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I was reading a report at the royal castle of Shibyak.

“Daah!” (Shulika)

“No, stop it! Don’t pull!” (Shamu)

Nearby, on the carpet, Shamu and Shulika were playing together. They were having a blast, giggling and enjoying themselves.

“What are you doing? Come on!” (Shamu)

Shulika was now almost eight months old. She was already moving around well, climbing on Shamu, and grabbing her hair.

“Yuri, when is this kid going to start talking? We can’t communicate at all!” (Shamu)

It seemed Shulika mistook Shamu for either a punching bag or a climbing post, babbling as she pushed and kicked him. She was pretty rough for her age.

“Maybe in about two years…so, another year and two months to go?” (Yuri)

“No way.” (Shamu)

When Shamu said this…

“Alright.” (Temi)

A young black girl picked up Shulika.

“No, no, no, you can’t do that! Tickle, tickle, tickle~” (Temi)

“Daah~ eiyaa~ aah~” (Shulika)

Shulika squirmed, babbling odd sounds as her belly was tickled. Drool was running down her chin.

“Yah-boo!” (Shulika)

Even at this young age, it seemed Shulika had a sense of retaliation, as she punched Temi with her little fists. Temi didn’t seem to notice. At first, Shulika had cried a lot when she saw Temi’s dark face, but she had gotten used to it now.

“Temi, have you solved the problem?” (Yuri)

“Yes, I have.” (Temi)

While taking care of Shulika, Temi handed me a piece of paper.

“…Yes, this is correct. Let’s move on to the next stage, then.” (Yuri)

“Okay.” (Temi)

Temi seemed to have no trouble with her studies. Many found it torturous, so this was a good thing.

“Let me see.” (Yuri)

I took the paper from Temi to review it.

“Are you going to show this to His Excellency? That’s so embarrassing…” (Temi)

Why would it be embarrassing?

“Yes, please take a look.” (Yuri)

“Ah!” (Shamu)

Shamu said this and handed over the paper without hesitation. While flipping through the report, I glanced at the paper. It had a system of linear equations written on it. Not quadratic or cubic, just linear.

“A system of linear equations, huh? Impressive.” (Yuri)

“Thaaank you very muuch.” (Temi)

Temi said this while Shulika tugged at her cheeks.

It’s quite amazing to be studying linear equations while still learning to speak. Even though the curriculum is heavily skewed towards the sciences, it’s still impressive.

Well, Shamu was talking about the infinitude of prime numbers when she was six, so compared to that, it’s less surprising, but it’s still a notable level of intelligence. Unlike Shamu, who maintained a voracious appetite for knowledge and studied independently despite a discouraging environment, Temi shows an honor student’s determination to improve, even though the approach is different.

“Really? I don’t remember it well.” (Shamu)

“7 months ago, you didn’t even understand addition, so you’re learning fast.” (Yuri)

“Do you think so…?” (Shamu)

“Thank you very much. Temi will do her best.” (Temi)

Temi bowed her head deeply towards us. Although her pronunciation was still somewhat difficult, and there were nuances she didn’t fully grasp, her language skills were improving.

Some people say you can naturally pick up a language just by being in the country, but without a healthy desire to learn, it doesn’t happen.

“I have high expectations for you. But don’t cut back on your sleep.” (Yuri)

Compared to when she first arrived, she had filled out quite a bit. Her nutritional status seemed to be good.

“Yes, I will do that.” (Temi)

Temi bowed deeply again.

I hope she can come to think of this country as her homeland.

At that moment, the door clicked open.

“Yuri-kun? …You’re here.” (Myaro)

“Oh, Myaro. What’s up?” (Yuri)

“Lilica sent a report from Albio. Another 2000 have arrived.” (Myaro)

“I see…” (Yuri)

So, more have arrived.

“The New World is…” (Yuri)

It’s impossible now. Tigris-san said they don’t have enough houses for more people and asked us to wait.” (Tigris)

Well, that makes sense…

“For now, we should send them tools and lumber, and give them some time, about six months.” (Myaro)

“Within the country, huh… I suppose the coal mines then.” (Yuri)

There are a few coal mines on the White Wolf Peninsula, although the scale of the veins is completely unknown. They haven’t been used much either. The local residents use it mainly for home heating. Raw coal, because it contains sulfur and oils, makes terrible pig iron when used for smelting, so it doesn’t have many uses.

