Lord of the Territory (4)
With Noel staying by his side through the night, Aizen managed to organize his scattered thoughts into something presentable.
"Lord Aizen, you really have a knack for making documents this easy on the eyes."
"Isn't it just basic?"
"They say even long-time bureaucrats struggle with this sort of thing."
Noel's words gave him pause. Come to think of it, she had a point. Sorting vast amounts of information into something readable wasn't a skill you picked up overnight. He'd had some practice back home, and since arriving here, he'd been formatting specs for the machines and gear he wanted Mina to produce. It must have blended together nicely.
Good was good. Matching Noel's pace, he headed for what passed as a temporary manor conference room.
For some reason, it wasn't just Mina and Erica there—several others had gathered too.
"Why is everyone clustered here?"
"Because I sent out a magic message."
He hadn't even noticed her doing that; he'd been too focused. Looking around, he saw Sir Galred and the Phoenix territory knights, the people Noel had brought, and Daniel with his squire. In the back were Mina's caravan folk, positioned there likely because they weren't noble blood.
"...Standing around like that feels kinda intimidating. They could just sit."
"I figured you'd say that, so I told them to, but they insisted on standing."
Mina said as much, but the glances from Noel's people—averting their eyes like it was forbidden—suggested they were the issue, not him.
...Still, thanks to his back-and-forth with Daniel, he'd had a realization. Quietly steeling himself, he spoke up.
"I'm the lord here, right? That makes me the highest-ranking one in the room. I can't even see you all back there—come closer so you can watch."
Noel stepped in to back him up. "The lord has given permission, so please set aside questions of status and gather 'round."
Her people exchanged looks before stepping back. The others hesitated but approached; Daniel flashed a grin.
"It was quite the commotion this dawn. Feels like only hours since I spoke, and you've already got an answer ready."
"It's not that grand... Noel might've hyped it up too much. Now I'm worried."
Noel gave a faint smile at his tone. She spread the materials on the table.
"I was gonna run it by Mina and Erica again, but here's the rundown..."
"Free education for the territory folk?"
Mina shot him a glare like he'd lost his mind. Fair enough—that was absurd by local standards.
"Just so we're clear, I'm not asking you to loan money for this."
"Not out of my pocket, then. Guess I'll hear you out."
Her expression softened instantly. She hated anyone treating her money like it was theirs. But she knew he wasn't that type, so she let it slide with a warning not to toss around reckless ideas. If she hadn't even wanted to listen, she'd have walked out—Mina's personality guaranteed it. For her, this was downright mild.
Noel's entourage and Erica's knights muttered behind them, faces screaming this can't be serious. Free education was light-years beyond local norms.
"Enough. The baron has his reasons. It's just a plan, not set in stone."
"Care to elaborate, my lord?"
Sir Galred hushed the knights as Daniel asked smoothly. Aizen nodded.
"Can't drag it out, so here's the short version."
Human rights, equality in education—none of that would fly here. Those concepts didn't even exist. To him, it was a refined system born from trial and error, but to them? Alien nonsense. To make it click...
"Bottom line: it's an investment in the territory's future."
From there, he laid it out.
"First off, consider the territory's situation. Prime location for growth, but tiny landmass. Can't expand outward. So, max efficiency from limited space? That's the puzzle."
It bordered Nexia duchy and Phoenix county, with easy access to the academy and capital—a traffic hub extraordinaire. Bluntly, a dead-end spot. Undeveloped because it buffered those giants; the royal mana metal mine gave it value, but mid-to-low grade—not worth frantic development.
Cold fact: his land couldn't grow territorially. Peak output options were slim.
"Main focus: mines, golem factories, colosseum. Mines and colosseum aside, factories will demand technicians we don't have enough of."
Some farmland for self-sufficiency, maybe new ventures later. But on this postage stamp? Those three were the big earners. And they'd spike technician needs overnight.
"Current techs? Mina's caravan trained some, or blacksmiths from select noble houses. Golem specialists? Barely any. Cyclops demand will rise steadily."
"Orders are climbing, yeah."
Some eyed Abatus house warily, but why wait indefinitely for unproven chimeras when reliable power was here now? Phoenix was expanding forces outright; the palace planned Cyclops ops too. Demand was locked in.
"So, preempt the shortage: teach reading, writing, golem crafting, operation, ethics, whatever—while building a technician pool."
It worked now, but unchecked growth would overwhelm supply. Systematic education was the fix.
"For the ambitious, academy slots."
"They won't take just anyone."
"Plan stage, so just words for now. But Professor Reina wants Cyclops manuals—offer golem resources, get her to train our best in advanced courses. Doable?"
Noel prompted; he replied slowly. Daniel, listening quietly, spoke up.
"Academies already scout talented commoners. Won't change much."
"Got the gist. Big issue left: budget."
Mina eyed him. "Subsidies need steady revenue first."
Pragmatic as ever. No infinite vaults here.
"Could charge tuition, but... no offense, some commoners scrape by daily. That's a burden."
"Contracts. Cover tuition; they work factories to repay."
He shot back curtly at Erica.
"Can't fund from my pocket or beg elsewhere. Make 'em earn it. Board and meals for years; repay via taxes."
Sounded exploitative, but calibrated right—no life strain—it could work.
"Mina's factories get steady techs. Skilled ones stick or jump to better gigs/new plants. They get skills, livelihoods. I get funds for ops and golem R&D."
"Everything leads to golem dev. Point taken."
Mina smirked. No guarantees it'd pan perfectly, but minimal losers. Foreseeable hitches or wild cards possible, but for a policy he spearheaded? This felt right.
Erica piped up thoughtfully. "Who teaches? Need instructors for tech."
"Tech TBD, but basics like reading? Alchemy kids."
Room, board, meals, research time—they'd jump. Rodellini was a stretch, but her students could handle it.
"You've thought it through."
"Issues remain. Cyclops rollout flops, whole thing crumbles."
"No—folk buy-in determines efficiency..."
Erica's words sparked debate among Noel's group and others. Aizen exhaled in quiet relief.
Debate meant it was worth debating.
"What do you think?" he asked Daniel softly.
"Excellent."
Daniel murmured back.
He'd unearthed an unexpected gem. Watching his squire jot notes midway, Daniel nodded.
Frankly, one premise is iffy, but not bad.
The premise: steady, high golem demand, Cyclops especially.
But Daniel agreed demand held short-term. Orders grew despite Abatus sabotage.
Empire ties worsened daily; monster raids surged.
And intel points to empire-stoked giant monster spikes.
Reports of tools luring beasts were under scrutiny. Abatus denied involvement, but could chimeras truly be immune? Even if, Cyclops were market-ready now—chimeras weren't.
Long-term variables lingered, but desk-strategy wise? Solid.
Yet Daniel pondered deeper.
If it works, bonus effect.
Aizen framed it as folk-to-techs powering factories, repaying via taxes for ops. But tweak the structure: it bred bureaucrats.
Bureaucrats untethered from nobles.
...Most nobles tie back to Abatus bloodlines.
The policy's value skyrocketed.
...Can't control his face for shit.
Good thing the hood hid his creeping grin, Danimus thought sincerely.