Prerequisites for Magic Paper

At noon, the census of the territory was complete. Loren looked at the crooked handwriting on the paper in front of him, his expression turning complicated.

He knew his territory was impoverished, but seeing just how little it had to its name still left him at a loss for words.

Aside from a few high-ranking officials, only seven people in the entire territory could read and write. That was right—seven.

Including Deen, the bearded man, and Ariel, that made nine.

The remaining 160-plus people were all illiterate. The literacy rate was appallingly low.

And that was without counting the barbarians and kobolds. If they were included...

Still, there was some good news. Though most people couldn't read or write, each of them had one or two skills to their name.

Tailors, blacksmiths, carpenters, farmers, and so on—these were all useful people for developing the territory, though calling them "talent" was stretching the word a little.

Loren looked at the few people standing before him in shabby clothes, his expression complicated.

These seven were the literate people he had selected.

He felt that he, as a lord, might not even measure up to the manager of a single district in Decker City.

"I appoint the three of you as temporary supervisors for rebuilding the Arrow Tower. You will be fully responsible for the repairs.

"You will each be held personally accountable. If anything goes wrong, you will answer for it."

The three slaves, who had experience building city walls and Arrow Towers, shuddered. Excited yet apprehensive, they hurriedly replied,

"Lord, we'll do our very best!"

Loren nodded.

He turned to a middle-aged man in his early forties and said solemnly,

"Sicoli, I hereby appoint you household registrar in the Ministry of Civil Affairs, responsible for managing the population registry."

Without waiting for a response, he continued with the next appointment.

"Mar, I appoint you sanitation officer in the Ministry of Civil Affairs, responsible for hygiene in the City of Brilliant Moon. I'll assign ten people to work under you.

"Starting today, no one is allowed to relieve themselves anywhere in residential areas. We'll also build toilets and cesspits. Within ten days, I expect to see a drastic change in the territory's appearance."

"All slaves hired by City Hall will automatically receive third-class resident status. Starting today, you are true residents of the City of Brilliant Moon."

"The remaining few will be assigned work by Councilor Ariel."

"Meeting adjourned."

Loren made the appointments in public, with all the slave residents watching.

Under everyone's gaze, those whose names had been called were overcome with excitement.

They had actually been appointed officials by Lord Loren.

From today onward, they would no longer be lowly slaves. They would be City Hall employees and esteemed third-class residents!

Their heads lifted a little higher, and as they basked in the envious gazes of the people around them, their pride swelled.

Praise Lord Loren! Praise the City of Brilliant Moon!

A thousand gold for a fine horse.

Seeing this, the crowd grew even more fired up. Their hopes, already stirring, burned brighter than ever.

They wanted to become City Hall employees, too. They wanted to escape their status as slaves!

Before, the residents had been like a stagnant pool, unable to see any hope or future.

But now, their companion, hailed by the thousands, had rekindled the flame within them.

After making the appointments, Loren went over to Ariel.

Looking at the shy girl, he spoke encouragingly.

"Though the City of Brilliant Moon is still weak, it needs even more attention and effort.

"Ariel, you have boundless potential. I need your help, and your talents deserve a chance to shine.

"Do whatever you want to do. I trust you completely."

It would be a waste not to make use of this genius.

With talent in such short supply, Ariel's importance stood out all the more.

"Lord Loren..."

Ariel gazed at the impossibly handsome young man before her. Her face turned as red as a cooked prawn, and even her neck flushed scarlet.

Deen, with his bushy beard, had already turned away. He seemed to have accepted it all.

His precious daughter had left him in the end. He didn't know why, but he felt like having a drink.

Waaah. He'd never have a daughter again.

"Ding! Quest: Establish a City Hall—Complete.

"Reward: Papermaking Technique, delivered. Please check your inventory."

Just then, the system notification rang out again.

A hint of delight appeared in Loren's eyes, but before long, his brows furrowed.

Check his inventory? Was the Papermaking Technique going to be delivered by courier?

After completing several quests, Loren had figured out how the system's rewards worked. They were always based on facts that already existed.

For example, Sim, the kobold Bloodline Mage, had pledged his loyalty.

The prerequisite for that quest was that a kobold Bloodline Mage had to exist in the first place.

If there hadn't been a Bloodline Mage, perhaps the quest would have been different. A kobold Bloodline Mage wouldn't simply appear out of nowhere and pledge loyalty to him.

If he had failed that quest, Loren guessed the cowardly kobold might suddenly have found the courage to face death rather than submit to him—or perhaps he would have simply killed himself.

The same went for the quest to conquer the barbarians, which he had completed at the slave market. If he had failed, the barbarians would have refused to pledge loyalty without hesitation.

As for the Papermaking Technique he had just been rewarded, Loren guessed it probably already existed somewhere in his territory.

If he had failed the quest, no one would have discovered it. But since he had succeeded, perhaps someone had found the secret manual for Papermaking Technique somewhere in the territory.

As Loren pondered this, an elderly man with graying hair suddenly approached from nearby.

The soldiers maintaining order naturally wouldn't let the old man approach Loren without reason, and stopped him at once.

But the old man was unusually insistent. He demanded to see Loren.

The two sides began shoving one another, quickly drawing the attention of the surrounding crowd.

"What's Tommy doing? Why's he arguing with those gentlemen?"

"Does he have a death wish? Those are the lord's soldiers!"

"What's going on?"

The crowd's chatter interrupted Loren's thoughts. He turned slightly, spotted the commotion nearby, and gestured to the soldiers.

"Bring him over."

Only then did the soldiers let the old man through, though they were reluctant. How was the old man so strong?

Now they'd drawn Lord Loren's attention. Lord Kool would tear into them when they got back.

The elderly man with graying hair approached Loren with a pleading look, then dropped to his knees without a word.

"Lord, you're the most benevolent noble I've ever met.

"I beg you to free my granddaughter from slavery and let her become a free resident."

Loren raised an eyebrow, about to speak, when the old man's next words made his eyes blaze with excitement.

"Benevolent and great lord, if you free my granddaughter, I'm willing to offer you my family's Papermaking Technique.

"My lord, with your noble status, you must have heard of Magic Paper.

"One of my ancestors was a great Spellcaster. The Papermaking Technique I learned was passed down by that Spellcaster.

"My ancestor left behind a final testament, saying our family's Papermaking Technique could produce the legendary Magic Paper.

"Although I haven't mastered the process, perhaps we can succeed if we keep researching it."

Magic Paper?!

Loren's breathing quickened.

If ordinary paper was the exclusive privilege of nobles, then Magic Paper was a rare commodity worth thousands of times more.

That was because Magic Paper was essential for making Magic Scrolls.

Spellcasters could inscribe their spells onto Magic Scrolls, granting them immense power.

Every Magic Scroll was worth a fortune, more precious than gold.

But the method of making Magic Paper had long been monopolized by Spellcasters. Ordinary people couldn't hope to learn it—or even lay eyes on Magic Paper.

And yet this incredibly precious item had appeared right before him.

The old man had said he couldn't yet produce Magic Paper with the techniques he knew.

But even if the system never triggered a follow-up quest, Loren could still try to get him to develop the process.

There was no telling whether they might one day succeed in making genuine Magic Paper.

The significance of this was immense.

Loren felt as though an inexhaustible gold mine had appeared before him.