In less than three weeks, Rino could see everything finally coming together. Although the marketplace and bank might take longer to construct, the first living quarter apartment was ready. Not to mention, the bath house' promotional opening free for anyone to use for a week was a big hit.

The bathhouse addiction wasn't limited to just the undead subordinates. Rino found out that the genesis fairies enjoyed it a fair bit too. Hot spring sessions became a huge socialising opportunity as they strengthened the bonds between different species and occupations. It didn't matter if they worked as a patrol officer, a courier runner or a miner. Everyone loved it, and unsurprisingly, the next common topic was food.

Rino considered it an overwhelmingly positive reaction, so he deemed that one week a holiday break for the hardworking project labourers who completed most of their objectives ahead of time.

Checking the daily quest that was long completed, RIno finally claimed it.

===

Daily Quest #31 (complete)

Objective: Build Pathways

Time Limit: 30 Days

Tutorial here.

Reward: Town Speed Buff

Claim your reward here.

Penalty: Deduct 24 hours of sleep upon failure and [Curse of Overtime] until quest is forcefully completed.

===

The town speed buff was applied automatically to his town's barrier, and Rino discovered what that actually meant.

At first, the lich thought the buff was faulty because nothing happened when it was first applied. However, the moment he placed a boot on the pavement, Rino felt the difference in speed.

The speed buff only applied to those who travelled along the built pavements. Hence, the animals in his barn and workers in other places were unaffected. Travelling became more fun, and the fairies tested the speed buff by flying through the air along the built pavements.

The speed buff worked on everyone who travelled along that path regardless of how they did it. Rino could be crawling on all fours, and the buff would still work. It worked on any race, making it an experience everyone could talk about.

Yet, Rino found himself needing to implement rules about racing on the streets after the first wagon crash occurred, injuring five who could not regenerate automatically. The destruction of newly built property was also a bummer, but thankfully, it wasn't anything permanent.

Apart from a few hiccups, Rino found himself wanting to expand the town's paths to his other outposts. The first place he thought of creating paved roads towards was to the abandoned mines and his personal study. The pavements were not as well made compared to the ones in Town Zera. However, they were practical.

Building rough travelling paths from the mines back to Town Zera made transporting salt rock and fired bricks easier. At the same time, Rino decided that it made more sense to build the crafting guild inside the dwarven mine with all the materials there. The crafting guild was in charge of mining, smelting, smithing and crafting. The other activities that the crafting guild oversees from afar were the tailoring and tannery operations, but Rino trusted the local management to handle their departments independently, even without Ubel's interference.

With Town Zera bustling full of activities even in its downtime, Rino decided to finalise the credit earning system based on various inputs by managers of every department in his town. He also wondered if the same benefits should be given to those in Noir Province.

Back in his world, villagers did not concern themselves much with money because they were self-sufficient with their farms feeding their families. Money was only used to exchange for things like candles, firewood and clothes for the winter in towns with other villagers of different professions.

Here, Rino knew that the villagers in Spudville, Cypress County and his other outposts did not face any resource shortage. The credits would not be very useful either because there was limited entertainment and desire for material benefit. The people there were different from those in Town Zera. They were more simple-minded and easily content with what they were given. Their earnest nature made Rino wonder why the subordinates in Town Zera were so competitive.

As a ruler, Rino wanted to treat everyone fairly. He wrote a letter to Kragami and asked for several suggestions about what the villagers in Noir Province would desire in exchange for credits earned from their work.

The reply came quickly, and there were only a few things these villagers wanted. Their demands greatly surprised Rino because of how different it was to the desires of those in Town Zera.

===

Noir Province's most wanted benefits:

1. Personal book and writing supply

2. Weapons

3. Useable runes

4. Spatial enchanted items

5. Alcohol and fried potato

6. Tea Blend

7. Spa / Hot Spring packages

===

Compared to the list of wanted items in Town Zera, those from Noir Province appeared hardworking. Rino had no idea why a personal book and writing supply was at the top of the list until Kragami explained that they had a severe shortage of leather-bound books or parchment. Loose sheets that became soaked in the rain or damaged by the humid weather dampened the spirits of hardworking students. Kragami had no idea how it happened, but there was a sudden novelty of writing stories. Many wrote stories about Noir for fun, but it soon evolved into something else. Some villagers wrote diaries, while others wrote fantasies about their romances. The goblins wrote stories about their lives before the massacre, and eventually, they ran out of paper for everyone. Hence, it was currently an object for rationing.

