142: Chapter 142 Beauty Pageant Progress Report! Six S-Class Contestants! Rowan's Expectations!

Gino City, Golden Flame Castle, study.

On a winter afternoon, the sun was generously shining for a change.

Rowan Flynn sat upright behind the large solid wood desk, looking at the roster in his hand with great interest.

Eight hundred thousand gold coins had already been spent for this list.

This was an astonishing amount of wealth, enough to equip an elite army.

Yet, in less than half a month, it had been scattered like water across the five northern provinces and even further regions.

However, it wasn't that he was being extravagant or wasteful; he had discovered that resources for the Great Knight level could not be obtained with gold coins alone.

To this day, he hadn't even managed to get his hands on any transcendental secret medicine for the Great Knight level.

Count Farrell once sat on a fortune of over a million gold coins, but he never broke through to become a High-Order Grand Knight in his entire life.

Mundane gold coins were not hard currency in the transcendental realm beyond the Great Knight level.

Moreover, the situation with the only magic crystal main mine in his territory was too complex, with various interests intertwined. It was managed by the Imperial Ministry of Resources, and the Count's mansion could only take a share while paying taxes. He didn't want to, nor was he qualified to, touch it.

Therefore, keeping the gold coins would only allow him to buy a pile of Knight-level resources to cultivate forces or armies, which wasn't very meaningful.

At this moment, in the study, two people stood respectfully before the desk.

On the left was Lady Lillian.

After two weeks of hard work and tense preparation, not only was there no fatigue on her face, but she was radiant, her eyes flashing with ambitious light.

She bowed slightly, her posture elegant, like the most proper housekeeper, ready to answer any questions from her master at any time.

On the right was her brother, the newly appointed head of the Finance Department, Jeremy Fisher.

He held another thicker ledger in his hands.

It recorded the details of every single transaction of those eight hundred thousand gold coins, but he dared not disturb the City Lord's reading easily at this moment.

Rowan's gaze slowly swept over the names of the young women on the roster.

These names were written in beautiful calligraphy, followed by simple portraits, ages, hometowns, specialties, and other information, as well as the most critical part—the preliminary rating!

S-tier: 6 people.

This was the highest level, meaning their appearance, temperament, knowledge, and potential had all reached an extremely high standard; they were the true pearls of this audition.

Their names were specially marked, and some even had more detailed evaluation notes attached.

For example, "Top three in academy GPA, excellent at coordination," "Proficient in three northern continental languages, familiar with various customs and myths," "Possesses a highly acute special perception talent"...

Every S-tier represented a treasure girl discovered by the chamber of commerce somewhere in the North, waiting to be brought to Gino City to exchange for money.

A-tier: 15 people.

They were also one-in-a-hundred standouts; basic beauty went without saying, but they also had to be particularly outstanding in a certain talent.

Beyond the S-tier and A-tier, there were no further ratings; they were simply marked as qualified, totaling over three hundred people.

These individuals might be slightly inferior in appearance, knowledge, or skills, but being able to meet the entry threshold meant they possessed beauty or a skill beyond the average person, serving as a massive talent pool.

What they would face was a Succubus, a talent scout who could truly unearth the potential of beauty.

The earlier spending of over eight hundred thousand gold coins on publicity, travel expenses, accommodation, and placement... was like a surging tide, sweeping through the northern part of the Empire.

And only then, out of tens of thousands of applicants, were these hundreds of pure, raw gems waiting for his inspection washed out.

His gaze lingered for a moment on the S-tier and A-tier names, a trace of satisfaction flashing in his eyes.

The investment was huge, but the quality of the candidates brought in exceeded his initial expectations.

With this group of women possessing certain talents, the team of female officials he envisioned for assisting in managing the territory had a foundation to take shape.

Selecting talent involves three most important things.

First is discovery.

Searching for gold in a sea of sand, the worst thing is to miss a pearl.

The world often has eyes but fails to see, letting treasures gather dust.

But he was different; a high score meant talent. One glance, and he wouldn't miss anything.

Second is loyalty.

Those with high talent may not be sincere. If a sharp blade cannot be held tightly in one's hand, it is easy to hurt oneself.

He knew that for this audition, he estimated that quite a few forces would try to mix sand into it.

But he was a dignified Succubus, and with his Lv3 Charm, what was there to fear?

He would just accept it all with a smile!

Third is competence.

No need to say more.

Therefore, after this beauty pageant, he would form his future core team.

After all, a beauty pageant of this scale couldn't be held often with his current power.

