Helping with Adventurer Party Management - Chapter 378

A territorial management guide worth ten gold coins.

For a brief moment, I was tempted by the thought—if I used printing technology to mass-produce and distribute it, I could make a fortune overnight.

However, that was nothing more than an impractical fantasy, completely impossible in reality.

Owning the manuscript and having the means to print it was one thing, but actually selling it was a completely different matter.

In this world, where the concept of copyright was weak, a book whose value had skyrocketed beyond measure was bound to become entangled in political agendas and vested interests. That much was easy to imagine.

It was best to stay away from dangerous things.

After all, thanks to my appointment as a governor, my social status had risen, and the threat of assassination had significantly decreased.

Why would I deliberately involve myself in the hidden power struggles of the elites?

The moment I started selling the book, the printing business itself would be crushed under the weight of competing interests—and at best, I’d be placed under house arrest. At worst, I’d be assassinated.

And considering who held those vested interests, it was likely the faction aligned with Priest Nicolo and the cardinal.

Making an enemy of Priest Nicolo? That would be absolute madness.

Even if I had multiple lives, it wouldn’t be enough to survive that.

Shaking my head to clear my thoughts, I returned to reality and continued explaining the significance of our administrative policies to the new civil servants.

“Well, as outlined in that book, the general principles for developing territories are gradually spreading. Our current goal is to examine those principles in greater detail. In other words, the discussions we have here could very well reach the upper echelons of the Church, the kingdom, and beyond.”

A craftsman named Sion, who had remained mostly silent until now, spoke up. “Will the nobles and important people really listen to the opinions of commoners like us?”

“Yes, they will. Not only will they listen, but if the ideas are sound, they’ll be implemented. Helping improve the lives of farmers is what truly matters. Whether a number is correct or incorrect has nothing to do with social status.”

Even with priests and nobles present, I deliberately pushed the idea forward.

“…Whether a number is correct or incorrect has nothing to do with social status…”

“Exactly. Think about wheat. It doesn’t matter if it’s grown by a man or a woman, a noble or a commoner—wheat is still wheat. It either thrives, or it doesn’t. What we’re up against is not each other’s status, but the natural and social forces that threaten the prosperity of rural villages. To overcome these challenges, we must work together, regardless of rank.” I reworded the last part carefully to emphasize cooperation rather than outright rejecting the class system.

Even so, for someone like Sion, who had spent his entire life as a craftsman in the city without ever becoming an adventurer, my words must have been shocking.

“…Status doesn’t matter…” he kept repeating to himself.

I nodded at him while subtly glancing at the priests and nobles present.

So far, no one seemed particularly opposed to my statement. If anything—

“This is incredible…”

“Yeah… truly incredible.”

“I’m so glad I volunteered for this…”

—they were discussing it passionately, almost in awe.

For these young members of the Church and nobility, who were positioned near the bottom of their respective social hierarchies, the idea that their opinions could reach the highest levels of the Church and the kingdom must have been exhilarating.

“…This is incredible, right?”

“That’s what it seems like.”

Unlike the others, however, Sara the adventurer and Ryk the former merchant remained relatively unimpressed.

Rather than a matter of intelligence, this likely came down to differences in their ambitions—specifically, whether or not they had any desire to influence the policies of the kingdom and the Church.