, but lately, she has been overworking herself more and more. "Yes.. I'm okay, Lenka." She said it in a quiet, unsure voice. "You don't sound okay."

She looked uneasy and didn't know how to respond. This isn't my area of expertise, but I shouldn't leave her like this. I stood up and brushed myself off, then walked over to her and offered her my hand. "I don't know why you are overworking yourself so much. But please understand that I can not replace you. You're special in a way that I can't describe."

Kate's face lit up, and tears started to form. She took my hand, and I pulled her up. What I said is half true. After all, she is the only beastkin in this city; therefore, she is special. Plus, it would be hard to turn away someone as loyal as her. "I'm sorry, Lenka, but I just don't want to let you down. After everything you've done for me. I just want to..." "Don't worry about it. Your loyalty and willingness to do all you can are more than enough, Kate."

All of a sudden, a loud grumble echoed from Kate. Kate's face became bright red from embarrassment. "Why don't we go eat lunch now?" She nodded her head, "Okay, Lenka."

It's been a hard day of building. Our clothes were covered in dirt and mortar, and our hands were worn. It's been a long time since I have done this much work, and it almost feels nostalgic. In my past life, I would spend many hours digging trenches and doing prep work for missions. Usually, I would be exhausted after a day of hard labor, but I guess having child-like energy again is not a bad thing. My late-night training probably also helped a fair bit, but Kate, on the other hand, looked completely exhausted, with her tail and ears drooping down as she walked.

"Kate, when we return, take the rest of the day off." She frantically looked at me. "But... I..." "Kate, you worked hard enough today. If you push yourself anymore, you will only end up hurting yourself. Mary can take care of the rest of your duties." She looked somewhat dejected, so I reached up and petted her head. A bunch of dust brushed off her hair as I petted her. "See, you don't look like much of a lady when you're covered in dirt." Her face started to turn red. "I understand... thank you."

Her tail was tucked between her legs, and her ears drooped as she dashed back to the manor. Did I say something wrong? Whatever, I can always ask Mary or Annabelle later to help figure out what's really going on with Kate. After all, it was almost time for me to start training with Leon.