"Load them faster! Aim faster! The enemy wouldn't wait for you!"
"YES, SIR!"
"Theresa, your aim is too weak! Five shots and nothing hit! Switch out with Hercy!"
"I apologize, Sir! I have weak eyes..."
"I don't care. You can still pass the bolts to Hercy, or wind the ratchet to load the next shot. So you still have lots of things to do!"
"S-Sir, yes, sir!"
"And you, Teruria! What the heck are you doing? You're trying to shoot south to hit north?!"
"Hiik! T-This crossbow is too hard to use...!"
"Don't blame the weapon! The others are using it properly, you see?!"
The girls' training was still ongoing. Of course, Axel didn't act all nice and friendly, but rather, like a drill sergeant who wanted to make his recruits see hell first thing!
Despite the mental stress it placed the "recruits" under, it was quite effective in making them remember what they needed to do. As proof, in just under two hours, the girls who hadn't even touched weapons before could now fire the two ballistas without much difficulty.
This was not only because they were fast learners, but rather, because they'd done their practice with the crossbows that Axel prepared first.
The same as with Arianne and the others, he let them understand the principle of a crossbow first before moving to the mega-sized crossbow—a ballista!
Now, of course, the crossbows weren't just resting on the racks while they trained on the ballista. Rather, it was the bandits who were under the Obedience Curse who were training to use it.
Axel was worried about them trying to aim at others before, but seeing as, despite their cursing, they could only aim it toward the targets Axel set, he felt relieved. At this rate, unless they misfired and hit themselves, there should be no friendly-fire cases to be recorded.
"Alright, that's enough!"
And just as the clock struck four in the afternoon, Axel clapped his hands, signaling for everyone to stop.
"With this much ability, we shouldn't have any problems against the next wave." He announced with a firm, approving nod. "Then, everyone should rest for the next two hours and prepare for our defense later! Angela, you're coming with me to prepare dinner!"
"S-Sir, yes, sir!"
"Ah, enough of that. The drill is over, so just talk as usual."
"A-Alright, Sir Axel."
The Spartan training was over for now, with everyone's skill in firing the crossbow and the ballista reaching acceptable levels. Axel was already satisfied with these results.
Anyway, everyone needed some rest.
Their faces were already pale from exertion during the nonstop training, so if they didn't take a break, they wouldn't be able to fight at their peak performance either. Thus, his idea of an early dinner.
After they made the bandits return to the walled-off section, giving them two barrels of water and five pieces of bread to share, Axel turned to head back to the center of the camp.
To his surprise, the little girls—including Karen, who was too young to fight—were still playing without getting tired.
Although most of them weren't "real" children, the sight of kids playing heartily, chuckling loudly, was enough to make everyone's lips curl up into a heartwarming smile.
'But with a good meal, it should boost their morale even further!'
For tonight, to celebrate them having a new "home" and to cheer the new fighting force, he decided to splurge on food even more.
Inside the first prefab home, he set the ingredients on top of the table, with Angela beside him, waiting for orders.
"Alright," Axel nodded, talking to her in a calm voice. "We'll be making a hot pot using all these ingredients. Listen well to my instructions and do them carefully."
"Y-Yes...!"
Angela's job was simple chores while watching as Axel did most of the cooking.
A hot pot, however, was a simple dish that doesn't really need much "skill," only enough ingredients. Thus, there wasn't much for Angela to learn from it.
After washing the vegetables and cutting them lightly, she was then made to hard-boil eggs.
During that time, Axel created the soup where everything would be placed. Add meat to let it broil, simmer, and add the vegetables. And just like that, the hot pot was almost done.
Of course, that alone would be lacking in calories.
Thus, Axel also worked on a few more dishes by the side.
Peanut butter sandwich, tuna sandwich, and a simple boiled pasta with tomato sauce. It was too "basic" to even label it as spaghetti, so he didn't dare call it such.
"Alright, it's done! Call everyone for dinner!"
Angela didn't delay, calling the girls and the other women into the room. Although with their numbers, it was quite a tight fit in a single prefab home.
"What is this bread... so soft and delicious?!""This... I resolved myself thinking it was worms, but it's firm and filling! The sweet and sour sauce is stimulating my hunger!""This hot pot is amazing too! Meat! I want more meat!"
And soon enough, the table became almost like a warzone. Forks and spoons sped left and right, almost dangerously so. However, thankfully, nobody was hurt, and everyone enjoyed dinner until they were all full.
To Axel, this much expense was nothing.
However, to him a few days ago, this definitely would've felt like a great expense.
"It's just the fourth day, but I feel like it's been almost a month already..." He mumbled to himself, enjoying an after-meal tea.
Of course, despite looking like he wasn't doing anything, he was actually moving his shop using his mind, resting his hands—placing the crafted items on sale and assessing the new products he made, especially the random accessories.
Those accessories were truly random. Not only in form, but even in their magical properties. For example:
To useless ones like:
Of course, he wasn't one to waste his materials for nothing. Thus, even though they looked useless to him, he still posted them in the shop for sale, directly using the system-provided prices for them.
"As for the most useful ones..."
Axel didn't dare disregard everyone's well-being and just sell everything that was useful.
As such, he made sure to keep one accessory of each kind for the girls later.
Now, he just needed to figure out when to give them the items...