Iron Harvest: When Farming Becomes Conquest-Chapter 281 - 17: Political Investment

Several witches now had little work to do and greater freedom, so they wandered around leisurely to familiarize themselves with the environment as Roman instructed.

Currently, the witches were officially Origin Manor’s "frequent visitors."

"That girl is something else," Monica remarked admiringly as she watched Nillie’s retreating figure, noting her rare blue hair. "Edith, what do you think?"

"To tell the truth, five silver coins are quite a sum," replied Edith. "I had Nillie inquire for me, and I refuse to believe that Roman pays us less than he does her!"

Monica glanced at her askew. "I wasn’t talking about salary."

"What else could it be? We’re not gullible like Gwivelle and Sanna, those two little girls. Roman hasn’t given them a penny, picking on little witches, right? I can’t stand it! It’s just too bullying!"

"Yes, Edith is right!" Brenna agreed.

Employing child labor was one thing.

Adult witches definitely shouldn’t work unpaid.

"You just play dumb. I’m talking about her personally!"

"Forget it, we’ve just arrived and should keep to ourselves. If he finds out I read her mind, we might get a salary cut."

"Oh, speaking of which, that mysterious look of hers is not something ordinary people have—remember, the Fury bloodline is related to the ocean, right?"

"That has faded long ago. Fury has been on land for such a long time. Nillie is from Sea Castle, so there’s still a bit of the sea’s scent about her. I heard the conqueror’s fleet also has warriors from Sea Castle. Shasta, what’s his name..."

Passing by, Shasta said, "Deep Sea. They call themselves the divine people of the deep, favored by the ocean. When the conqueror embarked on his expedition, the elite from Sea Castle ventured forth, but they all vanished deep in the Nether Sea, not one returned alive, and that’s when Sea Castle began its decline. They are cursed, and no lord of Sea Castle ever meets a good end."

"You know so much more."

Shasta said indifferently, "The prophet often mentions this, but you never take it seriously."

"So, you get a little flattery and it goes to your head? You loved listening to grandma’s stories as a kid. Instead of those stale tales, it’s better to learn more spells..." Monica trailed off, suddenly staring intently at Shasta, then sighed abruptly.

"Shasta, to put it bluntly... you really don’t have much of an advantage."

Shasta frowned, "What advantage?"

"Nillie could become your rival."

Shasta looked even more bewildered.

"Stop talking in riddles. Just say it—her looks are comparable to yours. You’re only better than her in single combat, but she’s smarter than you, at least she got those two silver coins which you couldn’t, and she’s younger. When it comes to vying for favor later, what will you use to suppress her spirit? Besides, sisters can’t really help you with this..."

Finally understanding, Shasta scoffed coldly, "You’re so boring!"

Then she walked away.

Edith innocently looked towards Monica.

Monica didn’t reply, imitating Shasta as she scoffed coldly, "You’re so boring!"

Then she too walked away.

Left without an audience, Edith muttered to herself, "Don’t blame me for not warning you..."

...

Nillie met Roman with a nervous heart.

Roman had been in a very good mood these past few days.

Five hundred draws, the first ten consecutive Angel Envoys had the highest quality, but it went downhill from there.

There were about forty Three Star Level Angel Envoys.

And ten Four Star Level Angel Envoys—six of whom were witches by origin, the remaining four included a nun, a mercenary, and a priest.

There were three Five Star Level Angel Envoys—besides Margaret and Shasta, the third was Dark Lucia.

Despite this, Roman was quite satisfied.

He would make use of the capable Angel Envoys immediately; those who couldn’t be used should just go with the flow.

For example, the Three Star and Four Star Angel Envoys of priest and nun origin who refused to submit to him, there was nothing Roman could do—if they didn’t obey, they would continue to toil like slaves.

His standards had risen, his confidence boosted, and he was no longer interested in some of the Three Star and Four Star individuals.

These days, the servants at the manor could often see the smile of the River Valley King.

When Roman saw Nillie, he smiled and took the report card she handed over.

"Oh, over four hundred children passed basic education?" Roman exclaimed in surprise.

In his view, basic education was equivalent to completing the second grade of elementary school.

Mastery of a thousand words could be defined as an excellent performance.

Even so, this had puzzled them.

Being able to grasp so many words meant that they could understand various written orders.

This meant that when Roman needed to assign certain tasks, he didn’t have to go personally or send someone specifically; just sending the written orders was enough for literate people to understand and execute.

Of course, the issue of inadequate understanding or execution still posed a challenge.

But this was also the first step towards establishing an administrative system.

Even if Roman used up all the stored Blue Gemstones, there were only five hundred people.

Ultimately, social development had to be driven by society itself.

Supernatural powers could provide only the initial momentum.

Once the scale increased, tens or hundreds of thousands of literate elementary school students would graduate each year.

Note it’s every year!

If Roman wanted to further improvements, then each year, he would need to spend hundreds of thousands of Gold Coins, not to mention resources for recruitment.

"Nillie, you’ve done well; are you planning to leave now?" Roman asked.

Nillie’s entire demeanor relaxed as she quietly replied, "If you permit it."

After a moment’s reflection, Roman said, "You aim to reclaim the Sea Castle, and surely the people there are waiting for your return..."

This counted as a political investment.

There were numerous examples of exiled governments successfully reclaiming their homelands with the help of political investments.

However, there were also instances where investors and recipients became estranged.

Roman didn’t mind this risk.

Currently, Nillie’s 82% Relationship was not fictitious.

Of course, one could say that Nillie, unable to leave him, resulted in such a high Relationship.

But even if she betrayed him in the future, he could punish her with a couple of punches and then pin her down on a table.

If Nillie had any brains, she would know how to choose.

The only issue now was how much seed money he should give Nillie.

Last year, he promised a minimum of one Infantry, which amounted to three hundred soldiers.

But that was not safe.

Naturally, the Sea Castle was a powerful domain, and once its lord returned, the citizens would surely welcome him warmly with food and drink along the streets.

But this was not good news for the neighbors of the Sea Castle.

For instance, Lord Poplar and Earl Bell, the main powers who had plundered the Sea Castle, along with other Nobles probably enjoyed their share as well.

They could accept a desolate land without a master. But definitely not a strong neighbor.

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The accumulated wealth of the Sea Castle had been plundered clean; now, with the lord returning, what would they think? What would they do?

Three hundred soldiers definitely had a high probability of losing.

Once lost, that would be throwing his investment into the sea.

Even if they won, it would be a narrow victory.

Roman hated such uncertainty the most.

If there was no sure win, it was best not to act.

But if he had to act, then he’d knock them down with a few punches!