You were made to farm, and now you're the emperor of an empire?

Chapter 98 Neel

Gweil was taken aback at first, and a look of panic appeared on her little face. She became flustered and at a loss.

After realizing this, he had to suppress his resentment, beckoned Gweil over, and used his fingers to smooth her wet hair.

Roman's gentle voice, with a peculiar magnetism, said, "Don't be afraid. If anything makes you unhappy, just tell me. You are my close attendant, the person closest to me, and I don't want you to keep your dissatisfaction bottled up inside."

He valued Gweil's potential highly, and spoke to her in a gentle and considerate manner.

Gweil's inexplicable fear quickly subsided.

She shook her head gently. What more could she possibly want? Her status in the manor was so high, second only to Roman, and those of her rank treated her with utmost care, so much so that she had no worries at such a young age.

If I had to say something... no, it's already very good.

"I'm content just to see Mr. Roman every day," she whispered, as softly as a mosquito's buzz.

Upon hearing this, Roman began to smile.

Behind the fake smile, a grid of anger marks appeared on his forehead.

So why don't you jump out of the pool?

Roman managed his facial expressions well enough that Gweil didn't notice.

Everyone in Sig Town is busy as a dog, except for Gweil, who is free and easy, and spends most of her time attending Hans and Gemann's literacy lessons.

Raising a little girl is no burden for him, but not everyone is qualified to become his attendant.

Roman had high hopes for Gweil, but he was heartbroken that they hadn't been able to get her out yet.

I really want to see Gweil's stats.

He was quite rational. Although he was ambitious, he didn't blame the problem on Gweil. Now he was starting to suspect that the recruitment pool might have some kind of hidden safety net, and that they were holding back a big one for him.

He just did 30 pulls, and he still has 115 pulls left. He doesn't know if he can pull Gavial if he uses them all...

Forget it, don't get carried away with gacha pulls.

Otherwise, when the population of Sig Town continues to increase, he will run out of resources to recruit.

"Go have fun," Roman said, maintaining his smile.

He has many faces, and he has always been kind to his apostles and potential apostles, so he tries to maintain a friendly demeanor.

But he didn't have that patience for ordinary citizens.

Point your finger at them and call them idiots eight times a day.

Gweil didn't notice the change in Roman's attitude; she just felt that Roman was becoming more and more friendly.

She was young and had a difficult and turbulent past, but she was unaware of the wickedness of people's hearts and did not understand why Roman would take such good care of her. She simply took it for granted that a close servant should do so.

But in reality, she didn't understand the responsibilities and obligations of a close attendant.

Like a joyful bird, Gweil flew away from the manor hall, nearly bumping into Seth.

The butler was not harsh on Gweil.

In his view, Roman keeping witches was his hobby, whether it was public or private, let's just consider it private.

He shouldn't interfere in Roman's private life—he's always been discreet about that.

Roman watched Gweil's retreating figure and couldn't help but shake his head slightly.

He didn't take the issue to heart. As long as it wasn't a mistake in the route, Roman could forgive all their actions.

He has the patience and time to forgive and correct the apostles' various naive ideas.

Because he will always watch over their growth, embrace their ignorance, guide their progress, and help them grow from weak to strong, from fragile to resilient. This is what he, as the chosen one, is obligated to undertake. And what could be more gratifying than nurturing?

Roman said to Seth, "Among the slaves who came from Seaburg, there is one named Neliel. Go and call her over."

"Yes." Before Seth could even stand still, he turned and left, placing the thick paper on the table in front of Roman.

Roman picked up the stack of thick parchment and found it was an account book, which detailed the total expenditure on purchasing slaves in Sig Town, totaling 332 gold coins. If it weren't for the good trade development in Sig Town these days, he wouldn't have been able to come up with this money and would have had to mortgage the Cracked Armor Great Bow.

On average, one gold coin can buy two slaves, making the price astronomical.

But those specialized artisans account for at least the majority of the prices.

In fact, Morey sold these slaves to the town of Sig at cost price—he only charged for food and did not make any profit. He did not charge for transportation, labor, or even taxes; otherwise, the price would have soared to at least 500 gold coins. Whether he could sell them or not is another matter.

Only Sig Town has such a large shortage of slaves.

Putting everything else aside, Morey would have a hard time finding a suitable buyer for blacksmith Ruto alone.

Firstly, the stable territories ruled by nobles for a long time had no shortage of blacksmiths, and they were able to develop self-sufficiency, which was very much in line with the times.

Ruto went there and ended up competing with the local blacksmiths for business.

They can only be sold to young nobles who have just been enfeoffed, whose territories are impoverished and who are in dire need of development. They are in a similar situation to Romans, lacking various resources, especially professionals.

However, this is the second reason.

The blacksmith's price is too high.

Roman only had a little over 20 gold coins at the start of the game. What kind of wealth could he afford a blacksmith slave?
If you can afford it, why don't you trade directly with other nobles from other territories and get a non-slave blacksmith at a lower price?

Even an apprentice, after a few years of blacksmithing, should become a qualified blacksmith, while a territory is built up year by year.

The status of a slave is no longer important. He is a highly skilled technician who has only temporarily become a slave. Do you really think you can treat him like livestock?
They will be granted their freedom sooner or later.

This is also the mindset of most nobles; everyone has connections and networks.

If there is a shortage of labor, laborers will be transferred from the territories of familiar nobles.

Lacking various artisans, they recruited craftspeople from the cities, offering them various incentives, tax breaks, and in-kind subsidies to help them settle in the new territory.

Which noble family would rely on purchasing slaves to expand their territory?
Slaves are inherently less stable than free people, so improving their treatment would be a losing proposition.

……

Soon, Seth brought Neliel to Origin Manor.

Roman observed the girl in front of him.

Should be an adult.

Long blue hair, azure eyes, thick, curled eyelashes, harmonious features, and fair skin. Her figure was curvaceous, with a slender waist like a water snake. Her clothes were simple and dirty, but they couldn't hide her natural beauty. Her skin wasn't rough; instead, it had a delicate quality.

Undoubtedly, she is a stunning young beauty, and her price is certainly not cheap.

Roman didn't know whether to thank Morey for giving him a three-star apostle, or to resent that if Neliel wasn't a three-star apostle, she would definitely be no match for a dozen or twenty young and strong laborers.

When Seth called her over, Neliel was busy at the mess camp.

She was quite striking in appearance, but the town of Sig was short-handed everywhere. Even if the Valkyrie from the Northern Ice Legend came, she would still have to move bricks and build walls.

One Valkyrie is worth at least ten able-bodied men!

Neliel was clearly not a physically robust Valkyrie; her outstanding appearance spared her from the physical labor of carrying bricks and mud, but she did not escape the torment of smoke and fire.

She was assigned to the main kitchen to prepare meals for everyone. When Seth called her over, Neliel was chopping wood and tending the fire under the scorching sun, her forehead covered in sweat. Upon learning that Lord Roman was looking for her, she hurriedly came over after wiping her face—clearly not properly clean. Roman noticed a gray mark on her left cheek, which was now covered in sweat.

(End of this chapter)