Kaitian Cat's Guide to Making Money

Of course, getting full marks in subjects like language and current-affairs prediction was completely impossible. Even if Wenqu Star descended to earth, it would still be impossible.

However, Kal'tsit was quite crafty. After Huang Cao marked the test according to the answers, he discovered that aside from language and history, where she had scored nearly full marks, she had deliberately left most of the other subjects at merely above-average levels.

Clearly, even Kal'tsit did not want to become a beast of burden.

But someone declared, "Just because you don't want to doesn't mean I can't make you."

"As long as you passed, that means you're capable. From now on, you'll teach these eight subjects!"

After dinner, Kal'tsit took a stroll around the center of the territory with Warfarin accompanying her, casually probing for information with a few questions.

Perhaps worried that her actions might be too conspicuous, Kal'tsit only asked several inconsequential questions before returning to the room Warfarin had prepared for her.

The room prepared for servants was not particularly large, but it could certainly be called cozy and luxurious.

Kal'tsit thought to herself that even the servants' rooms were so extravagant. The castle's master must spend a fortune every day.

He lived more comfortably than most nobles. Yet she seemed to see no sign of exploitation on this land.

Everyone lived and worked in peace. On her way back to the castle that evening, Kal'tsit had even seen rooms whose doors had been left open.

However, after observing the place during the day, she had keenly noticed that something was unusual about all the residents living here.

Although all the adults had Originium Infection, the children born between infected couples were exceptionally healthy, showing no signs of infection whatsoever.

In fact, infected people could indeed give birth to children who were not infected.

But the odds were no different from winning the grand prize in the lottery—pitifully small.

Yet every person living here had somehow won that grand prize. That was highly abnormal.

Could it be because of that Golden Giant Tree?

Kal'tsit had wandered around the territory for several reasons. One of them was to collect leaves fallen from the Golden Tree, then find an opportunity to take them outside and study them.

But after walking for nearly half an hour, she had not seen even a single leaf on the ground.

And even if there were any, they were green rather than glowing gold.

Because she had lied that morning and claimed that she had been disfigured, Kal'tsit had not dared remove the black veil covering her face even while bathing. She had slept with the black cloth covering her face as well.

Far too many people here wanted her dead. She could indeed resurrect, but no one would enjoy being cut down, no matter how many times they could revive.

Besides, resurrection took time. With this territory developing so rapidly...

At that thought, Kal'tsit became even more certain that the lord of this territory was hiding secrets she knew nothing about.

At the very least, he absolutely could not be a Grass-eating Demon!

Carrying these thoughts with her, the Immortal—far older than the history of this land—spent the entire night sleepless.

The next morning, after her sleepless night, Kal'tsit finished the castle's specialty breakfast and attended the interview with an unchanged expression.

This time, she met the master of the castle.

In Kal'tsit's eyes, the man before her looked like a young man who had just set out to make his way in the world, someone who had only just come of age and already dreamed of accomplishing something great.

His handsome face had the distinctive features of Yan Country, along with a trace of youthful naivety that had yet to fade.

His pitch-black pupils were deep and dark, making it impossible for anyone to see what their owner was thinking.

"Greetings, esteemed lord."

Kal'tsit wore a maid's uniform and bowed. Her movements were rigidly precise, and her manners resembled those of an elegant noblewoman from the court of Victoria.

"Madam, your bearing is very much like that of a Victoria noble. May I ask why someone as outstanding as you came to this remote, impoverished place called Kazdel?"

Huang Cao had originally wanted to make a grand reveal and expose her identity on the spot, giving this Kaitian Cat a fright. But after thinking it over, he decided against it.

Revealing all his trump cards before truly understanding her intentions would have been foolish.

Kal'tsit was also an old hand, and she spun her story smoothly without needing to prepare a draft.

"Esteemed lord, although I was born into a noble family in Victoria, I was an illegitimate daughter and did not inherit my family's talent for magic. As a result, I had almost no value to them. The only thing about me that had any value was my face."

"But a month ago, a sudden fire destroyed my appearance. I also contracted Originium Infection because of that disaster. As expected, my family abandoned me without a second thought, leaving me to fend for myself. After wandering in the wilderness for a month, I happened to arrive here."

"I hope you can give me work sufficient to make a living. I will offer you all the knowledge I possess, including attending to your daily needs."

Although Huang Cao really wanted to make a few improper jokes, he considered that if he said anything like that today, a certain vampire beside him would probably bite him hard that night.

So Huang Cao gave up. Then, pretending to be serious, he asked, "All these stories follow the same template. I don't care where you came from, but once you arrive here, you are my subject. What I sign with you is not some company contract. Do you understand?"

"I understand." Kal'tsit nodded in agreement.

As a feudal noble, Huang Cao's words were perfectly proper.

Contracts were not yet a popular concept in this era. Agreements carried far greater force.

"You passed the interview. After signing this agreement, you'll receive one gold coin each month from now on."

Huang Cao took a sheet of parchment from the drawer. After receiving it, Kal'tsit read the contents carefully, then signed her name without the slightest hesitation.

Silkai...

When Huang Cao and Warfarin saw the name Kal'tsit had written on the agreement, they almost failed to keep from laughing.

There would be another update in the afternoon.

Chapter 31: Kaitian Cat's Guide to Making Money

You really came up with that name. If your territory were in Yan Country, this method might not work so well.

"That name is somewhat awkward. Change it, or perhaps you're willing to reveal your true name."

"I'm very sorry, esteemed lord, but this is my name."

"Would you dare swear it to your parents?" Huang Cao asked with a solemn expression, without the slightest hint of joking.

Kal'tsit fell silent. Clearly, she did not want to swear such an oath. She merely watched him in silence.

