"Alright, this should be enough." I neatly arranged the small strips of cloth labeled with fifty and one hundred. Vilvy took out a personal medal, made of pure gold, beautifully engraved with exquisite sword blades and text. She looked at me and inked the back of the medal onto the cloth with dye. I looked at her and asked, "What is this medal? Is it something unique?"

"It is indeed unique," Vilvy nodded. She gently touched the medal, saying earnestly, "This was specially made for me by my friends after I defeated the Demon King. It was crafted using goblin ore and Elf technology. Although it may not be particularly valuable, it is the most precious thing to me. Through this medal, us heroes can feel each other's warmth. It is a treasure from the happiest time of my past."

I nodded. So, this thing is indeed the only one of its kind in this world. At this moment, it can be considered as a lord's seal. However, a small strip of white cloth is bound to be forged. Only the cloth with this seal is considered valid currency.

These are the current currency, referencing the eras we have experienced. That is the method I thought of.

I looked at Vilvy and Lia, who were both happy because of their handicrafts, and said with a smile, "Would you two like to come with me? Vilvy, your presence as a lord would put my mind at ease, and as for Lia, I would be very happy."

Vilvy nodded, stood up, and Lia curiously looked at the strips of cloth with numbers written on them. She said, "Daddy, what are these for? What are these numbers for?"

"These are things that can satisfy everyone without making them starve," I smiled and touched Lia's head. Vilvy picked up one of the cloth strips, sniffed it like a dog, even put it in her mouth and bit it. She said, "This thing is not edible."

"I know this thing is not edible because I don't plan on distributing it for everyone to eat..."

Lia hugged my arm and shook it anxiously, excitedly saying, "Daddy, tell me quickly! Tell me what these are used for! Lia really wants to know! Tell Lia!"

"Alright then." I held Lia's hand and saw Vilvy looking at us with envy. But I can't do anything about it now, I could only smile bitterly. I dressed Lia in her little clothes and walked outside, saying with a gentle smile, "Lia, Daddy wasn't lying. For these people, these things are indeed food."

"Why, Daddy? These things can't be eaten..."

"Then, Lia, what would you do if you were hungry?" I looked at Lia, and she furrowed her little brows nervously, touching her own stomach, and whispered, "I...I can't do anything... I'll have to go hungry..."

"I'm sorry..." Oh, I forgot about Lia's past life. For her, hunger should have been her greatest enemy. She could eat a lot, she must have been hungry before. I touched her head with compassion, and then looked forward, at the two of us breathing steam, and whispered, "For humans, food is bought with money. Humans have taxes, but they do not collect food as tax. So, after farmers harvest their crops, they sell them to merchants and pay taxes in the form of money."

"Why doesn't everyone want food?"

"Because it would be problematic for humans if they collect food as taxes. For example, let's say they have to contribute a bag of grain for a whole year, but I say the grain is not good enough, only half counts. Then, what happens to the remaining half? They would be embezzled, right? And after being turned into coins, it also prevents corruption. Moreover, the expenses of the palace are paid in coins. How can we substitute compensation for personnel with cloth and food?"

Lia nodded thoughtfully. I didn't know if she understood, but she didn't need to understand. I was just explaining to her. I paused and continued, "Actually, Lia, for everyone, I would not willingly accept gold from you in exchange for coins. Why? Because gold itself is just a pile of minerals. It is valuable only because humans have given it value. Just like coins, coins themselves are like gold because they represent the value of commodity economy behind them. Farmers turn their crops into coins, and then merchants take the coins to buy fur, and fur merchants use these coins to buy crops. It's like a circulation of goods. Coins have value precisely because of this trade. And now, we don't have coins, but we have food in our hands. We need something similar to coins to circulate this food. What we are doing can be called grain tickets... The townspeople exchange their labor for these vouchers, and then use these vouchers to exchange for food. This way, the more labor put in, the more you get, fair and square.""So, these cloth strips... are they equivalent to food?" Lia blinked her eyes as if contemplating something very painful. Curiously, she held the small piece of cloth and softly said, "Does that mean I can write a cloth strip like this in the future and have an endless supply of food?"

"Of course not." I laughed and shook my head. "Just like coins, these things only hold value when a powerful government or influential organization is behind them. It is this credibility that motivates people to exchange real goods for them. Currency is merely a vessel for the real economy."

"Hmm... Lia doesn't quite understand what Dad is saying... about currency and food... humans are so complicated." Lia tilted her head in anguish and touched her face.

"It is precisely because of these complicated things that humans can reap benefits from following the rules. Lia, humans have countless rules, many of which are aimed at making money. The biggest difference between human society and others is that, although humans have short lifespans, they are the most obsessed with money. The ability to reasonably utilize these rules and make money within them is a standard of excellence for humans."

