Inside the castle of Aspiration City, Mira was busy handling administrative affairs.
"This year, Aspiration City is truly far more peaceful than in the past," Mira said softly as she slowly exhaled.
Reaching up to smooth her hair, Aven's figure unconsciously surfaced in her mind, and an inexplicable sense of reassurance welled up in her heart.
During this period, with the establishment of the Pokémon League, Aspiration City had created many Pokémon breeding zones, and a brand-new order was gradually taking shape.
Relying on the strength of those Bibarel, vast areas of land around Aspiration City had already been reclaimed. Coupled with the power of Pokémon and the use of fertilizers, Aspiration City no longer needed to worry about food shortages.
Only… the abolition of the serf system.
She let out a slow sigh, her gaze shifting toward a stack of documents at the side—petitions submitted by various nobles.
There were reports stating that serfs across territories of Aspiration City were flocking to the Pokémon Domain, and without exception, all of them had successfully been promoted to free citizens…
Such an overly simple path to advancement was an enormous shock to the existing noble system. Managing the serfs within their territories was becoming increasingly difficult for the nobles!
"Sigh… what exactly is Aven trying to do?" Mira murmured.
"Does he intend to eliminate every single serf within the Pokémon Domain?"
Mira sighed quietly once more. The Pokémon Domain was indeed undergoing major reforms, and those reforms had already achieved remarkable results.
From a certain perspective, she did not actually oppose abolishing the serf system. However, as the ruler of Aspiration City, she had to ensure the stability of the noble class—only then could the stability of Aspiration City itself be guaranteed.
"No matter what, Aspiration City is moving in a positive direction now," she said, letting out another breath.
Knock, knock, knock.
At that moment, there was a knock on the study door.
Mira raised her head and instructed the attendant to enter, asking what had happened.
"Princess Mira, His Highness Aven has arrived," the attendant said respectfully.
Instantly, Mira's eyes lit up. She subconsciously adjusted her dress, cleared her throat lightly, and said, "Let him in."
Before long, Aven appeared at the entrance of the study, accompanied by Lilligant, Froslass, and Gardevoir.
"Princess Mira, it's been a long time," Aven greeted with a smile.
"Your Highness Aven, it has indeed been a long time," Mira replied.
After exchanging greetings, Aven was invited to sit at the desk.
At the same time, his gaze fell upon the documents laid out on the desk, quickly drawn to the very one Mira had been reading.
It was precisely the petition submitted by other nobles regarding the abolition of the serf system. With his powerful mental strength, he merely glanced at it and had already memorized all its contents.
At the same time, he let out a quiet breath in his heart. What was bound to come had finally arrived. But with the power he now possessed, he no longer needed to concern himself with the opinions of those nobles.
Mira hurriedly closed the document in front of her. "Your Highness Aven, may I ask what brings you here this time?"
"Yes, I did come for something," Aven replied.
"And it seems I arrived at just the right moment. Princess Mira, you probably wanted to speak with me as well, didn't you?"
He glanced at the closed document and smiled. "As for abolishing the serf system—I have indeed been doing that all along. In every territory of the Pokémon Domain, there will no longer be a single serf!"
The lady lord parted her lips slightly, clearly not expecting Aven to be so direct. After all, this was openly challenging the noble system itself!
Moreover, as the greatest noble of Aspiration City—and also its largest serf owner—the abolition of the serf system would have the greatest impact on her, directly weakening the power she held.
"Could you tell me your reason for doing this?" Mira asked hesitantly.
Seeing that Mira's expression showed no excessive resistance, Aven spread his hands lightly. "Because the Pokémon Domain no longer needs serfs."
"In the past, nobles kept serfs primarily to ensure obedience, to have them engage in labor within their territories, and to exchange their physical labor for wealth."
"But now, the Pokémon Domain has Pokémon. Their power makes farming easy, and they can replace much of the labor force. Under such circumstances, what meaning does the continued existence of serfs even have?"
"And if I can free them from their status as serfs, they can enter factories to work, or even become trainers, continuously filling and strengthening the factory system and the League structure."
Upon hearing Aven's words, Mira's eyes slowly widened. She felt as though the noble education she had received for so many years was being shaken to its core. Yet, upon careful consideration, she realized she could indeed understand what Aven was saying.
"This is the inevitable process brought about by the development of productivity," Aven concluded. "Everything that exists does so out of necessity. In the past, when productivity was low, more serfs were needed to sustain it. Now, that is no longer the case."
At the same time, he silently added in his heart: The noble system is no exception—it too will inevitably be eliminated by history.
The emergence of the noble system had originally been driven by rulers seeking to protect their lands, gradually expanding their vassals to meet the needs of war and governance.
But if a city became powerful enough that it no longer required numerous knights for defense, and if it possessed a highly efficient administrative system to govern the entire territory, then there would naturally be no need to grant lands to vassals or maintain a noble hierarchy.
A fully functional, centrally governed Pokémon League would inevitably replace the feudal nobility. After all, unified management and planning could better utilize resources across the land, tap into the potential of the populace, and thus generate far greater productivity!
Of course, he would not say these words aloud for now. Such plans had to be carried out step by step. Once absolute power was in hand, all obstacles could be swept away with thunderous force.
"What you say does make sense…" Mira said slowly.
"Let Pokémon power replace serfs, and allow the serfs to be liberated."
Mira nodded. From a certain standpoint, the absence of serfs would not truly harm the various territories.
In fact, with the involvement of Pokémon, all territories would become even stronger. She could already envision that the future of Aspiration City would be an era of trainers.
Much like the knight orders of the past, trainers would form a formidable fighting force, while the power of Pokémon would determine the pace of territorial development.
"Princess Mira can rest assured. As factories are established across the territories, they will know how to make their choices," Aven said calmly.
"Most of the nobles who are raising objections now are likely those who resist the Pokémon League and feel threatened by it. Such people should only make up a small minority within Aspiration City."
Hearing Aven's words, Mira reflected for a moment and realized he was right. Those truly powerful lords had remained silent—clearly, they already understood the gains and losses involved.
They all knew that the Pokémon Domain's abolition of the serf system was not born of kindness, nor was it meant to oppose the noble class. It was simply the most effective way to maximize the value of the population.
(End of Chapter)
TN: Hey guys, I apologize in advance if I made any errors here, I'm rushing my editing because my mother got hospitalized and I'm mostly just rushing to fill my quota for this week when I edited this.