"How powerful is this Duke Savalu, really?"
On the "Crow Express," Moen asked Jude.
"Extremely powerful. Basically, almost half of the South belongs to their family. Add up several major nobles, and it's basically most of the South. That's also why everyone is attached to him, they are long-established nobles with many generations of heritage."
Jude spoke with a serious expression. If it weren't for such a terrifying power, he wouldn't have offered so much profit just to gain the support of "Fairy Tail"; he couldn't handle it all by himself.
"Hiss~"
Moen gritted his teeth, feeling it was ridiculous.
Having previously lived in a country with a long-standing centralized ideology, Moen found this medieval system of lords and vassals very hard to adapt to.
That most classic phrase, "the vassal of my vassal is not my vassal," was simply unthinkable in a unified country.
In the Kingdom of Fiore, the vassals of major nobles had no vassal relationship with the king at all. They didn't need to obey the king's orders, only their own liege lord. How could this resemble a country in a period of peace?
The noble lands were essentially inheritable, transferable, and tradable private property. The king could only reclaim land by force.
Issuing an order to reclaim land was a fool's dream; no one would listen. Usually, unless the line went extinct and no one even remotely related remained, the king could not intervene.
This was not much different from the system of indirect control: leaders swore allegiance to the king, provided troops during war, and were otherwise basically autonomous.
Moen found it hard to imagine a country functioning as a giant indirect-control state; it was truly abstract.
Systems like the Holy Roman Empire's "Prince-Elector system" or France losing half the country in a divorce were even more abstract, impossible to understand with a centralized, unified mindset.
But this was precisely their system. The Kingdom of Fiore was somewhat better, as many major cities were directly under the king's rule.
Magnolia, for example, had mayors directly accountable to the king, though the mayors weren't appointed by the king but locally elected.
The king was really just the leader of an alliance.
This also explained why, despite the king issuing orders, it was still difficult to implement them in the South.
Deep-rooted local powers could completely stand on equal footing with the king. They didn't openly oppose, but simply refused to act. The king had no way unless he openly clashed and went to war.
"Actually, once the railway network is completed, it could make things more centralized."
Moen spoke, and the statement was reasonable.
After all, with railways, the distance between local areas and the central government is effectively shortened. For central governance, this is highly convenient; anything can be transmitted quickly.
If the king had the capability, he could completely abolish the local nobles and build a more modern state, which would at least be more like a real country than the current situation.
"This shouldn't be said lightly."
Beside him, Jude was already sweating; how could such a thing possibly be realized?
It was essentially asking the Kingdom of Fiore to reform itself.
This would be opposing all the nobles of the kingdom. At that time, the whole country would truly resist. The Fiore army absolutely could not defeat all the nobles combined. It might even directly overthrow the royal family.
"Hmm, the king is indeed in a difficult position."
Moen thought about it. This was not the same difficulty as an emperor curbing local lords. After all, emperors have legal support and generally overwhelming military power, but none of that applied in Fiore.
First, if the king of Fiore tried to curb a noble, he would be seen as a tyrant; all the nobles would oppose him and resist any tyrant trying to seize their land.
Second, while the Fiore king's territory and military were the largest, combined with other nobles, he was weaker.
Trying to change the current state of the country by just building a railway was naturally impossible.
"Moen little brother, it's best not to get involved in such matters."
Seeing Moen's thoughtful expression, Jude reminded him. Such things could easily bring trouble.
"Don't worry, I'm just speaking casually."
Moen replied with a smile. Indeed, this wasn't something mages needed to concern themselves with.
Manipulating "mundane" wars would touch on the interests of all parties and could easily escalate into conflicts between mage guilds, because mage guilds themselves were also a kind of "local power," with extremely complex relationships with local authorities.
And wars between mage guilds were strictly prohibited by the "Magic Council"—this was an absolute rule.
