"Master?"
"Don't call me Master! Call me Lord, or I'll kick you out!"
"Eek!!!"
Amidst Fili's exclamation, Roman reluctantly crawled out of his bed.
Running around lately had left even him feeling a bit tired, so Roman had specifically given the Guards time off, letting them take shifts to rest.
By the time Roman arrived by the washbasin, Fili had already prepared everything.
This made Roman a bit uncomfortable; he used to do all these things himself, but now Fili had effectively become his personal Servant.
Previously, Lady Helaena of House Hoare hadn't been without the intention of finding some Servants for Roman, but upon hearing that Pina was among them, Roman had been directly startled.
In the end, Roman didn't take a personal Servant, not until Fili's arrival.
"Have you ever worked as an Attendant before?" Roman asked.
"Yes, Mas... Lord Roman, I am an orphan. I worked as a Servant where I was raised, so naturally, I know how to do these things."
Roman was a bit confused: "Then why did you want to come here? Because of a dream?"
Fili nodded. She lowered her head and pondered: "One day, I had a nightmare. I dreamed that the place I was staying at was attacked by bandits and everyone died. I was too scared to go back at the time, and later, the bandits actually came."
"Afterward, I followed the guidance of my dream to come to your side. But the closer I got to you, the fewer dreams I had. Now, I don't have those dreams anymore. I think this must be the Seven protecting me!"
Roman looked at the young girl before him, carefully pondering the main POV characters of a song of ice and fire.
"There's no such person. What's going on? Is she also a special existence like me?"
In Roman's White Flame Vision, the vast majority of nobles and commoners were indistinguishable; they were all just ordinary people with very faint sparks of life.
Currently, only House Baratheon was a bit special; it was possible that the divine blood in their bodies was at work.
Shaking his head, Roman decided not to worry about these messy problems; the current task was to make good use of the newcomers.
"Let's go, Fili, it's time to get to work."
Then Roman saw Fili, who was about 170cm tall, easily pick up a warhammer taller than herself and follow behind Roman.
"This girl, she's certainly not simple."
Afterward, Roman first went to the smithy, where nearly 200 people had been added; these were all highly skilled talents with some experience.
Roman found Ben and asked about how many infantry armors could be produced in about a month.
"My Lord, the previous 100 sets of armor were because we had stock of armor plates, but now the stock is exhausted. We need to forge them ourselves, which will take some time. By the next wheat harvest, we should be able to produce enough armor and backups for 500 people."
Roman hadn't held any hope, but upon hearing that Ben's speed could actually reach this level, he immediately became happy.
"Good! Let's proceed at this speed. The quality must be high. If you have any other needs, you can tell me."
Upon hearing this, Ben revealed an expression of "you finally spoke up," and picked up a blueprint.
"Lord Roman, the armor plates you use have given me a new idea. I think we can use the flexibility of lamellar armor to forge integrated vambraces, so that when putting them on, the arms won't need to be worn in two separate parts."
"Also, the armor on your blueprint is like a straight cylinder, with all the weight pressing on the shoulders. I suggest that the armor plates at the waist and hips can be bent inward, so that in combination with a belt, it can allow the soldiers to bear the weight with their waists."
"And we can forge chest protection plates to prevent the heart and lungs from being pierced during battle. The armpits can also be designed with protection."
Ben spoke at length, and everything he said hit the key points, which made Roman look at him with newfound respect.
"Ben, you smiths are truly amazing. Just by looking at a sketch, you can find so many points for improvement!"
"Just do as you said. If there are any problems, come find Lady Helaena of House Hoare or me."
Upon hearing this, Ben smiled in satisfaction, his wrinkled old face blooming, and his dark hands rubbed against each other in excitement.
After giving his instructions, Roman took Fili to the ruin clearing site. Those without any craft skills were left in Harrenhal to do odd jobs, while the vast majority of them were put to work demolishing the ruins.
The stone from Harrenhal was dismantled and transported to various places via the newly built main roads.
With the help of the architect, Roman established the site for the new Stronghold.
The Riverlands terrain was flat with no natural defenses. If he wanted to protect the property of the local residents from loss, he could only build Strongholds artificially.
Roman chose to build something similar to a Stronghold at the transportation hub of the main road. First, he used wooden boards to build a frame, then added soil inside and compacted it, and finally reinforced the outer layer with stone.
Compared to the traditional super-thick stone walls of Westeros, the defensive capability of this kind of castle was not much different, but the cost was only one-tenth of the former.
"It's a pity I don't know the magic of the Builders, otherwise I would also give the nobles of the Riverlands something big."
Roman muttered to himself while chatting happily with the workers, asking about the farmers' planting situation.
Meanwhile, Fili kept staring at the dragon tail behind Roman.
The girl had long heard that Lord Roman of Harrenhal had a dragon tail, but the vast majority of people said it was just a nobleman's little quirk, a decoration Roman hung on himself.
But Fili could feel that Roman really had a tail. This novel thing made the young girl feel as if her heart was being scratched by a cat; she couldn't help but want to investigate it.
"What are you dazed for? Fili. We should go take a look at the farmland."
"Ah? Okay! I'm coming!"
When Fili collected her thoughts, she saw a boundless green ocean at a glance.
At this time, the wheat had just sprouted and grown, like small blades of grass neatly arranged on the ground.
Inspired by the iron plows of the North, the smiths of Harrenhal designed a heavy plow with three plowshares and a small cart.
Farmers could drive two oxen or plow horses to till the land, and this plowing efficiency was greatly improved.
Moreover, due to the existence of the White Flame, the smiths manufactured metal molds, which allowed for the mass production of iron plowshares.
The blast furnaces and workshops ran day and night, and all kinds of iron tools were manufactured like flowing water.
But even so, the shortage of ironware in Harrenhal was still shockingly large, and many orders were already lined up for the next year.
Only then did Roman understand the value of steel. Under his command, the third blast furnace began construction.
In addition, Roman also spent a lot of money to recruit smiths and established a Craftsman Academy, located within Harrenhal.
There was no other reason; they were just too short of people.
Agriculture, industry, textiles, mining, smelting, and so on all needed people. Roman had ideas in his head, but without these technical talents, he was helpless.
At most, Roman could provide a train of thought; he wasn't omniscient and omnipotent.
Watching the farmers busy in the distance, smelling the fresh scent of turned-up soil in the air, Roman's mood gradually calmed down.
All of this could not be accomplished overnight. Rather than worrying here, it was better to go and understand the specific problems.
"It's time to recruit some people."