A population of three hundred thousand supported nearly thirty thousand soldiers. At one soldier for every ten people, their lord was a warmonger, if not outright obsessed with building an army.
But Annan had a ready excuse: four-fifths of his cavalry were ordinary people who simply knew how to use Magic Muskets.
Count the Private Troops kept by nobles and the militias in other territories, and their numbers would not be much lower than Free City's.
Besides, Annan could afford it. Forget thirty thousand soldiers—even if everyone joined the army, he could pay for it. If other lords could not, they ought to ask themselves whether they had worked hard enough to develop their territories.
"Eldest Sister, where's my speech?"
"Still in your study."
Annan ran upstairs and found that someone had left his speech on the table in the lounge. He grabbed it and hurried to the school for the opening of the new Schoolhouse.
Some classrooms were still unfinished and would take a few more days, but that would not interfere with lessons, so Annan went ahead with the opening anyway.
The new Free City School, designed by Eli Gravel, carried so many ambitions that it had run well over budget. Its required footprint kept expanding until it exceeded even the area three Arcane Cores could keep afloat.
And that was after they had been forced to remove the dormitories.
The result was a school larger than the Industrial District, now the biggest district in Free City, with an appearance worthy of a work of art.
Eli Gravel had given each academy its own character. Six towering buildings fanned out, facing the distant City Lord's Mansion as though guarding the heart of Free City.
On the far left, the Magic Academy resembled an old castle. Its lofty towers