The Elf Saint is a NEET, so I Forced Her to Work in Another World

Primus Inter Pares (Part 2)

Any case, after gathering information about the standards of living and the needs of the citizens inside my fief, Eris, Salis and I worked on solutions to make everyone benefit from my knowledge of my old world's political, economic and civic systems.

"..."

As the 'personal' maid assigned to me, I had Eris hold the budgetary matters. Her Amaranthine background and mental acumen influenced my decision to trust her with my finances. And yes, she did her role with utmost enthusiasm...though sometimes with a bit of overzeal as well.

"Kuro, you know I always support your ideals," she said to me one time we're in a 'brainstorming' session. "And that's why, it is with the same love that I have to deny financing your proposal of establishing basic education level schools in every village throughout your territory."

"Why?" I asked, quite shocked at her refusal.

"Well, unlike in the Academy, the only place where your duchy is densely populated is at your port city of Maverny. Villages in your territory have the largest population pegged at around 200 people, including working adults and old people. It's too few for a school to be established; we'll only waste money on the payment of teachers, supply costs and the maintenance of near-empty buildings."

I'd say I have to agree. Eris made her point.

"But..." Salis interjected, shifting through the papers in her hand. "We can change some of the plan's aspects, Human Chief."

"Please call me Kuro," I reminded her. "And yes, can you explain your opinion?"

The owl-girl served as a valuable advisor to me, at least for the duration of her stay in Chersea because of the exhibits. She and Eris would always weigh on my proposals, giving me insights on those plans that was impossible if it's only me who's thinking. "A-Ahem, K-Kuro," she reiterated. "If we want to avoid wasting money on empty schools, we can just combine villages into 'education regions', where we build basic education level schools."

"You mean?"

Salis took a map of the duchy and a pencil. Then, she drew some lines, dividing the villages into several regions. "For example, I combined these villages into a single 'education region'. Next is, we'd just pick a village where we'll build the school—preferably the center most one, since it would be easier to access to other villages surrounding it."

"I see. I like the idea," Eris backed her. "This is more plausible than having schools in every village. Well, at least, for now."

"If we'll just centralize the schools," I put up another concern. "Then, how about the libraries?"

"That, we can have them in each village," the duchess nodded. "It only occupies a small space, so it's pretty easy on the maintenance. Have a teacher—preferably one that specializes in teaching reading—as its sole staff."

"Oh, and we should also establish another Academy at Maverny!" Salis suggested. "This is so we can cater to the big population in your main city."

"Yep, I like it," I told the owl-girl. "However, I got a better idea in mind."

The two girls looked at me with sheer fascination and expectation.

Then, I revealed to them, "I think it's time we build Chersea's first university."

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I got many plans to improve my fief even further. Thanks to the competence of the previous viscount, we only had few—all were minor—issues to fix when I took over. Thus, we could forget dealing the with the problems of the duchy, and devote our energies more on making life easier and prosperous for the population.