System vs Rebirth

Chapter 1356: Being a Lord

”Please come here to register your citizenship.” The soldiers had created a stand to register all the villagers and, with the help of the village chief, the villagers were eager to be a part of the Ardagan family.

Meanwhile, Noel and Layla were staring at the land that had been trampled by the demons.

”To think you would be able to grasp everyoneʼs heart with just a single meal… I guess thatʼs what should be expected from the most popular lord in the four kingdoms.” Layla smirked, teasing Noel.

Noel shook his head. ”Grasping peopleʼs hearts, huh? I did no such thing. Iʼm merely granting people what they deserve.

”Meanwhile, Iʼm still the lord of this territory. If I know how many people are there in my territory, I will know how much tax I should expect and how many soldiers I can conscript.

”Thatʼs why this is just my own selfish action. Having unregistered villagers like this simply messes with the system Iʼve created.”

Laylaʼs smile turned wry. ”Even then, you have managed to give your people something that their previous lords canʼt give. I bet that these people migrated here because their previous lord was too much. Abandoning them, not caring about them, taxing them too much, and so on.”

”Yeah. While itʼs true that I can enrich myself by imposing higher taxes, it will make the people unhappy. At the same time, taxing them extremely low will also make the territory unable to function or develop properly.

”Hence, Iʼm merely giving them the same amount of tax as others, which is 40%. In exchange, weʼre granting them protection and developing the area as much as possible.

”It is easier since this territory is new and not a lot of unregistered villages are there.”

”40%, huh?” Layla crossed her arms. ”In the past, I wondered what the lords were doing with all those taxes. I had seen my fair share of bad lords who taxed people all the way to 70% or even 80% but did nothing to help the citizens. 40% is still a bit higher than the norms, which are 30-35%, but you have given them things that other lords donʼt.”

Noel nodded in agreement. ”Yes. I can always enrich myself with the rune technology, so I donʼt really need it. Besides, my strength alone can give me an unimaginable amount of wealth just by going into the demon territory.

”Hence, unlike other lords, wealth is the last thing of my worries. In exchange, it allows me to focus on enriching the citizens.

”If my tax is high, I simply have to make the citizens earn more so that when theyʼre taxed, they will still get more money compared to the previous one.

”Itʼs just… Once this land is developed properly, there will be some problems. Then again, at that time, there might be no need for quick development.” Noel shrugged.

”That is fair.” She nodded in understanding. ”Still, youʼre going to develop this area, right? Not just this village, but also the area around it?”

Noel nodded. ”Yes. Of course, the only thing that will be paid by the organizationʼs funds is the development of this village. On the other hand, the surrounding area will be developed by the familyʼs fund. Weʼve got quite a bit of cash, you know?”

”From the airship, huh?” Layla contemplated. ”I have seen a lot of lords, but at least you help people more than most lords. Besides, you are not as foolish as those selfless lords. They might be helping the children by giving a lot of things, but that makes their family unable to grow and help even more people. You should be proud of yourself.”

”Thank you.” Noel smiled. ”Well, people just want to live. I have personally enjoyed my leisure life in the past, so I know how amazing it was to live leisurely.

”At the same time, if people end up indulging themselves too much, the society will collapse.

”Itʼs really hard to govern a territory, let alone the kingdom. Still, Iʼm blessed because Iʼm only a lord instead of a king.

”As a lord, I can easily go around my territory and see what they need. Meanwhile, a king couldnʼt do such a thing. They could only assume how it was from the report and solved the problems accordingly.”

”Are you perhaps…” Layla paused for a moment. ”…criticizing the sovereign of this country?”

”Not at all.” Noel shook his head. ”Iʼm merely speaking a fact. Whether the reality is the same or not, itʼs not up to me to make that decision.”

Layla fell silent. ”I wonder if I should make a retirement home here for myself? Youʼre going to treat me well, right, Marquis?”

Noel chuckled. ”Say that after another two decades. You are barely older than me, so you still need to work hard for that long before saying such a thing.”

”Hahaha. Youʼre so merciless.” Layla chuckled. ”I hope that youʼre able to achieve your dream. Iʼm curious about how you will shape this land in the future. Please donʼt turn into those bad lords.”

”Who knows? People change continuously.” Noel shrugged. ”Still, I know that I wonʼt be able to do it if I donʼt survive.”

”The demon kings, huh?” Laylaʼs expression turned solemn.

”Yeah.”

”As commanded by the Moon Goddess, the Moon Temple will be on the humanity side and fight the demons to the very last man.”

”Thatʼs very reassuring. Though, I hope some of you can stay behind. If all of you end up dying out there, no one will be able to help the people after that bloody invasion.”

”Still, if we donʼt unleash everything we have, we might not be able to win against them.”

”Fair enough.” Noel chuckled.

”Thatʼs why Iʼm going to tell you this once. Donʼt tell anyone else.” Layla paused for a few seconds. ”The Moon Goddess wants me to become a spirit transcendence. She has promised to teach me various things and a path to become a spirit transcendence. At the very least, this will allow us to have a higher chance to succeed. However, this is a secret because the Moon Temple doesnʼt wish to be a force that will change the balance of a country.”

Noel didnʼt look surprised, considering Layla had one of the five divine artifacts. He simply said, ”Pardon? I didnʼt hear what you said. The wind was a bit too loud.”

Layla chuckled. ”Nothing. You must be hearing things. I didnʼt open my mouth this whole time.”