In Terra, I Have No Books to Read

As soon as he finished speaking, Warfarin rushed over and placed a large stack of Originium crystal photos in front of Theresica.

"These are my observational records of individual Oripathy lesions exposed on the surface of some miners. Despite the protective suits, the current work intensity still places a considerable burden on the worsening of their infection symptoms."

Ugh! My head hurts!

The joy of bringing a large amount of goods back from Victoria had vanished from Theresica's mind. Now, thinking about the pile of items delivered to him, he couldn't help but cover his forehead.

"Now, summon all clan leaders and responsible individuals for a meeting!"

Everyone was present, but what good would a meeting do? This wasn't a military conference; these people couldn't say a word.

Scanning the quiet assembly hall, Theresica irritably scratched his head.

"What's the current situation with Kazdel's food reserves?"

"Your Majesty, based on the current situation, we can maintain supplies for another 9 months."

The Sarkaz in charge of managing food inventory stepped forward. Theresica flipped through his files while appraising him.

He was from the Goliath clan. Lacking any special abilities, they were a Sarkaz group without a royal court. However, this particular Sarkaz had previously been an armory administrator and guard, responsible for preventing theft and managing material withdrawals. Now that he was older, he had been assigned to manage the granary.

"You are now the Minister of the Food Resources Department. Continue managing the granary. In addition to the original withdrawals, establish two specialized food allocations from your department. First, food for miners and refinery workers. This was previously drawn from the military, but now it will come from you."

"Second, is the educational allocation," Theresica looked towards the Banshee.

"From now on, the daily meals for all teachers and students will be covered by the state. Students will also receive a clothing subsidy of two sets of summer and winter clothes annually."

"But if that's the case, the food situation will become even more strained..."

"No need to panic. I brought back substantial financial reserves from Victoria, and it's currently June, nearing the harvest season."

The Banshee tried to dissuade him, but Theresica stopped her. He said solemnly, "Order: all children in Kazdel aged 6-12 are to enter school for education. This is an order."

"As you command, Your Majesty."

The Banshee nodded in acknowledgment and ordered someone to bring a stack of books. "Your Majesty, these are the textbooks prepared for use, but they are somewhat disorganized, and we haven't been able to categorize them by educational level."

"You'll have to endure this period. Once everything is in order, it should become a bit easier."

Theresica took the textbooks and flipped through them one by one. The textbooks only listed the subject names but lacked grade classifications because Kazdel's education system had never accommodated such a wide age range before.

"There's only literacy, history, and arithmetic? Let's add a few more."

Theresica pondered for a moment. "Add a health and hygiene class, covering daily sanitation and an objective, factual introduction to Oripathy. Then, add a physical education class to improve physical fitness and basic wound dressing techniques. Finally, add an art class."

"Understood."

The Banshee noted everything down.

"Furthermore, establish the Kazdel Industrial Skills Training Center under Zeppelin's supervision. The military will dispatch all artisans and individuals with good practical skills to undergo training. The location will be near the military camp, so repairs won't be affected!"

Theresica's attitude was firm, and the old guard of the Military Committee could only agree.

As for educational matters, this was all that could be done for now. Theresica shifted his attention to the food situation.

Surrounding Kazdel, the only areas with excellent agricultural output that had not been in conflict with the Sarkaz were Yan and Siracusa. However, Yan had never interacted with the Sarkaz. Perhaps Siracusa could be approached.

"What is the current gap between the amount of grain Kazdel can receive and its expenditure?"

"Your Majesty, currently, our food supply primarily comes from trade with surrounding refugee settlements, the Scalebeasts caught in the coastal fishing grounds, and a meager amount of wheat harvested from the land. This accounts for about 35% of our food expenditure."

The Sarkaz, who had just become the Minister of Food Resources, recited these figures fluently. However, Theresica was not in the mood to praise his professional competence; his mind was filled with heavy worry.

With such a large deficit, even if they managed to procure grain, Kazdel would become a nation with a single grain import source accounting for 65% of its supply. This was far too dangerous; it was akin to placing their lifeline in someone else's hands.

Thinking of this, Theresica looked towards the Absolvers. They seemed to be involved in researching Originium Arts.

