On a sunny afternoon, Roland fulfilled the promise he had made.
He enfeoffed Tigu Paine as a viscount, granting him a territory south of the Chishui River, facing the small town across the water. The area remains a dense forest, still undeveloped. To secure Tigu's surrender of self-governance rights, Roland promised to prioritize developing his lands in the future. Any ventures established there would grant the viscount and his descendants a share of the profits. Roland, of course, used his silver-tongued skills to describe this as a golden opportunity—no management required, just easy cash.
Tigoo readily agreed—after all, he had never been fond of such pursuits, and nothing seemed more thrilling to him than horseback combat. But now, with a daughter to care for, he turned his attention to hunting. Moreover, the estates in his former domain had long fallen into ruin. He therefore asked Prince to send men to sell the land east of the fortress, enabling the family to relocate to Border Town. Roland, of course, accepted without hesitation.
The other was Brian, to whom Roland conferred the title of Knight and asked whether he wished to claim land or serve in the army.
If one chooses land, they can no longer join the First Army of Border Town. To join the army, one must follow the same path as others—advance through military achievements to earn rewarded land. Without hesitation, Brian chose the latter.
This way, Roland also had a rough outline of the land use planning.
The area bounded by the Chishui River and the Juejing Mountains serves as residential land, with narrow sections measuring approximately three kilometers in width and wider stretches extending up to seven or eight kilometers. This land can subsequently be developed into residential communities or designated as reward land to be granted to officers upon promotion.
Across the Chishui River lie the future industrial and agricultural zones, with land stretching all the way to the southern border—though for now, it remains a vast expanse of forest, dotted with undulating hills in the distance. When the population reaches its peak, Roland will inevitably begin cultivating this woodland.
The hidden forest west of Border Town is another key development site. It contains diverse resources like timber, edible mushrooms, wildlife, and medicinal herbs. The timber serves not only construction and industrial purposes but also as fuel. The forest is vast beyond imagination—Roland had Lightning scout it, and even after flying thirty kilometers, the forest still seemed endless. Even if all the wood were used as firewood, it would burn for a long time.
The final frontier lay between the Hidden Forest and the Desolate Mountains—a no-man's land, a wilderness untouched by human feet. Judging by the mountain-forest boundary, the interstitial territory stretched far beyond the Kingdom of Graycastle. Roland's heart swelled with curiosity at the sight of this unclaimed land, yet he knew it was beyond his immediate concern. For now, Border Town's greatest need was to replenish its population.
Back at the Castle office, he summoned the artist Soroya.
"How's the recent collaboration with the town hall going?" "I've never painted this much in a single day," she said, looking significantly better than when we first met. "I'm almost done today. But leaving only a head-sized window while painting feels a bit odd." "To avoid scaring the townsfolk with your Magic Power," Prince chuckled, "they know witches exist, but close encounters could lead to accidents. We're using covert methods to keep them guessing. Things will get better." Soraya's photographic skills have revolutionized Roland's citizen registration system. The town hall has set aside a room as an archive to store residents' information. Similar to traditional household registers, each sheet contains details like names, ages, addresses, and family relationships. Barov had briefly compiled this data during winter, but the new records include expanded information. The biggest change? All household profiles now feature "color photos."
At Roland's request, the town hall erected a small, single-door room in the main hall, wrapped in hemp cloth with only a square window at the front for Soraya to see the other party. This way, when the Witch painted portraits inside, the other party wouldn't see the magic pen of God Qi.
To encourage residents to actively submit information, Roland proposed a simple solution: all applicants would receive a subsidy of ten Bronze Eagles, funded by the town hall.
"Today I called you here to ask you to draw something different," Roland said, laying out the pre-cut paper in front of Soraya.
The latter observed that all the pieces were identical in size, each measuring just half a palm and shaped like rectangles.
"What would you like me to draw?" "Some entertainment props," Roland said.
This idea had long been brewing in his mind. The witches had little to do besides practicing daily, and such a routine seemed rather monotonous. The same was true for Prince, especially before the snow melted, when his activities were confined to the castle. Thus, it became imperative to devise some entertainment and find a few witches to keep him company and ease his mind.
The simplest solution is naturally playing cards. However, soft ordinary paper isn't suitable for handheld use, and shuffling them is a hassle. Now that Soroya is available, he can naturally consider creating more advanced tools.
"Entertainment?" She tilted her head in thought, seemingly puzzled by the notion of drawing on a square sheet of paper. "Fine, you decide." "First, draw a soldier holding a heavy crossbow on this paper." "Imagination?" "Exactly. His armor, physique, age, and surroundings are all up to your imagination—just the crossbow." "Uh... I'll try." Soloya closed her eyes, lost in thought for a moment, until a rainbow-colored magic pen appeared in her hand.
Soon, a middle-aged man appeared as a crossbowman on the paper.
"Great," Roland exclaimed, "Let me think about what to draw next. Hmm... draw a small circle in the top-left corner and another in the center of the paper," he recalled the cards' designs mentally. "The first circle should have a white background with gold borders, and the second one an orange background with gold borders." After completing these, Roland asked her to add a number to the first circle and a bow-and-arrow symbol to the second.
The unique feature of Soroya's God ability is its ability to paint regardless of material. Thus, blank paper and patterned paper are equally effective for her, as the latter's patterns can seamlessly overlay the former, functioning like a layer overlay.
And so, a sleek "Bowsman Card" appeared before Roland.
"Is that all right?" she asked.
"This is just a single card. There are many similar ones to draw, and eventually they'll form a complete deck. I'll teach you how to play." Watching Soroya draw with her eyes closed, Roland felt a premonition rise in his heart—this kind of conversation might soon fill his castle. "What are you up to? Let's start with a deck of Quent cards!"