The next day, Arvind started his morning training as the sun rose, turning the courtyard golden.

Each sword felt heavier than the last, his arms shaking with effort. His chest heaved as he tried to catch his breath, sweat running down his face. Though he'd trained for almost two weeks, he still couldn't reach the level he wanted.

"Damn it all," he muttered, knowing he was pushing too hard. Last night's bad dream still bothered him—a tiger with yellow eyes staring him down as he stood helpless. The beast had worn his father's mean look.

Pushing the scary thought away, he called up the system screen with his mind, its glowing display appearing like morning fog.

**System Panel**

- **Quest**: Make Food and Shelter Safe in Ravengarde (working on it)

- **Reward**: System Level 2

- **Talent Boosts**:

- Weak Talent Refinement: Upgraded "mediocre" to "Average Talent," and allowing basic mana control.

The words "weak talent" echoed in his head like a taunt. His nails dug into his palms. In Atheron, no noble could afford to be weak, especially not him. Average talent meant he could become a senior knight—strong enough to earn respect even among the Kingdom's of larnhelm nobles circle.

His eyes stayed on the "working on it" part of his quest. "Too slow," he growled, getting angry. "I don't have time to waste, especially not now when ravengarde foundation is still weak."

After training, Arvind fell into his chair, his muscles hurting badly.

Anika stood next to him, bringing both comfort and worry as she put healing cream on his arms, her skilled fingers working out the knots. She smelled like lavender and herbs—a smell he now linked to these quiet times. His heart beat faster, and he forced himself to think of other things. He couldn't let anything distract him from his goals.

A sharp knock broke his thoughts. "Come in," he called, keeping his voice steady despite being tired. Shankar opened the door, his quick eyes noticing Anika's closeness before looking away. "Dinner is ready, my lord. Bramir and Faelan are waiting."

"I'll come soon," Arvind said, aware of Anika's hands still putting cream on his skin. "After Anika finishes." As Shankar left, his face showed worry—the growing closeness between lord and maid could cause problems.

In the kitchen, Shankar got himself together before talking to Mira. The head cook had proven very helpful since they arrived, her steady work bringing order to the busy castle life. "Mira, make sure dinner goes out quickly," he said.

Mira, a capable and warm-hearted commoner who had proven herself during their journey to Ravengarde, answered with a warm smile that had become a source of comfort in their new home.

Minutes later, Arvind walked into the dining hall, Anika following behind. "Good morning, Faelan, Bramir," he said, sitting down. He'd asked Bramir to join breakfast today.

"Good morning, my lord," Bramir said, bowing a little. Faelan barely looked up from his papers, deep in his work. Arvind felt thankful for how hard his advisor worked.

As servants brought breakfast, everyone talked easily. "You're eating a lot todays, Bramir," Faelan said, looking at his friend's empty plate.

Bramir patted his stomach and laughed. "Hard work makes you hungry, my friend. These changes won't happen by themselves."

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Anika spoke softly but firmly. "You've all worked tirelessly. We should be grateful for the progress we've made."

Arvind nodded. "True. Each day brings us closer to making Ravengarde better." They enjoyed the meal together, having a rare peaceful moment in their busy lives.

Later, in his study, Arvind spread out farming plans on his desk. Bramir the steward of ashford and Faelan stood across from him, looking both interested and worried. "These plans come from what we saw yesterday," Arvind explained, pointing to the drawings. Faelan's eyebrows went up while Bramir's mouth got tight with worry.

"The changes include rotating fields, building water wheels, and better ways to grow crops."

"My lord," Faelan said carefully, "we need these changes to avoid running out of food. But they're big changes...my lord are you sure this plan will work?" "

Bramir, being practical, got right to the point. "Old ways are safer, my lord. We can't risk bad harvests when we already have little food."

Arvind thought about their worries, weighing what was safe against what was needed, Yet he believes that knowledge of past life will not be wrong. So he only paused for a moment before making up his mind. "We'll use your ideas in the plan. Bramir, you'll be in charge. Use the special seeds from my father's castle—they grow more food than regular ones."

