Warfarin had barely finished speaking when she came rushing over. She placed a large stack of photos of Originium crystals in front of Theresica.
"These are my observation records of individual Oripathy lesions exposed on the bodies of some miners. Although they have protective suits, the current workload is still placing a considerable burden on their infections and causing them to worsen."
Ah! What a headache!
The joy Theresica had felt after bringing back a large haul from Victoria had vanished from his mind. Looking at the things delivered before him, he could not help covering his forehead.
"Summon all the clan chiefs and officials in charge. We're holding a meeting!"
Everyone had arrived, but what good would a meeting do? This was not some military conference. These people could not say a word.
Looking around the silent council hall, Theresica irritably scratched his head.
"How are Kazdel's food reserves doing?"
"Your Majesty, at the current rate, they can last another nine months."
The Sarkaz responsible for managing the food stores stepped forward. Theresica examined him while flipping through his records.
He belonged to the Goliath clan. Since they had no special abilities, they were a Sarkaz group without a royal court. This man had once been the armory's administrator and guard, preventing theft while also managing the distribution of supplies. Now that he was older, he had become the manager of the granaries.
"You are now the director of the Food Resources Department. Continue managing the granaries. In addition to the existing allocations, establish two specialized food-distribution programs. The first is food for the mines and refinery workers. It used to be drawn from the military's supplies, but from now on, it will go through you."
"The second is a special food program for education." Theresica looked toward the Banshee.
"From now on, all teachers and students will have their daily meals paid for by the state. Students will also receive subsidies for two sets of summer and winter clothing every year."
"But that will make the food situation even tighter..."
"Don't panic. I brought back a considerable reserve of funds from Victoria. Besides, it's June now, and the harvest season is almost here."
The Banshee wanted to object, but Theresica stopped her and said solemnly, "I have an order. All children in Kazdel between the ages of six and twelve are to enter school and receive an education. This is an order."
"Yes, Your Majesty."
The Banshee nodded respectfully and had someone bring over a stack of books. "Your Majesty, these are the textbooks we plan to use. However, they are somewhat disorganized, and we have no way to distinguish the educational levels yet."
"You'll have to bear with it and get through this period. Once everything becomes orderly, it should be a little easier."
Theresica took the textbooks and flipped through them one by one. They only listed the subjects and had no grade classifications, because Kazdel's current school-age population spanned too wide an age range.
"We only have literacy, history, and arithmetic? Add some more."
Theresica thought for a while. "Add a health-education class. Cover hygiene in daily life, as well as an introduction to Oripathy. Make sure it's objective and practical! Then add physical education to build up their fitness, along with some basic wound-dressing techniques. Finally, add an art class."
"I understand."
The Banshee wrote everything down.
"Also, have Zeppelin establish the Kazdel Industrial Skills Training Office. The military will send all craftsmen and people with good practical skills there to study. It's near the barracks anyway, so preparing and renovating the place won't interfere with anything!"
Theresica's attitude was firm, and the old men of the Military Committee could only agree.
That was all they could do about education for the time being. Theresica shifted his attention to food.
The only excellent grain-producing regions surrounding Kazdel that had not made enemies with the Sarkaz were Great Yan and Siracusa. Great Yan had never communicated with the Sarkaz, so perhaps Siracusa was worth trying.
"What is the current gap between the food Kazdel can obtain and the amount it consumes?"
"Your Majesty, our food currently comes mainly from trades with nearby refugee settlements, Scalebeast caught at the coastal fisheries, and a small amount of wheat barely harvested from the land. Altogether, it accounts for roughly thirty-five percent of our food consumption."
The Sarkaz who had just become the director of Food Resources fluently reported the figures. Theresica, however, had no mood to praise his professional ability. His heart was filled only with heavy concern.
Such a huge shortfall meant that even if they managed to gather enough food, Kazdel would become a country importing sixty-five percent of its food from a single source. That was far too dangerous. It would be placing their lifeline in someone else's hands.
At that thought, Theresica looked toward the Confessors. They seemed to be researchers of Originium Arts.
"Confessors."
"Your Majesty."
