Chapter 39, Adding Fuel to the Fire
The families of the pirate group had abandoned Cagliari, the place where they had built their lives, simply to survive.
Just as I had intended, most of them wanted to move into the frontier villages.
Even after excluding fishermen and people who would work in commerce or industry, there were still more than four thousand.
Since so many people were moving at once, I had to dump another huge amount of money into the project.
Chief of Economy Diego came to my office with a dark expression.
“My lord...”
“Haha! Diego. Looks like I’ve given you another assignment.”
Diego sighed as though he had already given up.
“The relocation costs are too high. We need to start using the pirate ships as merchant vessels immediately.”
“We can’t until all the pirates receive slave brands. What if they escape?”
Slave brands contained a [Mental Domination] magic circle.
Those who received one could not actively flee or rebel.
It was convenient.
However, because there were so many prisoners, branding everyone would take a long time.
“At this rate, the slave branding costs alone are going to bankrupt us.”
Diego was exaggerating, but the cost of slave branding was not something we could ignore.
We had created two cash cows, Canada and the antidiarrheal medicine.
Still, for stable management of the territory, we needed more sources of income.
“Gather the others. Let’s think of ways to make money.”
“The administrative officials?”
Administrative officials.
I doubted those old-fashioned middle-aged men would offer much help.
“This time, let’s gather the servants working in the lord’s residence.”
Most people working in the lord’s residence were young.
The organization had a pyramid structure.
Those who failed to earn promotions usually moved to other jobs.
I hoped the younger people might provide some fresh ideas.
A short while later, Diego and I headed toward the meeting room.
The room was packed with workers from the lord’s residence.
Apparently, many of them were curious about why I had called the meeting.
Even my mother had taken a seat.
“Mother? Why are you here?”
“I heard you were doing something interesting, so I came to watch.”
“It’s just a meeting.”
“You held one like this in Westfalen before. It was entertaining.”
Thinking back, I remembered holding a similar meeting several years ago.
At that time, I had also been searching for things that could create jobs.
Naturally, it had been to help settle poor residents within the territory.
Back then, crime caused by the poor and refugees had increased drastically.
“Westfalen had money to burn, so it was fun there.”
“Was that the reason?”
As the illegitimate son of a Count, the only thing I could not obtain was political power.
Money had never been an issue.
Whenever I went to the chief steward and explained what I needed the money for, he handed over what was necessary.
Of course, I could not request enormous amounts.
But obtaining enough money to solve ordinary problems was easy.
“Now I need to minimize the required budget and actually earn money.”
“That also sounds interesting.”
My mother continued smiling.
I cleared my throat and announced the beginning of the meeting.
“Ahem. Anyway, from this moment, we will begin a meeting on making money and creating jobs.”
The moment I announced the start, a young maid raised her hand high.
“Go ahead.”
“Yes, my lord. I think we should create lots of tourist attractions and hold festivals. People from other territories would visit, look at historical sites and festivals, try making Canada themselves, and spend money.”
I could practically hear tax money burning away.
If I started allocating public funds to tourism and festivals, people would probably rush in trying to grab easy money.
Naturally, I rejected the idea.
Still, I could not completely crush the enthusiasm of a growing child.
So I gave her some praise instead.
“That’s a good idea. But because of our current budget situation, we can’t decide on it right now. Let’s think about it slowly.”
“Yes, my lord!”
The little maid smiled brightly.
Looks like I handled that well.
Next, a maid who had served my mother since our time in Westfalen raised her hand.
“How about producing women’s products?”
She was probably talking about things like soap and cosmetics.
Making soap was practically a standard cliché in alternate history and fantasy novels.
I had tried it myself back in Westfalen.
I had even experimented with using glycerol as a moisturizer.
Naturally, I failed.
The small amount I managed to produce was eventually given to my mother.
“No. Establishing a reliable production method would consume too much time and money.”
At that moment, my mother raised her hand.
“I’ve been practicing from time to time, and I’ve become fairly good at making it. Oil is expensive, so I can’t produce a lot, but small amounts should be possible.”
“What?”
“You taught me how to make it, didn’t you? I kept practicing whenever I had free time.”
Apparently, my mother had continued experimenting for years.
She must have wasted quite a lot of time and money through trial and error.
In a way, that was impressive.
“Then let’s make the soap and moisturizer your private business. Just as you said, oil is expensive.”
“Can I really do that? It was originally your idea.”
“I failed. Business should be handled by whoever is good at it.”
If my mother started doing something productive, it would also make the lord’s residence more lively.
I had always felt bad that we could not continue the charity work she had done in the past because of our budget problems.
“I’ll work hard and sell them.”
She would probably begin by forcing the wives of minor nobles and merchants to buy them.
My condolences to those women.
Then more ideas began pouring out.
“Young Master, I mean, my lord, what about the cross-stitch patterns you made before?”
“I’d rather release those freely. There probably wouldn’t be much profit anyway.”
I did not want to start occupying people’s sewing hobbies just to make money.
“You also made janggi and chess sets before. Couldn’t those make money?”
“If we make individual sets for personal use, the guild won’t protect them. They’re also far too easy to copy.”
I had also created card games, Othello, and several other board games.
I never intended to sell them.
I had simply been bored.
Anyway, all the ideas so far were too small and insignificant.
Was there even a point in gathering young people if this is all they can think of? This is disappointing.
Escaping fixed ways of thinking was not easy.
Still, I could not keep relying entirely on memories from my previous life forever.
