The popular sentiment within a territory is an elusive thing.
The day after the castle was completed, Draconis looked at the territory information on the panel.
Lord Name: Draconis
Territory: Nimbasa City (Town)
Subjects (Humans): 1426 people (Click for details)
Subjects (Pokémon): 428 (Click for details)
Popular Sentiment: 100 (United)
Satisfaction: 25680
Technology: Animal Husbandry, Fishing, Pottery, Claydol, Papermaking Technique...
After yesterday's banquet and the completion of the castle, the popular sentiment immediately reached its maximum, a full 100.
According to Draconis's observations, at this stage, his subjects, whether in life or work, carried a strong sense of enthusiasm and passion.
As if influenced by this emotion, the work efficiency of almost all workers, farmers, and ranchers in the territory had improved unprecedentedly.
Even the Pokémon in the Home of the Machoke showed unprecedented drive.
Under the leadership of Elena and Alfred, the workers began to construct the Grand Arena with great enthusiasm.
Not only that, with the completion of the castle, in just one night yesterday, the territory's satisfaction increased by ten thousand, reaching twenty-five thousand.
It had already reached a quarter of the conditions required for the Industrial Age.
However, unfortunately, according to Draconis's observations during this period, popular sentiment is not constant, and because of this, it cannot be maintained at 100 for a long time.
When people's passion fades and life returns to normal, popular sentiment will slowly decline, eventually hovering around 90.
Although this number was already very high, having experienced the effects of full popular sentiment, Draconis felt he could never go back.
He began to ponder, thinking about the reason for this situation.
As Draconis continuously flipped through the personal profiles of his subjects, he quickly found the answer.
The reason for this situation was that the residents of the territory had new demands.
As the saying goes, 'when one is well-fed and clothed, lust arises.' When people are full and satisfied, they develop new pursuits, such as spiritual needs.
For example, reading books, reading newspapers, watching Pokémon battles... activities like these can help residents relieve boredom and entertain themselves.
"It seems that while developing the territory, I also need to pay a little attention to these matters."
Draconis pondered while turning his gaze to his technology panel.
In addition to basic city construction technology, there were also many entertainment technologies.
For example:
Bard: A prerequisite for unlocking opera house technology. After unlocking, some residents in the territory will have a certain chance to gain inspiration and compose songs based on their living environment.
In addition, there were also entertainment technologies like 'Ball Games,' 'Taverns,' and 'Grand Bathhouses' that could satisfy the spiritual needs of the subjects.
Ball Games, like in modern times, involved forming a team to play against other teams for the audience to watch.
Taverns, as described in most medieval fantasy novels, were places for men to relax, drink, and boast after a busy day. Unlocking this technology would also provide some wine brewing recipes.
And the Grand Bathhouse, similar to some bathhouses in ancient Europe, was a place where people socialized while bathing. His subjects could chat in open-air baths, and the bathhouse would also provide drinks and food, with dedicated staff to serve guests.
Draconis's gaze swept over these technologies one by one.
Currently, the population requirement for advancing the technology tree to the Industrial Age was still far off. Rather than slowly accumulating, it would be better to use this time to unlock entertainment technologies.
These entertainment methods could not only satisfy the spiritual needs of the residents but also attract people from other territories.
More importantly, these technologies did not require him to spend satisfaction points to unlock them; for things like taverns and grand bathhouses, they were ready once built.
And the farmers in the territory already brewed barley beer, which could be sold in the tavern.
As for the Grand Bathhouse, Draconis thought it would be fine as long as it was built like a bathhouse.
At that time, Pokémon could be hired as waiters in the tavern, and Water-type Pokémon could be asked to help store the water for the Grand Bathhouse, while Fire-type Pokémon could help heat it.
With Pokémon around, these were not problems.
Next, what they needed to do was continue expanding the town.
Thinking of this, Draconis had Alfred called over and asked, "How is the Grand Library coming along?"
