After choosing to leave, they regretted it.

"Very satisfied, my lord, thank you for your generous hospitality."

The woman in front of him is the local lord, Baron Gladstone.

Although its territory, including Lake Reno and its surrounding areas, is not small in size, the lake and the mountainous terrain make the usable area in the traditional sense very minimal, and there are no products worth mentioning.

The lord himself is almost the lowest-ranking baron among the nobles. Given such a situation, theoretically her status would not be much higher than that of a village chief.

But Baroness Gladstone is a shrewd person.

They simply gave up almost all traditional industries, fully utilized the excellent local scenery, and created a holiday brand out of thin air.

The thinking is quite avant-garde.

The mansion where Aize and Villian live now is also one of her properties. She offered it to them after learning of their identities.

"No, that's not true. Lord Aize made such a great contribution in the capital, saving the kingdom from disaster and also saving the lives of my small territory. This little thing is not worth mentioning."

This is not entirely a compliment.

The territory has neither population nor resources. Once the kingdom falls into civil war, she and her territory will inevitably be engulfed in the flames of war in an instant, and become an inconspicuous little embellishment next to the host at the subsequent negotiation table.

As she spoke, she stepped aside and pointed to the two bottles of red wine on the table behind her.

"These two bottles of wine are from my personal collection. I got them by chance from a friend some time ago. They are a small token of my appreciation. Please enjoy them, Lord Aize."

"No, no, no, it's embarrassing enough just to disturb you here, and we can't stay for a few days..."

Aize waved his hands and tried to refuse. After all, for a small noble who was not very wealthy, these things were a considerable expense.

But the other party's attitude was extremely tough, and he didn't even give Aize a chance to refuse. He took the opportunity when he came in and slipped away to the side.

"I have some things to do at home, so I'll take my leave now. If you need anything else, please let me know. Well, I wish you a happy holiday~"

After saying that, he jumped into the carriage and drove away.

From the moment we arrived, similar situations no longer occurred continuously. Various things were delivered continuously every day.

From the house itself, all kinds of food and daily necessities, to various entertainment equipment including the fishing rod used by Aize, and some expensive precious medicines, gifts, treasures, etc., everything is available.

If Aize hadn't desperately refused, she would have squeezed in two maids.

Looking at the other person's figure walking away, Aize scratched his hair helplessly.

Villian poked her head out and said with a smirk:

"That baroness seems to like you very much."

"Don't talk nonsense. They got married a few years ago. It's not good for everyone if rumors spread."

"So what if we're married? Aize's charm transcends mundane relationships like marriage."

Aize turned his head and looked at Villian, who was in an unusually high mood, with a look of stomachache:

"...Why don't you listen to what you're saying? Well, this isn't a big deal."

As he said that, he walked into the house and came to the table, picked up the red wine that the other party had brought and looked at it.

"During the few days we were away, the various forces that came to Tafia to give gifts and flatter us were so numerous that they probably broke down the door. Sheen must be worried right now."

The witch crossed her arms and blinked:

"real or fake?"

"Of course it's true. This is one of the reasons why I'm not in a hurry to go back and am hiding here."

After the last incident, Heidi, in accordance with the previous agreement, gave the Kingdom of Aize the three-in-one title of Regent, Archon and Marshal.

This allowed him to participate in state management, adjudicate noble affairs, and even summon various armies to launch expeditions within the system.

Considering the influence that Aize has accumulated in the past two years and its own strength, it is only a matter of time before it develops into an independent kingdom with the Grand Duke and the royal family.

In addition, to the outside world, his purpose, ambition, and direction are unclear. No matter what the various forces think, they have to at least curry favor with Aize for the time being.

Including the lord just now, in addition to gratitude, he also had some of this feeling.

But Aize himself doesn't like this kind of flattery.

So just hide for a while and talk later.

"Um……"

The witch held the bottle in her hand, raised her eyes and thought for a while with a puzzled look.

Then he asked in confusion:

"If that's the case, wouldn't it be possible to return to Tafia now and take advantage of the fact that everyone is paying their respects to us, and win them over so we can gain power? Is it really okay to disappear at this time?"

"Of course there is some connection, but it doesn't matter. After all, I have no interest in the Kingdom Power Chicken Dinner. In this situation, trying to win over a bunch of people will only make me a target of public criticism. There's absolutely no need for that."

Having said that, Aize paused and added:

"Besides, how can someone who smells something and is willing to be won over at this time be a decent person? Nine out of ten times, they are just fence-sitters who originally belonged to other factions. Such people are completely untrustworthy and are better off not having them."

In the past, Heidi maintained her position by stirring up conflicts among the nobles and winning over one group to fight against another. As a result, the nobles who lost the supervision of the royal family turned against each other.

Now, Heidi has decided to give up this approach and confront the nobles head-on.

Although Aize will not help her too directly, he will not do anything like colluding with corrupt nobles, which would actually stab Heidi's new policy.

In short, keep a low profile.

Violet's thoughts on this are:

"...Um, what does eating chicken mean?"

"Uh, well, this -"

I've been a little too relaxed lately, so the memories of my previous world have begun to awaken, and some habitual expressions have started to pop up.

The witch didn't really care about this, and was even a little excited:

"What? Could it be the language from your original world? It's just right. Because of the previous incident in the royal capital, Aize hasn't talked about your hometown for a long time. Anyway, I have nothing to do now, so why not find something to talk about?"

