The Dawn of the Territory (1)
Before his daily routine began, Jeron sat in quiet contemplation, legs crossed.
He used to wonder why mages sat so still during their training, but he now understood they were either pondering ways to reach the next stage of magic or simulating battles against imaginary foes in their minds.
Observing oneself with a clear mind in the midst of absolute silence—on Earth, this practice was called meditation.
Cock-a-doodle-doo!
A rooster's crow shattered the quiet dawn of the territory.
Starting with that single bird, roosters began to cry out from all directions.
Jeron unfolded his legs and stood up.
As he opened the terrace doors, a cool morning breeze swept inside.
It had been quite hot until midnight, but the gradual drop in temperature after that suggested the peak of summer was finally passing.
Lights flickered awake across the territory, which had been shrouded in darkness just moments before.
Shortly after, a long chime rang out from the bell tower.
Dong—!
The sound was deep, heavy, and resonant.
It carried a completely different tone from the frantic clanging used during emergencies. This was not an alarm of danger, but a gentle wake-up call announcing the start of the day.
Within a mere ten minutes, the entire city became a sea of lights.
Even before the sun had fully risen, the residents were preparing to start their day.
This was a highly positive outcome of the territory development plan.
Compared to the bleak, listless days of the past, it was a truly remarkable transformation.
It was a movement born from the belief that the harder they worked, the better their lives would become.
The sun began to rise, casting its brilliant rays across the land.
As if waiting for the sunrise, loud voices echoed from the watchtowers erected throughout the area.
"The morning bell has rung! A new dawn has broken! Let us all rise and build our new territory!"
As the song of the new territory echoed through the streets, the residents officially began their day.
The people's diligence remained unchanged.
Jeron had been away on a brief business trip to the Hannes Territory, but thanks to the efforts of his vassals, this high level of motivation had been steadily maintained.
Jeron changed into commoner's clothing to observe the morning routine of the territory with his own eyes.
He did not want to delay the work by drawing unnecessary attention to his status as the lord.
Once dressed, Jeron quietly slipped out of the lord's castle.
The streets were astonishingly clean.
The cool breeze carried only the fresh scent of nature.
With improvements in sanitation and public awareness, the territory had become exceptionally tidy overall.
The rats that once swarmed the streets had vanished. Even the abundant insects seemed to have migrated elsewhere due to the lack of waste to feed on.
The central square was a bustling hub of activity, crowded with laborers, supervisors, and administrative officials.
"Move it, move it! Don't you want to earn your wages?"
"We're going, we're going!"
"Keep in line! How long are you going to live like savages?"
At the supervisors' shouts, the residents moved with swift efficiency.
It was a transformation so complete it defied belief.
This was the direct result of Jeron paying wages on a daily basis.
If residents were forced into unpaid labor, they would naturally work slowly, and progress would stall. While reign of terror might make them move quickly for a short time, it would only sow the seeds of rebellion.
In contrast, even though they were pushed hard now, no one complained.
If anyone was unhappy, they could simply choose not to work. No one was forced to participate in the labor.
That shift in mindset made all the difference.
Many laborers boarded carriages to head to their respective work sites.
In the early stages of the development plan, they had to walk to the sites, but that was no longer necessary.
Jeron had mobilized all the warhorses to pull transport carriages. Donkeys and mules were no exception.
With transportation provided, the loss of labor efficiency plummeted, and the entire territory was undergoing a miraculous transformation at breakneck speed.
Jeron pushed through the crowd and boarded a carriage heading toward the northwestern part of the city.
The carriage was packed with laborers.
Though it was only slightly faster than walking, the fact that the territory provided transportation was a revolutionary change.
Those who had been bewildered at first now seemed completely accustomed to it.
Inside the carriage, various conversations were underway.
Jeron, needing to keep his ear to the ground regarding the rumors of his domain, sat quietly disguised as a laborer and listened.
"I heard another massive shipment of wheat came in. They say the Lord himself ordered that the laborers' wages must be paid no matter what."
"How extraordinary. Has there ever been a lord like him in history?"
"Never. Not a chance."
"..."
Jeron had never actually said those exact words. He simply considered paying wages to be a matter of course.
Unlike him, the nobles of this era were solely focused on exploiting their people.
Because he managed his territory in a way that was highly unusual by the standards of the Karen Continent, such rumors seemed to spread naturally.
"By the way, did you fail the soldier recruitment exam again?"
"Sigh, why do you have to rub salt in the wound? To put it simply, it was brutally difficult."
"Just how hard is it?"
"I couldn't even compete in the physical tests. Running a hundred meters in twelve seconds? That's insane. Plus, there's a strength test where you have to lift a boulder, and some kind of agility test too."
"That sounds incredibly tough. What do we have to do to become soldiers?"
"What else can we do? We just have to train in front of our houses after work."
"Well, they say the treatment for soldiers is excellent, so I guess it makes sense that it's hard."
"I heard that once you become a soldier, they teach you martial arts. If you stand out there, you can even become a knight."
"...!"
The carriage buzzed with excited murmurs.
Jeron merely sat in silence, a faint smile playing on his lips.
Appointing knights in a territory was the exclusive right of the local lord.
A baron was typically allowed to operate a single knight order, with the number of knights capped at one hundred.
Of course, this law existed only on paper.
In reality, no barony had the size or wealth to maintain a hundred knights.
Usually, a single knight order consisted of about fifty men.
