"So, first and foremost. How much money does Egran's treasury have? I am sure you are aware since you managed the state of affairs, right?"
I asked as my smile stretched to my ears. I was currently seated inside Egran's study; the same room that he loves so much.
Cohtan, the deputy of Egran, was standing nervously in front of me.
"It has 90,000,000 chasm empire's gold coins. Apart from that, there are some rare weapons, items, potions and 489 mana stones."
To think that even such a small town had so much money.
"Wait, mana stones?!!"
"Yes, sir. 489 of them in total."
A mana stone was a much rarer currency than gold. It had many practical uses, but the biggest use was its use as a universally accepted currency throughout the world Mayhem. Like the name suggested, mana stones held mana inside them and even a single mana stone was worth 100,000 gold coins.
'489 into 100,000…'
I swear there were $$ logos currently printed in my eyes. To think that this bitch Egran had so much money. Not to mention the treasures that Cohtan talked about.
'That reminded me, I had already put the stuff that I got from Egran on auction. I wonder what's the current bid on them?'
"How much money is invested in the town annually? How much money is needed to keep it afloat? How do the townsfolk earn money? What do they do for a living?"
"Uh, sir. Most of the towns and villages in the southern abyss do agriculture for a living."
"Is that so? Hmm…"
I didn't know that not only did Rewan specialise in agriculture, but almost every other town and the village of the southern abyss did.
I might be able to use it to benefit from it, but it would take a long time to set things up. I can't be hasty.
"As for how much money is needed to run the town, it's basically none. The townsfolk have to pay taxes and then use the remaining money to live. They use all the remaining money for clothing and shelter since food isn't really a problem around this area. The only time general Egran had to spend money was during the building of the roads and sewers. As well as the salaries of the guards."
"....."
'What a fucking miser. He's even more miserly than me.'
—-Ahem!
"How much is the current tax?"
"It's 10 gold pieces per person every month. If a person has a family of more than 3 people, they have to pay an extra 10 gold apart from the 10 gold per person that they pay."
'This guy had turned his pupil into a literal goldmine… what an ass.'
It was a surprise how this town was still afloat economically after being oppressed by Egran for so long.
Well, Kai did say that the abyss didn't need democracy since the rulers here ruled on people's fears rather than their hearts.
A deep smile formed on my face as I thought about the current situation. The quest of winning over a hundred thousand people seemed really hard at one point, but now I was enlightened about something that I hadn't paid attention to before.
If the rulers of the abyss ruled on people's fear.
I'll make these people fearless and give them an option to choose a better life for themselves.
I'll rule over their hearts, and the others will follow suit.
"What's your current salary?"
"It's 300 gold coins per month, sir."
Cohtan replied. Seems like Egran knew Cohtan's value, but he still didn't know enough.
"What's the salary of the guards?"
"The guards' captains receive 150 gold coins per month and the regular guards receive 50 gold coins per month."
Hmmm.
Well, there was no possible way to achieve a good result without losing money, so it was time to close my eyes, shut off my greed and bite the bullet so that I can profit from this later on.
"From today onwards, the regular guards' salary is 150 gold coins each, and there will be an achievement function where the guards who did better than others will receive extra incentives. Increase the guard captain's salary to 300 gold each, and they too will have the same incentive function. As for you, you'll be my secretary for Newham town. Your salary will be 1000 gold this month and double the amount next month if you do well."
I said in a breath as I continued.
"Apart from that, take 3 coins tax per person, and abolish the rule increasing coins after more than 3 family members, the more people there are, the more manpower we would have. Let's take the population as a positive aspect instead of a negative one."
"Uh, sir, that's…"
"Don't worry, if we lack funds, then I'll pay from my own pockets. I'll start utilising the money for the benefit of the people of Newham. From today onwards, Newham and any other territory under the jurisdiction of Egran is a part of Rewan city."
"As you command."
Cohtan bowed respectfully with genuine respect in his eyes.
"Oh, obviously you guys don't think I trust you just like that, right? You have to make an oath to Gaia, along with the other guards, to never betray or try to harm me or any of my companions or pupils."
"I, Cohtan, swear to the spirit of the Ethra, Gaia, that I will forever serve my lord Shura and would never harm anyone relatively close to him. My blade will leave its sheathe on his command and my life will cease to exist on his command, for I am a loyal man. If I were to go back on my words, may the wrath of hell and Gaia befall on me."
"..."
'Bruh…'
To think that he wouldn't even think twice before making such a pledge. I would have taken him for a scam if I didn't see the 'Mark of the Oath' shining on his head, disappearing seconds later.
—-Ahem!
I was embarrassed to receive such a heartfelt vow of loyalty, but I tried to hide it by continuing my speech.
"Good, good. Just gather the others and tell them to take the same oath, and I promise none of you would die under my blade unless you make a mistake."
"As you command, my lord."
After a while, I went out with Cohtan and he told my conditions to the guards.
"Lord Shura is generous and magnanimous. He'll allow all of you to live a better life if you pledge eternal servitude to him. Your salaries would increase and your taxes would decrease. People who take the oath of Gaia will receive eternal boon and for those who dislike the idea, eternal damnation awaits you all."
"....."
It felt like Cohtan was trying to make a cult of me instead of making the guards just loyal. And to his weird speech, everyone responded with vigour and pledged along with him, making the mark of the oath appear on their heads.
After the cult conversion— I mean after the vow of loyalty, I asked Cohtan if there was a town hall where I could meet up with all the townsfolk and convert them too… I mean make them loyal to me and give up on their hostility.
With the help of Cohtan, the archpriest of the Shura cult, the conversion went pretty well, and just the fact that they'd get such a huge relief from the taxes while their family members who worked as a guard had such a huge increase in their salaries, the townspeople happily gave in to the dark side.
"Then, I'll be leaving the affairs of Newham town to you for now. I'll come and check on the progress every once in a while, so you better not be slacking."
"Yes, don't worry, Shura! I'll watch over them!"
Kylos replied in an energetic tone.
"I am talking about you, not them. Cohtan, keep an eye on Kylos and make sure he doesn't slack."
"As you wish, my lordship."
Kylos, the proud high-ogre, was brought to the verge of tears at my joke, making everyone laugh.
"Jeze, thank you for taking care of the guards for me. Bring Nori and Kimi to Rewan. Watch the progress of Rewan village till I am gone. I have some work on the surface."
"Okay Shura, take care. Don't make me wait too long. Don't flirt with Ena too much."
Jeze said with a pout and Ena blushed a bit, making me chuckle.
"That reminds me, Ena. Do you want to go to the surface too?"
"Not really, I'll stay in the abyss for a while. There is still much time for our engagement. I can't miss out on an opportunity to explore a place which was sealed from the surface for so long. Since you're going out, inform my dad too."
"I'll do so. Take care. Here is a teleportation scroll. If something happens, come to the surface and inform me immediately, okay?"
I gave a teleportation scroll to Ena and she nodded her head. Since she had already visited the abyss once, the teleportation limitation should have been lifted by now.
It was time to go sell some items and prepare for the upcoming tournament.
...
//DreamNote// (1 sept)
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