National Defense Council (4)
“Food issues, huh… You’re pushing forward with land development, right?”
At Big Brother’s words, the legislators nodded.
“Currently, His Majesty is personally leading troops to liberate monster-controlled territories within the kingdom and sending in pioneer groups.
We’re providing generous support in supplies, funding, and manpower.
However, even so, there’s a risk it still won’t be enough.”
“Will the population really increase that much?”
For many years, the kingdom’s population had only grown slightly due to constant warfare. It hadn’t declined only because it had accepted many multi-race refugees from the central continent.
Because the population hadn’t increased much for so long, Gilbert hadn’t anticipated a situation where population growth would become a serious issue.
“People will increase without limit if there’s food. In a world called Earth, over ten billion people lived there.”
In the era Iris had lived in, Earth’s population had surpassed ten billion.
“T-ten billion?!”
A dizzying number. Naturally, that meant infrastructure capable of supporting them, a testament to overwhelming national power. Well, even on Earth, people still starved to death.
“Last year, perhaps due to the Princess’s Thermae project, there were no outbreaks of epidemics during the winter, and the population didn’t decline at all.
I was skeptical that simply bathing could reduce illness, but the numbers prove it.
This alone makes population decline far less likely. With the recent economic boom, the number of children is also increasing, so I believe urgent measures are necessary.”
The Viceroy Merchant Union, led by Alicetia, operated public bathhouses called Thermae. The prices were affordable even for commoners.
Incidentally, she insisted on calling them Thermae, but no matter how you looked at them, they were Japanese-style public baths.
These Thermae were personally built by Alicetia. The Viceroy Merchant Union lacked the manpower to construct bathhouses, and after being refused by Ponpoko, Alicetia mobilized her clones to build them herself. They were state-of-the-art facilities packed with Alicetia-made magical devices.
To conserve water, they even had circulating purification systems. These extremely high-performance Thermae made low bathing fees possible, and Alicetia preached the importance of bathing to the populace.
Alicetia’s authority within the kingdom was extraordinarily strong. She was a patriot and also favored by commoners.
She had a reputation for working harder than anyone not only to protect the country but also to enrich it, making her extremely popular. When Alicetia said something was important, the people followed. And once they experienced the benefits of bathing, they became bath enthusiasts. The wide variety of baths also helped prevent boredom.
As a result, cleanliness improved and there were no epidemics. Currently, plans were underway to instill habits of brushing teeth and washing hands.
Winter was a threat to humanity. Dry air was an ideal environment for viruses, and epidemics often spread during winter. In this world, where medicine was underdeveloped, the causes of epidemics were considered unknown. Simple countermeasures gained broad public support.
“So agricultural development is the top priority… Ponpoko, we’re short on manpower, right?”
“We have sufficient supplies and funds. But we lack people.”
“Hm… Let’s send envoys to each lord, investigate development know-how, and enable rational land development.”
Currently, the kingdom’s approach was to give funds and supplies to pioneer groups and leave development to them.
However, that led to many failures. Gilbert believed they should thoroughly study successful examples, systematize them, train specialists, and use those specialists to carry out rational development.
But the ones who possessed development expertise were, in most cases, the lords. Negotiations with them would be necessary. It wasn’t like they could demand it for free.
It was the moment Gilbert’s overtime was confirmed.
Incidentally, one of Alicetia’s clones was pretending to be a dead cat. It was strangely realistic, and some legislators were startled when they caught a glimpse of it, but remembering her love of pranks, they ignored it. Reacting would only make her happy.
“That’s the only option.”
“Also… if development could proceed in Count Buzaro’s territory, we could dramatically increase food production.”
“That place has made repeated requests for assistance.”
Count Buzaro was a noble of the human territories. His domain was quite large and mostly flat plains. If cultivated, the harvest yield would increase immeasurably.
However, there was a problem. Even in Arland, a kingdom rich in water, Count Buzaro’s territory suffered from water shortages.
