2 (4)

Louis reviewed the Civilization System messages that appeared in succession. When he opened the city info, the first thing to greet him was Unhappiness. If Dissatisfaction persisted, the populace fell into Unhappiness. A population sunk in Unhappiness suffered a sharp drop in all productivity. Up to that point, it was similar to Dissatisfaction. The problem was… the penalties from the title “Unhappiness” were even greater than those from mere Dissatisfaction.

‘Tch… as expected.’

Moreover, the food indicator was abysmal. With one district as the only exception, virtually all were in a state of “Starvation.” It could only mean something was off. The grain sent from Pontina might not feed the whole city, but it should at least have covered two-thirds.

‘Someone is orchestrating this.’

‘Either my eldest brother or my second brother… or both.’

The only district eating its fill was, effectively, where the ruling class lived—while all commoners starved, a miraculous inversion.

Pitiful as it was, the commoners were pieces on the ruling class’s chessboard. Whoever opposed Louis intended to suppress his growth as much as possible.

‘So the real management begins now.’

The situation was more suffocating than expected, yet Louis found himself strangely enjoying it. There was surely a breakthrough if he put his mind to it. He had a miracle called the Civilization System. Louis stepped forward.

All the administrators stood in a single line. How many were there? And at the end stood Dekal, who had been acting governor. Dekal looked at him with mild surprise; he had expected Count Hansen to take the seat.

As Louis drew closer, Dekal’s forced smile stiffened.

‘Not bad, whelp.’

What Louis exuded was unmistakable killing intent. Genghis Khan’s Military Charisma had triggered its intimidation effect on a hostile target.

The officials nearby groaned as if under pressure, while Dekal—being a Sword Expert—merely paled without any other reaction.

If Louis invested points to raise the level of Military Charisma, even Dekal would feel significant mental pressure.

“Welcome, Young Lord Louis. I will hand over the office of Governor of Proia.”

Without a word, Louis took the scroll from his hand.

It contained the official letter of appointment naming the new governor.

Then Louis turned and spoke over his shoulder.

“Attention, all.”

Though he spoke quietly, no one failed to understand. The lined-up administrators lifted their heads to look at him; several could not meet his eyes and lowered theirs.

Genghis Khan’s charisma was working without fail.

“Many of you are seeing me for the first time. I am Louis Pontina, recognized by Duke Remitri of Pontina and appointed Governor of Proia. Setting aside public and private matters, I value competence highly—and I also value trust. Proia is in crisis. Accordingly, I will punish administrators I cannot trust.”

From the outset, Louis advanced a hardline—this was a warning.

Dekal smirked at Louis’s severity; the other administrators did not, though all wore complicated expressions.

Louis, who had never shown solid control before—no reason to think he would be different now, they thought.

Those already biased against him took a stance of hostility, but those seeing him for the first time felt a fresh, forceful presence.

Louis was, in effect, issuing a declaration of war.

‘To seize Proia, first charisma, second charisma.’

Louis took the first step of a plan he had pondered long and hard.

With charisma consolidated, authority over domestic policies would flow to him. Given he could view objective data via the Civilization System, it was certain he would restore the city with terrifying speed.

Three problems confronted Louis at once.

He still had 295 points, unused. His path forward split three ways.

He could invest in food to solve the shortage internally; he could build a Colosseum to dispel long-term Unhappiness and get the city moving; or he could unlock the “Potential Talent Insight” trait to gather people by revealing more precise information.

Leader Traits were excluded from priority—for now.

Louis sat in the governor’s office and looked out over the city of Proia.

From there, the city spread below in plain view. At a glance it looked peaceful, but the city was rigid with tension. On his way in, he had seen the hungry.

Everyone blamed Louis. They laid the barbarian invasions at his feet. When he entered, most people turned their backs rather than welcome him.

Glaring distrust.

‘Even if I unlock a food trait, if the populace is this frozen…’

In truth, it might be hopeless. Internal food production mattered, but without the will and capacity to operate it, it meant nothing. There was no helping it—anyone sunk in Unhappiness would not move. They would only resent the world. If this Unhappiness persisted, rebellion would break out.

After his contest with Count Hansen, Louis fully understood that possibility.

‘Potential Talent Insight.’

As expected, it was a trait for gathering the discarded talented, analyzing them closely, and reinvesting. For Louis, who had few subordinates, nothing could be more apt—but the issue was time to invest.

By the System’s nature, it would not take long, yet Proia was so precarious it could hardly endure even briefly.

‘What remains is Happiness.’

The Colosseum. Of the tiers he could build, he could only open the lowest.

Even so, that alone could resolve Proia’s Unhappiness, given its relatively small population.

Strictly speaking, the food crisis had been caused by “someone” holding the rationing authority.

Once he dealt with that person privately, food would at least begin circulating in the city. Moreover, the fields he had sown with Count Hansen were still vigorous.

By contract with Duke Remitri, ninety percent of that yield would be sent to Louis. With one hammer already added, the wheat production from the reserved fields would be decent. Add that in, and…

……………..In conclusion, he only needed to hold out until then.

‘The Colosseum it is.’

Louis spent 250 points and unlocked the Colosseum trait. The lowest-level Colosseum was very small—absurdly so—but it had the advantage of being built quickly and in multiple planned locations.

Louis unlocked the Colosseum. In his view, the most urgent task for a city frozen stiff was “the bare minimum” of Happiness.

The one constraint that truly shackled him now was the large number of slaves needed to run the Colosseum. He had considered that to some extent.

They still had a fair number of barbarian prisoners from the last battle, and in times like these, violent criminals surged.

Once the city stabilized, they would need to purchase slaves separately; until then, they could be self-sufficient.

‘Count Hansen… come quickly.’

Skilled in behind-the-scenes work, Count Hansen would likely reveal, cleanly and clearly, who had been tampering with the supply lines.