A strange world

"Wait a minute."

Olmedo called out to Annan who was about to run away: "You hid from the Breeze City people and ran to the City Lord's Mansion and you didn't say why."

Annan suppressed his fear of the elf mentor: "I need money and people."

"What?"

"I need help and people."

"Your 'magic images' have earned almost as much as a month's tax revenue from Breeze City these days. Just now I was discussing with the tax collectors a bill on taxing magic images..."

"taxation……"

Just the noun makes Annan's heart ache.

"This is a necessary step, Annan. You don't want Magical Image to be heavily taxed in other towns, right? We'd better finalize the taxation bill in Breeze City and send it to the royal capital. If the bill is passed, towns across the kingdom can only follow our instructions. established tax rate.”

"What's the tax rate?"

"The basic tax rate for theaters is a low tax of 10% to 20%, and Magical Image is included in this."

Still within the acceptable range of Annan.

"That's why you should help me."

Annan detailed how he was involved in the conspiracy, such as being "imprisoned in a dungeon", "forced to kill five ratmen independently", "uncovering the ratmen's conspiracy", etc.——

Building territory is a bottomless pit... One thousand gold coins can open up a village, ten thousand gold coins can build a town, one hundred thousand gold coins can make the town impregnable, one million gold coins can build a city, or add some money to build a small mage tower. , ten million gold coins can be considered to raise a basic floating island.

Annan has only a handful of ways to make money, and he needs as much money as there is sand in the Ganges River.

Although it's a bit shameless to say it directly, it's money, so it's not shabby.

"I was also corrupted into a rat-man by your father..."

"Didn't the Mage Tower say that the special spell only allows your charm to affect the rat people?"

"But my mind has been affected by the spell to this day..."

"I remember you were like this before, always thinking about the Countess——"

"How do you insult the innocence of the King in the North?"

Olmedo likes to continue chatting with Annan like this, but she still has official business to be busy with: "I don't know the situation in Glacier Bay yet. You can describe it to me first."

As soon as Annan talked about Xingyue Bay, Olmedo interrupted him: "Xingyue Bay... you really don't like Yililanze?"

"You and the ogre must have something in common."

Annan continued to talk about the situation of Xingyue Bay, the scope of the territory, and the dangers encountered:

“The battle between the white dragons that covered the sky and the frost giants caused avalanches, miles-long Dagons surged on the sea surface, gnolls in the forest swarmed like rat tides, and indescribable existences awaited me while I was sleeping... "

The two who were traveling with Annan were on their way back to the royal capital, and there were two more who were his subordinates. No one could expose him.

But he couldn’t deceive Olmedo: “Should I ask my bodyguard to go to Xingyue Bay with you?”

"..."

"It's not too late to reveal the truth now."

"Well, it's actually the fox that's catching the snowshoe hare."

"Where's Dagon?"

"A school of fat fish." Annan gradually sank into the sofa.

"Gnoll?"

Annan raised his head again and said loudly: "We encountered a group of jackal scouts at night, and they have a leader."

"Waiting for you to fall asleep?"

Annan leaned back on the sofa: "We left Xingyue Bay overnight."

Olmedo sorted out the environment around Xingyue Bay: "The main threat is the Jackal, but there should be other threats to the north and south..." How deep is the water in the bay? "

"I don't know, because we left Xingyue Bay overnight."

Olmedo would never let go of the aid, so Annan had no choice but to shift his target to the people. This time Olmedo is quite generous: as long as the people of Breeze City are willing, he can absorb the people at will.

"How are those refugees?" Olmedo suddenly asked.

If Annan is willing to accept refugees, he can give 1 gold nair for each refugee he accepts...

"I think so too..." The soft cushions made Annan feel a little tired, "But I don't want to absorb homeless people who have committed crimes."

"Don't worry, most of these refugees are people who have become homeless after their homes and farmland were destroyed by rat people." A sense of recognition emerged in the blue eyes, "Annan, every time you absorb a refugee, Breeze City can support you. Xingyue Bay 2 Jinnar."

When it comes to assisting Annan, he is no longer tired: "Then I want a thousand refugees first."

"are you sure?"

"……I am not sure."

Annan's advantage is that he has no shortage of money for the time being, but his disadvantage is that he still doesn't know how to be a lord.

"Actually, I'm not denying you, but I think these territorial citizens are not enough."

Perhaps out of alarmism or to create a sense of crisis, Olmedo solemnly told Annan: "This winter is the last time for you and me."

Olmedo's seriousness infected Annan: "What do you know?"

"Just some disturbing speculations... The North has been safe and sound for the past hundreds of years, but their sudden attack also exposed the conspiracy that has been woven underground in Breeze City for hundreds of years."

"The Ratmen may invade in a big way next year. Annan, do you want to experience another attack?"

"I don't want to experience that kind of thing again."

"So you have to manage your territory well."

Annan thought of the two-month countdown predicted for the apocalypse. It was the dead of winter at that time, so it was unlikely that the rat-men would attack... what else could it be?

Olmedo summoned his personal guard and asked him to move his afternoon duties to the evening and began to teach Annan how to become a good lord:

Xingyue Bay must first explore resources.

Gem mines, potion fields and some rare minerals are the best, followed by gold mines and specialties. Then there is the construction of territory. Ensuring the survival of the people is the most basic step, followed by attracting professionals and churches.

"You'd better invite some churches to settle in. This will allow the territory to be protected by the gods. The goddess of wealth is a good neutral god."

The harsh environment and sparse population have certainly made many gods reluctant to focus on the north. There are only some mainstream and ancient gods, but it also prevents the north from the frequent divine wars that are launched in the south to compete for believers.

About business. Star Moon Bay is as remote as Breeze City, but the bay makes up for its shortcomings - the bad news is that building a harbor requires a lot of money, and the good news is that Annan has a lot of money.

Annan, who was feeling sleepy, said: "If you want to wear a crown, you must bear its weight."

Olmedo lowered his eyes slightly because of Annan's emotion:

"When we become lords, we must be responsible for our territory and our people..."

It was discovered that Annan had fallen asleep at some point.

Thinking of the boy in front of me who was on the road four out of five days. Those blue eyes softened a little, and they were holding a blanket to cover Annan.

"Olmedo, you are so tight..." Annan murmured like he was dreaming.

Olmedo seemed frozen.

"You are so nervous about Breeze City's money..."