Bestowing names upon the thirty selected Ogres cost Rin over 50,000 magicules.

With the remaining 14,000, Rin, following the recommendations of Hakurou and Akano, bestowed names upon several of the village's special talents.

There were five of them: Oshiroibabā, an expert in medicine. Kurobe, a blacksmith who survived in the original story. Kinkaku (male), skilled in mathematics and calculations. Yukihime (female), who was highly knowledgeable. And lastly, Benihime, who, like Akano and Benimaru, came from the Red Ogre clan and had impressive confidence in her cooking.

[Itoshi Rin]

[Magicules: 26000EP]

Twenty-six thousand. That was the amount of magicules Rin had remaining after finishing the first batch of namings.

Less, but not small.

"My magicules haven't disappeared. They've just changed form to accompany me."

After establishing his presence in the village, Rin officially began reforms.

First was the village structure, shifting from the old employment model to one that emphasized autonomy and independence.

Then came the expansion of territory.

Every Ogre was basically a humanoid excavator. Even the children contributed to the construction.

"The center of the village will be the main square. From there, we divide it into four zones using a cross-grid layout."

In a quiet traditional courtyard, Rin sat beneath the eaves. Curled up in his lap like a small beast was a delicate, fairy-like girl—Ogerpon.

At the moment, Ogerpon had buried her head into Rin's chest, gently sniffing his scent and letting out a soft, contented murmur.

"Residential, labor, entertainment, and training zones."

"Shops will be built along the crossroads to create a shopping street."

As Rin gently patted Ogerpon's back to coax her to sleep, he calmly laid out his plans.

Swish, swish, swish.

Shuna wrote down Rin's instructions word for word. She listened attentively and occasionally asked important clarifying questions.

"Yes, yes, yes, I understand..."

Shion was also jotting things down on the side.

Rin peeked at what Shion was writing and saw she'd drawn a bunch of rectangles and squares.

As for the text...

Rin could only sigh, this was exactly what he expected from her.

Completely incomprehensible.

Thankfully, he had Shuna. Who had an exceptional talent for internal affairs and administrative work.

"The residential area is almost finished, but isn't it a bit too big?"

Following Rin's instructions, Shuna had the Ogres cut down part of the forest to build new homes.

The number of houses now far exceeded the village's actual population.

With fewer than 250 members, and even with the 30 out on missions, less than half of the houses would be used if distributed by headcount.

But this clearly wasn't the plan.

The Ogres operated in family units. With only about 80 households total, they didn't need that many houses.

"This is preparation for the future."

Rin was thinking of the village built by Rimuru in the original work. He intended to follow a similar model and subdue other monster races.

Doing so would not only bring Rin more magicule income, but also lay the groundwork for founding a nation.

If he wanted to become a Demon Lord, he couldn't walk that path alone.

He'd need ministers, armies, and citizens.

"What do you mean?"

"There aren't only Ogres in the Great Jura Forest."

Rin said, "Lizardmen, Goblins, Insect-type Monsters, Tengu, Orcs..."

"I need their power."

Shuna and the others were Rin's followers now, so he didn't need to hide such intentions.

"If I can get them all under my banner, even if each only provides 1% of their magicules, and the average is just 10 points, that's still millions."

When Shuna heard "millions," her face turned bright red. She looked like a new bride learning her husband's annual salary.

"1% is just the beginning."

Rin was confident. Under his people-first policies, the rate of magicule feedback from these monsters would definitely rise.

After all, this feedback model wasn't a one-time gain.

Once they became Rin's followers, recipients of his protection and dependents under his rule, every bit of growth on their part would provide Rin with a 1% to 3% increase in magicules.

When the timing was right, Rin would use his stored magicules to name them.

That way, the return rate would rise from 3% to 15%.

At first glance, it looked like a loss—Rin would be spending his own magicules to evolve others.

But when you thought about it, was it really a loss?

Take the Ogres as an example. Was 12,000EP the cap for evolved Benimaru or Shuna?

Obviously not.

They would continue growing stronger.

All future magicules gained after evolution would be profit, pure return on investment.

So for Rin, who possessed the Unique Skill Leader, naming wasn't wasteful. It was strategic investment.

Even though Leader is powerful, it has its limits.

During this time, Rin had more or less figured out the skill's ceiling.

Its upper limit is 1 million magicules. Anything more and Leader won't be able to affect it.

This was understandable.

Leader was just a Unique Skill. It was impossible for it to endlessly increase magicules without any restriction.

Fortunately, Rin could use his stored magicules to empower the monsters under his command.

As long as I use the magicules before reaching the 1 million mark, Leader will let me gather more.

This cycle not only empowered Rin, but also gave the named Monster races a massive leap forward.

That's why Rin didn't just avoid harming the intelligent races of the forest, he was giving them a better future.

You're all experience packs I treasure!

No killing required. Just make them submit and magicules will flow endlessly. Was there anything more delightful than this?

"Let me go, Rin-sama!"

Shion volunteered eagerly. "I'll beat them all into submission, one by one!"

"I already asked Souei and the Shadow Squad to investigate nearby territories."

Rin didn't plan to act so soon. "I'll make the call after they return with intel on the neighboring races."

"Ugh..."

Shion looked disappointed. She really wanted to go out and fight.

"Don't worry. When the time comes, you'll get your turn."

"Really?!"

Shion was easy to please.

This girl was a pure tomboy. In terms of IQ, she was about equal to Ogerpon, not the sharpest blade in the rack.

(To be continued.)