Last night, I stayed in the cabin of the flagship, Beautiful Queen Silhouette.
This ship serves as the flagship and the King General’s seat, so I have a room here, known as the ‘Temporary Harem’.
Though the ship’s limitations an even the finest cabin isn’t all that spacious, the comfort of the king-sized bed alone lives up to the ‘Harem’ na.
「Louise, you’re already up?」
「Yes…」
Even when we sleep together, by the ti I get out of bed, she’s already fully dressed in a snug tunic and has her sword on her belt.
Despite the presence of a soft sofa, she only sits in a hard chair, claiming she can’t jump up quickly enough from the soft one.
Even after becoming my wife, Louise still thinks of herself as my guard knight.
No, maybe that’s not quite it. Judging by her awkward expression, she might just be embarrassed.
She’s so assertive at night, but in the morning, she doesn’t seem to know how to act around .
She gets up early and keeps her composure in her formal attire.
When Louise is like this, it’s sotis fun to tease her a little, but I’ll pass on that today.
「But compared to Louise…」
「Zzz…」
As I get out of bed, the covers slip off, revealing Ria lying next to in a rather unseemly position.
「Hey, Ria, wake up.」
「Mm…?」
On second thought, Ria isn’t much use when she’s awake either, so she might as well stay asleep.
「At the very least, put sothing on. Staying naked all the ti is not a good idea.」
「Then Takeru, could you please dress ?」
Ria presses her soft chest against my arm.
The sensation of my arm sinking into her ample bosom is, honestly, quite pleasant.
On any other day, I’d probably give in to the temptation and fall back asleep, but not today.
「I’ve got a mountain of things to do. If you want to keep sleeping, that’s fine, but at least throw on a robe.」
I get up and drape a duvet over Ria.
「Takeru, I’ll help the Saintess-sama dress later.」
「Thanks, that would be great.」
Louise is already washed up, her long hair tied back neatly, looking sharp as ever.
But last night, it was quite the opposite, which makes things amusing.
Once in ‘night mode’ Louise is very assertive, while Ria becos shy and passive.
After Louise makes the first move, I enjoy my ti with her, and then… well, let’s not go there.
Once we step out of the cabin, the ‘night duties’ end, and the ‘day duties’ await. It’s important to switch gears.
Just then, Kaara enters. Behind her, Rara-chan follows, carrying a basin filled with towels for washing up.
Since we can’t have maids on a military ship, it’s usually Kaara and the others who take care of .
「Nation’s Father, I’ll wipe your face.」
「Thanks.」
Kaara takes a towel from the basin Rara-chan brought and wrings it out before wiping my face.
The warm towel feels nice.
「I’ll prepare your clothes right away.」
「I appreciate it.」
I’m about to appear before the troops. Even though every ti I don the uniform, I think it doesn’t quite suit ,
I still need to change into it and wear the shining mithril armor over it.
「It seems you had a good ti last night.」
「You say that every ti.」
「Hey, hey, does ‘having a good ti’ an you had so pillow talk?」
「Rara-chan, that’s not sothing you need to worry about yet.」
Ria, after a ‘certain activity’ in the morning, always says it’s proper etiquette to say, ‘It seems you had a good ti’ or sothing like that. She teaches everyone these slightly inaccurate modern customs she picked up from reading so thin books.
「How about it? Every now and then, wouldn’t it be nice to spend ti on the ship without going ho?」
「Yeah, I suppose…」
Even generals have to squeeze into small cabins, so I feel a bit guilty using this luxurious bed. However, since it’s not just but my wife using it too, I can’t exactly let anyone else into the bedroom.
「According to your orders, Nation’s Father, the work to clear the potato fields has already begun.」
「I see. Let’s go take a look at that first.」
As I stepped onto the deck, the sky was clear and blue, the perfect weather for field clearing.
※※※
「What are you doing? That’s a pretty weak stance!」
「But there are rocks here, and I can’t get the shovel in…」
「It’s uncharted land; of course, there are rocks! We’re digging to clear them out!」
「Y-Yeah…」
Just outside the town of Avana, we had started clearing fields to plant potatoes. The soldiers of the demon army, not used to farm work and crafting their wooden shovels by hand, were having a hard ti.
