Manor Lord of the Elf World

Chapter 186 Factory Recruitment and Pokémon Flying Taxi!
Working eight hours a day, resting two days a week, and still getting a salary of ten silver coins a month?!

Is there really such a good thing in this world?
Famas and the others stared in disbelief at the man holding a newspaper not far away.

A bold idea popped into their minds.

If, if all of this were true...

"Really?" The other men around couldn't help but stand up and rush forward to ask.

The man waved the newspaper in his hand and said, "Of course it's true. His Highness Raven said it himself in the newspaper!"

He read the recruitment advertisement aloud, word for word, without missing a single detail.

After hearing this, everyone's eyes lit up instantly.

This isn't work, this is paradise!

Working eight hours a day, and getting two days off a week...

You know, when they were slaves under those great lords, they had to get up at four o'clock every morning to serve those masters, and they could only sleep after those masters had fallen asleep at night. They couldn't be idle from morning to night, and they couldn't rest all year round.

"When are you hiring?" Famas squeezed forward and couldn't help but ask.

“You can go register now!” the man replied.

So, a group of men left the town with excited expressions and headed to the factory area on the outskirts.

It's been a long time since I've been here, and the place has undergone tremendous changes.

Huge buildings stand tall on the earth, and inside them, many machines rumble and churn, with thick smoke billowing from their massive chimneys.

Everyone was stunned by this scene and stood there dumbfounded.

They went into the factory and inquired about the situation.

"Sign up? Of course, but what will you be doing?"

"We have many factories here, including textile mills that produce clothes and carpets, ironworks that smelt steel, and pharmaceutical factories that mass-produce medicines," the factory manager introduced them one by one.

Upon hearing this, Famas and the others were stunned.

They don't know how to weave or spin yarn either.
They can certainly lend a hand in things like steel smelting.

Seemingly aware of their current situation, the factory manager smiled and said:

"Don't worry, we will provide you with training before you start working."

Upon hearing this, everyone breathed a sigh of relief.

After registering their identity information at the factory, they were told that starting tomorrow, they would need to come to the factory for a week of paid training before they could officially start working.

Upon seeing his name written in the notebook, Famas felt a great sense of relief.

He excitedly returned home and shared the good news with his wife.

"Wife, son, I found a job!"

Linda placed a roast chicken on the table, and a smile appeared on her face when she heard her husband's words.

"Come and eat!"

Famas was quite surprised to see the sumptuous food on the table.

You know, their family has almost spent all their money!

Where would I get so much money to buy roast chicken?
Famas's expression turned serious, and a look of worry appeared between his brows:
“Linda, I know we don’t have much money left, but no matter what, we can’t do anything illegal…”

"What are you thinking about?" Linda gave her husband a reproachful look, then explained, "I've found a job too. Starting tomorrow, Martha from next door and I will be helping out at a textile factory in the suburbs. We can earn twelve silver coins a month there!"

"What?!" FAMAS exclaimed in surprise, "I'm in the steel mill next door!"

"That's perfect! From now on, we can go to work together, go home together, and once we've earned enough money, we can send Little Gray to Pokémon School. Maybe he'll even become a great Pokémon Trainer someday!" Linda said wistfully.

At this moment, she is full of hope for the future.

"If we earn more money, we'll go to the breeding center and buy Gray a Pokémon egg so he can grow up with Pokémon and avoid some pitfalls in the future," Linda planned.

"Yes, let's work together. With His Majesty Raven here, things will definitely get better and better!" Famas' eyes were full of gratitude.

They will remember His Majesty's kindness!

"Come and eat!" Linda smiled gently and called her son and husband over to enjoy lunch together.

Scenes like this are constantly playing out in Raven City.

The emergence of factories greatly alleviated the employment pressure on the city's residents, providing jobs for countless people.

Meanwhile, Raven also gained a lot of satisfaction.

Inside the castle, Raven stared at the panel before him, thinking to himself:

"Now we can finally unlock two other important technologies."

With a slight thought, the shackles that had bound the two technology trees on the technology tree snapped open with a crack.

