After trying the ships himself and hearing Itariel's explanations, Allen finally had a clear understanding of the warships intended for his River Fleet. He felt their capabilities in every respect were sufficient to carry out the defensive plan he had drawn up for Firentis.
That fulfilled his main purpose in coming to Lake-town: giving Firentis a new assignment.
Yet Allen was in no hurry to leave. Lake-town, now an important center of trade, was also his personal fief, but his constant involvement in wars meant he had never spent so much as a single day there.
Taking this opportunity, Allen planned to stay with Ymira in the royal residence in Lake-town for a while and experience the local way of life.
Although the New Year was approaching, Allen and Ymira had set aside some time for a holiday to ease the pressure that had grown steadily heavier in recent years.
As a king who took the authority in his hands extremely seriously, Allen had never carried a light burden.
Still, there was no great harm in the two of them leaving the Castle for a short time just then.
Especially with the development of commerce, agriculture, and livestock farming, Carl, Marnid, and Tuoju now all had clearly defined responsibilities.
Although Allen had not yet made them ministers, he had assigned quite a few young officials to assist the three of them. They could handle most of the complicated routine affairs themselves, particularly now, at the end of the year, when there was little left to deal with-or rather, most of it had already been dealt with.
As for Fisslet's customary New Year banquets, they had ceased to require planning and supervision by the king and Prime Minister two years earlier.
The Cabinet officials responsible distributed the funds Allen provided according