Chapter 21: The Storm That Starts with Cloth

The textile factory was truly at the level of cottage industry.

Still, there was a very simple form of division of labor.

The men spun thread from flax, while weaving the cloth was the women’s task.

Naturally, the former required more physical strength.

After all, even just carrying the flax stalks was grueling work.

‘On the surface, nothing seems wrong.’

The workers produced linen cloth in the traditional way.

With no machines, everything had to be done by hand, which was only natural.

Yet the moment I quietly observed the workflow, inefficiencies became glaringly obvious.

“Paul-ssi?”

“Yes, Your Highness.”

“Are you in charge here?”

“There is no official title, but I act as the representative.”

“Then from this moment on, Paul-ssi is the factory manager.”

“Pardon? …Yes.”

Paul’s eyes widened at the sudden appointment.

We had only exchanged brief glances in court, so he must have found it bewildering that I was entrusting him with such responsibility.

But my judgment had more than enough basis.

‘Just glancing at the status window makes everything crystal clear.’

Whether a person is useful or not.

<Character Information>

Name: Paul

Status: Wage Laborer

Position: Textile Factory Manager

Loyalty: Extremely High

Condition: Strong awe, satisfied with adequate wages, high enthusiasm for work

Overall Ability: C

‘Perfect! Beautiful.’

His overall ability was somewhat lacking, but he was the ideal person to trust and leave in charge.

Wasn’t his loyalty practically piercing the heavens?

Soon I began pointing out issues throughout the factory, one by one.

“Arrange the spinning wheels and looms in straight lines. The moment thread is spun here, it should be passed straight to the side.”

“Yes, yes.”

“Weaving speed is too slow, so double—no, more than double—the number of people. Bring in more looms as well.”

“Ah, understood.”

“Is there enough flax?”

“That is…”

Perhaps because the instructions came too quickly, Paul looked bewildered.

Trying to memorize everything at once must have been overwhelming.

It would be good if he could take notes, but unfortunately the workers were illiterate.

“Butler Wilkin?”

“Yes, Your Highness.”

“Whenever you have time, teach Paul-ssi how to read and write.”

Proper education was essential if he was to become a real factory manager.

He would eventually need to manage ledgers and write reports.

Yet Tobias Wilkin’s expression suddenly crumpled.

When I glanced around, everyone looked dazed.

‘Well, Steward Miller Xavierre reacted the same way at first.’

Originally, writing was a tool of domination for the ruling class.

It was used to quickly and accurately convey orders between king and subjects, or to monopolize knowledge and information.

Commoners could only view it with awe.

Being told so casually to teach it to others—naturally they would be flustered.

But I was far removed from such preconceptions.

I wasn’t even from this world to begin with.

“Is there a problem?”

“No, not at all.”

“While you’re at it, teach the children too.”

“The children as well?”

“Focus intensively on a few of them. The more talented people, the better.”

Every single worker in the textile factory had high loyalty.

Hadn’t they all received their back wages thanks to my verdict?

And now I had given them such excellent jobs—naturally they would want to hold on no matter what.

Their children were therefore highly likely to be loyal as well.

This place would become something of a youth academy in the future.

“Understood.”

Tobias nodded heavily.

Then he immediately showed me the notes he had taken.

“Would this be acceptable?”

“Well done. Paul still has much to learn, so help him a lot.”

“Yes, Your Highness.”

A wind of reform swept through the Midias textile factory.

From infrastructure to working hours—literally everything changed.

A division of labor that squeezed out extreme efficiency had begun.

People are inherently conservative by nature.

If they just keep doing things the way they always have, they can safely achieve their goals.

But now change was inevitable.

Because an existence wielding absolute authority had commanded it.

Roughly two weeks passed like that, and the textile factory gradually regained stability.

“How much is production now?”

“It has risen… more than three times, Your Highness!”

The total linen cloth produced per day was now 65 bolts.

We were even starting to run short of flax.

But supply would not suddenly dry up.

The fields were full of the raw material anyway.

I quickly increased the number of flax-harvesting workers, and the factory ran merrily along.

To the point where there was no empty space left in the warehouse.

“It’s about time to open, then. Is the shop ready?”

“We have built a warehouse and building on the open ground south of Midias. It is close to the capital, so many customers will come.”

“Good. Then begin.”

“I shall obey your command.”

“Select the very best pieces by category. We must present gifts to His Majesty the Emperor.”

“Yes, Your Highness.”

The moment Butler Tobias Wilkin left, someone abruptly emerged from the shadows.

It was Cordel McNeill, who followed me like a shadow.

“Are the gifts newly made again?”

“Yes. Thanks to you, our master craftsman threw quite the tantrum.”

“Khm, khm! By the way, what exactly are you starting?”

As soon as the subject of broken porcelain came up, Cordel hurriedly changed the topic.

Ah, he doesn’t know what I mean by “starting,” does he?

I wondered whether I really needed to explain, but decided to be generous just this once.

“It’s simple. We’re going to smash something.”

“Smash what?”

“The market.”

Cordel merely tilted his head with an expression that said he still didn’t understand.

It was as if he was asking why on earth I would do such a thing.

What grand reason was there?

‘I’m doing it to change this shitty reality.’

When society moves in a positive direction, my abilities grow stronger.

It feels worthwhile in its own way.

The basic necessities of human life are food, clothing, and shelter.

