After lingering in my office for what seemed like an eternity, sipping some tasteless tea, and wishing I at least had some biscuits served along with it, A heavy knock snapped me out of my trance.
''Sir, here is the information you requested. All are categorized and put together in order of importance, starting with what we produce and sell each month.'' Reported Nathan, making sure everything was as stated.
''Thank you, Nathan,'' I said enthusiastically, accepting some form of leathery parchment from his sweaty hands.
''seems like you came back home immediately after finishing what I asked you to do. You must be feeling exhausted'' I said apologetically, advising him to take some well-earned rest after all the trouble he went through.
Apart from being the main butler of the Curze family, he was also an awakened warrior, the ONLY awakened warrior our barony possessed.
Being rude and ungrateful were some things I couldn't afford to be. I couldn't be like my former self if I wanted to have a slim chance of success in the future.
''Hmmm, it looks like some sort of animal skin peasants tend to use, to inscribe on, which means that paper must be worth a fortune,'' I concluded while holding the parchment he brought, trying to sip my now cold tea.
''argh, truly bland,'' I said, spitting the contents back into the cup.
According to Nathan's report, we currently have around 100 sheep that we use to produce wool, being the most common source of cloth. We also utilize part of their skin for parchment, the principal material of books and official documents since the paper is extremely hard to produce. The meat is either sold to the market or straight up eaten and their milk is made into cheese. Peasants rarely consume red meat, but they raise large flocks of sheep for wool and especially for parchment.
After all, a Kingdom like Tirisea needed a whole lot of sheepskins if it were to keep track of all the happenings around it.
Around 20 families had Cattle, totalling thirty, including both cows and oxen. They produce milk and meat and cowhide for leather. Most of the milk is made into cheese or butter since the milk will not keep well without refrigeration. Cows produce milk only for a short time of the year anyway. Most peasant families would have liked to have a cow or two but its price was a significant determent.
''Looks like pigs are only semi-domesticated,'' I mumbled, remarking that there was only a handful of them under peasant control. They generally ran wild around the barony rather than being kept and fed at the farm.
Their favourite nourishment was acorns, so oak woods were prized as zones to fatten pigs before the major November roundup and slaughter.
Lastly, we had the chickens, the free-range chickens. We had around 200 Chickens wandering around every farmstead. They are used for feathers, meat, and primarily eggs. The free-range chickens would try to hide their nests, and farmers would attempt to find the nests before the eggs began developing into baby chicks. The eggs are very small compared to the ones we know, barely the size of a golf ball.
Nathan also noted some wildlife, mainly bears and wolves, and also some species, commonly known as Tigra, probably some form of tiger or lion yet their numbers couldn't be verified, much less accounted for, being out in the wild and all.
Despite having quite the amount of livestock, most of it is used to alleviate the hunger that strikes every fall and winter, making their numbers drop dramatically until the new breeding season cycles back.
Under the Animal category, which Nathan meticulously arranged, was the Magic beast one.
The concept of animals being capable of yielding magic was a foreign one to me, only chancing upon it in novels and anime I used to enjoy in the past.
''Looks like our barony hosts some surprises, after all,'' I murmured, desiring to learn more about them. If you were a young child full of energy and active imagination, growing up in the age of anime and fantasy movies, the only dream you had was to also, someday, yield magic. To fly high amongst the stars, crush mountains with your mighty fist and conquer the hearts of all the beauties you encountered.
Some Tigra, due to some mutation or a lucky chance, managed to evolve and become capable of enhancing their claws and teeth with wind magic, elevating them to Rank one beasts, also known as elemental beasts.
Despite being extremely deadly and capable of massacring the townfolk if they so wished, they were rarely seen by the human eye. The last eyewitness report of one nearing our village was ten years old and that by one old peasant who wasn't known for his credibility.
''They can probably sense Nathan's battle prowess and avoid unnecessary risks,'' I contemplated, realizing that even a Rank one beast was considered an apex predator.
Reading Nathan's next report only made my eyes bulge.
'' WHAT THE F*CK?''