The last building slot set her up for a bad case of analysis paralysis.
She was deciding between the Armory (Lv1) and the Warehouse (Lv1).
Both options had their pros and cons, and she was a little confused as to which one she should build.
She turned around to look at the people who had been following her around as she set up the buildings, staring around in childlike wonder.
This was understandable, as seeing edifices slowly materialize—speck by speck—from the ground up within a day was indeed a miraculous sight.
She reckoned if there was popcorn, they would've consumed several buckets by now.
"I need your opinion on something." She asked after clearing her throat, catching their attention.
"Yes boss, anything!" They said, obviously very excited about anything territory-related.
"I have one more building slot to fill up and I'm ambivalent between two options." She told them, "I'm torn between Armory (Lv1) and Warehouse (Lv1)." She said, and then she directly stated some of the pros and cons of each one.
The others were also confused and conflicted.
For better or for worse, only armor makers could create defense equipment effective against monsters. Their leather clothing from Terran, created by advanced science, could not compare.
Althea mused it must have to do with some local elements they didn't know. Similar to how a set of bows and arrows could be more effective than a gun.
In any case, this was basically a choice between additional defense for an individual and something that would bring great convenience and advantages to the territory administration.
Sheila shut her eyes and pursed her lips, thinking. Defense was good, but the warehouse was also good.
Harold, as a housekeeper, and thus had a bit of bias towards the warehouse. However, he was also very aware of the merits of the armory instead. Knowing he wouldn't be able to provide a smart argument, he opted not to speak for now.
It was Eugene who said his piece first. "The armory is good, but it only produces Level E equipment for now."
They were all relatively high level compared to the monsters here, not to mention the huge wall that protected them. "The convenience of the warehouse, on the other hand, is very high.
"Not only would Boss have additional 'space' with a fresh-keeping function, but Boss could also use this in attacking and defending."
Althea agreed. Leaving aside the huge space, there were plenty of other functions that could have if used well.
For instance, making a piece of slab appear in front as a shield. For instance, storing a boulder and throwing it over a person's head.
She had long wanted to do so, as early as when she was just dealing with zombies.
Sadly, the space wasn't big enough at the time.
In the end, she just needed a second opinion, because people's instinctive choice was to fully equip themselves before any convenience.
The other two saw his point and nodded in agreement.
Althea opened her lord panel again and decided to choose to build a Warehouse (Lv1).
She felt a sense of satisfaction in finally utilizing the system to her level. Perhaps even beyond it.
In fact, there was also another consideration on her part in choosing the warehouse. That was, to use the warehouse to store stones and wood that was larger than her cap.
The fact that level 4 walls weren't locked when its full-use requirement exceeded the level cap, gave her an idea.
Don't say people would simply not build around the entire territory, Althea just thought there must be a way around it.
As for the existing vegetation, she decided to keep as much as possible, to take advantage of the resource refresh. Since she could not move the trees or buildings, she could only maximize their existence as they were.
As for the resources, except for the loose stone and twigs, the rest would be charged, but only very little—just enough for people not to think they could take the resources for granted.
For now, she was planning to set a very negligible price of 1 copper per half a kilogram of edible food/plant, but with limited qty (½ kg) per person per day.
When the population grew, this price would also increase a bit, but this was an issue for later.
Anyway, this would ensure people would have enough food, but at the same time safeguarding the interests of the other citizens and, of course, the territory itself.
Similarly, water could also be taken from the lake or the stream for 5 copper per bucket.
At the very least, the system gave her the convenience of setting up 'charge points' so she didn't have to watch every resource point. It would watch itself.
To sum, in her territory, a person would be able to decently meet their basic needs with 30 coppers per day.
She then turned her attention to Harold, which made the old man straighten up his back.
"I need you to open a restaurant for me." She said, pointing at one of the mixed-used buildings along the road. "You will provide relatively affordable food to the masses. It doesn't have to be too fancy, but definitely offers much better food than the system restaurant."
"No problem, boss!" Harold said, confident. Even when the ingredients were limited, the 'rival establishment' in comparison was a really low standard to beat.
"I will give you 10% of the profit and, when you finish paying your debt, I'll give you 50%." Harold stared at her, as if confirming she had actually said so.
When she repeated her words, a bit slower, the old man's expression brightened and he nodded successively.
This type of business fitted his heart and passion very well. He would definitely do well!
Althea smiled at the simmering-in-joy old man and turned to the dark-skinned Eugene, who was watching on in interest. "I'll need you for personal use. We have a lot to do."
Eugene nodded, honored by her trust. Since working with the boss on the custom house, he had gained a new sort of admiration for her—professional worship. "Yes, boss!"
She smiled and, finally, turned to Sheila. "Would you temporarily be able to handle a clinic? I'll supply the medicines."
"I'd be glad to!"
"Temporarily until we find a good person to watch the shop. I'm hoping to have you as a correspondent for health concerns in the territory."
Sheila was touched by her trust. "I'll do my best! And I will also look for good doctors to assist us as well."
Althea smiled. It was really great to have reliable partners.
Alas, she just missed her husband again…