Building a Safe Zone with My Harem In The Post-Apocalyptic World-Chapter 56: Fragments of a Future

Gideon stood on the balcony of his room, looking down at the small lights dangling from the tents and scattered around the open space near his house.

From a distance, they looked like stars in a dark sky. Small. Almost insignificant at first glance. But the longer he watched them, the more they felt like fragments of a future slowly taking shape.

"It’s still small, but it will grow," he said with a satisfied smile.

In the end, they had bought new tents from Climber Rift using their own money. Most of their old ones had been destroyed or abandoned when they ran for their lives from the Verdant Devourer.

Gideon had offered to pay with his own cores. As the landowner, he considered them his responsibility. They refused.

They wanted to repay their life debt by working hard to build this land instead.

Still, a question lingered in his mind. Was it even possible to create a stable economy with such a small population and no trade with other territories?

Excluding Climber Rift, of course.

For trade to work, they needed people with specific skills and unique products to sell, something different from the other sellers there. Or at least someone with a god-tier skill that would make their goods stand out.

’For now, I can sell land and weapons to them. I can even draft another agreement and make Freebound my distributor.’

But the items from his systems and from his residents were different. He wanted them to grow without being too dependent on him.

Gideon understood the core principles of economics; Scarcity, supply and demand, marginal cost, marginal benefit, and incentives.

Scarcity meant resources were limited, and allocation depended on supply and demand. Consumers would make decisions based on whether the marginal benefit outweighed the marginal cost, especially when incentives were involved.

They also needed consumers. Without buyers, goods would just pile up.

But if the number of consumers remained this small, especially with this territory being difficult to reach, and with Gideon deliberately avoiding attention from dangerous factions, selling excess resources would be challenging.

’Countries like Japan managed to isolate themselves starting in 1630 for more than two centuries,’ he thought.

However, he knew his situation was not the same. During the Tokugawa period, Japan still maintained controlled trade with the Dutch, Chinese, Koreans, and the Ainu.

Still, Gideon could learn from that period of time. At that time, Japan had a large population, strong agriculture, sufficient natural resources, and the ability to produce domestic necessities within a pre-industrial framework. Their internal economy had enough scale to function.

His Safe Zone, on the other hand, was still tiny. Economic growth would inevitably be slower than other territory factions. But as long as they could fulfill their own domestic needs and strengthen the domestic economy, that would be enough for now.

The system could install a functioning water system and drainage in the completed houses. It could even provide gas lines. Water would not be a problem.

Food would not be either. Crops could grow safely here, and they had access to protein sources from the Glowbats and nearby Geysermire creatures.

The more complicated issue was labor and skill distribution.

How many skilled individuals had he actually gained? Could their abilities be distributed efficiently across sectors, or would a few of them end up carrying the entire burden and burn out?

’Tomorrow, I need to record their biodata and catalog their skills. They will also need proper identification.’

He nodded to himself.

There was no time for hesitation. The system had given him everything he needed. Now it was his responsibility to use it to its fullest potential.

Gideon did not even hear the door creak open.

He only realized someone had entered when a hand touched him. He jolted slightly and turned around, only to find Delilah standing there.

"I’ve been knocking for a while," she said. "So I decided to come in."

"Oh. Sorry." He shrugged and leaned back against the railing. "I was just daydreaming."

"Hm. From what I saw, that didn’t look like simple daydreaming." She stepped onto the balcony and rested her hands on the railing, her gaze drifting toward the lights below.

"You’re not the amnesiac Gideon anymore. You’re their leader now. Someone like you would be thinking about them."

She tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. Her hair was loose, still slightly damp. The wind lifted it gently, framing her face. She looked even more beautiful like this, softer but still composed.

He never thought there would be a day she would walk into his room this casually. Not long ago, she had been suspicious of him, even pointing a gun at him.

’Is this what she meant when she said she wanted to get closer? But this still isn’t enough. I want more.’

Still, he knew Delilah was not like her daughter. One wrong move, and everything would collapse.

"I think they’ll be fine, Gideon," she said quietly. "You helped strangers with everything you had, even knowing you might die. And you never hesitated. You will be fine building this land and overcoming all the crises in the future."

She glanced at him. "You were really cool fighting that monster, you know?"

He grinned. "Are you flirting with me?"

She stiffened, clearly not expecting that. "What? I can’t compliment you without it turning into something romantic?"

He chuckled. "You know I like you. From now on, anything nice you do for me can be interpreted as flirting."

She groaned softly. "You’re impossible."

Yet she stepped closer anyway. Then, without warning, she leaned in and pressed a gentle kiss against his cheek.

Even Gideon froze for a second. Before he could react, she stepped back quickly, putting a noticeable distance between them.

"That’s a thank you," she said, her words tumbling out faster than usual.

"For killing that aberrant. And for taking care of my daughters. And about your body temperature being higher than normal, it’s probably because of your regenerative skill. It forces your body to heal at high speed, which increases your metabolism, so your body works hard for a while."

She spoke so fast that Gideon barely caught everything. She was actually nervous.

"And Jade said you need to come downstairs. The party is about to start."

She turned around almost immediately and walked out, leaving him standing there.

Gideon touched his cheek and laughed under his breath.

"Nah, I will bring this up to tease her even more." he shook his head, "I should have pulled her hand and pinned her down! Damn, next time I will be faster."

He sighed and left the room as the party downstairs waited for him.