In Terra, I Have No Books to Read

The nobles below could hear nothing, and the Elector's faces showed no unusual expressions. Seven of the Electors rose from their seats, and the meeting's moderator was replaced by several high-ranking nobles.

The Electors pushed aside the thick velvet curtains behind their seats. These were not just decorative backdrops but also doors leading to the lounge.

Upon entering the completely soundproofed lounge, the Electors' faces finally revealed their emotions. They stared at the attendant, an informant they had specifically placed beside the Empress.

"William! Say what you just said again!"

"Y-yes!"

Seeing the seven Electors staring at him, the young man took a few deep breaths to calm himself before speaking.

"Her Majesty the Empress mentioned today that they are seeking external assistance, not just from Kazimierz but also from Kazdel. However, Her Majesty believes that since Kazdel does not border Leithanien and is not a major power, she manipulated the agreed-upon compensation."

"Manipulated it how?"

The seven Electors widened their eyes in unison. They had specifically chosen an attendant for those two women, considering that the women had never received proper political education. They had this William keep an eye on the newly appointed Empress to prevent any mishaps.

But problems had still arisen.

"Her Majesty the Empress replaced the Arts Units promised to Kazdel with scrap metal."

"Oh! My heavens! This is a diplomatic incident!"

Several Electors were dumbfounded. "It's just an Arts Unit, why would Her Majesty do something like that?"

"I... I don't know. They seem to think that since we already have a poor relationship with the Sarkaz, doing this... would make the nobles... think they are very capable..."

"..."

A long silence permeated the lounge. It seemed the new Empress, like the Witch King, was someone solely focused on power.

"What has happened cannot be undone, so we can only try our best to remedy it."

One Elector looked helpless. They had personally helped the new Empress ascend to power, so they could only do their best to clean up the mess. He asked, "Has Kazdel replied to the Empress? Have they made any demands?"

"Uh... no." William shook his head. "Kazdel made no demands and sent no reply."

This left the Electors completely bewildered. Why wasn't Kazdel accusing them of anything?

"Your Majesty, are we just going to let the Leithanians play us like this?"

As soon as Theresica returned to Kazdel, Manfred was the first to seek him out. However, Theresica did not answer him directly. Instead, he turned his head to look at the leader of the Absolvers.

"Can we produce Leithanian Arts Units?"

"Your Majesty, the early technology is not a problem, but we lack suitable materials."

Upon hearing this, Theresica fell silent for a moment before turning his gaze to the Banshee.

"Is there any way to convey what Leithania has done to Laterano and Ursus? Make it seem like they discovered it accidentally."

"Your Majesty, what are you trying to do?" the Banshee asked in confusion. "Aren't we going to hold Leithania accountable?"

"It's just a small technological achievement. Answering a barrage of accusations in a war of words would at most get us these things. Why waste that energy? But if Ursus and Laterano know about this..."

Theresica couldn't help but laugh. "That promise was made in front of so many people. The loss of credibility from going back on it would be considerable."

"I understand."

The Banshee turned to leave. Afterward, Theresica signaled Manfred to stay and also summoned Alfred, the industrial supervisors for both military and civilian sectors, along with engineering personnel.

"This is an order I brought back from Siracusa. Take a look."

The photocopied documents were distributed into their hands. The enormous numbers written on them made them widen their eyes.

"Your Majesty, are all these large orders ours?"

"Yes."

Theresica nodded. The corners of everyone's mouths were about to split from ear to ear, but Manfred frowned.

"Your Majesty, Siracusa forming such a force won't be effective. Leithanian battle mages can suppress them entirely with their magic."

"That's not our concern. We are merely fulfilling Lady Sicilia's request."

Theresica said, "We just need to ensure we don't sell shoddy products. If Lady Sicilia wants to gain a sense of security this way, that's her business."

"...Understood."

Hearing him say that, Manfred bowed and said, "I will prepare a qualified team of instructors, please rest assured, Your Majesty."

"Very good. And Alfred, you need to pay attention."

Theresica instructed, "The mortars sold to Siracusa should be produced by us. Make sure the shells are the type without casings."

"But Your Majesty, what about the incomplete combustion?"

Alfred knew that His Majesty was doing this to avoid drawing external attention to the concept of casings, but without casings, the shells produced by Kazdel could not be fired continuously!

