Three weeks passed.
During these three weeks, Septimus sent fifty clones to Naples in two groups and added ten more clones to the production of white sugar.
He also sent 120 clones to fight in the underground arena, shocking Gaudas, who now looked at Septimus as a psychopath who adored bloodshed and slaughter.
That combat experience in the underground arena led to a notable improvement in the fighting skills of all the clones, including those training in the ludus. This pleasantly surprised Gaius. At first, he had not paid much attention to those thirty men, but their rapid improvement in combat ability left him favorably impressed by their talent.
Finally, since Septimus began producing sugar, he had been discreetly selling it in Naples at forty denarii per pound. A Roman pound is equivalent to about 335.9 grams, which generated enormous profits for him.
At such a high price, sugar could only be considered a luxury, intended exclusively for the Roman upper class accustomed to extravagance and excess.
In Rome, where the gap between rich and poor was so pronounced, for the Roman elite spending forty denarii or more on a pound of sugar was not considered expensive—one of the reasons the Gracchi brothers had wanted to implement reforms in Rome.
Having assigned fifty clones to trade and protect the sugar trade, Septimus had accumulated a fortune of more than seventy thousand denarii in just three weeks.
Today, Septimus, together with ten clones, planned to buy a villa outside Capua and move sugar production there.
Once the decision was made, Septimus and his clones met with the seller and agreed on a price of seventy-five thousand denarii for the villa, without slaves.
Observing the vast farmland of olive groves and grain fields, along with the comfortable and spacious residential area and the two warehouses used to store grain, Septimus felt satisfied with the villa. This would be the site of his first foundation. The villa was currently located two days from Capua—neither too close nor too far.
He first moved sugar production to the villa and established a guard force of three hundred clones dedicated to protecting it. He increased the number of clones dedicated to sugar production to one hundred and added another fifty clones to operate the villa, maintaining a total of four hundred and fifty clones.
Septimus also planned to buy twenty beautiful virgin slave girls in Naples to serve him in the residence as maids and occasional lovers. He could not always delegate household tasks to his own clones, and with his great wealth, maintaining a few lovers would help him enjoy this era.
Having set his goals, Septimus set out to fulfill them.
A month passed.
During this month, the number of clones at the villa increased to 450, which led Septimus to build wooden huts to house them. He also increased the number of clones assigned to trade in Naples from fifty to one hundred and allocated another one hundred clones to trade in Rome and Sicily, assigning two hundred clones to each location.
Septimus had no other choice; he had nowhere to house so many clones, and Rome, as the capital of the Republic, needed manpower, as did Sicily, being farther away.
In this month, Septimus also earned more than half a million denarii. White sugar had become a popular product among the Roman upper class, indispensable at Roman banquets and on elite tables.
Although the estimated profits from sugar sales aroused the greed of some influential figures in Rome, the discretion of the clones, combined with the unsettled political situation in the city—marked by social and political unrest among Rome's upper circles—kept matters in check.
At this point, Septimus planned to buy the surrounding villas and expand his own villa into a small walled town.
With the idea of increasing his clone force to half a legion to protect his assets, Septimus was aware that purchasing large quantities of construction materials would put him on the radar of Capua's upper class. His advantage lay in his ability to command a large number of clones loyal solely to him and hardened by combat.
With his cloning ability, his advantage in forming a legion was obvious. He only needed to pay for weapons, armor, and food; he did not need to pay wages or training costs. His clones were already skilled warriors and extensions of himself, so there was no need to pay them salaries— all clones were one.
With that idea in mind, Septimus calculated that the cost of weapons, armor, and food for his half legion would total 425,000 denarii.
Although it was an enormous sum, for anyone else the price to form half a legion would be more than double that amount. Septimus estimated that in another month he could gather both the money and the number of clones needed to form the half legion.
What Septimus did not realize was that his situation was already becoming known among the people of Capua. People were talking about a wealthy young man with a villa outside Capua who traded with different cities across Rome.
Two weeks passed.
Septimus formed his half legion, and of the three neighboring villas surrounding his own, he managed to purchase two.
The only thing that made him frown was the last villa. Although his clones approached politely with the intention of buying it at a price above its value, the slave in charge of that villa hurled insults at his clone and ordered him to leave, while Septimus pondered the situation.
Three beautiful young women with graceful figures entered the area Septimus used for work, carrying wine and fruit.
"Young master, we've come to feed you," said one of the young women, with firm hips and small breasts, as she sat on Septimus's lap and fed him fruit.
Another beautiful young woman with blonde hair and sharp features stood behind Septimus, massaging him, while the third, with black hair and well-proportioned hips and breasts, stood at his side holding a jug of wine as Septimus grabbed her hips.
In recent weeks, Septimus had been enjoying these twenty virgin beauties he had purchased for a large sum of money, giving them a place as his women and managers of his daily life.
As a modern person, Septimus did not consider himself a saint, but the treatment he gave his slave women was the best possible for that era.
Each day, Septimus enjoyed the company of five different slaves, rotating all twenty for his personal service.
While Septimus was enjoying this indulgence, he suddenly rose from the couch, dressed himself, frowned, and sighed.
"The troubles that are meant to come will come," Septimus said to himself as he stood and headed toward the villa's entrance.
At the entrance of the villa:
"I've come to inspect the villa's assets. Step aside," said Titus, the tax collector, angrily to the two clone guards at the entrance.
"We cannot allow you to enter the villa until we receive orders from the young master," one of the clone guards said coldly to Titus.
"I represent the fiscal authority of Rome. Step aside, or you'll end up crucified!" Titus shouted angrily at the clone guard.
Amid the shouting between the clone guard and Titus the tax collector, Septimus, along with six clone guards, headed toward the villa's entrance. Seeing the fat tax collector, he felt the urge to kill him, but restrained himself.
Staring coldly at the fat tax collector, Septimus asked, "What brings you here, Mr. Titus?"
The tax collector Titus frowned at Septimus's attitude but did not care. He had come today to squeeze money out of this young man.
"I've come to verify your assets in order to assess how much tax you must pay, young Septimus," Titus said.