If Things Don't Go Smoothly, You'll Step In

The interviews officially began.

Everything went smoothly.

Rost Academy soon found its footing. Although enrollment in the Agricultural Academy and similar schools fell far short of expectations, there were no problems elsewhere.

Once Viscount Rost saw this, he left Rost Territory with an easy mind. Accompanied by the Dragons, he met with many of the continent's most influential figures.

They included most of the great nobles, among them the emperor of the Graycastle Empire. He reached cooperation agreements with them and settled the Rail Transit General Company's development plans.

"Things have gone much more smoothly than we expected."

As the Destruction Black Dragon Nidhogg carried Viscount Rost toward the City-State Alliance, he could not help saying, "I thought quite a few of them would refuse, or at least make more demands of us."

"They didn't have much choice."

A broad smile spread across Viscount Rost's face. "Everyone else had joined. If one of them stayed out, it would hurt his own development. And do you think the others would leave him alone?"

"If an ordinary person had raised this proposal outright, he would have faced resistance at every turn."

"But after the groundwork I laid and the people I brought in from the start, they had no choice."

What Viscount Rost did not say was that he had only ever planned to control a few main lines and leave every other route free to develop. That was the key to making the great lords willing to accept the plan.

Benefits, pressure, ample freedom, and the promise of a better future—none could be left out. Without any one of them, the whole undertaking would become extremely difficult.

There could be all kinds of obstacles.

A lord might refuse to let a railway cross his territory, demand an exorbitant price for the