4

‘If I were to choose a Wonder, it would be either the Colossus, or the Library.’

There didn’t seem to be any need to increase Faith right now.

To maximize the use of the 30% total food reward from the food distribution quest, the optimal choice would be to build a food-related Wonder within five months.

The problem was that all food-related Wonders were Tier 2. To unlock Tier 2 traits, at least one Tier 1 Wonder—out of the three available—had to be built first.

In other words, building a Tier 2 Wonder within five months to create synergy with the food-related Wonder was… realistically impossible.

Louis opened the city information.

Once Boromir safely brought food from Pontina territory, the city population would certainly increase.

The simplest way to reduce the murderous death rate was to distribute food evenly so that no poor citizens starved to death.

Louis owned a total of four land tiles. Three were used as farmland, and one was commercial.

That one tile was sugar.

No city was ever built without reason. The greatest reason cities were founded was the ease of food production.

It had to be able to produce the minimum amount of food to sustain a population.

That was why cities by rivers were most highly favored.

Unfortunately, Proia was not by a river.

It was the second brother’s port city that had a river.

Proia, far from ideal, lay in swamplands—but it did possess the resource of sugar.

Sugar came from sugarcane, and sugarcane thrived collectively in swamplands.

Now, this swampland had been pillaged. The related facilities, buildings, and crops were destroyed.

‘What I must do now is revive this place.’

Once the sugar tile was activated, Louis’s total tiles would be four, with no unused land left. The next step would be to secure as much population as possible and expand by cultivating additional land.

How much gold could come from the sugar tile? Not much. At most, it would yield +3 gold per turn—counting transport and selling.

If the two Colosseums to be expanded soon started consuming 2 gold each per turn, that would become -3. At the very least, activating the sugar tile would balance it out at zero, if not increase it.

And with the remaining funds, he could purchase construction materials…

‘One Wonder and one plantation, then.’

The direction of the 2,300 points was largely set.

‘I would prefer to unlock the Colossus if possible… but there’s no way to obtain bronze.’

Where could he acquire bronze for construction materials? All bronze and iron produced in Pontina lands were used for weapons.

Thus, the most realistic and efficient option was to obtain marble and build the Library of Alexander.

Though clearly a loss in the short term, it would provide immense benefits in the long run. In terms of efficiency, it was the best of the three Wonders.

One fortunate thing was that opening the Library of Alexander produced a Great Mage.

Mages could be used in many ways. They could create new inventions with their wisdom, but they could also be used by the army to unleash supernatural power.

‘Mages, huh… It’s true that I’m militarily weak right now.’

There was no force more helpful in a pitched battle than a Mage.

‘Then it will be the Library of Alexander. Since the library is built for free, I save 300 points. If I unlock the Tier 1 Wonder trait with 1,500 points… that should work.’

Louis unlocked the Library of Alexander trait from the Civilization System.

1,500 points disappeared instantly, leaving 800 points.

For now, he set aside the 800 points, and had to resolve the swamp problem.

It would have been nice if he could simply restore the plantation, but the swampland was crawling with monsters.

To safely assign citizens there, the monsters had to be exterminated.

The next day, Louis gathered all his administrators.

Including Hansen, Hansen’s subordinates, soldiers, and the officials to replace Max’s position…

‘So among them is someone who has awakened the talent of a Mage.’

He didn’t know who it was. That was why it was a quest.

Hansen asked,

“What is going on, my lord?”

Louis quickly scanned Hansen. It would have been a headache if Hansen had awakened the talent, but fortunately, he hadn’t.

“It’s nothing serious. From now on, I’ll be entering into proper governance, so I just wanted to put faces to names.”

“Haha. Then I’ll excuse myself for now, as I have other matters to attend to.”

Though he said that, Hansen would rest until his arm healed. Louis had no complaints about that. Thanks to Hansen, he had been able to topple Max. Even if he slacked a little, what did it matter?

Though one might expect complaints from such a sudden assembly, none arose. Louis’s current popularity was sky-high. His subordinates were simply glad to see him up close, a rare opportunity.

Louis quickly examined them one by one.

It would surely have been difficult if he had searched blindly, but thanks to the trait he had unlocked in advance—Talent Insight—he soon found the one he was looking for.

Louis stood before one man.

“The rest of you may return.”

At his words, the once-crowded room dispersed instantly.

Louis recognized the face only after checking the trait.

‘Administrative Talent 2.’

His talent was low, but Louis had chosen him for his courage—a lowly administrator of peasant origin.

The junior administrator’s name was Jerome.

Jerome was trembling now.

It had only been a few days since he began his administrator training. He had thought there must have been a reason he was chosen, but he hadn’t expected such a storm to follow.

To the citizens, Louis was a hero, but to the administrators, he was both respected and feared.

If a task was mishandled, it was obvious how Louis would treat administrators of humble birth.

Jerome had barely grabbed hold of an opportunity. He could not afford to die. Yet, as Louis glared silently without speaking, Jerome felt as though he were going insane.

Cold sweat poured down his back; anxiety gnawed at him.

He wished Louis would say even a single word, but he did not. It hadn’t been this bad when others were present.

‘So this is… the Son of the Lion.’

Jerome felt the absolute difference in status.

As Louis examined his trait panel, he noticed Jerome’s complexion looked extremely unwell.

Jerome’s Mage Talent was 8.

He was undoubtedly the subordinate who had awakened the talent of a Great Mage that Louis was searching for.

“…What did you say your name was again?”

“J-… Jerome, my lord. If I’ve done anything wrong, I sincerely apologize. I’ve been thinking about it nonstop, but I truly cannot imagine what it could be. If you would forgive me just once…”

Jerome’s words tumbled out in a rush, but Louis cut him off.

“No, it’s nothing like that, don’t worry.”

“Until death… Eh?”

“Mm… From now on, you are directly under me.”

“…D-directly, my lord?”

“Your talent is wasted in mere administration.”

Jerome didn’t understand what Louis meant, but he answered anyway.

“………….It is an honor.”

So this was what it meant to gain a Great Mage.

And with it came a new quest.

The only force Louis could completely control was 100 soldiers. He could hire mercenaries, but the simpler option was to borrow troops from Dekal.

‘Eliminate all monsters within 3 tiles, huh…’

The reference point was the sugar plantation Louis was trying to restore. Beyond 3 tiles from here, it was all swamp and marshland.