During the following days, Blackstone Town became lively. Despite the falling snow, people were frequently seen outside their homes, harvesting the poisonous weeds on the ground. Since those plants were ubiquitous, fighting over them rarely happened.

As Lark looked through the window of his room, he felt a sense of satisfaction. After learning he was the lord of this territory, the first thing he’d decided was to restore the order of the town. And to do that, the first step was to satiate the hunger of his people. After all, starving men were no different from mindless beasts. It would be unwise to hand important jobs to such people.

Someone knocked and his door creaked open. Gaston entered and handed him a stack of papers.

“Young Master, these are the files and records for Blackstone Town.”

He gazed inquisitively at the young noble. He had never known that a time would come when the young master would be interested in actually governing the place. And to his utter surprise, the young master had asked him to collect all available documents related to the town.

The stack of papers was as thick as a forearm. A scholar would normally take a week to absorb what was written inside. However, the young master merely scanned each page. His eyes swiftly moved through each document, reading them quickly using magic.

After an hour, Lark tossed the last document onto the top of the table. He nodded to himself and held his chin. Next, he pulled out a quill and drew a complex symbol on a blank parchment.

“I have a clear idea of the town’s status now,” said Lark. “Gaston, I want you to order the mason living in the town to create a hundred stone tablets for me.” He handed the old butler the parchment. “Tell him to carve these symbols on the tablets. For the size, half an arm’s length for both the height and width should do. Make it as thick as a finger.”

The butler was confused. “Young Master, a stone tablet of that size would cost us two to three silver coins each. I don’t think it’s wise to spend on unnecessary things—”

“It’s not unnecessary,” said Lark. He sat on his chair and sipped some wine. “Those things will enable my subjects to survive through the winter, at the very least.”

“Young Master… I don’t understand,” said Gaston.

“There’s no need for you to understand,” said Lark bluntly. “Just do it.”

Gaston creased his brow. “I will obey.”

After the old butler left the room, Lark stood and took a document from the stacked papers. Written inside was the number of households and families in Blackstone Town.

“Got to hand it to the merchant that lived here before,” said Lark. The file was around a year old, but it should be good enough to start with. “He sure made work easier for me. He even created a census of the families living here.”

Lark still had no idea why the second son of the powerful Marcus family was sent to this decrepit town, but since this place was a granted territory, he might as well nurture it. His current body was still young, and despite the very low mana pool, there would still be enough room for it to grow. It would probably take a few more years before he could perform Grand Scale Magic as he had before.

***

After three days, the stone tablets were finally finished. To call them stone tablets was a bit of an overstatement. They more closely resembled mud than stone. Their brown finish reminded Lark of the uneven ground in the outskirts of the Magic Empire.

Lark summoned the servants in the hall. Before everyone’s gaze, he announced, “I want these tablets to be strategically placed in between houses.”

“As for their use,” said Lark. He took out a pouch filled with golden sand. “These are basically heat stones. They’ll adjust their temperature accordingly, maintaining an optimal temperature in a limited radius. Since this town is small, a hundred stones should be enough.”

Gaston stared at the golden sand the young master held in his hand. If he was not mistaken, that was gold dust, a raw material frequently used to create golden thread.

The young master surely wouldn’t…

Before Gaston could react, Lark had sprinkled some gold dust on the symbols carved on the stone tablets. He then placed a palm on the center of the symbol. Soon, the hexagram glowed a golden color, before vanishing moments after.

After Lark was on his third tablet, Gaston finally managed to blurt out his protests.

“Young Master, that is gold dust. To use it like that…” squealed Gaston. He shuddered seeing the gold dust disappear before his eyes. It was like throwing away gold coins.

Lark chuckled. “Relax. What’s the use of golden thread anyway? It won’t raise the productivity of my people. With these heat stones, working during winter will no longer be a problem.”

As time went on, Gaston realized that the young master was becoming more and more eccentric. Where did the hedonistic, mischievous, and arrogant young master go? Old as he may be, Gaston could see the young master had changed.

Soon, all of the tablets were completed. Lark nodded, satisfied with his work. Gaston noticed that the temperature inside the manor had changed. It was as though summer had arrived.

“Nice and warm, isn’t it?” Lark grinned. “The advantage of gold dust is that even after a long time, the magic won’t easily fade. That’s why gold dust is one of the catalysts for performing Grand Scale Magic. If it was High Rank Magic, the effect would not last long with such poor materials.”

Lark said to the butler, “The heat stones will melt the snow within a certain radius. Place them about thirty meters apart. Just to be safe, bury them half a meter deep into the ground. Also, issue a decree that anyone who destroys or steals them will be severely punished.”

Seeing his resolute expression, Gaston nodded. “As you wish, Young Master. I will ask the servants to install them throughout the town.”

Lark was smiling. “According to the documents, there’re around sixty or seventy residents currently homeless. Spread the news: Lark of the Marcus family is willing to give them free food and shelter in exchange for their service.”

Gaston was startled. “But, Young Master! That’s absurd. We cannot support such a large number of servants.”

After reading the documents, Lark had learned that he still had around four hundred gold coins left in the treasury. It was probably a small amount compared to the other nobles, but in this small town, it would be enough to hire a large number of people.

Lark decided it would be better to circulate the money than let it stay inside his treasury. After all, as the lord of this town, it would eventually all come back to him in taxes. Right now, his most important asset was not the gold coins but the people. In this town that did not even have a thousand residents, it would be foolish to let them die from hunger and the cold.

He had seen the barren land they passed when he rode in the carriage. According to Gaston, those lands were nonarable. Lark shook his head when he learned that the vast land surrounding the town was not being fully utilized.

According to the farmers, only a small portion of it was suitable for growing wheat. Lark knew, though, that was utter bullshit born from ignorance.

Lark was confident it would be possible to convert those so-called nonarable lands into an abundant wheat field. It would take time, but it would increase the growth of his territory.

And right now, those jobless and homeless residents were the perfect candidates for the job.