...
“Do you think he’ll agree?” Nightingale asked in his ear after Peiluo took his leave.
“I don’t know, and his agreement alone isn’t enough, we still need to convince Earl Helmond,” Roland said, taking a sip of hot tea, “If he still intends to be a landed noble, then we can only express our regret.”
“You’re reluctant to let him go, aren’t you?” she teased.
“Of course, I’m reluctant,” Roland pouted, “Among the nobles, he is neither pedantic nor does he understand how to seize opportunities, and he is very good at business management. As long as he trains in Longsong Stronghold for a year and a half, he will definitely be an excellent official who can manage a territory independently.”
“If he convinces Earl Helmond, do you really plan to put the royal capital under his management?”
“If I unify Graycastle, the royal capital will naturally have to be moved… and cities too far from the Western Region are best managed by people sent from the Western Region, so the conditions I offer are not empty talk.” Roland revealed to Peiluo at the end of the conversation that he would no longer enfeoff any nobles in the future, and after integrating Graycastle, the entire kingdom would follow the new city model, implementing a unified law and a unified policy, with all power vested in the central government. If he decides to stay, Longsong Stronghold is far from the end of his political career. Managing big cities or becoming the chief bureaucrat of the Central Administrative Hall are not impossible.
As for how far he can go, it depends on his own abilities.
Roland hoped that the other party could understand the expectations contained in these words.
“Okay, anyway, I don’t understand these things,” Nightingale patted him on the shoulder, “But the new witch is coming soon, you’d better leave for a while.”
“You’ll interrogate her alone?”
“I’ll call Wendy over,” a soft laugh came from beside him, “She’s better at these things than I am.”
The Witch Union, out of safety considerations (mainly at Juan’s suggestion), had Nightingale confirm the identity of any new witch before accepting them. Since identifying lies in the mist state requires removing the God's Stone of Retribution, Roland couldn't be present to avoid the other party suddenly attacking and causing an accident.
Juan even came up with ten common questions to identify the identity, such as where do you come from, what is your real name, do you know the prince, are you hostile to the prince, etc. Considering that Nightingale can only judge the truth or falsehood she believes in, and cannot see through undoubted lies, these questions explored from various aspects, leaving almost no blind spots. Even if one or two could be muddled through, it would be impossible to answer everything perfectly.
Roland himself was quite amused by this, but considering that the witches were doing it out of good intentions, he had to let them do as they pleased.
...
Leaving the reception room, he returned to his office and immediately summoned Barov, the chief of the City Hall.
Peiluo's report of discovering a new witch in Longsong Stronghold made him realize his oversight. Although he sent Nana Wawa onto the medal platform, formally declaring the existence of witches in the town, there was still no decree directly stating the treatment and status of the witches. So Border Town may also have situations like the stronghold—knowing that they have awakened as a witch, they still choose to hide their identity instead of taking the initiative to stand up.
As soon as Barov entered the door, Roland ordered, "I want to issue a long-term recruitment announcement. The content should be written according to this draft."
He took the draft and quickly read it, "You... want to recruit witches with a monthly salary of one Gold Royal?"
“That’s right,” Roland nodded, “This is also the standard salary of the Witch Union.” A monthly salary of one Gold Royal is definitely a top-paying position in this era. The salary level in the town is generally higher than in other cities. The highest starting salary for workers in the acid production factory has risen to twenty Silver Wolves, and witches are five times that. This recruitment not only explains the treatment of witches, but also affirms their status.
“Since you want to get more witches, why don’t you mobilize the people to find them?” Barov asked, “Just like before when you asked the people to report spies, they are the most discerning eyes.”
Now even the chief has learned the People's War tactic, the prince resisted the smile in his heart and waved his hand, "And then I give them bonuses? Isn't that the same as the church's approach?"
“But… you’re doing this to recruit witches, not to hang them.”
“That may be so, but the witches who are exposed by the people may think that I am forcing them. You need to know that this year’s new witches in the local area have not experienced persecution, and the situation of the witches outside cannot be compared,” Roland said noncommittally, “I hope they can voluntarily stand up and contribute their strength to Border Town.”
In addition to the personal wishes of the witches, he was more worried that if the decree declared that those who discovered witches would be rewarded, and that giving birth to witches would be rewarded, it might trigger a new round of "reporting", or treat giving birth to witches as a "business". Hard work is not as good as giving birth to a witch. Although it can greatly reverse the status of witches in the short term, in the long run, this policy will have an adverse effect on Border Town's slogan of hard work leads to wealth. Therefore, recruitment solely for witches can effectively avoid this situation.
Barov had just bowed and retreated when Wendy followed and handed the results of the interrogation to the table, "Your Highness, the identity has been confirmed, it is basically consistent with what the eldest son of Honeysuckle said, there is no problem."
“See?” Roland smiled, “You are too careful.”
“But this caution is necessary,” Wendy insisted, “Your personal safety is the first thing we need to ensure.”
“Okay,” he suddenly felt a little touched in his heart, took a deep breath, “Then bring her in.”
The girl was about fifteen or sixteen years old, with dirty, dark brown hair, and her eyes revealed timidity and panic. She probably didn't know where to put her hands and feet because it was the first time she had walked into a carpeted room.
According to the results recorded on the paper, she called herself Baizhi, was born in the suburbs of Longsong Stronghold, and became an orphan after a heavy snow three years ago. This experience was probably similar to most vagrant children in the Western Region. They either die in the struggle for food, or join the underground rats, becoming thieves, thugs, or scapegoats.
“You…” Roland didn’t know what to say for a while. She didn’t have the strong adaptability of Agatha, nor was she as determined as Anna. Even the similar Mystery Moon and Lily had the sisters of the Mutual Aid Society as companions. As a little girl in a strange place, she was probably still in a state of panic, and it would probably take a long time to adapt to a new life. And it can be seen from Peiluo’s report that the ability to melt snow quickly is probably related to temperature.
Anyway, testing her ability is not urgent. You can slowly understand it from getting along with her. Thinking of this, he looked at Wendy, “The long voyage must have exhausted her. Take her to take a bath first and have a good rest. Arrange her housing in the Witch Building, and as for the magic-related precautions, I’ll leave it to you to teach, okay?”
“Of course,” she smiled, “As you wish.”
.(。)