The words "one kilogram of bread" were instantly caught by everyone.
"Information registration? What's that?"
"Why bother with all that? We can get the food His Majesty provides once we go!"
"Yeah! One kilogram! That'll be enough to fill a child's stomach!"9
"Thank you, Your Majesty!"
The hungry people immediately gathered in Kazdel's central square. The Absolutionist and the Banshee had already set up temporary work facilities there, along with a huge insulated iron pot. Cooks and helpers transferred from the royal residence were carrying bucket after bucket of freshly baked bread and pouring it into the pot.
"Not a bad way to guide them."
"Thank you. Being praised by an elder means my idea really worked. I'm very happy."1
Theresica wore a polite smile as he accepted Outcast's praise. Today was the day they would leave Kazdel, but considering the factors on both sides of the civil war, he had come alone to see them off.
Most of the people in the crowd wore indifferent expressions, but one girl who looked about his age watched him with a scrutinizing gaze. Seeing this, a mercenary commander named Hedley hurried over and quietly apologized.1
"Please forgive her rudeness."
"It's all right. I don't mind."
Theresica waved it off, then asked curiously, "Are you going to Leithanien as well?"
Kal'tsit was going there to establish a pharmaceutical company, but he couldn't figure out what purpose a mercenary band would serve by following her.
"No. We want to go to Ursus. They're at war with Kazimierz, so mercenaries like us should be able to find work there."
"I see... I wish you all the best."
After hearing Hedley out, Theresica offered them his blessings. He then watched them board the landship and saw them off as they departed.
He had secretly asked the Shapeshifter to observe Hedley's mercenary band. They were a fully equipped group of soldiers hardened by countless battles. If possible, he would have liked to keep them, but Kazdel truly had nothing attractive to offer right now. Ursus, however, was a nation devoted entirely to war, and it even allowed foreigners to join its military. People like them would shine there.
"Your Majesty..."
The Banshee clan leader, the Absolutionist, and Shining, who had remained hidden in the shadows, finally revealed themselves.
"How is it? How is the registration going?"
"Very smoothly. Your method has made every Sarkaz cooperate with us willingly. We expect to finish collecting information on the city's residents and the various races' settlements nearby within two days. We can finish gathering the soldiers' information today. Once everything has been verified, I'll present it to you."
Theresica was very satisfied with the Absolutionist's efficiency, though he was also a little worried. If they could complete a census of the entire population through manual labor in only two days, just how few Sarkazil were there?
At that moment, the Banshee beside him spoke. "Your Majesty, your method is very effective, but distributing food throughout Sarkazil free of charge will consume enormous resources. There is hardly any arable land around Kazdel, and we have no one who understands agriculture."
"That doesn't matter. Buy it elsewhere! I'll provide the funds for the food. We can't just let them starve to death. The Sarkaz have suffered enough."1
There was not the slightest hesitation in Theresica's voice. The money he had spent earlier to obtain admission was useless now anyway, so he might as well use it here.6
"Don't neglect education, either. Set up the school facilities first. The information-gathering and education programs must begin as soon as possible. That is the most important thing."4
"Understood, but the funds left to you by Lady Theresia and Lord Theresis are limited."
The Banshee and the Absolutionist nodded and reminded him. They had to obey the king's orders, but they still felt somewhat uneasy. The impoverished Sarkaz had never distributed food for free before.3
Theresica had nothing to say about their discomfort. He had never experienced those days himself, but he believed that doing everything possible to preserve the Sarkaz people was the right thing to do.
"Still, speaking of funding..."
Theresica thought of the Originium purification trade agreement he had signed yesterday. He had spent the entire night in the royal library, and now he understood Originium much more thoroughly.
Originium was Terra's dominant and almost sole energy source. It could be used both domestically and militarily, and anything requiring energy was powered by it. Every grade of purified Originium consumed throughout Terra was in tremendous demand.
In other countries, ore purification relied on machines. A small amount of Originium energy was first supplied to activate the ore, transforming it into a temporarily inexplicable gelatinous substance. Its impurities were then removed bit by bit, after which it was reshaped into pure Originium ore.
Thanks to the Sarkaz's affinity with Originium, they did not need machines to activate it. They could do so directly and with extremely high efficiency, even producing the rare Originium found in Terra with a purity of over ninety-five percent.
Originium had a material exclusivity. Impurities inside it caused its energy to constantly dissipate, corroding those impurities. This was the root of infection. Originium with a purity above ninety-five percent contained almost no impurities. At that point, it entered a stable "static" state, stopped dissipating energy, and became completely noninfectious. It could even be held and played with all day.
