Restart:Untalented Man

30th July 301 Paign Era, Bideford.

The days pass by peacefully, at least here in Ryntum. The turmoil of the east side of his kingdom is far from over but he won't do anything or interfere with them. Without being burdened by heavy work as before, the young king of the new kingdom seeks entertainment to fill his free time.

No enjoyment is available in this world except to watch first-hand political and war manoeuvres of various power with his own eyes. Riz wisely uses SIN agents to keep feeding him with the latest news.

As Napuna Dynasty began to move, it had thrown the already chaotic kingdom into disarray. Each of them seeks dominance over Bagyarosia. No drama series offered by streaming services on Earth can compare with the real one.

For that, Riz was completely clueless about the scheme made by Barlia far in the north.

"The situation in the east is getting more and more interesting. Napuna has moved his soldiers but has no clue about them being dispatched anywhere. Are they really gonna let Naharog run rampant? I kinda bumped because the Tetherswest and Caushilbo take a neutral stance on this issue. The battle will be more intense if they join though."

Alone in his office, Riz let out his thoughts comfortably while reading the reports sent by SIN agents.

The thing he loved the most about following this turmoil is no one knew in which direction the conflict was going to develop. Due to that, the suspense is hundreds of times better than cliffhangers in dramas.

One thing for sure is no matter how it develops, he would not let his kingdom be involved in it.

After finishing the reading, Riz pulls out his desk drawer and puts reports in it.

He then put his focus on the first megaproject to be developed by the Kingdom of Ryntum.

The project is the road network project he had planned a long time ago. The land surveys and soil investigation was conducted not long after he returned to Bideford from the ancient fort in Rafoldrod. But, it didn't start due to an insufficient amount of money. It has been shoved aside into his filing cabinet and had been collecting dust ever since.

Now, Riz feels it is a suitable time to start as they are free from any war or conflict. With the Rogvor settlement included, the alignment of the road was slightly adjusted from the initial plan. A new route linking Bideford and Baroks Province was added to the plan.

Clearly, the project cost has swollen up. But Riz doesn't perturb by it as he plans to charge a toll on the users. He is not a benevolent person to make it free.

All in all, the total number of four routes was finalised.

- Tegrot-Bideford Highway with a total length of 200 kilometres spanning from the west to east as the main road.

- Northern Highway consists of Westley-Coreton-Newbigle-Durbotes which is 190 kilometres in length, connecting the northern cities and towns with the main highway.

- 160 kilometres of Southern Highway, branch off from the main highway and linking it with Rafoldrod-Mabadszent-Csorvar-Rogvor.

- A new proposed highway, Bideford-Portsbury-Baroks-Rogvor has a total length of 270 kilometres.

Since it is a large-scale project, building all the routes at the same time is nothing but a dumb move. No sane rulers want to put a great pressure on their nation's finances.

And he needs to discuss this project with his minister as well.

For that, he invited his fiancee, the Minister of Finance and Gerald, the Minister of Trade and Industry to his office.

*Creak*

The door of his office was opened. He doesn't need to see with his eyes to guess who it is.

While Charlotte still retains some of her manners when interacting with him albeit less formal than other servants, Theodora on the other hand completely disregards them.

"Sit down, both of you," ordered Riz.

Two of them look at each other before quietly sitting down in front of the king. They don't know why but the atmosphere around the king right now is abnormally calm.

"Why do you call us, Riz?" Theodora opened her mouth.

Looking straight into her eyes, Riz smiled and said, "I have a major project plan for the kingdom but before that, I want to ask Gerald a question."

"W-What is it, Your Majesty?" Gerald couldn't help but tense up. He searched his memories to find any wrongdoing he did during his tenure as a minister. He finds no fault on his side.

"As a former merchant, what do you prioritize the most in trading?"

Hearing the king's question, Gerald begins to rub his chin while thinking about the answer. There are a lot of factors he considers during his day as a merchant; products, price, location, density population, customer demographic and so forth.

But, if the king asks the most he prioritizes, it must be the one that cost him a lot, right?

The silence went on for several minutes. Riz patiently waits for the answer from Gerald.

Like lightning struck on his head, Gerald straightened up his back and answered the question.

"Time...Yes, time! As a merchant, nothing is more important than time. I can cover a loss for anything else but I can't buy time regardless of how much money I have."

Satisfied with Gerald's answer, Riz nods his head. "Exactly. Time can't be bought which makes it precious. Imagine if we can shorten the time travel from one place to another. People won't have to spend so much time in their life travelling. Don't you feel the same, Theodora? You waste 20 days of your life to travel from Tetherswest to Bideford."

"Yeah, it is a very uncomfortable experience which is also why I never brought up the topic of returning to Tetherswest despite our marriage still being two years away," replies Theodora.

"So, Your Majesty calls us because this project is related to the road?" asked Gerald.

"Yes, look at this." Riz passed the project plan to them.

Both of them read the proposed plan silently. The report contains an estimated budget, detailed road design, route location and primary ground survey. Riz proposes a road of two-lane in both ways with each lane having a width of three meters. He might overdo it as there are no trucks or cars in this world yet.

"65,579,000 Ryn!! Are you crazy? What with this number?" Theodora almost had a heart attack. She probably gets one if she gets this kind of shock periodically. This amount is just insane.

Gerald had the same reaction. We're talking about tens of millions here. What kind of concept is that? He has met and gotten to know various rich merchants in his life. Most of them just talk and brag about their wealth which amounts to hundreds of thousands. To this young king, those merchants' wealth is probably like pocket money.

Riz chuckled seeing her reaction.

"It's a total budget. That is why I wrote it as a megaproject. Don't you read the report's title? Calm down a bit, you're overreacting. We will build it phase by phase starting with the Bideford-Portsbury-Baroks-Rogvor route. Furthermore, we are going to get the money back by charging the people to use it. I know you're reluctant but these roads can drive our economy further."

"Are people really going to use it, Your Majesty?" Gerald ask.

"At first, not all will use it. But, once their curiosity gets the best of them, they can't resist the comfortable journey on the smooth road. Especially the merchants and the rich." explained Riz.

"Whichever you choose, you better have a valid reason for it."

"Of course, I have. With a flat and wide road, we can transport the coal in the south to Bideford faster than before."

"Even so, Your Majesty. It probably takes a decade to complete one route."

"Don't you see the detailed design I made? It has all the measurements and data included which I had gone to a great length to obtain. If we cut this long road into several sections and hire people to construct each section at the same time, how long do you think it will take to complete?"

Gerald's eyes brightened. "Your Majesty, you're a genius!!"

Riz nods, "I know. For that, I need you to make a hiring notice to be put in the newspaper. And Theodora, I want you to prepare the money. We will use a hundred per cent of our currency to pay them."

"As you wish, Your Majesty."

"Fine, I will prepare it as soon as possible."