Immediately afterwards, a large amount of information flooded into Raven's mind.

[Steam train technology has been unlocked!]

[Steam Trains: Unlocking the methods of rail construction, laying techniques, operating theory, and manufacturing techniques of steam trains]

[The cone-making process has been unlocked!]

[Berry Crafting: Unlock the berry crafting process, allowing you to use berries and specific materials to create the magical Old-Fashioned Poké Ball.]

The old method of transporting goods between towns using manpower and Pokémon was outdated and inefficient, and the route was also prone to attacks by bandits and wild Pokémon.

With steam locomotives, transportation efficiency could be greatly improved, and the safety of goods could be guaranteed to a great extent.

The process of making cones is even more important.

The Poké Balls made from berries in this technology, although different in appearance from modern Poké Balls, have performance and catching abilities that are no different from the Poké Balls used by Ash in the anime, except that they cannot be shrunk.

More importantly, with these Poké Balls, Pokémon Trainer culture can officially begin to be promoted throughout the country.

Trainers travel, shop at friendly stores, challenge gyms, and participate in league tournaments to become the strongest. Losers continue their journey to hone their skills, thus forming a complete industry chain.

However, the latter technology is easier; it only requires producing Poké Balls and sending them to friendly stores in various locations for sale.

The promotion of steam locomotives, however, was both labor-intensive and time-consuming.

Steel mills smelt steel, manufacture rails, and then lay them across the country...

This series of projects cannot be completed in less than two or three years.

“Never mind, I have plenty of time anyway,” Raven muttered.

The most important thing now is to hand these over to the people in the Royal Workshop for them to study slowly.

Raven picked up a pen and slowly wrote down the information in his mind, then handed it to Elif to give to the artisans in the royal workshops for further study. Elif was already used to His Highness's occasional ability to produce novel and interesting things.

He reached out and took it, intending to turn and leave the Royal Workshop, but as he was leaving, he suddenly remembered something.

“By the way, Your Highness Raven, we’ve found over a hundred of those flying Pokémon you asked us to find. They’re currently living in a courtyard in Raven City. Would you like to go take a look?” Elif asked.

"More than a hundred?" Raven was somewhat surprised; this number should be enough for now!

He nodded and said, "Take me to see."

"Yes!"

It must be said that being a king is very convenient in some matters. Sometimes, a single sentence is all it takes for subordinates to complete the task quickly, without requiring the king to spend more time and effort.

It will be a long time before steam locomotives are officially in operation, and in the meantime, something must be able to temporarily replace them.

Raven quickly thought of a very famous and popular mode of transportation in the modern Pokémon world.

—Pokémon flying taxi.

This mode of transportation mainly utilizes the flying ability of some Pokémon, transferring the passenger-carrying capacity of traditional buses and cars to Pokémon, thereby using their power to achieve short-distance flights.

For example, the flying taxis in the Galar region are mainly composed of Corviknights.

The people there would entrust the vehicles carrying passengers to the Steelraven, asking it to use its huge claws to grip the railings, thus enabling people to fly.

In the Padia region, because the Great Blacksmith, the natural enemy of Corviknight, lives there, and this Pokémon will throw its hammer to knock Corviknight down when it is flying, people use another Pokémon called "Parrot" to replace Corviknight in its place.

Speaking of which, there are quite a few Pokémon in the Unova region that would be suitable to serve as flying taxi drivers.

For example, the final evolution of the Unova region's home bird, the Beanpigeon, is the Proud Pheasant, and there's also the brave and handsome Warrior Eagle.

The two left the castle, and soon, led by Elif, Raven arrived at a lush, green manor.

As soon as Raven entered the gate, he heard the sharp cries unique to bird Pokémon coming from within.

"Your Majesty Raven!" The manor's caretaker immediately stepped forward and bowed upon seeing the visitor.

“Take me to see the Pokémon that live here,” Raven said softly.

"Yes, Your Majesty!"

The zookeeper quickly led the way, and soon a dense forest appeared before Raven's eyes.

