Subscriber of the Gods Chapter 411 - Ruler of Nature

“As you can see, the Whiskers territory has now absorbed all the surrounding territories. And it has received permission for things that would normally not be allowed.”

Expanding a territory doesn’t just involve absorbing or merging with other territories.

If conditions allow, one can absorb uninhabited land for additional expansion.

However, to merge uninhabited land into a territory, the emperor’s permission is absolutely necessary.

This was natural. All land within the boundaries of the Holy Empire belongs to Emperor Cairodias Sacred of the Holy Empire.

That’s why the emperor’s permission must be sought, but it was rarely granted.

If nobles increased their size, they might get dangerous ideas, which could lead to the weakening of imperial authority.

‘It’s not that difficult for me.’

That’s what he had built connections for.

‘I even established a branch of the Holylight Order on purpose. And it’s a branch that the Pope himself had a hand in.’

On top of that, he had even created deeper ties with Princess Evangeline.

‘The fourth apostle of the Moonforce Order. This has essentially eliminated any seeds of rebellion.’

For Princess Evangeline, the Whiskers territory had become a safer counterpart than any other noble family.

‘Of course, there are more occasions where we’ll help each other in the future.’

At least, there won’t be a situation where the imperial family suddenly changes its stance and becomes an enemy.

“Then, as Lord Ethan said, we’ll really be able to buy all items here.”

The Whiskers territory would not only become the largest territory on the continent but could also become the most visited territory.

‘I’ve done it before.’

The largest territory on the continent. Obtaining that title makes so many things easier.

‘Though there’s also a lot more to pay attention to.’

The reason Ethan couldn’t continue operating that territory before was because there was too much to manage due to its size.

He had to manage each and every thing individually.

‘I’ve improved on that issue. The scale is even larger than before, but there are people to take charge of each area.’

There was no need for Ethan to manage everything by himself.

He had placed experts in all necessary areas, so all Ethan had to do was receive final reports and provide direction.

‘It took quite a while.’

Recruiting talented individuals and placing them in the right positions wasn’t an easy task. But once it was done, it felt incredibly reassuring.

‘It’s good to challenge boldly, but I should prioritize safety for a while. Balance is important.’

“So, the scale issue has been resolved, and you’ve brought in talented individuals, but about the procurement of raw materials…”

The procurement of raw materials with consistent quality was the most important factor.

If that could be resolved too, this business could really be scaled up as Ethan had envisioned.

“The market is already firmly established, so it might take a little time for us to squeeze in. Of course, that doesn’t mean we can’t do it.”

Etting was confident in taking on the challenge. If Ethan wanted it, Etting would make it a reality. Isn’t that the duty of a merchant collaborating with Ethan?

“Don’t worry about that. Isn’t that the most difficult problem?”

Ethan said with a smile.

“I have a way to facilitate the procurement of raw materials.”

***

Herbs are difficult to cultivate.

Similarly, raising insects was quite challenging.

‘The reason it’s difficult is simple. It’s because it’s an artificially created nature.’

Then, if one creates pure nature itself, it should work.

Ethan opened the New World.

‘The New World can be utilized in various ways.’

He had already accumulated a lot of likes. Until now, he had invested all the likes in survival, but now he had enough leeway to invest in the development of the territory as well.

“Thanks to the exchange festival.”

-[Earth], [Abundance].

Ethan entered these two keywords.

The most important thing in herb cultivation was soil fertility.

The power of the land.

‘And blessings.’

If he could use the power of a god who could bestow the blessing of abundance, he could cultivate any difficult herb and maintain consistent quality.

‘If it’s a fertile land, insects can be raised without any problems too.’

Through Fabre’s Insect Research, Ethan was able to understand various characteristics of insects.

“I could see that these two disciplines, now separated, originated from the same root.”

Although insects were creepy, he had to overcome it to leverage the synergy between entomology and herbology.

-The algorithm recommends gods based on the searched keywords.

-[Goddess of Earth, Agriculture, and Abundance]

“There it is.”

Just by looking at the epithet, he could tell which goddess it was.