In the Farrow Territory, there were currently twenty knights, with plans to recruit up to thirty.
The plan was to select promising soldiers to serve as squires.
Even after becoming squires, they had to pass the strict training standards set by Jeron before they could finally be dubbed knights.
This reformed system was the only opportunity for commoners to elevate their social status.
"Becoming a knight isn't for everyone."
"Who knows? Maybe Rafion over there will make it into the knight order."
"Would we have to call him Sir Rafion then?"
"Cut it out. My only goal right now is just to become a soldier."
It seemed the internal reforms of the territory were progressing smoothly.
The fact that the people now harbored hope was proof enough.
As the territory became clean and livable, the people worked harder, and they were faithfully compensated for their labor.
Furthermore, by creating opportunities for social advancement, Jeron was cementing the idea that the Farrow Territory was fundamentally different from other domains.
This would eventually foster a deep sense of pride in being a citizen of Farrow.
While listening to these rumors, the carriage carrying Jeron arrived at the construction site of the outermost fortress wall.
As soon as they arrived, administrative officials began checking attendance.
"Rafion and twenty others, correct?"
"Yes, sir!"
"Take these tokens. You know the drill. If you lose it, you'll be fined, so keep a close eye on it."
"Of course, sir. We know."
The official handed out wooden tokens to each worker.
These were the wage tokens.
Only by presenting this elaborately carved wooden token could they receive breakfast and lunch, and collect their daily wages in the evening.
Losing it resulted in a deduction of one-tenth of their daily pay.
While it wasn't a fortune, it was still a loss, so the laborers kept them securely in their pockets.
After receiving their tokens, the workers approached another official to check off their names.
This was another part of the systematic management structure.
Compared to the chaotic, disorganized methods of the early days, it was a massive leap forward.
After giving his name to the official, Jeron headed to the nearby outdoor dining area for a quick meal.
The outdoor dining area was incredibly crowded.
The standard fare consisted of two loaves of dark bread and a bowl of soup. Occasionally, milk was served as a special treat, though that was rare.
From the perspective of someone from Earth, it was a meager meal, but in this world, it represented a significant effort.
Providing two meals a day during the spring famine was no easy feat.
It was only made possible because funds were circulating in the territory and food was being imported from abroad.
Until recently, the laborers had only been provided with one meal a day.
Jeron approached the official to have his name checked, testing the distribution system.
"Jayron?"
"Yes, that's me."
"Move along quickly. We don't have all day."
The official was busy.
He merely verified the identification token Jeron had created and the wage token before waving him through. Having to repeat this process hundreds of times made it impossible to verify every single face.
Jeron received his food at the counter.
To his surprise, a boiled egg was included in this morning's meal.
Upon seeing this, the laborers let out cheers of joy.
"Whoa, did the supply officer hit the jackpot or something? Why are we getting eggs?"
"I heard the chicken population at the experimental farm has exploded recently."
"What? Even so, to give us expensive eggs like this!"
"Hey, it's good for us."
"Aye, you can say that again."
Steam rose from the freshly boiled egg.
Even Jeron, holding the egg in his hand, felt a bit surprised.
He had ordered the construction of a poultry farm a few months ago, and already, the chicken population had grown enough to start distributing eggs to the workers.
Jeron turned to the administrative staff member serving the food and asked, "Is it really alright to distribute eggs like this?"
"They said these were gathered over the course of a week. It's the first batch of eggs, so be grateful to the Lord. Where else would you get to eat eggs for free?"
"Ah, I see."
It seemed Cain had taken care of these minor details that fell outside of Jeron's direct orders.
Jeron had thought the old man was only obsessed with balancing the budget, but now that the territory was showing signs of escaping poverty, Cain was taking good care of the people.
The dining tables were packed with people eating quickly.
The dark bread was not as hard as it used to be.
In the past, they had distributed bread that was months old, but those stocks had been depleted, and they were now serving bread baked just the day before.
The bread tore apart relatively softly.
While it couldn't compare to fine white flour, it tasted decent when dipped in the soup.
It was more than enough to satisfy the palates of people who had lived without ever knowing the true taste of good food.
The soup was thick with ingredients, properly seasoned, and not watery at all.
This was due to the addition of salt. Since the laborers sweated all day, salty food was an absolute necessity.
This particular detail had been ordered by Jeron himself, not Cain.
No matter how precious salt was, it was better than having workers collapse from exhaustion on the job.
Indeed, one of the reasons he wanted to completely eradicate the monsters was to secure the rock salt mine once and for all.
Since even the bread was seasoned, the meal actually felt like proper food.
After eating, Jeron decided to inspect the construction site.
He called over a supervisor, revealed his identity, and walked around the site with him.
He climbed up the fortress wall and looked out over the frontier.
Following the recent monster invasion, the outposts had been pushed further forward. Soldiers patrolled the perimeter of the walls constantly.
Several more bell towers had been installed so that if any sign of monsters appeared, the laborers could be evacuated into the fortress immediately.
Of course, despite these safety measures, the work remained dangerous. Yet, there was no shortage of laborers volunteering for the front lines.
This was because the front-line workers were paid 1.5 times the standard wage, which included hazard pay.
After walking around the construction site since dawn, Jeron concluded that the systems of the territory were running quite smoothly.
Rumble, rumble!
Moments later, as the workday officially began, a massive crane creaked to life and began to move.