After Surviving the Apocalypse, I Built a City in Another World - Chapter 915

Chapter 915: Lively Gardens

Other than the markets and the commercial streets, pretty much everywhere in Alterra was filled with activity. This was the first time they could see the territory again while the sun was up in the sky.

The feeling of seeing everything vibrant again was akin to the feeling of them just getting out of prison after a long, depressing, sentence.

(Not that most people had experienced it, of course, but they had their imaginations…)

Some people even gave out tofus to congratulate random passerbys for their newfound ‘freedom’.

Other places, like the gardens, were filled with people who were either going on dates or having picnics with friends and family.

People hunted a lot during the night because there were few things they could do. Plus the time saved because there was always a nicely-sized mob coming by themselves allowed the citizens to meet the fighting requirements early and more.

That meant that, outside of the actual working hours if they were employed, they had time to chill and just spend time with loved ones for the next few weeks.

One of the couples on a date was Jake and Yiyi. To be more accurate, Yiyi was pulled outside by Jake to get a breath of fresh air.

Jake held Yiyi’s hands. In contrast to her possible reaction a month prior, Yiyi did not flinch when Jake grabbed her hand.

During the horrible heat wave, Yiyi slowly recovered from her trauma. There were a few people responsible for this, all of whom had been nothing but kind and patient with her during this period.

First, there was Ryo’s aunt and grandpa, who lived with her and therefore spent most time. They treated her like their own adoptive daughter—which was something completely new to Yiyi, who grew up as an orphan.

Then, there was the very kind psychologist Juliet, who had helped out countless girls who had experienced the same. Even when Yiyi was one of the difficult cases, not once had she shown any signs of impatience at all.

Finally, there was Jake and his shameless—but light-hearted—intrusion into her space.

Even if she still had nightmares—and even if she still trembled when most men got close to her—just seeing the concern encouraged her to at least try to recover. Eventually, she did, at least if it was with them.

During the day, Jake would come by and add body heat to the small house, which in turn would often receive some half-joking mockeries from grandpa. It was actually why grandpa’s shop opened a little earlier than others, during dusk, because he wanted to get away from the cheesiness with the name of Jake.

Jake ignored this and just helped fan the girl. Eventually, Yiyi would take the fan and they would do it alternately. Even if they didn’t speak, just each other’s presence there was comforting.

Midway through the Heat Wave, the electric fan was developed. He managed to get his hands on one and it gave him more excuse to hang out in her house.

Eventually, Yiyi started joking around with him, and he started pushing a bit more.

As soon as the heat wave ended, he practically never left her space, always holding her when he could, and now she could only succumb with a red face.

…

Elsewhere in the territory, the half-orcs Gochi and Baku also stood by, watching everything with a smile. They then looked up at the house that they just bought, admiring it with full hearts.

Together, they pooled funds to get the downpayment for a single detached villa under Gochi’s name.

As for how they could afford it so quickly as former slaves, not only did they manage to get the bank to help, it was thanks to the large amounts of night mobs as well.

A good portion of the nightly mobs were taken care of by just the two of them, and this reflected in their spiking contribution points during this period.

Still, the house was way over budget and they had to ask a lot of help and some oaths to get the funding, but they needed it because of their large stature. Only single detached houses could take in half-orcs without them feeling like they were trapped in small boxes.

Even if the ceiling was still not as high as Baku would’ve wanted—even Gochi’s head bumped into a lot of places—it was their best option for now.

Furthermore, they also wanted to provide a comfortable home for the others when they finally reunited. They both sighed at the thought of their friends, wondering where they were and how they were doing now.

After settling the house, the two headed elsewhere for a prior appointment. The meeting place was in an open-air restaurant near the parks. They liked to eat in such places because there was little chance of bumping their heads on something.

Anyway, when they arrived, there were familiar mercenaries already there.

It turned out that the appointment was with Bart and the others. The plan was to eat brunch together as they discussed business.

This was a habit developed after coming to Alterra, where most meetings seemed to be done with food on the table.

They ate in silence though, with the two half-orcs ordering huge servings on their plates, eating directly on ala carte plates.

In contrast, the humans were a little intimidated by their sizes, even if their levels were lower. Not to mention, they had some associations with the half-orc race that had been imprinted on their minds since they were young.

This was especially true for the younger members Bulgogi and Sipa, who flinched when the larger one stopped eating and turned to look at them.

“Follow through with your promise,” Baku said. “We will pay you well.”

Sometime during the previous days, Baku and Bart had come to a deal. For some money, Bart was asked to get more information about their remaining brethren, Maomao and Nana.

Alterra didn’t have a post office yet so they couldn’t communicate with their network, but Bart did promise to do so after they left (something they were reluctant to do now, by the way).

They finalized the deals that day, even formalizing it in the Village Center. After they were done, Bart and the others prepared to finally leave Alterra.

Sipa, Bart’s scout, couldn’t help but look at him. “Are we really going now, boss?”

His tone was a little small, obviously very reluctant.

Bart rolled his eyes. “We can’t stay here forever,” he said.

He kind of wanted to, but they couldn’t do that yet.

Eloi looked at him, looking in another direction—no doubt where he believed Bianca was. “But we can try and get a base here as well.”

“It won’t be easy, most of the land here isn’t even for sale,” Bart said. He had asked around. Only residential units could be owned and those were villas the largest variation.

“However, someday, if we give enough of a deal, maybe they’d allow us to at least lease land.” This was something for later, however.

For now, they could only reluctantly leave the place, looking back every hundred meters or so, and wondering how much would have changed when they returned.