Chapter 97 | Reincarnated as a Necromancer, I Turned a Death Desert Into Paradise

In the early morning, Shane sat by the water pool, holding a letter sent from Windrest City.

“Mr. Leynas, a massive success! Things are a hundred times more successful than we ever imagined! On our very first day of opening, in just two short hours, over a hundred people lined up in front of the shop. The threshold was nearly trampled flat!”

“The plan you proposed regarding the Princess's handwritten letter is simply incredible. The moment the letter was shown, the crowd instantly erupted. Even now, some are willing to pay triple the price to buy up the Egg Tickets that have already been sold!”

“To be honest, when I first heard of this plan of yours, I was actually a bit apprehensive. After all, paying one gold coin for an Egg Ticket sounded absolutely insane. But now, it seems I completely underestimated the people's desire for a royal handwritten letter.”

“According to your layout, the goals for the first phase of generating hype and sales have already been achieved. Currently, the second phase is unfolding in an orderly manner. It seems some have already noticed the true value of the eggs. From my observations, unidentified individuals have begun quietly buying up the circulating eggs in large quantities.”

“In addition, several of the larger local merchant guilds in Windrest City have started sending people to nose around the shop, appearing to have developed an interest in the eggs themselves. Judging by this momentum, the third phase might arrive very soon.”

At the end of the letter, Isha's handwriting became slightly neater, showing that she had calmed her excitement to write a proper conclusion:

“In short, everything is progressing according to plan. Thank you for your trust and guidance, Mr. Leynas. Without the plans you proposed, it would have been impossible for us to make such a breakthrough in so short a time.”

“P.S. Attached to this letter is the list of names for the next batch of thank-you letters that require Her Highness's personal signature. There are fifteen people in total.”

At the very bottom was her signature and the date.

After reading the letter, Shane's gaze paused on the last line for a moment, a subtle expression appearing on his face.

Truth be told, his understanding of business was actually quite limited. The whole system of “generating hype,” “limited pre-sales,” and “royal endorsement” was merely marketing tactics he had seen in his previous life. He had only briefly mentioned them to the Princess and Isha, and they had filled in all the details themselves.

Isha handled the commercial side, while the Princess devised the administrative backing. Not a single step of the actual execution had anything to do with him.

Yet in the end, both of them felt the credit belonged entirely to him.

Shane folded the letter, slipped it back into the envelope, and shook his head with a touch of helplessness.

When applied to this world, even the most basic marketing strategies from his previous life felt like a dimensionality strike to these people. He had merely repeated a few concepts he had heard of, yet he was being treated as some kind of business genius.

The feeling was, well, oddly gratifying.

“Shane.”

Shane turned his head to see Alicia walking toward him from the camp. The morning light spilled over her back. Today, she wasn't wearing her light armor, clad instead in only a light gray linen robe.

“Your Highness.”

Shane stood up and handed over Isha's letter. “Isha's letter has arrived. Things are going very smoothly over there. The first phase is complete, and the second phase is steadily progressing.”

Then, he pulled out the attached list of names from the envelope. “And here is the list for the next batch of letters that require your personal handwriting. Fifteen people in total.”

Alicia took the list and scanned it from top to bottom. Then, her expression suddenly turned a bit odd. A subtle reluctance, born from having her enthusiasm drained by repetitive labor, flickered across her face.

“Your Highness?”

Shane noticed her unusual reaction and couldn't help but ask, “Is there a problem?”

Alicia looked down at the list in her hand, then looked up at Shane. Suddenly, she took a half-step closer to him, tilted her head slightly, and whispered softly in his ear:

“Actually... writing these over and over gets quite tedious. Do you have any ideas... to free me from this chore?”

Her tone carried a hint of playfulness that she herself didn't even notice.

Shane's brow arched slightly. To be honest, he was somewhat surprised. In his impression, the Princess had never complained about anything before.

But on second thought, it made sense. Fifteen letters, each requiring her personal handwriting, with the wording needing slight adjustments based on the recipient's identity and background—it was indeed far from an enjoyable task.

But the issue was, if someone else wrote them, the value of the thank-you letters would be severely diminished.

The buyers were paying for the unique feeling of having a handwritten letter from a member of the royal family. If a scribe wrote them instead, even if the handwriting was perfectly mimicked, it would lose its exclusivity.

Shane lowered his head and pondered for a moment, a thought suddenly flashing through his mind.

Perhaps he could use movable type stamps—a simplified combination of movable type printing and stamps.

By carving commonly used phrases into individual stamp modules, they could be freely arranged and combined according to the recipient's identity. The Princess would only need to personally write the recipient's name and a final personalized note.

This way, it would preserve the authenticity of a handwritten letter while drastically reducing the repetitive labor.

“I actually have an idea.”

Shane looked up at Alicia with a warm smile. “We can make a set of movable type stamps. We'll carve the commonly used sentences in advance, and you will only need to personally write the recipient's name and the final note. This way, we won't lower the value of the thank-you letters, and it will save you a lot of effort.”

Alicia's eyes visibly brightened for an instant, but she controlled her expression well, merely nodding gently before stepping back to her original spot, regaining her calm and elegant posture.

“Then... I will leave this matter to you, Shane.”

With that, she turned and walked back toward the camp, her steps slightly lighter than when she had arrived.

Shane stood in place, watching her figure recede. Only when her fiery-red silhouette vanished among the tents did he withdraw his gaze.

“Hey.”

Shane turned his head to find Elon standing there, though he had no idea when the old druid had arrived. Elon had his arms crossed, watching the direction the Princess had gone with a complex expression.

“Have you been standing there for a long time?”

“Since the moment Her Highness whispered in your ear.”

Elon's tone carried an indefinable nuance. Shane wisely chose not to engage with that topic, opting to change the subject instead:

“How are the chickens doing?”

“Not bad.”

Elon withdrew his gaze, his tone shifting back to business. “The second batch of chickens has adapted to the environment. Lanche brought over another dozen yesterday. They're all local breeds collected from the villages at the edge of the desert, just as you requested. None of them showed any signs of stress.”

“The hens' egg-laying rate has basically returned to normal. They can stably produce around forty eggs a day.”

“Forty eggs. Is that enough to keep up with current sales?”

“It's more than enough to handle the Egg Ticket orders. After all, the redemption cycle for a single Egg Ticket is three days, so inventory isn't an issue for now.”

At this point, Elon's tone suddenly grew heavier. “However, there is a new problem now. I think you'd better go see it for yourself.”

Shane's brow twitched. “What kind of problem?”

“The bean field.”

Elon turned and pointed his chin toward the bean field on the east side of the oasis. “During my patrol this morning, I noticed that the surface of some areas has started to turn white.”

Shane's eyelid twitched.

In a desert environment, this usually meant only one thing.

“Salinization?”

“I'm not sure yet, but the trend isn't looking good.”

Elon lowered his arms. “Don't panic just yet. It's only a localized phenomenon in a small area, and it hasn't spread to the rest of the bean field. But if it continues to develop, I'm afraid it will affect the yield of the next batch of water beans.”