This forest appears to be the result of artificial transplantation, and one can vaguely see the figures of many bird Pokémon among the trees.

The zookeeper whistled.

A commotion arose, accompanied by the rustling of the bushes, and Pokémon flew out of the forest and landed in front of Raven.

Raven's gaze swept over the Pokémon.

Bean Pigeon, Proud Pheasant, Cross Bat, Rolling Bat, Warrior Eagle, Vulture, Dancing Swan, Armored Bird, Long-winged Gull, Big-billed Gull, Scorpion, Ancient Giant Dragonfly, Altaria, Tropical Dragon...

"So many kinds?" Raven was somewhat surprised.

“Almost all of these Pokémon are retired from the previous war,” Elif explained. “After the war, some of the Pokémon in the army returned to the wild, some stayed and lived with humans, and some followed the soldiers and went to other cities as Your Majesty instructed, where they became sheriffs.”

No wonder, Raven nodded, his gaze sweeping over the Pokémon.

And these Pokémon were watching him curiously.

Is His Majesty Raven the kind person who stopped the war and allowed them to live here?

The eyes of all the Pokémon were full of friendliness.

Raven, however, was oblivious to this, as he was carefully considering which Pokémon would be suitable for the job of a flying taxi.

The Bean Pigeon is too small to carry people; it can wait until it grows up before it starts working.

The proud chick looks very agile and powerful, and can even grab vehicles with its claws like a Corviknight.

Vulture Na... has a violent temper and is easily angered. It wouldn't be good if she got stubborn during the flight and threw the passengers off the plane.

Skarmory would be quite suitable for this job. It is said that this Pokémon can fly at a speed of 300 kilometers per hour, which is comparable to high-speed trains and bullet trains. This means that if there were Skarmory flying taxis, it would only take about three hours to travel from Raven City to Suicune City.

The beak is not suitable for carrying people, but it is quite suitable for delivering letters and packages.

The same applies to Scorpio, the ancient giant dragonfly, and the Tanabata.

As for tropical dragons...

Raven turned his gaze to the banana hanging around its neck.

Tropical dragons have more suitable places to go than as a means of transportation.

For example, ranches.

Among these hundred-plus Pokémon, there are about a dozen Tropical Dragons. At this scale, it would be possible to build a Tropical Dragon ranch, just like the ranches in the Alola region.

After all, the bananas that grow on the necks of tropical dragons are very popular with children.

"Ahem." Raven coughed lightly twice, and all the Pokémon in front of him turned their gazes to him.

Raven slowly began, "I wonder how everyone is doing here?"

"Chirp!"

"Beanie!"

"Woo~!"

A group of Pokémon answered happily.

It's clear they really enjoy living here.

Raven smiled and said, "Right now, I need everyone's help with something. I'm planning to create a flying taxi company, and I'll need some of you who have powerful Pokémon that can fly to work for me."

"The job involves driving passengers to other cities every day. If you're interested, you can apply to work for Elif. Of course, as compensation, we'll provide you with all the food you want to eat and like."

"Even when you get old and no longer have the strength to go out hunting, we will continue to support you, and you can stay here and live indefinitely."

Pokémon that work for a flying taxi company essentially get a lifetime meal ticket and a safe place to live, free from any threats or enemies.

The meaning of these words is quite complex, and many Pokémon did not understand them at first glance.

Seeing this, Raven tried his best to explain to them in a concise and direct way what a flying taxi was, what the daily work entailed, and what the compensation was.

Many Pokémon widened their eyes when they heard that they no longer had to risk hunting, could eat for free for a lifetime, could eat whatever they wanted anytime, and could enjoy their old age here.

"Huh?" a Tanabata asked in disbelief. "Is all of this real?"
“Of course it’s true, I swear in the name of the King.” Raven nodded.

Upon hearing this, the group of Flying-type Pokémon immediately rushed forward, surrounding Raven and announcing their names.

Charge! Human food tastes much better than what they find in the wild! If you miss this opportunity, you might never get another chance!
(End of this chapter)