Castel's Plan

The sun was already quite scorching by the time Theus woke up from his bed.

He shook a bell, and soon, maids carried in a table that was somewhat low but quite long, placing it carefully onto Theus's bed.

The breakfast was not large in quantity, but it was exquisite and sumptuous; Theus noticed that everything served was what he had enjoyed eating during his previous breakfasts.

Even this small detail had been noted—the life of a noble was truly decadent.

Waving his hand to dismiss the servants, Theus changed his clothes himself; he had been here for several days, yet he still wasn't accustomed to being dressed by others.

"My lord."

Opening the bedroom door, as expected, Connor was already waiting outside.

"How is it going over at the laboratory?"

"It is basically finished, and the materials you asked Steward Alexei to prepare have already been placed in the warehouse."

"Very good. I will go conduct experiments later. Have Alexei come find me and bring the production ledgers of the territory—we must find a way to develop the territory."

Pausing for a moment, Theus rummaged through his memories and spoke again: "I met an alchemist in Rhine who gave me a notebook. There are many interesting things in it, and I intend to give them a try."

Alchemists existed in this world; they were somewhat similar to chemists from Blue Star, yet mixed with elements of mysticism, with some crafting intricate little gadgets and others moonlighting as pharmacists.

In short, it was a complete hodgepodge.

He had previously dug out a flintlock, and the gunpowder inside that gun was a creation of an alchemist, albeit much more expensive.

He had indeed met several alchemists before, but those high-status masters had only chatted with him out of respect for his father, and he had gained nothing from them.

But now, he was a genius who had been meticulously taught by several alchemy masters; it was only reasonable for him to research a few small things.

Of course, he had to understand the territory's output first before deciding how to develop its industry.

Alexei walked quickly toward the manor's reception room, with a clerical assistant carrying a large stack of ledgers behind him.

He had flipped through the contents of these ledgers many times; they were all sorts of data regarding the territory.

He genuinely wanted to do something practical for the territory; if the territory could develop and his abilities were appreciated, it would be a win-win.

Therefore, upon hearing the news from Theus, he had immediately brought the materials over.

He drew his salary from the Empress, and since Theus was a count ennobled by the Empress, Alexei did not think there was anything wrong with helping him.

The salary made him diligent, but it was his recognition of Theus that made him willing to give his all.

Alexei knocked on the door.

"Please, come in."

Theus was sitting at the long table, and after exchanging greetings with Alexei, he began to flip through the data he had brought.

"Could you give me a brief introduction to the situation in the territory?"

"Of course, my lord." After a moment of recollection, Alexei spoke:

"The island we are on is Castel, which is quite large and is an... important part of your territory."

The other parts existed only on maps and in the letters of enfeoffment, and were basically in the hands of pirates.

"The northernmost part of Castel is a pier; it is not very large, and currently, only fishing boats dock there."

"I have been to see it; it is a decent deep-water port. If we renovate it, we can dock large cargo ships."

"Large cargo ships? Well..." Alexei swallowed the rest of his words. How could any large ships come to this godforsaken island?

"Near the pier is the northern plain of Castel. Your manor is on the east side of the plain, which is the most densely populated area of all of Castel, and most of the workshops are built here."

"What kind of workshops are there?"

"Mainly wine-making workshops. There used to be oil presses as well; there are many olive trees on the island, but unfortunately, olive oil does not sell well. Around here... no merchants ever come."

"Olive oil?" Theus's eyes lit up. This was good stuff; the rise and fall of the Mediterranean on Blue Star were inseparable from it, and during the Byzantine era, it was even the main economic pillar for monasteries and monks.

However, the Empire did not have a high demand for olive oil; this nation did not have similar cultural traditions, nor had it ever linked this oil to religion.

Castel Island could indeed produce olive oil, but on the Storm Ocean, where maritime trade was not well-developed, the value of such goods was limited. Even the pirates of Gem Bay preferred to collect Sweet Fruit Wine as tax rather than olive oil.

But Theus knew of many more uses for olive oil.

For instance... Theus rummaged through his memories and then revealed a smile.

Soap, one of the artifacts of a transmigrator—simple to make and with amazing results.

The Empire had no such items; with this product alone, it would be enough for him to gain a firm foothold on the Storm Ocean and, incidentally, make a fortune.

Making soap from olive oil was not complicated, and Theus had a complete, implementable process in his mind.

And... his ambition was not limited to those small bars of scented soap.

Saponification was the foundation of many chemical processes; as long as he could successfully establish a soap production line, the future of Castel Island would be limitless.

"Besides that, is there anything else?"

"There are still some mineral veins on the island, quite a variety, but unfortunately, they don't have much mining value." Alexei recalled, "It's too far from the Empire, and the pirates in Gem Bay lack the smelting capabilities. They can only be sent to the vicinity of the White Crow Duchy, but since they aren't short on ore there, it's impossible to sell them for a good price."

"Do you have a register of the mineral veins?"

"Uh..." Alexei faltered, "I'll go back and look for it, but there are only records from a long time ago, surveyed when the first batch of residents arrived in Castel."

"Organize some people to conduct a detailed survey. Issue a notice in the name of the City Hall, and I will pay their wages."

"Understood." Alexei nodded, "Most of these mineral deposits are distributed in the southwest of Castel."

"The southwest... Alexei, I remember there is a volcano on the island, right?" Theus walked to the balcony, pushed open the window, and looked toward the southwest corner of the island.

There stood a towering mountain; its lower half was covered in lush green trees, while the top was bare and blanketed in white snow. A cloud that looked like ice mist hovered over the peak, obstructing the view and making it impossible to see what the summit looked like.

The climate in Castel was quite stable, warm and humid for most of the year. Even in the coldest season, one only needed to add an extra layer of clothing; snowflakes had never fallen here.

For every thousand meters of altitude, the temperature drops by 6°C. That mountain peak is covered in snow year-round, so its height must be significant, Theus thought to himself.

"Yes, my lord, it is an active volcano. It is said that it erupted once several decades ago. I heard from the local residents that one can see the churning magma inside from the summit."

Theus nodded. Volcanoes were a good thing; every eruption brought up a large amount of mineral deposits from deep underground. No wonder there were so many mineral veins on this small island.

Moreover, where there is a volcano, there is bound to be sulfur, and sulfur is essential for making gunpowder. Volcanic ash is also a top-tier fertilizer, which explains why the island can export Sweet Fruit Wine. If organized properly, Castel would at least never be short on food.