My wife is an immortal black snake.

Page 27

Especially when he thought about how he was still an ordinary person while Koschie had lived for thousands of years, the urgency he felt to catch up with her made him slightly breathless.

...However, he didn't show it this time. After washing up with Koschich in the bathroom, enjoying a pleasant hot bath before 8:30 a.m., and having a delicious breakfast brought to the room by the maids, Koschich gave Yang Hao these instructions before he went to work:

"If you want to go out for a walk, the snake scales will protect you. But remember to bring Monica with you. She will take care of your experience in the unfamiliar city, and you can ask her anytime if you have any questions."

"Ah, I see. Well, what if I have to deal with something?" For example, if I happen to run into Duke Nikolai on the road, could I take him out?

“Snake Scales and Monica will report to me what happened—of course, I'd prefer you to tell me yourself.” Koschei smiled and reached out to stroke Yang Hao’s lips. After scrutinizing Yang Hao’s entire body with a possessive gaze for a while, she lowered her hand. “I’m going to work now. You can come anytime if you need to find me.”

"I understand. I hope you have a successful year at work, Kosichek."

"I hope you have a great time today, my husband Yang Hao."

...Before leaving, Kosiché embraced Yang Hao and kissed him again on tiptoe. Afterwards, she left the palace to carry out the first task required of her body after inheriting the title of Duke Kosiché for the first time.

Barring any unforeseen circumstances, Yang Hao anticipated that she would be very busy today. Therefore, he didn't want to cause any trouble for Kosichrie. He planned to go for a walk, partly to clear his head and calm his feverish mind after thinking about [Immortality], and partly to check on the people's livelihood, see what he could do, and perhaps even unlock some new [Events], using work to distract himself.

He believed that his first priority was to understand the efficiency of the duchy's administration, as well as the condition of its infrastructure and residential areas. Then, barring any unforeseen circumstances, he should try his luck at the House of Elegy on the way.

"Phew... this pressure is immense," Yang Hao muttered to himself as he dressed in comfortable clothes. He'd never been seen in public before, so he shouldn't worry about being recognized on the street, right? Probably. "And then—should I bring money? Colombian currency is probably meaningless, but—oh? There's a wallet in this jacket?"

Yang Hao had been considering whether to bring some cash with him, but he only had Colombian currency on him, and he was embarrassed to use cash for possible payments. As he hesitated, wondering if he should just leave it at that, he pulled a small wallet out of the pocket of his suit coat.

Confused, he took out his wallet and found that inside, besides several large bills, coins for change, a bank card that appeared to be from the Duchy's local bank, there was also a note from Kosiché.

【I think you'll find this useful when you go out.】 This sentence was written simply and clearly above, and the date marked was February 20th, before I arrived in Ursus.

"Why do I feel like I've become Kosiché's kept man?" he muttered to himself, somewhat ashamed. He seemed to understand why Margarita hadn't confessed her feelings to him back then, insisting on finding a new job before starting anything—it was so shameful to be constantly taken care of!

Fortunately, he could soon be of help to Kosiché. He believed that with his assistance, their territory would improve and they could even fill in the unpleasant empty border, he assured him.

......

After making a few more preparations and checking the cash, coins, and bank cards in his wallet, Yang Hao left his love nest. Outside in the hallway, Head Maid Monica seemed to have been waiting for him for a long time. Before he could ask, the head maid inquired in a clear, melodious voice:

"My lord, what are your plans for today? Will you continue with the introduction of the various rooms and facilities in the Duke's mansion that we didn't finish yesterday, or do you simply wish to take a stroll around the neighborhood?"

"I'd like to go out for a walk. Kosiché said you'd be my guide?" Just in case, I'll confirm.

“Yes. If you wish to wander around the city and relax, I will act as your guide and introduce you to the nearby sights.” Head Maid Monica nodded. “However, the snake scales will also follow you in secret to protect you. I will warn you not to go near any dangerous places. In addition, if you want to learn about the city, I can also offer some assistance.”

Monica, the head maid, was Koschche's trusted maid. With her by his side, Yang Hao thought his mission would be much easier. With this in mind, Yang Hao determined his route and asked Monica for directions to the administrative center and part of the residential area. They left the Duke's mansion and walked for ten minutes before arriving at the parking lot at the side gate of the mansion.

Before coming here, the head maid had already contacted the Serpent Scales through a small communicator in her ear and had the servants in the garage prepare a car for the trip. She understood through a brief conversation that Yang Hao did not want others to recognize his identity for this trip, so she prepared an ordinary, common civilian car for him.

"Sir, please wait a moment. I need to change my clothes so as not to cause you any trouble," Monica suddenly pleaded as Yang Hao watched with interest as the servants installed what appeared to be an ordinary license plate on the car.

