One Day

"It is said that the Earth Potato was a local staple crop specifically selected for the Gallop Kingdom by the God Emperor. Back then, the entire Gallop Kingdom suffered from Magic Turbulence, and neither divine arts, magic, nor Magic Fairies could effectively increase grain yields. The God Emperor selected several root crops suitable for the Gallop Plains, among which was the Earth Potato. After hundreds of years of cultivation, the Red Potato, White Potato, and Purple Potato were proven to be the most suitable foods for growth on the plains," Albert said, looking at the non-magic users working on the grassland as he introduced the topic to Landen.

"Wait a moment, did you just mention something that has never been introduced before? Magic Fairies? What are those?" Landen was very interested in this term, which he had never heard of in his past life and which Landen Gallop himself had never encountered.

"They are elemental lifeforms born from the Magic Web. Since you grew up on the Gallop Plains, it is natural that you have never seen one. Needless to say, they aren't in our Galloping Horse Territory, nor are they in the Rothe Territory or the Blue Magpie Territory. Only in Bristle-Wolf City and the more inland human heartlands can they be found," Albert said dismissively.

"Magic Fairies can promote specific magic elements within a certain area, but they are extremely rare. Although some great nobles trade them, they are very expensive. You don't need to think about them until you become a viscount."

"That's true, it's too early to talk about such things. I think I'd better take a look at these Earth Potatoes first," Landen was very good at accepting reality.

The territory had to migrate eastward every few days. After each migration, the territory's people were able to find more Earth Potatoes. With mutton, grain, and Earth Potato starch serving as a combined food source, Landen's territory finally avoided the threat of starvation. It was only October now, and the Gallop Plains had not yet entered the freezing period; the months after October would only be harder to endure.

Nowadays, the non-magic users of the Left Camp and Right Camp, whom Landen valued, lived around Landen's main tent. This included several stewards, Makoto, and a few non-magic users who could play musical instruments, all of whom lived in the round tents that once belonged to the Wandering Badger Tribe.

Makoto lived in a tent with several singers and dancers. She was now Landen's scribe, and every day she had to count the horses, pack animals, Long-Haired Sheep, as well as the children and craftsmen in the left and right camps. She also counted and recorded Landen's gold coins and Magic Crystals, and kept track of the tasks Landen assigned to each person in charge.

Therefore, if Neil wanted to see his mother, Makoto, he could only do so at dinner time. At this time, Neil would tell Makoto about his experiences throughout the day and then wait for her to offer him advice.

"Lord Landen really likes you all, and he likes children very much. Have you asked Fang? Does he want to stay by Lord Landen's side?" Makoto was very keen on the things around her.

"We talked about it in private. Fang really wants to follow the leader, but he is the only magic-user child his father has, and their knight territory relies on him."

"Are his younger siblings over 16?"

"Not really, he still has several younger siblings, and they are all quite young."

"When you go to play with Fang later, bring some Magic Beast meat for his younger siblings."

"Ah?... Alright then."

Landen had finished eating and returned to the tent to find Makoto first. "Oh, Neil is here too. Then I'll say a few words. Makoto, help me write a notice. I want to launch a literacy competition in the territory. For the territory's people who are currently illiterate, or children under 14, whoever learns the most characters within a month will receive a reward of four meat dishes."

"Those who want to participate should find their respective persons in charge tomorrow to sign up. After you collect the registration list tomorrow, check each of them to see if they have any foundation."

"Once everything is confirmed, let them go back and learn to read on their own. Besides Nancy, find two more people to use the evenings to teach the adult territory members how to read. Divide all participants into two groups: those under 14 and those 14 and older. Give rewards to the three people in each group who learn the most characters."

"Very well, my lord, please wait a moment." Makoto was quick; it took her only a few minutes to write the notice. Landen took a few looks, felt there were no problems, and told Makoto to hand it to the stewards tomorrow.

Every night, Landen would have Albert tell him stories about his family under the starry sky.

To Landen, Albert was not a very good storyteller. The family stories he told were very straightforward; even when it came to battles or honors, they were narrated in a flat, plain manner.

It wasn't just the expression of the process; every member of the family was surnamed Gallop, and many cases of people sharing the same name occurred. Names that weren't repeated were particularly difficult to remember, which made Landen feel very troubled.

"After the first fall of the Gallop Kingdom, our ancestor, Prince Charles Gallop, who was stranded in the Imperial Capital, was actually someone not valued by the family at that time. Although he was a Great Knight, at the advanced age of 73, he was still considered incapable of fighting and unsuitable to be the King of Galloping Horse."

"It was the late Emperor who defied all opposition and demanded that the Empire must wash away the shame of the Galloping Horse's fall. After the God Emperor ascended the throne, he immediately enfeoffed His Majesty Charles as the King of Galloping Horse and made an exception by allowing Charles's two sons to enter the Imperial Magic School to study."

Today, Albert was talking about the difficult experiences of the exiled Galloping Horse royal family in the Imperial Capital after the first fall of the Gallop Kingdom, which was 1,000 years ago.

If Landen hadn't heard that the Empire paid Charles a salary according to the standard of a prince, paid Charles's two sons a salary according to the standard of a duke, and even specifically built a small palace for them to house the three royal members and their 72 concubines, Landen would have indeed thought they were quite miserable.

At the end of the story, Albert was even pained that Charles did not think of returning to the Gallop Plains to govern after the restoration, but instead continued to stay in the Imperial Capital, which almost drew the dissatisfaction of the God Emperor.

If it were me, I wouldn't go back either. What kind of place is this? Blown by turbulence every day, visited by barbarians. The Imperial Capital is a place where you're taken care of every day. It's a credit to his ancestors that Charles didn't say 'I am happy here and do not think of home'. Landen's inner monologue almost slipped out of his mouth.

"Landen, that's all for today's family story. There is something I want to ask you." Albert took out the notice Makoto had just written. "You want all the territory's people to be literate?"

"Not everyone. We don't have that many teachers who can teach literacy right now. We can only teach whoever is interested and reward whoever learns the most," Landen said somewhat casually. "I also know that the effect won't be good. If I had worked all day, I wouldn't want to go to night school either, so I'm using the competition format to encourage them to learn to read more."

"Did those knights of yours not raise any objections?"

"Raise objections? No, I haven't announced it to everyone yet. What would they say?"

"Wouldn't they think this is inappropriate?"

"I am teaching literacy to my own people; what do they have to be dissatisfied about? Non-magic users can do things better only after they are literate. Non-magic users serve the territory, and magic users protect the territory. Isn't that quite good?"

"If they feel dissatisfied, they can choose not to eat my food and go fight the barbarians themselves." Landen did not think there was any problem with teaching his own people how to read.

Landen did not know that many lords and knight masters in the border territories monopolized knowledge to ensure the interests of their own families.

"Hmm, since that is the case, then you should tell the territory's people tomorrow."

"Of course I have to tell them. I'll talk to the knights who have children first today and let their children sign up first. Their children have a good foundation, so who knows, they might all be able to eat meat."