Chapter 49
The Daily Life of the Main Council
20th August 1525 / 226, 4 AM, Ragnarok Palace
A figure of four shadows is sneaking through defenses to the Ragnarok Palace. They make all their way to the hall where Sofya is currently sleeping with Armada and Tiamat after both of the latter wants Sofya to pamper them both. Sofya wakes up and stretches, but she senses some friendly magic aura waiting at the door. Armada and Tiamat prepare a room for Sofya, as they want her to come by should either Armada or Tiamat, or both of them request her to pamper them.
"Hey, wake up. Time for the morning session."
Armada and Tiamat had just got used to the Main Council's daily routine outside wartime. Every morning, except for the weekend, they woke up and trained themselves in the early morning.
"Mmmhh…"
Sofya went into a closet to change her nightdress into a training suit. Once Armada and Tiamat are fully awake, they also change their dress into a training uniform.
"The ladies first."
"Huh?"
Tiamat was curious why Sofya wants her to take point, and she finds the answer when she opens the door. Both twins, Luciana and Aegina, and Lily and Lyla are waiting in the hall. They tease Tiamat as Lily and Lyla show her the board that was written, "A dragon, but it's an old hag~," and Luciana and Aegina are face-teasing her.
"You…!"
Triggered, Tiamat quickly chases both twins to the portal while Sofya only giggles as she prepares some refreshments and breakfast.
"Go on ahead without me. I will be joining in an hour."
Armada joins the training session to split himself into dozens of mirror images on the training world. In this world, the planet is indestructible regardless of how hard the strike will be. Since it was made for training, Armada can already sense a lot of destruction path because Tiamat is chasing Twin Rabbits and Twin Valkyries when he enters the training field.
On the other field, the entire Main Council from Sacchito, Alicia, Eleonora, Freya, Feena, Maya, Cecilia, and Shiela are ready to fight him. Those outside the Main Council that join the session are Ludmila Obertas, Tohriu Shiki, Rosaria Verlaine, Sasha Sylwinder, and Randgris Flauvel.
"Let's begin the training session."
With their equipment ready, they are attacking Armada from all sides.
It becomes a daily routine for the Main Council to train their strength, body, and mind. The Main Advisors sometimes come by to attend the practice, but they got their own schedule for the training.
Three Hours Later, fifteen minutes before 8 AM
It was brutal training, and yet nobody was complaining about it. Armada intensified the training, as Randgris currently reached Mach 4, an increase in Mach 1 speed after rigorous training. Those who attend training always want to get stronger, since they will always think that there are always people who are stronger than them, with Armada and Tiamat as an example.
The surface of the planet slowly disintegrates into pieces as the fight continues. Sofya supports the team, but on one occasion, Armada took this chance to attack her to see if she was prepared to defend herself, which she did. Shiki always finds an opening to land a killing blow on Armada with high efficiency, but his sense of presence eclipses his. Shiki wants to increase his stealth skill further so he can assassinate more people without being noticed should he decides to go to the front line.
Upon the bell is ringing, the session is over, and everyone gathers for review. Tiamat, as always, carries the half-dead Twin Valkyries and Twin Rabbits to them, so Sofya can treat them immediately.
"These twins become more powerful than what I can expect. I guess they pick me to train them was a good choice."
"How are they doing, Lady Tiamat?"
"The Twin Rabbits… They become more lethal than I can expect. It seems their power was indeed lethal when they are together."
Tiamat shows bruised belly that was kicked by both Lily and Lyla at the same time during training this morning. Lily and Lyla thumbs up when they heard that compliment as Sofya healed them.
"On the other hand, the Twin Valkyries show no opening when they are working together. Their attack complements each other, and it will be impossible to beat unless your rhythm of attack gets messed up, or in this case, I break their momentum. So make sure you two can quickly match the rhythm again after I strike one of you."
"Thanks for the advice."
Luciana and Aegina nodded as they are resting for a while. Armada also evaluates the Main Council's strength, including those who participate in the morning session with him. Each of them has progressed rapidly, as he has to release some of his strength to keep up with them. It also serves as a good lesson for him, knowing that the Main Council will continue to grow and perk his interest further.
"All right now, who's up for breakfast?"
