The Lord Who Levels Up by Devouring - Chapter 197

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com

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Chapter 197. Prosperity (1)
I trembled in bewilderment, quivering with anticipation.
Thinking the Quest would clear any moment now, I began to shake with excitement.
Beside me, Seraphia bounced like a vibrant rabbit, hopping up and down.
◆Aaaaaaahhhhh!!
“Big brother, what should we try next?!”
◆Aaah!! It’s coming!!
“I can do anything now!!”
◆An unexpected Quest clear is coming!!
…My mind had become quite turbulent.
I closed my eyes and ears.
I tried to calm my agitated spirit.
After some time had passed like this.
…For some reason, the clear message didn’t appear.
Despite considerable time passing, the clear message showed no sign of appearing.
◆Huh…? What…?!
The message began to fumble about in confusion.
Though the expression was somewhat odd, watching the message float here and there seemed like it was groping around uncertainly.
◆It’s not clearing…?
The message’s confusion was short-lived.
◆Haha! Of course it wouldn’t clear so easily!
◆How could a Prosperity rank increase happen so simply? Tee-hee!
As if it had never been anxious, the message began to make a fuss again.
◆Rolling frantically and doing somersaults in the air!
◆Eating rice mixed with tears countless times!
◆Only after persisting and enduring stubbornly does the clear finally come!
◆Trying to eat it raw without any effort—that’s disqualifying!
◆You lack the qualifications to clear!
This is something I’ve thought since before.
‘It seems the Quest really dislikes clearing too easily.’
As if it held a philosophy that achievement requires hardship.
The message wanted me to clear the Quest while suffering greatly.
◆Start over from the beginning right now!?!
In any case, the message absolutely hated seeing me take the easy path.
‘How unfortunate.’
I had expected it to clear.
It seemed the conditions for achieving the city weren’t being met—
“…Ah, but you see.”
Suddenly, Seraphia spoke as if she had remembered something.
The face of Seraphia, who had been so lively just moments before.
Somewhere along the way, she had become visibly dejected.
“I’ve organized the administrative system, but the real problem is a lack of personnel.”
“Personnel?”
“We’re short on basic administrative staff, and there’s nowhere to store records or anyone to manage them. I have to personally handle all the procurement work myself.”
“I see.”
“Since there are no administrators in each village, it takes an entire day just to circulate a single official document.”
Seraphia’s small shoulders sagged.
I pulled up the information from my “Management Mode.”
Then I reviewed the conditions necessary for a Fortified Town once more.
◆Fortified Town
[Population] – 5,000 or more
[Construction] – Castle Wall, Watchtower, Barracks, Fortress, Large Warehouse, Prison
[Military] – Regular standing army stationed
[Administration] – Lord’s direct administrative office established, Merchant Guild tax collection, tax settlement system established, Territory law enacted
Construction, military, administration.
As expected, we were already meeting the Fortified Town requirements in every aspect.
But there was one thing.
‘The population fell short.’
The current population of Whitewolf Territory was 4,003.
We were short by approximately 1,000 people.
Moreover, it wasn’t simply a matter of insufficient population.
“There’s an enormous amount of work, but far too few people to handle it.”
The population ratio was heavily skewed toward soldiers.
There were 2,730 soldiers alone.
They comprised 68% of the total population.
In other words, civilian labor was critically insufficient.
“It’s difficult to expand the workforce needed for current production facilities, so operational capacity has dropped below fifty percent.”
“I see.”
“We’re also short on transport workers, so goods aren’t circulating through the warehouses properly.”
The Predator Merchant Company was also facing difficulties in expanding its workforce.
“There’s no one to fell timber, and we lack adequate workers to raise livestock like reindeer and moose in the Frozen Lands.”
The blue sandalwood, a specialty of Whitewolf Territory 2.
Reindeer and moose that could be raised in the Frozen Lands.
These native resources were left completely untouched.
“Domestic consumption is virtually nonexistent, so the market isn’t functioning properly.”
Without population, there was no way the domestic market could operate correctly.
Everything looked impressive on the surface, but the foundation was far too weak.
“I’ve been managing somehow with the funds my brother provided, but…”
Thanks to the infinite inventory’s resources, it wasn’t an immediate problem.
But the inventory was only infinite.
The funds within it were not infinite.
They would eventually be depleted, and much had already been spent.
‘Caravana’s situation isn’t favorable either.’
Even the immediate distribution of night beer was proving difficult.
‘Hmm.’
The problem was severe.
I could pour out my wealth to pursue long-term population growth, but—
‘It takes far too long.’
A minimum of ten years.
But by then?
The Emperor will move in earnest.
And The Continent will cease to exist.
‘I need immediate population.’
Then there was only one method.
Drawing population from other territories or kingdoms.
Conveniently, many factions had become favorable toward me since the Caravana incident.
And conveniently, the 【Diplomacy】 category had been unlocked, allowing me to conduct diplomatic negotiations smoothly.
‘Still, migration agreements won’t be easy.’
Population was, after all, a territory’s greatest asset.
There was no lord or nation foolish enough to willingly surrender such an asset.
It would be complicated, time-consuming, and as Munggu had said, grueling work.
Yet it was something I had to do.
I summoned the 【Diplomacy】 category before my eyes.
