Chapter 29

Cyrus deliberately gave the people of Trak Kingdom a few days to adapt and rest.

They had first been defeated and captured by the Anas Empire, endured the fall of their kingdom and the loss of family and friends, then been taken to the Empire and subjected to endless humiliation, forced to bear the shameful mark of slavery...

Most of them had inevitably suffered both physically and mentally, becoming numb.

Afterward, the people of Trak Kingdom were sent to Gadayat.

Everything on them had been thoroughly stripped away. Other than the clothes they wore and the shackles on their hands and feet, they had nothing else.

Therefore, during their adjustment period, Cyrus sent soldiers to provide the people of Trak Kingdom with intact clothes, filling food, daily necessities, and other supplies free of charge.

Ferdinand gave Cyrus a detailed report of everything that had happened along the way after bringing the people of Trak Kingdom back.

Among other things, he mentioned that the wounds on the shoulders of some Trak Kingdom people, caused by their branding marks, had still not healed. This could leave them weak, feverish, and drowsy.

After hearing this, Cyrus ordered the soldiers to pay close attention to the matter.

He had prepared some of the available herbal potions at the Thorn Merchant Guild. Soldiers could take severely ill Trak Kingdom people to the guild to exchange for potions and receive treatment.

Ferdinand mentioned using a jar of herbal ointment and said, "That young teenager who developed a fever from the branding wound and nearly passed out should be a girl."

"She was probably disguised and concealed for safety, but her identity may also be questionable."

"I have already instructed people to keep a closer watch on her. If anything unusual is discovered, it will be reported immediately."

Cyrus nodded to show that he understood.

Herbal potions and herbal ointments were used in entirely different ways. One was taken internally, while the other was applied externally.

People could naturally drink medicine when injured, but applying ointment directly to a wound might have a more obvious effect.

However, herbal potions could be stored in bottles, jars, or ordinary containers.

Herbal ointment was more troublesome.

This had to do with the paper wrapped around the ointment.

On the Western Continent, there were currently two types of paper people could use.

One was expensive parchment, which was slow and complicated to produce.

Also known as skin paper, it was made by turning animal hides into paper.

From choosing the materials to finishing the product, not only were the handicraft steps cumbersome, but the process also took a long time.

Therefore, a well-made, exquisite sheet of parchment was extremely expensive. Estate owners without savings could not even afford it.

Yet parchment was water-resistant, durable, soft and delicate, easy to fold or roll up for storage, and greatly favored by nobles.

Naturally, commoners and slaves could neither afford nor touch parchment.

The second kind of paper was papyrus.

It was inexpensive and suitable for ordinary writing.

But in Cyrus's view, papyrus was not easy to manufacture either. Its production process was simply easier compared to parchment.

Moreover, papyrus had obvious flaws. The paper was fragile and could easily break when turned, lacking toughness.

Cyrus had already created herbal potions that could treat coughs and fevers.

Not long afterward.

He gradually developed herbal ointment with the same medicinal effects.

Cyrus had once tried sandwiching the ointment between two sheets of papyrus, but the result was clearly unworkable.

So he wrapped the ointment in parchment and sent it as gifts to Judas, Gibran, Ferdinand, and Walker.

Such ointment could be given away as a gift, but it could not be sold as merchandise in the Thorn Merchant Guild.

Otherwise, the losses would definitely outweigh the profits.

He would lose money.

Because of this, Cyrus felt that it was time to display the wondrous Papermaking of the East.

Once the paper was made.

The Thorn Merchant Guild would gain another source of income, and herbal ointment could begin to be sold.

Cyrus opened the system interface to check his Reputation Points.

He was no longer as penniless as he had been at the beginning. His Reputation Points were increasing quickly, and to avoid disturbing the people, he had muted the notification sound long ago.

[An old friend I've known for ten years recommended a reading app to me! It's damn useful. I use its read-aloud function to pass the time while driving and before bed. You can download it here.]

The Plot Deviation Value was now three percent.

Cyrus did not pay much attention to it and looked away. Immediately afterward, he used his Reputation Points to exchange for books related to Papermaking.

At that moment, 098 poked its matchstick head out from the upper left corner of the system interface, then climbed down with great effort. When it reached the bottom edge of the interface, it accidentally fell on its backside.

098 stood up without caring and dusted itself off. [Host, would you like to learn Papermaking?]

Cyrus said, "Yes. Since I'm carrying out infrastructure construction in every aspect, I have to become an all-around talent..."

The result of not working hard was death.

The matchstick figure clenched its tiny matchstick hands into fists. [Go, Host.]

Cyrus asked, "You weren't in the system interface just now. Where did you go?"

