Chaotic Craftsman Worships The Cube-CH828

Adding the last item to one of his rings before the shop’s door flew open, Delair finally arrived for the day, looking bright and cheery as she did.

“Morning, Ben!”

“Morning, Kiddo. We’ve got something a little different on the agenda today so we won’t be in the shop this time.”

“No? Where are we going?” She asked him, her eyes alight with curiosity as she looked to the mini-gates he kept there, getting a laugh as he went over to ruffle her hair.

“Not anywhere so far. Some new people moved into town today, we’re going to help them get set up. Come on.”

He lifted her up onto his shoulders before walking through the still quiet streets, plenty of the town still asleep when they arrived to see the new extension, with Toltho and Sachel both there and both of them already at work.

In and around each house, Sachel was using her magic, creating small gardens for the demidemons to pull from and enjoy with both flowers and food crops growing in the areas she’d already worked, leaving Ben to wonder if she’d gone back to grab the seeds she’d need when he’d originally called for her before shaking his head. It was just as possible she always kept some on her, it didn’t matter. What did was the work she was putting in for their new townsfolk as he joined their side, putting Delair down.

“Looks like you’ve kept busy since I’ve been gone. It looks nice.”

“Thanks, I should have them all done in another hour or two,” She said, looking content. “Toltho’s taste tested so as long as there’s no unexpected reactions, everything I’m growing should be safe for them to eat too.”

“Not sure how I feel about getting him to be a poison taster so soon into moving.”

“Someone had to do it,” The man in question said, giving Delair a curious look, with Ben taking note.

“Toltho, this is Delair, my apprentice. Delair, this is Toltho, the leader of a village that was dedicated to my god. Today, we’re going to help his people set up a bit and on that note, is anyone else awake already?”

“Doesn’t seem to be. I thought they’d all have a lot more trouble getting some rest after all that happened but I suppose yesterday just took more out of everyone than we’d expected.”

“Alright, that makes things simple. We’ll start with your home. Sachel, you good to keep on keeping an eye out here for anyone who wanders out?”

“Can do.”

“Awesome, in that case, let’s get started.”

He led both the demidemon and his apprentice to the one empty home that had been built, finding it to be as barren as when it had been made only a few hours before since Toltho had yet to use it but quickly changed that as Ben pulled materials and items out of his rings, already making a mess of the space as he handed Delair some tools.

“Alright kiddo, I’ve already got things cut to size to make a bed frame so you’re on assembly while I work out here on some other stuff. If you need me then just let me know.”

“Okay.”

She was already working at it, screwing and joining pieces so they’d fit together while Ben covered the rest of the house to do what work he could as things were built up and assembled, creating seating and tables where they would fit by shaping what he’d brought with his magic to make quick work of it, adding magic items from there as cold boxes and cookware and lights were created for amenities and then rugs and mats and more as well. There were a thousand little things a home needed but at the very least, he could help create the more important stuff for one with any gaps being a problem that could be filled in the future whenever they were noticed. What mattered then was really one thing only. Making sure each home was comfortable.

It didn’t take long for him to finish but when he did he found Toltho looking in awe at him before the other spoke up.

“I knew you were powerful Ben but I didn’t realize it was so much so. Are my people really so weak in comparison to the rest of the world we’ve been hiding from?”

“You’re not, don’t worry. I’m just… Well, maybe a little obsessive about self-improvement at times and very dedicated to my passions. Actually, since you hold a second-tier skill, Toltho, by the standards of the world, you can consider yourself exceptional. All the more so since you achieved it without taking a job. You should be proud.”

“If you say so.”

“I do. You’ll understand more when you start interacting with the rest of the town a bit more but… Actually, if nobody else is awake yet, let’s talk about that.”

“What?”

“How we’re going to integrate you all with the rest of the town.”

“Ben, you’ve got company,” Sachel called out as he worked, finishing up his tenth house now that the others had begun waking up as he walked out, finding Ceselee waiting off to the side while Thera and Mora had arrived, letting Ben go over to his girlfriend.

“You’re here sooner than expected.”

“After all of that, working today was a write-off and luckily, it wasn’t so bad when I went to tell them that to guilt me into staying. So now that I’m here, what should I do?”

“Ah, okay, just gotta gather everyone but first, Mora, Delair’s taking a break to meet and play with some of the other kids. Think you could do me a favour and help her out? Try and make them feel comfortable?”

“Alright, I can.”

“Thanks, kiddo,” Ben smiled, hoping that it would help the boy make a few more friends before he turned his focus to Toltho. “And can you gather the others? There’s a fair bit to go through.”

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“I will. Just a moment.”

It didn’t take long until he was surrounded by a crowd, letting him call out to all of those around him. “Alright everyone, I know this is still all new to you but in an effort to get you all accustomed to life here and the town itself, you actually need to become a part of it so that’s what we’re going to try and sort out here and now! I know you all had your own tasks you’d do in your village, you’ll find things here to be largely the same as well, we just need to figure out where you’ll all fit in but for now we’ll make it simple. Any of you with life or light magic, you’ll be going with Thera. We have a clinic in town, a place for healers to meet but they can always use more hands and that will be a great way for you to meet the other townsfolk and get along. Thera, you think you can make that work if you introduce them all? There’s going to be over seventy of them which I know is a lot but I have a few other ideas to make that work.”

“I think Drari is going to cry with joy at the idea they could be overstaffed for once.”

“That work. As for everyone among you all who’d act as hunters and gatherers, you’ll all be going along with Ceselee to join the adventurers’ guild, an institution that’s pretty devoted to those two tasks. Ceselee, if you could help them through the process, divide them into groups based on where their skills lie, and get some veteran adventurers to join each party for the first couple weeks to help teach them about the role and area and what’s expected of them, I’d appreciate that too.”

“Alright, but how many of them are we talking about here?”

“Over a hundred. This really was a village of hunter-gatherers.”

It was an answer that left her frowning as she thought. “Usually the issue is having too few adventurers which is why it’s so easy to join but you’re talking about a huge amount here. I don’t think there’s enough quests to keep them all busy.”

“And I’ll solve that too, but later. With those groups done, the rest are going to be with me as we walk through town today. The goal for you guys is going to be getting you all acquainted with how things work here and to try and figure out a place you might fit yourselves, but once everyone is done you should all come back and talk together about how you’re going to live your lives here.”

It was a lot, there was no denying that but that sort of thing was never going to be easy, he’d just need to work on the population problem when he finished helping for the day and from there they split, the three groups going off to figure out how to fit the demidemons into the wider world.