Who the hell are you?
Are you Pito?
What do you mean by "mind the conduct of a knight"?
"When you see the lord, you should greet him first. Damn it, lower your head and greet Lord Romon immediately! Is your brain full of goblin shit?" Pito emphasized.
Pir was stunned by the scolding.
He muttered, "Greetings, Lord."
"Pir, I've heard about your situation. From now on, Pito is also a knight. I don't want you two to have any more conflicts," Romon smoothly intervened.
"Y-Yes, my lord."
Pir responded, still processing everything.
Seeing his reaction.
Eomon turned to Pito and asked, "So you were planning to explore the labyrinth?"
"Yes, my lord. As soon as I received the news, I rushed here. I should be among the first adventurers to arrive, but as your knight, I can put aside my curiosity and stand guard here for you," Pito replied.
Pito's awareness was impressive. It was clear he had received an education.
And such a person, as a lord, Romon was eager to offer him a higher position.
"Take good care of your kin. If you do well, I think the position of knight commander would suit you."
"Thank you, my lord!"
Despite being a subhuman, Pito's unique features, like his large Centaur form, made it harder for him to find work.
Even after lowering his asking price, no one would hire him.
To make a living, he gathered intelligence and worked as a part-time adventurer.
Now, on this adventure, he had stumbled into a stable position, and he firmly believed in the knowledge he had learned from his books.
...
A few days later.
The 21 sets of fine armor were delivered to Thune territory, and the Centaur knight group finally looked the part.
Under Pito's leadership, the other Centaurs didn't perform exceptionally well, but they weren't bad either.
After all, they were just guarding the entrance to the labyrinth. As more news spread, more adventurers flocked to the Thune Grand Labyrinth, and with that, more and more entrance fees were pouring in.
Romon wasn't idle either. Over the past few days, he had successfully sold a large batch of magic crystal ore and paid off some of the Matthews lord's debt.
This caused the price of magic crystal ore in the surrounding area to drop by 12%.
But…
He didn't care about that.
In the castle.
Romon and Lornis stood by the window, feeling the wind of dawn as they stretched.
"My lord, it's October. It's here."
According to their original agreement, Romon was supposed to pay the tribute to the imperial capital before October. However, after receiving a letter, his travel costs were waived, and now he was simply waiting for the arrival of the Royal Knights. The nobles were clearly having some fun on the road, and their arrival was delayed by a day beyond what was expected.
Today marked the tenth day since Romon activated the lord simulator.
"Hiss—"
Romon suddenly inhaled sharply, and Lornis, noticing this, quickly turned and knelt before him.
"October, a new beginning."
He silently closed his eyes and opened the simulator in his mind.
[Population: 104]
[Food: 920]
[Production Capacity: 10]
[Economy: 230]
[Culture: 5]
[Strength: 192]
[Territory Affiliation: Sionnas Empire]
[Remaining Simulation Turns: 9, Cooling Down for 10 Days]
Compared to ten days ago, the territory's data had greatly improved, and most importantly, the territory's size had expanded significantly. Just looking at the blueprint was refreshing.
However, as of the early hours of October, the Royal Knights had still not arrived, which made Romon start to wonder.
But after some contemplation, he decided it was better to run another simulation.
"Let me see what's really going on."
With a thought, the simulator started to work again.
Looking at the current setup, the tribute to the king was in the form of raw magic crystal ore. Romon wasn't planning to exchange it for money or transport it to the imperial capital; instead, he would simply pack it in the village square.
This ore didn't count toward the economic value—it only counted if it was sold and converted into money.
So, there was no need to waste any more effort on that.
The cooldown of ten days had only given a few turns, and Romon needed to use them for himself, for the most efficient territorial development.
Now that the economic value had risen and the strength value was decent, considering that they were surrounded by a few large lords, there weren't any major external threats.
The remaining issues were population, production capacity, and culture.
Population was a tough issue. Even if the whole village started having children together, it still took nine months. They couldn't reproduce as quickly as goblins. Therefore, the only solutions were to either conquer outsiders or attract new residents.
