"It's because of the war damage, isn't it?"
Raymond's voice quavered.
Not just his voice, but his heart.
He was so startled that the happiness he'd felt earlier had fled without a trace.
"Yes, that's true. And while the central government has assisted us with the cost of rebuilding, there is no shortage of additional expenses that we need to raise on our own. The war and this outbreak have taken a heavy toll on mining, ranching, and wheat production, which has significantly reduced our tax base."
"Well, still, two hundred and seventy-three million pena is too much..."
Raymond's head went white.
For your information, it's only this much because of the compensation for the damages to the tower.
Otherwise, it would have been an even larger deficit.
"And what about the finances in a normal year?"
The answer was even more sobering.
"On a normal year, the deficit is small. It's about 1.27 million pena per year."
"...!"
Raymond almost screamed.
'It's not small, it's not small at all!'
He meant a 1.27 million pena hole every year!
"W-why, was it always like this before?"
Raymond asked, puzzled.
When he had researched it in the past, he had thought that the lords of the Rafalde province had enjoyed a wealthy life?
As usual, Sage Mevinson replied.
"Not so, they always had a large surplus before."
"But why?"
Mevinson the Sage replied cautiously.
"Because of the tax rate."
"What?"
"Your lordship's new tax rate is too low."
Raymond's mouth dropped open.
'Twenty percent?'
He didn't offer that low.
He was just suggesting the right tax rate.
The imperial ideal is 10%.
But in practice, it's impossible to run an estate at that rate, and 20% is considered the ideal rate.
In other words, Raymond was offering just the right rate.
"The previous lord collected about 60% in taxes, and that was for the entire Kingdom of Droton under Archduke Berard."
Raymond's mouth dropped open.
Berard, of course.
That was an insane tax rate.
Sage Mevinson spoke in an impressed voice.
"When my lord told me of the current tax rate, I was so moved by it that I wept... but it is impossible to run the estate at this rate. We must collect at least 30% in taxes to keep the estate afloat."
Raymond was silent.
"So the problem is that the province of Rafalde is poor."
"Yes, unfortunately, there is not much money to be made here in Rafalde. The terrain itself is quite harsh."
A province with no means of making a lot of money.
That was Rafalde.
There were mines, but they were low-grade mineral mines, not worth much.
'If this were a rich province, a twenty percent tax would be enough to pay the bills.'
Raymond bit his lip hard.
'The tax revenue is small, but the terrain is inhospitable and the monsters are frequent, so the public funds are large.'
Raymond broke out in a cold sweat.
Something felt off.
It was cheap.
'I should be amassing wealth, but at this rate, it's not happening...'
He swallowed hard, a sense of unease settling in.
At that moment, Mevinson chimed in, offering a solution,
"There's only one way to handle this. Slash the spending budget to the bare minimum."
The spending budget – the price of upholding the feudal lord's prestige.
If Raymond embraced a more frugal lifestyle, perhaps the financial shortfall could be mitigated.
Raymond remained silent, torn between the desire for wealth and the reality of the current situation.
'I dream of affluence...'
However, it seemed like prosperity was elusive for now. Raymond, fighting back tears, responded,
"...I'll trim expenses wherever possible."
Yet, he knew deep down that these cuts alone wouldn't bridge the deficit.
Raymond pondered with apprehension,
'I hope I'm not heading down the same path as the Holy King of the Kingdom.'
The King, an Ex-ranked healer, a Grand Sword Master, and a superhuman, sustained a significant portion of the Kingdom's budget through income earned from healing patients.
Raymond entertained the fleeting notion of becoming a healing slave, contributing funds to the estate, but swiftly dismissed the idea with a shake of his head.
'No, no. I assumed the role of a feudal lord to relish the fruits of prosperity!'
Then the lords spoke sweetly.
"We must raise the tax rate further."
"Please reconsider."
All these problems were caused by Raymond's low tax rate.
All we have to do is raise the tax rate and everything will be fine.
For a moment, Raymond was swayed.
But then he shook his head. 30%.
It was too much for the poor commoners.
'Even at 30%, it's still more than 40% when you add in the extra money you pay here and there, like the transaction tax.'
In fact, most estates collected more than 30%.
So a 30% tax was not excessive.
But most of the people here are poor, and a 30% tax would be too much for them to bear when every penny counts.
In the end, there was only one option.
"We won't raise the tax rate."
"And?"
"Instead, we'll boost the estate's revenue."
