The Plans for Castel

Theus woke to find the sunlight already growing warm.

He rang the bell, and soon the maids carried in a low but long table, setting it carefully on his bed.

Breakfast wasn't plentiful, but it was refined and sumptuous. Theus noticed that everything was something he'd enjoyed eating for breakfast before.

They'd even paid attention to little details like that. The life of the nobility really was decadent.

He waved the servants away, changed by himself, and went out. Even after several days here, he still wasn't used to having others dress him.

"My lord."

When he opened the door, Connor was already waiting outside, just as he'd expected.

"How are things at the laboratory?"

"It's nearly finished. The supplies you asked Steward Alexei to prepare have also been placed in the warehouse."

"Good. I'll go run some experiments later. Have Alexei come see me and bring the ledgers showing what the estate produces—we need to find a way to develop the territory."

After a pause, Theus searched his memories and spoke again. "I met an alchemist in Rhine. He gave me a notebook with a lot of interesting things in it. I plan to try some of them."

Alchemists existed in this world. They were somewhat like chemists on Blue Star, but with some occultism mixed in. Some also made intricate little devices, while others moonlighted as potion makers.

In short, it was a hodgepodge.

He'd once come across a firearm, and the gunpowder inside it had been made by an alchemist. It was just much more expensive.

He had indeed met a few alchemists before, but those highly esteemed masters had only spoken with him because of his father. He hadn't gotten anything out of it.

But now, he was a genius who'd received careful instruction from several master alchemists. It was perfectly reasonable for him to come up with a few little inventions.

Of course, he first needed to learn what the territory produced before he could decide how to develop its industry.

Alexei strode toward the manor's reception room, with his clerical assistant carrying a huge stack of ledgers behind him.

He'd already gone through the contents many times. They contained all kinds of information about the territory.

He genuinely wanted to do something useful for the territory. If it developed and his abilities were recognized, everyone would benefit.

So when he heard from Theus, he'd immediately brought the materials over.

He drew his salary from the Empress, and Theus was a count appointed by the Empress. Alexei saw nothing wrong with helping him.

His salary made him do his job, but it was his respect for Theus that made him willing to give it his all.

Alexei knocked on the door.

"Come in."

Theus was seated at the long table. He greeted Alexei, then began looking through the documents he'd brought.

"Could you give me a brief overview of the territory?"

"Of course, my lord." After a moment's thought, Alexei began, "The island we're on is Castel. It's quite large and makes up... an important part of your territory."

The rest existed only on maps and in the letter of appointment. Most of it was in the hands of pirates.

"At Castel's northernmost point is a small dock. For now, it's used almost exclusively by fishing boats."

"I've been there. It's a good deep-water harbor. With some improvements, it could accommodate large cargo ships."

"Large cargo ships? All right..." Alexei swallowed the rest of his words. What large ships would come to this rundown island?

"Near the dock is Castel's northern plain. Your manor is on the eastern side of the plain. This is the most densely populated area of Castel, and most of the workshops are built here."

"What kinds of workshops are there?"

"Mostly distilleries. There used to be an oil press, too. The island has plenty of olive trees, but unfortunately, olive oil doesn't sell well. No merchants come here..."

"Olive oil?" Theus's eyes lit up. This was a valuable commodity. On Blue Star, the rise and fall of the Mediterranean had been inseparable from it. During the Byzantine era, it had even been the main source of income for monasteries and monks.

But the Empire had little demand for olive oil. The country had no similar cultural tradition, nor had it ever associated the oil with religion.

Castel Island could indeed produce olive oil, but in the Storm Ocean, where maritime trade was underdeveloped, the product was of limited value. Even the pirates of Gem Bay preferred to collect Sweet Fruit Wine as tax rather than olive oil.

But Theus knew there were many more uses for olive oil.

For example... Theus searched his memories, then smiled.

Soap, one of the transmigrator's greatest inventions. It was easy to make and incredibly effective.

The Empire had nothing like it. This one product alone would be enough to establish him in the Storm Ocean and make him a fortune in the process.

Making soap from olive oil wasn't complicated. Theus already had a complete, workable method in mind.

And... his ambitions weren't limited to producing little bars of soap.

Saponification was the basis for many chemical processes. If he could successfully establish a soap production line, Castel Island's prospects would be limitless.

"Anything else?"

"There are also a few mineral deposits on the island, of various kinds, but unfortunately, they aren't worth much to mine." Alexei thought for a moment. "We're too far from the Empire, and the pirates of Gem Bay don't have much smelting capacity. The only option is to send them to somewhere near the White Crow Duchy, but they have plenty of ore there. We can't get a decent price."

"Do we have a list of the mineral deposits?"

"Uh..." Alexei faltered. "I'll look for it when I get back. We only have records from a long time ago, when the first residents of Castel arrived and surveyed the island."

"Organize some people to conduct a thorough survey. Have the city hall put out a notice. I'll pay them."

"Understood." Alexei nodded. "Most of the mineral deposits are in Castel's southwest."

"The southwest... Alexei, I recall there's a volcano on the island." Theus went out onto the balcony, pushed open the window, and looked toward the island's southwest corner.

There stood a towering mountain. Trees covered its lower slopes, but its upper reaches were bare, blanketed in snow. A cloud like a mass of icy mist clung to the summit, blocking the view and hiding the peak completely.

Castel's climate was very stable. Most of the year was warm and humid. Even in the coldest season, people only needed to put on an extra layer of clothing. Snowflakes had never fallen here.

"The temperature drops by six degrees Celsius for every thousand meters of elevation. There's snow on that peak all year round, so it must be pretty high," Theus thought.

"Yes, my lord. It's an active volcano. I've heard it erupted once several decades ago. The local residents say you can see the molten lava bubbling inside from the summit."

Theus nodded. Volcanoes were a wonderful resource. Every eruption brought up large quantities of minerals from beneath the earth. No wonder the little island had so many mineral deposits.

And where there was a volcano, there was usually sulfur. Sulfur was essential for making gunpowder, while volcanic ash made excellent fertilizer. No wonder the island could export Sweet Fruit Wine. If they organized its development, Castel would have no shortage of food, at least.