Kingdom Simulator: I, a Fallen Noble, Build a God-Level Kingdom!-Chapter 48: The Little Street Performer Magician

"Oh Goddess of Wisdom, please bestow your blessings upon my people. I offer you fine wine and delicacies as tribute. If there is anything else you desire, reveal it to me, and I shall do my utmost to fulfill it."

Standing before the statue of the Goddess of Wisdom, Romon gazed up at her figure and spoke these words quietly to himself.

Before long, Talia returned, floating ritual offerings through the air with her magic. Romon took some from her and carefully arranged them in a row. freewёbnoνel.com

Then, he called up the simulator values in his mind.

His Culture value, which had hovered just above a hundred, suddenly jumped—up to 135!

An increase of more than thirty points! It really worked!

So, performing a ritual to the Goddess of Wisdom was effective. Other people couldn’t see numbers and saw this merely as an act of faith, but Romon could see the data—and to him, it was a transaction.

"Talia, prepare another batch! Quickly!" Romon exclaimed, as if he’d just discovered a new world.

Talia didn’t understand the reason, but hurried off to obey. This time, she returned even faster—her speed nearly double what it was before.

Romon offered the new tributes, but this time, the Culture value didn’t budge.

"As I thought... just like a festival, the offering only works once," Romon thought to himself.

Now that he had a moment to spare, he turned to Talia. With the Culture value surging by over thirty points, what kind of effect would this have on the rapid-fire mage?

"Lord Romon, I just discovered something! When I use wind element magic to fly, if I adjust a few subtle flows of mana, I can move faster and use less energy!" Talia said excitedly.

Romon didn’t use wind element flight—his was a single-use spell, and he didn’t have to worry about mid-flight consumption, since only the initial casting cost him mana.

Still, he congratulated her: "Seems the Goddess of Wisdom is watching over you—granting you sudden insight."

At that, Talia looked up at the statue of the goddess and bowed deeply.

"Thank you, great goddess. Please watch over me every day, so I can become stronger and even more amazing!"

"If that really works, I’ll promote the worship of the Goddess of Wisdom throughout the entire Thune Lord domain," Romon joked.

In the midst of their laughter, he opened the Simulator Blueprint interface, focusing on a few key figures in the territory.

One of them was Princess Angelia, who had just finished breakfast prepared by Lornis and was strolling leisurely toward the labyrinth.

Whether on a whim or inspired by something, she suddenly summoned a slender sword on the hillside. Blue magic energy coated the blade, while a faint orange battle aura surged outward from within.

On this otherwise ordinary morning, she had actually mastered the art of balancing magic and battle aura."Whoosh—"

She swung her sword toward the distance. The sword’s energy slashed through the air, the pressure of the wind shattering stones and trees, flattening a rocky area dozens of meters wide!

"Amazing! Lornis—Lornis, look what I’ve just mastered! I have to tell Romon right away!" Angelia rushed back to the castle in excitement, only to remember that Romon had already gone out. So instead, she grabbed Lornis’s arm, jumping up and down with joy.

Lornis quickly offered her congratulations. "Congratulations, Your Highness. Your swordsmanship sounds incredible."

She hadn’t seen Angelia’s strike herself—she’d only heard a thunderous boom from within the castle.

Angelia let go of Lornis and said, "I’m going to find Romon right now—he’ll be so happy for me!"

"Of course, Your Highness. Lord Romon certainly will."

...

Another key figure was Nini. She was no longer just Romon’s slave, but now the leader of the assassin group as well. The collar that boosted all of her abilities by 50% was still around her neck.

At the moment, she was returning from Stone Town, suggesting that she had finished the task Romon had assigned her.

Romon had often observed Nini’s speed on the map. At first, she moved at the pace of a typical assassin, but after receiving the pet collar, her speed had improved dramatically.

Now, as if breaking free from her shackles, she followed a spark of inspiration and managed to achieve a breakthrough.

She was originally on par with Talia, but while Talia had recently mastered both Orbital Magic and improved flight acceleration, Nini hadn’t shown any particular progress—until now.

At last, she exploded with potential. On the map, it was obvious: her speed had surpassed that of the previous Spidevs. Compared to her own earlier pace, it was like she was moving at double speed.

In other words, she’d somehow grasped a new assassin’s sprint technique, instantly doubling her speed! For an assassin, that was a massive improvement.

