Traveler: Derek Walker 10
Subduing the bandit groups had definitely been the right call. Sure, taxes had gone up, but merchants could now trade safely throughout Coolong Territory, which massively boosted commerce in the region. The indirect benefits more than made up for the increased revenue. Of course, everyone except the merchants who directly benefited from the bandit purge grumbled a bit, but it was manageable.
Greia sold the wheat, salt, sugar, and spices I'd brought from the real world at smart prices, ballooning the Walker Merchant Guild's wealth. She was a natural-born trader, and with solid capital backing her, she unleashed her full talents. Just having attractive goods piled up in the warehouse didn't guarantee successful trades—especially in the Solary World, where every territory had its own laws. Dealing with other territories was a real hassle. You had to grasp each territory's situation, market prices for goods, competitors, customer preferences—the list was endless. Greia handled it all flawlessly. Thanks to her, the Walker Merchant Guild's name spread to neighboring territories. There wasn't a single territory around Coolong where we hadn't set foot.
As wealth poured into the territory from trade, various reforms kicked off inside. The first was agricultural reform.
←Item→
• Abundance Sapling (B-rank)
A small sapling brimming with robust vitality. The soil around a tree grown from this sapling turns into fertile land, guaranteeing bumper crops. The power fades after three years.
※The miraculous item that transformed a desert. A tiny sapling holds green hope.
←Item→
Agricultural output is one key measure of a territory's level. For me, with an item that could artificially create good harvests, agricultural reform was the easiest of all reforms.
Lienna launched a massive land development project across the entire Coolong Territory. One core element of the Five-Year Territory Development Plan was this large-scale infrastructure push. First up: building roads.
Coolong Territory's roads weren't bad. But they weren't great either, and the biggest issue was the Hermes Mountains slicing diagonally across the territory. With a whole mountain range splitting it in two, connections between major cities were weak, and cities beyond the mountains had trouble trading with the outside. That was why cities on the western side of the mountains, like Asen and Born, lagged behind eastern ones like Coolong, Tellibai, and Daipopus.
So Lienna planned a massive road project to bypass the mountains. Even with magitech, tunneling straight through the Hermes Mountains wasn't feasible, so settling for a detour felt like a shame.
Road construction required hordes of laborers—not just basic workers, but plenty of mercenaries to fend off monsters. In the Solary World, building roads was an astronomical money sink. Without the Walker Merchant Guild's and mithril mine's insane profits, it would've been impossible even to attempt.
But the Five-Year Territory Development Plan didn't stop there. Honestly, more than infrastructure, the policy that grabbed my interest was education.
While Greia handled administration and infrastructure, education was where my ideas came in. Recruiting talent was my exclusive domain. With the strategy guide, picking out high-potential people was a breeze.
Filling Coolong Territory with hexagonal powerhouses would be ideal, but that was impossible from the start. Even if you put brilliant talents at the top, the masses below were just dumb pigs who could barely feed themselves.
How could I make better use of these pigs? That was one of my top concerns.
To me, holding this massive territory called Coolong County, the residents were legal slaves. That's why words like "serf" exist. Squeezing the most out of your slaves as their master was only natural.
But through Lienna, I realized most of these piglets were utterly useless vermin.
-Over ninety percent of the residents are illiterate. Only a tiny elite can read and write freely.
-Mercenaries seem usable enough. What's the deal there?
-Even most mercenaries just memorize common words. Plenty of knights are illiterate too—some even brag about it. That's why shop signs and menus are full of pictures.
They couldn't read or write. Worse, most residents lacked even a shred of intellect—they were total ignoramuses. Pure brainless territory folk.
Fuck.
I'd thought handling illiterates would be easier at first, but Lienna said the opposite.
-Without written communication, policies don't trickle down. Literate elites monopolize info, stir up agitation, and create closed societies. That's how local clans usually rise. Look at the Valt Count's family—they rebelled once. They're quiet now, but who knows when another will pop up.
In short, too much illiteracy seriously hinders centralization. Plus, these idiots fall for agitation easily and end up as lapdogs for local bigwigs. The tax-dodgers I crushed earlier were exactly that.
