Release That Witch

Even while sitting alone in his office, he would occasionally hum a bit and recall his happy time in the basket of the hot air balloon.     

Anna was so lovely when she closed her eyes while waiting for a kiss. He could not help raising his lips in a soft smile while thinking about it. Moreover, the most important part was the meaning of her words, which had revealed her passionate feelings for him thoroughly.     

At that time, all Roland could do was to kiss her back with even more passion so much so that when they were landing,     

He even felt a faint pain on his lips.     

Maybe the kiss had lasted too long and unable to catch her breath she bit him in a panic.     

Regardless, this was a feeling that he had not experienced in a long time.     

Since his age was maturing all of the romantic skills he had learned from T.V., movies, novels, and comics came into use. And, his partner was the strikingly beautiful Anna. Roland believed that he was finally taking his first steps as a winner.     

Taking a deep breath of satisfaction, he reached into his drawer for some snacks to accompany the joy but found nothing. There had been fresh jerky placed in the drawer just yesterday.     

Roland glanced back at Nightingale who was lying prone on the windowsill. She whistled and pretended to look out the window. He had deliberately changed his snacks from dried fish to jerky to prevent Nightingale from stealing it. Perhaps jerky was also to her liking.     

That's when he heard footsteps outside the door.     

"Your Highness, Sir Barov asks to see you."     

"Let him in."     

Nightingale did not hide away as usual. Instead, she pulled down her hood and returned to the chaise longue near the wall.     

Assistant Minister Barov pushed open the door and entered. When he saw there was someone else in the office, he was momentarily stunned, but quickly recovered.     

"Your Highness, the results from the census taken this month has been released." He handed over a roll of parchment.     

"Already?"     

"With help from the registration of subjects, it's much easier to take a census now." The assistant minister laughed. "You made a very wise decision."     

[Ha, now he tries to flatter me...] Roland spread out the scroll that briefly categorized the people in Border Town according to their jobs. This made it easy and clear to read. [Compared to his poor report that I couldn't even distinguish a single paragraph of when I first came here, Barov's ability has improved significantly.]     

The first row represented the largest group of people, the serfs, with a current total of 3,628 people (including family members). On the next line, there was a note that said the number of serfs who were farmers was 1,500.     

"Your Highness, do you think the number of farmers is too low?" Barov said while pointing at the first row, "According to what Sirius from the Ministry of Agriculture has estimated, if we want to cut the imported grains to zero, we might need to double the farmland and the labor in order to meet the need for grain in Border Town."     

Roland remembered the name, Sirius, who should be the knight of the Wolf Family. The 1,500 people who were currently farming were just the first batch of serfs sent here. The subsequent batches were deployed by Roland to the mines or to Karl's construction team. All of them had received the same guarantee that as long as they worked for a specific amount of, they would become free people.     

"I don't intend to support the grains this year since there's a lot of wheat stored in the castle warehouse, which is enough to support everyone for two or three months. Meanwhile, this new species of wheat is quite different."     

"Quite different?" Barov asked surprised.     

"Well, you'll understand soon enough." Roland smiled. [The new species of wheat, the Golden Ones, were enhanced by Leaf's magic. Each plant now tripled its production over ordinary wheat. This harvest will definitely surprise everyone. That's why I don't need to put too many men on the task of farming. With the help of Leaf's special magic, just a small number of farmers are going to be enough to feed my subjects. This way I can save my precious human resources for the industrial development and urban construction.]     

He continued to look down at the scroll.     

The second-row contained the details about architects followed by a complicated note including the masons, tilers, bricklayers, carpenters, handymen, etc. The total number reached more than 1,100, and most of the people were serfs who worked as handymen. The reason why the houses and factories in Border Town were erected in only a short period of time was due to the involvement from the builders of "the labor army". The way he accelerated construction was by careful planning. Using templates, batching tasks, and specific programming facilitated the speedy process. The construction speed still had not met Roland's standards, however, most people found the construction time to be shocking.     

The third row discussed the mining industry and the workers.     

Just like what happened in the case of architects, the number of local residents from Border Town had dropped to only 25. Most of their jobs were running the steam engine and managing the mine. The remaining 1,600 people were outlanders, including the captured mercenaries from the war of Longsong Stronghold, and the serfs who were sent here consistently after the war.     

"There have been some fights taking place in the mines," Barov said, "mostly because of the conflict between the mercenaries and the serfs. Your Highness, this could be a potential problem. There are too many of them, and if a fight burst out, the 25 managers won't be able to control it. I suggest letting the First Army assist and guard."     

"Well..." Rolland thought for a moment. "So be it. Now I'm short on hands to build the police force. I'll have a word with Iron Axe. A Flintlock Squad of 50 men should be enough."     

"What's... police?"     

"You can view them like a patrol except that they have duties within more aspects. They'll almost take full charge of the town's security," Roland said. [Since there's no division between the internal violence and external violence in this era, letting the army control security isn't part of their own black history. Before I defeat the church I won't waste the manpower on forming a second violent machine.]     

The fourth row was about the First Army of Border Town.     

After the war for the Stronghold, the First Army's name became renowned all over the Western Region, who had defeated the Coalition of Duke Ryan, at the low cost removing the noble's courage to resist. He then rewarded the First Army according to the size of their contributions. That's when Roland decided to increase the army's size to 600 men. As soon as recruitment was announced, the square became packed with applicants. From them, Roland selected 300 residents who were in a good health and had no criminal record to join the First Army. This was in accordance with his concept that the army for the people should be made up of the people.     

The rest covered the topic of technicians.     

For example, the workers who conducted refining and burning had increased substantially in recent months, going from no more than 20 men to 400 men. Thanks to "Expert of the Kiln" Lesya, North Slope Mine Kiln was able to not only produce red bricks but also burn cement and glass. Meanwhile, there were three shaft furnaces under construction. It would not be long before the minerals, stacked in the stockyard, would be refined for the first time in a shaft furnace. After forming the ingots, they would be transported to where ever they were needed.     

As for the people who worked in education, chemistry, industry, and animal husbandry, the total came to less than 50. In other words, from the point of view of the census, Border Town still had a long way to go. However, for a little town, the change in the population composition, which went from mainly hunters and miners to how it was now, only took 6 months and that was considered great.     

Nowadays, there were few people who made a living by hunting, and hunting had become mostly a hobby. Besides the people who had joined the First Army or took on refining, there were still about 1,000 unemployed. As soon as they finished the literacy classes established by the universal education, Roland would begin the industrial development by employing them all in factories.