"As far as I understand, taxes on a villa are paid as a percentage of the amount of grain sold, not on total assets," Septimus said to Titus with an expressionless face.
Titus frowned when he heard Septimus. At first, he had believed Septimus was just a young man ignorant of Roman regulations, but hearing him accurately describe Capua's tax system made him begin to doubt whether it was wise to try to take advantage of him.
Septimus also wondered whether this fat tax collector was acting out of pure greed or if someone else was testing him. Either way, if the situation got out of hand, this tax collector would be stabbed by unknown bandits later that night.
"I've come to carry out an inspection. You recently bought a villa, yet your grain tax payments have dropped significantly," Titus said with a serious expression.
That was true. Septimus had formed a half legion, and combined with his many clones in different roles, a large portion of the villa's grain production was used to feed the half legion and the remaining clones, leaving little profit from grain sales.
Septimus was not interested in that small amount of money; his income came from sugar sales. This was why Titus mistakenly assumed Septimus was evading taxes.
"I'll double the amount of tax to be paid. I hope that settles the matter," Septimus said to Titus without changing his expression.
"The assessed tax amount is determined after I complete the inspection," Titus replied without blinking.
"I'll pay triple the amount," Septimus said, fixing Titus with a murderous glare.
The clones placed their hands on the hilts of their weapons.
Seeing this, Titus grew somewhat frightened. He trusted that Septimus would not harm him, but outside Capua he was no longer sure. Septimus's villa was two days from Capua—more than enough time for unknown bandits to intercept and attack him along the road.
"Very well. Triple the normal amount will do," Titus said with an arrogant look.
Even though the tax payment would increase severalfold, for Septimus it was now a trivial sum. Throughout the Italian peninsula, taxes were very low compared to the heavy taxation imposed on the Roman provinces.
Watching the fat tax collector leave, Septimus suppressed his murderous intent.
In about half a year, Marius would die, and within the next three years, Cinna would also die. When Sulla landed, Septimus could join his side with five legions or more and claim the entire city of Capua as his own territory.
With his ability, Septimus possessed immortality and the capacity to form armies capable of razing all of Rome.
The downside was that one day he might lose the essence of living—without purpose or meaning. The only solution he found was to let Roman history unfold while acting according to his own whims. In that way, living in this era would be more interesting.
For that reason, Septimus planned to secure a place in this Roman land and enjoy Roman culture and women, assuming the identity of a powerful noble whom no one could afford to offend.
With the problem resolved, Septimus sent thirty clones to Capua to buy construction materials. He intended to build a small fortified city on the villa grounds and station a legion inside to protect his wealth. He would also sell white sugar in Capua.
"With my current strength, I don't need to be cautious around the Roman upper class," Septimus said to himself.
With their objectives set, the clones began to act.
In Capua, the purchase of large quantities of construction materials alarmed both merchants and the Roman upper class.
Amid the intense bustle of acquiring construction supplies, two months passed.
During these two months, Septimus completed the purchase of the two neighboring villas, expanding his territory. He also increased the number of clones at the villa to 6,500, maintaining a reserve of clones ready to form a full legion in case of emergency.
His reputation also began to spread in Capua. The Roman elite started to notice this discreet young man who traded in white sugar and purchased massive quantities of materials. Thanks to the efficiency of the clones, Septimus was able to make rapid progress on constructing the villa's walls.
Septimus planned to build a reinforced perimeter wall twelve feet high—about 3.5 meters—with a moat and watchtowers spaced every 100 meters. Although he longed to build a wall on a military scale, doing so without a Roman senator's permission would draw too much attention.
In Rome, constructing large military-style walls around villas was not permitted unless one was a powerful senator. Therefore, Septimus had to settle for 3.5-meter-high stone walls reinforced with five-meter watchtowers every 100 meters.
In this way, he could conceal the true number of his armed clone guards, giving the impression that he had only a few hundred slaves. Previously, Septimus had kept his clone legion in wooden huts; now he could build sturdier and more comfortable military barracks.
Another point worth noting was that Septimus increased bakery production and moved the blacksmith shop to the villa in order to arm his private clone guards.
At this point, his only source of income was the clones trading white sugar in Naples, Rome, Sicily, and Capua.
During this time, Septimus did not slacken in weapons training, sending at least two hundred clones to the underground arena. If not for Gaudas's look—as if he were witnessing a bloodthirsty madman—Septimus would have sent thousands. With just two hundred clones, he had already gained brutal combat experience; as a result, all his clones could be considered veteran gladiators.
Septimus concluded that buying his own ludus and infiltrating it with his clones to serve as gladiators in Capua's arena would be more profitable and would eliminate the need to hide his ability.
Having decided to purchase a ludus, Septimus mobilized his clones to search for a declining one to buy.
After finding a suitable ludus and spending 200,000 denarii to negotiate ownership without the slaves and gladiators, the lanista agreed to the sale. After a successful negotiation, Septimus could now consider himself a Roman lanista.
Once the purchase was completed, Septimus sent private clone guards to retrieve the clones he had left at Gaius's ludus, along with 3,000 denarii as compensation and a parting gift.
What Septimus did not expect was Gaius's change in attitude upon learning that he wanted to reclaim the thirty volunteers.
Originally, Gaius had paid little attention to Septimus or those thirty volunteers; their talent had been average at best. But their constant improvement changed his mind. If a champion or legend emerged among those thirty, fortune would come to his ludus.
For that reason, he refused when Septimus attempted to retrieve the thirty volunteers. He already considered them slaves under his ownership. After all, they were foreigners outside Rome—if he claimed they were slaves of his ludus, there would be no proof to the contrary.
Septimus, accompanied by forty armed clone guards, headed toward Gaius's ludus.
As they approached, the clones drew the attention of the guards stationed at Gaius's ludus.