'Unless you have the power to subdue everything,' Moen thought to himself. Ultimately, it all came down to strength; with sufficient power, there would be far fewer problems.
Soon, the "Crow Express" landed, and Moen and Jude arrived at Barlenia. After holding this meeting, Jude decided to start construction on the railway from Magnolia to Barlenia. This route would cross Fiore from the southeast straight to the southwest.
At the same time, coastal railways would begin construction from the port city of Harujion, primarily connecting the cities along the coastline.
Although the southern heartland controlled by Duke Savalu had not yet submitted, the areas near "Fairy Tail" had decisively and quickly surrendered.
"Get started on construction immediately. Work boldly and confidently. Don't fear that guy Savalu, I'll handle him."
Moen encouraged Jude, urging him to work hard. Every bit of effort Jude made would bring them closer to the Golden Cloth!
"Don't worry, I definitely won't back down!"
Jude replied with firm determination; he had long been prepared to face all of this.
In fact, this situation had already exceeded Jude's expectations. At first, he thought the negotiations would drag on for a long time, but now they could begin construction directly, and the local powers were cooperating exceptionally.
"Don't worry about your safety. I'll leave crows to protect you. If those guys dare to send anyone to harm you, that's perfect—I've been wishing for a reason to deal with them."
Moen continued, giving Jude reassurance.
Of course, Jude would naturally worry about his personal safety. Considering the arrogance of Duke Savalu and his people, acting against him seemed trivial. If they dared not touch Moen, would they really not dare target a merchant like him?
"I'll also send crows to protect your home."
Moen continued, making his arrangements perfectly clear.
His seriousness moved Jude; he never expected Moen to support him so fully!
"Thank you so much! Moen little brother, I definitely won't disappoint you!"
Jude promised sincerely. With Moen removing all his worries, he could throw himself entirely into work, striving to complete the southern railway network as soon as possible!
'Poor Lucy, this is really my fault,' Moen thought, feeling sorry for Jude's daughter. Jude, fully focused on work, would have even less time to spend with his daughter.
But there was no choice, everything was for the Golden Cloth!
In the following days, Jude indeed worked as Moen had expected, hardly returning home at all.
Jude continuously traveled between Magnolia, Barlenia, and Harujion, monitoring the construction progress closely.
At the same time, he was preparing for the next railway section, aiming to extend the line all the way to the doorstep of Duke Savalu's territory.
Moen was naturally very satisfied with Jude's diligence.
The railway gradually extended, giving the feeling of watching the progress bar of the Golden Cloth slowly advancing.
However, in this favorable situation, someone was bound to cause trouble.
"Jude is really underestimating us! He doesn't even bring a mage guard with him. Is he really not afraid of death?!"
After sending people to follow and observe Jude for a while, Duke Savalu was puzzled. It seemed Jude had a serious misunderstanding of their methods and moral standards.
Who gave this guy such confidence, daring to show himself so often outside, daring not to properly protect himself?
Any clear-eyed person could see that in the Moen–Jude pairing, the one doing the work was Jude and his Heartfilia consortium, while Moen and "Fairy Tail" were only providing support.
This meant that if Jude were killed or the Heartfilia consortium became chaotic, the railway construction would certainly be delayed.
Logically, Jude's security should have been tight. After all, no one would actually dare to plot against Moen, right?
Even if they dared, few dark mages would take the contract. Who would really underestimate the "Rose Star"?!
"Arrange for someone to take action—quickly and efficiently."
Regardless of what Jude thought, Duke Savalu had already lost his patience.
The railway from Magnolia to Barlenia had already been successfully completed. Allowing them to continue unhindered would shake the other remaining nobles.
In short, Duke Savalu was being pressured. Everyone else was waiting for him to act, to strike Jude.
If he didn't take any countermeasures, it would be normal for others to surrender to "Fairy Tail." They couldn't blindly follow the Savalu family to the end. Therefore, Duke Savalu had to demonstrate his thunderous power.
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