Chapter 47: Do You Still Need Workers?

At that moment, Fllilien suddenly narrowed her eyes, fixing them on the distant city wall.

There, Old Vol, who had just left, stood on a high platform, gathering the young men building the wall, and had his foreman loudly announce the names of the work team that had contributed the most and progressed the fastest yesterday.

Their reward: each received an extra ten days’ wages.

Watching the four young men called forward, Old Vol smiled and waved his hand; the foreman immediately stepped forward, pulled out many glittering objects from a sack, and gave each of them one.

After the commendation, the young men cheered and returned to their work with renewed energy, as if this were just part of their daily routine.

But Fllilien’s heart was anything but calm.

She widened her eyes, the glittering object she had just seen echoing repeatedly in her mind—

Was that a magic crystal?

It must be a magic crystal!

Ten days’ work for one magic crystal? What kind of insane wage is this?!

Fllilien finally understood why everyone here was so optimistic and energetic, even willingly enduring such dirty, exhausting labor.

If I were paid one magic crystal every ten days, I’d gladly build this wall too!

Fllilien slowly turned her head, gazing solemnly at Lin Yu: “My lord, do you still need workers?”

Lin Yu: “...?”

Fllilien quickly added: “Don’t misunderstand—I just think working in such a wealthy... such a happy town must be delightful!”

Lin Yu chuckled.

Beside him, Vlamé rolled her eyes and grumbled: “You just think the pay’s high!”

Lin Yu smiled: “High wages come with high prices—especially for daily necessities here, which are astronomical elsewhere...”

Vlamé frowned and murmured: “I know you want your people to live comfortably, but such high wages must bring serious drawbacks.”

“As I understand, Ridgepeak City is trading with neighboring nations, flooding the local market with cheap goods—won’t that make your overpriced local products uncompetitive?”

“And if someone can earn a magic crystal in ten days, aren’t you afraid they’ll just take their money and flee to other countries to enjoy themselves?”

Lin Yu smiled: “These problems do exist, but so far they haven’t become severe.”

“Old Vol is a capable man, and I’ve taught him some economic strategies—he’s kept Ridgepeak’s economy on a healthy growth path.”

“Though prices are high, the real purchasing power far exceeds that of neighboring nations.”

“Excess wealth has many outlets for spending, so life carries little pressure.”

“Besides, Ridgepeak’s people have all endured war and displacement—they know that without Ridgepeak’s protection, even the most money makes you nothing but a fat target for others.”

“As for those who’ve already left, they were never core citizens anyway. A few magic crystals? Let them have them—they’re already on the blacklist and can never return.”

“According to Old Vol and my estimates, we needn’t worry about this for at least two generations.”

Vlamé frowned: “And after two generations?”

After two generations, Ridgepeak’s people will begin their cultivation path.

At that point, magic crystals won’t just be currency—they’ll be essential for cultivation. No need to worry then!

Of course, Lin Yu had no intention of telling Vlamé this yet.

Seeing Lin Yu smile without answering, Vlamé pondered, then nodded: “As long as you’re confident.”

Half an hour later, the three stepped out of the town’s most famous restaurant.

The restaurant’s ingredients are supplied directly by the Lord’s Guard’s Demon Hunting Team, offering many unusual dishes—like the three portions of dragon-beast grilled ribs they’d just eaten, the house specialty.

Walking along the Central Avenue, Vlamé muttered: “Just three portions of grilled ribs cost three crystal coins—this price is absurdly high...”

Crystal coins are Ridgepeak’s base currency, made from exhausted magic crystals.

The official exchange rate is one hundred crystal coins for one standard unit of magic crystal.

Of course, the market fluctuates—in private exchanges, the ratio is roughly 1:110.

That’s why Old Vol directly rewarding magic crystals is far more valuable than paying in crystal coins.

Hearing her teacher’s words, Fllilien nodded in deep agreement.

According to Vlamé, in neighboring nations trading with Ridgepeak City, one crystal coin can feed a family of three for three full days.

And that’s with three meals a day, every meal including meat.

Lower the standard a bit, and it could last half a month.

“Since earlier, I’ve wanted to ask—has magic been widely adopted in Ridgepeak?”

Vlamé asked, watching a woman nearby using weaving magic.

Lin Yu nodded: “Roughly speaking—at least the original villagers have all learned magic.”

Vlamé glanced at him: “Then why hasn’t technology developed?”

Lin Yu smiled: “It has—just not yet favored.”

Vlamé blinked: “Not favored?”

Lin Yu sighed: “Trains require laying tracks and are slower than earth dragons; looms are less efficient than weaving magic; steam engines can’t match the power of a single magic crystal...”

“I understand.”

Vlamé sighed softly, then glanced at Lin Yu: “But you clearly possess technology far beyond this.”

Lin Yu shook his head: “Technology beyond its time is indistinguishable from magic to them. If they can’t build it from the ground up, it holds little meaning.”

Here he paused, then said seriously: “I know you still care about this, but different circles don’t need forced integration. Over the past decade, I’ve watched Ridgepeak’s people invent using magic crystals.”

“The magic lamps, magic bellows, magic forges you see—all their creations.”

“In a sense, these magic-crystal-based technologies are science itself.”

“Since this world has resources unlike Earth’s, why force it to follow Earth’s path?”

Hearing Lin Yu’s words, Vlamé fell into thought.

Fllilien looked bewildered, glancing between the two, then decided to abandon the topic entirely—it was beyond her comprehension.

Later, Lin Yu took the two women on a one-hour tour of the city, tasting desserts from the sweet shop and strong liquor from Sunlight Street, before heading toward the castle in Ridgepeak’s northeast corner.

Soon, the grand castle appeared before them.

Seeing the Longlong Rock, already over eighty meters long, standing before the castle gate, Vlamé first gasped in awe, then stepped forward eagerly, stroking its scaled jaw affectionately.

In contrast, Fllilien was far from relaxed.

In her hand, she held the Crescent Staff she’d unconsciously drawn, watching the giant beast with tension.

In her perception, the demon emitted a terrifying surge of magical energy—its reserves even slightly surpassed those of Grand Sorceress Vlamé!

“Fllilien.”

Lin Yu’s voice came from ahead.

Fllilien turned to see him smiling: “Your teacher and Longlong Rock are old acquaintances—they’ve not seen each other in ten years, and surely have much to say. Don’t bother them—come with me, I’ll show you your room.”

“...”

Fllilien steadied herself, then nodded gently: “Thank you, my lord.”

(End of Chapter)