The Mighty Dragons Are Dead

Banquet.

It seemed that banquets were held every day in the castle—for the nobility, eating and drinking were simply part of daily life.

“Little Papa Island has encountered pirates, Teacher Marcus, are pirates prevalent in the Duchy of Sapphire?” Liszt asked while eating roasted meat.

Marcus pondered before answering, “If speaking solely of reports about pirates, nearly many small islands have experienced the scourge of pirates, but there might be another reason at play.”

“What reason?”

“These pirates, they are very likely to be in disguise. Not every noble family can manage to run a prosperous industry. When they face the brink of bankruptcy, risking danger becomes a shortcut to their self-salvation. Particularly among those nobles with grievances, some might even assume the identity of pirates to plunder their adversary’s wealth.”

Hearing this brutal information.

If it were the sixteen-year-old of the past, he might feel too upset to accept it—the notion that nobles, who pride themselves on their noble lineage and possess countless virtues, could stoop to moonlighting as pirates was inconceivable.

But the current Liszt only furrowed his brows slightly, and soon relaxed them, “Fortunately, Coral Island has a strong Knight Order, and Fresh Flower Town has not faced the danger of pirates for the time being. However, we must be prepared for potential threats. Teacher Marcus, the Knight Squad must be well trained.”

“Rest assured, Baron, I will devote all my efforts to training the Knight Squad, turning each one into a qualified battle knight,” Marcus assured.

Liszt then turned to inquire of Goltai, “Teacher Goltai, report the information about the new serfs now, during the meal. I find it the most suitable time to talk about official matters.”

“If you wish, let’s discuss it now.” Goltai signaled a servant to fetch his coat, and pulling out a thick piece of parchment from the pocket, he unfolded it, “There are a total of fifty serfs. In fact, they were originally freemen, so they smartly chose to escape when the pirates attacked.”

Little Papa City on Little Papa Island had fifty residents who owned their own properties.

The relationship between a freeman and a landlord was more like that of a tenant and a landowner, while serfs were considered slaves. For the nobility, serfs were “one of their own,” whereas freemen were “outsiders.” Whenever wars broke out between landlords, they would choose to protect their serfs, as they are their assets.

Freemen lack such protection; if they die, they have it coming, and it also serves as a chance for landlords to make some extra profit.

So, being a freeman had its advantages and disadvantages, and not everyone wanted to become one.

Some freemen from Little Papa City, upon seeing the defeat of Little Papa Viscount, knew they could be killed and robbed by the “pirates” at any moment, and hurried to flee. They smartly chose to seize ships, taking advantage of the pirates still fighting in the castle, capturing a sailing boat.

Unfortunately, having only a captain skilled in steering but no experienced sailors, they eventually lost control during a storm.

“So, none of them knows how to farm; they are all freemen with crafts,” Liszt was very satisfied with this, as craftsmen were more important than mere farmers to the development of his territory.

Peasants could be bought as slaves at any time in the future, but craftsmen were hard to come by.

“Blacksmiths, coopers, embroiderers, tailors, bakers, brewers, shoeshiners, carpenters, dyers, soap makers, tanners, confectioners, salt workers, locksmiths, chefs, and their families, oh, and an innkeeper and a horse merchant, as well as a few small merchants who sell on the streets.”

“What is Bunier’s profession?” Liszt recalled the old man who had spoken to him during the day.

“He is a soap maker, proficient in creating various kinds of soaps with floral fragrances.”

“Excellent, I have had enough of using soapwort powder for bathing; it’s best to have him quickly make soap from it.” As someone who insisted on bathing daily, Liszt had a great demand for soap, lamenting that there was not an abundance of it in the castle, only some soapwort powder—the powdered fruit of the soapwort plant.

Soapwort powder indeed could clean, but it was also troublesome to use and did not feel pleasant during the washing process.

In fact, Liszt knew of a more straightforward cleaning item—soap.

This is a type of soap made from a mixture of pig pancreas and wood ash, which is quite simple to produce. Just crush the pig’s pancreas and mix it with the wood ash to create the most basic pancreas soap. Unfortunately, no one in Fresh Flower Town raises pigs…

He sliced off a piece of roast meat, forked it, and dipped it into some ketchup.

The roast meat paired with ketchup tasted good.

After swallowing, he took a sip of seafood soup and then contentedly wiped his mouth with a napkin, “The work arrangements for the new serfs should be discussed between Mr. Carter and Teacher Goltai. Suitable individuals can be assigned to the town to help establish shops specifically for manufacturing what the castle needs.”

With too few residents in the town, there obviously wasn’t much demand. As the Landlord, he had to unabashedly enjoy all this.

Only in this way could these craftsmen be of use in a short time.

Carter bowed and said, “Yes, my lord, I will consult with Mr. Goltai.”

Having finished discussing the new serfs,

Liszt moved on to another official matter, “The efficiency of the Lumberjack Team still needs to be improved, but now there’s a new problem. There are often other matters that distract Teacher Marcus and me, and during those times, the protective force of the Lumberjack Team is virtually non-existent, which is very dangerous.”

“But indeed, we can’t find more forces to defend against the Magical Beasts of Thorn Ridge.”

“Therefore, I think we need a way for the Lumberjack Team to be able to protect themselves even if they encounter Magical Beasts,” Liszt said calmly.

No one immediately answered, they were all pondering.

Liszt wasn’t in a hurry and continued to eat his dinner.

In fact, he was testing those present; he already had an idea, one that had a strong possibility of dealing with the Magical Beasts.

This idea originated from the Smoke Mission.

After the morning’s sea rescue, he had completed the mission.

“Mission complete, reward: fifty new people.”

“Mission: The danger in the depths of Thorn Ridge could occur at any moment, putting the Lumberjack Team in a precarious situation. As the Landlord who possesses a patch of Smoked Grass, you ought to use your resources wisely to ensure the safety of your people. Please defend against one attack from Magical Beasts. Reward: Miniature Ore Deposit.”

The mission had made it quite clear that Smoked Grass could be used to defend against Magical Beasts.

The odor of Smoked Grass was something Liszt found quite striking; not all Magical Beasts might be able to tolerate it, especially those with particularly sensitive noses.

Therefore, he planned to make simple “Magical Beast Repellent Incense” from Smoked Grass, to be lit in case of an encounter with a Magical Beast.

He was determined to secure the “Miniature Ore Deposit.”

But he didn’t directly share his plan, hoping instead that someone would come up with the idea themselves; otherwise, there was always this nagging feeling of nurturing a group of freeloaders.

After a moment, nobody had come up with a good solution.

This left Liszt quite disappointed. Just as he was about to reveal his own plan, Isaiah suddenly said, “Baron, perhaps we could use fire! Beasts are afraid of fire. Among the trees we fell are pines, which burn very easily. We could keep burning the cut branches and leaves continuously. This way, the Magical Beasts would be scared away!”