Conquering outsiders was similar to how he had assimilated the Centaur tribe.
As for attracting residents—honestly, with the decaying castle of Thune and the dilapidated village at the foot of the mountain, it was impossible to attract people to settle there.
The Thune Grand Labyrinth had an optimistic throughput every day, but adventurers had never considered settling there.
So, the last remaining option was 'hiring,' but hiring was about quality, not quantity.
Ordinary work could be handled by regular villagers, while tasks that other villagers couldn't do could be managed by Talia, Nini, or Pito.
Increasing production capacity required upgrading production methods. This value was almost tied to the mine, where a group of ordinary people worked, so the number was naturally low.
Thus, of the three aspects, the one that should be prioritized for improvement was cultural value.
Improving cultural value, upgrading industries, and driving park renovations would naturally attract more people.
So,
Romon adjusted the settings, selected the maximum available value for cultural development, and submitted it.
[First Round Ended! Your territory is in a state of disrepair, and the villagers' current focus is studying cultural development. They seem to be a bit confused...
However, what's easier to understand is the magnificent procession entering your territory. The fluttering banners make it clear that the royalty has arrived.
Not only had the Royal Knights been mobilized, but the earth-dragon carriage also carried at least one member of the royal family.
The king's princess had taken an interest in the Thune Grand Labyrinth. She demanded that all other adventurers be cleared out, as she intended to explore the labyrinth with the Royal Knights for leisure.
Everyone knew the labyrinth was dangerous, but the princess and the Royal Knights were determined to enter.]
[Second Round Begins!]
Upon seeing this information, Romon frowned.
So, it was a princess who had delayed the Royal Knights' progress. But this was far from a good thing.
If she could somehow cause the Royal Knights to be delayed or blown up halfway, Romon would consider worshipping her as a goddess. But clearly, she was just here to stir up trouble.
She came in, acting like a princess, demanding that all the other adventurers be sent away.
Romon hadn't even seen her yet, and he was already annoyed.
With that in mind, how should he plan the second round?
"Forget it, I'll just focus on my own stuff."
Romon decided not to bother with the princess and continued focusing on developing the culture. He knew that this direction might lead to errors, but it was meant to be a test.
No matter which aspect he developed now, in reality, it all came down to ensuring the princess's personal safety—although he was reluctant to admit it, that was the truth.
Rather than panicking, he'd test it out with one round first.
[Second Round Ended: Your villagers continued to study culture.]
The king's princess and the Royal Knights entered the labyrinth and haven't returned even a day later...
Pito, acting on his own, entered the labyrinth to investigate and discovered the princess's lost accessory… the accessory was stained with blood.]
"Done for," Romon thought.
No matter the reason, if the princess died in his territory, the king would have a hundred ways to justify executing him.
The next round would surely be a death sentence, and Romon didn't want to waste the round, so he decided not to submit it.
Instead, he reset and started over.
The first round should have been about developing culture, but now it seemed like he needed to 'develop' the princess.
Just like the "third simulation" in reality, where he dug a pit, he needed to take extreme measures this time.
Romon's mind shifted toward the entrance of the territory.
He couldn't exactly dig a hole and bury the princess.
So…
He thought for a moment.
Using the cursor, he began selecting people, temporarily assigning two female Centaurs and all the villagers to gather at the village entrance to welcome the royal party.
[First Round Ended: You attracted the king's princess to visit the Great Forest. She quickly noticed many adventurers heading in one direction.
She became intrigued and decided to join the group.
She came upon the Thune Grand Labyrinth and wanted to experience some adventure. After all, she had been strictly controlled in the palace for so long, and her desire for some indulgence was understandable.
She slipped away from the Royal Knights' supervision and entered the labyrinth. Fortunately, you had assigned people to accompany the princess.]
[Second Round Begins!]
Romon reviewed the simulation results and noted the drastic change in the princess's behavior. Could it be that she was mentally unstable?