Chapter 68
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Chapter 68: Development of the New Southern District Begins!
For Isabella, it had been a night filled with conspiracies and anxiety, but eventually, it passed.
Although she had immediately torn up the letters and thrown them into the river, deep down, she knew that the intelligence in her mind was the most important thing.
Without Lolth suddenly rushing in to extract that intelligence from her mind and leaving just as quickly, without waking up to find Lolth smiling at her bedside, without realizing she had been unconscious for an entire month, and without knowing that the Holy Alliance’s counterattack had failed due to her defeat…
When Isabella finally woke and opened her eyes, she found herself in a Ryman-style interrogation room.
However, breakfast—imbued with “magical” and “hypnotic” properties—was already set on the table.
To avoid raising Lolth’s suspicions about discovering the secret of the food, Isabella decided to eat breakfast as usual.
She believed she could resist, but the common people might not.
After Lolth’s actions the day before, the residents of Hillenbrand Town were already blinded by the succubus. Eating this soul-corroding food would surely brainwash them into puppets, much like the elf!
Isabella had to stop all of this from happening.
With this thought, she devoured the unfamiliar egg and ham sandwich.
When she left the room, she came face-to-face with the despicable succubus and Tina, who, as always, was following closely behind her.
It was early in the morning, and Lolth had just returned from outside the torture tower after repairing the Space Magic Array.
“Today’s breakfast isn’t Ryman’s specialty, but a new style… Um, how does it feel?” Lolth greeted Isabella as if nothing had happened.
Obviously, she hadn’t noticed that a mercenary had come in and out of the magic array.
“It’s very delicious,” Isabella replied stiffly, bearing the insult with patience.
“As long as you like it,” Lolth said optimistically. “Let’s go. Today we’ll announce in the town that the demon lord’s funds have arrived, and it’s time to recruit people!”
The efficient stonemasons and sculptors from Hillenbrand had received their final payment of a silver coin the day before, and the lord had personally prepared something delicious for them. Enthusiastically, they recruited two carpenters and, together, helped Lolth set up the bulletin board.
So, instead of just using a large horn to call for workers, Lolth now had the option to post notices announcing the need for new recruits.
Once again, they found themselves in the familiar surroundings of the town square, where Lolth had placed the recruitment notices.
A large sheet of paper was pinned to the brand-new wooden bulletin board:
“Hiring Notice for the Hillenbrand Town Southern New Development Zone Construction Project:
Currently seeking several young residents with experience in construction, farming, and good physical strength.
The job includes building plantations, orchards, breeding grounds, and related facilities.
The project will last around three to four weeks, with a payment of three silver coins per week, including three meals a day. Payment will be settled on a weekly basis for any portion of a week worked.
Those who work efficiently will receive an extra bonus of five silver coins, along with other mysterious rewards at the end of the project.
Interested individuals can apply at the Southern New Development Zone.
Note: Lord Lolth has cleared the monsters from the southern forests. In case of any monster attacks, the Lord promises to compensate the victim and their family with ten gold coins.”
At the bottom of the notice was a map, marked with a red border, indicating the location of the “Southern New Development Zone.”
It was the area in the southern part of the town, almost as large as Hillenbrand Town itself, but abandoned due to monster attacks. It even included forests and mountains.
Considering that some residents might not be able to read, Lolth had recorded a message in the common language using a horn and had it hung up to play on repeat.
The effect of this promotion was immediate and significant.
Soon, many residents were once again drawn by Lolth’s voice and noticed the first notice on the bulletin board.
And then…
“Three silver coins a week… My goodness, the trusted followers of noble lords, senior servants of wealthy merchants in town, also receive similar wages, right?”
You see, with just ten silver coins, you could hire a professional adventurer to do a less risky task for you!
These ordinary residents of Hillenbrand Town, who had no extraordinary powers, had never imagined such a generous reward.
Yesterday, finding two silver coins was considered a stroke of great luck, but when they were handed out to those others, some people felt it was a bit unfair.
Now it seemed that following this generous and selfless lord would become a normal thing!
Even those who had been worried about monsters were tempted by the promise of ten gold coins.
Some extreme individuals even hoped that Lolth had missed a few monsters so they could fight them for themselves.
Of course, those were only a few idle thoughts, as three silver coins in payment was already very generous!
Though Hillenbrand Town had limited options for buying things and places to spend money, the residents would often travel to nearby cities in the Qinma Principality and Lauren Duchy to shop.
Three silver coins had allowed many of them to think about buying things they could only dream of before!
Of course, these residents were not yet aware that, in the future, there would be many places in Hillenbrand Town where they could “spend” their money.
Soon, the residents of cities in those kingdoms would need to come all the way to Hillenbrand Town to shop!
However, in the early days of development in the Southern New Development Zone, Lolth chose not to start new projects. Instead, she expanded and moved her favorite farming and ranching fields outdoors.
It was simply too expensive to grow crops and raise animals in the tower!
The “interrogation room” didn’t need to be moved, and the torture tower would continue to serve as her “living area” and “warehouse.”
Because of this, the first projects Lolth wanted to develop were those related to farming, forestry, fishing, and animal husbandry. These were relatively simple to build.
After posting the notice, Lolth left with Tina and Isabella to the edge of the Southern New Development Zone, where she set up a small table and three stools, waiting for the residents to arrive.
Just as everything was set up, before she could even sit comfortably, a strong man dashed out from the town.
His speed was so fast that Lolth almost suspected he had been teleported there.
“Master Lolth, I’m here to apply for the job!”
The man had just run out of town and, seeing Lolth from a distance, shouted urgently.
Though he was the first to rush out of town, he still seemed worried about being late.
But soon, Lolth understood why he was so anxious.
Because, moments later, a large group of people surged out of the town behind him.
About a hundred people, like a marathon starting, rushed toward her!