It wasn’t just the soldiers—even captains and generals were working together to clear the land.
The person shouting at the generals, who had beco unsteady in the fieldwork, was the sa farr lady I first t when I ca to this island.
No matter where you are in the world, old ladies don’t change.
Whether they’re dealing with soldiers or generals, they pull everyone into their rhythm and make them work.
「Damons, you’re putting in the effort.」
「Yeah, if we don’t take the initiative, the troops won’t work either.」
Damons, the supre commander of the twenty-thousand-strong demon army, was personally wielding a shovel and hoe, tilling the fields.
Surprisingly, the demons were all quite diligent workers.
「Hey, you over there! Stop moving your mouth and start moving your hands!」
Oh no, now the old lady was coming this way.
「Hey, don’t I know you from sowhere?」
「It’s been a while, oba-chan.」
This was one of those slightly embarrassing monts—the revelation that the knight she once t was actually the hero who saved Antil Island.
I wondered how the old lady would react, but she just muttered, ‘Oh well, I’m busy’ brushed the dirt off her skirt, and quickly moved on to the next field, nearly making trip in surprise.
「Old ladies sure do their own thing, don’t they?」
「Haha, but she brought us seed potatoes and taught us things we didn’t know, so it’s a big help.」
Damons’ face looked a bit strained, likely from getting yelled at by the old lady. But the fact remains that, at Barland’s request, she and her team brought over seed potatoes, which could also serve as food, working through the night to deliver them.
These old ladies, who have survived this war and continued farming, are indeed tough. Even the strong soldiers of the demon army were overwheld by their presence.
「Well, in about four months, we should be able to harvest so potatoes…」
The imdiate problem is securing enough food.
The at from the sea dragon will only last for about ten days.
Since there’s a limit to how much food we can transport from the city of Antil, we’ll have to rely on fishing and hunting for now.
In the port, we’re collecting scrap wood from broken ships and cutting down trees from the surrounding forest to build new boats.
Avana was originally a port town, so that’s not an issue, but seeing the soldiers casting fishing lines at the harbor in an attempt to catch even a few fish made uneasy.
Can we really feed a population of 20,000 with the current thods?
「Nation’s Father, it seems we’re about to have enough magic power to use teleportation magic again.」
「Should we return to Silesie once?」
When I think about it, I can’t co up with a decent idea.
At this point, I should probably consult with Lyle-sensei.
※※※
「First of all, using teleportation magic to transport food is out of the question.」
We were in the office at the Silesie Royal Castle, where Lyle-sensei had been quietly listening to my story.
「Yes, I know. Kaara’s teleportation magic has weight limits.」
Even if she strains her magic, it’s only possible to transport about ten people’s worth of weight. Using it for food transportation is terribly inefficient.
So, Lyle-sensei spread out a world map on the desk.
「We have the route to the New Continent that Takeru-dono opened. Now that we no longer need to worry about the sea dragon, we can assemble a large fleet. They can depart from the port of Nant in Silesie, make a stopover at Rango Land Island on the Afri Continent, and then proceed to Avana. Anything lacking over there can be replenished this way, though it will take about six months.」
「That’s the problem. That’s why we’re in trouble…」
「In that case, I have sothing for you. Actually, after listening to Takeru-dono’s story before, I had so items made in advance.」
Lyle-sensei called soone in, and what was brought in were fishing nets.
Cloth and thread are scarce over there, so the fishern seed to be using rods. This should be useful.
「I see, if we use nets, we can increase our catch. This weight is light enough for teleportation magic.」
「But these aren’t just any nets. They’re trawl nets.」
Ah, these.
These are the nets that drag behind a boat, sweeping up all the fish in their path.
With my modern knowledge, I don’t have a good impression of trawl nets.
Compared to traditional fishing thods, they boast overwhelming catches, but if overused, they can lead to the depletion of marine resources.
That’s why even in Silesie, we made them, but I hesitated to adopt them.
However, to solve the imdiate issue, we have no choice but to use them.