Alfred replied, "Reporting, Your Highness, after these two months, the library you ordered is basically complete. The craftsmen have also followed your instructions and used Movable Type Printing to print a large number of books to be collected here."
Those books were neatly placed on the wooden bookshelves. In addition, carpenters had custom-made a large number of tables and chairs to be placed in the library for people to read books there.
"In three more days, the library can officially open to the public," Alfred reported.
"Very good." Draconis nodded with satisfaction, then asked, "Has the news of the library's opening been published in the newspaper?"
"It has been published as per your instructions. This batch of newspapers is expected to be spread to other territories by traveling merchants in the next two days," Alfred replied.
Meanwhile, Castelia City.
As the largest city in the southern Unova region, nearly 100,000 people lived in this city.
It was a brand new day.
Scholar Derrick, as usual, woke up early.
After dressing neatly, the first thing he did was not eat or go to the toilet, but go to the door and take out the 'newspaper' he had ordered from the store from the mailbox.
With the newspaper in hand, Derrick then went to the dining room with peace of mind. He ate bread while reading the newspaper.
This newspaper had spread to Castelia City a month ago, reportedly sent from a place called Nimbasa City.
Initially, Derrick was greatly surprised by this pure white and delicate paper, but soon, he was attracted by the content printed on the newspaper.
It published many interesting things. Besides some basic academic knowledge, what interested Derrick the most were the insights and explanations about 'magical beasts'.
As a Scholar who graduated from Eindoak University, Derrick was different from other Scholars; since university, he had been fascinated by creatures called 'magical beasts'.
They were incredibly strong, could breathe fire and spew water... And ever since he read this newspaper, Derrick suddenly realized that his understanding of magical beasts was too superficial.
Different magical beasts have different attributes, magical beasts with different attributes have different powers, and magical beasts with different powers can provide help to humans from different angles... For example, today, this issue of the newspaper featured a magical beast called Combee.
Combee, a young bee magical beast, is Bug-type and Flying-type. Three magical beasts combined into one, diligently transporting sweet nectar for the Vespiquen. The honey they brew is far superior to ordinary honey, it is the 'king' of honey, containing rich nutrition, very suitable for making desserts!
"Combee, huh?" Derrick suddenly remembered that merchants in Castelia City had also been selling Sweet Honey recently.
He never expected that magical beasts like Combee could even be artificially bred.
Combee are not rare magical beasts. Derrick had conducted a survey during his university days and found that these magical beasts almost exclusively obeyed the commands of the queen in their colony.
And now, people in that place could actually raise magical beasts like Combee... He was growing more and more curious about that place called Nimbasa City.
Derrick continued to look at the next section of content, which read:
Enthusiastically celebrating the establishment of the Grand Library! From today onwards, the Nimbasa City Grand Library will officially open to the public. It houses thousands of books, and everyone, whether noble or Commoners, can come here to read! The academic atmosphere here is rich, and you can freely take books home to read after registering, simply returning them within the agreed period. All books here have been re-printed using new paper, and we believe they will bring you a brand new reading experience!
"What?!" Derrick's face showed surprise. Grand Library? Open to the public?
His eyes immediately lit up.
As a Scholar, no one could refuse such a place!
If what was written in this newspaper was true... that was the place he had always dreamed of!
A city where humans and magical beasts live together, a city with a rich academic atmosphere, a city with a Grand Library... At this moment, Derrick couldn't help but feel the urge to go there and witness it for himself.
It's decided, I'll set off today!
After breakfast, Derrick quickly packed his luggage, bid farewell to his family and fiancée, spent a sum of money, and followed the caravan, leaving Castelia City for Nimbasa City.
After several days of long travel, the caravan finally arrived at Nimbasa City.
Looking at the bustling and prosperous city in the distance, Derrick's eyes couldn't help but reveal a glimmer of longing and anticipation.
He had arrived, he had finally arrived!
