I, The Dragon Overlord - Chapter 202
Chapter 202 – Irresistible Temptation
“Lord Louie, sometimes you seem more like a wise philosopher than a dragon.”
The elf queen listened to Louie’s words and smiled coquettishly. Her pleasant bell-like voice spread in the air. Even the farmers who were not too far away were attracted to her divine voice and unconsciously looked over.
“Philosopher?”
Louie guffawed and shook his head without saying anything else.
Because it was a world where the Gods exist, the backward civilization hindered everyone from thinking about economics, or about how material wealth was created. Perhaps for the many people of this world, those gold and gems were the so-called wealth, but they did not know that these were only equivalents and not real wealth and money.
Moreover, they still remained the same now that the Gods had disappeared.
“It’s just that… Since you are collecting only a small amount of food as tax, this will be unfavorable to your rule. Are you planning to use the food found in another realm to support the city?”
As the queen of a country, the elf queen understood the importance of the state’s revenue and food reserves. As a result, she pointed out the flaws in Louie’s approach.
This was the reason why the lords and knights of other countries collect so much food as tax from the farmers. Other than acting as currency, there wasn’t a large production of crops in the world. If a farmer’s harvest were not collected in a large area, the foundation of one’s rule would be shaken.
The world of San Soliel was not a modern civilization. It had no machinery for large-scale sowing or planting. Even those poor countries in modern civilization did not have enough to eat, let alone this backward world that was in the Medieval Age.
“This is certainly not possible. Self-sufficiency is the key to sustaining a regime. I will one day become a God, or I might die on the way there. This city may also be handed over to my descendants.”
“As a God, how can I just help mortals solve the problems of food every time. What mortals need is to rely on their own efforts.”
The food that Louie had gathered from Earth had just been a temporary measure as he understood the concept of ‘nobody can accomplish anything without the necessary means’. Louie had prepared a development path for Dragon City, but there was a lack of capital, so he went to Earth to get those supplies that would serve as the initial capital.
As Louie said, he would one day leave the main continent and sit atop his divine kingdom. At that time, the only problems that he would worry about would be his believers and his church. He wouldn’t involve himself with mortal affairs. There had to be a divide between mortals and gods. If mortals sought the Gods every time they had a problem, then they would sooner or later become lazy, and the Gods would become their slaves. This was not something a God should do.
Louie stretched out his hand while holding a handful of rice grains.
“Do you recognize what this is?”
“This is…”
The elf queen was reminded by Louie and blurted out, “Isn’t this the rice I ate in your palace yesterday?”
“This is indeed the very thing you ate yesterday. I call it ‘rice’. I have already planted this new crop in another place. With my policy, we will soon completely reclaim the lands nearby. In two to three years Dragon City will be able to achieve self-sufficiency. There might even be a surplus!”
Louie smiled mysteriously and sprinkled the rice on the ground.
“Does the crop called ‘rice’ have such a big yield?”
The elf queen let out an astonished cry.
“Normally rice does not have such a large yield, but the rice that I brought should.”
There was no rice in the world of San Soliel. There was only wheat that Louie had investigated long ago. The special rice that Louie spoke of was hybrid rice that produced great yields. It was hybrid rice that could feed more than a billion people, let alone the population under Louie’s rule.
If intelligent beings from outer planes and inner planes weren’t taken into consideration, the intelligent beings in the main continent only added up to a few hundred million.
“As long as there is enough land, this rice alone could feed a million people. If there is any need, I could even find the divine object known as a potato to feed a larger population.”
Louie began to think that he was becoming more and more like a God of the Earth as he worried about the food of mortals.
“Your Majesty, what do you think about the taste of rice?”
“The grains could fill up one’s hunger. It’s sweet and delicious. While white bread made from refined wheat had a more wonderful taste, it far surpasses black bread.”
The queen recalled the meal that she ate the day before and described it in her own way.
She thought that the rice she ate was just like the cakes – a very rare luxury, but now, she had learned that it was actually just a common crop.
“The elves in the main continent have a population of around a million, but elves are not good at agriculture. I know that you spend a lot of effort every year to use elven specialties in exchange for food from other countries to meet the daily needs of the elves. However, you are only capable of exchanging black bread while the other important food sources still belong to other countries. This isn’t good for your regime.”
“I believe that in a few years when the agricultural production of the city reaches its targets, I can provide the elves with a large amount of rice that you ate yesterday. The problem with the food for a million people could be solved by our joint effort.”
Louie slowly spoke. This sentence hit the elf queen’s heart in its soft spot causing her to tremble. If not for the mist covering her face, Louie would be able to see her face lose color.
Louie believed that the elf queen could not refuse this offer. The most important thing she cared about was the lives of the elves. If the elves truly could not get enough food and starved to death, even the Gods would not be able to save them. When the Gods lose all their believers, they too would also be dragged down from the stars.
The queen’s heart thumped faster after Louie’s words. This was something she had been worrying about for more than a thousand years as the queen of the elves. The elves had low fertility rates and coupled with their unproductive habits, their race had a hard time growing strong.
If what Louie said was true, then this solution would be the key in unraveling the queen’s biggest worry.
But the elf queen also knew that Louie would not give out preferential treatments for free. She understood that the elves would also have to pay a great price.
Louie looked at the elf queen who was in melancholic contemplation. He interrupted her thinking and said, “This is still a matter a few years into the future. You don’t have to worry about it now.”
The Gods were about to return. Even if Louie was standing on the same starting line, it still brought great pressure. Moreover, most of those Gods knew each other well and would be able to create alliances. On the other hand, Louie knew none of them, so he wouldn’t be able to find allies.
Therefore, the Silver Moon Goddess wasn’t a bad ally at all. As the elven goddess, she would definitely be against most of the human gods. Louie’s current believers were humans and beastmen, but in the future, he would become the Dragon God. When that happens, the two of them could definitely become good allies.
Especially when Louie could tell how big the Silver Moon Goddess’ plot was. A million elven believers were not much before the Era of Disaster, but in this era, it was already very overwhelming.
This made her a good ally. As for how everyone’s interest could be exchanged, it will be discussed during that time.
“Your Majesty, let us continue. I will let you witness the changes in Dragon City and let you believe in my capabilities.”
Louie said in an arrogant manner.
