Reborn as the Failed Lord with my Resource Gathering System.

The following day, the bright sun shimmered down on the multiple workers still active on the mining site, each and every one following Seraphina's orders with a newfound diligence.

News of the project had spread. The villagers already took note, and while they didn't know the exact details, they knew their young lord was working on something important.

If it was a plan from Lord Dorian, they reasoned, then it was most likely another grand miracle in the making.

Their barony had grown and changed so much because of him, after all.

As such, many of the people of the barony volunteered to help out for free.

The young men handled most of the heavy lifting, while the women, led by the baroness herself, provided care and food to make the men's jobs easier.

...

With an air of professionalism, Dorian moved towards Gatty's team, Seraphina walking right behind him. They both looked utterly exhausted, as though they could collapse at any second.

Their lack of sleep was evident, even amongst the bustling workers.

Upon reaching the manager, Dorian stretched out a new blueprint to Gatty.

"How many men do you think are available to work on this?" Dorian asked. Seraphina was resting her head on his shoulder, struggling to stand on her own two feet.

Gatty took the papers with a nervous but respectful look on his face. Looking at it, he could tell it was yet another incredible invention, just like the windmills they were currently building.

Except this one seemed to be a machine purely for crushing, grinding, and purifying materials with mana.

After getting a good read on it, Gatty raised his head. "Is this the special requirement you spoke of, my lord?"

Dorian barely managed a nod. "Yes. It's just as important to make. What do you think? Can it be done alongside the windmill project?"

His question hung in the air. A lot of the workers were still focused on the exterior of the windmills, along with clearing the inner mining hole for the towers to be placed in.

Seraphina chimed in, slightly raising her head from Dorian's shoulder. "We are almost done with the Dragon's Breath, correct? If that is the case, then we can slow that down to build this. Have the men move to this project instead."

Gatty held the paper tight, his expression firming with resolve. "Alright, leave it to me."

Immediately, Dorian and Seraphina lazily raised their hands for a thumbs-up. And with that, Gatty was gone to coordinate his team.

"My Lord…" Seraphina called out before she returned her head to his shoulder.

"Yes."

"Are you sure Maria is doing alright? You sent her to the Foriam barony to get the magic crystals, no? She is not exactly someone I envision when speaking about negotiation."

Dorian sighed. "And that is why I chose her specifically to go," he looked to the side. "Right, we haven't secured the road there. We should probably get that done."

Seraphina turned her gaze in the same direction. "Ah, true. I forgot to get the road maintenance team. I'm sorry."

"No better time than now, I guess."

....

Meanwhile, in the Foriam Barony...

Outside a lavish merchant shop stood a white carriage with two horses strapped to it. At both entrances of the shop were two soldiers, each dressed in a black and white uniform bearing the phoenix emblem of the Aurelian barony.

Inside the shop was a different world. The entire place was dark and cozy, filled with different types of artifacts, from the smallest vials of mana dust to rare and valuable products like dragon ores and mana stones.

Running this shop was a dog beastman. He wore a white shirt along with a small hat placed on his large head. Standing behind the counter stacked with other products for sale, he rubbed his hands together, his eyes closed.

"It's an honor to have someone from the Aurelian barony here. Your lord is the talk of the entire town recently. I heard people are planning to relocate there if the growth continues for another month."

The man's voice stank of money and deceit.

Maria, standing still, her broken sword still strapped to her waist, replied flatly, "Is that so? I see."

Upon hearing her curt response, the beastman chuckled nervously, clearly backed into a corner by this intimidating woman.

Behind Maria stood two men: Jordan, the Second Commander of the first division, and Ace, the assistant commander of the first division. Both had the same look of pity on their faces for the beastman, as even they knew how bad Maria's communication skills were.

The deafening silence remained for a while. As all eyes were fixed on Maria, she was scanning the shop, obviously looking for something specific.

Aces, unable to bear the awkwardness any longer, leaned in closer and whispered in Maria's ear. "Lady Maria, maybe you should ask about what you're looking for. The shop owner knows best, right?"

"Oh. Yeah, that's true." Maria, with the same straight face, looked at the beastman. "I would like to purchase mana crystals."

"Mana crystals! Of course, please wait here; let me get them for you." The beastman was quick to walk away as though he had been waiting for this very moment.

Then suddenly, Jordan uttered, "Aces, it's not just me, right? You feel it too?"

Aces gave a side-eye to the entrance of the shop. "So it's not just me? I figured since the First Commander didn't say anything, then I must just be mistaken. But if you sense it too, then I was right. We are being followed."

Maria chimed in without turning around. "It doesn't matter. They are probably just spies from this barony. I wouldn't worry about that. And if they prove to be a threat, we can just kill them."

Jordan gave a deadpan look. "That's easy for you to say, Commander. We are not nearly as strong as you. That confidence should not be this high for us."

"What are you talking about?" Maria glanced at him. "You've both received an upgrade from Lord Dorian. A Grandmaster rank is still strong, no?"

Aces rested the back of his head on both his hands. "Hahaha, I don't have any issues fighting, but the Second Commander here is a scaredy-cat."

"Wh- no I'm not! Where do you get off talking!" Jordan pointed harshly, which only caused Aces to laugh even more.

"Here you go, your mana crystals."

The beastman arrived.

...

[A/N]

I plan on expanding the world a bit outside of Dorian's personal relationship; whether I can pull it up or not, I don't know.

I'll also be putting Ishtar's character profile immediately after this update. If she gets votes, then I'll add her to the harem since I have been contemplating it for a while.

Also, I'll be using my top five fans' names for future characters as i expand. I already did so with two of you; the rest will be as i introduce them, the second division, and even the soon-to-be dragon (Spoiler).