Usually, assassins needed to scout ahead and find the perfect hiding spot before carrying out a mission—a challenge that had stymied many. But with enough speed, it was possible to hide farther away, making discovery much less likely.

For example, to assassinate a lord who was out inspecting the town: his guards would be posted throughout the streets, making it nearly impossible to hide close by. But with enough speed, Nini could hide outside the town itself and still dash in, strike before anyone could react, and escape to safety.

...

Romon traced Nini’s path back toward Stone Town.

There were a few people in Stone Town worth watching.

The most notable was Mayus, the [Knight of Honor]. During his last interview, Romon had sensed he was on the verge of a breakthrough.

At that moment, in Stone Town’s knight training grounds, Mayus was drilling his troops when he suddenly felt a surge of clarity at the back of his mind. His entire life flashed before his eyes, and details he’d previously ignored became crystal clear.

He quickly realized that his obsession with shortcuts and neglect of small details was the very thing that had kept him stuck at the peak of being a knight, unable to break through.Now that he’d figured this out, a surge of battle aura erupted within him right in the middle of training. By mentally filling in all the details he’d previously overlooked, he smoothly and naturally broke through to become a true Knight of Honor.

At that moment—

On the training field, a hundred knights of various ranks all turned to look at Mayus, their eyes full of envy and admiration.

"Captain, did you just break through?"

"Now you’re a real Knight of Honor, Captain. Isn’t this worth a few drinks?"

"Captain, can you share your experience? I’ll need it when it’s my turn to break through."

"Break through? You’re a thirty-year-old knight apprentice—what are you breaking through to?"

Amidst the teasing and congratulations of his men, Mayus’s face was a mix of excitement and a lingering hint of shock.

Because for knights who’d been stuck at the edge of promotion, any change in the outside world was especially noticeable.

He remembered—when he’d first met Romon, the moment he signed his name, he’d felt a strange power settle on him. It was hard to describe—vague and intangible—but ever since joining, his mood and emotions had become much steadier. Gone was the old anxiety and inner turmoil.

Now, at last, he had proof: that strange sensation was no illusion, but a real, tangible force!

A force that made him more rational, more capable, and even able to advance his rank more quickly!

Did this power come from nowhere?

Mayus didn’t think so. When he’d been a free adventurer, he’d never felt it. When he served under the Nightingale Lord, it wasn’t there. It only appeared after he joined Romon, under the Thune Lord’s banner.

What did that mean? It meant there was some hidden power working in Thune Lord’s domain!

More specifically, it meant Romon Thune Lord himself was the source of this mysterious force! Stone Town hadn’t been like this before—only after Romon took it over did this power appear!

People like him—maybe they really were born to lead. The rise of House Thune Lord would be unstoppable—so thought Mayus.

Just then, a tall, bald figure approached. Mayus turned to look."Golden Stone? What are you doing here?"

"Congratulations, Mayus. You’re the first true Knight of Honor in Stone Town." Golden Stone was now the head of the mage corps, on equal footing with Mayus.

Before this, he’d been far below Mayus in rank—if they fought, Mayus could take him down in under thirty rounds.

"Heh. What about you, Old Rock? When are you going to become Stone Town’s first Grand Mage?" Mayus sneered. He had no interest in Golden Stone—even now that they were equals, he barely spared him a glance.

"I’m still far from it. Maybe Talia will be the first. She’s already incredibly skilled. None of us mages can match her."

Both men recalled Talia’s orbital bombardment the other day—the power and style of that attack was already beyond that of an ordinary mage, bordering on grand mage territory.

Though her actual rank was still just ’mage’, her offensive abilities were already at the grand mage level.

"Heh, the little street performer mage no one believed in might actually become Stone Town’s first Grand Mage." Mayus wanted to sneer again, but the smile quickly faded from his face.

Because it hit him—Talia had joined House Thune Lord earlier than any of them. The once-dismissed street performer had become the lord’s top siege weapon, and was now a favorite in Romon’s court.

Her abnormal rate of progress—didn’t it once again prove that Romon Thune Lord was anything but ordinary?

Mayus looked eastward. In his mind, Romon’s figure was growing ever taller, ever more mysterious.

...

Romon, meanwhile, was studying his blueprints, unaware of Mayus’s daydreams.

Still, just as he’d expected, Mayus had advanced to Knight of Honor. That was a boon for Thune Lord’s military.

As long as his status stayed green and didn’t turn red, he was a useful asset. But if that color shifted even a fraction toward danger, well—the assassin corps was always ready for such cases.