Everyone in the room looked puzzled.
The province of Rafalde had no money to make.
But Raymond spoke up.
"If there's no money to be made, we'll make it. It's a little early, but we'll work on a new industry project. What's a new industry?"
"The healing industry... or, more formally, the medical industry."
The people in the room looked puzzled, and Raymond explained the specifics.
The eyes in the room widened.
No one had ever imagined this.
This was a whole new industry!
"Healing as an industry?"
"Really?"
Everyone had a look of surprise and questioning on their faces.
Since it was a completely new industry, they weren't sure if it would be successful.
But Raymond spoke with confidence.
"Don't worry. It will be a great success."
It was a promise he made to himself.
The medical industry had to succeed.
For the sake of the people, and for Raymond's own sake.
'I don't want to enjoy wealth and glory in a bad way.'
The lord is well fed and well off, while the commoners are poor.
To Raymond, that was the worst kind of wealth and glory.
It was crude and ugly.
'I'm going to have the best kind of wealth, the best kind of glory, the best kind of wealth and glory in the world.'
The gentry are doing well.
Healer Lord, practicing a policy of caring for the sick.
It was the best, most glamorous kind of wealth, the kind that comes from the happiness of those around you.
To that end, Raymond vowed to himself.
'I'm going to turn this place into a medical mecca, and I'm going to spend all the money in the world.'
And so the medical industry was born.
After the meeting, Rao asked.
"Brother, what will be the first product of the medical industry?"
The question caught the attention of the others.
Raymond explained that the medical industry would sell products related to patient care.
So the question of which product to build first was very important.
'We need to create and sell a product that will have a huge impact on the market.'
In other words, a killer product, Raymond thought to himself.
You might think of antibiotics, painkillers, and the like, but these drugs are hard to sell because of their side effects.
'I could charge a lot more for hair loss, erectile dysfunction, etc., but the market is too small.'
Of course, there weren't a lot of patients, but this type of medicine was strictly a luxury item.
It wasn't life-saving, so only the rich and noble would seek it out.
'Moreover, the aristocracy is still skeptical of medical science, so a cure for hair loss or a cure for erectile dysfunction would have to wait until the reputation of medicine has grown and the medical market is large enough to be commercialized.'
The first product needed to be something different.
'We need a product that is needed by a lot of people.'
There was one thing he had in mind: a product that was needed by everyone on the entire continent, an essential product.
Raymond told everyone.
"We're going to develop a vaccine."
"A vac... what?"
"We're going to develop a drug to prevent smallpox, the grim reaper."
"...!"
Everyone's eyes widened.
Smallpox!
It was one of the worst plagues on Earth, right up there with the Black Death.
Here in Leifentina, it was equally infamous.
It periodically broke out across the continent, claiming countless victims.
'I will speak with Chancellor Galman and have him make smallpox vaccination a national program.'
Of course, vaccination doesn't make a lot of money.
The profit would be a few pennies per person.
But all the people of the Kingdom of Houston are eligible.
Later, it would be the entire population.
It was a huge market.
'And the vaccination market doesn't end with smallpox. There are other essential vaccinations, like polio and so on.'
Another big advantage was that he could tap into the healthcare market through vaccination.
People who were vaccinated and saw the benefits would become believers in medicine.
In addition to that, it would create jobs, as it would take a lot of manpower to produce the vaccines in large quantities.
The vaccine business would be the new staple food for the poor people of Rafalde.
"Now I'm going to make a ton of money!'
That was the moment he clenched his fist.
The disciples looked at Raymond in awe and admiration.
'To protect the lives of 150 million people on a continent.'
'Master.'
Raymond coughed in disbelief.
'... Even though the primary purpose is money.'
The apprentices' admiration was warranted, of course.
After all, if this project is successful, it could actually save a lot of lives.
'I'll make money and eradicate smallpox!'
After that, he thought about going full steam ahead.
'It shouldn't be hard to get the pox bacteria. Just in time, there was an infection case nearby'
Poxvirus.
It's a cowpox virus.
Collecting the virus from these cows and inoculating them is the method of preventing smallpox, the cowpox method.
The problem is selling the vaccine.
He has to prove it works.
Immunization is a completely new concept in this world.
Even with his reputation in the Kingdom of Houston, it was unlikely that people would accept it easily, so he would have to actually prove its effectiveness in a smallpox-endemic area.
"Apprentice, do you think you can identify the smallpox epidemic areas on the continent?"