From her spot near the door, Anika looked doubtful about these mystery seeds but stayed quiet. After thinking it over, Bramir nodded. "As you wish, my lord. Though the farmers are scared of the wild magical beasts."

Arvind sat up straighter. "The knights will handle that problem. It's time they did their part."

As the meeting ended and his advisors left, Arvind felt the heavy weight of being in charge. Every choice he made could have results he couldn't see coming.

A knock at the door pulled him from his thoughts.

"Come in," he called.

Shankar stepped in, holding a detailed list. "My lord, I've written down what we need to keep the castle running," he reported. "We don't have enough servants or supplies."

"also my lord we need workers to repair the castle"

Reading the list, Arvind's face got serious. "I understand, Shankar. You can hire more people. But do we have enough supplies to feed more servants and workers?"

Shankar shifted uncomfortably before speaking honestly. "We're getting by for now, my lord, but barely. If the knights train more, we'll use up our food even faster."

"Be careful," Arvind said. "Pick good servants and efficient workers, don't just hire many."

In Ashford, people stared curiously when Shankar arrived with his helpers. Edrin, Bramir's son, came up eagerly. "What brings you to town, sir?"

As servants set up parchment paper and stools, Shankar explained, "Lord Arvind needs more castle servants and strong workers to repair the castle."

"I can help," Edrin offered right away, his eyes bright.

Shankar smiled warmly. "Your help would be very welcome."

When they announced they were hiring, people were unsure at first. Whispers spread through the crowd like fallen leaves, carrying old fears. Though people knew Arvind was kind, they remembered how cruel the old lord had been.

A young woman stepped forward, wearing worn-out clothes that showed how poor she was. "I'll work," she said quietly. "My mother needs medicine we can't buy. This might help us."

Her bravery sparked something in the crowd. As Shankar wrote down her details, others began coming forward too. Seeing hope on the young woman's face made others hopeful too. Soon, a line formed as townspeople looked for their chance at a better life.

Shankar returned to the castle with many more people. "The hiring went very well, my lord," he reported proudly. "We found twelve good servants and dozen strong workers, and more want to join."

"Good work," Arvind said, allowing a small smile. "Treat them well. Their loyalty will be as valuable as their work, and will ensure that the workers work efficiently."

By afternoon, Arvind got restless and wanted to check how the changes were going, even though they'd just talked about them that morning. "Anika, we're going to town," he said.

His faithful maid nodded quickly. "Yes, my lord," she said, going to get ready.

In Ashford,

Bramir talked to a group of farmers, mostly poor serfs, reading from the parchment papers containing reform plan. Some got angry quickly, led by an old man commoner leader of traditional farmers who sneered, "Now noble think they can teach us farming?"

Bramir raised his hands for quiet. "This isn't about pride—it's about surviving. Talk to Lord Arvind if you're unhappy." The baron's name made them quiet down.

Putting down a bag of good seeds, Bramir continued, "These come from the Baron himself. They'll grow more food than what you use now."

"What do noble know about seeds?" someone scoffed. "Our ancestors have worked this land for ages. We know what grows here."

The crowd agreed until a younger farmer spoke up nervously. "But what if these new ways work? What if we could grow more food?"

Encouraged by this, Bramir kept talking. Finally, the farmers agreed to try, though they still had doubts.

As Arvind and Anika arrived, Bramir came up looking tired. "My lord, people don't like the changes, as we expected. The water wheel is hard to build too—too many workers are busy fixing the castle, cleaning, and building Aldric's wall."

Arvind clenched his jaw, feeling the strain of not having enough people. He decided to trust that the system made the seeds better rather than try experiments. Still, not having enough magic crystals worried him, As you know, he needed magic crystals to buy the seeds from the system.

"How do other lords handle all this?" he muttered. Anika gave him a knowing look.

Finally, he told Bramir: "Keep going with the changes, but wait on the water wheel. Focus on making the other changes work smoothly."

Bramir bowed slightly. "It will be done, my lord. I'll make sure the changes work."

Arvind nodded, feeling a little better despite all the problems ahead.