Chapter 002: A Letter from Afar
[Mission 1: Build the Hanging Gardens]
Ever since Bruno first opened the Wonder Construction System, he felt a pang of sadness every time he saw this task.
Is this… some kind of joke?!!
Starting right off with a hell-level difficulty?!
Ugh! Damn system!
Bruno knew this was no small feat. To him, this was just...
This was not a game. Building the Hanging Gardens wasn't as simple as planting a few trees or hammering some nails.
Most people had at least heard of the Hanging Gardens of Babylon, one of the Seven Wonders of the World, though whether it even truly existed was still up for debate. For Bruno, it felt like an impossible task.
When Bruno focused his mind on the mission text, a flash of golden light appeared, and a long, Wikipedia-style introduction to the Hanging Gardens of Babylon materialized before him.
He skimmed through the pages of fluff until he finally got to the point: The true form of the Hanging Gardens remains shrouded in the mists of history…
Bruno wanted to scream. It felt like a thousand curses were racing through his mind.
No reference, no explanation—how was he supposed to build anything?
Even ignoring the immense manpower and resources it would take to build such a wonder, Bruno didn't even know what the Hanging Gardens were supposed to look like!
As he was lost in thought, a knock sounded at the door.
Bruno got up and opened it to see old butler Ford standing there, hunched over slightly. Behind him was his personal servant, Shabi.
"Come in," Bruno said as he turned and walked back to his desk, taking a seat.
Old butler Ford had been in the castle for many years. He was once Bruno's father's personal servant and had followed him on many of his journeys.
Bruno's father, Adam Stuart, had once been a commanding general in the empire, later tasked with suppressing...
...Exeter Province's rebellion, earning great merit. As a result, the Regency Council granted him the title of hereditary Count of Idar Castle.
Old butler Ford had accompanied Bruno's father to the battlefield, fought alongside him, and even decapitated enemy chieftains. He was now Bruno's most trusted and relied-upon confidant.
"Lord Count, this is a letter from the Regency Council," said the aged butler, handing over an envelope.
The seal on the letter bore the double-headed eagle crest of the Regency Council, surrounded by the faint aura of magic—this world's method of ensuring the privacy of correspondence.
In the original owner of this body's memory, the Norman Empire's Regency Council was the highest authority in the empire. Especially during times of weakened royal power, the five great nobles that composed the council held absolute control.
Bruno accepted the letter with a sense of puzzlement. The Regency Council seemed far too distant from the affairs of minor nobles in peripheral regions like his, and they had rarely interacted. He couldn't help but wonder if the sudden letter carried good news or bad.
As Bruno began to read, old butler Ford and his personal servant, Shabi, instinctively retreated to the doorway, waiting for further orders.
"The Regency Council plans to recruit tens of thousands of laborers across the empire to build statues of the gods. Even our small county is required to provide fifty church-faithful peasants," Bruno said in a low voice after finishing the letter.
"Building statues?" Ford furrowed his brow. "Isn't that the church's responsibility?"
Bruno shook the envelope. "But it was issued in the name of the Regency Council."
"Can we use serfs? If we forcefully conscript the free peasants, we might have to deploy the family's private soldiers," Ford said gravely.
Bruno glanced at the letter again and sighed in frustration. Free peasants were different from serfs in that they weren't tied to the land like property. They owned their own fields and only needed to pay a portion of taxes to their lord each year. As for the church-going peasants, most of them had some wealth, and only a fool would willingly trek across the empire to do hard labor for free.
"Archbishop Mels had a divine vision, touched by the teachings of the gods..." Bruno read aloud, slowly processing the words. "Recruit tens of thousands of faithful peasants to build statues of the gods, to repay divine grace and redeem our sins..."
Wait...
Suddenly, something clicked in Bruno's mind.
Building statues? But… who had ever truly seen the face of a god in this world?
It was all just imagined by people, wasn't it?
So, if that were the case... couldn't he also construct his own version of an "imaginary" Wonder, like the Hanging Gardens, based on his own vision?
Bruno felt his idea might just have some merit.
With a single thought, familiar text once again materialized before his eyes:
[From the first budding of life underwater, to the giant beasts of the Stone Age…]
That familiar startup sequence played out, and soon enough, the system was fully loaded.
Bruno's gaze shifted back to the left side of the attribute panel, eagerly re-reading the task for constructing the Hanging Gardens.
It seemed… the system didn't mandate a specific standard for the construction.
So, this was actually an open-ended challenge?
Though it still appeared daunting, it at least left him some leeway.
"Lord Count?"
Seeing Bruno's distant look, old butler Ford waved his hand and called softly.
Beside them, Shabi quickly added, "A few days ago, when you weren't in the city, I often saw the Count lost in thought. It seems… our Count truly is a wise noble!"
"Is… that so?" Ford blinked, looking back at Bruno. Indeed, the Count seemed to be deep in contemplation, planning his strategies.
"The Count works too hard… bearing the responsibility of governing a domain at just seventeen or eighteen," Ford suddenly expressed with emotion. "Shabi, tell the kitchen to prepare extra black puddings tonight. He needs to take good care of his health."
"Yes, I understand," Shabi responded promptly.
As Bruno exited the system interface, he observed the two whispering to each other.
"What are you talking about?" Bruno asked with a smile.
"Lord Count," Shabi replied, "the old butler noticed how busy you are and instructed me to have the kitchen prepare extra black puddings for you."
Bruno's smile suddenly stiffened.
"Let's skip that... Just prepare more white bread. Actually, I'll visit the kitchen myself later."
"That's not appropriate. You shouldn't go to where the servants are…"
Before old Ford could finish, Bruno raised his hand to interrupt.
"Consider it settled... On another note, don't rush on the recruitment of civilians. Ford, I'm giving you three days to conduct a population survey of Idar City."
"Population... survey?" Ford looked confused.
"A population survey involves registering all the civilians and serfs residing in Idar City. You'll need to record not just their names and ages, but also their professions, addresses, family relations, and other relevant details."
Bruno had come to this decision after much thought. Although Idar City was now his domain, he knew almost nothing about it, including even a rough estimate of its population.
The original owner of this body had been an exceedingly frivolous noble, only interested in pleasure and neglecting the affairs of the domain.
"But what's the use of this?" Ford asked with doubt.
"It's quite useful," Bruno explained.
"For example, regarding this recruitment of civilians, if we have detailed information about all the people, we can use our records to…"
Bruno's words trailed off, but it was clear he was planning to leverage the information for more effective and strategic recruitment and management.
"Initially, we can filter out the idle troublemakers and lowlifes... Likewise, we can identify talented individuals through the population survey. While it seems troublesome now, it will be very useful in the future."
"As you wish, Lord Count," old Ford replied thoughtfully.