Chapter 284: Companion
Only after the fleet had departed could Roland finally breathe.
The treasury is full again.
Eight steam engines had changed hands—three from Factory No. 2, which the Crescent Moon Bay Caravan had helped establish. The Fjord artisans had proven themselves: their passing rate was climbing steadily, and another two months would see Factory No. 2 matching Factory No. 1’s output. All revenue from those machines went to Border Town under the signed contract.
Marlan had also ordered a custom reconnaissance balloon, larger than the standard model—designed to carry three or four people, intended for island exploration in the Fjords. And the first steam paddler had completed its transfer.
Total income, counting all three items: close to seven thousand gold royals. After costs—metal ingots, washing stones, grain and sundries—six thousand remained. Enough to fund the population expansion plan.
Roland called Barov and Iron Axe to his office.
“Now that the treasury is healthy,” he said, spreading a map across the table, “it’s time to recruit foreign citizens in earnest. City Hall and First Army will cooperate on this. I’ll give you the broad shape; you handle the personnel.”
“Please speak,” Barov said.
Roland traced two regions on the map. “North and south. The priority zone is between Eagle City and Port of Clear Water. I suspect Timothy considers those people already aligned with Garcia—expendable, to be consumed. We need to reach them first.”
He looked between the two men. “City Hall recruits nobles, skilled artisans, literate professionals. First Army handles the commoners. This time the approach must be more active than previous propaganda missions. Understood?”
Iron Axe paused carefully. “You mean… by force?”
Roland coughed twice. “Not force. But something more than passive announcement. Free food. Advance payment of living expenses. Take the initiative, go to them.” He looked at Barov. “You understand this better than I do.”
“Of course, Your Royal Highness.” Barov laced his fingers together with the satisfaction of a man whose exact expertise was finally being called upon. “I’ve helped suppress refugee riots several times in my cabinet days. Feeding them until they’re full is often enough—there’s no need to discuss remuneration or make conditions sound generous, which only creates suspicion. The difficult ones are the nobles. Even impoverished, they’re experienced and proud. They won’t trek across the kingdom for a steamed bun. Money and specific promises—that’s what moves them.”
“It’s a pity your responsibilities here keep you from going yourself,” Roland said. “If you could, I’d consider the mission guaranteed.”
“Please trust the disciple I’m most confident in,” Barov said, with a small smile that meant he had already decided who that was. “To have Border Town become a proper city next year—houses lining both banks of the Redwater River—that would be something.”
“I think it’s possible.”
After the two men had gone, Roland leaned back in his chair for a moment, then decided to walk to the North Slope courtyard to see Anna.
He came through the door into a field of metal cubes.
Roland picked one up—roughly five centimeters on each side, surface uneven from the pressing process, a number engraved on one face. The piece in his hand read 256.
“Found anything better?”
Anna came over with a bright smile. “Numbers 1057 and 2284 are exceptional. Hardness and toughness both—the best combination we’ve tested so far.”
“You’ve already passed two thousand?” He took the record Lucia handed him, pages filled with dense notation. Beside entry 2284: carbon content 0.8%, unknown elements 15.2%.
“It’s more satisfying than cutting gun barrels,” Anna admitted, with a small conspiratorial look. “Every time a new combination turns out completely different from what came before—it’s like each piece is a question I didn’t know I was asking.”
The work they were doing—he understood how far-reaching it was, even if the results were still clusters of marked cubes and scribbled ratios. Lucia broke the ore into raw materials; Anna melted them together in different proportions, then tested each resulting piece by stretching and compressing it under her black flame. The amount of magic power needed to deform it, the time it took, the way it failed—these gave a picture of strength and toughness that no laboratory equipment in this era could match.
Carbon had been the obvious first variable. Roland knew the broad shape of it: too much carbon made brittle pig iron, too little made soft pure iron, the right range produced steel. But even within that range, small fluctuations changed everything, and he needed to know exactly where that range was. After 1500 in his world’s history, metallurgists had begun adding other elements to steel—manganese, chromium, nickel—and each new element had multiplied the possibilities. Anna and Lucia were laying the empirical foundation for all of it, one marked cube at a time.
He let them work and sat to the side, watching without watching.
The courtyard settled into quiet. The afternoon light turned amber and easy, warm without the cruelty of August. An unusual stillness spread through him—not the stillness of an empty room, but the kind that comes from being in a right place.
He didn’t notice when he dozed.
A soft hand touched his forehead.
He opened his eyes. Lucia was gone. Anna sat across from him, watching his face with the patience of someone who had been waiting.
“You have something you want to say to me.”