"Absolvers."

"Your Majesty."

The Absolvers, who had remained silent, stepped forward.

"Can you... initiate a research project?"

"Please instruct us, Your Majesty."

Theresica organized his thoughts and said, "Modify the soil, or perhaps modify the seeds, in short, make the land around Kazdel capable of growing grain, or... make the seeds survive in the surrounding land and yield more grain."

He finished speaking, but the Absolvers stood there for a long time without responding.

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Chapter 20: The Only Choice

"Uh... is it not possible? I was just speaking casually..."

Seeing the assembly hall fall silent for a while, Theresica quickly tried to comfort them, but an Absolver spoke.

"This is indeed very difficult, but it is Your Majesty's will, and I will do my utmost to accomplish it."

"Thank you for your hard work. Please do not resort to overly outlandish methods."

The Absolver bowed. In his eyes, the current successor king had done quite well, but the only drawback was his inability to effectively utilize the Sarkaz's military might.

If they had simply initiated war, they could have seized everything they lacked from other nations, just like in the past, without such strenuous effort. However, he would not voice these thoughts; as a subordinate, he had no right to impose his will upon the royal family.

After asking around with no success, it seemed the only way to solve the food shortage was to import from Siracusa.

Theresica set that aside and began looking at the Originium observation report Warfarin had given him.

Hmm…

Alright, this one is even more troublesome, completely impossible. Right now, Kazdel only has battlefield doctors who can bandage and treat combat wounds. But the refining and mining of Originium can't stop. If it stops, this hard-won functioning nation will immediately grind to a halt.

Ah, I'm out of ideas! Doctors aren't food, you can't just import them! This isn't early childhood education either, we don't even have teachers!

I'm hungry, let's adjourn the council, it's time to eat.

Theresica wanted to escape reality for a while, but the King of the Scavengers suddenly came looking for him.

"Your Majesty, someone is waiting for you."

"Who?"

"Someone with a trace of the same bloodline as you."

In the Royal Residence, within the spacious dining hall, besides the servants standing in the dim corners and Shining, only two people were seated at the dining table.

"It's been a long time."

"Mhm."

"I didn't expect you to actually come out of your room."

"I couldn't help it. The Royal Court kept pushing me to inherit the throne, and then I saw some things that made me act impulsively and agree."

Theresica chuckled helplessly. He looked at Mudrock's heavily worn armor and asked, "Are you getting used to being in a foreign land?"

"It's been alright. I've been traveling around. Although it's tiring, I've seen a lot of things."

Mudrock tasted the meal before her and offered a small compliment, "You've done very well. Kazdel has come back to life, there are fewer ruins, and so many new things... have emerged."

"Really? Receiving praise from Sister Mudrock makes me happy for a little while."

Theresica tentatively asked, "Do you want to stay here for a while? Sarkaz doesn't have any external communication channels. Can you tell me about the outside world? I'm very interested."

"Hmm, I came to see you and to replenish some supplies. Next, I want to go see Ursus and Leithanien."

Mudrock shook her head, but then added, "My journey isn't fast, many things might have already changed... I'll tell you about Columbia."

"Ah, has Sister Mudrock traveled that far?"

"No, it was a companion of mine who told me. His name is Big Bob, and he wants to go to Columbia."

Mudrock finished the steak on her plate and even licked her fingers. Theresica quickly had to ask the waiter to bring another piece.

"Big Bob is an Infected. He said that Columbia is currently expanding into the western wastelands, where the management authorities are actively attracting wealthy foreigners to settle. As long as you have money, you can buy anything. Even Sarkaz and the Infected can live like normal people through wealth, without enduring ostracization."

With money, you can live well anywhere, I suppose.

Theresica lowered his head and smiled quietly. He didn't interrupt Mudrock's story, listening quietly.

"Columbia seems very powerful. There are many schools there, and many research institutes. They always manage to create things that don't exist on Terra. Big Bob said that if there's enough money, perhaps even Oripathy can be cured."

"Is it that powerful? You make me want to go see it."

"Eh? You want to go too?"

Mudrock looked surprised. "Aren't you afraid of something going wrong if you leave here? In my team, there are people who secretly take supplies and run away when I'm not paying attention."

