Like most people on modern earth, physical work was never a huge part of my past life. Here, sewing, weaving, and foraging are things people do on the regular, there's no real automation so there's a demand for clothes and things modern humans took for granted.

  Nails need to be forged, slippers don't just come out of factories in the dozens, snacks need to be carefully made or else they end up tasting bad, rotting, or eaten by animals, and overall, the local population is responsible for keeping the demand of vital resources low.

  Making more than half of Flotol work to rebuild the village means that these vital resources are no longer being made, sure women are still making clothes and similar things but hunting and the like is currently being handled by only a small group.

  Without me, Flotol might just get a food shortage.

  Knowing this, I hunt as much as I can, whenever I can, all to ensure that this place runs smoothly even as most of the village's manpower is dedicated to construction instead of food production or other utilities.

  But sometimes, you just have to compromise, you know? Slowing down the construction in favor of keeping hygiene is a good choice, the right choice.

  "There's a path leading to the depth of the swamp so you can take all the compost barrels there! Make sure not to spill it! The women would have a hard time cleaning it up if you do." The command was met with enthusiasm— well, as enthusiastic as people can be when carrying rotten food. — and the group of three men moved quickly.

  Once they were gone, I let out a sigh of relief. Or maybe it's the breath I was holding to stop the smell from entering my nose? It's the same thing either way I think?

  Besides the occasional screw up that comes from my workers being human, Flotol's construction and overall repair is going pretty well. The raft has stabilized these last few days as well, there's been no shaking and I think if we continue at this rate, the entire village wouldn't have any problems building two story houses.

  Sort of, Wardcruncha and I have made plans that in the future, if citizens want to make two story houses, they would have to come to us first and we would give them a permit of sorts to allow it.

  Right as long as their building plans follow the law, which we are currently designing.

  Pillars in all sides of the house would be mandatory, as it not only helps the building keep stable, but also acts as an anchor for the raft which would suspend it in place, further anchoring it and decreasing the chances of it breaking down from the swamp's currents.

  From now on, we won't rely on the church's foundation to keep Flotol standing, every single building would contribute to the anchor and if anyone complains about needing to buy extra materials, we will just kick them out or, you know, make them build their house on the river bank?

  Why hasn't anyone thought of that before honestly?

  Oh wait, Nogjaf was probably too busy funneling money into himself to make the plan into reality so even if he thought about it, he wouldn't have realistically pulled it off! Amazing how some people are just natural failures.

  Why am I dissing the dead? Should I be doing that?

  Anyway, my family is currently living like it did before we became leaders, which is to say, we live in a two story house, have a lot of food, and are financially stacked, which is pretty good when compared to the lives of peasants but we're nobles.

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  Usually, people like us would be holding parties, paying people to make portraits of us, or statues of us, building mansions, and eating good food!

  We don't do any of that, not right now, once Flotol starts making money though? We'll do that and more. Still, it'll be a while before something like that happens— and I'm talking about a few years. — so we're just gonna be humble for now, sort of.

  Ifira and I are still planning a business together, there's also the fact that I will be managing a store that sells scrolls in Ghorise, and also all the other business plans that I have planned.

  Money wouldn't be an issue from now on, really. It just so happens to be that what's supposed to be a massive source of income is being invested instead. The word "income" is between quotes, because it's literally the taxes we get from managing Flotol.

  And we're using it to make the village better! Potentially making it so that we earn more money from it in the long run.

  And, well, making the place prettier in general will get people to think that our stores are high quality, it's all cyclical.

  "Continue working! The houses won't build themselves!" Despite the treacherous labor during winter, people were smiling. My projects increasing public morale is good too. "Some of you are working too slow! I will send you on the pier so you can work on the bridge instead!"

  That got them riled up, and why wouldn't it? Those working in the pier currently have sub classes with perks that resist the cold heavily, it's a prerequisite even, because if they don't have that much, they will suffer from hypothermia from working directly on top of frozen water and their deaths will be on me.

  Luckily, Laself is with them, so her [Nourisher] sub class should keep them alive? I'm still not sure on that but I'll see soon enough, if it proves effective, I'll probably send her to groups with real danger in their work, or maybe I can send her to cook food for the men and women training to become part of Flotol's future military.

  Either way, she's one of my best people and an asset I'm glad I invested in. With her, everything will become much easier. I'm sure of it.

  The fact that she and Howaph are talking about kids more often lately is a problematic thought, but not the end of the world. And honestly? I'd love to have a niece.

  My brother's love life aside, Ifira has been bugging me as well, lately, she's become more invested in the ice cream shop that I'm pretty sure she sees it in her sleep. She's been asking me to visit her family as well, which I don't want to do.

  I may not have a choice soon though, her persistence has only increased over time and I know that it won't take long before she leaves me no choice but to come with her.

  "Rontress, your friend is here again." Mom came out of nowhere, like usual. "She says she wants to talk to you about something?"

  "Uhuh." I let out a sigh and followed my mother back to our house. "Can you prepare dresses for me please? Actually, no, don't worry about it, I'll make it myself."

  So here's a fun fact, I haven't just been leading Flotol, I also practiced how to wield my chloro-kinesis better, or is it flora kinesis? I'm not sure.

  Anyway, I'm confident that I am skillful enough to make a dress solely out of plants, which would normally look ugly except I also learned how to modify plants! And not just in a "oh, you're now capable of bearing fruits despite being a fern" way, but actual modification.

  Leaves can be made to glow, grow into strange shapes, have smoother texture, be stiff, or be comfortable. And the best part is, if I wear a dress made of plants, I can modify it on the spot!

  "Rontress, where have you been?" Ifira asked shortly after we came back home. "Are you managing your village again? I told you that you don't need to do it, you can just have people do it for you."

  "Ifira," I pause, why have I tolerated this behavior? I should have explained to her that it's beneficial to run things yourself a long time ago. "Sometimes, having your own hand in projects is much better than letting other people do it. Don't you enjoy working in our ice cream shop? Do you want me to work in it alone?"

  "No! And don't you dare say that!" She walked up to me and tightly held my hands, I can genuinely feel my bones breaking from this. Holy hell she's strong.

  "See?" Keeping the pain from my voice took a lot of effort. "That's how I feel as well, I feel annoyed whenever I let other people work on my projects."

  "I... Yes, you're right." She let me go and my regeneration snapped my bones back into place, there's no bruising either. "Maybe I should start managing Ghorise as well? I think that would be fun, wait! We can manage these two places together!"

  "Yep." I politely smiled, I'll probably just advise her on things, I genuinely don't want to manage two places at once. Flotol is already a pain in the bass. "Also, I'm gonna make myself a dress, do you want me to make one for you as well?"

  "... No? Why would I want that? I have my own, and what I have will be better than whatever you make."

  "Suit yourself." Fine then, she wants to play that game? I'll make her jaw drop.