In the grand chamber of the castle, Maximus gazed at the officials.
“Welcome, esteemed gentlemen,” Maximus said in a serious tone.
“Today, we are here to talk about the concerns and problems since we annexed the city under the previous Fearie Kingdom.”
The old officials, adorned with elegant attires, listened quietly as they gazed at Maximus, the new ruler of the kingdom.
“Tell me, what difficulties have you encountered during this period of time?” he asked, sweeping his eyes across the room.
“First and foremost, my lord,” spoke one of the officials, Doran. “We have difficulties controlling different cities, needing several days or even weeks for our fastest messengers to receive news.”
He paused for a moment, collecting his thoughts before adding, “In the past, the king of the Fearie Kingdom had the nobility to govern their own territories autonomously, without many problems.”
Nods of agreement rippled through the assembly, acknowledging the historical truth in the Doran’s words.
“However, because most of the nobles and their helpers died or fled to other kingdoms, it left various cities in disarray and confusion.”
One of the officials, Landon, suggested, “What if we appoint a city lord for each of the cities?”
“It’s useless,” Doran countered. “Even if we were to appoint a city lord, without assistance from various officials, it would be useless. Our manpower is insufficient to assign assistance to effectively manage each and every city.”
The room fell into silence, with the various officials thinking of a solution.
Maximus observed the officials in silence as they thought of a solution.
Beside him, Isabella stood gracefully, carefully pouring tea into his cup. The gentle scent invaded his senses, lightly interfering with his thoughts.
Fortunately, he had already thought of a solution. The current state of affairs was inefficient because of faraway cities within the Kingdom.
His plan was to transfer the distant population closer to the proximity of Moonshadow City. Anyway, each city only housed a population barely reaching the 30,000 mark. Unlike his past life where cities had at least hundreds of thousands, if not millions, of population.
“Very well, I have already thought about this matter. I intend to relocate the population and build cities closer to our vicinity, thereby ensuring adequate management and control,” Maximus said, silencing the officials.
“But what about the resources left behind, My Lord? Shall they be abandoned?” Landon clarified, feeling his heart ache for such a waste of resources.
“We also need to consider the financial and material constraints, my lord, such as city expansion and construction,” Tristan, the official who handled the money said.
“I understand your concerns. Rest assured, the mines and various resources will still be utilized,” Maximus assured them.
“As for the land, it will indeed be left behind. As you know, we possess magical crystals capable of nurturing the land, so you don’t need to worry,” Maximus elaborated.
The most worthless thing in this world is land, particularly the barren land that is all over the place. His main focus is consolidating the population and resources rather than clinging to every inch of territory.
“My lord, this is a huge expense. Our daily income only amounts to a mere 1,000 to 2,000 gold coins. Considering the population size, the cost of the project could range from millions to tens of millions of gold coins, not to mention the necessary resources,” Tristan explained as he persuade Maximus against such a plan.
“Furthermore, we have been tight on money recently. If not for the huge amount of grains and vegetables we produce, we would be left starving now,” Tristan concluded.
These statements prompted Maximus to ponder. Undeniably, the Aetheria market could generate between 1,000-2,000 gold coins per day, which would be considered a substantial sum for an individual or a household. However, for a kingdom, it was merely a drop in the ocean.
The daily gold coins produced by the system for each of his wives amounted to a meager 250. And 1,000-2,000 gold coins plus the 250 gold point was barely enough to cover their daily expenses.
In addition to the budget of his territory, there were also his expenses related to training, such as magical resources, various potions, and magic stones required for the various arrays within the castle.
The cost of living was further exacerbated by Maximus’s indulgences, including the purchase of toys for his children, various garments and potions for his wives.
However, the most significant expenditure was undoubtedly food. It was not ordinary food but rather mana-enriched food that facilitated the rapid advancement of knights and mages in their training.
“We could try to expand the Aetheria market. As you know, before we conquered the entire Faerie Kingdom, moonshadow planting was more than enough to feed it.”
“But now that we have the entire kingdom and a large number of people, we can expand the farmland on a massive scale. I’m sure it’s more than enough for the whole Sundered Plateau,” Maximus said after thinking for a while.
The Sundered Plateau is a part of Cursed Continent.
The Cursed Continent is divided into various scattered lands due to the fight of gods, leaving countless island-like continents. and Sundered Plateau is merely one of them
“That’s a great idea, my lord!” Landon flattered.
“But we are facing the same problem: we don’t have enough manpower to manage businesses in various parts of the Sundered Plateau.” Doran said.
“Indeed, but training in business is faster than teaching how to manage cities,” Maximus assured.
“This is indeed a good idea, my lord.”
“And, more importantly, what about the population census? It only provides the number of the population, and it’s not even accurate,” Maximus told them about the problem.
When he looked at the census in the past to see if there were suitable concubines hidden among the common people, he noticed that there were only a bunch of numbers written, with only detailed information of nobles or various businessmen.
There weren’t even any images. However, considering the poverty of the Faerie Kingdom before, they couldn’t possibly afford such an expensive magic item to take enough photos to use in the census.
“Rest assured, my lord. We are already working on it,” Doran said.
As they were discussing various plans and problems, Isabella on the side was feeling useless.
She could only pour tea and wasn’t contributing much, which was embarrassing considering the salary given by Maximus.𝑜𝗏𝑳xt.𝗇t
As she thought about what she could contribute, she quickly realized that the kingdom didn’t have a new name.
“By the way, what should we name the kingdom? We can’t always call it Faerie kingdom,” Isabella quietly said, interrupting their discussion.
“Right! I forgot about this matter,” Maximus lightly slapped his leg as he thought of a name for his new kingdom.
“What do you suggest we name it?” he asked Isabella and the various officials.
“What about Eternal Kingdom, my lord?” Landon flatteringly said.
“No, it’s too arrogant. Maybe some powerful being or a god will get irked by the name and destroy us,” Maximus explained.
He kind of liked the name, but the last kingdom he read about that bore the name “eternal” was destroyed by a bored god who claimed that only gods are eternal.
Names symbolize power in this world, like god titles.
An example of this is the Arcane Continent, which became the pride of the mages living in it.
One time, a god also liked the name and, as he possessed the priesthood of knowledge, he named himself the Arcane God, which attracted the hatred of mages.
How dare a god who only collects faith like a farmer bore the sacred name of the Arcane.
They promptly destroyed the believers of that god, and after being weakened, various powerful beings searched for his realm regardless of the cost and finally killed him.
This was the most embarrassing way a god has been killed, which is a testament to the power of mages who prided themselves with the name “arcane seeker.”
“What about Moonlight Kingdom, my lord?” Isabella, who had been silent for a while, said.
“It matches the city’s name, and furthermore, it means we can be the light in the darkest times,” she excitedly said.
