Chapter 7: Frank's Mission
"There's not going to be any trouble," Josh declared confidently. "Don't forget, this is my territory. If I have any plans, I make the decisions. It's not anyone else's place to meddle, right?"
Well, that was certainly a simple and straightforward answer. This is my domain, I make the rules. As long as it didn't conflict with the Empire's laws, everything else was fair game. Frank thought Josh's approach was a bit ruthless, but he nodded anyway.
"By the way, Frank, how's our economic situation?" Josh suddenly remembered another pressing concern—economics. Coming from a liberal arts background in his previous life, even after arriving in this world, most of his focus had been on learning about local culture and magic. Managing a territory, however, still gave him a headache.
"It's relatively optimistic," Frank replied after a moment's thought. "According to the records, by Rainfall Month (March), the hunters had already started proactively hunting and stockpiling meat. And back in First Sprout Month (February), we planted a good amount of wheat. That should be enough to get us through to Hearthfire Month (September) when we'll harvest enough grain to make bread and perhaps even sell a surplus."
"But my lord, I don't think we should sell off the food," Frank added cautiously. "If anything unexpected happens—like a bandit raid—it's better to have reserves."
Josh groaned inwardly. He had asked about the economy, not agriculture. But after a moment's reflection, he understood. In a society like this, a territory's wealth was largely based on agriculture. So Frank's answer made sense.
"You misunderstood. I meant money, Frank. Cash. Gold. Not grain."
"Ah! You mean our actual funds." Frank blinked, then quickly recalculated. "We have around 200 gold coins in the treasury. Not a huge amount, but certainly not bad."
"That's actually pretty decent," Josh nodded.
Frank, ever meticulous, was referring strictly to the territory's coffers—not Josh's personal finances. And having 200 gold coins in reserve? Josh was honestly satisfied.
On the continent of Muya, one gold coin equaled 100 silver coins, and one silver was worth 100 copper. A commoner's monthly wage was typically one or two silver coins—considered quite respectable.
A loaf of wheat bread cost nearly ten copper coins, which wasn't cheap. Dark bread was around three copper. So, earning a few silver coins monthly meant a comfortable life.
"Frank, once the population count is done, I want to hire some of the residents—especially those who are unemployed. I'm sick of seeing beggars on the streets. Of course, I'll pay them for their work."
"You're going to pay them?" Frank looked genuinely surprised. "You really don't need to. Just offering them dark bread would be enough—they'd work as long as they're fed."
"But giving them food directly isn't nearly as effective as giving them money and letting them decide how to spend it," Josh rolled his eyes. "When people have money, they spend it. That boosts demand. Merchants respond by sourcing more goods, which benefits the farmers. It's a cycle—a way to stimulate the economy. And when everyone's doing better, it becomes easier to collect taxes."
"And we can collect more taxes too," Frank added, now catching on. He wasn't slow—just unused to this kind of thinking. On the Muya continent, such policies were practically unheard of.
"My lord… when did you start studying things like this?"
"Study?" Josh scoffed. "You need to study for this? This stuff is elementary. Just think about it a little. I don't get what you people have been doing all this time. Anyway, hurry up with that census—I want to hire people to clean this city. Good grief, it's like a descent into hell the moment you step outside the castle."
Truthfully, the whole kingdom wasn't much better—except maybe the Imperial Capital. Frank smiled bitterly but kept quiet. It was obvious Josh was thoroughly disgusted by the state of his domain. Still, he couldn't help but wonder: Since when did Josh get into politics and economics?
In Frank's memory, Josh had always been obsessed with reading strange legends and throwing himself into magical studies. He had nearly third-tier mana reserves but couldn't even cast a single elemental spell.
Could it be… he's aiming for the throne? Frank wondered. Honestly, it wouldn't be surprising. He was a son of Emperor Augustus IV after all. Why should others have a shot, but not him?
But Josh doesn't have the allies or power to back him... Frank thought silently. He would never dare say such words aloud, of course. Crushing as they might be, they were true. Still, ambition wasn't necessarily bad. If Josh had truly resigned himself to being a failure, that would be the real problem.
In fact, if that were the case, Frank might have packed up and returned to the capital—though, to be fair, since arriving in Constantinople, he'd already felt his prospects were bleak.
One step at a time, he consoled himself. At least Lord Josh isn't giving up. Whether it's fate mocking him or punishing him, it's cruel. So much magical potential… yet no elemental spirits. All he can use are cantrips. How pitiful.
Unaware that Frank was secretly pitying him, Josh would've probably stabbed him with a Void Blade if he knew. "I wasn't useless—I just lacked a proper magical inheritance!" he'd have shouted.
But Josh wasn't so petty. Void magic didn't even exist in this world. Even spatial magic was something of legend—said to be the domain of gods. For someone like Josh to wield even fragments of it was dangerous enough to get him killed. Keeping it a secret was essential.
Looks like I really need to start learning other types of magic—especially those without attributes, Josh mused as he made his way back to the castle. But then he sighed. Too bad this Void Gate is so damn random. I can't choose which world I go to. If I could just remember which ones had those neutral magic systems, I could sneak in and learn a thing or two...
Chatting idly with Frank, they returned to Constantinople in under an hour. The maids in the castle were surprised to see them back so soon, but they wisely kept their thoughts to themselves and returned to their duties.
Josh, seizing the free time, headed straight to his room to meditate and consolidate his magical power. He still didn't know how to gather Void energy, but his skill reset every seven days—so he began preparing for his next journey.
His top priority? Power.
Just thinking about his humiliating encounter in Valoran made him want to scream. A mage getting wrecked by a warrior of the same level? Absolutely disgraceful. In fiction, sure, the hero might pull it off—but he had become a real-life cautionary tale.
To be fair, Garen was a protagonist-type in Valoran. But still—Valoran had dozens of champions. In the actual game, Garen was more of a casual pick than a serious threat. But his skill set was brutally effective against mages.
It fits, though, Josh admitted. He hates mages… and he's good at killing them.
Shaking his head, Josh returned to his meditation. He soon "saw" the silvery-white magical energy flowing through him—Void Elements, as he now called them.
There were a lot of them, but he had underestimated how difficult they were to control. If his body was a river of Void energy, then what he could actually command was barely a stream. The rest was wild and beyond his grasp.
What a waste, Josh sighed.
Still, he didn't give up. Slowly and patiently, he began fusing and absorbing stray fragments of Void energy at the edges of his control. It wasn't fast, but it worked. Each time he succeeded, he felt a tiny increase in power.
Minuscule—almost unnoticeable.
But better than standing still.