Chapter 752 — Growth
Blade of Dawn · Page 2 of 4
But in the new order Gao Yang had planned, in the coming tide of international trade, the boom in studying abroad, the layout of a northern-continent transportation network—such a state of affairs would be broken sooner or later.
He had already tried laying railways in the Augrey Tribal Lands to the west, and in the future he intended to pry open the tightly shut doors of the Holy Dragon Duchy. The Violet Kingdom, too, was a target of the Cecil Empire's trade activities, to be hauled aboard the great ship called the "Cecil Settlement Zone."
Magitech trains could solve the problem of overland transport; reopening the circumnorthern-continent routes of seven hundred years ago was another problem Gao Yang had to consider.
And even setting aside the Cecil Settlement Zone plan, setting aside the need to connect with other nations by sea, challenging the ocean was a step the Cecil Empire must take.
People could not confine themselves to land forever—all the more so since the existence of sirens and dragons constantly reminded Gao Yang that this world was still very large.
……
"The world outside is huge!"
Byron sat at the dining table in his home, addressing the young girl across from him with a somewhat exaggerated expression. A bit of bread crust still clung to the corner of his mouth, and as he spoke he looked smug, tinged with a hint of showing off.
"From Boulder north along the Gorgon River toward the old royal capital, the plains out that way are nothing like the Southern Territory...
"...I was busy fighting back then—monsters everywhere along the east bank, so I just directed the warships to hit them with shells and beams. You've seen the cannons on the training ground, right? The main guns on Dad's ship are bigger than those...
"Saint Sunil has tall walls, and outside the walls there are angled bastions—much taller than the walls of Tanzan and Kant. I saw with my own eyes the Cecil banner raised there... Don't you believe a word of what your Uncle Philip says. I really was there on the spot—sure, the flagship was anchored a bit far from the walls, but I could still see it..."
The girl seated across the table smiled faintly, leaned forward, and wiped the bread crumbs from the corner of Byron's mouth with her fingertip, making a sound of "mm-ah."
The sound signified a small reproof.
More than four years had passed, and the once scrawny, unremarkable little mute girl now had something of a graceful, slender figure. Good nutrition and training under her knight father's guidance had made Pea shoot up rapidly; her once coarse skin had grown healthy and rosy, and her messy, withered yellow hair now hung soft and smooth over her shoulders. Sitting there, she was almost unrecognizable as her former self.
Yet she was just as she had been back then: she loved hearing Byron tell those embellished, self-glorifying stories.
"Oh, it's fine—no need to fuss over details when eating at home," Byron said, waving his hand carelessly. "I finally get some leave... Oh, right, Pea, how did your final assessments go last week?"
Pea smiled with a touch of pride, reached over for a writing slate, and swiftly wrote a string of words on it, holding it up for her adoptive father across the table.
"Overall... A plus. Hey, not bad at all," Byron said, and once he had made out the words he happily slapped his thigh—then, rubbing his leg, he looked at his adopted daughter. "What reward do you want?"
Pea thought for a moment, wiped the slate clean, and swiftly wrote another line, holding it up again:
"Come home safe from now on."
Byron stared at the slate, froze for a moment, and then could not help but burst out laughing.
"Haha, you don't need to worry about me. I may not know much, but I'm very good at staying alive. It's your Uncle Philip you should worry about—he's still out at Long Wind Fortress miserably helping build the defense line. That fellow wears a look of noble self-sacrifice all day long; he's bound to die before I do..."