Just as I was considering ending the meeting, a servant raised his hand.
“My lord, how about making and selling alcohol?”
“Alcohol?”
“The Aquitaine Territory is famous for wine. Why don’t we make alcohol carrying Marcel’s name as well?”
It would take time, but it was not a bad idea.
I thought about the alcohol currently produced in the Marcel Territory.
Several types of beer and white wine.
Should I distill fermented alcohol and make whisky and cognac?
Since the idea had appeared, I decided to act on it immediately.
I assigned the servant who suggested it.
“The Great Forest has plenty of high-quality oak with good fragrance. Make oak barrels. Distill beer and white wine, then store the liquor in those barrels for a long time. If you age it for more than two years, you should get good alcohol.”
“...I’m supposed to do that?”
The servant’s face turned pale.
“Create an alcohol company and manage it. The initial investment will come from the territory budget.”
“But I’m just a servant.”
Many servants in noble households were sons of minor nobles.
Although this servant looked somewhat clueless, he had received a basic education.
“If you lack the necessary ability, hire employees. Learn distillation from an alchemist.”
“Yes, my lord...”
He probably felt as though I had ordered him to build something from nothing.
Still, everyone had a first time.
He would probably manage somehow.
There were additional ingredients used when producing whisky and cognac, such as caramel for whisky and sugar for cognac.
I would teach him those later, once everything else was prepared.
If I explained everything now, I was worried his head might explode from overload.
Many more ideas came afterward.
However, most were either small businesses or unrealistic dreams.
Then a boy quietly raised his hand.
I did not recognize him, so he was probably new.
“I haven’t seen you before. Are you new?”
“Yes, my lord. I came from Cagliari recently.”
Apparently, the chief steward had selected one of the more intelligent children among the pirates’ families.
“If you have an idea, don’t hesitate. Speak.”
What the boy said next was rather unexpected.
“There is an object that always points north. We found it while raiding a ship from the Delhi Sultanate. Boss Luca found it so amazing that he kept it in his house.”
“You mean a compass? Why is that amazing?”
“What? If even something that incredible doesn’t surprise you, then what would...?”
At that moment, I realized I had made a huge assumption.
This world was not Earth.
Its technological development was not identical to Earth’s Middle Ages.
Because magic existed, there were extremely convenient magic items.
At the same time, some incredibly simple inventions had never been created.
I had spent so much time traveling by ship that I simply assumed compasses existed.
So that’s why ships always keep land within sight during long voyages.
The route between Marcel and Catalonia was short and mostly traveled in one direction, so a compass was unnecessary.
But even when sailing from Westfalen to Catalonia, ships had used visible land as navigation markers.
I slapped my knee after finally understanding.
I should carefully check other ordinary objects too. There may be more things I can create and sell.
For now, I had learned that the compass was only being used by the Delhi Sultanate.
So I immediately decided to commission its production.
If I applied for protection from the multinational guild on the Northern Continent, I could obtain exclusive production rights.
I called Diego, who had quietly watched the meeting.
“Diego, find several blacksmiths or craftsmen who are good with their hands and skilled at making small objects. We’re going to produce compasses.”
“May I ask what material we need?”
“It’s called lodestone. It has the property of attracting iron. Search for it.”
“I’ll go immediately.”
Diego hurried out, apparently excited by the thought of securing another source of income.
I was excited too.
However,
Once this compass becomes public, the balance of naval power might change. History will probably be distorted because of me. If someone else has regressed into this era, they’re going to curse me like crazy.
I smiled while thinking something both serious and ridiculous.
The office of the Chairman of the Lisboa Noble Council.
Chairman Itana Bonmati examined the object her aide had brought.
“Is this the product people are talking about, the compass?”
“Yes, Chairman. Apparently, the red needle points toward magnetic north.”
“What is magnetic north? Doesn’t this thing point north?”
“They say it’s a point slightly away from the true northern end. We don’t know the exact location. In any case, it does point north.”
Chairman Bonmati shook the compass before placing it on the desk.
The red needle trembled for a while before settling toward a particular direction.
“It points north accurately.”
“Isn’t it fascinating? To think someone could create something like this. Viscount Marcel truly is a remarkable inventor.”
“He certainly isn’t ordinary.”
Chairman Bonmati stared at the compass for a long time.
Then she spoke.
“Have you considered what kind of impact this object will create?”
“Impact? Do you mean war?”
“Yes. War. Fleets that once depended on the sun and constellations can now move freely.”
“The competition for colonies will become more intense.”
The Chairman stood and looked through the window.
Dozens of ships filled the enormous harbor.
“Those ships will soon cross the western ocean. They’ll go searching for new lands to claim.”
“...You intend to participate.”
Chairman Bonmati turned around and clenched her fist.
Her fist was tiny, but it was enough to reveal her determination.
“Of course. Look at the Germania Empire today. Hasn’t it become wealthy through colonial rule? Now our kingdom must also claim enormous colonies and bring back their resources.”
The kingdom?
More like the Bonmati family.
The aide briefly had that disrespectful thought before pushing it aside.
“I will ask the Mage Tower to calculate the required budget.”
“Please do.”
Colonial expansion, which had been accelerated by ship acceleration magic items, would now spread across the entire world because of the compass.
Even if Eric had never created the compass, this would eventually have happened anyway.
Colonization of the Southern Continent was already reaching its later stages.
The Delhi Sultanate’s compass could not remain a secret forever.
All Eric had done was pour a little more fuel onto a house that was already burning.
And make a little money while doing it.
