"The domain has twenty thousand square meters of medicinal fields, and the new crop of Silver Moon Grass was just planted," Smith reported, his brow furrowing as he looked down at the document in his hands. "Uprooting it all will be a bit difficult. The tenants would have major objections."

This amount of Silver Moon Grass wasn’t worth much to Isaac now, but the real difficulty was the issue of what to do with the tenants after uprooting the plants. Although Isaac was the Lord, he didn’t actually have any subjects.

The herb farmers growing the Silver Moon Grass were, in terms of fealty, still subjects of Solomon’s Domain. Isaac only owned the land itself.

Of course, how to manage the medicinal fields was his decision. If he didn’t want to lease them out, that was perfectly fine.

The problem was, a forceful eviction would likely strain relations. Killing Remington in Philis Town had already taken a significant toll on Isaac’s reputation. If he used even harsher methods, things would probably get worse.

This wasn’t a situation Smith wished to see. After all, if Isaac had a good reputation, perhaps he wouldn’t truly descend into the darkness of a Mad Witch.

"It’s fine. We can take our time with this matter. We still have a lot to prepare. For now, just clear out a little space from somewhere else to house the Demon Rats." Isaac flipped through the documents in his hand, then looked up after a moment and asked, "If I wanted to build a Mage Tower, what’s the process?"

Hearing this, Smith thought for a moment before replying, "To build a Mage Tower, you need permission from Count Gaia and Lady Cheryl. Also, according to regulations, you cannot install attack systems of level two or higher, nor can you link to any Energy Plane outside the Four Great Elemental Realms. There are some other minor rules, but since you are a member of Solomon, you don’t really have to worry about them."

Smith had clearly already prepared for this, having researched all the relevant regulations for a Mage Tower. After speaking, he handed Isaac a list detailing the construction cost of the most basic model.

"Tsk, tsk." Isaac glanced at the list and shook his head helplessly. ’As expected of a Wizard’s ultimate accessory. It’s truly expensive...’

Even the most basic model cost at least one million Gold Coins!

And that was just for the technical fees and the first phase of materials. There were at least two more construction phases to follow, both of which would also cost a fortune.

After a single glance, Isaac gave up. ’I can’t afford it...’ 𝑓𝘳𝑒𝑒𝓌𝘦𝘣𝘯ℴ𝑣𝘦𝑙.𝘤𝑜𝑚

Although he’d managed to squeeze some money out of Philo, his regular Magic research also burned through cash. He couldn’t afford such an astronomical fee at the moment. Besides, it wasn’t an urgent necessity for him right now.

His big sister built a Mage Tower because she specialized in Golems, and those things required a production line. A Mage Tower was also a superweapon, effective at repelling outside threats. Isaac, on the other hand, was located deep in the heartland of Solomon and had no real need for such defenses.

For research, he just needed to add some experimental facilities. He even had an entire floor of a Mage Tower that he’d swiped from his big sister, which was more than enough.

Seeing Isaac shake his head, Smith understood and moved on to the next item. "If we stop planting Silver Moon Grass, we’ll need to purchase a monthly supply of Knight’s Secret Medicine for the Guard Team’s daily training. This expense is unavoidable unless they become full-fledged Knights."

In truth, this expense couldn’t be cut even after they became Knights. Without the Knight’s Secret Medicine, a Knight could at best avoid significant regression, but they could forget about making any further progress.

Still... how to put it...

The Guard Team’s position here was rather awkward. All of their duties could be replaced with Magic. Forget protecting Isaac; if trouble actually came, Isaac would be the one protecting them.

Their only purpose for existing was, perhaps, to add a bit of life to the domain and make the castle seem more normal.

"The Guard Team..." Isaac also felt a headache coming on at the mention of them. ’Not only are they pointless, I have to support them for nothing...’

"Here’s what we’ll do. Go and ask for their opinions. Anyone who doesn’t mind a ’monster’ identity can stay. As for those who do mind, send them all back."

"Yes, of... hmm?" Smith subconsciously started to take a note, only then realizing the implication of Isaac’s words. He looked up, a stunned expression on his face. "Young Master, you mean..."

"Don’t misunderstand," Isaac explained with a smile. "Putting it that way will likely make them more inclined to leave. And staying doesn’t necessarily mean they’ll become monsters."

It would have been better if he hadn’t explained. Now that he had, Smith was even more speechless.

’Not necessarily...’

Liu Li, standing to the side, glanced at Smith. ’What’s wrong with monsters? Is there something bad about becoming one? Is he discriminating against monsters? As long as it helps Master, does it matter what you become?’

Although speechless, Smith didn’t actually have any objections. Subconsciously, he also felt that becoming a monster wasn’t a big deal, as long as one retained their sanity.

He therefore nodded and took a small step back. His report was finished.

This was the advantage of having a steward. If Isaac had to deal with the issues Smith brought up all by himself, it would take him months to finish. But with a steward, all he had to do was say a few words to set the general course of action.

"Master, here is the aggregate data for the Demon Rats. If breeding continues, there is a seventy percent chance of abnormal mutation in their bloodline factors. There is a ten percent chance they will become stronger than they are now. However, neither outcome will significantly affect their overall value."

Compared to Smith’s report, Liu Li’s was more important. This was experimental data that had to be reviewed carefully.

Inbreeding did indeed cause bloodline mutations, but this side effect wasn’t a major issue for Demon farming. The value of most farmed Demons was concentrated in their carcasses; as long as the valuable parts didn’t change, there was little to no impact.

Take the Demon Rats, for instance. Whether the bloodline mutations from inbreeding made them stronger or weaker was irrelevant, as their purpose wasn’t combat.

Only if the mutations caused them to become sterile, or to lose their main commercial parts—such as claws, tails, and fur—would it be necessary to use Casting to regulate their bloodline factors and eliminate the risk of mutation.

After all, regulating bloodline factors cost money, and one had to manage costs.

Isaac studied the data carefully, then nodded. "Select a few groups with a high mutation rate and breed them. We’ll see what the post-mutation situation looks like. If the impact isn’t significant, we can continue to scale up production."

Liu Li nodded. While committing Isaac’s words to memory, she handed over another data report. "This is the data for the Dragon Lizard. Its bloodline factor is more active than that of a normal Dragon Lizard, but there are still no signs of further awakening. Its physical and Magic Power growth are also rapid. The Dragon Blood in its body is extremely dilute, and the probability of the next generation naturally awakening their Dragon Blood is only one in a thousand, which is almost identical to the data for a normal Dragon Lizard."

Isaac nodded as he carefully reviewed the detailed data on the Dragon Lizard. He wasn’t surprised by the results. For now, awakening the Dragon Lizards still relied on his Golden Finger. He hadn’t deeply researched the technology in this area before, so these numbers were perfectly normal.

"Sell all the Dragon Lizards except for Number One. Purchase a new batch of young Dragon Lizards, and find a new location for the Beast Breeding Arena. From now on, you’ll be in charge of the Demon Rats and the Dragon Lizards."

"Yes, Master!"

Liu Li nodded, then turned to give Smith a smug look. ’Useless human. I’m still the one Master favors more!’

"???"

Smith looked at Liu Li, who was staring at him with a completely blank face, and couldn’t help but feel a sense of resignation. ’This wo... this monster maid has forgotten that she can’t make facial expressions again.’