Stare~

"I cannot employ someone who is unable to reveal even her true name."

"But you can address me in another way." Kal'tsit's tone remained calm.

Huang Cao stroked his chin. "You're quite clever. Fine. From now on, I'll call you Kaitian Cat. It still has the character 'Kai,' so it's close enough."

Kaitian Cat? A trace of bewilderment suddenly flashed across Kal'tsit's expression.

Because in her memories, there had once been a woman who often used "old man" as a catchphrase and frequently called her that as well.

"If you like calling me that, then it couldn't be more suitable, my lord."

Kal'tsit ultimately yielded. The young man before her was clearly not someone easy to fool.

Fortunately, she had plenty of experience dealing with this kind of person.

Over the endless years, most of the people she had encountered had been more difficult to handle than this young man.

At least on the surface, Huang Cao did not seem inclined to play dirty.

"However, you should have seen my scores. Although I know quite a lot because of my family background, there are still some subjects I'm not good at. So may I teach history and mathematics?"

"I won't have you teach people directly. Given the territory's current finances, my people have no use for the educational systems of Victoria or Yan Country yet."

"You'll teach the teachers who have not yet become teachers. They'll then spread that knowledge to others. For now, thirty teachers have been assigned to you."

"I believe that well-traveled Kaitian Cat should also know how to operate some machinery. Your Sarkaz is quite good, too..."

"Life comes first. Although I'd love to let these brats experience what an examination is like, the most important thing now is generating income for the territory. Otherwise, we'll be bankrupt next year."

The goal was to let young Sarkaz recognize the characters of their own nation, read some basic texts, and operate engineering machinery according to instruction manuals.

Because the territory was too small and resources were scarce, Huang Cao could not make plans spanning ten years or anything like that. But if ten years would not work, then what about a hundred?

Every generation of Sarkaz had its own mission.

The Sarkaz who had followed Huang Cao to the territory ten years ago were the earliest generation.

Their mission was to create conditions their descendants could rely on to survive, not to make the territory prosperous in a short time.

The second generation of Sarkaz had the mission of making the territory stronger, but not prosperous either, because the previous generation had not yet created the conditions necessary to provide them with abundant spiritual nourishment.

Besides, how was Huang Cao supposed to create those conditions for the second generation of Sarkaz?

If he could not find more money, the territory would go bankrupt next year. Where would he get the funds to focus on their education?

In the current world, having somewhere to study and work was already good enough. They still wanted to be picky?

As for the third generation... That was too far in the future. If the territory's income remained stable, it should be able to establish a basic education system within fifty years and truly begin climbing the technology tree.

When the civil war between the two kings broke out in the future, Huang Cao planned to make a major move and use the opportunity to run over the siblings.

Are you kidding me?!

Theresia could become the Demon King, but I couldn't?

A territory was still only a territory. Whether in scale or culture, it could not compare with a nation.

Although Huang Cao did not yet know how to manage a country, who cared? He would seize the position first and worry about the rest later.

There was no room to fall anyway. Whatever he did would be an improvement.

Actually, if possible, Huang Cao did not want to take part in the civil war of the future.

War was so boring. Comfort was the true way to live.

However, the future war in Kazdel would be a conflict of ideals. No Sarkaz could stand apart from it.

Even if Huang Cao, with so many Sarkaz subjects, did not want to choose a side, the torrent of history would not care about his opinion.

So rather than be swept along, he might as well become a third party and win the war in style!

"One more thing! I'm short of someone skilled in architecture. When you have free time, Kaitian Cat, help me design the castle. I feel that this place is still too shabby. In the future, I want to build a palace larger than the Demon King's Palace."

Huang Cao sighed and gazed gloomily at his office.

It really was a little shabby. Even the floor was made of stone instead of fragrant redwood.

It did not suit his noble status at all!

Warfarin rolled her eyes beside him. "You still haven't given up on your castle? How much money have you spent on it?"

"I don't care. I became a noble to enjoy myself! How can I do that without a large house?"

"Very well, Master Huang. I'll do my best to find time to improve your living quarters."

Kal'tsit bowed slightly. By now, she had more or less figured out the personality of the young man before her.

He was frivolous yet unexpectedly reliable, but the secrets surrounding him remained an impenetrable fog.

All in all, Kal'tsit felt that she had more or less settled down under this young man's command...

That evening, the two restless people held another banquet to celebrate Kal'tsit's arrival.

Only...

"My lord, is this what you call having no money?"

Kal'tsit held gilded chopsticks, a knife, and a fork in her hands. Her eyes were fixed on the dazzling variety of delicacies covering the table, and she asked in confusion, "Is this what you meant by having no money?"

The food's aroma was exceptionally distinctive. The seasonings used must have been anything but ordinary.

"Hmm... Hmm?"

"Isn't this just ordinary seasoning?" Huang Cao asked in puzzlement as he put a tender, juicy steak into his mouth.

Under the dim light, Kal'tsit's expression looked somewhat grim.

"You may not understand, but pepper currently costs almost as much as orichalcum outside. Only a small number of nobles can indulge in it freely."

"Does nobody grow this stuff?"

"It isn't that simple. Not every land is as fertile as your territory or free from natural disasters. In other places, growing food is already difficult enough. Where would they find the time to grow seasonings that are hard to eat their fill from?"

Damn it, I seem to have wasted ten years of making a fortune!

Huang Cao instantly felt his heart bleed.

"Warfarin, why didn't you tell me the seasonings outside were so expensive?"

Warfarin could only shake her head helplessly. "Did you think the food I ate before was normal? Was I supposed to dip my blood in seasoning before drinking it?"

Kal'tsit was also extremely surprised. The land here was so fertile—why had these two never thought of making money this way?