"You're overthinking it."
"If you want to follow, then follow."
Rowan waved a hand as if to say, you're imagining too much. Then he left the palace and headed to the Knights of Favonius next door.
Since the Internal Affairs building hadn't been constructed yet, Internal Affairs and the Knights of Favonius were operating out of the same place. Internal Affairs was on the second floor—the space that used to be the Knights' tribunal—now temporarily converted into the Internal Affairs office.
When Rowan walked in, Seamus and Jean were working. Seeing him arrive so suddenly, they hurried over to salute, but Rowan gestured for them not to be so stiff.
"No need to salute. I'm just here to take a look."
"Have the people down below raised any objections to the policies we proposed?"
Seamus stepped forward to report. "None—basically no objections. Only a tiny group grumbled a bit, but they're the usual idle sort who live off others and won't work."
"Most people support our decrees."
Rowan nodded. "Good. If there's ever a large-scale public backlash, report to me immediately. But if it's something that's simply warped in values, don't bother—I trust your judgment."
"Understood, my king!"
Seamus was a seasoned hand. He'd long served as Archbishop of the Church of Favonius and hadn't participated directly in governing Mondstadt, but that didn't mean he didn't understand what ordinary people needed. You could tell from how, under his guidance, Barbara would hold big concerts at the church from time to time to lift everyone's spirits. Clearly, Seamus knew the people of Mondstadt well.
"There's one more thing," Rowan said. "Recruit a large number of construction workers as soon as possible. Mondstadt is about to start building infrastructure. We need a lot of labor—to build roads."
Rowan was about to leave when he remembered and turned back to remind them.
Seamus blinked. "Build roads?"
"Mondstadt City doesn't have any roads that need repairing, does it?" Jean looked puzzled, too. As the former Acting Grand Master of the Knights of Favonius, she'd never heard of any parts of the city being destroyed—aside from the Goth Grand Hotel that Rowan had dented a bit earlier. But Old Goth had already said they wouldn't need to pay for that.
What can you do? The Fatui are that detested in Mondstadt.
Rowan sighed. "No wonder Mondstadt is the largest wine producer in Teyvat, yet our economy is stuck at this level."
"You're only a hair better than Inazuma when it locked itself down—you can't compare with the other nations at all."
"Do you know why?"
Faced with Rowan's question, Seamus asked humbly, "I don't know where the problem lies. Please enlighten us, my king."
Jean looked expectant as well. You don't know the price of rice and oil until you're running a household; as Acting Grand Master she knew just how anemic Mondstadt's economy had become. Add to that Mondstadt's poor reputation abroad, and passing merchant guilds wanted nothing to do with hiring Mondstadters. Most guilds brought their own porters and staff so they wouldn't have to deal with locals making trouble and jacking up prices.
It wasn't as if that had never happened—Jean herself had mediated one such incident, even paying out of pocket to make up the Mondstadter's wages. Only then did the matter settle. But the look the merchant gave Jean as he left—she still hadn't forgotten it.
The look you give a fool and a patsy.
She still couldn't figure out why. Under Seamus's guidance, she probably wouldn't take long to understand. If Mondstadt truly wanted to rise, economic development had to be put on the agenda. She wanted to hear what Rowan would propose. What did building roads have to do with the economy?
"Roads have everything to do with the economy," Rowan said. "If there aren't smooth roads, how are merchants traveling from afar supposed to enter Mondstadt?"
"If the roads are bad, do you think they'll want to come?"
"So if you want economic growth, you build roads first."
"Once every trade route across Mondstadt is replaced with flat, usable roads, then people will be willing to come."
Mondstadt is Teyvat's biggest wine producer—of course there's demand everywhere. It's not whether there's demand; it's how much. The key problem is that outside the city, there isn't a single good road. It's all rutted tracks and muddy paths. Would anyone be willing to travel those?
There used to be a shortcut near the snow-capped mountains, but the bridges on both ends were destroyed. So why would Liyue's merchants still choose to come to Mondstadt?
Those who still do largely come through Jingfu Harbor. Even so, fewer arrive each year. Most who come are trading with the Fatui—but you know how the Fatui are. If they're not outright robbing you, that's already merciful. Paying fair prices? As if. They push prices so low that Mondstadters can barely survive.
So if Mondstadt wants to grow wealthy, it must build roads first—link up every key location across the land, including the route to Liyue. Only then will more people be drawn here.
Rowan laid it all out. Seamus and Jean weren't fools—they heard the real point and nodded together. No wonder he was their king; his vision for national development outstripped theirs by far.
"What about road security?" Jean followed up. "Your vision is sound, my king, but what if monsters destroy the roads?"
"That's simple," Rowan replied. "Haven't we already started recruitment? Yes, monsters on Teyvat can respawn along the ley lines over time—but we can assign a dedicated force to deal with them. And we can set up rest stops or outposts at key locations, clear monsters on a fixed schedule. Do I really need to teach you that part?"
(End of Chapter)
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