Inside his room, Lark sat cross-legged on the floor. Since receiving his new body, he had not neglected mana training even once. Although this current vessel was severely lacking, with proper training, he knew that it could become powerful enough to perform Grand Scale Magic.

With his eyes closed, he began to move the small amount of mana in his body. He channeled it through different parts, making it circulate repeatedly. Only through this routine would his body become accustomed to the existence of mana. This simple and repetitive exercise would help expand his mana pool.

His breathing slowed and the sound of his surroundings disappeared. He could no longer hear the snowstorm outside. He could no longer hear his own soft breaths. He could no longer feel the carpet beneath him. All he was aware of was the serpentine-like flowing energy within his body—the erratically moving mana.

Minutes turned to hours. By the time Lark was done, his body was drenched in sweat despite the cold weather. His heart pounded loudly; his temples pulsated. Lark exhaled and stood. A smile slowly emerged on his face.

“This is quite fun.”

The sensation of slowly expanding his mana pool was something he had long forgotten. Back in his previous life, his body had attained such a colossal mana pool that it was no longer possible to expand it further.

Just when he was about to grab something to eat, three knocks sounded on the door and Gaston’s voice floated through.

“Young Master, the residents that answered the job offer have been gathered in the hall.”

That was fast. Lark said, “Good job.”

After leaving his room, Lark went toward the hall with the old butler. The guards and the servants greeted him. The residents, on the other hand, seemed nervous. Some were gawking at the paintings and furniture, while others were looking on the ground, seemingly afraid of the guards.

“Welcome,” said Lark. “I’m sure you know me already but let me introduce myself. I am the Lord of Blackstone Town—Lark Marcus.”

The residents bowed their heads. Lark quickly counted the number of applicants. Forty-eight. It was fewer than he had expected.

“I will cut straight to the point,” said Lark. “I am here to offer everyone a job—jobs that will feed you. Everyone will be well compensated.”

There was a small pause.

“How many of you know how to read and write?”

The commoners looked at each other. As expected, there were none.

Lark simply smiled. He had not really expected them to. After all, one would need at least a basic education. When he was about to continue his speech, to his surprise, a young woman raised her hand.

“I-I know how to read and write,” she said. Her blonde hair was frizzy and her face was covered with dirt. Her dress was moth-eaten. When she noticed everyone’s eyes were on her, she hunched her shoulders to appear smaller.

“Oh?” said Lark. His eyes glimmered with interest. “Could you tell me how you learned?”

There were a few seconds of hesitation. “I… once worked for a noble in Lion City. During that time, the mistress would let me accompany her to her studies. I learned how to read and write from that.”

Lark felt that she was not lying. He locked eyes with Gaston for a moment, and the old butler seemed to have realized his intent. He pulled the young woman from the crowd and let her stay near the young master.

“Name?” asked Lark.

“M-Melody, Young Master,” she replied.

He could see her trembling shoulders. Lark was aware of his vessel’s misdeeds. Sexual harassment, physical abuse, attempted murder. The previous owner of this body, despite being young, was a total demon. He could understand why she was afraid of someone like him. For now, all he could do was slowly change the perception of his subjects with the passage of time.

“If you pass my little test, I will grant you an important position later,” said Lark in a small voice, only loud enough for her to hear.

The young woman stared at him in bewilderment for a moment, before nodding once.

Lark cleared his throat. “Anyone else know how to read or write?” No one else raised their hands.

“What I need right now are three kinds of people: farmers, builders, and soldiers,” said Lark. “One month from now, winter will end. It will take at least two weeks before the snow fully melts. Once that happens, I want my farmers to work on cultivating the lands in the north and the west right away.”

Lark noticed that some of them wore confused looks.

“But, Young Master,” said one of the commoners. “The northern and western lands of Blackstone Town are dead. It’s impossible to grow crops there.”

“We have a solution for that,” said Lark.

By reading the documents left behind by the wealthy merchant, he had learned there was a certain area of the town where the residents dumped their night soil. This practice had been going on for more than a decade, and that single fact greatly pleased Lark. Once winter ended, he would assign some farmers to spread the natural compost to the northern and western land. Of course, there would always be a risk of disease when using human excreta, but Lark planned to secretly deal with it using magic. For now, he simply had to wait until winter ended before he could start cultivating the lands.

Lark clapped his hands once. “Next are the builders. It doesn’t matter if they are male or female. Under my supervision, you will be building houses at the eastern part of Blackstone Town. I plan to expand the border of the town at least twice during this year. Payment will be six silver coins per month. The houses built will be granted to those without a residence in Blackstone Town. Of course, it won’t be for free. You will be asked to pay a monthly rent of two silvers and twenty-five coppers. The construction project will start right away.”

