Currently, I was standing with two other people. One was Sophie, and the other was Thurul. We were looking at a site at the entrance of the east side slums that Thurul had found out from his friend that his friend wanted to sell. It housed a great deal of shanties and was being sold cheaply at only ten gold.

“This is the place?” I asked to confirm that I was looking at the right place. From what I could see, there were at least one hundred families living on this land. Some of them came out and looked at Thurul and I with worried expressions.

“Yep. My old friend said he had bought this land over thirty years ago but never did anything with it. He said he would sell it to me for cheap, but we have to deal with those who are taking up residence on it.” Thurul replied.

“Thurul, do me a favor and look after Sophie for a moment.” I wanted to take a walk around the shanties to see the lay of the land and speak with the people there.

“The land ends by the small tree line before heading deeper into the slums. As for the little lady, don’t worry. With me around, no one will dare touch her.” Thurul had won Sophie over with his tea and snacks every time we went over to his place, so she was not averse to being around him. This helped a lot since I did not want to bring her with me while I walked around the slums, but I also needed to ensure her safety just in case that stupid count suddenly popped up like some kind of weed to try and snatch her away again.

“Faith, are you going over there?” I could tell Sophie was worried, so I placed my hand on her head and scratched her ears.-.

“I will be fine. Stay here with Thurul and do not leave his side.” I watched as Sophie nodded and moved to stand next to Thurul. I gave Thurul a nod before making my way across the tall grass towards the shanties. I could feel many gazes filled with different emotions. Fear, curiosity, anxiousness, and even hate.I continued forward until I saw something interesting. In the middle of the shanty town was a large well. It seems the residents here had dug the well by hand and had used the stones from digging to create the well wall. Next to it were a few women and children washing dishes and doing laundry. “Excuse me.”

One of the women, a middle aged woman, looked up and looked at me. I waited to see her reaction to a demi human, but she did not even flash a hint of fear or disgust. “Can I help you, young lady? This is not the best place for girls your age, you know.”

“Don’t worry. If someone shows up with such intentions, I will send them to the other side of the slums.” I guess my words tickled the middle aged woman’s funny bone because she began to laugh.

“Now that I would like to see. I fear for my daughters as they age. There are some really strange ones in this place. Sadly That is life in the slums. But not everyone is able to get those fancy jobs that allow you to make enough to live in nice areas.”

Hearing this, my smile got brighter as I sat down next to the middle aged woman and began to help the middle aged woman with her laundry, which caused the middle aged woman to look up at me and smile.

“Are you also looking for a decent job?” I asked.

“Sure am, but I can’t leave my little ones alone. It’s hard to raise the little ones. But I can’t bear to send them away. I do what I can, you know? I do some handicrafts and sell them here and there, which gives enough to get by, but it is nowhere near enough to make sure these kids can eat and stay safe. As you can see the shanties are not the safest places.” I nodded my head at her words. This place was not the safest place at all. I sighed and looked around the place.

The lot was huge, big enough to hold a factory and another building. Just buying the lot would put me in the red. I would also need to stick up a large wall and put in a gate to protect the area as well or I can just set up a barrier….

After being lost in thought for a minute, I looked up at the middle aged woman and asked: “How many people up to this tree line are bad?”

“Bad as in would do anything? Or just in general? The line shanties near the tree line are where the scum of this area live. They will do anything, including taking girls against their will. So many girls have been sullied by them.” The middle aged woman said with a bit of emotion. I could see she was truly worried about those kinds of people.I looked around and saw that most of the people around this area were women. “Mostly women here?”

“In this area, yes, as it is closer to the knight’s patrol. If something happens, we can run over and get a knight, so many women who were thrown away along with their kids live out here.” Middle aged woman explained, which made me nod my head.

“My name is Faith. What is yours?” I kind of had a plan, but I was not sure if it would work. The only issue was money.

“My Name? It’s Melinda. May I ask why you have asked so many questions about this place?” I could see Melinda was getting worried. With my clothes, it was obvious I was not from the slums.

“Mmm… I plan to buy this lot b…”

“What!? Please do not kick us out!” Melinda suddenly cried out. “Please, I beg you, we have no other place that is at least a tiny bit safe.”

“Wait! Melinda, I do not plan to kick anyone out as long as they are good. In fact, I was just thinking how I could make the place more secure and, on top of that, build proper housing and give you jobs as well as daycare so you can work.” My plan was simple. Since this section of the slums was mainly all women. I could have an all female workforce and would give them good jobs. At the same time, any kids of age that can do simple tasks could also earn a bit of money like the orphaned kids. I figured it would be the best way to kill many birds with a single stone.

“You want to do what!? Do you really mean it!?” Another woman who overheard me walked over with tears in her eyes. “Can you really give me a job!?”

“I have to plan things out first, but if everything is able to progress quickly enough, I will be able to not only build a factory here but also employee housing.” I explained with a smile.

“Is there anything I can do now? I will work for free if it means progressing things.” The woman seemed very desperate for a job. I looked over at Melinda to also see her with eyes full of hope. I sighed and stood up. “Wait here for a moment. I will be right back.”

I couldn’t help but have a soft spot for these people. Living their lives never knowing when the next meal will be. Can I feed my kids today? Will my kids get sick and need health care? All these questions were things these mothers who had very little income had to deal with every day. I pacified the other woman before taking my leave and making my way back to Thurul.

“So, how was it?” Thurul asked.

“I want to buy this place and buy it today.” I said firmly.

Thurul looked at me with wide eyes before scratching his beard. “If you really want it, I will pay the fee for the place, but why the rush?”

“I need the property to be under my name, so I can begin a bit of house cleaning and put up a barrier that will protect these women and children here. After that, I will have them work on clearing out the tall grass and rubble. The area will need to be really cleaned up to make room for the housing for the employees and then the factory. These women are starving for a job and in fear of what might harm their kids. If I can give them the security they need, then why not?” I truly had not planned to do all of this so soon. I figured maybe I could do missions and then save up the money, but now it seems I need to win the tournament and hire some people to begin construction right away. If I have employees, then I will be able to mass produce my pens quickly as soon as the factory is ready.