-Trouble from ignorance, huh. Guess we need to teach 'em basic reading and writing.
-It won't be cheap. Education's been Coolong's long-standing wish, but it's never happened due to costs. That's why it's the mage towers' exclusive domain.
Education costs as much as massive infrastructure. You need tons of intellectuals, facilities aren't cheap, and it takes forever. No wonder it's called a "century-spanning great plan."
-Don't worry about money. For a loyal piglet officer academy serving me, I'll spare no expense. They'll earn it back for me eventually.
And so, I decided to build a university named after myself in Coolong: Baek Jaesung Comprehensive University. Honestly, my real name rolls off the tongue better than Derek Walker. Solary World folks might struggle with pronunciation, but it has this grand, majestic vibe. It'd be the ivory tower turning Coolong into paradise on earth.
Slogan already decided: "Great Lord Derek Walker is with us forever."
Estimated construction cost: a whopping 30 platinum. Greia signed off on the plan with a shit-eating grimace.
-A university? What's that?
-A place to teach knowledge to the residents.
-What good's educating beggars? Big heads just breed rebellion. Think straight, boss.
-You know one but not two. I'll use university brainwashing to create an iron-fisted territory where rebellion's a pipe dream. Baek Jaesung Comprehensive University raises average literacy and turns them into perfect puppets via indoctrination. That's why I need idolization courses preaching my greatness.
Lienna helped out. It was a blast.
"Things are going smoothly so far."
Felt like real-life city-builder FM. The world seemed on my side—made me damn happy.
*-*-*
Lots to do, but top priority was recruiting a new knight order. The old one was loyal but incompetent and didn't follow me, so I purged them. Now Coolong's knight order was vacant.
Knight orders are symbolic pillars of a territory. Some territories lack them, but Lienna advised against leaving it empty.
-It's not just symbolism. Knights embody a territory's visible authority. Territories with strong orders aren't easily trifled with. The late Count didn't care much, though.
She subtly pushed me to build a powerhouse order. Not being underestimated is crucial here. Weak-looking territories get invaded—big-time by neighbors, small-time by bandits and thieves.
I planned one too, but it wasn't easy. Strategy guide recommended strong characters, but my key condition wasn't raw power.
To find a strong, beautiful force, I need to head far from here.
Coolong County was an early-game zone, so high-limit characters were rare. Luna and Arme were exceptional hidden pieces.
To build a proper knight order, I had to leave Coolong County at least.
Lienna handled territory affairs, Greia managed the guild, so I had relative freedom. Idolization materials for the future university were prepped too. My novelist days paid off. Crafting ideology for rule was pure fun.
Time to leave Coolong County and start talent-hunting. Business trip time.
"Alright. Time for a journey."
I called the women and explained my plan. Hearing I'd be away awhile darkened faces like Lienna's and Greia's—they were tied to the territory by their duties. Seeing my girls sad sucked, but I comforted them hard. No choice for the territory.
"If it's for the territory, no helping it, Master. Could I make one request?"
Lienna said, masking her shadowed expression. I nodded. I'd grant any request from her. Better she ask outright—it made things easier for me.
"When you return from your trip... could we hold the wedding?"
Her bombshell made the other women stir, especially Luna, who had special feelings for me. Of course, my marriage to Lienna was set in stone—everyone knew. To rule Coolong smoothly, I needed the "husband of Lienna" title. Knowing that, no one complained much despite the stir.
I glanced at Luna. She nodded lightly and murmured softly,
"I just need Master's first pregnancy."
Luna's generosity nearly brought tears. "Ahem! A wedding... For succession, yeah, it's about time. But holding it right after the trip would be tricky."
Lienna's face fell visibly. I cut in before she could respond.
"I need to prep a bit. Can't have the lord losing face with this body at the wedding."
I grabbed my four-layered gut.
"I'll get some plastic surgery first, then the wedding. Got something in mind already. Won't take long."
"Really!? Understood!"
Lienna beamed like flowers bloomed in her head. Her smile caught me off guard—it was a first. Unlike her radiant face, Luna's darkened like a shadow. She had a fetish for my pig body. A real headache for me. I'd persuade her slowly later.
Anyway, that wrapped things up.