Chapter 612: The First Step in the New Territory

Robin—the beautiful dogkin woman who worked for the Garfish Trading Company and was serving as acting administrator of Tauro’s new territory—agreed, under certain conditions, to remain in that role for the time being.

Robin was an exceptionally intelligent woman. Using her sharp insight and keen sense of smell, she identified the butlers and servants who had been profiting under the previous lord’s tyrannical rule and fired two-thirds of them.

For crimes such as bribery and corruption, she took drastic measures, including confiscating assets and imposing punishments. The severity of her reforms seemed almost at odds with her gentle manner of speaking, but they allowed her to reduce personnel costs substantially.

Over the next several days, Tauro, Aeris, and the others held discussions with Robin about future policies and areas for improvement.

Robin hadn’t only cut personnel costs, but also eliminated unnecessary departments and reassigned capable people who had been pushed aside, placing them where their talents were best suited. Since the new lord held only the rank of viscount, she had also scaled the household and administration down to a level appropriate for his position.

Because Robin was originally a merchant, she relentlessly cut waste wherever she found it. In only six months, she had accomplished so much that Tauro felt there was almost nothing left for him to do, earning his deep respect and admiration.

“I’ve done everything I can under the current circumstances… but there are still many things beyond my ability.”

After several days of detailed reports, Robin added that remark at the end.

“Things even you can’t handle, Robin?”

Tauro asked with great interest.

“Yes. The main issue is that this territory’s original sources of income have still not been restored.”

“Original… income? Ah, you mean trade?”

“Exactly. We’ve only barely managed to break even by cutting expenses and partially resuming trade with the Royal Frontier Special Zone. However, I’ve heard from the people that there was once a time when people from the various autonomous regions gathered in this capital and trade made the city bustle.”

“…By the way, what about the mine where orichalcum was discovered? I thought it could generate huge profits if we got it operating again…”

Tauro brought up information he had heard from Garfish regarding the territory’s hidden potential.

“About that… the mine has been closed for a long time and wasn’t operating even during the former lord’s rule. Restarting it would require substantial funding for manpower, infrastructure, and other needs. That’s why I thought it’d be better to reopen the trading post first, since doing so would require less capital than reopening the mine.”

Robin had made a practical judgment: given the territory’s weakened economy, reopening the mine before securing the necessary funds would be extremely difficult, so it was still too early to consider.

“You don’t need to worry about funding. Though… securing labor does sound like a challenge.”

“Yes. Reopening the mine would require a large number of skilled workers, but it’s been closed for so long that the experienced workers have aged, and gathering enough people will be difficult… Wait—did you just say funding isn’t a problem? That’s usually the hardest part!”

Robin almost missed Tauro’s casual remark before quickly asking him to confirm it.

“Robin, have you forgotten who Tauro is?”

Aeris answered in his place.

“…Ah! That’s right! Lord Tauro is the wealthy man who made his fortune as Giro Sugar! I was only thinking in terms of the territory’s current finances!”

Having forgotten that her lord possessed substantial personal wealth, Robin’s expression immediately brightened.

Although she had managed to turn the territory profitable in six months, she had clearly been worried about what came next.

“Now that funding is settled, is there anything else that’s particularly difficult at the moment?”

Tauro asked for her guidance.

“I think the hardest part will be regaining the trust of the neighboring autonomous regions. This place used to be a center of trade for the surrounding area, but the previous lord was greedy and discriminatory. He imposed heavy taxes on people of other races and looked down on them. As a result, trust in this territory fell to nothing, and no one comes here anymore.”

Robin spoke with frustration, condemning the former lord’s actions.

“So that’s why the trading post isn’t functioning… Rebuilding lost trust won’t be easy. That’s my responsibility as the new lord. For now, let’s start by restoring the abandoned mine and repairing the roads leading to each region. I’ll provide the funds and equipment, so could you begin recruiting workers right away? That should create jobs and help reduce unemployment in the territory.”

Although Tauro sensed that the road ahead would be difficult, he proposed beginning by clearing the way forward. Then, as if to say, “Here’s the initial funding,” he took three large leather pouches filled with money out of [Magic Storage] and placed them in front of Robin.

“Understood!”

Robin replied cheerfully, realizing that the first step toward reopening the trading post—something she had long wanted but been unable to accomplish—was finally possible.

“Seth, the mountain path to the mine will be more dangerous work than the trade roads. Could you have the Rock-series puppets start there first?”

Tauro turned to his dependable companion, the boy-shaped autonomous-thinking puppet Seth.

Seth puffed out his chest and nodded as if to say, “Leave it to me.”

“May I help Seth as well?”

Zion offered to assist her close companion.

“Sure. And once people are assigned to work at the mine or maintain the roads, Zion, please help communicate what Seth wants to tell them.”

“Got it!”

Like Seth, Zion thumped her chest confidently.

“Alright then, we’ll need to visit each autonomous region and work on restoring relations and trust.”

Tauro said this while glancing at Aeris for confirmation.

“But will they even agree to meet us? Relations have been completely severed, haven’t they?”

Aeris pointed out the difficulty of the task.

“That may have been true with the former lord, but with me as the new lord, I think we still have a chance.”

With that optimistic outlook, Tauro resolved to move forward and take the territory’s first step toward recovery.