The three Holy Swordsmen did not linger in Lucien City.
That afternoon, they bid farewell to Lucien and his companions, leaving the city to continue their mission of rescuing Pokémon persecuted by humans.
However, it was clear that they were very satisfied with this place, Lucien had received a massive amount of Satisfaction from the three Swordsmen. Combined with the past month's accumulation, the total had reached a new peak of 20,000.
"Next, it's time to unlock a few technologies the territory needs," Lucien murmured.
One of them was [Ancient Automaton Engineering], the technology that allowed the creation of Golett and Golurk, and another was the crucial [Papermaking] technology.
With a thought, Lucien unlocked Ancient Automaton Engineering and its prerequisite, [Pottery], deducting 10,300 Satisfaction.
The next moment, a torrent of information surged into Lucien's mind.
[Pottery: Unlocks techniques for firing ceramic vessels.]
[Automaton Tablets: Unlocks the crafting methods for Golett and Golurk.]
[Golett Creation Method: A lost engineering technique from a mythical ancient civilization.
Clay is shaped into a humanoid form, spiral runes are engraved into its core, and the figure is placed within a graveyard, beside the newly deceased, or anywhere rich in Ghost-type energy.
The runes draw in spiritual power, animating the construct into a living automaton.]
Note: A newly awakened Golett imprints on the first person it sees as its master. Its loyalty is absolute, obeying all commands. It can defend humans and Pokémon or perform heavy labor.If its master dies, a Golett can be placed at their grave, where it will guard their resting place for eternity.
"This is…" Lucien was stunned.
The raw materials to create Golett and Golurk required clay and spiritual energy?
No, according to the tablets, sufficient Ghost-type energy alone was enough.
This meant Lucien didn't need a human soul. If he could find a powerful Ghost-type Pokémon, it could infuse its energy into the runes, allowing Golett to be created safely.
The spiral runes were the key, they converted Ghost-type energy into a perpetual driving force.
The engineering of this ancient civilization… it's unbelievable.
The entire rune-inscribing technique was now engraved in Lucien's memory. His people had dug up mountains of clay to build houses, so materials were plentiful.
As long as he found a Ghost-type Pokémon, they could mass-produce Golett.
Creating Golurk, however, required exponentially more clay and far stronger Ghost energy, reasonable, since Golurk was the evolved, giant guardian form.
"A Ghost-type Pokémon…"
Lucien pondered where he could find one.
Obviously, he couldn't kill any humans or Pokémon to harvest souls.
But in all his time here, he had yet to see a single Ghost-type in the region.
"Forget it… I'll unlock papermaking first."
Papermaking belonged to the Gathering branch of technologies, requiring 9,000 Satisfaction including prerequisite tech.
Exactly enough.
[Papermaking: Unlocks the method of producing paper from plant fibers such as tree bark, rags, and fishing nets.]
"With this, we can finally begin mass-producing white paper," Lucien thought.
Paper was an essential leap forward.
With it, civilians who could not afford parchment could read and write. Knowledge would no longer be a privilege of the rich.
Ideas could spread. Education could flourish.
It would also allow technological advancement and cultural exchange, such as printing newspapers.
And in an era where most humans lived in fear of Pokémon, Lucien could publish newspapers to educate the public, share Pokémon facts, report major events, and slowly reshape society's perception.
Merchants could carry the newspapers to other towns, spreading influence far beyond Lucien City.
"Elif, I need several trustworthy artisans who are skilled in parchment work," Lucien said as he wrote the papermaking method onto a sheet of parchment.
"H-His Highness… this is…" Elif blinked in confusion.
Lucien handed him the parchment. "Have them attempt to produce paper using this method."
Elif accepted it. The moment he noticed that the new paper was supposed to be made from tree bark, his expression turned incredulous.
Paper… made from bark?
How could something so hard and rough become thin, soft writing material?
Lucien didn't pause. "In addition to that, I need you to arrange manpower to establish a Royal Caravan and a Royal Workshop."
Over the coming months, the territory would be entering a period of rapid expansion. Tax revenue alone wouldn't be enough to fuel such growth. They needed stable, controllable sources of wealth.
A royal caravan would allow Lucien to tightly control the territories' most important technologies, from papermaking and printing, to refined salt production, to any future industrial advancements.
Meanwhile, the royal workshop could focus on researching and inventing new technologies, the first being papermaking, but eventually even steam engines.
The salt used by people in this era was no different from ancient times, crude, unrefined, mixed with impurities. With no Pokémon like Garganacl in the region, salt production was slow and inefficient, making high-quality salt extremely expensive.
Thinking of this, Lucien quickly wrote down the detailed method for refining coarse salt into clean white salt on another sheet of parchment. He handed it to Elif.
"This refined salt can be sold for a high price to nobles in other territories. It will be very popular."
Elif stared at the instructions, stunned.
"Your Highness…?"
It was in that moment the old steward realized something.
His Highness… had changed.
Before, Lucien had never involved himself in such complex civil technologies or economic planning.
Before, His Highness was gentle, sheltered, even a bit naïve.
But now… Lucien was calm, decisive, and full of knowledge no one in this era possessed.
Elif didn't know where such a transformation came from.
"Is something wrong, Elif?" Lucien looked up from his thoughts as he noticed the steward's expression.
"N-No, nothing," Elif said quickly. "I was only thinking, how much better things would have been if Your Highness had never left the royal city. You wouldn't have suffered so much. I remember how much Your Highness used to love the Flying Cloud Ice Cream that came as tribute from the Flying Cloud Territory."
"Oh, right!" Lucien suddenly laughed. "One time I even fought with Victini over the last cup of Ice Cream. Thinking about it now, it's really funny!"
That tone, that warmth, that was unmistakably His Highness.
Elif's doubts scattered instantly.
No matter how much Lucien changed, he was still his Highness.
Elif smiled. "When I speak with the caravan, I'll ask them to bring back a few barrels of Ice Cream the next time they pass through Flying Cloud Territory. Now that we have so many Ice-type magical beasts in the territory, we can use their abilities to make sure the ice cream won't melt during transport."