Hearing Alfred's concerns, Theresica directly provided a new solution.

"Get a brush or a rod of a suitable size and teach the Siracusans to clean the barrel after each shot."

This is how muzzle-loading cannons were fired in the 18th and 19th centuries on Earth.

Chapter 93: Kazdel's Transport Ship

As Siracusa gradually stabilized internally, the teachers from Kazdel Institute of Technology, who had been urgently transported to Kazdel for safety reasons, were preparing to return to Volscian.

This time, it wasn't just them leaving, but also 300 students personally selected by Theresica from the entire Sarkaz race.

They all possessed a certain level of education and had received special instruction in ideology courses. These individuals could be considered the finest of the Sarkaz at present.

At the transport ship's berth, Theresica specifically came to see the students off, saying sincerely, "The future development of Kazdel rests upon all of you."

"Please rest assured, Your Majesty!"

These individuals ranged in age, but their eyes invariably shone with the light of vitality.

Theresica found the company commander assigned to provide security at Kazdel Institute of Technology and pointed to these students.

"Listen to me carefully! These are the seeds of Kazdel's future! You must protect every single one of them!"

"Understood! Your Majesty, if even one of them goes missing, I will give you a proper accounting!"

The company commander stated resolutely.

It was time to depart. The Sarkaz, heading to a foreign land to complete their studies, stood by the ship's railing, gazing back at Kazdel with reluctance. Only after Kazdel disappeared over the horizon did they enter the ship's cabins.

Meanwhile, in Siracusa, Lady Sicilia began selecting suitable candidates to be sent to Kazdel for military training.

However, with Manfred, a professional in such matters, overseeing these affairs, Theresica had no need to worry. He was now fully focused on the Meyer Shipyard.

Thanks to assisting Ursus and Yan in transporting construction materials for Lungmen, Kazdel had also, unknowingly, grasped many of the intricacies of building mobile cities.

Students from Meyer Shipyard often went to Lungmen's construction sites to undertake component processing tasks. The skills honed in this area were also reflected in the production of transport ships.

The Aegir technical master sent by Iberia was astonished to discover how quickly the Sarkaz absorbed knowledge. All production stages, except for the final assembly, had been mastered.

It's only been a year!

Ever since the assembly work began, Theresica would sneak to the shipyard every day, personally witnessing the transport ship taking shape on the slipway.

This was the first transport ship independently produced by Kazdel, meeting Terra's top-tier standards!

On September 2nd, 1072 of Terra, Theresica, on the slipway of Kazdel's Meyer Shipyard, smashed a glass bottle. Amidst the crisp sound of shattering glass, the first independently produced transport ship of Kazdel slowly sailed out of the shipyard.

"Congratulations!"

"Thank you for your help!"

Cheers erupted all around, but the most excited were the old Sarkaz craftsmen. These individuals wept with joy. Decades ago, they had personally witnessed Kazdel gradually lose its industrial capabilities, with everyone thrown onto the front lines of battle to face an imminent survival crisis.

And now, the booming sound of the transport ship's power unit made their heads ache, but these people were unwilling to leave. They truly couldn't imagine that Kazdel would one day be able to restore its shipbuilding capabilities!

This wasn't seized! They produced it themselves!

This transport ship began its extreme maneuverability sea trials in the desert. After confirming it passed all tests, Theresica personally bestowed upon it the ship designation AK.

Meaning: Transport Ship.

However, merely being able to produce a transport ship according to a blueprint was not enough.

To truly develop Kazdel's own shipbuilding industry, there needed to be sufficient production volume to gradually form a complete industrial chain and accumulate a certain number of skilled technical workers.

But Kazdel currently had no large-scale demand for transport ships.

The military? There were no long-range combat missions at the moment. Civilian industries? Some domestic transportation needs in Kazdel were met by the pack animals acquired from Kazimierz, which were sufficient and didn't require Originium, saving money!

Foreign trade? Kazdel still had a few old transport ships. They had initially considered decommissioning them, but after gaining some shipbuilding capability and carrying out repairs, they found them to be usable, making them feel there was no need for replacements.

After much deliberation, the shipyard personnel were at a loss, and this problem was brought before Theresica.

'We have no ideas, but His Majesty will surely solve the problem!'

