Book 12: Chapter 2
The temperature in the North started to warm up again. I was very grateful to Freya. To be honest, I never thought of blowing up the mountains to bring in the warm breeze from the ocean. I was surprised that such a strange method worked. The accumulated snow on the mountains melted, flowing down to the rivers, thereby forming a mother river.
The dyke Freya had constructed stopped the running water in the middle of the river, thereby preventing the Northern plain from being drowned. The plain of the North received moisture from the two rivers and countless other branches of the rivers, turning the frozen land into rich lands spanning thousands of miles. Of course, the two rivers needed to be modified over and over. Alas, we still wouldn’t have enough people to actually plant crops on the land where the river reached even if we didn’t completely modify the surrounding land. The population in the North was frankly too small. As such, we didn’t need to organise fields or people nearby at the moment.
What does the North need most right now? One was people and the other was money. Both were absolute necessities. Though Troy City could provide money and resources, it was impossible to satisfy an entire nation with what was available at a single city. I couldn’t keep making Troy City bleed out for us. I knew that elves and humanity could supply me with money. However, I didn’t want to let my moms do anything in the North. They certainly didn’t want to take away my North, but if their subordinates came and went, then that would put my moms in a tough spot. Yes, I was talking about humanity specifically there.
I needed to come up with a way to get some money from the businessmen. Regardless of what society you’re talking about, nobles aren’t necessarily rich, but businessmen will definitely have money. The money that businessmen possess and the nation were unrelated. I didn’t harm them in any capacity after entering the Imperial City. They, therefore, were bound to have money on hand.
I wouldn’t rob. I wasn’t trying to destroy the land. I wanted to rule the place. I couldn’t let the people down. I required money, but I didn’t necessarily need to rob it from them.
“That’s right, gentlemen, I am the new ruler of the North, Troy Galadriel Rosvenor.”
I looked at the anthropoids seated down below. I didn’t know what their evaluation of me was. All I saw in their gazes was confusion, curiosity, vigilance and resentment. I didn’t know what they thought of my invitation. Some didn’t come, but the majority showed up.
Businessmen wouldn’t pick a fight with money. Changing their ruler merely meant changing who they paid taxes to. They wanted a stable and safe environment to do business. What they were most concerned about was what sort of ruler I was. I called them over, and they came to see if they could get something out in business in the future. If that was their guess, then they were right.
“You should all be aware that change is coming to the North. That’s right. From the weather to the ruler, things are changing. I’m also a member of the elven imperial family. I know what the state of the North once was. The North was once the same as the South to you, but it became what it is now owing to the lack of the elven spring water. The North is now reverting back to how it originally was without the elven spring water. In the future, the North will flourish again under my rule.”