Chapter 362: Machinations of Fate (2/2)

”Surely it wouldn't go over a thousand gold coins, right?” Argentum asked with a light smile on his face as he looked at the three and said, ”In any case, you don't have to worry. I'm sure our benefactors right here have more than enough funds to make sure that my orders happen. Isn't that right, Undying Flame, Grand Blue, Mother of Earth?”

”Just give me a sign and I'll transfer the funds straight away,” Rosalia, who Argentum called as Mother of Earth, was the first one to reply. Then again, she was the first one to give Argentum a share of the profits she got from selling the Heaven's Earth Potion, so it was no surprise for her to be the first one to respond.

”It'll take a while on my end to amass the funds, but as long as I create that initial channel, there's no problem in transferring you the funds,” Felix was the next one to respond, taking on the moniker of Grand Blue. In fact, even if Argentum hadn't told him to, he would have still given him a share of the profits just because he had obtained a steady supply of gold coins, as well as a path to improve his understanding over the Water element.

At this point, only Eleanor was the only one who didn't reply. Naturally, the focus of the four right now was on her. And so, in usual fashion, she responded in the manner she knew best.

”W-what those two said.”

Well, better to get an answer than not get one at all.

Seeing that the three benefactors had great confidence that they would be able to fund the three projects, though the last one was quite unsure, Delmann's uncertainty gradually disappeared, though a hint of doubt still remained. Nevertheless, he replied with a nod, ”I'll hire some architects and water mages next thing in the morning so the projects could begin as soon as possible.”

Nodding in satisfaction with Delmann's response, Argentum had a light smile on his face as he then moved onto the next plan he had in mind. Thinking about this next plan, he looked at Delmann and asked, ”Delmann, do you know how many people in this town have attained a level of education?”

In response, Delmann went silent for a bit before showing a bitter smile. He then responded to Argentum's question, saying, ”Unfortunately, Sir Argentum, only us guards have attained a level of education. On top of that, it's just the basics of the basics, being able to read and write. As for the town's citizens, I'm sure a few have attained the same level of education here and there, but for the most part, I'm quite certain that the town is filled with illiterate people.”

”Guess I'm modifying this next plan quite a bit, then,” Argentum said in response before refining the plan he had in mind. Nevertheless, from the question Argentum asked, it was quite obvious what Argentum's plan was about.

A school!

After making sure that the plan was clear in his mind, Argentum then looked at Delmann and the three before saying, ”So, for this next plan, it will happen after the first three projects are done. Delmann, what I want you to do is to allocate a decently sized piece of land while you expand the town's walls. If you want a specific value, then a lot that could accommodate around 50 houses in a square.”

Without giving Delmann the chance to speak or to process the shock he felt from Argentum's words, Argentum continued, ”This vacant piece of land would be the birthplace of the next plan, an academy.”

At that moment, Delmann instantly understood what Argentum was planning to do. Without hesitation, he asked, ”Would we be charging admission fees for this academy?”

In response, Argentum went silent for a bit before shaking his head, ”At the beginning, we won't charge any admission fee. But when the number of people that reside in this town increase, then we'll gradually charge an admission fee. Of course, the original citizens of this town are exempt from this.”

He then added, ”There will be two sections for this academy: a section made for kids and teenagers, and a section made for adults.”

After that, he looked at the three and asked, ”Is it possible for you guys to find some willing people to teach in the academy? Just make sure that the maximum salary you could give them is 100 gold coins a month. Though, as long as you think that person is worth it, then you can give them a higher salary.”

The three of them then talked with each other through their own means while Delmann was left shocked once more by Argentum's words. A gold coin was enough to feed a family of three for over half a month, and he told them that the salary an instructor for the academy would get was a hundred times that?

If he was well-learned, then he would've been tempted to become an instructor. Unfortunately, he only had a basic level of education.

After some time, the three were finished talking, with Felix becoming their representative as he said to Argentum, ”We'll try to find people willing to teach in the town. You have to make sure that they have their own accommodations, though.”

”I'll keep that in mind,” Argentum said as he nodded. Since the first three projects hadn't even started yet, he only told Delmann and the others that he was going to build an academy in the future. Unlike others, he wanted to take things step by step to make sure everything was done well.

After talking about the academy, Argentum went silent once more as he pondered on what plans he could come up next. Eventually, he focused on one part the town was lacking as he looked at Delmann and asked, ”Delmann, is there any unique resource this town has? Or to be more exact, can we obtain a resource that we could use to enhance this town's commercial sector?”

”Hmm…let me think about it,” Delmann said before lightly frowning as he pondered over the question for quite some time. As time passed, more and more wrinkles would appear on Delmann's forehead as he put his mind on overdrive. Fortunately, after about ten minutes or so, Delmann had recalled a certain place near the town which could be used for what Argentum wanted to do.

With an expression of relief and delight, Delmann then told Argentum, ”If my memory serves correctly, there's a large vein of iron ore near the town. Although we haven't truly checked how pure this ore vein is, we're quite certain that it's definitely on the purer side since the weapons the guards use are made of this iron. Our weapons haven't cracked even after a year of constant use.”

At that instant, Argentum had an idea that went beyond the plans he had in order to speed up the development of the town. He was now looking at the town from a future perspective. Taking into consideration Delmann's words from a while ago, he now had an idea as to what direction this town would take. In the future, Verdant Breeze Town would turn into a town of…

Blacksmiths!