There were no major rivers within the domain. The land lacked water and was mostly wasteland. Successive Counts Buzaro had personally built reservoirs with their own tools to secure water, but water shortages still occurred frequently.
“If we extend a canal from the Donard River in the neighboring territory, the water shortage should be resolved.”
The legislator’s words lacked conviction. The Donard River was the kingdom’s largest river. It boasted such a massive volume that it flooded frequently, but extending it to Count Buzaro’s land would require crossing several domains.
“Neighboring territory? That’s way too far. Wouldn’t it be faster to draw from another river?”
“If it’s another river, the lords will likely refuse due to water volume concerns.”
Water issues became long-term problems. Although the kingdom was rich in water, there were still water-scarce lands. Such territories often clashed with neighboring domains over water rights, and in severe cases, conflicts even broke out.
Arland forbade armed conflict, but for them, it was a matter of survival. They couldn’t easily punish them, and even judging both sides wouldn’t improve the situation, in fact, it could provoke the residents into armed revolt, making it a troublesome issue.
The Donard River was mentioned because all the lords it passed through were troubled by its excessive water volume.
It was a raging river that flooded every few years. If drawing canals reduced the volume even slightly, they would welcome it wholeheartedly. Though they wouldn’t provide funding, if they even could.
The human territories tended to be water-poor compared to the rest of Arland. In the past, with small populations, it was merely inconvenient, but with today’s increased population, it had become a serious headache, making lords extremely sensitive about water rights.
“Still… bring me a map.”
Gilbert’s attendant brought a map and spread it on the table.
“Hmm, there’s no map of Count Buzaro’s territory. That’s a problem even before canals.”
“Wasn’t it surveyed?”
“There’s a rough map, but it’s not accurate enough to draw canals.”
In this world, maps were military secrets. As such, only lords or the kingdom possessed detailed ones.
However, human territories were generally considered safe zones, so surveys lagged behind.
“Shall we have Count Buzaro submit one? Surely he has a more detailed map.”
Since it wasn’t considered a critical region, the kingdom had neglected it, but surely the lord would have a precise map of his own land.
At that moment, Alicetia’s clone, bored of playing dead because no one reacted, climbed down from the round table, walked over to Gilbert, then hopped back onto the table to look at the map.
“What is this, a child’s doodle? We’ve got way more accurate maps.”
“And why do you have such highly classified maps without authorization…?”
The one who answered was the silent Acting Air Force Marshal, the cat. Until now, it had been the Acting Director of the Technical Development Bureau, also a cat, who spoke. Both were Alicetia’s clones.
“Why? During Air Force flight training, it’s a waste to just fly fighters and bombers, so I had them take aerial photos. I just turned those into maps.”
“I didn’t receive any report…”
“I submitted the report three months ago…”
Apparently, it was buried somewhere among the piles of documents stacked in the office. Currently, the office was filled with paperwork from floor to ceiling, leaving space for only one person to pass.
“In that case, fair enough. Where are the maps? You didn’t leave them lying around somewhere, did you?”
“They’re stored in the Technical Development Bureau’s vault.”
“That’s tighter security than the treasury.”
Due to the nature of the items stored, the Technical Development Bureau’s vault was extremely secure.
There was only one entrance. There were ventilation ducts, but they weren’t large enough for a person like in spy movies. The walls were reinforced with one meter of Alice steel armor plating, and the entrance itself was made of one meter of dark matter alloy. Multiple layers of security were deployed; even Mission Impossible agents would raise a white flag.
Only Alicetia herself had free access. Even she couldn’t easily enter with companions unless proper procedures were followed.
“Alright, can you have them brought here?”
“I need permission for external communications.”
“Granted.”
Under the legislators’ supervision, Alicetia contacted the Technical Development Bureau.
“This is the Technical Development Bureau.”
“It’s me. Bring storage bag No. 27 from the vault, and there should also be an unnumbered storage bag in the corner. Bring that too.”