Gino City had not only spent all its previous savings but also incurred hundreds of thousands of gold coins in debt, which needed to be repaid from the future income of the City Hall.

"Sigh..." Rowan sighed softly in his heart:

"To rapidly increase my strength, I can only make the common people suffer for a while..."

"As for the infamy... let the Fisher Family bear it first; they seem to enjoy it anyway."

In this world where great power belongs to oneself, only transcendental power is real.

Everything else is just trivial.

Once the Garden Project was initially completed, his strength would surely usher in a period of leapfrogging.

Those cumbersome affairs could be handed over to the absolutely loyal and uniquely talented female officials to handle.

He could also have plenty of undisturbed time to do what a Succubus should do.

For example, observing the unique gifts and colors of every flower, conducting meticulous differentiated cultivation.

Even trying to let flowers with different characteristics cooperate with each other, observing and draining more complex and delicious emotional power...

And more importantly—

More than nine months later, the children in the wombs of Aria and Elena would be born one after another.

By then, the number of his qualified offspring would increase by five!

If among this batch of arriving young women, he could discover even one good seedling with a rating exceeding 90 points...

Then, ten months later, he could reach the system's next milestone and choose a new profession.

This made him increasingly look forward to the day the beauty pageant would officially begin after the young beauties from all over gathered.

6 S-tiers, he only asked for one 90-pointer. He didn't think this requirement was excessive.

Thinking this, he put down the roster, his gaze falling on Lady Lillian, and he said softly:

"How was the final process determined?"

Lady Lillian immediately took a half-step forward and said with a confident smile:

"Reporting to you, my Lord, following the requirements you proposed, we have simplified the final process into the most direct and efficient method."

She paused and continued: "For the beauty pageant, there is only one judge, and that is you, my Lord."

"All candidates arriving in Gino City will be divided into several batches according to their arrival order and preliminary rating, and will be brought to the castle hall in sequence."

"The place has been arranged according to your requirements, my Lord; the lighting and furnishings are all suitable for highlighting the demeanor and elegance of the women."

"After each batch of young women enters, they will display themselves briefly in the hall. You, my Lord, can observe quietly from the elegant seat in the hall, or you can walk closer for a detailed inspection."

"For those you are satisfied with, my Lord, you can signal to keep them directly. The relevant contracts have already been signed, so there is no need to worry about the wishes of the young women."

"For those you are not interested in, they will be handed over to the scribe on the side to be recorded, and the chamber of commerce personnel responsible for receiving them will send them back to their original hometowns safely and pay the agreed return travel expenses."

"This cycle will continue until all the young women have been inspected by you, my Lord."

Her description was concise and clear.

In this beauty pageant, Rowan was the only master.

The fate of the young women might be decided in the blink of an eye as he raised or lowered his gaze.

Those who stayed might step into unknown glory and risks. Those who left would return to their original life trajectories with some travel money and an experience they might not want to mention again.

Rowan nodded slightly, noncommittal about this arrangement, but the trace of satisfaction in his eyes was not hidden.

Efficient, direct, omitting all unnecessary links and interference.

This was exactly what he needed.

Lady Lillian had indeed understood his intentions thoroughly and executed them beautifully.

Over the past half month, from the thunderous replacement of the Finance Department to the huge budget preparation and full-territory publicity for the beauty pageant, and now to the complex personnel organization and process arrangement, she had displayed shrewdness, boldness, and execution ability that surpassed ordinary noble women.

More rarely, she knew the limits, knew when to advance and retreat, and could always get things done right to his heart.

"She is a rare talent." Rowan evaluated again in his heart, his gaze lingering for a moment on Lady Lillian's charming and capable face.

"After the beauty pageant settles down, the first batch of the female official team is initially formed, and someone is sharing the territory affairs... it is time to give her a chance."

"Just one Embrace, it won't be much by then. Her ability is worth this investment."

"If she can please him more, and he spends a little more effort to help her soar to 90 points, and then get pregnant and give birth to a child, that is not impossible."

"Very good." Rowan finally spoke, his voice still flat: "Prepare according to this process. Start three days from now."

"Yes, my Lord!" Lady Lillian and Jeremy Fisher replied in unison, their voices filled with irrepressible excitement.

The grand event, prepared for a long time, was finally about to welcome its most critical moment of verification.

If things went well, the Fisher Family might be able to truly establish a firm foothold through this matter.

Rowan waved his hand, signaling them to withdraw, and then walked towards Elena's room.