-Would you like to subscribe to Demeter, the goddess of agriculture?

Ethan immediately subscribed to Demeter.

Among the relatively major Greek and Roman gods, she was uniquely inconspicuous, but that was because combat-oriented gods were more intuitively visible, not because her abilities were insignificant.

‘She’s the best god when it comes to crops.’

Everything that grows from the earth.

And nature.

As the goddess of nature and everything that grows from the earth, Demeter should be able to fulfill Ethan’s plan.

“The number of subscribers is neither high nor low.”

But the number of likes was quite high.

“It means there’s a fan base.”

Once subscribed, they watch all the videos.

“As expected.”

As soon as Ethan saw the video list, he could confirm that his intuition was correct.

-How to create excellent crops

-How to bless the land

-How to bring abundance

“Blessings, abundance. These are exactly what I need right now.”

Besides these, there were numerous videos with detailed content. Unlike other Greek and Roman gods, Demeter had classified her videos in detail, making them a lifeline for production-oriented occupations.

Ethan started watching the videos in order.

Rustle-.

Golden wheat swayed in the wind.

The visible landscape was truly a land of abundance. Demeter stood on that abundant land.

She exuded such strong benevolence that one could tell at a glance that she was the goddess governing abundance.

-Greetings, subscriber. I am Demeter, the goddess who will bestow abundance upon you.

Demeter said.

-Abundance, the ability to grow any crop safely and successfully. Is that what you desire from me?

As Demeter’s hand spread out, flower buds began to bloom fully.

Then, the apples hanging on the trees boasted even deeper colors, and various grasses grew from the ground.

It was truly a touch full of life.

‘As expected.’

-I will grant you the power of the blessing of abundance.

Ethan was able to learn two skills from Demeter.

-You have learned the Blessing of Abundance!

-Skill added: Blessing of Abundance (A)

-You have learned Land Enhancement!

-Skill added: Land Enhancement (A)

One was the Blessing of Abundance, which allowed crops to grow without failure and always yield a bountiful harvest.

However, this Blessing of Abundance had a drawback.

-As it draws out all the potential of the land, there might be a poor harvest the following year.

Literally, it was a skill that used up the land’s fertility, so it had a significant drawback.

-That’s why we have this Land Enhancement. This Land Enhancement technique breathes life back into exhausted land.

A skill that depletes the land’s power and a skill that recharges it again.

-These two powers are the core of abundance.

They were the core techniques of Demeter’s power of abundance.

‘This should be enough.’

With these two skills, it would be sufficient to implement Ethan’s plan.

‘It’ll be really helpful when writing a subscription review later too.’

It seemed like it would make for a pretty good short video as well.

***

“Teacher Ethan!”

“It’s really, really big! I’ve only heard about it. There was even a guide at the entrance. I’ve been to the capital several times, but this seems even bigger than the capital!”

The teachers who had received Ethan’s invitation at the exchange festival came to the Whiskers territory.

They looked around the Whiskers territory with sparkling eyes and were very surprised.

The current size of the Whiskers territory had grown to rival that of the capital.

Moreover, as it was a city completely specialized in commerce, it had even more floating population than the capital.

It was natural since many people visited the Whiskers territory to use Ethan’s workshop.

“Thank you for coming! I heard that… some people even quit the academy because of me.”

Some teachers researching entomology had quit the academy altogether and come to find Ethan.

‘That’s bold. That’s why they can walk the path of insects that others don’t.’

Ethan quite liked that boldness.

“We came without leaving anything behind. It’s Teacher Ethan’s call, who truly loves insects, so of course we had to come, putting everything else aside. We’ve come here for a new challenge. Whether the result is success or failure.”

“They said they would take us back anytime if we go back, so it’s fine!”

Hearing the words of the entomology teachers, the herbology teachers also looked surprised.

To think they would quit the academy altogether and come!

“There’s no need to compare too much. I’m grateful just for you coming here.”

Ethan said, looking at the slightly discouraged herbology teachers.

‘They’ll end up quitting anyway.’