“Understood. Please wait a moment.”
About thirty minutes later, staff brought two storage bags to the council chamber. More precisely, they handed them to the knights at the entrance.
Alicetia’s clone handed the storage bag bearing the Technical Development Bureau’s emblem to Gilbert.
Gilbert reached inside and took out maps, several of them. There were also transparent plates with lines drawn on them.
“Umm, there are maps of places outside the kingdom too.”
“We made maps of the Empire as well.”
“Isn’t that crossing borders?”
“The Empire does it all the time, so they have no right to complain. We need them to bomb all key facilities without missing any in the next war.”
During the war with the Empire, Arland’s Air Force conducted the world’s first aerial bombings using aircraft. However, the success rate of hitting targets wasn’t satisfactory to Alicetia.
Although Arland possessed maps of the Empire, due to insufficient training, many aircraft failed to reach their destinations and had to turn back.
Training could be improved, but the other issue was map accuracy. So Alicetia illegally crossed borders with aircraft and created detailed maps of the Empire using aerial photographs.
Besides, the Empire had a history of routinely entering Arland territory illegally. Even if they complained, the response would be, “Look who’s talking.” If they still complained, hinting at a second invasion by Alicetia would make them cower on their own.
In reality, Arland merely accepted the Empire’s surrender, and Alicetia simply returned home afterward. Arland and the Granzur Empire remained irreconcilable enemies.
The Empire was currently begging to sign a non-aggression pact, but Arland was completely ignoring them. Reconciliation didn’t seem likely.
“Next.”
“They won’t stay quiet forever.”
“Being prepared is good. Just don’t accidentally drop bombs.”
“One might be an accident.”
“In your case, it’d be intentional.”
“I’ll do my best.”
Alicetia’s killing intent toward the Empire showed no sign of fading. She would likely continue harassing them until death, and the kingdom had no intention of stopping minor provocations. As long as she didn’t go too far, it served as an outlet for public resentment. But letting it go too far risked triggering a self-made war like the Soviet Union, so caution was necessary.
“So, this is it. Compared to this, the kingdom’s map really does look like doodles. Can I have this?”
“If you want it, go ahead. Also, try placing that acrylic plate on top for canal plans.”
Gilbert placed the acrylic plate over the map. The lines represented proposed canal routes.
There were several options, all of which would have significant effects. There were even plans to route water to other water-scarce regions across the kingdom. Every plan was flawless.
“Why were these already prepared?”
“I talked with the Minister of Land about water-scarce regions a long time ago, made them, and got bored.”
“You get bored easily.”
“Yeah.”
Incidentally, it was just a casual topic. The Minister of Land never asked Alicetia to design canals. In fact, canals weren’t even mentioned.
In a sense, it was an overreach, but since it was her personal hobby and never made public, even if someone complained, she’d just claim it was a child’s doodle.
“Not bad. What do you all think?”
“With this, water volume downstream should increase as well, and water shortages would almost entirely disappear.”
“It’s far too perfect to be a layman’s proposal.”
“We would like the Princess to demonstrate her talents in domestic affairs as well.”
“Indeed, if she were motivated, couldn’t she even become Prime Minister?”
“Absolutely not.”
Alicetia’s flood control plan required a massive budget but was extremely efficient, resolving water shortages in parts of the human territories while also reducing the Donard River’s volume.
Even so, without levee construction, flooding would only be reduced, not eliminated, highlighting just how enormous the river’s volume was. In fact, floods of various sizes occurred somewhere almost every year.
Incidentally, Alicetia had no intention of taking on more concurrent roles, so she wouldn’t become Chancellor.
Chancellor Volken was a pure workaholic who buried not only himself but everyone around him in work, an annoying man, but undeniably competent. Alicetia, with her poor negotiation skills, couldn’t replace him.
“The issue is Count Buzaro’s territory. Ideally, we want to route canals there first.”
