"Right now, we barely have enough food to survive, so planting flax is definitely out of the question." Phield understood immediately, but then he changed the topic. "What about making clothes from spider silk? That stuff is even tougher and more elastic than silkworm silk."

"Silkworm silk? Spider silk?" Kaor looked completely confused. "What would we even use thread from those pathetic little bugs for? Also... what exactly is a silkworm?"

"It’s the material used to make silk, obviously," Phield replied as though it were common sense.

"Huh?" Kaor’s brain practically shut down.

"Right, I almost forgot. The method of making silk never spread to the Empire, and the Empire doesn’t even have silkworms."

Smacking his forehead, Phield realized he had taken things for granted.

In this world, all silk came from the East. Every year, the royal family spent staggering amounts of gold importing these top-tier luxury goods. Originally, the nearby Purple Gold Empire had possessed the only silk workshop in the region, but the flames of the heretic wars had reduced it to ashes.

Because of that, the price of silk within the Sacred Griffin Empire had skyrocketed by more than fivefold.

The same went for cotton. The Sacred Griffin Empire didn’t have that either.

Kaor inhaled sharply.

His eyes overflowed with shock as he screamed internally: Could it be that Lord Phield actually knows the secret behind silk? That’s right, he definitely does. He’s basically the beloved son of the Goddess of Wisdom. Damn it, I heard all of that too. Is the lord going to silence me now?

"Ahem, no need to be so nervous. I’m not that kind of person. Besides, the Empire doesn’t even have silkworms capable of producing silk."

Looking at the steward drenched in sweat, Phield couldn’t help but laugh and motioned for him to calm down.

"Whew... that’s wonderful news."

"Don’t relax too early. Here, sign this magic contract and guarantee that you won’t leak any secrets. Of course, the secrets include more than just silk. It also covers all the industrial secrets of the territory."

Phield only intended to restrict industrial information. As for gossip and casual chatter, Kaor could say whatever he wanted.

"Of course, my lord. Honestly, I was worried I might accidentally let something slip anyway." Kaor actually looked relieved.

With the contract in place, Kaor felt much more at ease. At the very least, it meant the lord truly had no intention of killing him. Magic contracts were extremely expensive.

One of the foundations of ruling a territory was managing people. Phield wasn’t some chosen hero who could raise his arms and instantly gain absolute loyalty. For important positions, confidentiality agreements were absolutely necessary.

After settling everything, Phield finally explained, "The threads produced by insects can be woven into clothing. Later, take a batch of female slaves to the breeding grounds of the Holy Light Spiders and collect the silk they spin through a reeling process. Uh, silk reeling is something similar to a waterwheel. I’ll draw it for you later."

The large number of Holy Light Spiders raised in the territory had previously been used like cranes for lifting cargo. Now they could finally contribute to the textile industry as well.

No one in the territory was allowed to sit idle, and that principle applied to spiders too.

"Once the spider silk has been collected, we’ll conduct material testing. I doubt it’ll retain warmth, but it should work well for dresses or scarves."

"Ohhh."

Drool practically dripped from Kaor’s mouth. It was hard to tell whether he actually understood any of it.

"One step at a time. There are more urgent matters than clothes." Phield rubbed his brow, then gently nudged his horse forward while asking, "Has the land on Shell Street in Windrise Town been divided up yet?"

"Reporting to you, my lord, it’s already done." Kaor also mounted his horse, trailing half a body length behind Phield as he nodded. "It’s an enormous plot of land located south of the Grand Manor and west of the commercial district. A full hundred and fifty acres. It was originally used to store construction materials, and later turned into grassland."

"Excellent."

Phield was very satisfied with Kaor’s report. The man explained things thoroughly.

"That area will become a residential district. The entire place will be used to construct housing, all brick houses. That way, the residents won’t fear heavy rain or freezing winters anymore. I don’t want seventeen or eighteen people freezing or dying from illness every single time a storm hits."

The era of shabby mud huts and straw houses would soon come to an end.

The territory had already fired an enormous quantity of bricks beforehand, and now that limestone had been discovered, constructing houses would no longer be difficult.

"Th... this is an incredible vision. Why not just let the residents build their own houses?" Kaor stared with his mouth wide open. "I swear, this is the first time I’ve ever heard of a noble mass-producing homes for commoners, and stone houses at that."

"If they build them themselves, the efficiency will be terrible, and the result will be a complete mess. It’ll be even more troublesome to demolish and reorganize things later." Shrugging, Phield gestured casually. "Besides, I’m not giving these houses away for free. Buying a home will cost a significant amount of money."

"My lord, you are truly too great." Kaor’s eyes turned watery, making him look suspiciously like an emotional giant bear.

"Not that great. Real estate is an industry with absurd profit margins. I’m no saint."

Phield shivered in disgust. If this guy didn’t already have a female lover, that expression alone would’ve been enough to classify him as someone who liked men.

"Coincidentally, I’ve just recruited a new architect. Together with Miss Gogris and the original stonemasons and carpenters, we have enough people to create sample structures and gradually begin construction."

Phield roughly explained the design of the new houses. They would all be standardized as single-story brick homes with small wooden lofts. Two-story brick buildings weren’t feasible. Without reinforced steel frameworks, collapses would kill people.

Each home would also include small front and back yards so the residents could raise chickens and ducks or plant vegetables and flowers.

The side roads and main roads would also be clearly divided, while garbage stations, public toilets, and sewage systems would all be planned in advance. If they were going to do this, they would do it properly.

It was practically a medieval version of a villa district.

"My lord, you seem to have an obsession with orderliness. You require military formations and uniform posture from the army, and now even the houses and roads are the same." Kaor sighed emotionally. "It’s difficult to describe, but it genuinely makes me feel a completely different kind of power."

"That’s the charm of rationality."

Phield smiled. "Take your time building it. Just assign the more dexterous slaves to construction work. Agriculture absolutely cannot be neglected."

"Understood, my lord!"

Kaor rode off on his short camel horse to make arrangements.

Leaving the residential district behind, Phield arrived at an undeveloped area that was currently covered in soft grassland. Although the soil fertility was poor and even the weeds looked somewhat wilted, the residents loved the grassy fields and often came here to stroll or play.

"My lord, if no one is protecting you, you really shouldn’t wander around alone."

Tisiana circled through the air once before landing gracefully. After folding away her magnificent wings, she jogged over with the alluring smile of a mature married woman. "I’ve purified several of the territory’s reservoirs with holy light."

"Much appreciated."

Phield extended a hand. "Want to go for a ride?"

"Mm, before that, how about we test the arrows?" Tisiana took out a wooden box. "Miss Fox finished making the arrows you requested. She said they were modified from the original arrows because the territory currently lacks the capability to forge iron arrowheads."