[098 entered the channel and connected with the Idiot System and the Pay-to-Win System to play games.]

"...Who won?"

The matchstick figure answered calmly, [The Pay-to-Win System has never lost. 098 and the Idiot System have never won.]

Cyrus looked at the matchstick figure with complicated feelings. "Don't play games with the Pay-to-Win System next time."

[Okay, Host.]

Cyrus paused, then added, "And spend less time with the Idiot System too. Um... it might be contagious."

Remember, you are a laid-back system.

The matchstick figure tilted its head, seemingly somewhat confused.

But it still obediently nodded in agreement. [Okay, Host.]

Cyrus had one more subject to read and study.

That afternoon, while he was in the study researching how to successfully introduce Papermaking, Toby's flustered voice sounded outside the door, accompanied by a maid's shouts.

"Snowball, Coalball, you can't run around anymore. Stop..."

"Rawr, roar!"

Clearly, the two tiger cubs had no intention of listening to Toby. They nimbly dodged left and right among the maids trying to stop them, darting about at tremendous speed.

Cyrus was a little confused.

Snowball and Coalball were far too attached to him.

So after lunch, he had asked Judas and Toby to take the two tiger cubs outside for some fresh air.

Why had they come back already?

Cyrus rose from his chair and walked to the door. The moment he opened it, two obviously dark, round bundles suddenly pounced on him.

Toby cried out, "My Lord!"

Cyrus rarely went blank as he fell onto the floor.

The clean white clothes he wore were instantly rubbed filthy by the two tiger cubs, now little balls of mud. Even his face was not spared, gaining two dusty smudges at the corners of his mouth.

Snowball and Coalball were extremely excited. Their chubby little tails wagged nonstop, flinging mud that had not completely dried from their fur all over the floor.

And, naturally, all over him as well.

"You can't press down on My Lord."

Toby and the maid tried to pull Snowball and Coalball away, only to be frightened back by their bared teeth.

After recovering, Cyrus sighed helplessly. He grabbed one tiger ear in each hand and pulled them apart, then pushed himself up from the floor and asked, "What happened? Where is Judas?"

Toby scratched his head. "Steward Judas had something to deal with and left for a while. After that, Snowball and Coalball knocked over the water bucket beside the vegetable patch, so... It's all my fault for not keeping an eye on them."

Cyrus asked, "The vegetables weren't crushed, were they?"

Toby shook his head. "No, My Lord. The vegetables are fine."

Click to view

Cyrus sighed in relief at that.

The vegetable patch contained beets he had specifically ordered people to plant.

On the Western Continent, some regions grew sugarcane, but they were in the farthest southwestern reaches.

Sugarcane was rich in sweet juice and was the raw material used to make white sugar.

However, because it was unsuitable for planting in certain other regions, its quantity was limited. The production process was also cumbersome, involving several steps such as pressing and stirring.

Before effective sugar-making machinery appeared, a large labor force was required. Productivity was extremely low, and the amount of white sugar produced was even scarcer.

—"Sugar is more expensive than gold."

—"Sugar is white gold."

These two sayings were not unfounded on the Western Continent.

For example.

There was no white sugar made from sugarcane within Cyrus's territory.

Even throughout all of Gadayat, only the old king was probably able to enjoy white sugar.

Cyrus had looked into it before.

White sugar was the most expensive item sold by the Nagabi Merchant Guild, and the Saint Airo Empire was the country into which the greatest amount of white sugar flowed.

People on the Western Continent used very few seasonings, to say nothing of spices. As for dark cuisine, there was no need to mention it.

Here, white sugar was not something used as seasoning, but an expensive and scarce commodity.

Sweetness was indispensable.

Yet without white sugar, or when people could not afford to use it, the main substitutes for cooking food and making desserts were honey and grape syrup.

Honey in particular was hugely popular in places where white sugar was scarce or could not even be found.

Some nobles even passed honey down as an inheritance.

As for commoners and slaves, even tasting a trace of sweetness was an extravagant fantasy.

Beets were an ordinary vegetable with a faint sweetness. They were mainly used in sweet soup or boiled together with porridge.

Nobles believed that vegetables grown from the soil were all low-class ingredients.

Moreover, most vegetables were eaten raw or boiled in water.

Thus, the nobles were highly repulsed by them.

To avoid affecting their appetites, they would order chefs to chop the vegetables beforehand. By the time the dishes were served, the vegetables had basically become unrecognizable.

Beets could be used to make sugar and were another major source besides sugarcane.

But people on the Western Continent had not discovered this yet.

