Once more, the court gathers, with slightly less people than before. I see that Asmodeus might have had some followers among the crowd after all.

Well, having around fifty people is still a large number, especially since thinning the herd to this point has left only the best of the best. Many people here that are still present possess a kind of presence, an aura that is indicative of a great power.

I have to remember that this nation is forged out of the corpses of three. Leading even one kingdom is an ordeal made to test people and these guys are the survivors of decades conflict and strife.

Smirking with pride as I took my rightful seat once more, I raised my hand and ended the recess. "Court is in session once more. Now then, where were we?"

An elderly man approached me, his wizardly hat and robe swaying gently as he held onto his staff for dear life. He looked like he was eighty, but these are medieval times, so he might as well be twenty years younger. With a sigh and before he could utter a word, I threw the youth spell at the old man, the magic making him flich, wince and then look at his elderly hand with wide eyes. "W-what a g-gift.."

He swallowed down hard, seemingly somehow understanding the nature of the spell I just cast on him. Then again, he is a druid, so it's likely that he has a greater understanding of life than most?

"T-thank you, your majesty!" He knelt down as others looked on in surprise, shock and confusion. A young woman with an elfish appearance and rich, green hair rushed to his side. "Grandpa! You shouldn't kneel as roughly as that! You're going to break your hip!"

Her worried tone broke apart as she realised that the old man was smiling rather than being in great pain. "I'll be fine, Brenda." Riding from his kneeling position with ease, he bowed once more.

"Speak." Despite my apparent good deed, my tone betrayed my annoyance.

Clearing his throat, the old man finally spoke. "My name is Fibrus Hrusteniac, your majesty. As you know, I am the highest authority of nature magic from the north. And as I was trying to explain before the former lord of the north interrupted us, I believe that I could be of great help to you with the construction of your Imperial Granaries."

A nod was offered to the elderly man before I answered. "Yes. Your students and colleagues would be useful in the field and you would likely make for a good researcher for agricultural magic."

"A researcher, your majesty?" He blinked in confusion that was shared by most of the court.

Wait.

Does this kingdom not have people researching new technology and magic? "You will be under the crown's employ and be directly responsible for the development of new discoveries that can aid the Kingdoms agricultural sector. Even once we survive this winter, we will still want to increase the amount of people that the continent can properly sustain so that future generations may prosper and grow. Since the land is inhospitable and hard, magic will surely he required to break and tame it to suit our needs."

"B-break and t-tame the land?!.. I am not sure if I can do that, my lord. It goes against creeds and oaths." I let out a sigh as the old man quivered. "Then I will find someone else for the position. In the meantime, you will aid the growth of the Granaries."

He swallowed hard and and nodded. "As you wish, your majesty but... What do you wish of me, exactly?"

Grimacing, I looked around the court. "I've heard that most cities in our kingdom have a farmer's guild. Is there anyone here with contacts within these guilds?"

Most of the nobility shared my expression, not even willing to consider being in contact with such dirty peasantry. And who could blame them? The few peasants that I've had the unfortunate luck to meet had an abhorrent stench to them and radiated stupidity.

Hmmm, I'll have to do something about the level of education in Exuperia eventually...

A hardy man wearing a noble suit shakily walked down from the court seats and to the center, clearly in discomfort from his clothing. "I-uh. H-hello.. uhm.. I am Sharon Harrowfield. The former guildmaster of the farmers around the capital, your majesty..."

Murmurs of disgust and discontent flew around the court as I could help darkening my own expression, causing the man to shake and the elder next to him to lightly protect his face with his staff, likely expecting blood. Then, I let out a sigh. "The next time you want to address me, you will wait until I allow you to speak, Harrowfield. Your suspected usefullness is the only reason why you aren't dead yet."

The man of obviously ignoble birth shook and instantly bowed his head, remaining decidedly quiet. After waiting for a few moments to see if he is going to break, I nodded my head in satisfaction. "You may continue."

With a deep breath, he did as ordered, with a stutter. "A-ah. I a-apologize for my l-lack of ma-manners, your majesty!"

He then slapped himself with both hands and strengthened his posture before adopting a rather spirited expression, despite himself.

Oho~?

Looks like he isn't completely spineless after all. "As I was saying, I have the connections you require, your majesty. My cousin took over as guildmaster once I bought my noble title and sold my fields to him."

"Good. Then I assume that you would be able to select the best seeds for our crops and advise Lord Hrusteniac on matters of farming. You two will discuss the current state of farming within the kingdom and present the ways you believe it could be improved to me on an official document as well as present it to the court. I trust that between the two of you, you shall be able to find ways both magical and otherwise." My words sent both men into a spiral of emotion, which they both quickly controlled.