So although Kazdel had been built on a desert, as long as it could make good use of the Sarkaz's affinity with Originium to purify and refine it efficiently, Kazdel could become like the oil-producing nations of Earth's Middle East, gaining enormous wealth by exporting high-purity Originium.9
But Originium was not oil. Its initial production stage inflicted the same vicious harm as radioactive ore. For this to be sustainable, they first had to solve the infection problem. Otherwise, they would merely be drinking poison to quench their thirst.6
Yet solving the infection problem required advanced medical facilities, and building those required money. For now, the only way to obtain money was through Originium trading.
It was a deadlock!
"Kazdel, is there any way to suppress Oripathy? To stabilize the condition instead of letting it worsen."
Since there was no cure, Theresica intended to settle for the next best thing. If people with Oripathy could live peacefully into old age before dying, then the pressure weighing on him would be much lighter.
"No. Kazdel lost its medical research institutions long ago. All resources were redirected toward military strength."5
The Banshee clan leader shook her head regretfully. "At present, we only have a small amount of painkillers produced by Warfarin. They can be given to soldiers with late-stage symptoms, allowing them a peaceful death."1
"She can do that?"
Theresica was surprised. He had never imagined that the bloodfiend who played games with him every day possessed such an ability.
"More than a century ago, Miss Warfarin studied in both Columbia and Victoria. You might ask her whether those countries have any relevant medicines."
The Banshee clan leader paused before continuing. "All our supplies currently come from trading with nearby refugee settlements. Those settlements could never possess something as specialized as medicine. They even have to buy bandages, disinfectants, and other wound-treatment supplies from us. As for those nations... even if they have such medicines, they would never sell them to us. Besides, few of our people could afford them..."
"It doesn't matter. As long as they exist, that's enough."
Theresica looked at them and spoke with excitement and determination. "No matter which race they belong to, I'll find a way to make sure every infected Sarkaz can use suppressive medicine. I'll find a way, no matter what!"3
Naive.
Listening to Theresica's declaration, the Banshee and the Absolutionist couldn't help showing faint, helpless smiles.
Those truly were the words of a child. Making sure every Sarkaz had access to medicine that suppressed Oripathy was something even the former king and Lady Theresia, who had possessed far more strength, had failed to accomplish. How could it be done now, when the Sarkaz had withered to this state?10
P.S. Please give me some votes, everyone!!!3
Acquiring a Mine ### Besides the Originium veins formed naturally, some of Terra's Originium veins were formed later.
Outside Kazdel stood a massive meteor crater. Its bottom had long since been excavated, becoming the entrance to a bottomless mine.
Many frail, elderly, or disabled Sarkaz worked there, mining, sorting, and carrying ore. Among them, a team supervisor was shouting at the top of his lungs.
"Move faster!"
"You haven't mined enough ore! Work an extra hour tonight!"
The shouts could be heard clearly despite the distance. The oppressive silence in the rest room lasted for a while before a Feline walked in.
"Your Majesty, I'm the owner of this mine, Andrew."
"Oh, hello."
Theresica withdrew his distant gaze. "Sorry, I was too absorbed in watching. I didn't expect the owner of this mine to be a Feline."
"It's nothing, Your Majesty. My father was a Feline and my mother was Sarkaz. My father had some money when he came here, so he set up a mine. It was later handed down to me."
The Feline took some alcohol and a children's drink from a cabinet and placed them on the table in the rest room. Then he said, "My name is Andrew. May I ask why you've come? We should have already delivered the required amount of Originium ore this month."1
He had been supervising his workers moments ago when the mine's guards suddenly came rushing over, excitedly telling him that the Sarkaz king had arrived and urging him to come see.
To be honest, he wasn't Sarkaz, so he didn't understand why these people revered the royal family so much. In his eyes, Theresis and Theresia had been great figures in the history books, so their worship was understandable. But this was just a child. Was there really any need for this? It was almost amusing.
He disliked the way everyone treated a child with such reverence. After all, he was the only energy producer in the city.
"Mr. Andrew, it's like this. I'd like to acquire your mine."
"Huh?! What did you say?" Andrew froze.
"I'd like to acquire your mine."
Theresica smiled and repeated himself as he looked at the stunned Feline.
After learning that Terra possessed medicine capable of suppressing Oripathy, he had immediately asked the Banshee and the Absolutionist about the ore veins around Kazdel. When he learned that there was only one mine, he came straight here to inspect it and discuss increasing production. But before he even met the owner, he saw the terrible conditions.
