7 Preparations

By the time Roland finished reading through the Basics of Civil Engineering book, it was already evening. There were already rumors spreading among the maids that no one has seen Roland for the entire day ever since he entered his office which was completely unheard of before.

[ + 1 INT for manually getting the grasp of Basics of Civil Engineering knowledge]

[+ 100 Gold Coins]

'It was much harder than I anticipated, I could understand most of the things but due to certain technical words, I had to read some sentences a few more times before understanding the context. But at least it gave me some sort of sense of accomplishment. And just as I thought, I made a very good choice not to spend money inside that Shop carelessly.

[You may exchange shop's Gold Coins for Gold royals. The exchange rate is currently 1:1]

[30 days worth of rations for 100 people (Basic package) - 50 Gold Coins]

'Buying food in the shop is simply ineffective when I can buy much more food by exchanging for Gold royals but there is also that word "currently". It could grow or decrease based on my fortune. Still, I have no idea what that package contains but I would have to spend 1000 Gold Coins just for the rations for the entire town for only 1 month! Currently, 1000 Gold Coins equals 1000 Gold Royals which is even above Border Town's yearly income. Looks like I can become easily rich but if I won't have where to spend money, they are just useless. I am going to contact someone from Willow Town which is the closest after Longsong Stronghold. I doubt I will be able to negotiate with Longsong Stronghold and while I am at it...after Carter is done with his current task, I am going to have him clean up any rats in our ranks. I will make sure to recruit only locals into the army and thoroughly check their backgrounds. Our current biggest enemies aren't those waiting for us outside but inside, I know very well how much damage one spy can make.' Roland once again thought hard about the problems he had to solve while sitting on his chair and staring at the ceiling with his neck resting on the top rail.

"Your Highness?" Anna's voice suddenly pulled him out of his thoughts and only now he realized that she was already standing next to the door, looking at him.

'I am getting more and more deeply into my thoughts. This is getting dangerous, what if it was someone who would try to hurt me?'

"Yes?" Roland asked in a curious tone.

"Well, I have been waiting for you at the dining hall but you never came. When I went to look for you, I heard the rumor of you not leaving your office for a single minute aside from relieving yourself." Anna said with a slightly worried expression.

*sigh* "Is it already so late? I got lost in my thoughts, let's go have dinner if you haven't eaten yet." Roland released a tired sigh before getting up from the chair and stretching his back and arms.

"Are you perhaps thinking about how to survive this winter?" Anna asked with a curious expression, looking like she wants to help.

"No and yes...I still don't have enough information about the months of the demon but I think we can survive relatively easily. There are many other problems I want to solve before and even after this winter. Obviously, you will be able to help me a lot. I have already got a solution for the wall, now I only need to find an experienced stonemason and teach him a few things." Roland said, exiting his office with Anna in tow. Despite the tired look in his eyes, a smile was still visible on his face.

---

[Materials]

[Feather Steel - 50 Gold Coins]

---

'Although I don't know the exact weight I will get...it is also possible there is no weight due to its name. It would be good to make weapons that weigh almost nothing but are sharp and durable. I don't think I will be able to make any firearms in time but...maybe I can buy a few of them from Shop. I will take a closer look at the Item section at night. Anna also said that her father used to make around 1 silver royal a month, it also depended on the ore yield. I will raise the salary and give also a bonus for the high yield, that way, others might be more motivated and new people might also join. Hunters and miners are our main source of income so I need to increase their efficiency. It would be great to create some kind of drill to make the mining easier, faster, and effective but I will think about that later.'

"Did something good happen?" Anna noticed Roland's smile while walking next to him so she asked out of curiosity.

"You could say so. How did today's training go?" Roland's smile only deepened when he heard Anna's question. He could see that she was quickly getting used to his presence.

'Maybe that heart to heart talk wasn't just my useless mumbling and complaining'

"Oh, everything went well. I am expecting to fully control my powers within the next day-" Anna started speaking with her usual enthusiastic tone but she stopped once she noticed Barov walking towards them.

"Your Highness... lady Anna. It is good that you have finally left your office, I was just about to get you out of there when I have heard that you haven't left yet but it looks like lady Anna was faster. You must keep a check on your health, Your Highness." Barov greeted both of them but it was visible that he was still a bit uncomfortable around Anna.

"Don't worry, I know the limits of my body. Since you are already here...if you are finished with the task from noon, could you please make a contact with Willow Town and inquire if they are willing to buy gems and ores from us and also sell food to us at the market price? Oh, and could you also inquire about saltpeter and sulfur, we will need a lot of it, feel free to use my own money to purchase those." Roland hurriedly said before continue walking towards the dining hall, leaving Barov standing in the middle of the hallway with a confused expression.

'How did the fourth prince change so much? He also spends a lot of time with that witch...Could it be that he was possessed? No...I have seen His Highness touch God's Stone of Retaliation several times yet nothing happened and even if he was possessed...all he is doing is working harder- a lot harder. Did he perhaps just turn over a new leaf? Or maybe all his behavior from an early age was just to fool his siblings?' Barov thought while watching Roland's and Anna's backs before shaking his head.

.

.

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The next day inside Roland's office...

"Your Highness, this is the hunter you were looking for. According to his words, he already fought and killed demonic beast before." Carter said, presenting a tall hunter with broad shoulders and a strong build overall.

Roland nodded his head upon observing the hunter, he could tell from his strong presence that he was most likely telling the truth.

"What is your name? What can you tell me about demonic beasts?"

"Your Highness! Locals call me Iron Axe and all I can tell you is that they aren't as formidable as people make them. I have killed two of them myself, a wild boar species and wolf species to be more precise!" Iron Axe kneeled and said in a strong voice.

"Wild boar...species? What are they? Are they something like natural wild animals but only stronger?" Roland immediately asked while motioning with his hand for Iron Axe to stand up.

"That's right, Your Highness. Not only do they become stronger but wolf species become more cunning and faster too while wild boar species' fur becomes extremely tough. However they are still just animals, the most terrifying of all are mixed species." Iron Axe said and showed his big scar across his chest, making Roland furrow his brows. He then also proceeded to tell his experience meeting mixed species.

'Such a scar can't be done by any wild animal. Looks like mixed species are the real fantasy-like feature here but since trained knights can kill them, I should not have any problem with them as long as I finish the wall and set up several traps. I can't wait to see everything go boom, hehe.'

"Considering how dangerous mixed species are...they must be very scarce, right?" Roland asked.

"There are only a few each months of the demon, if not, the other towns would face big problems every year." Carter replied.

"Alright, leave us alone" Roland unexpectedly said which shocked both Carter and Barov.

"What? I mustn't leave you alone, Your Highness!" Carter immediately protested.

"Carter...that was an order. Please leave us alone." Roland narrowed his eyes and said with a more resolute tone.

"Ack...*sigh* understood." Carter's body stiffened up a bit upon meeting Roland's eyes but he reluctantly agreed, leaving the room with Barov in tow.

"Iron Axe...is your local name, right?" After they left, Roland stood up and walked in front of Iron Axe.

"That's correct, Your Highness!" Iron Axe replied, standing straight.

"...Can you teach me how to hunt in the wilderness?" Roland asked in a low voice but dead-serious expression while looking straight into Iron Axe's eyes.

"W-What?" It was the first time ever since he arrived here that he was caught off guard. The prince requesting the hunter to teach him how to hunt...how absurd it would sound to others.