"Can I count on you, Oyakata? Sorry for throwing so much work at you."

"No problem. We'll need a few extra hands, but the job itself ain't anything special. If Shamash-san helps out, we can manage the materials too."

"Then I'll leave it to you. Once the shell is built, we can handle the rest. I'll ask Shamash-san myself."

"That'd help. I can't keep up with that person's sense of design, so we'll be the ones directing the construction."

"Shamash-san does have a pretty unique style after all."

"So then, should the rooms be single occupancy?"

I thought single rooms would be nice, but I had a nagging feeling that for this sort of thing, shared rooms were the standard. Since I was the one providing the lodging, were private rooms too much of a luxury? Maybe start with a dormitory, move to shared rooms once they were full-fledged members, and then private rooms after they had grown...

"For now, please build it with shared rooms as the base. I'll think over the specific layout and get back to you."

"Got it."

And so, I decided to go ahead and build a dormitory. Of course, it would be a facility for the Knight Order.

If I asked Oyakata, the local dwarves near Erishe would swarm the site, and it would be finished in no time. If I asked Shamash-san for the materials and had the Golem laborers haul the stone, progress would be lightning-fast.

The building site was the vacant lot next to Shello-san's house. I'd decided on it after consulting with Rebecca-san and the others.

This area was a relatively open plain, and since it was near a monster spot, the land wasn't being used. Permission from the government came through immediately. Basically, land within a several-hundred-meter radius of a monster spot was deemed unsuitable for human habitation, and individuals generally couldn't own it.

Instead, monster exterminators—those whose job was to lure monsters to themselves and defeat them—were allowed to build and live wherever they liked within the area. Since their work involved acting as bait, living inside the zone was only natural.

Initially, there was a plan to simply expand my mansion further, but almost everyone opposed it, so the idea died. It was a bit of a shame; the mansion had a barrier, which had its perks.

The number of members had increased quite a bit. Those living in Erishe were fine, but members from out of town had to rent apartments, and I had to deal with the tedious paperwork of issuing Erishe residency permits. Since they needed a registered address for that, looking after their housing was part of the job. That was exactly why the dormitory became a necessity.

Erishe thrived as one of the few special commercial districts in the Empire, making it difficult for anyone who wasn't a merchant to enter. Temporary stays were one thing, but to live there long-term, you needed a solid guarantor. If you were caught without one, the worst-case scenario was being turned into a labor slave.

In my case, Shello-san and Rebecca-san saved me by lying and claiming I was family, but apparently, there were many people from the outside aiming for the prosperity of Erishe.

"Aruji-dono! Everyone is ready de-arimasu! They wish for a few words from you today as well de-arimasu!"

While I was discussing the dorm, Marina came to fetch me.

The shop was closed today, and the entire Knight Order was scheduled for joint training. I'd invited Oyakata along so we could discuss the construction plans on the side.

"Yeah, I'm coming. You've become quite reliable, Marina."

"D-Do you think so? It is only because everyone treats me normally, even though I am of the Tark tribe  de-arimasu. It is all thanks to you, Aruji-dono."

"I think it's because of your own hard work. Besides, they are Knights, after all; perhaps they have the spiritual strength to avoid discrimination."

Marina was a Turk, a group that was often a target of prejudice in this world. However, neither the new members of the Order nor the former members of Hetty-san's mercenary group showed any discriminatory behavior toward her. It might have been because she was close to me and Diana, or because she was a senior member of the Order, but even under close observation, I hadn't seen a single person act out.

Marina wasn't a slave anymore; she was a core member of the Knights. When I remembered how timid and insecure she had been at the start, she had truly blossomed. Just seeing that made me feel glad I came to this world.

"Then, we shall go on ahead de-arimasu!"

"Sure. Well, Oyakata, I'm off."

"Right. I'll get back to making arrangements for the dormitory."

"Please do."

Parting ways with Oyakata, I walked toward the Knights standing in formation.

This was our third time training together as a whole. With the numbers increasing, the training—which used to be quite casual—had taken on the air of an actual organization. It had ballooned to the point where it was impossible to manage without someone maintaining discipline.

It was a Knight Order of nothing but young women. It was so picturesque I felt like I could charge an entrance fee just for people to watch.

The Order had started with only a few people, but it grew in the blink of an eye to a total of 54 members. It felt roughly like the size of a single school classroom.