"Hmm? Change clothes? Maid outfit—ah, I understand. Head Maid Monica, please change into whatever you like."

Originally, Yang Hao wanted to say that maid attire should be a common sight in Ursus, right? After all, if he remembered correctly, in some Colombian books about Ursus, maids were described as a fairly common profession in the country. In other words, wearing a maid outfit in public should be quite normal.

But turning around, Yang Hao noticed a slight change in Monica's calm expression. Realizing that this head maid was, after all, a young girl from a lower-ranking noble family, he suddenly understood and granted Monica's personal request—that she wished to wear her own clothes when going out.

After all, she's a young girl, and it's perfectly normal for her to want to wear her own clothes whenever she leaves her workplace. Besides, Yang Hao thought about it again and realized that it would seem strange to bring a maid to inspect the administrative center or the residential area.

“So, building good relationships with trustworthy people around me is the first step in adapting to life in this city.” Yang Hao muttered to himself, watching the head maid’s hurried departure. “Remember to visit the House of Elegy on the way, and keep the [Puppet Stage] running at all times—ah? Has Margarita arrived in Minos yet?...I want to contact her, but she’s so far away, it’s too much trouble.”

As Yang Hao prepared for his upcoming work, he noticed that Margarita had already arrived in Minos. Although he didn't know how the still-growing little blood demon was doing lately, he believed that Margarita would eventually grow up and mature!

...But then again, what would happen if Margarita found out that she was being taken care of by maids here?

Yang Hao, who was waiting for Monica to return, was traveling far and wide.

While he was traveling, Lord K of Colombia issued a strong diplomatic condemnation to the government of Ursus for harboring a wanted criminal.

Chapter 70

How should we describe Colombia's diplomatic actions towards Ursus? Actually, it was a diplomatic operation spearheaded by Lord [K].

She was doing everything in her power to salvage the losses caused by her foolish subordinates—to attract the attention of the Ursus government through diplomatic means, in a region where Colombian armed forces could not intervene, and then use dirty money to force the Ursus Imperial Council to compel the immortal black serpent to hand over the dangerous individual to the Colombian government. This was what K considered a more feasible plan.

Why did she do this? It was an advantage that came with her long life: she knew very well that if Mr. Yang Hao was given too much breathing room in Ursus, then what awaited Columbia would only be an endless, hellish war. And a war against the military superpower Ursus.

“Even if that idiot in Assassin dies, it won’t undo our losses.” She sat in her office, gritting her teeth as she used tweezers to remove some raised scales from her wrinkled face, muttering to herself. “Now we can only pin our hopes on the fact that man hasn’t taken control of all of Ursus yet. And we have to imprison or kill him as quickly as possible, or not only Columbia, but the whole world will be finished!”

"K, I understand your thinking. But is it really possible for that man to control the entire Ursus Empire in less than a month?"

It turned out that Lady K wasn't talking to herself. Opposite her stood an immortal who had completely concealed himself in mid-air. That was Lady K's colleague, an immortal named [L]—race? Perhaps a lizard, or something else. In any case, even Lady K had never seen his true face. Aside from knowing that this immortal might be a year or two older than herself, she knew nothing about this mysterious being.

But so be it if we know nothing. After all, they are all on the side of Colombia and are working for Colombia's rise.

No one understands Colombia's potential better than them, and naturally, no one wants Colombia to remain strong forever more than they do.

It wasn't just the two immortals in Colombia who were now trying their best to sabotage their wanted criminal, Yang Hao—elsewhere, leaders who possessed extraordinary courage and wisdom, and most importantly, exceptional intuition, suddenly realized that someone in Ursus had stolen a treasure that might rightfully belong to them. Although they hadn't taken any action openly yet, they had unknowingly begun their own schemes.

The Demon Lord of Kazdel received a prophecy passed down from an ancient bloodline. The prophecy stated that whoever seizes the opportunity to befriend the rising puppeteers in the north will gain the upper hand in the turbulent world to come and achieve their ideals.

After only a brief hesitation, the princess of Yan decided to leave it alone. The prosperity of Great Yan was not based on militarism, nor did she wish for it, let alone to communicate with someone who had already become someone's possession in Ursus.

The leader of the deep-sea hunters struggles against the invasion of the ocean along the coast. In the dreamlike whispers of the gods and the ocean itself, she understands that if she does not find the puppeteer, the deep-sea hunters will forever lose the opportunity to completely end their duty to fight against the ocean.