The Confessor, who had remained silent all this time, stepped forward.
"Can you... set up a research project?"
"Please give us your orders, Your Majesty."
Theresica organized his thoughts before speaking. "Change the soil, or change the seeds. In short, make the land around Kazdel suitable for growing crops, or... make the seeds survive in the surrounding soil so that we can harvest more food."
He finished speaking, but the Confessor stood there for a long time without responding10
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Chapter 20: The Only Choice
"Er... Is it impossible? I was just throwing out an idea..."
Seeing that the council hall had fallen silent for quite some time, Theresica hurriedly tried to reassure him, but the Confessor spoke first.
"It is indeed very difficult, but it is Your Majesty's will. I will do my utmost to accomplish it."
"Thanks for the effort. Don't use anything too outrageous."
The Confessor bowed. In his eyes, this latest king had actually done very well. The only flaw was that he did not know how to make good use of the Sarkaz's military might.
If they launched a war, they could seize everything they lacked from other nations just as they had in the past. There would be no need to struggle so much. However, he would not say any of that aloud. As a subject, he had no right to bind the will of the royal family.
After asking around and getting nowhere, it seemed that importing food from Siracusa was the only option.
Theresica set that matter aside and began reading the Originium observation report Warfarin had given him.
Hmm...
All right, this was even harder to deal with. There was no way around it. Kazdel currently had only field medics who knew how to bandage wounds and treat combat injuries. Yet the refining and mining of Originium could not stop. If that stopped, this country, which had only just begun operating, would grind to a halt.
Ah, he was out of ideas! Doctors were not food. They could not simply import them! And it was not early childhood education, either. They did not even have enough teachers!
He was hungry. End the council meeting. It was 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 who shares a trace of blood with you."
In the spacious dining hall of the royal residence, only two people sat at the table, apart from the attendants standing in the shadows and Shining.
"It's been a long time."
"Mm."
"I didn't expect you to leave your room."
"I had no choice. The royal court insisted that I inherit the throne, and then I saw some things and agreed in a fit of enthusiasm."
Theresica smiled helplessly. Looking at the badly worn protective gear on Mudrock, he asked, "Have you gotten used to being abroad?"
"More or less. I've traveled around. It was tiring, but I saw many things."
Mudrock tasted the food in front of her and offered a small compliment. "You've done an impressive job. Kazdel came back to life, the ruins have decreased, and many new things... have risen."
"Really? Getting praised by Sister Mudrock means I can be happy for a little while."
Theresica cautiously asked, "Would you like to stay here for a while? The Sarkaz have no means of communicating with the outside world. Could you tell me about what's happening out there? I'm very interested."
"Hmm, I came to see you and replenish some supplies. Next, I want to visit Ursus and Leithanien."
Mudrock shook her head, then continued, "My journey has been slow, and many things may have already changed... I'll tell you about Columbia."
"Ah, Sister Mudrock went that far?"
"No, it was a companion of mine who told me. His name is Big Bob. He wants to go to Columbia."
Mudrock finished the steak on her plate and even licked her fingers. Theresica had no choice but to quickly have an attendant bring another piece.1
"Big Bob is an Infected. He said Columbia is currently expanding westward into the wilderness. Its administrative agencies are recruiting wealthy foreigners in large numbers to settle there. As long as you have money, you can buy anything. Even Sarkaz and the Infected can live like ordinary people with enough money, without suffering discrimination from others."
With money, one could live well anywhere, right?
Theresica lowered his head and quietly chuckled. He did not interrupt Mudrock. He simply listened in silence.
"Columbia sounds amazing. It has many schools and many research institutes. They're always creating things that don't exist anywhere else in Terra. Big Bob said that with enough money, they might even be able to cure Oripathy."
"That amazing? You're making me want to visit."
"Huh? You want to go too?"
Mudrock was somewhat surprised. "Aren't you afraid something will go wrong if you leave? Even people in my team have secretly run away with supplies when I wasn't looking."
"So what? If they really want this throne, they can have it. It's just a giant mess. I want to get rid of it as soon as possible and go back to playing games."
