14 Dale's Group Arrives at Hope Village

Hope Village.

Sam woke up in his bed, staring at the ceiling once again.

He doesn't know if he has PTSD, but every time he wakes up he could only remember the past.

The women he slept with but forgot about, the money all wasted on slots, the debts he collected, and the people he abused.

'Is this a side effect of being reborn or what?' Sam slowly got up from his bed with his hand on his temple.

He quickly got up and washed up with a bucket already set for him outside his door by one of the villagers.

'I should be grateful I get treated like this!' Sam, who was slightly haunted by memories of the past smiled at the gestures made by the villagers and quickly left the courtyard house and headed to meet with Old Man Jim.

"Lord! Report for the day, the farmers are finished with plowing the land, and we are now beginning to fertilize and seed the plot!" The village elder who was speaking to some other people in the recreational building quickly rushed towards Sam and began reading out his report.

Sam smiled, "Alright, I'll look around the farm when they are done with seeding! Anything else?"

"The house for the future refugees is here, they don't look as appealing but it is better than sleeping outside in the cold!"

"I know, it is only temporary until we find a stable source of stone. We could head to the mountains but it is a far journey away and we would need horses to carry the resource to us!"

Old Man Jim sighed, "Soon, Lord! Soon we shall get things running!"

Sam chuckled "That's the spirit, now let us walk around and inspect how everyone is doing!"

Sam and Old Man Jim continued to walk around and interact with everyone, with many happy that Sam took the time to speak to them. Sam continued to explain that although he is the Lord, he isn't some sort of deity and only wishes to see everyone healthy and happy, to which every single person replied with a handshake or a hug.

"Anyone in a relationship? People talking about having kids?" Sam asked Old Man Jim when they finished talking with the other people in the village.

Jim sighs, he looked at the women who were smiling and talking amongst themselves.

"Not yet, I don't think they would want children, especially with some of these women burying both their husbands and kids."

"I believe in a society free of pressure, if these women do not want kids that is fine. We can't force them to breed like they are cattle, they have the right to work and earn as much as the men do, and it helps production that way."

Sam when he was younger was a womanizer, a person who saw women beneath him and only used them as tools and objects to show off.

But as he grew in the other world, he realized that some women here were more capable and stronger than men. Hell, one of the ladies was a famous mercenary who many feared. How could he look down on someone who is clearly above him? So when handling his village, he would take whatever help he got, regardless of their gender. After all, work is work!

"You already have a mind of an amazing leader, Lord! You are already ten times better than the nobles from the kingdom!"

"I'll take that as a compliment!" Sam chuckled.

"Lord, a group of people with Ramon are near the village, probably the refugees!" One of the lumberjacks who was working rushed towards Sam and quickly informed him of what he saw.

"You go on and do some work, Old Man Jim, please check on the houses and see if it is in good condition and nothing is wrong with them, I'll meet with them alone!"

Old Man Jim nods and walked toward the residential homes, meanwhile, Sam began heading toward Ramon and the villagers.

"Lord! I have returned!" Ramon says with a smile, and Sam nods and stares at the other people behind Ramon.

"This is Dale, he is in charge of the village I found in the camp that you told me to investigate!"

Dale stepped forward and introduced himself to Sam, "I am Dale, I heard that you even prepared housing for us for the small chance we agree to settle with you, which I thank you for."

"No problem, no problem. I am always looking for able workers, and you guys seem like you need a new home so I offer you once again to come to stay, settle down, and help out with the village. My goal is to expand a bit, grow the settlement and even reach a stage where we all have a better life!"

Dale smiles, and Sam then turned his head to three other men who were distancing themselves from the group of villagers.

"And who are these three gentlemen?"

Ramon stands next to Sam and briefly introduces them, "These three are members of another village, requesting our help!"

"Another village? Whereabouts?"

"Up north, where the bandits were heading."

Sam raised his eyebrow and looked at the three.

"Before we talk, are you affiliated with the kingdom?"

The three shake their heads, and one stepped forward.

"Kingdom doesn't talk to small villages. Maybe because the king can't afford to expand their militia further to protect us."

Sam takes note of the fact that kingdoms don't take small villagers based on their inability to provide protection.

"We will speak in my office, but for now, let us get the villagers settled in their temporary home"

"Temporary?" Dale said.

"Yes, it isn't exactly the best home we can come up with on short notice and in short supply, but when we find the right resources then we will upgrade the house to a much cozier one. Is that fine?"

"No problem, we will do as you say, Lord!"

[[SYSTEM NOTIFICATION: You have gained 14 new villagers!]]

Sam nods and tells them to follow him as he leads them to Old Man Jim.

"Welcome, welcome!" Old Man Jim smiles and begins talking to the others about what sort of work they are doing at the moment and also where they would be sleeping.

Dale's group was shocked at how organized the village was, with one side being a residential home area, another a farming area, and in the middle was an open square with a small building which has people talking and relaxing.

"Right now, some of our men are cutting down trees next to our farming part of the village, and we might ask some of you guys to join them and help out. Do not worry, we have something to help train you for the work."

Sam looked on as Old Man Jim acted as a tour guide, impressed at how Jim could explain the village as if it was some sort of tourist designation, despite it being extremely barebones and bland.

"You continue ahead with Old Man Jim! Dale, Ramon and you three come with me to my office. We got some stuff to talk about!"

Sam then turned towards his courtyard building and the five men followed behind him.

[[SYSTEM NOTIFICATION: You have gained a quest "Exterminate the Red Eye Crew"! Eliminate the bandits that are harassing your neighboring village! Rewards: Horses to spawn near the village! Duration: 25 days]]

Sam stopped in his tracks suddenly and grinned from ear to ear seeing the quest pop up.

'Perfect timing.'

Horses were a great means of transport and travel in this world, and despite scouting the entire forest, Ramon hadn't stated that there was any horses nearby, nor did Old Man Jim say they had horses even before Sam took over.

He also wanted to go into combat once more, gain experience, and start building himself up as a powerhouse in case the village comes and recognize his work as leader of the village and begin acknowledging the village as part of their realm.

"Lord? You okay?" Ramon walked up to Sam and patted his shoulder, waking up Sam from his thoughts.

"Nothing, let's head in and talk about what is going on!" Sam walked into his courtyard building and headed to his office.