Upon arriving in the city, Derrick parted ways with the caravan. As soon as he entered the town, he was astonished to see that the humans here indeed lived with magical beasts, just as described in the newspaper!
Girls sunbathing with Petilil by the street, Machoke helping to carry things in shops, Patrat holding road signs to guide directions... "Wow!"
Derrick's face showed a surprised expression. Those magical beasts did not harm humans, nor did they make any other dangerous moves.
They just lived together with humans like that.
This scene was simply like a dream!
Derrick, who had always been interested in magical beasts, couldn't help but have a thought: humans and magical beasts, could they actually live like this?
He walked down the street with curiosity, looking around at the people and magical beasts.
The first thing to do upon arriving in Nimbasa City was to find an inn to stay at.
Derrick asked a local resident and quickly found an inn on the street.
He placed his luggage in the room and then eagerly went out, wanting to personally see the Grand Library mentioned in the newspaper.
Derrick still asked a local resident, and with their enthusiastic guidance, he quickly arrived at his destination.
What greeted his eyes was a rather tall and magnificent building, shaped like a giant book standing upright.
Below the 'book' was a wide concrete staircase.
Derrick ascended the staircase and soon arrived at the entrance of this Grand Library.
The Grand Library's doors were wide open, and the scent of ink and fresh paper wafted out.
Stepping inside, directly facing the entrance was a wooden counter, behind which stood a very young girl. Beside the girl stood a tall, human-like magical beast with long ears.
This magical beast had been featured in the newspaper, so Derrick recognized it at a glance.
That was... Lopunny!
At this moment, seeing him enter, the girl and the Lopunny smiled and nodded slightly.
"Um, excuse me, is this the Grand Library?" Derrick inquired.
"That's right, this is the library built by His Highness Draconis for everyone," the young girl softly introduced. "Currently, this place has over a thousand books, and each book has been re-printed using white paper. Not only that, His Highness Draconis also plans to collect books from major towns and store them in the library!"
Derrick looked inside, following the girl's words.
When he saw the interior of the entire building clearly, he immediately widened his eyes and stood stunned in disbelief.
This library had five floors, and each floor was filled with many wooden bookshelves, and on those bookshelves were countless books.
This place... was simply an ocean of knowledge, a place countless Scholars dreamed of!
"C-can I read books here?" Derrick couldn't help but ask.
"Of course," the young girl said softly. "If you register with me and Lopunny, you can even take books home to read!"
That's also possible? Derrick was stunned. "Aren't you afraid someone won't return them?"
"We will verify the information of the person borrowing the book, and not only that, we also require a deposit equal to the price of the book. But please don't worry, when you return the book, we will return the deposit to you. Of course, if you are a resident of Nimbasa City, we only need to register your home address and personal information," the girl replied.
Hearing this, Derrick pondered for a moment and then immediately exclaimed, "What a great idea!"
"Well then, I won't disturb you. If you need any help, you can always come and ask me," the girl said softly.
Derrick nodded and then headed straight for the bookshelves in the back. He eagerly flipped through the books, and to his surprise, he found many extremely valuable rare books among them!
At this moment, Derrick immediately made a decision in his heart.
He would settle here!
Not only that, he would also bring his parents and fiancée to live here!
Inside the castle.
Alfred said with some concern:
"Your Highness Draconis, are you sure it's alright to place the books His Majesty bestowed upon you in the library?"
"Don't worry, those are just re-printed copies; the true originals are still in my hands," Draconis said. "Moreover, these books can serve a greater purpose when placed in the library."
Just in the few days since the library opened, Nimbasa City had welcomed many tourists who came from other cities specifically for it.
Among them were quite a few knowledgeable Scholars.
Draconis even saw that many of them had already spent their savings to buy houses and settle in Nimbasa City, even bringing their families over.
At this moment, Draconis couldn't help but start thinking about another matter.
Should he go back to Eindoak and request all the books from the Royal Library?
....
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