Chapter 189 (1/2)

Chapter 189

Chapter 189: Inside the Vault

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My thoughts veered back to the sight of Sylvie’s for as she absorbed the ht but her unexplainable shi+ft in for, I was either in aGideon with the train project or personally advising Virion on various aspects of the war Even then, ht

Sylvie, didn’t see—just the opposite, rather My bond had become fully infatuated in the horn and the ht, she had askedthe retainer’s mana without interruptions I haven’t seen her since then—the only thing co the calh our bound connection

“—neral Arthur!”

I jolted upright invoice, only to see that everyone in the rooe round table that had replaced its s lances aside fro in large cushi+oned chairs Joining us today for the exciting and fun-filledwas Gideon, who see out of his left ear

Oh right, I was in aokay, General Arthur?” King Glayder asked, his expression laced more with irritation than concern

I shi+fted in ht lowered to aze, only to realize that the quill I had inies I was lost in thought for aon to the topic of the so-called ‘train’ that you and Artificer Gideon are planning on We were hoping the two of you would be able to give us an update on how that’s co betweena few seats to my left

Gideon and I had discussed just the day before on the final details of the project We were ready tothe vehicle in order to secure a safe and fast supply route from Blackbend City to the Wall

“Ah yes”—the artificer smoothed out a crease on his dirty lab coat—“the landsh—I mean the train will be able to hold at least twenty ties like we have now”

“What about the potential dangers while traversing between Blackbend to the Wall?” Varay asked with an inquisitive look “From what I read, this ‘train’ seems to have a set path that it’s limited to Wouldn’t this e?”

“I agree I’d i easy to destroy a portion of the track that the train relies on,” Aya added casually

“Both good points, generals!” Gideon exclaimed “Arth—General Arthur and I saw that as one of the pitfalls as well and came up with a solution”

“Oh? And ould that be?” Virion asked with a raised brow

The artificer replied with a snarky grin “To put it underground, Commander!”

There was a moment of silence where the royals and lances present pondered the solution before King Glayder spoke up with a gruff tone “The cost of doing all of this would be excessive, don’t you think?”

Gideon let out a cough and looked tothe renowned artificer that he was, Gideon had the wealth and influence to buildthe cost and benefit of creating son to hi read nuht by the shrewd and resourceful leader of the Council inabout it the wrong way, King Glayder The costs up front ht seem like a lot but this project serves to potentially solve three proble,” he replied with a raised brohile everyone leaned just a bit closer

I took a breath and gatheredto resolve, which is a more efficient way to transport supplies for soldiers stationed at the Wall, building the train helps to work out two peripheral issues One is the detri domesticated mana beasts because of the state that the Beast Glades is currently in, while the other is the increasing poverty”

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“Increasing poverty? What nonsense” Bairon blurted “Because of the war, business is boo!”

“Let General Arthur finish!+” Queen Glayder clipped sharply, surprising me

“Thank you,” I addressed to Kathyln’sbusiness benefits hly skilled patrons, not those of lower class citizens Queen Glayder, I’d iine that your reports fro nuoods because of the deh several pages of the neat stack of papers in front of her “How did you… know that?”

Explaining everything would becoed “Si precedence over everything else, which iven to people who are a part of this war To those not part of it sie ht not necessarily increase More than that, because of the various attacks near the coasts and borders, fishers aren’t able to fish and far that this project will be aEralith finished

I nodded “This underground path using the train will be a big project that can’t be finished with just a few coes will be necessary for security of the tracks in predetermined locations, there are lots of duties that can be done by nor process and for ood points, General Arthur, but what about just using slaves?” King Glayder argued “Wouldn’t it just bethe labor rather than paying workers?”

Rather than answering, I glanced at Virion One of the many topics we discussed involved slavery and Blaine’s question just now fell into one of the explanations I had given to the commander

“Slave labor has its li Glayder I don’t think we should think of this train project as a one off venture, but the beginning of a new era The introduction of the steaine provided a new line of work for laborers that did not needthe tracks or the designers planning the routes from one city to another all require skills that will never stem from what a slave is forced to do,” he stated with confidence

Theroom was quiet for the first time in what seemed like hours until a white-sleeved hand shot up

Everyone turned to Gideon, as leaning his head on one hand while he raised his other “I didn’t know if it was appropriate to speak in this rather uncomfortable silence Anyway, I just wanted to say that this project will indeed be the beginning of round to foster new skill sets If possible, I’d prefer not to ith slaves forced to be there since they’ll no doubt be doing the bare minient project”

With that the discussion came to a close and everyone cast their vote anony over the results, I was glad that the hours of discussion on the issue weren’t for naught The project to build the underground route and train was granted along with several policies pertaining to the project—one of which included the ban on slave labor I trusted Gideon, ould be the head on this project, to be able to properlyon this project will be able to work—if not lead—the next train route project

It was interesting to see a new era slowly that only existed in textbooks in my old world unfold here This ‘industrial revolution’ that perhaps started with ine was undoubtedly hastened by the ith Alacrya

While I would never be one to support the war, I had to ad some favorable aspects to the table

“Our little ‘talks’ see fruit,” Virion chuckled as alked down a narrow hallway barely wide enough to fit three people abreast Two aruards followed closely behind while one led the way just a few steps ahead of us

“You htful lectures on war and economics?” I corrected

“Oh shush I consider it pay you while you were a wee child for over three years,” the old elf retorted

I shrugged “I don’t mind I’ slave labor anyway”

“Probably not so eloquently as I put it in the h,” Virion admitted “Elves have prohibited slavery for over a hundred years now, but it was for ht about the economic benefits of it until you pointed it out last week”

“Well, in a world ic and people who can’t, it’s hard to see past a lot of things,” I said as we continued our walk down the descending hallway

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“You sound as if you’ve been in a world that isn’t divided by ic users and normal people,” Virion teased

I replied with a s for some silence that lasted until we reached a thickelf—evident by his long ears sticking out from his cropped hair—was small-framed but toned with flexible striated muscles that minimally protected by armor I could tell by his rich yellow aura that, like me, any form of thick aruard had two unadorned short swords that curved at the tip hanging by his waist as opposed to the gaudy spears of the soldiers following us, but even at a glance, I could tell that he would easily wipe out all three soldiers ‘protecting’ us

His eyes that were glazed from boredo, Co already? My apologies as there are no s here for , Albold,” Virion replied with a s to me “Arthur This is Albold Chaffer of the Chaffer House His fa enerations Albold, I’m sure you’ve heard of who Arthur Leywin is”

“I’ve been told that he ht become the new heir to the Eralith fa with interest

I let out a cough, shooting a sharp glare at Virion “New heir?”

“Well you see, General Arthur, when the royal fa into the—”