Hearing that Noir Province birthed many hungry writers, Rino decided that this hobby must be supported. The scribe was not an occupation many could afford to apply for in his previous world because education opportunities were unequal. Hence, he was happy to hear that the hunger for knowledge was there. Even though libraries did not exist in this world, Rino thought it might be possible to create one with the help of so many writers.

The demand for weapons in Noir Province came from the tournaments held weekly among the fighters who would compete for the position of defence chief. The hobgoblin village leader defended his position thirty-eight times in a row until he was defeated by Fowler in one week, thanks to the lesser vampire's odd weapon of choice. After his demotion, the rage to find a better weapon ensued, leading to this situation.

Unlike the villagers in Town Zera, who could mostly use magic, many villagers in Noir Province were incapable of using magic. The use of runes, spatial magic items were understandable. The other items on their list looked somewhat similar to the top demands of those living in Town Zera.

Nodding in understanding, Rino decided to task some of the builders to create a small bank branch just before the Nightless Underpass for the villagers in Noir Province to visit. As the jobs in Nir Province were less complicated than some of the tasks in Town Zera, Rino wrote a letter to Erika, assigning her the task of comparing the differences in job scope and responsibilities between the two provinces. Rino wanted to adjust rates for claiming rewards between the two provinces to give locals in the province a greater benefit to trade for their desired rewards according to their respective 'income class'.

Naturally, these rates should be kept confidential, and Rino told the secretary to suggest some reliable names to work in the Noir Province bank branch when it was ready.

Rino took advantage of this speed bonus to test the time it took to travel from Town Zera to Noir Province to deliver his letter personally. It was also a good time for him to take a break and catch up with the events in Noir Province for a week before the new daily quest appeared.

Unsurprisingly, it took Rino only two-thirds the usual time he would have taken to reach Noir Province using the Nightless Underpass with the speed buff. He wasn't sure if anyone in Noir Province realised it yet, but he couldn't wait to share the good news with Kragami.

When he reached his teacher's hut, Kragami was already preparing tea for his student, who gave him short notice for the arrival. Rina could not leave her post in Spudville, but she sent her greetings through Kragami.

"I assume that you've been very busy in the past month," Kragami poured a steaming cup of green tea that Rino enjoyed.

The Ghost Cypress Tree had grown big enough to envelop all of Cypress County's magical swamp scenery under its leaves. The mana in the air was much denser, and Rino noticed a few new types of trees growing in the tree farm. He did not question what they were because he could sense that faint mana emitted from them. If there were mana mutated flowers, surely there could be mana mutated trees.

The tea washed down all of Rino's mental fatigue, and the lich sighed. "Indeed. So many things have happened, but just when I'm starting to get comfortable, I think it is time for me to move again."

The teacher and student spent a few minutes in silence to enjoy the peaceful scenery and tea.

"Are you travelling further from this swamp?"

Rino did not answer. He had no idea yet, but it was highly likely. This time, he wanted to create a place at the other edge of his empire as a strategic fortress against the harvesters. He learned a little about harvesters and their travelling pattern from the dwarves' stone plates, but he needed more information.

"A little," Rino nodded. "I was thinking of leaving Zerg in charge of Town Zera, but I feel like he might still need guidance despite having a brilliant mind. Could you take him as another of your students?"

Placing the cup down with a soft clink, Kragami turned back to Rino. 

"What if I don't wish to? I'm not getting any younger. I wish to retire soon."

Rino laughed. Retire? That was for the regular folks. For magicians like him and Kragami, it was a pipe dream.

"What are you talking about? I'm still waiting for you to become the head of magical research once I set up my empire with fully functioning research lab facilities."

They shared a long look before bursting out into laughter simultaneously. Retire? Not by a long shot.