Chapter 6 The Forms of Civilization

The decision to go on vacation was made halfway, and there was insufficient preparation beforehand. All the puppet maids were left in Tafia's mansion and none of them were brought here.

Therefore, on the first day of her arrival, Villian made a few more to take care of the cleaning, cooking and other tasks during this period.

It is currently morning, and there are still about two hours until lunch time.

Sitting in the house and chatting was quite boring, so the two decided to go out for a walk.

The forest area around the lake has also been incorporated into the resort. In addition to completely eliminating dangerous creatures, the roads have been paved with stones.

This is to prevent the guests in this area from stepping into mud when they want to breathe fresh air after the rain.

Through the gaps in the forest, you can see some farmlands and farmers working in them.

It looks quite realistic, but in fact it is more of a performance to make people experience the so-called pastoral scenery. The unsightly parts of actual farming have been completely erased.

It can't be said that he is not attentive.

The conversation between the two took place in such a fresh and pleasant environment.

"...Huh? You hardly ever traveled in your original world?"

"Well, because I don't have time, and it costs a lot of money, so even on vacation, I basically stay at home... uh, doing the things I told you before."

While Aize was speaking, he was also constantly looking around, taking in the scene around him, which was extremely rare and almost never seen in any world.

"In the two years I've been a hero, the total distance I've traveled is probably much greater than the total distance I've traveled in the twenty-plus years before I traveled through time."

The witch crossed her arms and looked at Aize's profile as if she was thinking about something.

Then he shook his head:

"Surprisingly, I always thought your family in your original world should be quite wealthy."

Aize turned his head suddenly:

"...Why do you think that? I've said it before, it's just an ordinary family."

"Well, uh, because the lifestyle you mentioned doesn't seem like that of an ordinary family."

As mentioned before, the productivity of this world, thanks to magic and the existence of some anomalous biotechnology and materials, is higher than normal, roughly between the Renaissance and the Industrial Age.

At this level, coupled with the large number of aristocratic individuals who behave like unhuman beings, one can naturally imagine the living standards of the general public.

Not to mention those people Heidi had seen before who were forced to live without money due to heavy taxes, even in the territory of an enlightened noble, the best they could do was to have enough food and clothing.

Therefore, in Villian's opinion, eating all kinds of delicious food, lying at home and getting moldy on weekends, and having all kinds of technological products like "magic props" at home, such a life does not meet Aize's definition of "ordinary" at all.

In response, Aize could only shrug his shoulders.

"It's just a difference in technical level. On our side, it's really just an average level."

"Hmm... relying on that thing you call scientific technology?"

This is a matter of civilization development, and if we really want to talk about it in detail, several days and nights would not be enough, so Aize was too lazy to correct it and just nodded:

"You could say that."

"That's great! Science and all that stuff sounds convenient. It's easy to use and has a lot of functionality..."

The witch rested her head on her arms, puffed up her face and looked unhappy.

"Unlike magic, I've learned so much, but I still haven't seen a single stage play. If I get the chance, I really want to see what a movie or TV show is like."

Aize blinked:

"For a stage play or something, can't you just make some puppets and perform it yourself?"

"The story is the key. What's the point of just a few people messing around? If I have to write a script just to watch the show, then it would be completely wasted!?"

Villian suddenly became furious and felt inexplicably resentful.

It's hard to say whether she actually made such an attempt.

Regardless, Aize quickly changed the subject:

"But, to be honest, I don't think science and magic are mutually exclusive."

"Hmm? What do you mean?"

"Science, in essence, is a way of understanding the world objectively and rationally. In my hometown, there's no magic, no demons, and no monsters, so these things are naturally unscientific. But it's different here."

Aize said, looking up at the farmland in the distance.

There, a person dressed as a low-level magician was casting a spell to induce rapid growth on a large field of crops.

"Magic truly exists and is part of the laws of this world. If there is science in this world, then magic itself should be a subject of scientific study—well, that's what I think anyway."

More than a year ago, just after gaining a foothold in the church as a brave man, Aize once thought about whether to try to bring about an industrial revolution in this world.

Just like in many farming novels, it brings a little technological shock to primitive people.

But after a simple try, I found that this didn't work.

the reason is simple.

As he was not a professional, the knowledge he possessed, which was no more than that in history textbooks, was far from enough to carry out this plan.

Steam engine? Why don't you draw a blueprint for me?

Can’t draw it? Then use hammer.

The local craftsmen can only make some armor, swords and even kitchen knives every day. Making a clock requires Warcraft materials and magic assistance.

It's not realistic to expect them to come up with something based on just one idea.

Even if it can be manufactured, it will inevitably take a huge amount of time to adjust and trial and error, and its practical application is a long way off.

It's similar with other things. If you know what it is but not why it is, it is really difficult to accelerate the progress of civilization by your own efforts.

Aize originally planned to settle for the second best and first solve relatively simpler technologies such as gunpowder and compass.

But as the workload of intelligence and strategic command increased rapidly, even these were abandoned.

The reason for giving up was that he realized one thing - is it really necessary to do this?

In their original world, people used these honest technologies because they had no choice.

But here, whether it is magic or the materials that the monsters can provide, their power is beyond the reach of the civilization in their hometown.

So, can we combine these elements to carry out a bolder technological revolution?