The original lineup: me, Diana, Marina, Rebecca-san, Etowa, and Elepipi, plus Ion and Shamash-san.

With this many people, the chores were piling up, so I had Aurica join as the person in charge of food and drinks.

We also had Schelo-san as an advisor. The former members of Hetty-san's mercenary group didn't stop with just Noririn and Miya-miya; in the end, 24 of them showed up. According to Miya-miya, not everyone could come immediately, so the number might still grow.

...Hetty-san's charisma was truly terrifying.

The brand-new recruits had also increased to nearly 20. They weren't participating today, but a ten-year-old girl who had just received her Blessing and two eleven-year-olds were set to join in the future. All three came to see me with their parents to pay their respects.

Since Blessings were strictly granted at age ten, the possibility of a ten-year-old coming was always there, but seeing it become a reality felt strangely surreal. At ten, they were (obviously) just children.

Our youngest had been Etowa, but since she was a cat-beastman whose appearance wouldn't change much even as an adult and she was quite bright, I never really thought about her age (or rather, the "Beastman Impact" overshadowed it). But when it came to a normal ten-year-old girl, I couldn't even picture her doing anything in a Knight Order.

That said, I did put out the recruitment call, and by the common sense of this world, there was nothing to do but look after them, so I hired them. Well, if they trained from the start, they'd be fine knights in a few years.

Actually, "not hiring them" wasn't really an option.

In this country, women who received the knight vocation were considered to have no suitable profession and often could not find work anywhere. Many ended up helping with housework or taking jobs unrelated to their vocation—work that was generally looked down upon in this world.

Unless you were like Hetty-san and received a "Holy Knight" vocation, the life of a woman with a standard Knight class was miserable. Rebecca-san said the reality was that they were lucky if they could even become mercenaries.

Honestly, I didn't know what would happen to the knight corps or my business from there on.

But slowly, steadily, I could feel that things had begun to move forward in this world.

I hoped the knight corps would become more well-known—

Enough to serve as a proper home for all the girls who were granted the Knight Vocation.

* * *

A massive battle-axe swung at speeds the eye could barely follow, only to be repelled by an even larger steel hammer.

Harnessing the momentum of the deflected axe, the wielder spun like a top, channeling that kinetic energy directly into the next strike.

It was hard to fathom where that kind of power came from—a body that wasn't particularly large, yet capable of wielding a lump of steel that could only be described as a battle-axe with effortless grace.

"Haha! Not bad, Maririn!"

"Noririn-dono! I'm doing everything I can just to defend de-arimasu!"

It was a mock battle between Marina and Noririn.

Though termed a "mock battle," both were fighting with actual war hammers and battle-axes. To be honest, it looked like a single hit would be fatal—or rather, I was certain it would be.

"Go for it, Maririn! Noririn's left side is wide open!"

"Noririn! Go easy on her!"

"Maririn is so cute! So cute!"

Cheers erupted from the former members of Hetty-san's mercenary group.

For some reason, Marina had quickly become a favorite, and they'd given her the nickname "Maririn."

Marina had an open and straightforward personality, and her communication skills were actually quite high. Maybe it was because she spoke her mind clearly to almost anyone—except when dealing with someone like Priestess-chan.

At the same time, she was observant and thoughtful enough to avoid saying anything that would hit too hard. Her ability to communicate was probably why she got along so well with Diana. If their personalities hadn't matched, things might have fallen apart long ago.

The fierce exchange of offense and defense continued.

Power, speed, and tactical maneuvering.

Even watching from the sidelines, the level of skill was incredibly high. I was on edge worrying about someone getting a major injury, but in reality, they were fighting with a decent safety margin.

Which is to say, one of them was overwhelmingly stronger. Because the chance of a freak accident was low for both of them, they could practice with "live" weapons (though they weren't exactly swords).

In this case, Noririn was overwhelmingly more powerful than Marina. If the skill gap were any closer, it would be too dangerous, and they'd have to switch to wooden practice weapons.

"Waah... Waah..."

"Ah! Watch out! T-There! Go!"

"Amazing! Amazing!"

"Eeeeeek!"

The reactions from the new recruits varied.

Although they were of different ages, most of them had lived lives entirely disconnected from combat. They had probably never seen a real fight like this before.

When you live in a city, war is something that happens in a distant world. In a place without television or radio, rumors are the primary source of information, so it's no wonder they were stunned.

