Let's Do Some Sports

Letters were sent out from Weissenburg, delivered to the people of the Wessen Territory who were away.

In the letters, Frederick explained his accidental injury and gave instructions for the work ahead.

Although there were no major issues with his body, everyone insisted he continue to rest, even forbidding him from practicing magic.

For the past few days, he had been secretly going outside under the guise of going out to play, recreating the explosion from that night, and experimenting after scaling it down and keeping the magic away from himself to ensure safety.

He had made some progress, but after being discovered, he was also forbidden from doing that.

Now, after the initial chaos, people everywhere had gained experience, and the work had become orderly.

Whether it was the older generation taking the lead or the younger generation serving as deputies, they were all able to complete the tasks at hand effectively.

Even the ordinary staff were full of drive, spurred on by the year-end bonuses. Especially with the recent news that the Wessen Territory was about to build a new city and upgrade four existing ones, as well as build over twenty new towns, and that officials for these new cities would be selected from those who performed well in the current work, it was like placing a fragrant scallion pancake in front of everyone.

After the heavy rain, the river levels rose significantly, and the previously shelved water transport plan was restarted. At the same time, a water transport transfer camp was set up outside Weissenburg, and it was expected that the transport of all disaster victims would be completed in half a month.

So, after meeting George, whom the Grand Duke of Mainz had kicked over, and allocating him a piece of land to build a glass workshop, Frederick suddenly found himself with nothing to do.

The paper workshop was currently building a small production line for experiments. Katie surprisingly had rich experience in commanding personnel – goodness knows where she got it – and had the entire construction site organized perfectly.

Now, Katie would go to the kitchen to make snacks for Frederick every morning before going to work.

That day, she first sautéed onions in olive oil, then poured in the Southern rice sent by Lady Sophie and stir-fried it. Then she added water and cooked it into rice. Finally, she wrapped cheese inside the rice balls and deep-fried them until golden brown. A delicious fried rice ball was ready.

"Very good," Richard Nahl said as he walked into the dining room and went over to Frederick. He picked up a fried rice ball and ate it in two bites. "It's better than what Mafia makes."

Frederick quickly protected the remaining ones. They were for him, given by Katie. Even his master couldn't snatch them.

Richard Nahl snatched a second one and said while eating, "That day I was walking on the street, I was hungry, so I bought a few fried rice balls from a little girl by the roadside who had them in her basket."

"Mafia first bought me one, and I thought it was delicious, so I wanted to buy a few more. Guess what happened next?"

"I'm not guessing!" Frederick said, pouting. "You're definitely going to make me give you one before you tell me."

Richard Nahl smiled and continued, "Mafia gave me the whole basket of fried rice balls. Then she pulled a small dagger from the bottom of the basket, rushed onto the street, and stabbed a fat man on the street in the kidney."

"As she ran past me, she even yelled 'Run!' as if I were her accomplice."

Frederick said speechlessly, "She framed you. She used you as a shield."

"Yeah." A foolish grin appeared on Richard Nahl's face. "But I was happy to."

"At that time, Mafia's father had been assassinated by several other families working together. That day was her first revenge..."

Just then, Psyche said, "And then this scoundrel led the gang to find Mafia, and then put on a show of a hero saving the damsel."

Frederick was instantly speechless, but what came next was even more so.

Psyche continued, "Mafia was 13 years old that year."

Frederick picked up the plate of fried rice balls and moved it further away.

Richard Nahl immediately changed the subject and said to Frederick, "Katie told me about you looking for lens grinding craftsmen. The Doge of Venice owes me a favor. I'll write to him and ask him to send a few over."

"I've also had someone send over that book you wrote, The Nature of Light. It's not many pages, so it can be copied and sold by next year."

Frederick immediately offered a fried rice ball to thank his master.

Richard Nahl ate the fried rice ball and continued, "I say, you shouldn't always stay cooped up in the study. You should go out and play more. Kids should play more games."

Frederick pouted and said, "What games are fun right now?"

Entertainment was scarce in this era. Even a Rubik's Cube could make the Grand Duke of Mainz obsessed, and the common games among nobles weren't suitable for children.

Richard Nahl said, "If you can't play by yourself, then find more people to play with you."

Frederick's eyes suddenly lit up, and he turned to Tarot and said, "Go find Basf later, and also the leatherworker and the carpenter."

Tarot immediately agreed.

Her spirits hadn't been good recently. That day, because she had to return to Weissenburg to prepare winter clothes for Frederick, she hadn't gone to Oak Village, and as a result, something happened to the master at that time. So, as the maid specifically responsible for taking care of the master, she felt somewhat guilty.

Seeing him like this, Richard Nahl knew in his heart that he was about to come up with something new.

The carpenter and the leatherworker arrived first. The castle had its own carpentry and leatherworking workshops, so they came over as soon as they were called.

Basf also arrived quickly, asking as soon as he came, "Principal, is there another money-making business?!"

Frederick said with a smile, "Yes, doing some activities to pass the time."

Recently, Richard Nahl and the others wouldn't let him work, so he might as well create some sports activities. Firstly, it would give the people in the territory something to do to pass the time, and secondly, collective sports could enhance collective honor and unity.

Frederick first gestured and asked Basf, "Can you make some sturdy, cheap, hollow rubber balls this big?"

"They need to be impact-resistant and able to bounce."

Basf thought for a moment and said, "That's no problem. We can make hemispherical molds, press them out, and then glue them together."

Frederick nodded and said, "Okay, you write that down. Make some first."

Then he drew pictures and said to the carpenter, "Make a few tables this big, with smooth surfaces, a net this high in the middle, white paint here, dark paint here..."

"And then make a few sets of these wooden boards, with handles like this..."

Frederick quickly finished explaining how to make a complete set of table tennis equipment, except the ball was a rubber ball.

Everyone didn't know what it was for, but they wrote it down anyway.

Next, Frederick drew diagrams and said to Basf, the tanner, and the carpenter, "Make another ball this big, make it sturdy. There's a tube here for inflation."

"Cover the outside of the ball with pieces of soft leather sewn together like this. It needs to be strong. Leave a seam here to insert the tube."

"Make a bellows with an outlet pipe that connects to the tube on the ball."

"Also make two wooden frames this size and prepare to hang sturdy fishing nets on them like this."

A proper valve for the soccer ball wasn't possible to make yet, so they would have to use a knotted tube method for inflation.

Finding a suitable field was easy enough. On both sides of the river between the north of Weissenburg and Weissenburg University were large, flat grassy areas. These were originally used for cavalry training and soldier drills, so setting up a few soccer fields wouldn't be a problem.