Chapter 10 - Void Town
“Uncle, you sure know a lot about magic, don’t you?”
At my question, Glad gave a small nod.
“I dabbled in it a bit back in the day. Even worked at the Ministry of Magic for a while.”
“Oh? So you were pretty good?”
“Well, good enough, I suppose.”
“Then how did you end up as a bandit?”
“A noble colleague framed me for a crime. No one believed my side of the story. Once I got knocked off the rails, it was all downhill... before I knew it, I was here. Pathetic, right? Makes you laugh, doesn’t it?”
“That’s a sad story.”
Everyone had a history.
It was always fascinating to learn about these hidden backstories.
“So? What’s your goal? You didn’t kill us, went through the trouble of capturing us alive... you’ve got a reason for that, don’t you?”
“You’re quick on the uptake. As expected from a former Ministry of Magic man.”
I cleared my throat, spread my arms wide, and boldly declared:
“I want to build a town here—‘Void Town’—and advance civilization!”
In gaming, there was a genre called city-building simulation.
It was a bit niche—basically, the kind of game where you build and manage a town.
I had always liked those slow, methodical games where you quietly make progress over time.
Ronzolkia has this unique concept of mana, so it’s developed in ways completely different from the real world.
If I mixed in knowledge from Japan... something interesting was bound to happen.
If I could invent something useful, it might even help with clearing the main route.
But to build a town, I’d need a lot of manpower.
And my solution... was this bandit hunt.
Capture them in secret, use them as labor.
That way, the town’s safety would be ensured, Glad and his men wouldn’t have to face execution,
And I could enjoy my town-building hobby while smoothing my main mission with new inventions.
A perfect blend of fun and practicality.
Hehe... I can’t wait...!
While I was unable to hide my excitement—
“““...”””
An odd silence fell.
“...Pfft.”
The sound of someone stifling a laugh broke the quiet.
“““Gyahahahahahaha...!”””
A wave of raucous laughter erupted.
“B-build a town in this empty wasteland...? You’re out of your damn mind!”
“Hah—! Save the sleep talk for when you’re actually asleep!”
“Man, your sense of humor is top-notch! I haven’t laughed this hard in ages!”
The bandits doubled over, clutching their stomachs with laughter.
That... ticked me off a little.
“...Don’t laugh at someone’s dream.”
I narrowed my eyes and released the mana I always kept suppressed.
In an instant, cracks split across the Void Realm, and pitch-black gales howled through the air.
W-what the hell is this insane mana...?!
I knew it... this brat isn’t normal...!
A-ababa... ababababababababa...!
The bandits collapsed on the spot, unable to stand, faces twisted in despair.
Amid them all, only Glad still showed backbone.
“No matter how much you threaten me, I ain’t dancing to your tune. Even bandits have their pride. Do whatever you want—boil me, roast me, I don’t care...!”
He glared sharply at me as he spoke.
To still talk tough while bathed in the power of the Void... that took guts.
I eased my mana back down to zero and gave a gentle smile.
“I see... I underestimated you.”
With this type, trying to overpower them with brute force was pointless.
Besides, ruling through fear wasn’t what I wanted.
That kind of dictatorship only suffocated the life out of a town.
No—better to go ahead with my original plan: Plan M (Meat).
“Well then... we’ll meet again.”
I opened the Void once more and returned to the world of Ronzolkia.
Now, there’s something called the Rule of Threes.
Go without oxygen for three minutes, without water for three days, and without food for three weeks—and most people will die.
The Void Realm had air.
As for water... well, I could toss them some rain now and then.
The problem was—food.
Without eating, people would die in three weeks.
On the flip side... it meant they could last three weeks without eating.
Sixteen days after abducting the bandit gang—
I brought a dining set into the Void Realm, and there I was, enjoying a luxurious dinner with knife and fork in hand.
“Aah... top-grade marbled steak really is the best…”
I bit into the meat in an almost showy manner—
“““U-ugh...”””
The starving bandits swallowed hard, their throats bobbing as they stared.
Good, good... it’s working perfectly.
I had already learned that they—especially their leader, Glad—had backbone.
A man who had braced himself that firmly wasn’t going to break easily.
Pain, torture... he’d probably endure them both without flinching.
But hunger... was different.
One of the three great drives—the desire to eat.
That violent craving could drive a person mad with ease.
“I... I can’t... anymore...”
“M-meat...”
“Gimme, gimme gimme gimme gimmeeeeee...!”
Overtaken by hunger, the men surged toward the table like a flood, hands reaching for the marbled steak.
At that moment, I snapped my fingers, layering a thin membrane of Void over the meat’s surface.
The result—no matter how far they stretched, their hands caught nothing but empty air, never getting any closer to the steak.
“A-ahhh... ahhhhh!”
“What the hell is this...? What’s going on?!”
“Damn it...! It’s right there! Why… why can’t I...?!”
Despair settled over the bandits.
Looking down at them, I slowly lifted the last piece of steak to my mouth.
“Mmm… that refined, savory fat... that deep, rich sweetness of the meat! This has to be what they call the ‘taste of happiness’...”
As I delivered my full-powered food report—
“Hollow von Heisenberg... the rumors about your rotten personality weren’t exaggerated...”
“This... this isn’t something a human would do...”
“You devil in human skin...”
The gaunt bandits glared up at me with bitter resentment.
This was Plan M—starve the bandits, then break them with the power of meat.
Unfortunately, I really do come up with devilish ideas, don’t I...
The original Hollow’s thought process was wicked to the extreme.
If it was about finding the thing people hated most, he was the undisputed champion.
From the look of things, they’ll crack any moment now.
I rose from my chair and opened the Void before me, ready to return to the other world.