Sofya prepares the food as everyone is hungry after the training session. Once the breakfast session ends, they went to their daily activities.
Sacchito
After training and taking a bath, Sachi went to his office to do his paperwork. He handles external affairs and development outside the Celestina Empire. Emperor Hillem drafted several files to Sacchito, practically for expedition and situation outside the Celestina Empire. He left the work of developing inside the Celestina Empire to Hillem and his cabinet.
"Time to pay him a visit."
Heading to Hillem's office, the Palace Guard welcomes him. Hillem is working on several documents when Sachi arrives at his office. When Sacchito arrives at his office, he stood up and bows to him.
"Your Majesty."
"At east, Hillem. I would like to know the status after the war with the Papaldia Empire."
"We're currently flourishing, and because we still have a lot of cash in reserve, the investment so far has no problems. The problem we're facing right now is the request from multiple countries, which brings Grand Duchess Feena a headache due to the demand for developing the country through infrastructure. The construction of the new ship for shipping is according to the schedule, with some manages to complete earlier than scheduled. We're currently short on the workforce for the construction details, so we already put the request on the adventurers guild to assist the workers in building and upgrading the infrastructure."
"Well, it can't be helped then. How's the digging team going? Have they found enough resources to make the project went on schedule?"
"So far, we got enough resources for four years worth of the overseas project. I'm afraid I have to inquire either to you or Grand Duchess Feena to start reallocating some of our resources should it become difficult to handle. The adventurers on Digger Team, Mining Team, and Exploration Team are currently doing their best to excavate more resources. We will also watch the regeneration rate as well since our production capacity is limited by how much it can regenerate."
"That's fine. Redirect some of the domestic resources for international resources if you have to, but make sure to inform me before we can proceed."
"Yes, sir."
The next thing for Sacchito is to inspect the flood tunnel at the northern Regnieburg to contain the flood. Northern Regnieburg had fallen to the flood multiple times before the flood tunnel was constructed centuries ago due to the river that went overflow during the rainy season. If Northern Regnieburg falls, the Central and a part of Western Regnieburg will also fall to the flood.
Luciana and Aegina are accompanying him to inspect the flood tunnel. They check every system and to make sure the tunnel is ready to take on floods from June until September and between December to February.
"All system green?"
"All systems are green, Your Majesty. We station some of the Water Teams at the surface to keep an eye on the drain when the rain starts, and we also prepare multiple scenarios to handle if we met an unexpected incident when the rain comes."
"Excellent. The lives of our people during the rainy season depend on you."
"I will not let you down, Your Majesty."
After the inspection, they went to the Railway Station that was almost complete. The construction venue is at the Airport, which becomes a part of the Celestina program to introduce Luxury Aircraft, where the aircraft will accommodate first-class and residence-class. The Airport and Railway Station's integration commences following the new program as the Galaxy Railways is almost ready for public use.
The Galaxy Railways itself are categorized into six different classes. The economy class, business class, first class, sleeper class, business sleeper class, and resident class.
"Could we take a ride to Verlaine once it's open for the public?"
"Sure, Aegina. We all want to go together on this train. I want to get a residence class to try out how luxurious it is."
"Maybe we can use this train to get there should the venue of the wedding was decided."
"Shiki follows her fiancée's demand, so it's most likely the venue will be Blate, the Capital of Verlaine."
"That's a good choice."
Following their inspection, Sacchito, Luciana, and Aegina are having their nights together as a couple before resuming the next day with the same routine, starting with sneaking to the Ragnarok Palace.
Sofya Viltaria
After the training session, Sofya went to the church to lead a morning prayer with other High Priests, Cardinals, and any Clergy that were on duty at the church.
"Gods, please guide us with your wisdom today, and make this day better than yesterday, Amen."
"Amen."
After leading the morning prayer, she went to the orphanage, followed by Gus Amuera as Commanding Officer of 1st Royal Defender Battalion. Some kids are running to her at the orphanage, as they want to play with her for today.
"Play with us, Goddess!"
Sofya only makes a smiling sigh when she heard that nickname. It becomes a common nickname for the Main Council as a deity since they can live as long as they wish for. Not to mention there were statues of the Main Council installed at every large church in the entire continent of Celestina.
"Alright, alright. How about we're going to the amusement park today?"