"Like Dad?" Lia looked at me with admiration.

I rubbed my head and sighed with a smile. "Not exactly... Dad isn't that good at making money... but never mind, we have arrived."

While we were talking, Vilvy had been walking beside us the whole time. Her gaze was fixed ahead, never looking at us, and she hadn't said anything beyond the sound of her clothes rustling. Nevertheless, her presence brought an inexplicable sense of peace, making the situation much less awkward.

We reached the entrance of the town where all the townspeople were waiting for us. As I looked around, I could see the worry and even fear on everyone's faces. Some even held cloth bags filled with things. Could they still think we came to collect food?

I walked into the crowd, holding Lia in my left hand and abruptly grabbing Vilvy's hand. Lia let out a desperate cry, but I couldn't think about that now. We stood in front of the crowd, and at that moment, the scribe in the gray coat shouted for everyone to be quiet. He walked up to us, wearing a smile on his face, and said, "Ladies and gentlemen, this is our new lord, the hero Vilvy who personally killed the Demon King..."

Before he could finish speaking, the crowd erupted in cheers. Everyone looked at Vilvy with almost fanatical admiration. They clapped their hands desperately, and some men shouted, "Amazing! This is how we should treat monsters! All monsters should die! We should kill every single one of them, not sparing a single creature!"

"Yes, yes! Kill all the monsters!"

Lia, frightened, clutched my arm and hid behind me. I couldn't help but reach out and protect her. Something was off with the people of this town. They had an almost insane hatred for monsters, and behind me was Lia, a succubus. Though it wasn't apparent now, if she was discovered, these crazed townspeople would surely kill her.

I had to be cautious, I had to make sure no one found out that Lia was a succubus.

Vilvy, expressionless, looked at the fanatical worshippers in front of her without any hint of pride or interest, not even acknowledging Lia as a monster. She seemed unaffected by their presence.

The scribe called for the crowd to quiet down and continued, "Today, the lord has something to say. The deserters took away our winter food, and the lord is here to address this issue."

Everyone fell silent and looked at Vilvy earnestly. Vilvy stood there without saying a word...After a long standoff, when everyone felt very awkward, Vilvy looked at me in confusion...

So, you want me to speak, right?

I coughed awkwardly and said, "Well, first we need to know everyone's thoughts. I heard that you want to use this batch of food to repay the previous debts, is that correct?"

"Yes, yes, take it, take it. After that, please don't make us repay the money like this anymore. Our income will be taken away every year. We can't even earn enough money. We would rather repay more now. Please don't take all our money next year..."

An uncle below shouted loudly, and soon there was a chorus of agreement. I understood what the former lord was doing. He was using these taxes to keep these people trapped here, forcing them to hand over their entire income every year to repay the debt. But because of the high interest rates, the amount they needed to repay kept rising.

These townsfolk were tightly bound here. They couldn't leave because of their debts, and they had to repay for a lifetime. Even their children would be burdened with these debts, forever haunted by this nightmare.

I nodded and continued, "Since you all say so, then as the new lord, Lord Vilvy has decided to offset all your debts with this batch of food."

"Really...really? Is this enough? Thank you, Lord Vilvy!!!"

Although it was their own wealth and it should have been the lord's mistake, just by correcting the mistake, we already received the gratitude of these people.

The way of the world, it's quite something.

I continued to look at them and said, "I understand your thoughts, but how are you going to get through this winter without food? It must be difficult."

"We've gone through similar winters before."

What a heartbreaking and tearful story...

I sighed and continued, "Well, according to Lord Vilvy's plan, we will implement this system for this winter. Have you all seen what I have in my hand? It's a currency issued by Lord Vilvy that circulates in the town. You can call it grain coupons. The numbers on it represent the value. When you accumulate enough, five hundred units, you can come to me and exchange it for a normal-sized bread. It can be exchanged every evening and noon. You can exchange these coupons by working or selling goods at the town center. Just like the current currency, it can be freely traded. Now, it is fair competition for all of you, no work, no gains. And now, I have a task for you all, which is to clean up the lord's mansion. At the same time, the lord here needs to purchase some goods. If you have any, sell them to the clerk and he will provide you with a receipt. That's it, dismiss!"

Although the clerk looked confused, the effect afterwards was very good. When we walked around and returned in the evening, the originally smelly and cold hall had been completely renewed. Moreover, the wooden boards and ropes we needed for the repair had already been sent to the hall. It seemed that, with the temptation of food, I could even fix the flower beds this winter.