Chapter 12 Census of Flower Town

The Elfworm had yet to hatch, so Liszt couldn't afford to wait idly here. After arranging for the guards, he returned to the castle. Flower Town's only connection to the outside world was a single road that cut through Thorns Ridge, and there was very little traffic along it.

Only when the Earl came to collect taxes would merchant caravans accompany the knights on their journey.

Now that Flower Town belonged to Liszt, with no one coming to collect taxes, the merchants likely wouldn't bother visiting anymore. Thus, no one would have any designs on the Elfworm.

As for the residents of Flower Town, they dared not even entertain such thoughts.

The Elfworm was nature's darling, and it would only form a master-slave contract with humans who possessed magical abilities—perhaps it could also bond with magical beasts, but those creatures had no such inclination.

Magic, referring to both Battle Aura and spells, manifests differently but shares the same essence.

In Flower Town, only three individuals possess magic: Liszt, Marcus, and Gort. Both Marcus and Gort have established reputations on Coral Island; even if they were to steal the Elf Worm, they couldn't escape the consequences. On Coral Island, no one dares to touch anything belonging to the Tulip Family, of which Liszt is a member.

Hence, there's no need to worry about the Peanut Elf Worm's safety.

He entered his study, shut the door, and focused for a moment, awaiting the appearance of the smoke. Through repeated experimentation, he had fully grasped the pattern of its manifestation. All he needed now was a calm mind to witness it.

Sure enough, it happened just as expected.

One minute later.

Distorted serpentine runes appeared before his eyes.

"Mission accomplished. Reward: Peanut Elf Bug."

"Just as I expected, the Peanut Elf was the reward from the previous mission… This smoke mission doesn't seem to conjure rewards out of thin air; they must already exist in reality or be about to happen… The improvement of my Aura might be the result of my accumulated efforts, and the Peanut Bug was meant to appear anyway."

Without the smoke mission, these rewards would likely have gone to waste.

He would probably still be an Apprentice Knight, and the Peanut Bug would have quietly died.

At this moment, new content had already appeared in the twisted smoke runes.

"Mission: How can a territory's lord not know the number of his subjects? Conduct a census of the territory to understand the basic situation of its residents. Reward: A new species of tulip."

"A census? Isn't that what I'm planning to do? It seems like the smoke missions update their content based on my actual circumstances… A new species of tulip, what does that mean? Is it offering me a magical potion?" Liszt guessed.

The Tulip Family's prosperity was due to the tulips themselves.

Tulips are more than just flowers; they are magical herbs with enchanting properties. These herbs play a crucial role in supporting the cultivation of magic and martial energy. Liszt recalled that the highest-quality tulip he knew could fetch an astronomical price of ten gold coins.

A new variety of tulips with magical properties would undoubtedly be a game-changer for revitalizing the economy.

Even if they don't possess magical qualities, contributing them to Tulip Castle would allow the family's Grand Tulip Elf to assimilate and enhance its growth and development potential.

"So, next on the agenda is to vigorously push for a census! A town with a population of merely a thousand or two shouldn't pose any significant challenges. Gort has truly disappointed me. If necessary, I'll oversee it personally."

A population of a thousand or two was not much larger than a school back in Liszt's hometown. As someone who had served as the Student Council President, Liszt had confidence in his abilities.

...

But for Gort, this was an incredibly daunting task.

During the handover, he had inquired about the previous administrative officer, a knight sent by the Earl. This knight's sole responsibility in Flower Town was collecting taxes.

The knight didn't concern himself with anything else, nor did he visit Flower Town often. Instead, he delegated the management to a squire.

The squire, too, only carried out one duty here—collecting taxes, and nothing else.

The taxation of Flower Town comprised peanuts, milk, wheat, barley, oats, tomatoes, and tulips. The Earl of Coral Island collected taxes every three months, taking the lion's share of the meager agricultural yields from Flower Town. After the knights had done their duty, they paid no further attention to the remote village. How could it compare to the bustling Coral City?

Thus, Gort sat in the dilapidated town office, staring at his mere four clerks and six patrolmen, feeling that conducting a census was an impossible task.

"You lot can't possibly be illiterate, can you? There isn't a single literate person in this entire town?"

One of the clerks, looking embarrassed, replied, "My lord, there's no school in our little town, and we've never ventured outside its borders..."

A patrolman with a red, bulbous nose interjected, "Perhaps Old Cobbler knows how to read. He came from another island, and I've seen a book at his place, a thick tome like this. I even flipped through it once; it had pictures of tiny people inside. But Old Cobbler beat me up. He's blind, but he makes his leather shoes really sturdy, and he hits hard too."

Gort dismissed the thought of Old Cobbler without a second thought.

Since there were no literate folk, he said, "Surely you know how to count, right? Each of you go to one village and count the number of households and people for me!"

This should have been a simple task, but after a day passed, Gort was on the verge of losing his mind when the clerks and patrolmen returned with their report.

He bellowed, "What? Peanut Village has 18 households and 56 people? Mr. Teacup, are you trying to make a mockery of me? !"

Mr. Teacup, whose full name was David Teacup, was a clerk with a perplexed look on his face. "My lord, I don't have them. I've counted several times, but I'm not sure if they're correct; the numbers differ each time."

Peanut Village consisted of 23 households and 92 people – this was the figure Gort had personally counted when Liszt came to their aid in the peanut fields.

He couldn't fathom how David Teacup could have come up with 18 households and 56 people.

There was no need to ponder.

The numbers for the other villages were undoubtedly fabricated as well.

With a wave of his hand, Gort said weakly, "Enough, no more reporting. Keep those numbers for your own amusement. Go fetch my horse, I need to see Baron Liszt at the castle."

Upon arriving at the castle, Gort exaggerated his woes to Liszt. "You have no idea, those clerks and patrolmen can't even count from one to ten properly! They're completely unreliable for a census. Liszt, I've already written a letter and am just waiting to send it. Perhaps we can conduct the census after they arrive."

"When will that be?"

"Patience, Liszt, we have plenty of time, don't we?"

"I can't afford to wait," Liszt tapped the table with his finger. "Mr. Carter, who in the castle is literate?"

Carter bowed slightly and said, "My lord, I can write and read letters. So can Thomas, and I believe Mrs. Mo Sen should be able to as well."

"In that case, please ask Mrs. Mo Sen and Thomas to come over. Also, summon Teacher Marcus and my four squire knights, I recall they can write too."

When everyone had gathered, Liszt announced, "Now, let's set aside our current tasks and assist me in conducting a census of the population in Flower Town. Each of us will be responsible for one village – Mushroom Village, Peanut Village, Tomato Village, Barley Village, Wheat Village, along with the Flower Farm and Dairy Farm."