Chapter 48

In the peaceful afternoon, as the branches of the World Tree sucked my diamonds in real-time, Daisy Dryad, realizing that the situation had been resolved, popped out of the terrarium artifact.

Somehow, the condition of the equipment before and after entering was different. She was dressed in simple cloth attire, but now she was wearing equipment similar to what she had when I first made Daisy bloom.

Could she have leveled up inside the artifact?

Dryad, as Mesquite often said, was supposed to do her best to protect the druid, but if she lacked the ability, she should not cause trouble and should quickly get out of the way.

If she acted rashly and got caught in the fire, that would be a big problem. I always managed to avoid it by using the elder as a shield. Therefore, I had no desire to say anything to Daisy Dryad, who appeared late and made a fuss around the terrarium.

On the contrary, I wanted to praise her for her excellent judgment. Or, she jumped into the artifact without a moment's hesitation.

Even though Daisy Dryad had the same hair color, eye color, and species, each one had its own unique personality and appearance.

While our Daisy had beautiful eyes that were always closed in a charming smile, this Daisy Dryad had slightly droopy eyelids even when surprised.

With such sleepy eyes, she looked around without any sign of tension, exclaiming in admiration. It wasn't because her eyes lacked energy.

"Though I saw everything inside the artifact... I didn't expect the fire to be completely dealt with. And to revive the 28th branch of the World Tree, which seemed hopeless. Mr. Jay, you are truly amazing! Now, if we restore the buildings and tidy up the interior, we can return to the way it used to be! Of course, the residents will have to come back, right?"

Upon hearing this, I realized it was a rather daunting situation. It wasn't something to be happy about just because I became the administrator of the 28th terrarium.

I had taken on a village that was completely destroyed and turned into a wasteland. It felt no different from becoming the owner of a failing dwarf mining town, the starting background of "Infinite Diamonds."

It took half a year to build the dwarf diamond empire. How long would it take to make the 26th terrarium look the same?

"Daunting..."

I felt like sighing. There was no guide quest for new players.

Welcome! You are now the administrator of the 28th terrarium! Now, follow me and touch it! Let's start with the controls, shall we? That's what it would be like.

In "Infinite Diamonds," the dwarves played that role. Sir! First, empty the cart! The cart gets full quickly, so you need to empty it often! I used to touch it every five minutes. Now, where do I start...? Who can tell me...?

I looked at Daisy Dryad, who was whistling and kicking the ground scorched by the giant bug fire with her toes.

Come to think of it, didn't she say she was in charge of the orchard? She said she knew the village well because she had worked there for a long time. Although she was in charge of the orchard, it felt like the center of the terrarium, a public institution.

In a way, she was like a public service worker assigned to a public institution...

Although her combat power might be the lowest among my dryads, there was no one better suited for this task than her.

Yes, just like our Daisy, this Daisy Dryad coming to me was fate!

"What should we do first?"

I subtly approached and started the conversation.

"Hmm, we should adjust the taxes first? There's no manpower to fix the village right away. People from the later terrariums are eager to move to a terrarium with a higher number, but the path is very dangerous. The best option is to move from nearby terrariums or the earlier ones, but since the terrarium is in a mess, the only thing we can offer is low taxes."

Taxes... I'm definitely not familiar with that word. Honestly, I have no sense of it. I feel a great distance between us. If I don't know, I should follow the existing method. I can look at the family tree.

"Then, what was it like when the previous administrator was there?"

"Hmm, the lump sum for the central area was 1000 diamonds, and the installment was 15 diamonds per month. The lump sum for the outskirts was 300 diamonds, and the installment was 5 diamonds per month. I remember it was still lower than other terrariums. That's what I heard from the druids who travel."

"What's the lump sum and what's the installment?"

Why is there such a big difference between the two? It's called taxes, but why isn't it in percentages? Daisy Dryad looked slightly flustered at my question.

Ah, I've seen that expression before. When I first met our Daisy, she made that face when I asked about things that people in this world might take for granted. I was too accustomed to Mesquite explaining everything to me before I asked. My sense has dulled.

"An outsider can choose between two tax systems to move into the terrarium. They can pay the lump sum or pay diamonds monthly while living in the terrarium. In the case of installments, even if the amount exceeds the lump sum, once chosen, they must continue to pay diamonds. The outskirts are the first to be hit by fire attacks and are far from the orchard, so the lump sum is lower. However, not many people can pay so many diamonds at once. Moreover, it's difficult to collect the lump sum during the grace period unless druids who can circulate diamonds visit frequently."

Grace period? Daisy Dryad quickly noticed my confused expression and added an explanation.

"Ah, the grace period is the residency grace period. It's one month, during which you can live in the terrarium for free and engage in commercial activities. That's why everyone applies for residency during the fruiting period of the branches. Druids visit a lot then. They use every method to collect diamonds from the druids and are confident they can gather the lump sum. However, it's almost impossible unless they have excellent professional skills like potion making or equipment crafting. That's why everyone chooses the installment, even if it's a loss in the long run."

"...That's the system..."

"Well, it was inevitable that the residents of the 28th terrarium left. The druids who supply diamonds stopped coming because the branches of the World Tree didn't bear fruit. But now that the branches of the World Tree have regained their energy, they can bear fruit next year, right?"

Daisy Dryad smiled brightly, as if imagining a bustling terrarium. For now, her bright smile looked no different from our Daisy's.

Taxes... Clearly, we need to attract more residents to manage the branches of the World Tree, which require diamonds... That's the cycle, right? But fundamentally... Do I need taxes? The branches of the World Tree are already sucking diamonds from my wallet.

Daisy Dryad, interpreting my thoughts, looked restless.

"Are you worried about lowering the taxes? Of course, I understand the confusion of continuously supplying diamonds to the branches of the World Tree in a desolate state with no residents. Honestly, you must have suffered a great loss to revive the branches of the World Tree. I can't even estimate the number of diamonds... Did you take out a loan? Still, if you don't lower the taxes... No one will come..."

It was refreshing to see someone worry about my diamond situation so openly. She still doesn't know me. When will she realize that a druid who becomes her owner wouldn't worry about such things?

Thinking of it, I turned on my phone screen and tapped it. No matter how much I spent, I couldn't catch up with the diamond production speed of the dwarves I had set to max. The carts were even piled up.

"I won't collect taxes."

"...What?"

"Especially for the technicians. You know, the ones who build houses and do repairs? No, that's not it."

"Right? Taxes should still be collected..."

"Thinking about it, every profession is needed here, and I'm in a situation where I'm short of even one person. Yes. If the purpose of moving in seems good, I'll let them in without taxes. But if we just let anyone in, it could cause chaos, so we'll have a different grace period. We'll collect taxes from those who don't engage in productive activities in the terrarium. We should only collect taxes from those who do nothing and live off others."

I haven't even experienced living off others. That's not possible. I was the type who went to summer school even during vacations.

Let alone, our dwarves worked hard with their pickaxes from a failing mining town until they became an empire. The people who come here, even if not as much as the dwarves, should do something, right?

They should feel a sense of accomplishment equivalent to the diamonds I pay from my wallet.

Daisy Dryad, thinking she might have heard wrong, opened her eyes wide and asked me again.

"You're not collecting taxes? I'm that kind of woman."

"Why aren't you collecting them?"

"Why should I collect them?"

"To