System vs Rebirth Chapter 1153: Back

“We’re finally back.” Anna stretched her body. “To think that driving for too long will make you stiff…”

Noel walked out of the carriage while saying, “This is not our car, so of course, it’s not the best.”

“Fair enough. I can’t expect too much from a carriage that we bought out of nowhere.” Anna chuckled.

Noel looked at the mansion with a serious face.

Noticing his worries, Anna said, “Don’t worry. I’m sure that Tristan is fine. Let’s ask Dimitri about it. No, if I’m not wrong, Andreas is to go back after this, right?”

“Yeah. The escort is only necessary until they meet Duke Lorelei. I’m sure that Duke Lorelei will provide an escort or even come with them personally. Even without him, he will probably ask two grandmasters to help.” Noel nodded.

“See? That’s why it’s going to be fine.”

“…” Noel smiled wryly. “Now that I think about it, where is Dimitri? He usually senses us from afar and greets us…”

“Ah.” Anna almost forgot that Dimitri would always be ready in front of the gate unless he was doing something. “He’s not in the mansion?”

“If you’re looking for Dimitri, he is on the north. There seems to be some trouble in the demon’s territory.”

“Charlotte?” Noel raised his eyebrows while turning to the side, finding Charlotte coming from the garden.

“Welcome back, my lord and my lady.” Charlotte politely lowered her head.

“We’re back.” Anna waved her hand with a smile. On the other hand, Noel crossed his arms. “Is there a problem in the north?”

There was only one problem in the demon territory, which was the transport of the ancient demon. It was a precious material, so it was a bit concerning.

“I don’t know.” Charlotte shook her head helplessly. Her job was to manage the internal matters, not the external ones anyway.

“It’s fine. Knowing Dimitri, he will probably be back soon.” Noel nodded. “By the way, have you heard anything from Tristan?”

“He has sent a letter. It should be in your office. Andreas was the one who brought it here.” Charlotte explained.

“I see.” Noel nodded. The fact that he could send a letter meant that he was fine.

“I believe that Rose will be able to answer any of your questions. I’ll need to head to the temple because they want an arrangement for priests and knights. After all, we’re only one month away from opening the city. There are a lot of people asking Balott about the city’s housing. A lot of them love to have a taste of this city’s technology.” Charlotte smiled.

“Ah! Yes.” Noel nodded. As Charlotte said, spring was about to arrive. They started building this city right after spring arrived, so now that the one year was almost up, he had to prepare for the grand opening.

“If you don’t mind, please visit Andreas on your way back. Tell him that we’ll leave two days later, as I have to take care of all the arrangements for the grand opening first.”

“Understood.” Charlotte nodded.

Once Charlotte left, Anna couldn’t help but say, “Two days later, huh? Will we have enough time?”

“I think? The journey shouldn’t take more than a month. So once we’re back, we’ll be busy with the grand opening.” Noel shrugged while opening the door.

“Indeed. It’ll be quite hard. Then again, they won’t try to sabotage us all of a sudden, right?”

“Not at the moment. With the grand opening as well as people’s realization of the rune technology, if they try to sabotage the city, those people will be angry. It’s not just a matter of our allied force but also of the merchants or any important individuals. Even the royal family shouldn’t be dumb enough to offend those people just to provoke us.”

“Fair enough.” Anna contemplated for a moment. “In that case, we can get an insane amount of money from the grand opening.”

“Yes. Balott and his team will be extremely busy. The residential district will be filled with people.”

“But it’ll be troublesome if a wealthy merchant tries to buy everything…” Anna frowned.

“Of course. That’s why I’m planning to discuss it with Balott right now, especially about the restriction and serious background check. I don’t want them to monopolize the housing market in the city. Besides, we’re also developing a lot of cities at once, so there’s not a single merchant in this kingdom who can actually monopolize it.”

“In that case, I’ll call Balott for you.”

“Also, send a letter to Tristan to get ready for an influx of Rune Technology sales as well. You probably need to get prepared as well.”

“Me?” Anna tilted her head in confusion.

“You’re going to be the head of the Ardagan family’s charity foundation.”

“Charity foundation? I know that the Ardagan family has been doing charity, but is now the right time? I think it’s fine if we wait for another two or three years. Once the cities are built, the financial situation will be more stable.”

Noel waved his hand. “It’s better to do it as soon as possible. There are three benefits. First, the people will trust us more, stopping the royal family from doing anything reckless.”

“Potential for rebellion, I presume?”

Noel winked his eye. “And the second benefit is that people will have Rune Technologies soon. But if we can create a good brand, people will trust us more.”

“I see. That alone is enough to speed up the creation of the foundation.” She nodded.

“Lastly, even if we only give people clothes, it means that they will use the remaining money they have to pay for something else, such as food… with a bigger amount since the clothing’s budget will go toward that. It means that more money will be thrown into circulation, which will boost the economy no matter how small it is. Besides, it’s better to spend money than just collect it.” Noel shrugged.

“Fair enough. But if we’re going to provide charity or build some housing, why don’t we use the bricks produced by the Lesen family? They’re the number one producer in the north before fighting us.” Anna suggested.

“Once she contributes a lot, that’ll definitely be an option. No, it’s more like she must have thought about it if she is indeed capable. She is racing against time to produce a policy for the development of this land. After all, business cooperation will help the Lesen family in the long run more than straight cash.” Noel smirked. “That was the reason why I pumped up her reward last time.”

“Bringing out her greed? You’re a bad guy, you know that.” Anna smirked.

“And you should stop smiling.”

“Hahaha. Alright, alright. I’ll be heading out now.”

“Yeah.” Noel nodded while walking toward his office. There were indeed a lot of problems he had to handle, especially since he also needed to recruit someone well-versed in the laws. He wondered who he should send to recruit this person.