The workers ate watery gruel, the rest areas were atrocious, and they had no protective mining equipment whatsoever. Increasing production under these conditions would surely end badly.
He wanted to increase the mine's output without allowing the worst possible situation to occur. At the same time, he had an instinctive distrust of people like Andrew. Theresica couldn't trust such a person to carry out all his requests properly, so he decided to take the mine directly.
"This is the property my father left me... All right."
Andrew's hesitant words died in his throat when Shining placed a small chest of one-hundred-percent pure refined Originium ingots before him. He instantly became mute.
The Feline took the chest without hesitation, scurried into the storeroom, started his small car, and drove away on the spot.
"Is Kazdel really so unworthy of anyone's attachment?"
Theresica was astonished. His entire course of action had been too sudden.
"You're too merciful, Your Majesty. If you dislike him, you could simply confiscate everything he owns. Besides, this mine isn't worth the price you paid."
"His father was still Sarkaz. I should at least leave him some dignity."
Theresica thought the Absolutionist was overreacting. A trace of frivolity that someone inadvertently revealed wasn't enough to condemn him. He didn't want to bear a bad reputation. He only wanted to do something good that people would praise.
Acquiring the mine was simple; he only needed to deal with one person. But how to operate it afterward was troublesome.
Theresica wanted to improve the mine's management system, but he couldn't think of a solution, and everyone around him was a battle-obsessed lunatic. Helpless, he could only leave everything as it was. However, the workers' food and accommodation had to be brought up to reasonable standards, and the gendarmerie would be additionally assigned to supervise their implementation.
"Mining is physical labor! The refining workers are working hard too! Make sure they eat their fill! Their resting areas must also be properly arranged!"
Theresica instructed the mine's managers on every area that needed adjustment. At first, the workers were still somewhat distrustful, but when Sarkaz soldiers delivered various supplies from Kazdel's warehouses, cheers erupted throughout the mine.
In Kazdel, all the young and strong became soldiers. Only those with below-average constitutions came here to mine or work as ore refiners. They had never imagined that the king would actually value them.
Several excited miners even pushed past the soldiers and came before him, earnestly pleading, "Your Majesty, we can't eat this much."
"It's all right. Eat a little more and build up your strength. Don't get Oripathy!"
Theresica coaxed them, then carefully looked over all the miners before asking, "Who has worked at this mine the longest?"
"Old Wenk."
"That's right! Old Wenk was working here before I arrived!"
"Old man, His Majesty wants you."
The miners called out from all sides. The crowd stirred, and an elderly Sarkaz struggled out from within it. Draped in a pile of filthy clothes, he bowed.
"Your Majesty."
Theresica stepped forward and studied him for a while. Then he reached around the Originium crystals on the old man's body and carefully brushed the dust off him. He also found something for the old Sarkaz to sit on.
"Sir, may I ask you a few questions?"
"It is my honor to answer Your Majesty's questions."
"How long have you worked here?"
"Your Majesty, I can't remember... Several decades, I suppose. My parents... worked here too. Back then... there wasn't a mine yet. We only knew... that we could exchange ore dug out with a pickaxe for food."
The old man spoke while recalling the past. "I watched this mine get dug out bit by bit. I could walk through it with my eyes closed."
"But the Originium crystals on your body seem smaller than everyone else's."
Hearing the question, the old Sarkaz pulled out a corner of his clothing. It wasn't made of smooth fabric, but seemed to consist of countless tiny pouches sewn closely together.
"Look, Your Majesty. I've filled it with this."
Theresica reached out and took the little cloth pouch the old man handed him. When he opened it, he found nothing but an unknown powder inside.
"What is this?"
"Originium bugs. I kill them, pry off all their Originium crystals, empty their insides, and remove the outer layer of their shells. Then I dry and grind their flesh and shells into powder and put it in tightly woven little cloth bags."
Old Wenk said, "My father told me about this. He said it could protect me."1
Originium Bug Powder ### Theresica took out a little powder and examined it in disbelief. The Banshee and the Absolutionist beside him also came over, pinching up a little powder to inspect in their hands.
Could this weaken Originium's harm to the human body?
"Sir, are you the only one who knows this method? Why are you the only one using it?"
He asked curiously. Since there was a way to slow infection, why hadn't it been promoted?
"No. I told the people who work with me, and I told Mr. Andrew, who manages this place."
The old Sarkaz sighed helplessly. "Making these things takes time. My father also said they should ideally be replaced every so often. But even if they aren't replaced, the powder will slowly leak out through the clothes. Raising Originium bugs also takes time... All of that delays mining, and the young people don't believe in it."
Before you continue