The construction of the brick kiln was progressing rapidly; after just ten days, the basic structure had already taken shape.
At this pace, it would be completed in about another half month.
The training for the security team was also proceeding in an orderly fashion.
Sophia taught them sword techniques, while the Dorodori sisters instructed them in close-quarters combat martial arts.
Later, they would even take them into the Dungeon to level up; they needed to be stronger than most adventurers at the very least.
Four more beautiful girls had joined the new staff at the Labyrinth Tavern.
Yes, the slaves who had been rescued earlier had gone home to report their safety before coming to the Dungeon.
The promise of room and board, along with a monthly wage of five Gold Coins, convinced them to become waitresses.
By the way, the construction team’s salary was three Gold Coins per month, but their overtime pay this month was five Gold Coins.
The security team earned three Gold Coins during their paid training, but their pay would double once they officially took up their posts.
The kitchen staff had also expanded.
Sylvie assigned three noble chefs without inheritance rights from her own ranks, including the plump head chef Su Yao had first met.
After tasting dishes made from monster ingredients, their enthusiasm for learning soared.
Not only that, but some previously difficult parts of certain monsters had now been developed into new recipes.
Unfortunately, these capable individuals were not open to poaching.
Financial management was entrusted to Chlorel.
As the future Imperial Princess set to take over the country, she had studied fiscal management extensively, and now was the time for practical application.
Su Yao had never realized she had this strong, capable side in her career.
Of course, her controlling nature seemed equally extreme…
The upgrades for each “Dungeon Boss” were also underway.
She had reserved 20,000 DP for emergencies.
The rest of the daily income, after expenses for updating treasure chests and maintaining monster numbers, was entirely used for summoning monsters to train with.
The monsters chosen for training were finally the Flame Demons.
As elemental beings, they weren’t very vulnerable to cold weapons, but in the “Boss room” where Futini stayed, they were nearly drowned as soon as they were summoned.
Even Chlorel, who didn’t specialize in Water Magic, could easily destroy their cores.
Though expensive, the results were immediate.
Just twenty Flame Demons raised Sophia’s and Chlorel’s levels by two each, and Su Yao’s by three.
At this rate, the day when she could order Arakne to produce fabric was within reach!
She truly hoped the “Labyrinth Outfit” could enter production soon.
As for the reason… it was quite simple: she was still too poor!
The Gold Coin cost to build the town was at least in the thousands, and her ideal town might cost tens of thousands or even hundreds of thousands.
Relying solely on profits from the Labyrinth Tavern, she had no idea how long it would take to save up.
Although she could increase trade volume with Sylvie, if those goods flooded the market, the status of “luxury goods” would disappear.
Sylvie was currently unwilling to let that happen, and Su Yao really couldn’t afford to waste too much DP on those goods.
“Mr. Frank, I’ve reviewed your preliminary plans, but I don’t have that much funding right now. Can we start by constructing some of the more essential buildings first?”
“Uh… Miss Su Yao, you are the owner of this land, so we’ll proceed as you say. However, I hope to compile your ‘city construction’ ideas into a book for publication.”
This royal architect of the Vichy Kingdom was truly talented, but limited by the current technological level, his understanding was certainly inferior to hers.
For example, his drainage method relied on “ditches,” which was easily outclassed by “sewers.”
Then there were concepts like “living circles,” “modular construction,” and “central heating.”
Of course, some proposals weren’t feasible right now—like “central heating” due to its excessive cost—but Su Yao insisted that he at least design with that in mind.
Just because it couldn’t be implemented now didn’t mean it never could.
Reserving space for it might be useful in the future.
Another challenge was the design of water supply and toilets.
Besides her, other girls probably also needed… well, facilities for physiological needs.
As a modern person, she absolutely refused to accept the idea of leaving waste inside houses to be hauled out daily!
Solving this problem required “flush toilets” and “bathrooms,” so water supply became an issue.
Frank’s proposal was either “wells” or diverting water from nearby water sources to build reservoirs, but she rejected both outright.
Having a large water bucket in every home from which to scoop water? Was that what her town should look like?
Besides, what if droughts or other natural disasters occurred?
Moravia was an inland city; although it had a rainy season, the rainfall was definitely not abundant.
So Su Yao proposed installing “high-level water tanks” on rooftops and building several “water towers” in the town.
This would closely replicate modern water usage, but the cost would be astronomical.
Without high-pressure pumps to transport water upwards, they’d have to rely on manpower—an idea that sounded like a fairy tale.
Water Magic? Would nobles really pay for mages to work as water carriers? Obviously not.
Maybe after the Magic School was established, magic-assisted water delivery could be possible, but certainly not in the short term.
Therefore, there was only one solution here—using Magic Ore.
After all, this was a magical world, so such a thing was to be expected.
Placing Magic Ore called “Water Source Stones” in appropriate locations could solve the water supply problem.
Activated by mana, this ore influenced surrounding mana in a way that converted it into water elements, which then gathered into water.
The exact reason why this process stopped was unclear, but it was preliminarily judged to relate to water pressure and low surrounding mana concentration.
They were easily found at the bottoms of lakes and in swamps.
Magic ore veins existed as well, but due to their nature, inactive ore was almost always tightly wrapped in mud and stone.
Activated ore often created extremely harsh environments nearby, making extraction costly.
This method of water supply was affordable only to nobles in large cities.
High-purity Water Source Stones could last 20 to 30 years, while the lowest purity ones lasted about a year.
They were practically perfect for town water supply, but everything came with a price.
Ordinary buildings needed Water Source Stones the size of a fist for water tanks, about four or five pieces per building.
Even the lowest purity Water Source Stones cost around twenty Gold Coins each, and replacing them annually was absolutely unaffordable for ordinary people.
This was why Frank didn’t recommend using them for water supply.
The development of “flush toilets” could be entrusted to dwarf craftsmen, but supplying water with Water Source Stones for every building in a town would cost astronomical sums.
That said, Su Yao refused to compromise.
If costs were too high, she would find a way to lower them.
And not just Water Source Stones—Fire Crystal Stones, Fluorescent Stones, Ice Condensation Stones, and Tourmalines were all useful Magic Ores.
Therefore, she decided the environment of the third Dungeon floor would be a “Mine” where Magic Ore could be generated.