“Well then, see you tomorrow.”
Just as I put one foot into the black vortex—
“—Wait.”
The unmoving Glad finally spoke.
“Hollow... what is it you want?”
“I think I told you before—I want to build a great town here. Void Town.”
“You want us... to help build it?”
“Exactly.”
I spun on my heel and walked over to Glad.
“This is a win-win situation for you too, you know? You’re criminals who’ve broken the laws of the land—there’s no living honestly in the surface world anymore. So why not live productively here in the Void instead?”
“...This is what they call ‘the devil’s whisper.’”
“Or maybe... ‘an angel’s guidance.’”
“Heh, some angel you are—one awfully steeped in evil.”
As we spoke, the other bandits began chiming in.
“Let’s do it, Lord Glad! Let’s build Void Town here!”
“Hollow’s a genuine psycho! If we drop dead here, he won’t care—he’ll just drag in another bandit gang!”
“No point in holding out and dying for nothing! It galls me to listen to this devil, but... let’s give up on the surface and make something of ourselves here!”
Persuaded by his subordinates, Glad made the bitter decision.
“...Fine. From now on, we’ll be your hands and feet. But feed us. We’re at our limit...”
“Oh, wonderful! That makes us family! Let’s all work together to build a splendid Void Town!”
I said that while pointing to a certain spot in the Void Realm.
There, a mountain of dirt and sand I had brought in from outside towered high, with dozens of shovels stuck into it.
“First things first—could you flatten out all that dirt over there?”
The void had no ceiling, no real floor—it just felt... empty.
Humans were land creatures, after all; a proper ground underfoot made things feel right.
So step one of the Void Town development project was creating a nice, brown earth surface.
“H-hey, hold on just a damn minute! This isn’t what we agreed on! Where’s the food?!”
Glad’s eyes went wide as he lodged his protest.
“You know the saying, ‘He who does not work, neither shall he eat,’ right? If you work properly, I’ll make sure you get a good meal. Don’t worry—by the Rule of Threes, you won’t die for at least another five days.”
For the next three hours, the bandits toiled away, sweating and straining with all they had.
The snow-white ground at their feet gradually turned to brown earth, until a proper surface began to take shape.
“Haa... haa... there, that’s good enough, right?”
“Yep, perfect. —Alright, everyone, great work. As promised, I’ve prepared a delicious meal for you.”
With a snap of my fingers, a massive banquet table appeared out of thin air.
On it sat three enormous pots—thud, thud, thud—each brimming with simple yet glorious fare: steaming white rice, thick cuts of meat, and miso soup. The kind of food that makes you say, ‘Yes, this. This is exactly what I wanted.’
I’d had the Heisenberg family’s maids make it specially for this occasion.
“““...!”””
Glossy white rice, slabs of meat radiating sheer carnivorous power, and the rich aroma of miso. Faced with this sudden feast, the bandits gulped audibly.
“Alright, everyone—grab a plate from over there and line up here. No need to rush, there’s enough for—”
The moment I—wearing a kerchief and apron—moved to serve them cafeteria-style—
“““Uooooooo—!!”””
The bandits could hold back no longer and charged forward.
“Yes, yes, keep calm while you eat! Water’s over there, help yourselves!”
I ladled out rice, meat, and miso soup in quick succession, clearing the line at blistering speed.
“This... just plain white rice, and it’s so good I could die...!”
“Meat, meat, meeeat!”
“This hot miso soup... it’s soaking into my bones...!”
“Mom... I swear I’ll live an honest life this time...”
With tears streaming down their faces, they savored their first real meal in sixteen days.
Heh. Yep, they’re completely mine now.
As I was thinking that, Glad strode up to me.
“Hey, Hollow. About building this Void Town—what should we start with?”
“Oh? Feeling motivated, are we?”
“Once I’ve decided to do something, I go all in. Besides... we’re never getting out of here, are we?”
“Right.”
Glad and the others had learned the truth about me and the <Void>.
Unfortunately, there was no way I could let them leave this realm.
Not that it mattered—they were hardened criminals to begin with, and letting them loose in the city would be far too dangerous.
“If we’re stuck here for life, then let’s make Void Town so damn big and prosperous it rivals the outside world! That way, we won’t have anything left to miss out there!”
“Now that’s the spirit.”
I rather liked that kind of forward-thinking attitude.
If you’re going to do it, might as well enjoy it.
“So, back to my question—what do we start with? You’re the boss here. Give the orders.”
“Hmm... well, first things first—how about we build you guys some sleeping quarters? Sleeping in a heap like that’s not good for you.”
“Oh, that’d help a lot. We’ve even got a guy who dabbled in construction back in the day. As long as we have materials, we can manage most things.”
“In that case, I’ll pull in whatever we need from the outside world... Alright, let’s make that spot over there the storage area for materials.”
I pointed to a certain point within the Void Realm.
“Massive trees, boulders, piles of dirt—it’s all going to come flying in without warning, so don’t get too close. You could die if you get caught in it.”
“Got it.”
Once we had our immediate plans set, Glad bellowed at the top of his lungs:
“Listen up, you lot! Looks like we ain’t ever goin’ back to the surface. But that don’t mean our lives are over! We’re gonna build a massive city here and live it up!”
“““Oooohhh!”””
As expected of bandits, they truly lived in the moment.
Honestly, I might have to learn a thing or two from how quickly they could switch gears.
Alright... so far, so good.
I’d mastered the basics of swordsmanship and magic, secured the Forbidden Archive, and claimed my own city—Void Town.
Piece by piece, I was steadily building my strength.
And the next thing I needed to tackle was clear—healing magic. Yes... that was the obvious choice.
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