Inside the iron cage, a small, frail figure cowered in a corner. With its head in its hands, it trembled all over, as if oppressed by an overwhelming fear.
This was a humanoid creature, with arms and legs, just that it appeared gaunt and desiccated, and it had notably long, pointy ears.
“Incredible!” In the courtyard of the lord’s residence, Paul stared in amazement at the creature within the cage. New ɴᴏᴠᴇʟ ᴄhapters are published on ɴovelfire.net
Tirpitz, who was in charge of the fleet defending the kingdom against pirates in the south, had sent him a gift—a creature called “the goblin.”
For Paul, this was the first time he laid eyes on what one would call a “fantasy creature.” Even though he had already heard from others about the existence of dwarves, elves, and orcs in this world, and had personally experienced magical battles between mages, there was even a genuine witch standing beside him now.
Now, a creature he had only seen in anime from a previous life was suddenly before his very eyes.
“It’s just unbelievable! I thought they only existed in legends.”
It wasn’t just Paul; other local dignitaries from the Northwest Bay were also marvelling. After all, goblins had never appeared in the northwestern regions. The expressions of Hansel and Bernard, two men from the royal capital, were much more muted—as if they were internally mocking their peers for being country bumpkins.
“Lord Grayman,” she said with a slight frown and a serious tone, “this creature might look weak, but it’s actually quite dangerous. Make sure it doesn’t escape. If it gets into the nearby forests and starts to spread, the consequences would be unimaginable.”
Paul was puzzled and turned to look at Ladi, “I’ve heard of the infamy of goblins, but there’s only one here, right? If it escapes… can it really spread?”
“Yes!” Ladi still maintained her serious demeanor, “There have been several cases in history; scholars speculate that goblins may possess the ability for asexual reproduction.”
“This…” Paul was at a loss for words. Even though goblins were considered higher life forms, could they really reproduce like planarians?
“Alright then, Philip!” Paul called out.
“Lord Grayman, you called me.” The old butler was ever ready and quickly appeared in the courtyard.
Paul pointed at the goblin in the cage, “Feed that thing to the dogs after you kill it.”
Although the goblin was a gift from Tirpitz, his letter had also stated to ‘dispose of it’ immediately after getting bored, so there was no need to be considerate.
“Uh… Yes, Lord Grayman,” the old butler complied.
If the legends were true and these creatures were indeed resilient, Paul didn’t dare to just bury it casually. What if it sprouted up from the ground again? After all, in a certain magical universe, there were beings with green skin whose dandruff could grow into offspring when it fell to the earth. And this was a world where magic existed, so it was better to be cautious.
The little creature in the cage seemed to sense its tragic fate and suddenly burst into loud sobs.
Unmoved, Paul gestured for the creature to be taken away. How much better it would be if the creature inside the cage were an elven lady!
As for goblins? It was better to let them go.
The novelty had worn off, and it was time to handle serious matters.
“Gentlemen, I have called you here today to evaluate which technologies can be disseminated to the public.”
Paul led everyone to the hall to take their seats and declared this.
“To be honest, Lord Grayman, I don’t agree with teaching our technologies to others. Canned food, porcelain, salt-making, papermaking—these are all major sources of our financial income, why let others share in the profits?” ṞаŊоВΕ𝙨
Cecil, the head of intelligence, shook his head as he expressed his opposition.
Paul explained, “Cecil, here’s what I think: the principles behind our existing technologies are not complex, and it’s only a matter of time before outsiders replicate them. For years, to keep these secrets, we have invested a huge amount of manpower and resources, sending people to guard every workshop. But as the number of civilian workshops using these technologies grows, it becomes unrealistic to keep things confidential. Stringent reviews have also greatly hindered productivity growth; it’s better to open up early. Of course, this kind of opening up will be conditional; outsiders must join our patent protection system and can only use these technologies with our authorization. Correspondingly, if outsiders have good technologies that we want to use, we must also obtain authorization from them.”
“I agree with your view, Lord Grayman.”
The female advisor Ladi suggested, “Perhaps you can take the lead in establishing a Patent Protection Alliance as a precursor to the Customs Union. This won’t directly affect the interests of the rural landlords, so they have no reason to oppose it. With this as a starting point, we can gradually open up the situation, and we can also gain some experience in running an alliance.”
“Patent Protection Alliance? Good idea,” Paul was interested upon hearing this.
“One of the reasons I agree with opening up our technologies is actually to drive the development of the surrounding territories. Only when everyone’s economy picks up can we hope to reduce tariffs among each other, otherwise if only we are prosperous, they will only close their doors tighter. Additionally, we would attract less envy.”
After some discussion, including Old Fort and Hansel, most people, including the representatives of the lords, agreed with Paul’s decision. Cecil no longer expressed opposition, although as the head of intelligence, he still had many reservations.
Paul stroked his chin and said, “We need to act on this immediately. Malron?”
“Hmm?” Malron Ganard, sitting next to him, turned his head. Although Malron usually didn’t say much during various meetings, whenever there was an important issue to be discussed, Paul would always call on him.
“The Ganard family has good relations with all the lords of Northwest Bay; how about you talk to them this time?”
“Sure, leave it to me,” Malron agreed readily. “However, you need to think carefully about which technologies can be shared with others and which cannot.”
“Of course, I’m not a fool. I’m certainly not going to hand over cannon manufacturing technology, am I? That’s the second matter I called everyone here for today. I’ve decided to set up a Technology Review Committee, specifically to evaluate the various technologies we control. We must consider all aspects—especially security—and decide whether certain technologies can be authorized for external use.”
“Lord Grayman is wise. Please allow me to contribute to this committee,” Hansel was the first to brown-nose Paul, always striving to strengthen his presence in the Administration Council.