And that was when it happened.
Knock, knock.
—It’s Bernard. May I come in for a moment?
Bernard knocked on the conference room door from outside.
Seraphia glanced at me once before responding.
“…Ah, yes! Please come in.”
The conference room door opened, and Bernard entered cautiously.
“I apologize for interrupting your meeting. I took the liberty of intruding because there is an urgent matter to report.”
“What is it?”
“Well…”
Bernard hesitated to speak hastily.
“It’s nothing else, but an important guest has arrived at Whitewolf Territory.”
“…An important guest?”
Seraphia’s eyes widened with curiosity.
Meanwhile, my eyes—
‘Ian!’
opened wide in surprise.
* * *
I hurried toward the Reception Room of Whitewolf Territory.
With each step, my mind held only a single thought.
Ian.
He had returned.
I reached the Reception Room of Whitewolf Territory in an instant.
And from outside the Reception Room door, I heard a ‘familiar voice’.
-Goodness, it’s not cold at all anymore!!
My pace quickened further.
I opened the Reception Room door—
“Oh!”
A face as familiar as that voice appeared before me.
The Royal Knights knight who had visited Whitewolf Territory before.
His name was….
“Allow me to introduce myself! I am Equi Hehehald, First Knight Commander of the Royal Guard, Royal Knights!”
Ah, yes. Herald.
…It was not Ian.
Disappointment washed over me unbidden.
But wait.
‘Hehehald?’
Did the cold make him stammer again?
Yet Count’s Castle was no longer cold.
The entire castle was like a greenhouse thanks to the Ether Heat Dissipator.
“In just a few months, it feels like I’ve arrived in a completely different territory!!”
Clearly, this was not someone who felt the cold….
==【Character Information】==
Name: Hehehald Blume
Classification: Mammal, Human
Gender: Male
Age: 18
Trait: Enhanced Cardiopulmonary [B-]
‘So his real name truly was Hehehald.’
It seemed he hadn’t stammered due to the cold back then.
“…What brings you here this time?”
Hehehald then straightened his posture.
“I’ve come to meet with Count Whitewolf.”
“Seraphia?”
“…Pardon? What do you mean?”
Seraphia entered the Reception Room at that moment, tilting her head in confusion.
She had finished her meeting and followed after me.
Equi Hehehald straightened and offered a proper salute.
“Allow me to reintroduce myself! I am Equi Hehehald, belonging to the First Knight Order of the Royal Guard, Royal Knights!”
“Oh? A Royal Knights knight—what brings you here?”
“I’ve come with a matter to deliver to the Count.”
Equi Hehehald then withdrew an antique parchment from his breast.
“What is that?”
“An official Royal Court document. I’ve been ordered to deliver it directly to the Count.”
“An official Royal Court document?”
Seraphia accepted the parchment.
She carefully broke the seal and examined its contents.
“Eh…? Eek?!”
Her expression twisted as though she’d witnessed something bizarre.
I stepped forward and asked.
“What is it?”
“Ah, brother. That… well…”
Seraphia tore her gaze from the parchment as she spoke.
Her round eyes had turned a deep crimson.
She was visibly shaken, utterly bewildered by what she’d read.
“I think it would be faster if you saw it yourself, brother.”
Seraphia handed me the parchment, and I examined its contents.
* * *
In the Capital, Battenberg, in the Outer City.
Royal Guard soldiers began posting something in the Town Square, where merchants, craftsmen, and common folk primarily dwelled.
The bustling morning street fell momentarily silent.
People stopped their work and gathered in small clusters, murmuring as they gazed toward the Town Square.
“What’s happening?”
“Looks like the Royal Court has issued a new decree.”
“From the Royal Court? What decree, all of a sudden?”
“Another tax, probably.”
“No, I don’t think it’s that.”
As the Royal Guard tore open the crimson seal, the golden-embossed Royal Court insignia was revealed.
The Royal Guard then withdrew, and only then did the crowd surge forward toward the notice board.
“What does it say?”
“I can’t see it clearly…!”
“Someone read it aloud!”
“You there in front! What does it say?”
After a moment of commotion, the middle-aged man standing at the front cleared his throat.
“Let me see…”
====
【Royal Seal No. 121 – Special Decree Regarding Settlement Support for Northern Population Balance】
: This royal decree addresses population imbalances between regions within the Battenberg Kingdom by specially authorizing the migration of Royal Court technical training institutions, state-owned craftsmen, and state-owned serf classes to the Northern Region, and shall implement the following support measures for a designated period.
.
.
.
====
“A special royal decree?”
“Migration to the Northern Region…?”
“What does that even mean?”
A middle-aged man near the bulletin board read the decree’s contents aloud.
“It specially authorizes the migration of Royal Court technical training institutions, state-owned craftsmen, and serf classes to the Northern Region… and provides support measures for a designated period…?”
“Are they telling us to move north?”
“Looks like they’re recruiting migrants.”
“And they’re offering financial support!?”
The murmuring swelled instantly.
A royal special decree for migration.
The target: Northern territories.
In other words, any territory belonging to the Battenberg Kingdom and located in the Northern Region could benefit from this special decree.
“Northern territories, you say….”
There weren’t as many as one might think.
To be precise, there were only two.
Whitewolf Territory.
Edmond Territory.
But Edmond Territory had vanished due to an unfortunate incident.
Subsequently, by royal command, Edmond Territory was merged into Whitewolf Territory.
Therefore, the only Northern territory currently belonging to the Battenberg Kingdom was….
“Whitewolf Territory?”
There was no other option.

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com

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