Temptation

Temptation

Romain's voice was firm, his expression calm, and he forced all of Barro's pent-up words back down.

The young man thought of his dead father.

He lowered his head in silence, deeply saddened.

Romain patted his shoulder in comfort, then told him to get lost.

Picking up the kitchen knife, he chopped the vegetables with swift, decisive strokes.

After preparing lunch for the day, Romain shook out his aching shoulders.

He took Gevra with him to find Seth.

"Seth, let everyone rest for the afternoon today. I need to plan a route to the Salt Mine. Next, these people will be building roads."

Faced with Romain's request, Seth understood the importance of the Salt Mine and, for once, did not think Romain was acting too hastily.

"My lord, you should also pay attention to your image. You've been cutting vegetables in the fields for two days. That will make those farmers look down on you. They'll forget your authority and stop fearing you. For a noble, that is a fatal mistake."

Seth straightened Romain's rolled-up sleeves, messy collar, and disheveled hair, tidying him up neatly while continuing to prattle on about the ways of the nobility.

"Hmph. What's so bad about that? One day, I'll show those nobles what truly deadly means," Romain snorted.

Seth had already become immune to Romain's nonsense.

He had no idea what this child was talking about.

Where exactly was his ass when he said that?

Under Romain's leadership, the farmers who had been busy for nearly half a month finally received half a day of rest.

Though the labor intensity had been the same as before, it was simply exhausting.

The physical workload might have been identical whether there were standards or not, but the mental strain was different.

Since sowing had ended in the morning, Romain announced early that there would only be lunch today, with no dinner.

This crushed the farmers' little scheme to dawdle at work—if they dragged the work out until the afternoon, they would most likely get a free dinner.

Romain would not give them that chance.

Lunch during the spring plowing had been canceled.

But lunch would resume for the upcoming road construction.

On the Tale of Survival world map, Romain plotted out a specific route.

He wanted to build a solid, durable road rather than a bumpy dirt track. Only someone who had lived in this era knew just how terrible the roads were.

Road conditions and vehicles greatly affected transportation efficiency.

Sigg Town was fairly well-rounded in every aspect, having developed for several decades.

The entire town had more than eighty oxen for plowing, several Draft Horses, and large numbers of livestock of various kinds, including pigs, sheep, and chickens.

Farmers with spare capacity would never refuse to raise such animals.

Once those poultry and livestock had grown, selling them to Mol, other stewards, or merchants was also a significant source of household income.

Romain planned to make a wooden cart specifically for transportation.

It was a fairly large undertaking.

Moreover, Romain did not know much about wooden carts—he would have to wait until he raised his Manufacturing skill before dealing with that.

But the task itself was not particularly difficult.

So he summoned Witchi, the carpenter of Sigg Town.

The man was highly skilled. He had made the wheels for the Heavy Plow before, and most of Sigg Town's Ox Carts and horse-drawn carriages had something to do with him.

Based on Romain's requirements, designing a simply structured transport vehicle would not be difficult.

In any case, it could not escape the limitations of the era.

The cart did not need to be very large.

According to Romain's plan—two meters wide, three meters long, with a load capacity of one to two tons, pulled by a single Draft Horse—it was essentially a modified Ox Cart.

After learning of Romain's requirements, Witchi said, "My lord, this isn't difficult, but I don't know how many carts you need."

"Ten for now, a hundred later. I'll take as many as you can make."

Transportation was the most important thing for development.

Witchi said nervously, "My lord, these carts take a great deal of time. I have no way to build ten of them in such a short time."

The scene from when he had made the plows remained vivid in his mind.

The moment he opened his eyes, he had to work. Sometimes, he did not even have time to eat, leaving him mentally exhausted.

Though the pay had been astonishing, if he maintained that intensity of work for long, Witchi felt death would catch up to him faster than Silver Coins.

Romain waved a hand. "Then have them divide the work and cooperate. Teach your carpentry skills to others and begin large-scale production. Starting today, the number of your assistants will triple."

Witchi opened his mouth, utterly unwilling, and said, "I may need ten days before I can build the first cart."

Romain said, "There's no need to rush this. I'll give you a month. Is that enough?"

Witchi looked somewhat troubled. Wouldn't that still mean working overtime day and night?

"Once it's done, I'll pay you one Gold Coin separately as a reward. How about it?"

Witchi's eyelid twitched. "I'll give it everything I have."

It seemed death had arrived a step too late!

Because Gold Coins were the ones chasing him!

Romain continued, "Witchi, if you can't finish it all, you can train carpenter apprentices.

"For every qualified carpenter you train, I'll give you the same number of Gold Coins.

"You can tell Laxus about this as well. If he can train qualified blacksmiths, I'll offer double or even triple the Gold Coins."

He had given up hope for Sigg Town's production efficiency. He could only use some methods to train more craftsmen and improve productivity as much as possible.

The carpenter, who was in his thirties or forties, was instantly tempted.

He realized that one carpenter could not satisfy this lord's appetite.

If that was truly the case, then teaching carpentry skills to others would not be unacceptable.

His life as a carpenter was fairly decent, but his income was low. Over an entire year, he could only earn one Gold Coin, and most of the time, the farmers still bought on credit.

Laxus, on the other hand, earned at least two Gold Coins a year.

"Witchi, you don't need to work hard every day anymore. You don't need to rise early and work late. You only need to teach your skills to others. If you train ten carpenters each year, you can earn ten Gold Coins...

"The upper limit is one hundred. As long as you can train one hundred carpenters, I can pay you one hundred Gold Coins."

If his previous words had merely tempted Witchi, then these words directly ignited his heart. His pupils trembled as though a meteor had plunged into a lake, stirring up towering waves.

He already had two carpenter assistants, as well as slaves who had worked in his Carpenter's Shop for several years.

If he could... if he could...

He had never imagined in his life that he could earn a hundred Gold Coins!

Witchi's lips trembled, his face flushing red. Gritting his teeth, he said, "I will! I will obey all of your orders, my lord!"

His legs unsteady, he left Origin Manor.