The extraction process for beets was relatively simple. When sugarcane could not be considered, beet sugar was the best and only choice.

After thinking this over, Cyrus lowered his head and tugged Snowball and Coalball's ears twice more. "The bigger you get, the naughtier you become. If you cause trouble again, you won't get any meat."

The two tiger cubs seemed to understand. They whimpered pitifully and sat on the ground.

When Judas returned, he carried them one by one into a large wooden tub filled with already heated water for baths.

Having to live in an entirely new place, the people of Trak Kingdom inevitably felt uncomfortable, even uneasy.

After all, everything around them was unfamiliar: unfamiliar surroundings, unfamiliar people...

They were outsiders, captives, and slaves.

What Reinog and Yadai worried about was whether they would suffer discrimination, exclusion, and bullying here.

But it truly was as the soldier who had brought them into the city said—once they settled down, they would naturally understand.

Soldiers regularly patrolled near where the people of Trak Kingdom lived, responsible for guarding and monitoring them to prevent escape.

The one in charge was a knight named Dyna Prince.

On their first night staying in Komoy Fort, this knight brought several soldiers to deliver clothes, food, necessities, and other supplies.

Reinog remembered him saying that this was My Lord's arrangement.

Nothing happened on the second day.

On the third day.

Reinog discovered that the three of them seemed to be under watch.

People were always secretly circling around the house where they lived, keeping watch without drawing attention.

Reinog recognized who those people were.

The person targeting them had once been the son of a duke from Trak Kingdom.

That duke had secretly supported the second prince, who wanted to compete for the position of crown prince. In the end, however, it was the second prince who had brought the people of the Anas Empire into Trak Kingdom.

The second prince was killed on the spot, while the duke immediately defected to the enemy.

Although the duke had not been killed by a sword, he had painfully died of illness on the journey to the Anas Empire.

Reinog had not expected his son to still be alive. It seemed that he had gathered quite a few followers around him as well.

As mentioned before, the people of Trak Kingdom were not completely united.

The divisions between classes remained clear.

Those who had originally been commoners and slaves of Trak Kingdom gathered together.

Those who had originally been estate owners and nobles had naturally divided themselves into two camps.

Most, who hated the second prince and regarded him and his followers as sinners, gathered together. The remaining small group could only cooperate with one another to survive.

Reinog had anticipated this long ago.

He had brought Yadai and Sara and disguised themselves as commoners. In any case, almost all the old nobles who could recognize his identity as an illegitimate son were dead.

Unless necessary, Reinog had rarely gone to the royal palace in the past.

He had been more than happy to be a viscount, spending his days studying and tinkering with instruments he liked.

Yadai did not need to disguise himself, as he had originally been a commoner.

Reinog had met Yadai through Yadai's alchemist teacher. They could be considered childhood acquaintances.

As long as Sara's identity was not discovered...

But now, it seemed that someone had noticed.

The third day.

As the patrolling soldiers left the area, the duke's son suddenly burst into their quarters with several others.

Before Reinog and Yadai could react, they swiftly subdued them, then carefully examined Sara.

The duke's son suddenly laughed, smugness written all over his face. "So it really is Princess Sara. No wonder you looked so familiar. You were even willing to cut off your long hair and disguise yourself as a filthy little boy. Back in the mountains, I hardly dared believe it was you."

At the time, Ferdinand's actions of unlocking the shackles and tossing them ointment had drawn quite a few looks.

But Reinog had thought that, with so many people and trees between them, the chances of being discovered were slim. He had not expected the duke's son to spot them by chance.

Someone beside him said, "Cori, hand over the princess!"

"This place is so generous with its supplies. We might as well use the princess to make a trade and rid ourselves of our slave status."

"That's right, Cori. Laude is right. I don't want to be a slave anymore. Let's go see that young count and have him restore our noble status."

Reinog roared, "How dare you!"

He struggled with all his strength, only to be viciously kicked. His knee slammed into the ground with a bang.

Yadai glared at them in fury. "Cori Moya, your father was a criminal of the Trak Kingdom! Are you still going to harm the royal bloodline that remains?!"

"The Creator God will surely punish you! All of you!"

At his words, Cori Moya's expression instantly turned cold. He walked over to Yadai and slapped him. "Becoming a slave is already the greatest humiliation and punishment for me."

"You're nothing but a lowly commoner. What right do you have to shout and scream?!"

Sara was gagged and tied up nearby. Her eyes anxiously and pleadingly turned toward the outside of the house.

Because they lived so close together, even the slightest sound could draw people over.

There were now quite a few people from the Trak Kingdom standing around the house, but Cori Moya's followers were temporarily keeping them outside.