"Really?! Yaaay!"
Taking the kids to the amusement park, Sofya takes them to where they can enjoy the ride.
"Gus, have your men help the orphanage staff to keep an eye on the kids."
"Yes, Ma'am."
When she watched the kids enjoy the rides at the amusement park, some people were carrying babies with them.
"What brings you here, my citizen?"
"We… We wish for you to baptize our children. We would be honored to have you baptize our children here."
"Hmm… This place is inappropriate. Let's go to the small plaza where I usually do the baptism."
Sofya, Gus, several guardsmen, and people who wish for the child to be baptized by Sofya gathered at the amusement park's plaza. The guardsmen offer the holy water for baptism, but Sofya did not wish to use it as she will use her own hands to baptize the children.
"May my blessing guides you for the future that you ask for."
The baptism process went on smoothly as planned. For those who offer Sofya a gift, she redirects them to the orphanage as her salary was more than enough to bless the children. Most of the unused money from the Celestina Empire, practically if there is money left for the yearly budget, seventy-five percent of it will be given to the orphanage. The rest of the annual budget is going to scholarships and emergency reserves.
When she found a baby was born in the hospital during her sudden inspection, she will immediately baptize the baby free of charge. She consults with the doctor and the nurses, as she wishes to have more medical manpower to increase the living standard for every country in the New World. She didn't forget to visit the hospital academy, which creates high-standard doctors and nurses to keep the citizen healthy.
"Have you coordinate with Grand Duchess Alicia for joint deployment?"
"Yes, Your Majesty. We keep coordinating with them to make sure we can help them through surgery, health checks, and field dressing. We got a lot of positive responses from the doctor outside Celestina, and it looks like we could use some more budget to give incentive aside of scholarships to those who attend here."
"That's great. I will talk about it with Alicia. For now, before you can request more incentive, make sure we got enough space to accommodate more doctor and nurse apprentices."
"Yes, Your Majesty."
Sofya's daily routine is mainly to keep the health of the Celestina Empire's citizens. Since health is essential, she releases an edict that mandates all adventurers that have returned from at least a week of the expedition to rest for two days. Those who returned from at least a month of the expedition must rest for a week, and those who returned from at least over a year of the expedition, the adventurers must rest for three weeks. The mandate applies to everyone, including the Main Council and Main Advisor, as she does not tolerate any of those who neglect their health.
Maya Lyliat
Maya always goes to the breeding chamber once she finishes her training. Taking off her clothes, she releases her insect body from her back, which serves as her tattoo. On Byade Territory, it is mainly resided by the demihuman insect, arachnids, and arthropods, such as spiders, ants, bees, even bugs. The territory is also known as the Headquarters of the Zealot Strike Force. Since this territory has the most airtight defenses than other territories in terms of keeping the prisoner, it earns the nickname of the "Territory of Prison."
Any outlaws that the Celestina officials capture will be placed here, and it has written a lot of reputation for over two hundred years. Even the most notorious outlaw, Capone Bege, cannot live in leisure as he did. When he thought he could threaten the resident with his mafia crew, it turns out the resident was very violent towards the inmates, much to his shock. Another is Drax Warden, an outlaw wanted in fifteen systems that were executed by drained alive from the demihuman spider when he attempted to escape fifty years ago.
"Ngh…!"
Once Maya finishes laying her eggs, her insect body returns to her, transforming into a tattoo. The palace worker carried the eggs to the incubation chamber. Once the egg hatches, all of them will be taken to the territory of Childre by a train. When Maya's children reach maturity, they will come to serve her and the Celestina Empire.
"I wonder how Lady Tiamat will treat the prisoners."
Prisoners from the Annonrial Empire are held captive here since the Pandemonium conflict ended a year ago. With some of the Annonrial agents captured, now they can move to the next phase to infiltrate the Annonrial Empire.
With the Valkyries disguising as one of the Annonrial agents, they manage to secure an entrance point. However, recent intel requires Celestina to move carefully since the Annonrials are very cautious about the entire civilization's situation. For that case, she is returning to the first plan, which is to subjugate Sea Dragon.
At the detention center, she can hear screaming in agony as the prisoners are in agony. Celestina did not torture them physically as the first method; instead, the prisoner's mind and willpower are tortured to the point where they will spill everything. Some prisoners are subject to endless pain torture, where Sofya lends some healer to heal any prisoner that either tortured physically or attempts to suicide.
