"With Bibarel and these serfs, Marina City will surely enjoy a bountiful harvest this year."
Kale said with a face full of hope.
His chief purpose in visiting the Pokémon Domain this time was to bring back Bibarels, serfs, iron tools, and high-yield crop seeds to advance Marina City's development.
At the same time, Marina City had now successfully established formal ties with the Pokémon Domain and had officially joined the Pokémon League. From now on, Marina City would also begin building its own Pokémon Breeding Zones and Pokémon Breeding Houses.
Furthermore, Pokémon Food Processing Plants, Fertilizer Processing Plants, and Potion Processing Plants would likewise be constructed on Marina City's land.
After all, Marina City was now fully a part of the Pokémon Domain. The concerns that burdened other domains did not apply to Marina City, which meant that the city could completely align itself with the Pokémon Domain without any hesitation.
As long as these processing factories were established, the commoners of Marina City would all be able to find stable work, which in turn would boost the city's overall development.
In the future, once Marina City finished building these factories and began cultivating large quantities of crops and Berries, the city would become fully capable of supporting its own Pokémon Breeding Houses, without needing to worry about the Coastal Mountains standing between it and the Pokémon Domain.
Of course, only when the road between Marina City and the Pokémon Domain was completely connected would Marina City truly enter a period of rapid development. Once that happened, the factories built in Marina City could even supply resources back to the Pokémon Domain to a significant degree.
After all, Marina City was still a city—poverty aside, its population far exceeded that of an ordinary territory. For factories, manpower and production capacity were directly proportional, and in that regard, Marina City had tremendous potential.
Inside the White Apricorn Grove, Aven returned carrying the seeds of White Apricorn Trees. Some of these seeds were to be sealed and transported to Marina City for planting.
In addition to the White Apricorn seeds, he had also brought many other types of Berry seeds. Since the road between Marina City and the Pokémon Domain was still not open, he intended to let Marina City develop as independently as possible for now.
"Your Highness Aven, the crop seeds and iron farming tools have all been loaded," Kale reported, dropping to one knee as soon as he saw him.
Outside Fairhaven Town, a large number of Bibarel were gathered, each carrying bundles of luggage on their backs—bags filled with crop seeds and iron tools.
Just like before, these Bibarel would once again be responsible for transporting all the goods to Marina City. And because they were carrying seeds and iron tools, they still had no choice but to manually cross the Coastal Mountains.
"Good. The serfs are preparing on their side as well."
"Once they are ready, we'll depart for Marina City."
Aven nodded. This time, he planned to travel to Marina City personally, bringing Kale and several territorial officials with him.
His goal was not only to help Marina City with spring planting, but also to assist in building the Pokémon Breeding Zone and the Pokémon Breeding Houses.
In the future, Marina City would adopt the same set of laws as the Pokémon Domain and would be placed under the unified governance of the same administrative departments.
Therefore, the officials accompanying Aven this time represented multiple departments of the Pokémon Domain. They would work alongside Marina City's existing officials to establish brand-new administrative offices.
For these officials, going to Marina City was both a challenge and an opportunity—an opportunity to grow and improve through building a new administrative structure from scratch.
Of course, the difficulty would be immense. Even with the support of Lord Kale, fully integrating the old and new departments would not be easy.
Aside from the officials and serfs, Aven also brought several Pokémon tribes from the Pokémon Domain that were willing to move to Marina City. Among them was a newly-split Combee hive.
When they arrived, he would help the hive's leader evolve. With a Vespiquen at the head of a new colony, crop pollination in Marina City would become significantly easier.
There were also several Grass-type Pokémon tribes, which would help accelerate the growth of crops.
Additionally, the construction of the factories needed to be put on the agenda as soon as possible. Otherwise, transporting Pokémon food, fertilizer, and potions to Marina City would be far too troublesome.
Even with many Bibarel helping, the amount they could transport each trip was limited, and the cost in manpower and effort was simply too high.
If the factories could be built directly in Marina City, then its manpower could be fully utilized, allowing the city to achieve prosperity much sooner.
…
After the Pokémon League meeting concluded, the various lords departed from the Pokémon Domain one after another.