To prevent this, it needs to be roasted in an airless state first. This process volatilizes the sulfur and causes the oils to drip away, resulting in coke. Heavy oils collected during this process can be recovered as coal tar.

Building coke ovens isn’t particularly difficult, and we’ve already constructed two experimental furnaces. The first furnace, which used manual bellows, didn’t perform well, but the second one, powered by a water wheel, successfully produced coke, although the production rate was low. Coal mines are a good option, but we have to separate them from the ones already manned by prisoners of war.

“We need to create jobs somehow.” (Myaro)

“I know.” (Yuri)

Repatriates are difficult to handle. Unlike the citizens of Shaalta, they are people who have spent a long time in Crusader states and have been oppressed. Their hatred towards the Kuran is immense. Men can be enlisted into the army, but if women and others are sent back to the Kilghina region, it will cause trouble. They are bound to clash intensely with the Kuran who live there.

When slaves overthrow their masters, the first thing they do is enslave their former masters. Naturally, they don’t think about becoming friends. Although these people didn’t overthrow anyone themselves, they will start thinking similarly.

We had been conducting surveys to gauge the depth of their hatred towards the Kuran using printed forms distributed in the shelters. However, the reality was that we didn’t want to send them back to Kilghina. For those who harbor deep hatred, we subtly suggest, “There’s no house left in your hometown, and there’s a safe land where you won’t be invaded again…” to guide them towards the New World. The New World didn’t have any Kuran, so it was most convenient to send people there.

“Here you go.” (Myaro)

Myaro handed me the report.

“Thank you.” (Yuri)

I exchanged it with the report from Dimitri.

“What’s this?” (Myaro)

“It’s a report saying the Verdun Fortress has surrendered.” (Yuri)

I said while opening Lilica’s report.

“Oh, I see. It took about 1 month, didn’t it? They held out well.” (Myaro)

“More prisoners again. It’s depressing.”

The combined forces of Tyrellme and the city-states, who had holed up in Verdun Fortress, faced the same fate as the Shan army did when Gouk was scattered. They were starved out. However, unlike before, we used penetrating bombs meant for ships to break the food storage roofs and set them on fire.

Since Verdun Fortress was on a rocky mountain, it naturally lacked water. The only water available was in cisterns filled before the siege and a few rainwater ponds. The only way to extinguish the fires was to use water. But using water would deplete their drinking supply. As a result, unable to withstand hunger and dehydration, they surrendered and opened the gates. We had 0 casualties on our side.

“I hope there’s work for them.” (Myaro)

“Maybe we can have them do lumber work for houses in the New World. Or use them in the shipyards.” (Yuri)

Currently, prisoners of war were employed in various jobs such as lumberjacks, coal miners, tanners, and construction workers. In particular, construction work was allocated a large amount of labor because it involved simple labor that required a large amount of labor. About 3,000 prisoners of war were used in the construction of the new shipyards.

“The good thing is we don’t have to worry about food.” (Myaro)

The increased population was being supported by imported food.

“We have plenty of money, so we can continue importing food for the next 10 or 20 years. The rising prices are a concern, though.” (Myaro)

“We need to push forward with the development in the New World during that time. Shipbuilding is also necessary…” (Yuri)

We had enough money, so that’s not a problem, but if we were to import food, I’d prefer it to come from the New World. For that, we needed farming tools, and durable ones were preferably made of iron. Ideally, they would be steel tools with a hardened surface. We urgently needed to build large blast furnaces and converters.

As I pondered these things, Myaro, seemingly bored, sat down in a nearby chair and began reading the report. Near me, children were playing, creating a somewhat pastoral atmosphere. It felt like I was reading a newspaper. I started reading Lilica’s report.

“Hmm… it seems Angelica barely won…” (Yuri)

According to the investigation by the Albio Republic, Angelica had won the initial battle. In terms of scale, it seemed to be a skirmish involving fewer than 10000 troops on both sides.

“The timing of his release seemed perfect, didn’t it?” (Myaro)

“I wonder.” (Yuri)

There’s also the phrase “Pyrrhic victory.” It seemed that Alfred had managed to escape, and a man like him doesn’t choose his methods carefully. Not choosing methods might sound simple in words, but it’s difficult to execute.

Some people can do it, and some can’t. There’s a difference between a man who says he will commit a crime to make money and one who can actually hold a knife and rob a small shop or dismember a kidnapped child while demanding a ransom. The latter is far more troublesome. I don’t know which type Angelica is, but Alfred undoubtedly belongs to the latter category.