“With this canal, shortages in Viscount Midori’s, Baron Kiris’s, Baron Carriere’s, and Knight Schurmer’s territories can also be resolved.
With sufficient water, ample crops can be grown.”
“But it’s not something that can be done immediately just by spending money. We lack manpower.”
“The residents of Count Buzaro’s territory… That place is known for migrant labor. There probably aren’t many surplus workers.”
“Should we suspend some public works and redirect them?”
“The lords whose projects are suspended will be furious.”
“Manpower shortage is the problem.”
Currently, the kingdom suffered from severe labor shortages due to massive infrastructure projects and the expansion of the Viceroy Merchant Union. Every town and village was plastered with recruitment notices, to the point residents complained about ruined scenery.
They had money, but couldn’t build canals. Count Buzaro, in particular, was desperate for canals, practically shedding tears of blood. Arlandian nobles tended to act quickly—they hated delaying execution after planning.
“We’ll have to ask Alice.”
“Me?”
Alicetia, disguised as a cat, tilted her head.
“I want to ask your clones to build the canal in Count Buzaro’s territory.”
“We’re not idle, you know. Especially with the rocket launch facility and rocket assembly in Lion Hall territory, we’re hardly at the castle.”
That explained why there were few Alicetia clones at Arland Castle. Normally they wandered freely, but recently even the maids commented on how quiet the castle had become.
“You still have some clones left, right?”
“The Lost Numbers? They’re hiding in that storage bag.”
Alicetia’s clone poked the bag bearing the Technical Development Bureau’s emblem. However, this bag wasn’t actually from the Bureau, though it bore the emblem, it had no number.
Gilbert reached inside and pulled something out, an Alicetia clone.
“… Please let this slide.”
“Why are you hiding in a place like this?”
“It’s Big Brother’s fault. Every time we try to build a cool secret base, you shut it down, so we hid here.”
“Your research goes too far. Reflect a little.”
The Lost Numbers were heavily influenced by Alicetia’s bad traits, often engaging in ethically problematic research, leading to Gilbert’s crackdowns. Incidentally, none of the clones were ever caught, they always built escape routes.
“Please don’t hand us over to the main body… I don’t want underground labor.”
“You’re really treated poorly.”
To Alicetia, clones were disposable tools. As such, she treated them quite roughly.
“I want to make a deal. I want you to build this canal.”
Gilbert explained the canal project. The Lost Numbers showed no interest.
“Digging holes is fun, but we’ll probably get bored halfway.”
“I’ll pay, of course. How about Silver Moon cakes?”
“… Will the main body skim them?”
“I’ll keep it secret.”
The Lost Numbers emerged from the storage bag, then reached back in and pulled out the rest. A total of one hundred Lost Numbers had been hiding inside.
They formed a circle and whispered among themselves.
“It might take about twenty years.”
“Hey, don’t try to drag out the construction period.”
They whispered again.
“The schedule depends on how many cakes we get.”
“Fine. I’ll send mountains of them.”
Thus began Alicetia-style construction, which would complete a 200-kilometer canal in just two months, shocking the entire kingdom.
The Lost Numbers left the council chamber, cursing the main body.
“By the way, we need hush money too.”
“Understood.”
The remaining two clones (cats) were also bribed to keep quiet, and canal construction was decided.
“But this is only a stopgap, right? Even if we liberate monster territories, the good spots are already taken. Even if farming methods improve productivity, population growth is faster.”
No sooner had everyone relaxed than Alicetia’s clone pointed out the remaining issue.
“That’s true.”
Gilbert replied.
“I have one proposal. To the north… What’s going on?!”
An alarm blared, cutting off Alicetia’s words.
Gilbert picked up the phone installed in the council chamber and contacted the security room.
“What’s happening?!”
“‘Intruders in the underground waterways. Five men… no, four men and one former man.’”
“““What is going on?”””
The royal castle’s underground waterways, currently Alicetia’s hottest playground, were so densely packed with traps that even guards avoided them.
What do you think about this chapter?