Theresica looked completely indifferent. With the 'bug' that prevented the Sarkaz from attacking the royal family, his life was safe. He only had to guard against outsiders.
"Is that so? Hahaha..."
Mudrock smiled faintly.
Although she had originally intended only to talk about Columbia, the conversation had unknowingly gone far beyond that topic. It was not until the King of the Scavengers arrived that their leisure was interrupted.
"Your Majesty."
"I know."
Theresica rose painfully to his feet. The country was backward, and all it gave him were various troublesome matters. Still, in front of Mudrock, he kept his expression under control and gave her one instruction before leaving.
"Sister Mudrock, if you're tired, you can rest here for a while."
"Mm, I will."
Theresica returned to the council hall. In truth, there was no other solution to the problem before them.
"Siracusa. What is this place really like?"
He asked curiously. The country could be considered a neighbor of Kazdel.
"Strictly speaking, Siracusa is very similar to us. It has many families, but it is ruled by the twelve largest families. The strongest among them is the family led by the woman who calls herself Lady Sicilia. She established most of the rules."
The Shapeshifter stepped forward and said, "Lady Sicilia is powerful, but she has no ability to strictly control the other families. She can only let them act independently, so long as they do not cross her bottom line. We once traded with some of Siracusa's smaller families, selling them weapons and such, but their appetites were tiny. They only ever wanted a little of anything, so we eventually stopped trading with them."
"How well have they developed their homeland?"
"Very well. It can rival Victoria. I sometimes sneak over there for a vacation."
The Shapeshifter paid no attention to the looks around him and smiled happily. "Siracusa is like Victoria in the past. It has excellent land but no Originium deposits. Although Victoria and Leithanien are nearby, they do not pay Siracusa much attention. They only intimidate it from time to time and buy a little grain at low prices."
After hearing the Shapeshifter's explanation, Theresica gained a general understanding of Siracusa. However, the food he needed to import was not a small amount. It was a ticking time bomb that could very likely become a handle for others to use against them in the future.
At that thought, he looked around and asked, "If, in the future, Siracusa gained a vital handle over us... A vital handle! Would Kazdel be capable of defeating Siracusa?"
As soon as he asked, the council hall fell silent once more. Yet Theresica did not sense any tension in the atmosphere. The King of the Scavengers showed no reaction, the Banshee's expression grew somewhat solemn, while the others instead seemed faintly excited.
The Bloodfiend Grand Duke stepped forward. "Your Majesty, before you brought the Sarkaz Victoria's individual crossbows and machine tools, if you wanted to, if you wished to, we could pierce through Siracusa from any direction. And now..."
The Confessor took over. "We would advance even faster."
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Chapter 21: Visiting Siracusa (Refresh the Page)
After receiving an assurance of military strength, Theresica relaxed considerably. However, he had no intention of actually starting a war. That would undoubtedly cause the nations of Terra to turn their attention toward Kazdel once again.
He personally wrote a letter. Along with sending Lady Sicilia his greetings, he expressed his hope of developing peaceful trade.
After sealing the letter with wax, he handed it to the Shapeshifter, who disguised himself as a Calamity Messenger in the desert and carried it to Siracusa.1
A week later, the Shapeshifter returned to Kazdel, followed by a Lupo. He was Lady Sicilia's personal messenger, and he had brought a handwritten reply from Lady Sicilia.
"Esteemed King of Kazdel, Lady Sicilia ordered me to bring you this reply. Please read it."
Under the watchful eyes of the royal court's clans, the Siracusan messenger respectfully presented the letter to him.
"Thank you for your efforts, Mr. Messenger."
Theresica smiled as he accepted the letter and opened it. Apart from the usual empty pleasantries, Lady Sicilia also expressed her approval of peaceful trade and her hope that they could conduct their negotiations through a discreet channel.1
That final point caught his attention. Why did they need to hold the talks in secret? Were they worried about some side effect of trading with Kazdel?5
Theresica did not refuse. After allowing the messenger to rest properly in Kazdel for a day, he had the Shapeshifter return to Siracusa with him, carrying a letter expressing his agreement.
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