Then they turned towards one another and shook the others hand. "Let us hope that our work together will be fruitful." The old man said with a forced smile.

"Likewise, your lordship." Sharon replied equally.

I let out a massive sigh. "Look, this is your job from now on. I am not asking you two to get along, but the lives of too many people are at stake to allow for even a smidgeon of drama. It is my hope that you both understand this or else, others will."

They both offered only grim nods in response.

With a bow, Sharon spoke, his tone bearing much more respect than before. "Your majesty... What you mentioned before about the seeds... Did you perhaps mean to perform a seed selection?"

Quirking an eyebrow at him, I replied. "Uh, yes? Why do you ask? Is this not obvious?"

He coughed into his fist. "Your majesty, seed selection is a technique employed by farmers from off continent but not on Terravest. Our people do not have the wealth to throw away the bad seeds as every crop is precious."

"And in doing so, you allow weak seed to spread it's weakness into the next generation of crops. If you did this from the start, we would likely have stronger, more yieldfull fields by now!" My reply sounded arrogant, even to myself.

"Though I suppose it couldn't be helped. A lot more people would starve this way..." I sighed and nodded, largely to myself.

"The Granaries will handle only the finest seeds. They must be healthy and strong, with as much inherent value as possible!" The nobles murmured in agreement with me, though the ambitious peasant looked largely displeased. "As you wish, your majesty."

Then I turned to my steward. "Percival, I need someone to handle the construction efforts and administrate the workers."

He instantly bowed with a confident smirk. "You can count on me, your majesty! I have connections with several master builders. From across the kingdom, though I will require further details as to what exactly you want built."

"A large dome out of material that prevents heat from escaping and cold from getting inside." He blinked and nodded. "I shall see to it that a design is drawn as soon as possible!"

A nod was his answer as I addressed the court once more. "Now that this is done, I still require volunteer's from the nobles among you who would take responsibility for the Granaries, allow for their construction in your lands as well as the obligation to protect these valued sites in exchange for benefits from the crown!"

This caught everyone's attention. "However, in order to qualify, you must possess decent skill in stewardship as well as a county with a level of military might that can protect it!"

Then I sat back down, having subconsciously risen from my seat just moments prior. "You may deliver your applications to my Steward. The four of you that are chosen for this role with be granted a special title, as well as one thousand gold coins worth of funding. The amount of people that the granaries will require to function is great, so the crown will handle a part of the monthly cost. However, should you decide to shoulder the costs as well, there will be great benefits in it for you, perhaps even total tax exemption!"

There were many different expressions within the crowd, some ambitious lord's were giddy while others seemed to scoff. Katrins hum caught my attention as I turned my head to the side. "Something wrong, Katrin?"

She blinked and flushed crimson, her thoughtful trance being broken. "U-uh, I n-no.. uhm, I just noticed you said four lord's, not five.. but there are five red circles on the map?"

Well now, that is a remarkably adorable response. It made me chuckle and the girl to blush even harder. "That is because the fifth and final granary will be directly under my control, Lady Katrin."

This seemed to undo some of the gathered confusion as many people seemed to thank Katrin for her sharpness, while others cursed her for her seeming capacity to speak freely.

"I wish to ask something; how does this kingdom handle progress? Do you just waiting until someone makes something that becomes popular enough for everyone to use it?" They blinked in confusion.

"Well, how else would be act towards it? It is not as if one can breed genius, sire." Percival interjected with a quirked eyebrow as I snorted.

"We hire the brightest minds of the nation as researchers and have them brainstorm ways for the land to be improved?" Another spree of blinks as a magister answered. "Indeed. The north has such a group of people already. They constantly create new spells for use in everyday life as well as professions."

Truth nodded wisely. "The church does as well, in a way. Many of our prayers are discovered not by champions but by the understandings the minor priests reach during personal penance."

"Then we shall no longer allow nature to guide our course. Our growth and prosperity is only as plausible as the amount of opportunities we possess. And the more one understands, the greater the amount of possibilities that they see." Much of the court offered seemingly wizened nods.

"So what are we to do, your majesty?" Percival himself appeared giddy at this, for some reason.

"For now, we shall order the gathering of the most intelligent people within the lands and test them for their capacity. Then we shall put the winners to work." I hummed in fake thought.

"Alas, this is not a sustainable way to do things. We need to establish a system of education for everyone." Mostly every noble instantly raised their voice in protest, scarce a very chosen few.

Alas, this is to be expected.

My only hope is that I don't kill too many of these people as I listen to their complaints.

Well, I should focus on establishing a clear difference between the education of peasantry and nobility.

God's... Let us hope that this all will be resolved quickly!