Reborn with A Simulation Coin!

"Subordinates? Not exactly," Harry replied with a smile. "These are free people."

"Free people?" David blinked in surprise. "You actually let free people work your land?"

"Yes," Harry nodded. "In my territory, anyone willing to register can receive land and seeds to cultivate it. They're free to farm as much as they can."

He continued, "For the first few years, most of the harvest goes to the lord. Over time, the share will gradually adjust, but they get the share at first."

Harry's reasoning was simple. The land here was vast, and the population sparse. Land was easy to come by, but the real treasure was people. To attract settlers and encourage growth, he had offered generous policies: land, seeds, and tools for anyone willing to come and work it.

David raised an eyebrow. "But if they're all free people, aren't you worried they'll just leave?"

Harry chuckled at the question. David, being Earl Thorne's favored son, was clearly thinking of the future, thinking about how he'd rule over a vast territory one day. Harry knew that managing a large area would bring its own set of challenges.

"I give them land and promise them ownership of it," Harry explained. "As long as they want to keep the land, they won't leave easily. People can come and go, but the land and food stay. And as long as they're safe and have their basic needs met, they won't want to leave."

Sean, who had been listening quietly, joined in. "I've seen something similar before," he said. "My mentor once conducted an experiment where he bought a large number of slaves from a mortal kingdom and used some of them for testing. It was a cruel experiment, those selected knew they'd likely die. But when the experiment ended, my mentor told them he would set them free."

David's eyes widened. "They were grateful to be freed, right?"

Sean shook his head. "No, they were the opposite. They cried and begged to stay. They didn't want to leave. They would rather stay as slaves, living under my mentor's protection, than risk the dangers of the outside world."

David was shocked. "Why would they want to stay as slaves instead of being free?"

Harry was quiet for a moment, then spoke slowly. "Because, despite being slaves, they knew they were safe. They had food and shelter, and for most of them, there was no threat to their lives. Outside, it was a different story. Freedom meant risking everything, becoming vulnerable to the dangers of the world, possibly becoming slaves again."

David stood silent, trying to process the idea. 'Being a slave is safer than being free?' It was a thought he had never considered before.

As they continued their journey, the scene ahead grew more lively. Villages appeared along the way, their fields carefully worked and cultivated. Farther off, groups of people were busy with construction, organizing irrigation and water management projects to support the growing settlements.

The land that had once been desolate was now teeming with life, a testament to Harry's policies and his belief in offering people more than just survival, a chance to build a better life.

"You've done an excellent job governing here," David said sincerely, admiring the flourishing land around him. "Why don't other lords do the same and turn their slaves into free people? Why try so hard to turn free people into slaves?"

Harry glanced at David, ready to answer, but as he saw the genuine curiosity in his eyes, he hesitated, unsure how to respond.

Sean, who had been listening quietly, spoke up calmly. "It's because they view everything in their territory as their property; people, land, and livestock alike. To them, it all belongs to them."

He paused, letting the weight of his words settle. "That's why they go to great lengths to turn people into slaves. They lock them up, guard them, and force them to work for the manor, because this way, all the profits from the land are theirs to keep."

Sean glanced at David, his tone firm. "Why share when they can monopolize everything?"

He continued, explaining the darker side of how the lords operated. "They keep their slaves in captivity, using any means they can to stop them from escaping. And for free people? They'll do whatever it takes to drive them into poverty and force them to sell themselves into slavery, all to increase their own wealth."

Harry nodded in agreement. "That's also why Mr. Henry and the others don't care about the plague outside their walls. The slaves live on their estates, where they can be controlled easily."

He paused and continued, "For the free people outside, it's a different story. The more chaos there is, the more it benefits them. The plague allows them to seize the wealth of the dead and force the survivors into slavery, expanding their holdings in the process."

David took in this new perspective slowly. "I see… It makes sense now," he murmured, the truth settling in.

As Harry and Sean continued their conversation, David found himself reflecting on what he had learned. The situation with Henry and the others was much darker than he'd realized, and he was starting to understand the real power dynamics at play.

Meanwhile, Harry was increasingly impressed by Sean. The wizard's knowledge extended far beyond magic. He could discuss a wide range of topics, from agriculture to social issues, and even basic scientific principles. It was clear Sean had achieved much in his studies, not just in wizardry but in many other fields as well.

For Sean, Harry's insights were equally impressive. Despite his lack of wizarding knowledge, Harry kept up well in all other areas. It was rare for someone to match Sean's breadth of understanding, even among other third-class apprentices.

Before long, their conversation shifted from casual talk to a deeper discussion.

"Some wizards have conducted research and found that fire burns because it's a reaction that releases energy," Sean said. "In other words, fire forms because the substances themselves contain energy."

Harry nodded thoughtfully. "That makes sense. Burning could just be one way energy is released. There might be many other ways energy manifests."

He paused, deep in thought. "For example, if life energy were concentrated enough, it could cause a violent release, like an explosion. That could be another form of energy expression."

"Yes, there are similar spells in wizardry, all based on the release of energy," Sean explained, his tone thoughtful. "For example, fireball magic has many variations depending on how energy is released."

He paused, gathering his thoughts. "Some fireball spells directly conjure flames, while others trigger an internal energy reaction within the target, causing it to ignite. This is called 'combustion magic'."

"But even with that, the spell still has its flaws. Flames are often limited by certain conditions. For example, fire can't appear in water, and in those environments, combustion magic doesn't work."

Sean glanced over at Harry. "Some wizards speculate that, for the flame reaction to fully occur, there must be additional conditions beyond just the release of energy from the material itself."

Harry, deep in thought, added, "Maybe it has something to do with the air. Fire can't form in water because water isolates the air, preventing the necessary interaction for combustion. In environments with low air content, flames might not be able to form at all."

Sean nodded in agreement, a smile tugging at his lips. "Exactly. There's a theory already out there, but the details are still debated; specifically, which substance in the air is necessary for combustion."

At this point, David, who had been quietly listening, couldn't help himself and interjected, "Are there really different substances in the air?"

Neither Harry nor Sean paid him any mind. They continued their discussion, seamlessly moving from fire magic to theories about air, before shifting to more abstract topics like mathematics.

David, who had been trying to keep up, felt more and more lost. While he had understood the earlier discussions about fire, the math talk left him utterly confused. He had received a solid education as a noble, basic math like addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division; but this was way beyond anything he had encountered.

The level of their conversation felt like high school math, something he'd never thought he'd be dealing with in his life. Knights were trained to fight, not solve equations.

As he listened to the animated exchange between Harry and Sean, David began to feel a strange sense of inadequacy. He had purposefully followed them on this trip, confident in his ability to build connections. Earl Thorne had specifically asked him to befriend both Sean and Harry, and David had been sure that his status and conversational skills would make it easy.

But now? He couldn't even follow their conversation, let alone contribute.

'Can I really succeed in this mission?' The doubt started to creep in.

Meanwhile, Harry and Sean were still deeply engaged in their discussion not paying attention to him.