30 — 3 (10)

“Lord Louis, he has arrived.”

“Begin.”

Roars of angered cheers erupted on all sides. The citizens’ emotions exploded. It was a cry so fierce that it would not have been strange if they had rushed down and beaten the men to death; this was… politics.

For the losers… only a cruel end remained.

The gates opened, and the administrators shuffled out awkwardly, in a panic. Some of them, until the last instant, had not doubted that Max would help them—but Max stood now at Louis’s side.

One of them must have spotted Max and shouted toward him, but the thunder from the stands swallowed everything.

Now… Max was no less panicked than the condemned themselves.

“W-w… water…”

“…Here it is.”

Louis had not intended to bring Max here. It was not pleasant for anyone to watch. But the one who insisted Max sit here was Dekal, seated to Louis’s right.

Max’s hands trembled so hard he could barely drink; the wooden bowl slipped from his grasp.

Dekal snickered.

“You’ve spilled your water. Slave, bring him another.”

Dekal enjoyed the “magic” Louis had conjured—this bizarre scene. The Colosseum. Blood. An excited crowd. Betrayal. Bewilderment. Rage. Fear.

It was the perfect spectacle for him.

Dekal decidedly liked this more than commanding a legion.

At Louis’s order, soldiers moved crisply and signaled; the iron gate across the Colosseum began to rise.

The administrators—no, death-row convicts—who had clung to a sliver of hope fell into despair.

They held only a single rusty sword, while fully armed gladiators strode out to face them.

Among them, of course, was Kaiser.

Fully armed gladiators versus administrators gripping rusty blades… Did the administrators have even the slightest chance?

If they had been uninjured, perhaps one percent—but stones hurled by the citizens had already left many barely able to stand.

Louis, who had even checked their status entries, knew: among the administrators, not one had even unlocked a Level 1 “Swordsmanship” trait.

By contrast, the gladiators Louis fielded had at least Swordsmanship Level 1, some as high as Level 4.

This was not a match. It was an execution disguised as a duel.

Louis had given the gladiators a single order:

Make it as long as possible.

The match had to last long enough to satisfy the citizens.

Dekal even drank wine.

“Haha! Max, that one there—wasn’t he the one who used to slander me?”

Max said nothing. Before Louis’s arrival, Max’s power had been equal to Dekal’s. After Louis came, everything flipped in a heartbeat.

News arrived that instantly blew away Louis’s lingering misgivings.

Bonus points… and from now on, quite a few would die.

Then the crowd exploded.

First blood.

Kaiser took a hesitant man’s head clean off.

Dekal said,

“Refreshing, isn’t it? Hey—go easy, or you’ll make them all shrink back.”

And then…

‘So the points spike whenever the most important henchmen die.’

The match was heating with blood.

At this point, they would not die quietly. Trusting in their numbers, the administrators formed a circle and raised their blades— a basic formation, but it meant they refused to go meekly.

Even with superior gear, the gladiators were outnumbered.

“Ugh…”

Max dry-heaved. He had reached his limit; he no longer had the mental strength to endure. Dekal mocked him.

Unable to bear it, Max spoke to Louis.

“May I… take my leave now?”

“Go.”

“Thank you.”

As Max stood, Dekal glanced back and grumbled to Louis,

“What are you doing? The real fun starts now.”

“Whatever. This much is punishment enough.”

“Damn it…”

“Oh, Dekal—by the way, did you receive those documents?”

“The Colosseum expansion plan?”

“Yes. I’m thinking of building two more.”

A few days ago he had received the Colosseum expansion quest. Completing it would, of course, grant points.

Unexpected bonus points poured in. If he cleared the expansion quest, he might even aim for a Wonder.

The downside of expanding the Colosseum was that it oversupplied Happiness and shocked the finances.

As things stood, Proia could not last nine turns before the treasury hit zero; if he expanded the Colosseum, the time would be even shorter.

And soon a month would pass… the opening effect from the first Colosseum—the city-wide “remove all Unhappiness for one month”—would expire.

He did not know how far Unhappiness would fall, but expansion would surely help hold the line there.

“Oh, I’m in favor, of course. I adore this damned thing.”

A few days later, late at night. Louis worked until late hours. He finished signing and stretched.

A few candles burned, and two slave girls assigned to the place waited on hand.

In truth, Proia had few slaves. Slaves were an important resource, and the very lack of them was indirect proof of Proia’s poverty.

Louis rose and walked out to the terrace. The city, with commerce still undeveloped, slept.

Quiet—but clearly improved.

‘Total points: 2,300.’

The points earned after completing two quests were immense.

Bonus points and the Colosseum expansion quest.

With this total, he could open a Library and also aim for a Wonder; he could invest to raise existing buildings beyond Level 5; he could construct special buildings to spur commerce; and, on a small scale, build industry.

He could also raise the soldiers he desperately needed—start with a Barracks and increase the troops.

Six quests already floated before him; pick one, and chained quests would fly in, while the unchosen ones vanished.

There were three Wonders available for early investment:

The “Colossus of Rhodes” for commerce.

“Stonehenge,” which massively boosted Faith.

And the “Library of Alexander the Great,” which amped Science while letting him skip the ordinary Library.

The Colossus demanded the most production, but offered the option he needed most right now.

Its effect was simple: a Great Merchant would appear, and income increased by +5. With current finances at 9, -1, building the Colossus would make them 9, +4—solving the fiscal problem at a stroke.

There was a catch: it required a vast amount of bronze for materials and a basic industrial base.

It increased revenue; it was not a golden tree that minted gold itself.

A Great Merchant meant exactly that—a brilliant merchant appeared in the city. Someone not yet flourishing would emerge, and the system would reveal their location to Louis. All Louis would have to do next was support them.

Stonehenge was a monument-like stone circle, but on a scale incomparable to a Monument.

The condition was to inscribe figures from the religion chosen by the Civilization leader upon it.

It was the easiest to build, but he had to invite skilled artisans, and it did nothing to fix the most pressing issue—money.

Still, the advantage of Faith was the ability to heal citizens.

Lastly, the Library of Alexander the Great.

A Wonder that continually supplied Science and was easy to raise, letting him skip the prerequisite special building, the ordinary Library.

The Wonder itself was an upgraded form of a library; if he aimed for more Wonders later, nothing matched its efficiency.

These two unique buildings also summoned Great People: a Great Priest and a Great Mage.