「We don’t have a choice at this point.」
「Also, for hunting, let’s use nets to create enclosure traps. You ntioned resource depletion, right, Takeru-dono? It might not be ideal in the long run, but as an ergency asure, this is what we should do.」
Enclosure traps are tools used to capture wild animals en masse by surrounding them with large nets.
If overused… (You get the idea).
I did ntion this, but I also told Lyle-sensei that, for environntal protection, we shouldn’t use them.
Of course, Lyle-sensei had already prepared them as a contingency.
「Next is farming.」
「For that, I’ve already called in Viola, so it should be fine.」
Just then, the door opened, and a girl with blue hair stepped inside.
「Excuse !」
Viola seed out of breath, probably rushing over from a nearby experintal farm.
「Sorry for calling you here so suddenly.」
「So, where are the new potatoes?」
「Calm down, Viola. Why don’t you have so tea first?」
It had been a while since I last saw Viola. She seed unusually excited, but I wanted her to calm down first. I poured her so slightly lukewarm tea from the pot that had been sitting for a while.
「Thank you.」
「Feeling better? Here, these are the potatoes.」
「So, these are the potatoes you’ve ntioned before. They look a bit like the taro you brought back last ti, Master.」
「What do you think? Can you tell anything from them?」
Viola gently stroked the potatoes as if they were precious treasures. Being a half-nymph blessed by water spirits and gifted in nurturing plants, she might be able to perceive sothing in the crops that we couldn’t.
「They look delicious to .」
「Is that so?」
I almost stumbled at her straightforward comnt.
「They seem to be of very high quality. I can use water magic, but I think it’s better not to water these too much.」
「Just by touching them, you can tell that?」
As expected of a half-nymph.
「Takeru-dono, I’m thinking of going to Avana to devise a strategy for the future. Since we have soone handling farming, let’s bring Viola along as well.」
「Of course! I’m happy to be of service, Master!」
「Viola, have you grown a bit taller?」
「Yes, it’s thanks to you, Master.」
She used to be quite shy, but now she speaks more confidently.
Considering there are no nymphs on the New Continent, she might be spared the discrimination that cos with her abilities.
「Alright, we’ll bring Viola along. Sensei, who else should we take?」
「Well, in addition to the person in charge of farming, we should bring a capable administrator for the city’s reconstruction…」
Just then, a silver-haired girl entered through the door Viola had left open.
It was Sherry.
「Oniisama! I heard everything! If you need a capable administrator, I’m your person!」
「You can co along, but will Silesie’s internal affairs be okay without you?」
When it cos to internal affairs, Sherry, known as the shadow minister of finance, is an indispensable figure in Silesie.
I have a feeling it might be problematic for both Lyle-sensei and Sherry to be away simultaneously.
「That’s what Pri Minister Nicola is for. The national finances are stable now, so I can take a six-month vacation on a southern island without any issues. Let’s bring swimsuits too!」
「Um, we’re not going for a vacation…」
「I’m kidding. I’m confident that I can be of help in urban administration. I’ll pack up in thirty seconds, so please take along!」
With that confident statent, she puffed out her almost non-existent chest, leaving with no choice but to bring her.
「Alright, we’ll take Sherry, and how about bringing Roll as well?」
「What?」 「What?」
Sherry and Viola spoke in unison from either side.
「What’s wrong? Shouldn’t we bring Roll along?」
「Well, isn’t it a bit strange that you’ve always treated Roll so specially, oniisama? You’re pretty lenient with her, aren’t you?」
「Right? You always keep her close by… I hardly get called to your side at all.」
Sherry and Viola exchanged glances, looking slightly conflicted.
「No, it’s not that I’m being lenient… I don’t think I’m treating anyone differently.」
I just thought it wouldn’t be an issue to bring Roll along since she might be free.
「Indeed, Avana has so caves as well. There might be useful resources there. Considering the situation, it might not be a bad idea to have Roll, the dwarf, search for mineral resources.」
Lyle-sensei ca to the rescue with that suggestion.
So, for the Avana reconstruction, the team will be:
– Strategy: Lyle-sensei
– Administration: Sherry
– Farming: Viola
– Mineral Resources: Roll
Everyone seems unusually eager for their roles, so they should be quite helpful.
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