"He wanted to create an academy under his own name,

" Markus muttered. Even hours after learning this fact, he still couldn't get over the meaning behind it.

"He doesn't intend to go back,

" Yelna added a few words from herself, joining the choir of the defeated. There was no sign of her usual muteness.

"You guys can stop now,

" Irea said, cutting their moans.

"I heard those few sentences thousands of times already. Act like the adults you are and get over it,

" she scolded the trio, not paying any mind to how potentially dangerous they could be.

'I wonder what's making her think that she can act like that,' Markus thought while raising his eyes at the girl's face. 'Is it her arrogant belief that we won't touch Layn's woman? Or is it...

"

Markus didn't finish his line of thought. The sound of the doors opening stopped his mind in its tracks.

"We assessed the damage, young lady,

" one of the younger mercenaries reported from the doorstep. The four of them looked one at each other.

"How bad is it?

" Irea asked, leaning back on the bricked counter in the kitchen.

In the aftermath of the monster's invasion, the entire area was devastated. Thankfully, both of the main buildings prevailed through the ordeal.

And that meant the small number of bricks that were stored just in case turned out to be pretty useful. But as bright as this perspective was, they had to assess their current standing.

"So, are we really going to do it?

" Al asked while directing his eyes at Markus. In the current situation, the only way for the four of them to communicate was by doing it through Markus. While there was some talk about the former saint teaching the spell to Irea, there was no time to seriously consider that yet.

"Ultimately, we can't deny his achievement,

" Yelna said while standing up.

"I was wrong in my judgment. I'm sorry,

" she said and lowered her head to Irea.

"Let's not speak about this anymore,

" Layn's girlfriend shook her head.

"We went over this topic over and over again. You did what you believed to be right,

" Irea said while raising her eyes at Yelna.

"And Layn did exactly the same. So there is no need for hard feelings now,

" she stated for the nth time in the span of the last few hours.

"Half of the production line of the bricks is gone. We should be able to restart the production in a few days. Still, without the master...

" the mercenary spoke up, refusing for his report to go by in the clatter of the other discussion.

"I managed to learn what to do before...

" Irea stuttered,

"Before the fight. You don't need to worry about it. I will do my job,

" she promised.

"That saves us one worry,

" Markus stood up as well,

"but it's not all that easy.

" He shook his head.

"If we need this place to survive, we need more manpower,

" the former saint announced without even a shred of hesitation.

"I can see where you are coming from,

" All followed the example of everyone else and stood up,

"this is what we will do.

"

Al crossed his arms on top of his chest before squinting his eyes.

"For the next three days, we will all work to restore the production and then to produce the bricks. Then, for the fourth and fifth days, we will stock on supplies. Then, the three or four of us will leave.

"

The kitchen filled up with nothing but silence. This was a slight moment of tranquility. But Al continued.

"This place is too poor to achieve anything. That's why we need to bring more men. My people would be the most obvious choice,

" Al brought his eyes up at Irea.

"That is if young lady will agree to my proposal.

"

"You want to swarm the area that Layn choose for his academy with people under your direct command,

" Irea summed up how she understood the proposition.

"I adore the sentiment, but we were doing quite all right on our own.

"

"Girl, don't test my limits,

" Al said in a lowered voice, squinting his eyes at the girl.

"We can live in this place only because Layn defeated that fallen spirit,

" Irea said firmly as if she wanted to automatically refuse any other interpretation of the situation.

"You are not going to take his dream away,

" she hissed at the burly man.

"Guys, calm down,

" Markus stepped in to stop the escalating conflict.

"There is no need nor time for that,

" he added, rolling his eyes.

"We will turn this place into Layn's academy,

" Irea repeated without any care. 'No way in hell will I compromise on that!' She reassured herself in her thoughts.

Her glare was firm and clear of doubt. But it was only a front. 'Layn is just away for a while. I need to be ready to welcome him back.' This lone thought was what stopped Irea from absolute despair.

She dropped everything and followed after Layn. A few tricks and she was at his order, pulled through events that she would never imagine to be possible.

'Yet, I never hated that,' Irea tightened her fingers into fists, powerless to change the situation they were in. 'If they want to leave, then it's good. But I need to get more people as well,' Irea decided. Then, she allowed her expression to soften up a bit.

"We will do it in a slightly different way,

" she started, raising his head up.

"I will send two of my people with you. Not to spy on you, but just to keep them safe in the desert. I need them to do a few things for me in the city while the barrier will be up,

" she explained before lowering her head and rubbing her chin.

"I understand,

" Markus instantly replied, taking the lead of the conversation before Al could do it himself.

"It's not like we are enemies, right?

" he asked while raising his left eyebrow.

"I never even hinted at something like that,

" Irea replied, relaxing a slight bit.

"I will remain in this place and try to make do with what we have. But, whether more people will come or not, we still need more houses,

" Irea's voice relaxed a bit when she started talking about her plans for the place.

"There is no telling whether it will be of any help, but I might have some useful ideas for settling this place,

" Markus interjected as he looked towards the shore.

"Setting up farms will take a lot of time and won't yield much food anytime soon. We should set some stationary nets to exploit the supplies from the lake,

" the former saint elaborated.

This simple kitchen turned into a commanding center of the entire operation. Not because it had some special utilities. There were no utilities in here.

It turned into a special place because the people inside were pragmatics. Every single one learned about the matters at hand not from the school but by acquiring a real-life experience.

As such, there was no need to bull** each other.

Even though it wasn't said, the situation was now clear to everyone.

Whoever will be able to take the lead in developing the place first will have the claim for it. Whether it would be Al with his people, Markus with his technology, or Irea with her headstart and magic, it was a peculiar three-way battle between actual allies.

This wouldn't be settled with the edges of the weapons. There was no point bleeding each other. It would be simply counterproductive and against the idea behind the entire race.

It wasn't said out loud, but all four of the people in this kitchen understood that this place could only grow as a part of the challenge. Whoever would end up contributing the most would have the right to dictate the rules.

It was that simple, yet that unforgiving.

"Guys, before we begin, let me ask one thing,

" Yelna suddenly entered the discussion. By doing so, she managed to even catch Markus by surprise.

"We might have a way to decide what will become of this place, but there is one thing that you all forgot,

" Yelna said before glancing at all three of her partners as if they were naive children.

"If you believe that Layn is dead, then you are in for a surprise.

" Yelna suddenly stated in a firm voice. It was a voice that didn't accept any opposition.

"Well, for the magnificent bastard he is... He knows how to survive. I will give him that,

" Markus agreed after a moment. After a short while, he lowered his head in respect before Layn's slippery ability to always get out of the danger.

"I never met him before,

" Al suddenly announced,

"but looking at you guys, I now realize what you wanted to say,

" he said as he moved his eyes on Yelna.

"We didn't discuss what would happen if Layn were to return here.

"