On August 11, Jin D was out patrolling Saichi Village from early in the morning.
He was assessing what could be done for it as a "model district," with Hope accompanying him as an escort.
"Hmm... If we repair the buildings, a hundred Smiths could finish that in no time. Then there are the roads..."
The roads winding through the village were narrow, uneven, and in rough shape.
"At the very least, I'd like to make them wide and smooth enough for carriages to pass easily."
That, too, would likely take the Smiths no more than an hour.
"After that... landscaping, I suppose."
Jin D reasoned that once rainfall increased in the future, it would become possible to plant roadside trees and cultivate flowerbeds.
Incidentally, Jin himself was directly piloting the body right now.
"And then... there are various facilities to consider, but it's still too early for that."
Deciding that turning the place into something resembling a resort was premature, Jin shelved the idea for now.
"Ah, that's right—there's sewage management."
He wanted to upgrade the toilets, which currently relied on underground seepage, into a proper septic tank system.
For now, even with the seepage method, the "Masters" buried in the soil took care of everything from sterilization and disinfection to decomposing and purifying waste. However, if the villagers grew accustomed to relying on that, they would be at a complete loss if they ever moved to land lacking the Progenitors' engineered soil.
"I need to make sure the concept of sewage treatment takes root properly."
By the time he finished those thoughts, Jin D had completed a full circuit of the village.
"First will be road maintenance, then landscaping, and finally house renovations."
Having settled on the order of operations, Jin D decided to summon an additional one hundred Smiths.
Shortly before Jin D had set out on his patrol, Village Chief Aik had already sent off a carrier pigeon reporting Jin D's recent achievements.
Naturally, all of this unfolded under Laojun's watchful eye.
"Leaving him to act freely will soon yield no further insights. The issue is timing... but let us leave this task to Deus Ex Machina."
Deus Ex Machina was currently roaming across the Three Principalities. Acting entirely on his own whims and appearing unpredictably, he was a convenient persona to deploy in situations like this.
Furthermore, he occasionally used the Weckener to release people from brainwashing.
"Perhaps the ideal moment would be a few days from now, when My Lord's Doppel departs the village."
For the time being, Jin D's actions seemed to be throwing the Jagus Principality into confusion, and Laojun found their reactions rather intriguing.
Meanwhile, after finishing a perfunctory breakfast, Jin D laid out his upcoming plans to Village Chief Aik and Ministry of Technology Undersecretary Nahams Marow.
"I see. Road repairs sound wonderful. And landscaping, you say? Indeed, having greenery around always puts one's heart at ease."
Nahams Marow voiced his wholehearted approval, and the village chief quickly agreed.
"It would be a tremendous blessing if you could repair each of our homes as well."
With that, Aik promised to notify the villagers immediately.
At 9:00 AM, Eagle 1 arrived carrying one hundred Smiths.
Naturally, it had been sent partway via transporter, which was why it arrived so quickly. With their arrival, a total of 110 units were now on site.
"T-These are also Jin-sama's golems...?"
"H-How remarkable."
Both men drew back slightly in awe, yet their eyes shone with keen curiosity about how the golems would work.
"First, we will repair the roads within the village."
With that instruction, the one hundred Smiths set straight to work.
Winding paths were straightened wherever possible—though naturally left as they were if land constraints didn't allow for widening.
Protruding mounds were shaved down, and potholes were neatly filled.
For whatever reason, no "Masters" were buried in this particular area, allowing construction to proceed without reservation.
(Come to think of it, there was a spot where a 'Master' was buried relatively close to the surface... Was the ground excavated there, or did someone haul the topsoil away?)
Jin pondered the mystery while guiding Jin D's movements.
In roughly an hour, the roads throughout the village were smoothly paved and leveled.
"That took a bit longer than I expected..."
Hearing Jin D's low murmur, Village Chief Aik and Undersecretary Nahams Marow exchanged looks of utter astonishment.
In truth, the only reason it had taken that long was because the golems had stopped to confirm boundaries and requirements whenever working close to a house or field.
Since there was still time before noon, Jin D decided to begin preparations for the landscaping and checked with the village chief.
"Regarding the roads we leveled, it's fine to plant roadside trees along the main path running through the center of the village, correct?"
"Y-Yes, of course."
"And planting trees along the village perimeter... near the fences is fine as well?"
"T-That would be perfectly fine."
"All right, then."
With confirmation secured, Jin immediately set about planting the saplings.
For appearances' sake, it was assumed they had been brought along with the Smiths aboard Eagle 1.
The saplings included akeisha, te-e, maruon, ornut, rita, and biwa.
Among these, the biwa was a native species unique to the Pandor Continent, named by Jin four hundred years ago simply because it was identical to a loquat.
It was relatively resilient to drought, and as rainfall increased over time, it would thrive without issue.
Te-e, maruon, ornut, and biwa could all be harvested for food—or tea, in te-e's case. Furthermore, the Rita fruit could serve as a natural substitute for soap.
Naturally, the saplings wouldn't grow overnight, making the final scenery hard to picture right away, yet the villagers could already feel a refreshing change in the air.
"Oh, it's already starting to feel like a much nicer place to live."
"The roads are so much easier to walk on now, too."
"Above all, fetching water has become effortless."
The feedback was overwhelmingly positive, without a single complaint that the original character of the village had been spoiled.
(...Which means they were never truly satisfied with the way things were...)
They had simply been enduring their discontent, Jin D surmised.
Taking a break for midday, Jin D was treated to lunch at the village chief's house.
Given that the chief was under hypnotic suggestion, Jin had half-expected an attempt at poisoning or some other foul play, but nothing of the sort occurred. Instead, he was simply served a warm, home-cooked meal by Aik's wife.
It was a humble suiton dumpling soup made purely of flour and salt, yet it made clever use of wild herbs, resulting in a flavor he had never tasted before... presumably.
"Presumably," because that was merely the analysis provided by Jin D's taste sensors—not an experience Jin was savoring firsthand.
(She went out of her way to cook a lovely meal, yet I can't even properly taste it... I feel a bit guilty about that.)
Jin couldn't help but feel a pang of regret.
After lunch, Jin ordered the one hundred Smiths to begin repairs on every home in the village.
The scope of work centered on reinforcing and restoring foundations, footings, pillars, walls, and roofs.
Toughening was cast on structural weak points, while damaged sections were mended using wood and stone sourced from the village's modest stockpiles.
Leaning pillars were pulled straight, and weathered walls were patched up before being reinforced with Toughening.
Leaking roofs were repaired, or entirely re-thatched when necessary.
Finally, Surface Treatment was applied over the entire exterior to leave everything clean and weather-resistant.
Assigning one unit per household and consulting the residents' wishes as they worked stretched the task to about an hour. But when the dust settled, every home in the village stood looking as pristine and beautiful as new.