"So what? If they really want this throne, they can take it. It's a mess, and I'd rather get rid of it early and go back to playing games."

Theresica shrugged indifferently. Anyway, with the 'bug' that Sarkaz cannot attack Royalty, his life was safe. He only needed to guard against outsiders.

"Is that so? Hahaha..."

Mudrock gave a faint smile.

Although she initially only intended to talk about Columbia, the conversation had unknowingly gone far beyond that. It wasn't until the King of the Scavengers arrived that their leisure time was interrupted.

"Your Majesty."

"I know."

Theresica got up with a pained expression. The country was backward, and all he was handed were troublesome matters. However, he managed his expression well in front of Mudrock. Before leaving, he instructed her.

"If Sister Mudrock gets tired, you can rest here for a while."

"Mhm, I will."

Theresica returned to the council hall. In truth, there were no other solutions to the problems before him.

"Siracusa, what is that place like?"

He asked curiously. That country was adjacent to Kazdel, after all.

"Siracusa, strictly speaking, is very similar to us. There are many families there, but they are ruled by the largest 12 families. Among them, the family that calls itself Lady Sicilia is the most powerful. She sets most of the rules."

The Shapeshifter stepped forward and said, "Although Lady Sicilia is powerful, she doesn't have the ability to strictly control the other families. She can only let them act as they please, as long as they don't cross her bottom line. We have also conducted transactions with some minor families in Siracusa, selling them some weapons, but their appetite is very small. They only want a little of everything, so we stopped trading with them."

"How is their... homeland development?"

"It's very good, comparable to Victoria. I sometimes sneak over there for a vacation to rest."

The Shapeshifter ignored the glances around him, a pleased smile on his face. "Siracusa is like Victoria in the past; it has excellent land but no Originium veins. Victoria and Leithanien are close by, but they don't pay much attention to Siracusa, only occasionally scaring them and buying grain at low prices."

After hearing the Shapeshifter's words, Theresica now had a general understanding of Siracusa. However, the grain he intended to import was not a small matter; it was a ticking time bomb that could very well become a handle in the future.

Thinking of this, he scanned his surroundings and asked, "If, in the future, Siracusa gets a fatal hold over us... a fatal hold! Does Kazdel have the ability to defeat Siracusa?"

As soon as he spoke, the council hall fell silent again. However, Theresica felt no stiffness in the atmosphere. The King of the Scavengers showed no reaction, the Banshee's expression became somewhat solemn, while the others felt a hint of hidden joy.

The Bloodfiend Grand Duke stepped forward at this moment. "Your Majesty, before you provided the Sarkaz with Victoria's individual crossbows and machine tools, if you wished, if you liked, we could pierce Siracusa from any direction. And now..."

The Absolver picked up the conversation. "We will advance even faster."

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Chapter 21: Visiting Siracusa (Refresh)

With the guarantee of military strength, Theresica relaxed considerably, but he didn't truly intend to start a war. This would undoubtedly draw the attention of all the nations of Terra to Kazdel once again.

He personally wrote a letter, extending greetings to Lady Sicilia while also expressing his desire to develop peaceful trade.

After sealing the letter with wax, he handed it to the Shapeshifter, who disguised himself as a Calamity Messenger from the desert and took it to Siracusa.

A week later, the Shapeshifter returned to Kazdel, with a Lupo following behind him. This was Lady Sicilia's personal messenger, who brought Lady Sicilia's personal reply.

"Respected King of Kazdel, I have been ordered by Lady Sicilia to bring this reply. Please review it."

Under the watchful eyes of the various races in the royal court, the Siracusan messenger respectfully presented the letter to him.

"Thank you for your trouble, messenger."

Theresica smiled as he took the letter and opened it. Apart from polite greetings, Lady Sicilia also expressed her agreement to peaceful trade and her hope to conduct cooperation negotiations in a discreet manner.

This last point made him a little curious. Why conduct a discreet meeting? Was she afraid of some side effects after trading with Kazdel?

Theresica did not refuse. After letting the messenger rest well in Kazdel for a day, he once again sent the Shapeshifter back to Siracusa with him, carrying his letter of agreement.