Before leaving, each of them finalized the specific construction details of their future Pokémon Breeding Zones and Breeding Houses with the Pokémon Domain.
In the coming weeks, the Pokémon Domain would help them build their facilities and promote the Trainer System across their lands.
Only after all the lords had left did Aven finally breathe a sigh of relief. With this, the Pokémon League could be considered officially established.
Of course, he still had many tasks ahead of him. He needed to continue strengthening the influence and authority of the Pokémon League, and the development of the Pokémon Domain itself would always remain the top priority.
However, the Pokémon Domain's growth had reached a bottleneck. To continue expanding, they had no choice but to look beyond their borders.
Casston Town and Marina City would become the next major focal points of development. Casston, located in the far north and bordering other territories near the Aspiration Mountains, could radiate influence across the entire northern region—immensely helpful for spreading the League's reach.
As for Marina City, its vast lands held enormous potential for growth. And because it bordered the sea, it was destined to become a prosperous maritime trade city in the future.
Once the lords departed, Aven and Kale finally began their journey to Marina City. Although it was currently the season for spring plowing, the Pokémon Domain now had a City Hall, and many affairs no longer required Aven's personal attention.
"Your Highness Aven, please leave everything here to me," Fessen said respectfully.
With the City Hall and its many departments now set up, the officials' responsibilities were clearly defined, down to the point of even managing everyday details of the citizens' lives.
Under such an organized structure, as long as no major crisis concerning the territory's future occurred, Aven didn't need to intervene. The territory would continue running smoothly on its own.
Of course, maintaining such a system required significant financial support. While most domains had only a handful of officials, the Pokémon Domain now had hundreds.
But thanks to their efficient division of labor, administrative work was handled with far greater effectiveness, and the territory operated with remarkable orderliness—enough to catch the attention of many visiting lords.
"Good. I may need to stay in Marina City for quite some time this trip."
"If anything urgent happens regarding the Pokémon League, have a Staraptor fly to Marina City and find me immediately."
With that, Aven finished giving a series of final instructions regarding the territory and then departed with his Pokémon toward Marina City.
The Bibarel colony marched in tidy formation, moving as a massive convoy, with the serfs following behind.
Unlike the typical fear and confusion of serfs being relocated, these serfs wore expressions of excitement.
"Marina City… that will be the place where we begin anew!" Their eyes were filled with hope.
They had absolute faith in Aven's promises. He had already proven his words time and time again through action.
Any serf who accumulated enough merit could become a free citizen. The living examples before them motivated everyone, so long as they worked diligently, they too could one day gain freedom.
Thus, the serfs who came to the Pokémon Domain were entirely different from ordinary serfs. Even without overseers, they worked eagerly and energetically, because they knew their labor was not for a lord, it was for themselves.
"Bii~! Biii~!"
The Bibarel sprinted forward rapidly.
Once they completed this delivery, they would earn a massive amount of Pokémon food for their tribe.
Now that spring had arrived, they hoped to use this opportunity to help feed the newborns in their tribes.
As they ran swiftly, they reached the Coastal Mountains.
They would cross the mountains directly and reach Marina City on the other side. The route was familiar to them now—their memory was excellent, and they could easily recall the path taken last time.
As for Aven, Kale, and the officials headed to Marina City, they did not follow the Bibarel over the mountain. Instead, they chose to travel along the coastline.
Since many officials and a number of Bibarel were accompanying them, the journey was easier, and they soon arrived at Marina City and entered the town.
"His Highness Aven! His Highness Aven is here!"
The moment Aven appeared, the civilians of Marina City erupted in excitement.
Last winter, it was Aven's arrival that saved them from despair, and they had never forgotten his kindness. Before long, a crowd had gathered outside the castle walls.
"It has been a long time, citizens of Marina City."
"Winter has passed, and spring brings new life. From today onward, I will work with all of you to rebuild Marina City into something even better."
Standing atop the city wall, Aven delivered a brief speech, and the citizens responded with thunderous cheers. His arrival strengthened their confidence even further.
"Thank you, Your Highness Aven," Kale said with a smile. He could clearly see the revived energy on the faces of the people.
(End of Chapter)