Yet properly obtaining even one of those three was difficult.

Nothing was cheap.

It was especially hard in the capital, Perias.

As the heart of the empire, prices were exorbitantly high.

Thud. Thud. Rip.

“Ah, damn it, torn again.”

The sleeve of a man walking down the street was already ragged.

It had torn when he briefly bumped into someone coming the other way.

But he couldn’t really get angry.

The other person was also wearing clothes that were little more than rags.

“Hey, watch where you’re… Sheldon?”

“Delton? Really sorry about that. I’m in such a hurry.”

“If you’re heading to the logging site, you’d better hurry. It’s fine, just go.”

“I’ll definitely make it up to you next time.”

“Forget it, you’ll be late.”

“Right, good luck!”

The man called Sheldon waved broadly and vanished in a rush.

Delton, whose sleeve was now torn, let out a short sigh.

He had just patched that spot a few days ago—already ruined.

He could already hear his wife’s nagging in his head.

“Oh no, I’ll be late too at this rate.”

Delton snapped out of it and quickened his pace.

They were hiring a lot of sickle workers these days, but if you were late there might be no spots left.

The pay was high, so the jobs were extremely popular.

While passing through the north gate of Perias and walking diligently, a strange sight suddenly unfolded.

In the middle of an empty plain stood a lone building surrounded by a swarm of people.

Delton tilted his head.

“I saw it under construction, but what on earth is going on?”

Even though he was in a hurry, he figured he could take a quick look.

It was on his way anyway, so it wasn’t much trouble.

But Delton ended up having to stay there for quite a long time.

“What the hell is everyone lining up so long for?”

“To buy cloth.”

“Surely not everyone here is trying to do that?”

“You’d be an idiot not to buy. But why is the line moving so slowly?”

He asked the man at the very back, only to receive a curt reply.

The man must have been frustrated by how long the line was.

Delton frowned at the unfriendly response.

But there was nothing he could say about it.

Getting any answer at all from a stranger was already something.

In a world this harsh, people could barely afford to care about others.

In the end, Delton decided to go forward himself and find out.

“What on earth is everyone making such a fuss over?”

After walking for a long while, he finally reached the entrance of the building.

Display shelves stretched left and right, piled high with linen cloth.

The threads were tightly woven, and the fabric had a subtle, elegant color—clearly top-quality goods.

“Oh!”

Just as the man at the back had said, it was tempting merchandise.

But Delton knew cloth prices very well.

Something of that quality would normally cost around 4 silons per bolt.

A month’s food budget for a family was 1 silon, wasn’t it?

Ordinary commoners struggling to put food on the table could never afford to buy an entire bolt of luxury linen.

Yet no matter how he looked, they weren’t selling scraps either.

“I’d need at least a palm-sized piece to patch a sleeve…”

While scanning the counter with a troubled expression, a large sign caught his eye.

There were words written on it, but he couldn’t read them.

Like most wage laborers, Delton was illiterate.

Still, he could at least recognize pictures and numbers.

“One bolt… 5 koren?”

Five copper coins were half a silver coin.

Even the poorest household could invest that much.

If he worked hard harvesting flax, he could earn around 6 silons a month.

Delton’s eyes widened as he shouted to the people in line.

“I-is this real? It really only costs 5 koren?”

“Look for yourself—everyone’s buying one bolt each. I haven’t bought mine yet either, but it doesn’t seem fake.”

“Why on earth is it so cheap?”

“It’s the grand opening sale. His Highness Duke Carius specially lowered the price. But only one bolt per person.”

“Ahh, Your Highness!”

Delton clasped his hands together with a face full of emotion.

It looked almost like he was praying.

He was probably wishing for Abel Carius’s eternal prosperity.

“This is no time to stand around—I need to get in line too.”

Delton hurried back to the end of the line with a huge grin.

Even though the line had grown enormously, his beaming smile never faded.

One bolt of linen was enough to make clothes for the whole family.

He could even neatly repair old clothes.

For the first time in a long while, he felt like a proper head of the household—excitement he couldn’t hide.

“Thank you, Your Highness.”

Though Abel Carius could not possibly hear him, Delton kept expressing his gratitude.

Thanks to whom had life recently become easier for the commoners of the capital?

The textile factory that everyone used to curse was now the best workplace.

Moreover, harvesting flax had become remarkably easier.

The textile factory provided unlimited tools for free.

Originally, people had to bring their own sickles, so most worked empty-handed.

Now that was no longer necessary—how much more convenient was that?

And that was not all; wages had risen to six times their previous level.

Of course, this applied only to workers under Duke Carius, but other places could not remain unaffected.

Everyone wanted to go work in the Midias region.

“It’s all thanks to His Highness Duke Carius.”

“Of course! His heart is completely different from those greedy nobles.”

“That’s why life has become worth living lately, right? Before he came, everything was a total mess.”

“Compared to back then, it’s the difference between heaven and earth.”

People around agreed with Delton’s muttering.

Even the man who had snapped at him earlier was now smiling and chiming in.

That was how positively Abel Carius’s reputation was influencing people.

However, not everyone viewed it gladly.

“Linen cloth for a mere 5 koren? They’ve gone mad!”

A robed man with his hood pulled low had been watching Abel’s shop.

He ground his teeth grrr, then suddenly vanished into the crowd.