This way, the number of homeless locals would be reduced and at the same time, Lark would be able to effectively circulate his money via the salary and rent. Since the residents would still be required to pay taxes later on, it was a win-win situation.

The commoners were clearly interested in the proposal. After all, the normal monthly income of a resident of Blackstone Town was around three silvers. The offered salary was twice that amount. Even if they were to pay for the rent, they would still have more than enough left to pay for food and other necessities. Moreover, they would have their own house to live in.

But there was one problem.

“But, Young Master,” said one of them. “You said that you plan to start construction this winter. The snow outside has piled up to our calves. We’ll freeze to death if we work in such weather.”

This was one of the reasons Lark immediately created heat stones after receiving the documents of Blackstone Town. He could not wait until winter ended before he started the construction project. Waiting a month and a half just because of the stupid snow would be a waste of time.

“I’ve asked some of the servants to install several heat stones near the eastern border of the town,” said Lark. “It will melt the snow and greatly reduce the cold. In addition, we will provide the workers with thick clothes and hot soup to combat the cold. Rest assured, no one will die of cold during the construction period.”

The commoners were puzzled by what heat stones were, but they nodded.

“Since the cultivation of the land will have to wait until the snow melts, the farmers will temporarily help the builders during the winter season. The payment will be the same, six silvers. The farmers, builders, and soldiers are eligible for a house. They only need to pay the appropriate rent.”

“Lastly, the soldiers,” said Lark. Out of the forty-eight gathered, only twenty-three were male. Lark secretly hoped a lot of them would join his army. “Only males are allowed to become soldiers. Soldiers will be paid eleven silvers and three meals a day, with a small piece of meat every four days. Also, I will allow them to stay at the cabin behind the mansion. It should be large enough to accommodate everyone.”

The announcement stirred the crowd. Judging by their expressions, they would like to jump on the offer. Eleven silvers was an absurd salary for commoners like them. Moreover, they would have a home once they were accepted. Even the old butler seemed shocked by the young master’s sudden declaration. Lark simply grinned at him and wordlessly told him to stay silent.

“Aside from Melody’s responsibility, I have clearly stated the conditions of employment for everyone,” said Lark. “I will give each of you half an hour to decide which profession you would like to choose. Of course, if you don’t want to work for me, that’s fine too.”

Half an hour later, Gaston gave Lark the results. Twenty-three were interested in farming, and seven in building. As expected, more locals chose the job that was most familiar to them. Lark decided that the farmers would alleviate the shortage of manpower for the construction during winter season. They could help move stones and wood, at least.

Fifteen men were interested in being soldiers. The remaining three locals chose to not accept any jobs. Lark reflected that his reputation was probably the deterrent. The offers themselves were magnanimous enough for this small town.

Lark clapped his hands once and everyone’s attention turned to him.

“I want all of the farmers and builders to gather in this hall tomorrow, same time,” said Lark. “We will start the construction of the eastern border immediately.”

Those that belonged to farming and construction bobbed their heads and replied, “Understood, Young Master!”

Lark turned toward the group of men on his left. Since they were homeless and the black famine had struck the kingdom, they were thin and weak. If not for the free porridge he had been giving out, they would have been skinnier.

“Now, for the soldiers I will be conducting a simple test,” said Lark. He signaled the servants and clay pots were handed out to each of the potential soldiers. “If you pass the test, I will allow you to enter the ranks of my personal army. All benefits will be given, of course. You have my word. If you fail my test, do not worry, you can still choose to work as a farmer or a builder.”

Lark directed the aspiring soldiers to fall in line. After receiving their pots, each of them was given three seeds. Lark scribbled down something on a parchment after asking the name of the person in front of him. To Melody’s surprise, Lark also asked her to participate in his test. The young woman fell in line and also received her pot and seeds.

After everyone received the seeds, Lark smiled. “Now, for the test. All of you will be tasked to cultivate those seeds. Make them grow—in four days.”

The aspiring soldiers were stunned and confused. They had applied to be a soldier, not a farmer. Why was the young master asking them to grow some seeds?

As though voicing everyone’s thoughts, one man asked, “Forgive my insolence, but is this little test necessary? We’re… We’re not farmers.”

Lark expected this question. He nodded. “Of course. Listen, if you are unable to make those three seeds grow, you will fail the test. Only those that have successfully made all three seeds grow into a small plant within the time period will be allowed to join my personal army.” He looked at Melody and said, “The same goes for you.” The young woman nodded, indicating that she understood. Lark cleared his throat. “Any questions?”

After a period of silence, he said, “Farmers and builders, you are required to gather here tomorrow. As for the soldiers, come back after four days. Bring your plants with you.”

With those words, he dismissed them from the hall.

Lark licked his lips and smiled. He was looking forward to the results four days from now.