After Surviving the Apocalypse, I Built a City in Another World

While Mafo was being served by Sandra as he counted money, the person he entrusted with monitoring the population panel ran to him.

In retrospect, he should've done it sooner, but he had trust issues, so he hadn't entrusted this task to anyone else, and there were too many names and details for him to check too often.

In the previous reign, it was actually he who was entrusted with this task by his brother. It was why he struggled to give the task to someone else.

Back then, he took advantage of the role to get close to some people, getting to know his brother's schedule and his network, which ultimately helped Mafo trap his brother in a deadly situation.

The thing about oaths was that they could be full of holes sometimes. When that fateful war arrived, he just had to push a few things to cause his brother's death at the right place, which ultimately allowed Mafo to get the token.

That said, old people kept warning about how vague oaths had vague consequences. Mafo himself hadn't felt punished because of his act—he even felt rewarded—so he just dismissed all that with a wave of a hand.

What Mafo didn't know, however, was that the main reason he would not have a child after Hesso—whom he had after "comforting" his sister-in-law right after his brother's death—was precisely because of this.

Using this access, he was able to know who the people in power were more intimately. Anyway, one of the reasons he was able to hold on to power after his brother's death had a lot to do with him taking advantage of this system as well.

That said, even when he hired someone to monitor the panel for him, Mafo decided that it shouldn't be the sharpest tool in the shed, either.

Sadly, the person he hired was a bit too dull. Apparently, even after everything, his resume was still exaggerated by one of the elders, who had recommended him.

Mafo looked at the gasping idiot, who was distracted by the beautiful woman whose head was between his legs.

"Speak!!"

"Y-Y-Yes, Milord! Otto Gold is gone!"

"What?!" Mafo yelled, his stomach dropping as a sense of foreboding.

He opened the panel to double-check, unconsciously pushing Sandra to the side.

It was there. He took a breath of relief before it was swiftly morphed to anger.

"Fool!" he yelled, slapping the man.

"What?"

"He's right here!"

The man flinched, confused. "I was so sure he wasn't when I checked…"

He had noticed the name just the previous day while he was staring at Raz's money.

Otto Gold. Level 43. Wealth: 7322 Gold and a hell lot of silver.

This was definitely another man from a City! He wondered if he was there to buy slaves?

Sadly, seeing names in the panel did not tell where the person actually was. He asked this idiot to monitor him, in hopes that they could get connected somehow.

"Continue looking!" Mafo yelled. He wanted that money! He needed that money!

Coincidentally, before the man could get out, more people came knocking. There were set times that people would report to him. It so happened that he was so distracted by Sandra that he had forgotten.

Apparently, some of the results of the investigation had come in!!

And so, a meeting with the Lord once again commenced. They were in a rush, so they did it in his room, with the half-naked Sandra still at his side, seemingly comfortable to be leered at by multiple men.

The main topic today was determining what happened with their previous clients. Some of them had actually paid some down payment, too, and yet they were willing to just forgo their orders!

It was impossible for a hidden force to grow in a place where there wasn't anything. The rest either hadn't responded yet, or feigned ignorance, or simply ignored them!

Only one territory actually responded, though his tone was a little clueless, or was at least pretending to be.

"They seem to have gotten much better and affordable products in Alterra," the elder said, reading the reports and information they had gathered so far.

The sound of the name made Mafo, and Sandra, flinch.

"Alterra?" Mafo's eyes turned red. "It was that territory?!'

Of course, he knew that place! They had the presumptuous request of buying his elementalist slaves for cheap!

…buying his elementalist slaves for cheap…

His eyes widened as a thought occurred to him. However, he was temporarily distracted when the woman next to him gasped.

"Did you say Alterra?" They turned to Sandra, who seemed shocked. "They're…already so big…?"

"Speak, Woman! What do you know!"

Sandra was still reeling from the fact that she heard Alterra's name here, in an aborigine town, and discussed it as if it was… a threat?

How? Why?!

Her only comfort in this horrid life was that she at least lived in a town! She believed that those people in villages must've been suffering a lot!

But what was this? Did they become a town too?

Slap!

"Kya!" she screamed, the pain on her face pulling her back to reality.

It was not too strong, but it'd definitely cause her face to swell later. Sandra lifted her head in disbelief. This ugly bastard was just saying love words five minutes ago! How could he hurt her like this?!

Mafo sneered at her. "How long will you be in a daze?!"

Her eyes flickered and she looked down, gripping her skirt. Despite the sting on her face, Sandra forced herself to speak.

"Alterra…they wanted Terrans, right? That's because it's a Terran territory!"

This made everyone look at her in disbelief. "You're saying this Alterra…is a Town less than a year old?"

Sandra nodded, her eyes red with anger. "They're very sly and will do whatever it takes to get what they want."

Mafo narrowed his eyes at her, and Sandra's eyes widened at a realization.

"Milord…" she whispered, though she was carefully scooting away. "What are the chances the 'disease' is because of them?"