While Lakeheart Town celebrated the wave of good news from the New World, a deeply unpleasant message arrived.
The dwarf tribe in the eastern section of the Rocky Mountains—the Stonemason Clan, which had colluded with the orcs—had detained both Helson, the envoy Paul had sent, and Dain, the mediator dispatched by the Iron Hammer Clan.
This was terrible.
"How dare they?" Paul slammed his hand against the table in fury during the meeting. He did not even know whether Helson was alive or dead.
The generals were seething with anger and unanimously demanded that strong measures be taken against the mountain barbarians. They also wanted revenge—Alba had used the Stonemason Clan's territory to launch a sneak attack on Aldo.
The officials of the Government Affairs Council, meanwhile, were deeply worried. The War Bonds issued earlier were about to mature, and the treasury needed to prioritize repaying the debt.
The gold and silver deposits discovered in the New World were certainly substantial, but converting them into actual currency would take time.
Before news of Helson's disappearance had even died down, another warning arrived: scouts had discovered that dwarves from the Stonemason Clan were active along the edges of the Rocky Mountains.
The Staff Department determined that they were most likely preparing for a new orc invasion.
A military operation was imperative, even if it was limited in scope—but it would require funding. Gunpowder, military provisions, uniforms, and artillery transport all demanded enormous expenditures.
Although gold mines had been discovered in the New World, mining the ore, refining it, and minting it into coins would still take a long time. Lakeheart Town could not afford to wait.
Paul sat in his study, staring at the candle flame as his thoughts returned to the days in Crystal Radiance.
Back then, he had made