Reincarnate as Prince: Change Magical World with Industry

17 Celebration

By the end of the season, Janus was hit by an astounding number.

"Wait... How much?"

"Ten times more per acre your highness. That's how much we've earned in the last season alone. We cannot store this much produce in the estate, so we had to haul some of them to the castle. I must say, this growth is more than anything I've ever seen in my entire life."

"Wait, could you arrange for some of the products to be kept here. I'll pay for it with my own money."

"Why certainly your highness. What are you planning to do with it?"

"This is all thanks to everyone's hard work! Call in the house help and gather everyone to a meeting. This calls for a celebration!"

By the end of the week, Janus and the staff called in everyone for a banquet. This served as a way for everyone to be rewarded for their hard work and also a good opportunity to try out their new crops.

Mr. Rufus was hard at work, developing various gourmet recipes during the winter, which he perfected with Janus' input.

They made various sweet cakes and meat pies, large pots of stews, and roasted beef and pork. Stir fried noodle dishes that had a huge helping of meat and vegetables. But among all of these, there was one dish that was the star of the show.

Janus commissioned Adduk to design and build a stone oven for him, with the goal of making this amazing dish.

It was a flat piece of bread with sauce and cheese on top. Along with basil, olives and a good portion of meat.

Pizza, another one of Janus' favorites that he had been craving for far too long. The crust was better than in any fast food joint, the sauce was fresh and the ingredients came right out of the soil. It was delicious. With the huge stone oven, they were able to produce twenty pies by the end of the day. The workers rejoiced as they tasted another one of the Prince's gourmet foods.

They also ordered mead and wine from the neighboring countries. Janus didn't hold back on the alcohol this time, opting for the better brews that the pubs offer. This here was a full-on celebration.

 There were songs and merriment all over the place. Millen and the gang started playing music, with wooden skin drums and flutes. Cedi was a proficient fiddler, and they played folk music all through the night by the campfire while food and drink flowed.

Kazzuk called out to everyone that they prepared something for entertainment. The humans were surprised to learn that there was a poet in one of the new goblin refugees. Preeni was a lanky goblin who had little fangs and golden eyes and looked the cleanest among the little creatures. She had her hair tied in pigtails and moved like a tiny princess. She reminded Janus of a younger Yvaine, a memory that hit him out of nowhere.

She stood up on a wooden pedestal and started reciting. She spoke tales of the Fjords and of goblins outsmarting Dwarves who were reckless and drunk. Old lyrical poems of the goblins' struggles across wars through the ages and exploits of exotic warrior tribes.  The final one was the best. She composed a poem around Kazzak's rebellion against their old Master. How a lowly worker learned to stand up to his oppressor, on how he united the goblin bands and planned for an escape. How the bands were scattered and chased by a pack of wolfhounds and armed assassins, and how the noble Prince Janus came to their rescue and saved them all.

There wasn't a dry eye when she finished her tale, and she was met with rousing applause. Even Janus was shocked to his core, it may have been the combination of her lovely high-pitched voice or the fact that he was a character in it. He felt a little unease at how they looked too highly of him.

After her performance, everyone's mood lightened up even more. They were dancing and drinking and shared a lot of tales and laughter. Serf, goblins, guard, Knight, free workers, and Janus. Everyone celebrated with full merriment and glee.

And there wasn't a care in the world.

#

Master Ringo came to Janus one morning, as he was reading by a chair on the balcony of the second floor.

"Your Highness, there's the matter of taxes that we must discuss."

"Taxes? I have to manage taxes?"

  "Yes, of course, your highness. Now that we are reaping a lot more harvest and working on a larger plot of land, it's time for us to review if our tax scheme still makes sense."

  "I see, let's take a look at it then."

  Janus had never experienced paying taxes before. This was a part of his responsibility that completely escaped him.

  As much as Janus wanted to relieve his workers of the taxes that they were paying, he still had an obligation to the crown and to the facilities of the manor. He was tempted to s***h all of their taxes but figured that it would be too much of a burden for their operations, with all the meals they were serving on top of the renovations. He also didn't want to gain too much attention to himself by doing so. Rumors could go around town and every able-bodied worker might turn up at the front gates asking for tax-free work. Besides, without these taxes, he wouldn't live a life as comfortable as he was now.

  He could see that the serfs were paying 50% of their wages, and the freeholders were at 40%. Freeholders were the workers who resided within the premises but did not necessarily work for the manor, some worked for other professions outside town. With all the costs that they were paying for building materials and the daily food rations for the workers, as well as the increase in yields for the current season, Janus came up with a number that he thought would balance the needs of the manor with the ongoing infrastructure.

  "Let's have it 60% for the serfs and 40% for the freeholders." An increase of 10% per category.

  "As you wish your highness. Although I must caution you, it is possible that this will be met with complaints. Five years ago, when we did a similar increase, we had to call out soldiers to stop the protesters and rioters." The steward said.

  "Yes Master, I am aware of that. For now, though let's wait and see."

  "How about the goblins sire?"

  "What? They have to pay as well?"

  "Of course sire. The law mandates that non-human races are to be taxed an even higher amount for the privilege of working under human masters."

  Janus was slightly irked by this, but he had no choice but to comply. The goblins would have to pay 60% of their wages in taxes, something he found hard to stomach.

  When the announcement came, Master Ringo was surprised that there were no protests at all. If anything, the workers were willing to pay more if that meant getting more food and facilities, which the Steward arranged. The workers had enough necessities provided by Janus that they weren't in need of extra money, they were saving more and putting it on their homes.

 The goblins were once slaves, so having a large tax wasn't a problem for them at all. Even when it was a huge cut, they were free to use the lumber from the reclaimed land and free to use the hunting grounds. Which was much more valuable to them than the local currency.

As soon as everything was up and running again, Janus found more time to relax and quite enjoyed it. There was a nagging voice at the back of his mind that told him he should be learning a lot more about the history and politics of Galedon and Kalesia, but being a member of the royal family afforded its perks that he would have never enjoyed before, so he slowed down his workload and basically just lived off what he had worked for in the last year.

  By the summer and autumn season, their yields were at a constant growth, and expansion of the manor stretched out to another ten acres. Almost reclaiming the entire landmass of the King's estate. Yvaine came to visit here and there, but only for a few days at a time.

  Janus found his life to be easier, and so his Contribution point collections were getting slower by the day. He had a steady supply of his favorite foods. Pasta, chicken dishes, pizzas, and roasted beef were some of his favorites. After his management duties he was free to roam around outside and just entertain himself with cheap CP novels.