He hadn’t spoken.
“Your eyes said it,” she explained, and leaned forward so that her hair fell loose around her shoulders, catching the afternoon light—translucent gold, like threads of it.
Roland hesitated. Then he let go of the hesitation.
He told her about the population plan—the decision to shift from passive advertisement to active recruitment, using food and money and promises to draw people in before Timothy’s conscription machine reached them first. Then he stopped, and said the quieter thing underneath it.
“Compared with my original idea—free choice, people coming of their own will—this is half-compulsion. Even if my purpose is to save them from Timothy’s pills, from dying as cannon fodder in someone else’s war… when I think about it honestly, my method isn’t that different from his. The only difference is the reason behind it.” He paused. “And I don’t know if that difference is enough.”
Anna was quiet for a moment. Then: “Can’t you explain your purpose to them?”
“But—”
She covered his mouth with one hand.
“I know what you’re about to say.” Her voice was soft, not dismissive—certain. “You’re worried they won’t trust the kindness. And you can’t promise that your purpose will stay proper forever. That you might use the right method for the wrong reason, or the right reason through the wrong method—and that in the end, you don’t know which failure is worse.” She lifted her hand. “Am I right?”
He didn’t answer, because she was.
“Be at ease.” She didn’t wait for him to speak. She put both hands against his face, and leaned close enough that he could feel the warmth of her breath. “I’m here,” she said, barely above a whisper. “I’ll always make sure you look good.”
Chapter 284 Companion
It was only after the fleet had departed that Roland could finally breathe out in relief.
Finally… the treasury is filled up once again.
A total of eight steam engines were handed over to the three merchant guilds. From those eight, three had been produced by Factory No. 2, which was set up with the assistance of the Crescent Moon Bay Caravan – Roland had to acknowledge that regarding the artisans from the Fjords, no matter, if it was their innate skills or their capacity to learn, all were far higher than that of Border Town’s miners or blacksmiths. After grasping the operating procedure of the machines, their passing rate for finished products immediately began rising. Perhaps after another two more months, the production capacity of Factory No. 2 will have caught up to that of Factory No. 1. Fortunately, according to the signed contract, the income from the sale of those machines would entirely be owned by Roland.
In addition, he has also received a new purchasing order for the hydrogen balloon from the Crescent Moon Bay Caravan, Marlan had been especially interested in this greatly the vision expanding thing. In addition to a single person detection balloon, he also specially asked for a custom-made giant balloon with the capacity to carry three to four people, which he intended to use for the exploration of the Fjord’s new islands.
Including with the delivery of the first steam paddler, all three items had brought Border Town an income of close to seven thousand gold royals. After deducting the costs for buying goods such as metal ingots, washing stones, grain and other commodities, the remaining six thousand gold royals should be sufficient to support his population expansion plan.
Thus, Roland called Barov and Iron Axe into his office.
“Now that the treasury is full again, it is time to recruit more foreign citizens.” He looked at the two able men, “This task will be carried out by a cooperation of the City Hall and First Army, which specific personnel you assign will be your decision, I will merely brief you with the rough details of the mission.”
“Please speak,” the Prime Minister said with a nod.
“Recruitment will be split into two areas, the North and the South.” Roland took a map and placed it on the table then spread it out in front of the other two, “Especially the area between Eagle City and Port of Clear Water… I suspect that Timothy regards these people as members of Garcia’s group, thus turns them into useless people who he can consume as he wishes. Therefore, you need to rush over to be the first who tries to rope them in.”
“The team sent out by the City Hall will be responsible for attracting the nobles, artisans, and other literate people. While the First Army’s main task is to recruit the commoners. Compared with the previous propaganda missions, this time the strategy must be more active, do you understand what I mean by that?”
Iron Axe hesitated a moment and then asked in uncertainly, “You mean… dragging along by force?”
“Keke, such a method isn’t necessary,” Roland coughed twice, the Sandpeople’s style was really straightforward and cruel, “For example by giving away food for free, taking the initiative to convince them using advance payment of living expenses, etc.” He turned his view to Barov, “You should be very clear about this kind of stuff.”
“Of course, Your Royal Highness, previously as a cabinet minister I have aided the patrol to suppress or pacify riots of refugees several times,” the latter said. “This request is quite simple, sometimes it’s already enough to merely feed them until they are full. Therefore, there is no need to use money to rope them in; don’t even start talking about remuneration with them – if the conditions seem too generous, they will become suspicious. However, the arrogant aristocrats will prove troublesome. Although they are currently hard pressed for money and no longer so well-off, they are still experienced and
knowledgeable, so their demands will also be higher. It’s unlikely that they will go on a long-distance trek simply to receive a steamed bun. To lure them it’s required that we coerce them with money and promises.”