"...U-Um... Ayase-san."

"Hm? What's up?"

Marlone, one of the new knights, spoke up.

Among the recruits, Marlone was particularly serious, always at the front during drills. Apparently, she used to help out at a liquor store in a neighboring town, but she was so moved by the Knight Order's parade that she decided to join.

"Is it true... that Marina-senpai only started doing this six months ago?"

"It's true. Same for me."

"......Then, do you think I can become strong like that too?"

"The effects of a vocation are amazing. You can."

I gave her a casual reply.

In truth, the impact of a Vocation really was immense. I'd been having the recruits focus on basic physical fitness and horsemanship rather than combat drills for now, and their stamina was skyrocketing.

More than that, their progress with horses was absurd. I thought I understood it after watching Marina and Elepipi, but even though it had only been a little over a week, they had all mastered the basics of riding.

Meanwhile, only Etowa, Aurica, and I—who didn't have the Knight vocation—were still practicing nervously. Well, Etowa was improving fairly quickly thanks to her animal-like instincts.

"That means... Noririn-san is still holding back, doesn't it?"

"Noririn is a warrior with a massive amount of real-world experience. Marina has fought monsters a few times, but when it comes to fighting humans, the experience gap is just too wide."

"And... Hetty-san and Shello-san are even stronger than that Noririn-san...?"

"Yeah... well... those two are at a level where they could probably enter a 'World's Strongest' tournament..."

Hetty-san, Shello-san, and even Shamash-san were likely top-tier powerhouses even on a global scale. People like me and Marina were still drastically lacking in experience. After all, we were still just first-year warriors.

"My vocation is Knight... well, everyone here is the same, but... I'd been feeling pretty discouraged... But vocations really are amazing, aren't they? It means even I have a god watching over me, and if I work hard, they'll see it... right?"

Marlone muttered this almost as if talking to herself.

Most of the recruits felt the same way. Elepipi was like that, too. In fact, this was the sixth time today I'd been asked a similar question.

Everyone was anxious. Anxious about their Vocation. Anxious that they might just be useless. They had spent their whole lives living with those values.

To me, Vocations and Blessings were just game systems, but there was no point in saying that. To the people of this world, Vocations, Blessings, and Divine Guidance were as real as the ground they stood on.

"A five-fold growth rate isn't normal, you know. Doing two hours of work is the same as doing ten. It means you have incredible talent. If a man were granted a Knight vocation, it would cause quite a stir, so you should hold your head high and do your best. At the very least, you can definitely become a real knight here."

"Thank you... for giving me this chance, Ayase-san. I've hated myself for a long time. But here, I feel like I might finally be able to like myself."

"You'll grow to like yourself even more. We'll be taking on plenty of work for the Knights, and I'll have you help out at the shop in Erishe, too. You're going to be busy."

"I'll give it everything I've got!"

Marlone squeezed her fists, full of determination.

Honestly, I needed her to give it her all. Neither the Knights nor the shop were charities; if they didn't earn enough to cover their own keep, we'd go bankrupt.

Still, I had a feeling that as long as I could sell Earth products, things wouldn't be that difficult from here on out. Even so, negligence was the greatest enemy. I needed to stay sharp.

The mock battle between Marina and Noririn ended with Noririn's predictable victory. Because Marina's weapon was so massive, her movements tended to be a bit broad; watching the battle style of Noririn, who used a similarly giant axe, would be a huge learning experience for her.

With Hetty-san and her crew joining us, our Knight Order had the potential to become one of the top combat groups in the country.

That said, it made me worry about what kind of work we should take on.

For now, I wanted to focus on hunting monsters and magic beasts, or perhaps security work. Jobs involving human opponents—like bandit hunting—would likely come up eventually, but I'd like to avoid them for now. Of course, with Hetty-san and the others here, the chance of losing to humans was basically zero, and I knew that experience was just part of life, but still.

Speaking of work, if I registered everyone as clan members, we wouldn't have to worry about the commute for distant jobs.

After all, we had Teleport.

In fact, it might be interesting to leave the Empire and look for work in other countries. Leaving the country might be difficult, but I heard the neighboring Land of Fire was a dependency, so we could probably manage with the right paperwork.

But all of that would have to wait until we got through the Hitotsuzuki and the winter.

No, before that—Let's hold a welcome party!