Renedia picked up the orange juice with her greasy little hands and bit the straw, "A famed sword is a famed sword for a reason, it has certain abilities."
"Forget it, just look for a swordsmith when the time comes, you have more important things to do," Sage said.
Having acquired that electrified greatsword, Sage planned to have Lily's sword reforged, so it could also emit an electric glow and live up to the name 'White Thunder'.
Originally, he had counted on Renedia, but that seemed a bit difficult, as the art of sword forging is indeed different from inventing and manufacturing.
Regardless of Haki nurturing, what matters in a sword is the material and craftsmanship.
Craftsmanship determines the sword's grade: Fifty Skillful Grade Blades, Twenty-one Great Grade Blades, Twelve Supreme Grade Blades, the grade is set when they are forged.
This is a field Renedia has never studied, so naturally, it came to a standstill.
After a month, most of the nobles within the Kingdom had been purged, and now, under the leadership of Sipher and Misty, his subordinates were scouring the hills to hunt down any leftover nobles to ensure their complete eradication.
The order was issued by Lily, because Sage wasn't too concerned, but Lily felt that they couldn't leave even the lowest-ranking nobles a chance; they had to be wiped out to maintain stability.
And now, it was time for Sage to implement the plan he had in mind.
"There's wood and minerals in our territory, get ready and take a group to start shipbuilding; we should get the shipbuilding industry up and running first."
"No problem!" Renedia bared her small tiger teeth and firmly patted her chest, "Leave it to me, I'll definitely build the safest ships!"
Shipbuilding, that was her dream, she couldn't possibly refuse.
For Sage, establishing the shipbuilding industry first and then selling through Doflamingo's channels meant they gained a hold on a core industry. As for material issues, use what's in the territory, and for what's not... well, go out and plunder!
He was a Pirate after all, plundering was natural.
If plundering wasn't an option, then that's when Doflamingo comes into play.
Sage thought of something else and asked Bella, "How's Old Ho's design coming along?"
"Master Hawkins... is still busy," Bella thought for a moment and said, "He should be designing your bedroom right now."
"Tell him to hurry up. After the bedroom, the dining room also needs changes, knock down walls where needed, I want a large banquet hall, and the grand hall ought to be revised, throw out that stone throne and replace it with the one from the ship."
Sage took a sip from the Gemstone Wine Glass and said.
"Yes, I'll go find Master Hawkins shortly," Bella replied with her head down.
"Also, you need to start acting like the head maid, how's the recruitment of maids going? Pasia, stop for a moment and grab a bite, same for you. I tasked you with searching for dancers here, how come it's still just you? Byron, Byron, stop looking around, I'm calling you! What are you doing with an orchestra alone, have you completed the task of finding musicians?"
So far, under his command, there was one maid, one dancer, and one musician... Though he had claimed a territory with a population of two million, it was far from lively, what a disgrace.
"We're already searching, Master Sage..."
The three responded weakly, bowing their heads in unison.
Indeed, following Sage had elevated their status; things they could only dream of before, now not only they dared to dream but had also materialized.
Key issue was, there wasn't anyone available.
They searched daily in the city and slowly understood that Sage's reputation was changing. Some thought he was a good person, but ultimately being a Pirate, they were fine living on their own, but unwilling to serve Sage or enter the Royal Palace...some felt it was like selling their children, a bit reluctant.
That was one issue.
The second issue...
Ordinary folks live hard lives, doing regular jobs is fine, but for things like serving, dancing, or music, some required good looks, others required a wealthy background.
And as for what could be acquired immediately...
"While purging nobles previously, we did encounter a batch, but I thought it was dangerous, so I killed them all," Lily said as she walked in, "Find some good prospects and train them."
"You..."
Sage sighed, "Forget it, it's your choice, have the people been settled?"
"Yes, they're settled now."
"Good, in that case, the Rainbow Gemstone Factory and the mines can be developed, Robby and his team are experts in mining, just let that kid take charge; training from a young age, they can become quite an asset when grown."
Sage clenched his fist, "Shipbuilding, gemstones, weapons, and plundering will be our core industries for development now!"
Lily nodded, then mentioned, "Sage, I encountered something at the port..."
She explained about the merchant, and Sage was momentarily stunned, then quickly furrowed his brows, "No way!"
Lily was puzzled, but still replied, "Okay, I'll go chase him away now..."
"How can it be for free! He must sell it! If he doesn't sell, wouldn't I be losing out!"
Sage took a swig of his drink and said to one of the female Pirates, "Go, find that merchant, and tell him to charge properly, I'll just collect taxes!"
"Sage?" Lily was puzzled.
"Why make them sell for money? Isn't free better, so we wouldn't lose?" Renedia tilted her little head too.
"Things given for free are the most terrifying."
Sage exclaimed, "First, you need to understand that Belly, this item, it's merely a tool for exchanging goods, in itself, it's worthless."