Roland clapped twice , “It is a pity that there are so many responsibilities for you here in Border Town that you can’t go out in person. Otherwise, the success of this mission would be guaranteed”
“Please rest assured, Your Royal Highness, I shall dispatch the disciple whom I’m the most pleased with,” Barov said with a smile, “To establish Border Town as a city next year; it’d be nice if both sides of the Redwater River could be covered with houses.”
“It’s possible that such a day will come.”
After the two men asked for leave, Roland leaned back against his chair to rest for a short period; he decided to go to the yard at the North Slope to see Anna.
Stepping through the door, the first thing to enter his view was a pile of metal cubes.
Roland picked up one piece and held it in his hand – they were basically all of the same size, about five centimeters long and wide. The surface wasn’t smooth at all. It looked as if they all come out of a press, there was also a number engraved on one side. For example, on top of the piece in his hand was written the number “256”.
“How was it? Were you able to discover any better one?”
“No. 1057 and No. 2284, are exceptionally hard, compared to the others, regardless of their hardness or toughness, both are excellent,” Anna answered after coming over to greet him with a bright smile.
“Were you already able to climb over two thousand?” Roland asked in astonishment; and took the record handed over by Lucia, it was completely filled with data. Seeing No. 2284, he discovered that there were several
numbers written on it, ‘carbon content of 0.8%, 15.2% of unknown elements.’”
“Well, this is more satisfying than cutting gun barrels,” Anna confessed with a wink, “Whether it is unexpectedly possible to create such earth-shaking changes to its characteristics by mixing iron pieces together with other metals, is something I really look forward to finding out. I want to know how these metal pieces work.”
Anna and Lucia’s current exploration was a far-reaching task.
Roland let the little girl first break down the ore into its raw materials before Anna then mixed and melted them together according to the different mass ratios. Afterward they would then test the performance of these pieces – by stretching and squeezing it under the heat of Anna’s black flame. Through observing the actual time taken and amount of magic power it took, Anna could distinguish between its strength and toughness.
The first material to add had obviously been carbon.
Even though Roland knew that the essence of steel was a type of iron and carbon alloy: with too much carbon it would became pig iron, and without any carbon it was pure iron, when the carbon content was within a certain range would turn into steel, etc. However, even with just a small fluctuation it could already greatly change the metal’s properties, so the first thing they needed to measure would be the size of that range.
Within the history records he had seen, before 1500 they had only used mixtures made out of pure iron and carbon for smelting, but after 1500 they began adding new elements on top of a steel foundation. Roland thoroughly understood that every additional element in the sequence could potentially increase the results many times over, which would turn into a very long process. Therefore, he only allowed Anna to advance her exploration if she had finished all the important manufacturing tasks.
He encouraged the two witches with a few words then sat to the side, quietly enjoying the rear view of the busy Anna.
After entering autumn, the sun was still shining brightly, but it was already no longer as cruelly hot as during the last month of summer. Instead, his body now felt nice and warm, and a long lost feeling of calmness spread throughout his heart.
He didn’t know how much time had passed, but the yard gradually quieted down. He felt a soft hand being placed on his forehead, when he narrowly opened his eyes. He saw that Lucia had already disappeared and that Anna was sitting in front of him, “You have something you want to say to me?”
“…”
“It was your eyes which told me,” she said while leaning forward, letting her hair fall down naturally, resembling strands of translucent gold silk.
Roland hesitated, but then shook his head and helplessly replied, “I’m just a little confused.” He told her about his population expansion plan before continuing, “Compared with my original intention of free choice, now in order to seize time, I have to use a combination of half luring and half forcing. Although I’m doing this to avoid Timothy pressing them into his army to die under the eroding effect of the pills. However, if I think seriously about this, my way of handling things isn’t that different from his… the only difference would be the purpose.”
“Can’t you explain your purpose to them?” She asked softly.
“But…”
“I know what you want to say,” Anna covered the Prince’s mouth. “You are worried that they won’t appreciate your act of kindness, furthermore you also can’t guarantee that your objective will forever stay so proper in the future – being misunderstood because you used the wrong method while trying to achieve a good goal, or using the right methods but committing an irrevocable mistake… In the end, you do not know if it is more important for you to use the correct method or to hold on to the right objective. Am I right?
“Be at ease,” Anna immediately answered her own question, not even giving him the chance to say anything. She put her hands on his cheeks, softly
whispering into his ear, “I’m here… I’ll always make sure that you look good.”