Even the Emperor of the Ursus Empire, who had been inexplicably insulted by Colombian diplomacy, felt the same way. This valiant and warlike ruler, troubled by his court filled with jesters and clowns, now hoped for a capable minister to change the situation. Driven by the needs of the empire and himself, the Emperor issued a decree to the incessantly bickering members of the Imperial Diet:

“Tell the Colombian diplomats that they either have to fight a war across the Kazimir region, or they should shut up!”

Even a clay figure has a temper. Having already endured the anger caused by the incompetence in his court, the Emperor of Ursus finally found an excuse to vent his anger openly and legitimately.

...

"Ah Qiu!"

In a remote village in Minos, the True Ancestor, who was searching for her own kind, sneezed loudly, and began to wonder if she had caught a cold.

... .....

"Oh dear... the efficiency of this administrative center is even lower than I expected..."

at the same time.

Yang Hao and Head Maid Monica had just left the largest administrative center of the Duchy of Koschche.

He had just given a brief inspection of the administrative center's staff, and after watching the thin but still hardworking civil servants for a while, he came to a disappointed conclusion: the Duchy of Cosice must prioritize administrative reforms before it can even begin to talk about improving people's livelihoods.

How so? To give a simple example—if the administrative efficiency of those basic civil servants in Colombia who are paid to do their business is 50%, then the hardworking basic civil servants in the Duchy of Cosice now have a work efficiency of less than 20%.

Is it because they lack ability? No, they are very capable. During his inspection, Yang Hao even saw many individuals who could multitask and complete two jobs simultaneously and do so very well. Numerically speaking, the basic civil servants of the Duchy of Kosiché should all have a work efficiency of 70%, so why is it like this?

Is it because they're handling work beyond their capabilities? Yes, that's somewhat related.

"This is like having a traffic cop handle a murder case, or a barber perform surgery."

A large amount of work that shouldn't be their responsibility—like assigning a murder case to a traffic policeman—is done by them. This is because of the bloated and inflexible administrative structure, or because the administrative staff of this territory or Ursus have always done it this way. In short, they spend more than half their time dealing with work unrelated to their duties, which greatly reduces their work efficiency.

It's a miracle that this duchy didn't collapse due to its poor administrative efficiency, considering its negative stability and 100% terror rule—if we disregard the fact that Koschei is an immortal who has ruled here for who knows how many years.

Besides that, what is the most crucial point?

It's all about money.

The administrators of the administrative center did not have the money to renovate their bloated structure, recruit more professionals or train veteran employees, and they did not even have the money to pay their civil servants their full salaries!

Even so, these civil servants have a corruption rate as low as their salaries—don't these guys work for money? They can't even get the money, yet they don't embezzle? Are these guys brainwashed laborers?

Yang Hao was greatly puzzled by this.

"People work for money... Now they might not even get paid, yet they're still willing to work? And the corruption rate is so low? This is beyond my imagination..."

According to Yang Hao's understanding and the data collected by [Puppet Stage], the salaries of civil servants in the Kosichean Duchy should be among the lowest in the duchy. Logically, it wouldn't matter if their salaries were higher, so why has it become like this?

If these civil servants were even slightly corrupt—or simply resigned—Yang Hao believed Kosic would have seen through it all... Why is that?

Yang Hao muttered to himself, while Monica, the head maid, frowned as she stood beside him, lost in thought. However, she didn't say much, simply leading the melancholy-looking Yang Hao to another street.

There they saw a long, dirty queue. The queue started at another corner of the street ahead, and ended at the very corner they had just come from.

“My lord, I think these citizens queuing up to find work can solve some of your problems,” Monica explained, pointing to the crowd. “Even in Lord Kosiché’s territory, the economic downturn has severely impacted life here. Those civil servants wouldn’t risk being fired or even imprisoned by embezzling, because they are the ‘superior people’ who have jobs in this economic downturn.”

There are many more people in dire straits than they are, and those unemployed who are even more struggling may be more capable than they are. The duchy has no shortage of capable people, but a lack of jobs. While basic civil servants can still push themselves to the limit to earn meager wages to survive, the unemployed are forced to go to the relief center every night for a meager amount of gruel—for the hardworking Ursus people, receiving handouts like beggars has robbed them of almost all their dignity.

However, once civil servants leave their posts or demonstrate incompetence, they will soon be permanently removed from those salaried positions.

Economic downturns lead to factory or business closures, which in turn lead to increased unemployment. Increased unemployment further reduces consumer spending, which in turn causes more factories to enter a period of economic downturn.

This vicious cycle only leads to more and more unemployment, which in turn further destabilizes the city. Yang Hao looked at the data displayed on the [Puppet Stage] and nodded thoughtfully.

"So, Koschche didn't say anything?"