“I didn’t invite you here just for an exchange.”

The place Ethan guided them to was the newly prepared 2nd market. The construction was nearing completion, and there was quite a large empty space created in the process.

“We’re going to turn this place into a forest. I’m thinking of creating a large park in the middle of this market.”

There was a very large empty space between the 1st and 2nd markets.

Ethan planned to turn this empty space into a forest full of greenery.

‘It’s a kind of ecological park. I’m going to cut off a corner of this park and turn it into a forest of herbs.’

“This will create an enormous park!”

“Could it be… is what I’m thinking correct?”

At the mention of creating a park, one of the herbology teachers seemed to catch on and opened his eyes wide.

“Yes, that’s right. We’re going to cultivate herbs here. You could call it a forest of herbs. But I don’t intend to just cultivate herbs there.”

As Ethan grinned, this time the entomology teachers, no, now entomology mages, began to curl up the corners of their mouths.

Insects also live in a park full of herbs.

Insects and herbs.

Ethan was now saying he would create a place where the ingredients for potions come together.

“You must have heard about the Ethan workshop that bears my name. There are several mages there, all of whom were once treated as outcasts in the magic tower.”

However, they had now become renowned mages at Ethan’s workshop.

“Indeed… Miss Scarlet has already become a famous mage.”

Scarlet, known as the mage of colors, was already an incredible figure even among mages.

The colorful magic she created was extremely beautiful and practical.

Her color magic, which had been disregarded until now, became magic that everyone desired through Ethan’s workshop, so it could be said that the image of one person had completely changed.

“That’s power. The color magic that everyone ignored has become something everyone wants, giving it that much authority.”

Ethan said.

“Who would point fingers at Miss Scarlet, calling her someone who sells magic? Everyone just acknowledges her as a mage to be looked up to.”

Ethan stomped his foot with a thud.

“Everyone points fingers at the great first step. Only the truly brave can take that first step.”

“The brave…”

“Join the Ethan workshop and take the great first step with me. Let the customers who visit our workshop re-evaluate that innate talent you possess.”

Gulp-.

Someone among the mages swallowed.

The words ‘great first step’ and ‘re-evaluation’ were already swirling in their minds.

‘This removes the discomfort.’

Mages have a tremendous hostility towards selling magic. But just by giving them a justification like this and stimulating their psychology, it was possible to dissolve that hostility.

“I’ll join you!”

Adding to that, with the lead of the entomology mages who had already resigned from the academy, the herbology teachers also raised their hands.

“I’ll quit the academy and come! Please let me be part of that great first step that Teacher Ethan… no, Count Ethan is taking!”

“I want to join too!”

Ethan extended his hand to them.

“Let’s go together.”

***

Ethan first purchased numerous herb seeds and seedlings through Etting and planted them in the empty space of the 2nd market.

“Hmm.”

The hired herbalists and the mages who had decided to take the great first step together all participated in the transplanting process.

“……”

“……”

They quietly observed Ethan’s method. But their mouths were itching to speak.

They wanted to warn Ethan that planting like that wouldn’t allow the herbs to properly take root in the soil, that if herb cultivation was that easy, high-grade herbs wouldn’t be treated as high-grade.

Once uprooted, the survival rate drops significantly.

In fact, it’s fair to say that young grass dies as soon as it’s uprooted.

“The survival rate is less than 10 percent. If you uproot and plant ten, about one survives, and the chance of that one becoming a good herb is almost zero. I’ve never seen such a case, Count.”

“Less than 10 percent? This is too high.”

Ethan said with a smile.

Who would know? That Ethan had pulled up survival possibilities from even lower survival rates.

To Ethan, 10 percent was a very high figure.

“H-high, you say?”

Ethan picked up one herb seedling.

Whoosh-.

And he enveloped it with Demeter’s blessing.

“Yes.”

Shove-!

“I-if you plant it so recklessly, the herb will di-“

Suddenly, the herbalist was greatly surprised.

“…not die?”

The planted herb was fine. No, it even seemed vibrant.