The restoration of the Grand Temple, which had been burned down in the great fire the previous day, was being carried out with the help of a handful of people.

Even though the Temple had collapsed, there were still believers in the Light.

…The problem was that those so-called priests had been worse than monsters.

Had this been the past, the entire kingdom would have gathered to help rebuild. But now, only a tiny fraction of the population was offering their aid.

Approximately ninety people.

And half of them weren’t even volunteers—they were construction workers hired by Roen.

The number of actual volunteers? Just forty-five.

A pathetic reality.

And an even more pathetic fact?

"Hey, Barry! Get the cement mix right!"

"Ah, sorry."

"Bring the pickaxe over here!"

"Shovel! I said grab a damn shovel!"

Thirty of those forty-five volunteers weren’t here out of faith—they were swordsmanship academy cadets forced into labor.

The Hundred and Eight Arhats.

The Berserkers (Teddy Bears).

The Baldies.

They went by many names, and now, they were working as unpaid laborers at the Grand Temple’s construction site.

Not because they were devout, but because—@@novelbin@@

"Excavating a mountain is a good workout."

"Huh? What are we supposed to be excavating?"

"A mountain."

"…How?"

"Properly."

"???"

—Their instructor had sent them here under the guise of training.

"It’s good for training external energy. Digging up the mountain, climbing, using pickaxes—it’ll help you build muscle. And don’t worry about food—Blacky will feed you three meals a day, so you’ll get plenty of protein."

"……"

"From now on, forget the training grounds. Just report to the mountains. A week should be enough."

"…Excuse me?"

"Actually, five days. I did it myself, so I know."

"……We’re human, you know?"

Their protests had been completely ignored.

When the instructor himself claimed he could do it and even offered to demonstrate, what counterargument could they possibly have?

Besides, rejecting a method to become stronger would be foolish.

Thus, the Teddy Bears were thrown into construction, busily tearing apart the mountain and rebuilding.

If their efforts could bring a dead land back to life, at least it would be rewarding.

And so—

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