"...Lord Kosiché is so eager for your arrival precisely because he is unable to handle such matters himself. In fact, if it weren't for the gift you sent, the situation in the Duchy would be even worse now."

"I see... It seems the work on my shoulders isn't as easy as I thought."

Although he hadn't expected it to be easy from the start, seeing those frail people who were still using all their strength to seek work, Yang Hao understood how important his arrival was.

Because only his "Puppet Stage" can quickly and efficiently resolve a crisis that would take ordinary rulers decades to resolve.

[Event: Economic crisis in the Duchy of Cosichè]

This economic crisis has been going on for a long time. Although the immortal Black Serpent is trying her best to control the situation and prevent it from deteriorating further, maintaining the current stagnant state is the limit of what she can do. She also needs to divide her energy among diplomacy, military affairs, reporting, and various important occasions. She is overwhelmed and wishes she had 25 hours in a day to squander.

There are only 24 hours in a day, but fortunately, she was looking forward to your arrival, and you did indeed come to this land under your control (albeit as a joint government).

You've decided to prioritize addressing the inefficiency of the administrative center, as improved efficiency will allow your subsequent plans to improve people's lives to proceed smoothly. However, simply giving money won't suffice—in Ursus, there are plenty of people willing to risk their lives for a single gold coin. You need to establish a force to oversee the government in order to raise the wages of these poor, overworked civil servants, ensuring they have nutritious food and can contribute their utmost to the prosperity of the Dukedom of Kosichear.

'Where am I supposed to find someone?'

Chapter 71

Where am I supposed to find someone?

Looking at the pop-up event, Yang Hao fell into deep thought. He looked at the unique national policies of the Duke of Koschche and found that almost all of them were locked, requiring the completion of certain prerequisite tasks to unlock.

Moreover, those national policy trees are less about improving people's livelihoods and carrying out social reforms, and more about diverting contradictions—for example.

[National Policy: Shifting the Conflict (Waiting for the end of the Kazakh-Ukrainian War)]

The people of Ursus are mired in hunger due to the double blow of war and economic crisis. However, they refuse to accept handouts in a humiliating manner, and internal conflicts are beginning to intensify. Perhaps we can launch another war to divert attention from these conflicts: regardless of victory or defeat, the people of Ursus will unite in this war, fighting against external enemies while simultaneously providing more jobs and a wider flow of consumer goods through the war's mouth—so the longer this war lasts, the better.

Effect: Randomly causes the Ursus Empire to wage war against one of its neighboring countries.

...Well, Yang Hao didn't believe this national policy, or any similar policies, could solve the current livelihood problems of the Duchy of Koschei. Rather, it was more accurate to say that the Duchy of Koschei's unique national policies were almost entirely focused on [war]...

Yang Hao genuinely couldn't find a single national policy related to people's livelihood on the list, not even a pretentious one, not even one that was paid for taking a dump.

"Can't I just create my own national policy tree?"

If he could freely set the national policy tree, Yang Hao would definitely create a route that would directly stabilize the stability of the Duchy of Kosiché from a negative number—ah? It seems there really is such a route?

What, the soulless?

It seems to be true?

100% permanent stability?

Ok?

......

He shook his head abruptly, causing Monica, who was walking beside him in simple lower-class noble attire, to give him a strange look.

She had heard Yang Hao's mutterings clearly. She knew it was because she was someone Lord Kosiché trusted, which was why he disregarded her presence and spoke to himself, whispering important matters aloud.

Although Monica wanted to remind Lord Yang Hao that it was best not to talk about these things outside, this trust made her choose to remain silent. In addition, since the seemingly unrelated pedestrians around them were actually guards disguised as snake scales, there was no need to worry that the Lord's mutterings would be overheard by anyone with ulterior motives.

"grown ups?"

“Ah, nothing… I was just talking to myself.” He sighed heavily. “Governing this land is more difficult than I imagined—Monica, what lies ahead?”

"It's a residential area for lower and middle-class people. It's rather dirty and messy, and there's nothing particularly noteworthy there."

“Then let’s go take a look. The dirtier and more chaotic the place, the more it reveals the shortcomings of the territory. If we want to change the lives of the lower-class citizens of the duchy and improve the inefficiency of the administrative center, we need to see for ourselves what the basic residential areas are like.”

"Yes."

They moved towards the residential area ahead, and along the way, Monica could hear Lord Yang Hao talking to himself the whole time.

What do you mean by "the security here is also very bad, and a rebellion could happen at any time if there are no troops stationed here"?

What, "Are there quite a few spies infiltrated in this place?"

What?! "Oh ho? Even a Casimir-style prostitute—"

"Sir, let's go the other way."

"Huh? Wait, wait a minute—"