Looking at the document presented before him, Theresica was dumbfounded. Am I that capable? Can I solve this kind of problem?!

He summoned the Shapeshifter to thoroughly understand the current state of the shipbuilding industry on the continent of Terra, then thought carefully, and then...

He buried his face in Shining's lap and, under her gentle stroking, began to escape reality.

The major powers of Terra all possessed their own shipbuilding industries, with Victoria being the foremost, boasting a complete range of functional ships. Ursus was second, specializing in warships, with a somewhat unbalanced focus. After them came Iberia, specializing in seafaring vessels, with a limited scope of use. Although they later began developing landships, their reputation did not match that of Victoria and Ursus.

While other countries were not as powerful, they also had their own shipbuilding industries to varying degrees. If Kazdel wanted to export transport ships, there was likely no market.

Ah, what a headache!

Theresica sighed helplessly. Besides the truly poor, who wouldn't first choose branded goods?

Wait...

Theresica suddenly lifted his face from Shining's lap.

Why must I do business with the major powers? Can't I just sell to those poor countries?!

He quickly had the Shapeshifter go out to publicize, stating that Kazdel was seeking buyers for its transport ships.

Regarding pricing, in order to develop its own shipbuilding industry, Theresica gritted his teeth and announced a bottom-line sale, pushing the price to the absolute minimum, earning nothing beyond materials and labor!

After this price for transport ships, which was almost market-disrupting, was released, major powers like Ursus and Victoria showed little reaction. However, smaller nations like Siesta, Minos, and Sami, as well as a region called Kjerag that appeared out of nowhere, all sent representatives to Kazdel, expressing their need to purchase transport ships.

They had been desperately coveting the major powers' transport ships for a long time!

Sami requested two small, high-speed transport ships, Kjerag wanted three small, high-speed transport ships, and Minos desired one large transport ship.

Siesta, with its more developed commerce, ordered four large transport ships in one go.

Meyer Shipyard, which had been struggling with a lack of orders, suddenly found itself in a situation of strained production capacity.

Chapter 94: Power Recalled

Major powers like Ursus and Victoria had always restricted the trade of ships and the proliferation of shipbuilding technology, severely hindering the development of some smaller nations. They could only watch the great powers' transport fleets with sighs.

But now, Kazdel had suddenly appeared, not only selling ships directly to them but also at rock-bottom prices. This immediately delighted the representatives from several smaller nations and remote regions.

To show their appreciation for the buyers of the transport ships, Kazdel, specifically Theresica, ordered a small reception banquet to be held. During the event, they would thoroughly discuss issues such as personnel training and equipment maintenance.

Although Kazdel had only just gained the capacity to produce transport ships, the Sarkaz had been secretly absorbing knowledge from various schools in Victoria through Shapeshifters, especially the accumulated experience in operating landships that had been honed over time.

However, just as Theresica was diligently studying the customs and habits of remote regions like Kjerag, a Banshee quickly entered.

"Your Majesty, just now, diplomatic personnel from Laterano and Leithanien have arrived."

"Oh, I see."

Theresica responded. He looked at the small booklet detailing Kjerag's customs and said without looking up, "Arrange the diplomatic personnel from Laterano and Leithanien separately and provide them with the proper care and treatment."

At the banquet that day, Theresica was pulled in two directions, dealing with the purchasing representatives on one side and Laterano's World Messengers on the other.

The purchasing representatives were all focused on the lucrative deal of buying Kazdel's transport ships. Theresica could show his face and then leave to concentrate on dealing with Laterano's World Messengers.

This group of Sankta suddenly showing up was entirely due to matters concerning Leithanien. They were not in the mood to scold Leithanien right now; they just wanted to quickly complete the value negotiation and pay the remuneration that should have been paid by Leithanien.

This would not only prevent Laterano's reputation from being damaged but also establish a positive image in return.

However, Theresica did not accept. He smiled as he looked at Laterano's World Messengers and Mostima, who had accompanied them.

"Although the agreement stipulates that Laterano guarantees for Leithanien, our Sarkaz hearts are not made of stone. Paying for the mistakes of others is a very uncomfortable thing."

"You mean..."

"Regarding the remuneration, Laterano need not worry. We will publicly state Laterano's noble character in adhering to the agreement. As for the wronged party and the debtor, we will seek what is rightfully ours from Leithanien."