Life in the Axevaria Kingdom was relatively peaceful for a time.

During the day, the residents trained in both physical and magical techniques. In the afternoons, they engaged in various jobs that required attention. At night, they dealt with the waves of zombies that rushed in.

Meanwhile, Axel busied himself with fixing things, building new items, and upgrading anything he deemed necessary.

And just like that, three weeks passed.

This span of time led to some changes in the kingdom's human resources.

The lazy individuals were consensually expelled from the kingdom. There were only five of them, but it was still a difficult decision. Naturally, nobody objected, fully aware that being kicked out essentially meant death for those individuals—aside from the individuals themselves.

Axel kept an eye on their figures through the map until two days later, when they finally "disappeared" from it.

It was an inevitable outcome, after all.

Even with the wooden spears Axel had provided, they lacked the resources to survive for long. It was already a minor miracle that they lasted two days.

After that, however, Navi initiated a new influx "event."

Unlike the first event, which occurred automatically (with no intervention) while Axel was staying in Witcheria, this one was artificially induced by the little penguin. Over five hundred refugees arrived, staggered over the course of a week!

It was a significant increase in population, of course; with so many people filling their land, they were beginning to run out of jobs to offer. To address this issue, Axel decided to add another layer of walls around the existing kingdom.

This new perimeter spanned three kilometers on each side.

The large area now included in their territory was designated as farmland. However, the soil was dry and barren, making it impossible to cultivate.

With no other options, Axel purchased "healthy" soil from the Interdimensional Shop—over two million tons of topsoil! This enabled everyone interested in farming to do so, with several individuals dedicating land for specific herbs and plants for concoctions.

While it was not a cheap expense, it also didn't reach the trillions range. Thanks to the influx of new items and bulk orders from various dimensions, Axel's weekly earnings had already surpassed the quadrillions range!

This newfound wealth even allowed for the establishment of a full sniper squad, in addition to Eve.

The new recruits, who were exclusively women, joined the Valkyrie Knight Order. This increased the Knights' numbers to three hundred, enhancing their collective fighting strength.

It was a necessity, as their land area was increasing, which meant the total perimeter they needed to guard was also expanding. Thankfully, with the original hundred knights boasting stats over 200 points, managing this was relatively easy.

Aside from that, if there were any other issues...

"Another fight broke out in the plaza yesterday," Beatrix reported to Axel. "Nobody was injured too severely, so it ended with just a warning from the knights."

"Again?" Axel sighed, leaning back in his chair. "Don't they have anything better to do?"

With their population now exceeding six hundred, it was not surprising that differences in opinion were leading to more frequent fights.

"At this rate, we might implode from within before the empire attacks us..." he grumbled.

Speaking of the Alcott Empire, they had already covered two-thirds of the distance. They seemed to be taking their time—or perhaps they were being slowed down by nightly skirmishes with zombies while camping.

Either way, at their current pace, it would take them another ten days to arrive. That provided enough time to resolve the strife among the residents completely.

"We need laws to govern everyone now..." Axel firmly declared.

By size alone, they could already be considered a big city. The fact that they had not implemented any laws until now was rather strange!

The main reason they had yet to establish laws was that they did not have a "king" yet.

Axel was leading everyone by proxy, with Eve and Teruria serving as figureheads. Although he was technically the king, he could not be crowned until he legally married Eve and Teruria...

And that would require Eve to turn 18 first, as per his condition.

In short, until Eve's next birthday, they could only manage with what rules they had.

"By the way, what did they quarrel about this time? Yesterday, it was about the ratio of meat to vegetables in their food packages..." Axel remarked, curious.

"That's..." Beatrix hesitated, sounding reluctant to discuss it.

Her indecision only piqued Axel's curiosity further, and he fixed his gaze on her with clear intent. Pressured by his silent stare, she finally sighed and explained.

"They were arguing over who is cuter: Princess Eve or Princess Teruria..."

"The... what?"

Axel's mind was boggled.

It was such a trivial reason that he wondered if they were just picking fights for fun!

"By the way, I'm on Princess Eve's side, of course," Beatrix added matter-of-factly. "Unlike Princess Teruria, who is cute and seductive, Princess Eve is pure cuteness!"

"..."

Axel felt as if he had just listened to something that he couldn't care less about.

He knew both were cute, after all. He didn't really care who was cuter. Why compare when he had them both, anyway?

Those who disturb order can't get out of it scot-free, or it would set a bad example. As such,

"Punish them with five spanks each, then let them go..." Axel sighed.

It was a lenient punishment, almost as if it were meant for a child, but given the reason behind their scuffle, he couldn't even muster a real response!

"Anything else?" he asked, urging Beatrix.

"No, sir. That's all for today."

"Good."

With all the reports completed, Axel stood up and accidentally crushed the armrest of his wooden chair. He stared at his hand, which was enveloped in a faint blue aura, and whispered,

"I'm getting used to this buffed state, but... controlling my strength output is hard."

Right... In the three weeks they had spent together, Axel had actually succeeded in mastering the Body Strengthening spell, Overdrive!

According to Fenrir's suggestion, and after wasting hundreds of Greater Recovery Potions, he could finally maintain it 24/7 now, but...

The only issue is that he's still not accustomed to controlling the output and input of his mana. At times, he channels too much mana; other times, too little, resulting in an unstable output.

According to Fenrir, he should maintain an output of roughly 0.1% of his mana per second, which aligns with his natural mana recovery rate.

In essence, to sustain this state indefinitely, he should only expend up to his maximum per-second mana recovery. Once he becomes more accustomed to it, he could even reduce the output to nearly zero, effectively placing him in a non-buffed state while still having the buff active.

Just as he stood up, preparing to leave...

[Contractor, bad news!]

Navi appeared suddenly, worry etched on his face.

"Is it the empire?" Axel inquired, his expression sharp.

[Yes!] Navi confirmed with a nod, then shook his head. [Also, no! It's not what you think! The empire's soldiers have encountered an enemy they cannot handle!]

"Huh?" Axel tilted his head in confusion. "Why should I care...?"

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