Wizard: I brought the wrong system...

Chapter 495 The Pressure of Territory

Yaro looked up and saw a young man of about twenty years old standing in the doorway. He was tall and slender, with a straight back, but his expression showed some weariness.

"Dylan? Didn't I tell you to stay at the Viscount's manor? Why are you here?"

Slightly embarrassed, Yaro naturally let the plank in his hand hang down, as if to say, "Hey, look, there's nothing wrong with the plank. I wasn't spying on anyone!"

Dylan didn't even notice the wooden board in Yaro's hand. "Sir, there is something I must report to you in person."

He usually pays great attention to his appearance, but today his dark black robe was covered with a layer of grayish-white dust.

Coupled with his haggard face and bloodshot eyes, it was very clear that he had been running around all night and was now extremely exhausted.

"Judging from your expression, I'm guessing it's not good news?"

Yaro spoke casually, implying that the information Dylan had was unlikely to threaten his life.

Dylan bowed in apology.

"The image of a steward represents the wealth, status, and taste of his master. Not to mention that I am currently the acting steward of the territory. Lord Yaro, please forgive my rudeness."

Yaro waved his hand dismissively and said, "It's not as serious as you say. Alright, tell me, what's the matter that made you so anxious to come see me?"

Dylan gave a wry smile and explained, "Lord Yaro, it's because of those students... the Viscount's territory simply can't support so many students. Let alone four hundred, the Viscount's territory's regular army only had about a hundred men before. Even if we don't recruit a single soldier, it's impossible to support so many students."

We cannot afford not to recruit soldiers.

Even without soldiers to defend against external enemies, the viscount's territory also has many freed serfs and thousands of refugees who have fled, requiring a large number of people to maintain the situation...

It was clear that he had prepared his speech in advance, and once he started, he spoke fluently and at length.

"I know you're in a hurry, but don't rush."

Dylan rolled his eyes at the sound of it.

The saying "The emperor isn't worried, but the eunuchs are" perfectly encapsulates his mood.

"Dylan, tell me, what is most important in the entire Viscount's territory?"

Dylan was taken aback by what he heard.

This was the first time Yaro had asked him such a question, which made him feel as if 'Does Lord Yaro think I can't distinguish between what's important and what's not?'

Is this a test for me?

He pursed his lips, recalling Yaro's usual personality, and cautiously replied, "It's a person, a person from the territory."

Yaro nodded slightly: "Water can carry a boat, but it can also capsize it. The fact that you didn't say 'the lord is the most important' already puts you ahead of many others."

"Water? Ship (boat)?"

Dylan vaguely understood some of it, but couldn't fully grasp the deeper meaning of the sentence.

The power of this world originates from itself; without the gun, the weapon of criticism cannot withstand the criticism of weapons.

In such a world environment, it is naturally difficult for the idea of ​​"the people are the most important, the state is next, and the ruler is the least important" to emerge.

Dylan's meaning is more like "family rule".

The "people in the territory" he refers to are actually like "flowers in one's own garden".

Similar to: Only a garden with beautiful flowers is a good garden.

Yaro didn't intend to correct Dylan's idea either.

From the perspectives of productivity, social environment, and so on, Dylan's idea might actually be "correct," and there's no need to "correct" it at all.

"Alright, let's not worry about water and boats anymore, let's go get something to eat first."

Yaro got up and walked out, saying, "Since you say the people in the territory are the most important, then tell me, what's the difference between humans and wild beasts?"

"What's the difference between humans and wild animals?"

Dylan followed closely behind Yaro, pondered for a moment, and then hesitated before asking, "Wisdom?"

"I think it's about thinking. People can learn from the experience accumulated by their predecessors and continue to improve upon it by engaging in creative thinking."

As he spoke, Yaro turned and glanced at Dylan.

"Dylan, unlike Viscount Corey, I don't need two-legged livestock in my territory. I need people, people who can cry and laugh, who can think, and who have their own ideas."

Dylan bowed slightly: "Lord Yarrow, I fully understand your aspirations, and on behalf of all the people of the Viscount's territory, I extend my highest respect and heartfelt gratitude!"

"Stop talking nonsense. I'm only thinking about how to achieve this goal. It's up to you to decide."

"This has nothing to do with my methods, Lord Yarrow. I hope you can consider the actual situation; we simply cannot afford to support so many students!"

"The reality is that I've only recruited a few hundred people so far."

Yaro glanced back and said, "I just returned a few dozen gold coins a few days ago, and all the income from the new town of Lan'er Village has been handed over to you for management. In addition to the original inventory, the warehouse now has more than three hundred gold coins."

Even if you used some of your gold coins when you bought grain, the remaining coins are more than enough to support these students.

Dylan smiled wryly: "Lord Yarrow, with such a large viscount's territory and so many serfs and refugees, what good is that little bit of money?"

You can calculate it.

Even if each student only spends one penny per meal, with 400 students, that would amount to more than four million pennies a year, which is equivalent to four hundred gold coins!

Let's not even talk about the future; we won't even make it through this year!

Four hundred gold coins?!

Yaro really hadn't calculated it!

To be honest, a penny for a meal isn't really that expensive.

You can only say that you don't know the cost of oil and salt until you're in charge of the household.

Yaro coughed lightly and tried to salvage the situation, saying, "Isn't there still three months until the harvest? If we can get through these three months, we can be completely self-sufficient."

"Lord Yaro, this isn't enough!"

Dylan smiled wryly, "The newly reclaimed land is exempt from taxes for three years, and we've also freed all the serfs. We don't have enough manpower to cultivate the previous land, so this year's income may be less than 30% of previous years. No matter how you look at it, we can't afford to support so many students."

As they were talking, the two had already arrived at the college's cafeteria.

The academy hasn't officially started classes yet, and there are only a few staff members in the dining hall. They are guards transferred from Perrin Castle. They used to maintain order at the construction site, and now they are in charge of the academy's logistics. They have known Yarrow for a long time.

He didn't greet the two of them after seeing them, and quietly continued eating, but his eyes kept drifting towards them.

Ignoring them, Yaro pondered carefully how to solve the problem.

Yaro took over the viscount's territory mainly for the sake of this school, and those displaced students are the easiest to influence, so it's impossible for him to give them up.

Working to support the entire college?

It's not impossible to accomplish.

Magic stones are far more valuable than gold coins. Hunting more monsters in the Dark Plains and earning more magic stones can indeed make up for this deficiency.

But doing so would take too much time, so that's not an option either.

Or should we let the Witcher do the work?

Just like the ancient army had the saying "you listen to whoever pays you," even if the demon hunters could agree, they couldn't do this for no reason.

"Ideally, the territory should be self-sufficient, or the academy should no longer be a burden on the territory, but rather an asset."

(End of this chapter)