Episode 35 — The Lord’s Responsibility.
The reception room of the lord’s manor. The afternoon sun streaming through the window cast a cold light across the polished ebony table. The expressions of the four representatives sitting there were colder still.
Gustav, seated at the head, felt a flicker of anxiety deep inside. He was the lord of this land and held absolute command over military affairs. However, in this frontier of Felsen, the finer details of civil administration—daily life, trade, and the traditions of the craftsmen—depended heavily on the autonomy of these representatives.
(…It would be easy to force them into submission. But doing so would kill the city. Unless they choose the "future" of their own volition, this magnificent blueprint drawn by Mr. Zect will be reduced to nothing more than a flammable piece of parchment.)
Gustav wavered between his pride as an aristocrat and his caution as an administrator. Persuasion, not coercion. He reminded himself that this was the first step toward the "true governance" he had learned from Zect.
“…Now then, My Lord. Let us speak plainly.”
Edmon, the master of the Merchant Guild, spoke up, tapping the table lightly with his folding fan.
“Regarding this ‘New City’ fairy tale the commoners have been whispering about lately. Surely you aren't seriously suggesting that we abandon the current Felsen and rebuild the entire city on the neighboring plains?”
Horst, the representative of the farming villages, nodded with his eyes closed in agreement.
As the skeptical gazes intensified, Gustav remained composed and spread the “Felsen New City Vision Map”—finished by Zect after his all-nighter—across the full length of the table.
“…What is this?”
The first to lean in was Garam, the master craftsman. His instincts as a builder reacted to the extraordinary perfection of the drawing.
“This isn't just a row of buildings. The road widths, the slopes, the placement of structures… everything has a regularity to it. Lord Gustav, what is the meaning of this residential area’s size? A fifth of this should be more than enough for our current needs.”
“It is for the sake of ‘Maximum Capacity.’”
Gustav began his explanation, tracing the words Zect had spoken the night before—sleepy, yet full of conviction.
“The current Felsen is far too crowded; if a fire breaks out, there is no way to stop it. Sewage and daily flow lines are tangled, and the risk of plague has reached its limit. This map is a design to eradicate those risks by clearly separating residential, commercial, and industrial zones.
But that is not all. Garam, I intend to make Felsen the ‘Central Hub’—the most prosperous city in this entire frontier. Though these districts may seem excessively large now, in a few decades, they will be filled with homes. If we repeat the cycle of makeshift expansions, we will eventually hit the same dead-end we face today. That is why we are anticipating the ‘finished form’ from the start and leaving room for growth.”
“Hmph. I understand the logic. But My Lord,” Edmon laughed coldly. “What merchant is going to say ‘Yes, of course’ when told to close their current shop and move to an empty field?”
“Edmon, please do not misunderstand. This is not a demand for a one-sided eviction.”
Gustav straightened his posture, his voice gaining strength.
“The shops, workshops, and residences prepared in the New City will all be built under my responsibility as lord and provided to everyone free of charge. It is an ‘upgrade’ to a location that is larger, sturdier, and equipped with the latest facilities than what you have now. Since I am asking you to relinquish your current land for the public good, I have no intention of imposing a financial burden on you. This is ‘compensation’ for the relocation.”
“Provided… free of charge?”
As Edmon’s eyes widened in surprise, Gustav pointed to the outer edge of the map.
“Furthermore, look closely at the design of this ‘Gate.’ It depicts a massive gate with an unusually wide road stretching from it. Felsen’s current gate is narrow, making it difficult even for carriages to pass each other, causing massive congestion every time there is an entry inspection. But in this New City, the entry and exit flow lines are completely separated, and the main arterial roads are wide enough for three carriages to drive side-by-side. Logistic bottlenecks are the death of an economy. With this gate, your guild’s carriages will be able to transport goods three times faster than they do now.”
The moment he heard those words, Edmon’s fan stopped moving. He stared intently at the gate’s structure on the map, then slowly closed his fan and placed it on the table.
He picked up a coffee cup he hadn't touched until then, took a sip, and whispered quietly.
“…I see. It’s bitter, but not bad. Accelerating logistics is synonymous with a rain of silver coins. If this is realized, the scale of our trade will increase by an entire digit.”
“Furthermore, Horst,” Gustav turned his gaze to the farming representative.
“The New City market is directly connected to the transport route from the villages. You will no longer have to push heavy carts through narrow alleys. The shopping district roads are wide, designed to allow customers to circulate easily. More citizens will see your produce while it is still fresh. If distribution becomes dramatically smoother, the village’s revenue should stabilize.”
Horst’s stiff expression softened slightly. He remembered how the village youths often complained that their vegetables were bruised by the muddy, poor roads and the cramped market.
“…But Lord Gustav. Such a massive relocation—what will become of the land after the eviction?”
To that question, Gustav gave a fearless smile.
“This is not a simple migration. It is a ‘Phase-based Integration.’ First, we build the New City with perfect infrastructure on the adjacent empty land and invite you all there free of charge. Then, after the relocation is complete—we will completely dismantle the empty Old Town and redevelop it as an area with the latest fire prevention facilities and plazas. Ultimately, we will integrate the new and old areas, transforming this into the largest metropolis in the territory, several times its current size. Your shops will also be guaranteed the right to return to the redeveloped area, which will then be an even more prime location, after you have built your reputation in the New City.”
A shock beyond words rippled through the representatives. Marta, the representative of the citizen’s union, pointed to a part of the map with a shudder. “This ‘Water Utility’… it isn't just for bringing water to each home. It looks like there are different pipes running underground. What is this?”
“Marta, that is the ‘Sewage System.’ It carries waste underground, collecting it in one place for treatment. This will eliminate the foul stench of the alleys in summer and dramatically suppress the breeding of mosquitoes and rats that carry plague.”
Marta’s eyes flew open, and she traced the drawing with trembling fingers. As a doctor, she had struggled for years with contamination issues, and here was an idea to solve them through the very structure of the city.
“…Magnificent. If this is realized, the number of lives saved will be beyond counting.”
“Exactly. By turning a tap, clean water will be available at any time. …However, we will be collecting a ‘water bill’ for its management cost.”
“Charging for water?!” Edmon raised his voice again.
“Water is a blessing from the heavens! The commoners will never accept the lord managing it and demanding payment in return!”
“We are not taking anything away; the citizens are buying ‘time’ and ‘health’!”
Gustav’s voice echoed through the room.
“With the time saved from hauling water, craftsmen can make more goods, and merchants can travel further. With less illness, the sorrow of losing family and the burden of medical care will decrease. And—for those who absolutely do not wish to pay, ‘public water stations’ will be available in the park. It is not mandatory. The residents are free to choose which lifestyle they prefer.”
A heavy silence followed. The fact that it was not mandatory, and above all, the fact that the map before them was calculated to an almost obsessive degree for the "ease of the residents."
“…I doubt anyone who has known the ease of turning a tap will bother walking to the park with a bucket,” Edmon laughed weakly, sinking deep into his chair. “It seems even that was anticipated by the one who drew this map.”
“…Understood. If we are allowed to build it according to this drawing, I want to try it, for the sake of a craftsman’s pride,” Garam declared firmly, and the other representatives nodded, their expectations for the future now far outweighing their anxieties.
After the representatives departed, Gustav took a long, deep breath in the now-quiet reception room.
His trembling fingertips were now warm. He had succeeded in connecting with them through words and mutual benefit, rather than force. Along with that sense of relief, a flame of irrepressible hope for the construction of the "Utopia" burned in his chest.
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