Chapter 5

Flower Town was at the northeastern corner of Coral Island. It was not small, but Liszt did not know its specific size. As the most remote town on Coral Island, the town was only marked to the northeast of Thorn Hill and did not have a boundary.

It meant that Liszt could claim all the territory as long as he did not barge into the towns to the southwest of Thorn Hill.

Nobody would blame him even if he were to include Thorn Hill. After all, no one on Coral Island wanted it.

After twenty years of development by the Tulips, only less than two thirds of Coral Island had been really colonized.

The last one third was all desolate land.

Thorn Hill was one of such places. Knights were needed in battle, so serfs and farmers had to reclaim those areas.

Thorn Hill was barren and rugged. It was not valuable enough to be developed.

Besides, every ordinary person was delicious food for the monsters. Even hunters dare not pursue them casually. Of course, some adventurers still went after monsters because every part of the monsters could be exchanged for coins.

Liszt, riding Fire Dragon, was passionate about the tour.

Expansion was the instinct of every noble. Flower Town was as far as his horse could go. Now, he was riding on a street of the town. It was muddy and dirty, with feces everywhere—only nobles built toilets.

“Sanitation has to be implemented.” Liszt turned to Marcus.

Marcus gave no reply. He was not the administrative officer and was not interested in it. What enthused him was the power of nobles, as could be seen from the serfs and civilians who were bowing to Liszt on both sides of the street.

Their bodies were trembling.

Those who knelt were serfs, and those who bowed were free folk.

Most of them were serfs who had been sold to the nobles. As Liszt’s private properties, they had no rights. If Liszt intended to enforce droit du seigneur1, they had to clean their daughters or wives and send them to his castle.

Free folk were few. Most of them were artisans, such as hunters and tailors.

The town was small and had few habitants. Even though all the residents had come out, the atmosphere was still cold.

Liszt estimated that the whole town might only have a population of several hundred people.

The town was mostly made of cottages that were built on mud and grass. Even two-storied buildings were few.

For the first time, he realized the poverty of civilian life.

He had a lot of complicated feelings.

He felt lucky that, as a noble, he could live in a castle and enjoy white bread made of wheat flour.

Very soon, Fire Dragon carried Liszt through the only street of the son. With a heavy mood, he continued to Thorn Hill along the safe route that Marcus planned.

The town was surrounded by farmlands. Most of the crops in the farmlands were unknown to Liszt, but they were not delightful at all. Many weeds grew together with the crops, indicating a lack of management.

While marvelous creatures such as dragons and elves existed in this age, and there were unbelievable powers such as combat aura and magic, everything was still underdeveloped.

Industrial revolution was impossible, but there was still a chance to introduce certain scientific ways of development.

Liszt was very confident of bolstering the development of Flower Town.

…

Very soon, the town was nowhere to be seen. They had left the flatlands and entered the sparse woods. They were on the edge of Thorn Hill.

“Lord Baron, monsters often appear at the edge of Thorn Hill. I hope that you can stay close behind me.” Marcus began to lead the way. He also said to the four squires, “Protect the baron. Do not let the monsters get past you until you become bodies. Can you do that?”

“We can!” Carl and the rest of them shouted back.

Civilians were not obliged to go to the battlefield, which was reserved for nobles and knights. However, squires had to go to the battlefield even though they were civilians. With better privileges came greater responsibility.

To avoid the monsters, they could only detour at the edge of Thorn Hill.

The trees were rather exuberant. Wildlife such as rabbits and foxes could occasionally be seen, but there were few large animals.

“In spring, summer, and autumn, the food in Thorn Hill is enough for the monsters, so they barely visit Flower Town. But in winter, hungry monsters always invade Flower Town. Some unlucky fellows are taken as food every year.”

Although Marcus was not happy about the job, he still offered the information he knew.

I wonder if we will encounter any monster today. Liszt searched his memories and recalled several monsters. Different from common beasts, monsters had magic and could unleash powerful spells.

A small monster was once raised in Tulip Castle: the Fire Rabbit.

A rabbit that could release little fireballs, it was delicious and had beautiful furs. The nobles liked the rabbit meat, and their wives liked the clothes made of the rabbit furs.

He also saw a powerful monster before: the Giant Berserker Bear. The Earl of Coral Island’s favorite chair was covered with the furs of a Giant Berserker Bear. It was most intimidating.

It was said that eight earth knights of Coral Island died in the hunt for the Giant Berserker Bear.

Even a battle against human beings did not often have such heavy casualties.

Besides, even more beginner knights were killed.

On the way, Liszt recorded the terrain of Thorn Hill, marking the places that were suitable for ramparts, irrigation facilities, or farmlands. That was the obligation of a feudal lord who owned the land.

“It’s lunchtime. Auden, prepare lunch here.”

“Yes, my lord!” Auden Shoepad immediately spread a blanket on a flat area and placed the food overtop.

The simple lunch included bread, caviar, fruit salad, and milk tea.

There were also goat loaves that were reserved for Liszt.

They thought that it was going to be a simple lunch, but Marcus’s face changed after swallowing a piece of bread. “My lord, something is wrong! I smell monsters!”