“Well, at least it wasn’t a complete victory for either side.” (Myaro)

“Indeed.” (Yuri)

Predicting who could gather more troops was impossible. It was all just a hunch, but the fact that Angelica emerged victorious was a good outcome.

If Alfred had suffered a major defeat, releasing or discounting our prisoners would have bolstered his forces, but supporting Angelica was more difficult. The prisoners had been told that Angelica abandoned them and fled, so they hated her. Even if we told them to support Angelica upon their release, they would likely join Alfred’s army.

Thus, supporting Angelica would require directly giving her firearms or money, which would incur direct costs for us. While continuous victories leading to Alfred’s quick defeat would not be ideal, considering the ease of intervention, it was best for Alfred to remain slightly disadvantaged so that the cost of our involvement could be minimized.

“We should investigate thoroughly and observe carefully. If our army gets worn out, it will be hard to rebuild.” (Yuri)

The Shanti’s numbers were limited, and if we suffered casualties in every battle, it would indeed be a Pyrrhic victory. For now, we must focus on securing the White Wolf Peninsula and properly governing the Kilghina territory. The Kuran settlers in Kilghina territory who resisted were taken as prisoners of war, but the civilians were not punished.

The former Witches and Witch apprentices who had mastered Telor language were dispatched as tax officials. However, their freedom was restricted, and crossing the river into the mainland of the Shaalta Kingdom is strictly prohibited. Children under 10 years old were required to attend schools here.

“Yuri.” (Shamu)

Shamu called out to me from the side.

“Could you take care of her for a bit? After all, you’re her father.” (Yuri)

Saying so, she handed me Shulika.

“She cries when I touch her.” (Yuri)

“Huh? No way. She hasn’t been crying since earlier.” (Shamu)

Well, she does cry. I mean, she looks pretty unhappy right now.

“Here.” (Shamu)

Shamu forcibly handed Shulika over to me.

“Temi, what on earth don’t you understand?” (Shamu)

Shamu went over to Temi’s place.

That’s why she’s crying.

“Waaaah! Uuuuuh! Waaaaah!” (Shulika)

She’s saying something incomprehensible and drooling…

It’d be a pain if it stuck to my clothes, so I wiped her drooling mouth with Shulika’s clothes.

“Bweee! Taaaaaah!” (Shulika)

She slapped my arm and giggling. Under her big eyes was a soft-looking nose.

Oh, I want to pinch it and touch her cheek.

I couldn’t resist the temptation and pinched her nose.

“Bwaaa, mmm, pweeeeee!” (Shulika)

She starts breathing through her mouth.

“Mmmmm!” (Shulika)

Shulika swatted my hand away looking really annoyed.

Next, I keep touching her cheeks gently.

“Waaaaah, heeeeey, ahhhh!” (Shulika)

She started crying.

See, she’s crying, right?

“Ah, byaaaah!” (Shulika)

She began thrashing on my lap like a fish out of water.

“Hey, Yuri, what did you do?” (Shamu)

Shamu rushed over.

“I didn’t do anything.” (Yuri)

“Huh… Really?” (Shamu)

She cried without me doing anything.

“I swear.” (Yuri)

“Well, I guess there’s nothing to be done…” (Shamu)

Shulika was taken back by Shamu.

Good grief. Babies cry so easily. I hope the head maid comes soon.

“Yuri-kun…” (Myaro)

Myaro looked up from his report with eyes that seemed to witness something astonishing.

“What is it?” (Yuri)

“Lies are not good, you know.” (Myaro)

“Lies? She cried even though I didn’t do anything.” (Yuri)

As I said that, Myaro gave me a look as if questioning my sanity.

“Don’t touch her cheeks like that. They may look tempting, but…” (Myaro)

Ah, so that’s it.

“Myaro, you should try touching her. It feels nice.” (Yuri)

“…No, I’ll pass… Just try not to make her dislike you too much, okay?” (Myaro)

“It’ll be fine.” (Yuri)

It’ll be fine. Once you grow up, you probably won’t have that sensation anymore. Even Shamu’s cheeks, which look the softest, don’t make me want to touch them, so it’ll be fine.

“I don’t want the country to split over something like this… So please restrain yourself, seriously.” (Myaro)

That’s a bit dramatic.