Maya can see how Lady Tiamat treats the Annonrial Empire agents as a toy, but it will later be told from Eclipse's perspectives. She went to the Zealot Strike Force Headquarters to check on all reports related to all countries' movements.
"Faira really did her job, isn't she?"
Reading all reports, she found the intelligence of this world is lacking. Even the recent opponent was Papaldia Empire; they don't even send a spy or agent to take a peek at Celestina. The Gra Valkas Empire often hires locals to gain intelligence, but thanks to Celestina citizen's loyalty to their homeland, the agents were easy to fool.
"Well… I guess I need to check some of the towns that were designed as a prison."
Several towns serve as a prison at Byade Territory, with the outer guard is none other than Byade residents. The resident is very violent towards those who try to escape, while those who remain in the city will earn accommodation and training to help the prisoners live in the future once their sentence ends. The Prisoner of War is also receiving the same treatment, but Maya will place them in a certain town because some of the prison towns are not suited for the Prisoner of War.
Inspecting the town that was used to hold the New World's Prisoner of War from Rodenius War and Celestina – Papaldian War, Maya looks at the maintenance report from the staff dispatched by Feena.
"So far so good?"
"Yes. Everything is good as far as we check it. Though, we may need to teach this world's prisoner on how to use the toilet further…"
"Ah…"
The Main Council completely forgot about their habit of doing personal business. The toilet is very new to them, and it seems the prisoners who do not have toilet technology or innovation should be taught how to use it in the future. It seems she may need more cleaning personnel than she can expect.
The production facility also went well, practically from the sides of the clothes and materials made by insects and arachnids. Tibetain citizens often visit here, which led to fierce competition between Byade and Tibetain for clothes quality and creativity. Up until now, both sides remain toe-to-toe, with Tibetain Principality remains superior in winter clothes while the Celestina Empire is superior in summer clothes.
Some of Celestina's citizens who can produce fabric materials start to increase their production pace, with a note from Maya that they are not allowed to overwork themselves because of Sofya's edict that prohibits them from overwork over twice a week.
Shiela Synclaire
The training of the captured Papaldian Wyverns and other countries who sent their wyverns during the Celestina – Papaldian War went on as planned. Kagefumi Entranger, the ancient black dragon, trains them by having them fly past their maximum flight hours and duration.
Sometimes Tiamat also comes by to threaten the wyverns, as it is a good method and idea to keep the wyverns in an excellent shape to take flight and to learn more maneuvers. Some of the Shock Trooper Unit that are riding the wyverns are also included in the training session to hone their skills to understand better how wyverns behave on both flight and ground.
Miranda looks at the request section of the file, as the ones that are on the top of the list are currently a request to add the Gra Valkas arsenals to the War Games.
"Ma'am, some of our men are requesting War Games that features Antares-class Fighter and any aircraft from the Gra Valkas Empire. They also want to join the War Games against the Navy."
"Navy? I don't think it will be easy to comply. Our speed is now at six hundred kilometers per hour, but their AA guns and proximity fuze can shoot down our wyverns. Have you contacted Alicia to make research about it? At least we need to cover the wyverns with an energy shield for survivability chance."
"Yes. I've contacted Shikami about it, and she's studying the armor suitable for the wyverns that enable us to install energy shielding around it."
"All right. Use the War Games to conduct a training drill."
"Yes, Ma'am."
Once finished observing the wyverns, she went to the farms to check on stables and other endangered animals kept in the wildlife rangers' custody. Cecilia often sends her rangers here to conduct a joint patrol with Shiela's wildlife guard. The repopulation program is going smoothly, as there are no reports about poachers ever since they arrived at the New World three years ago.
The next place she visits is the animal farm. Most of the poultry and farm products are being manufactured here, given the natural terrain that allows the farm to flourish. The production remains in surplus, but the price increases after the shipment capacity increase by 25% due to increased demands from outside Celestina. The production unit is trying its best effort to keep up with their demands, and it won't be long before Celestina starts to regulate the tier and adjust the price based on the production quality.
Requests on the adventurers guild remain to pile up as some of the requests are recurring, while some feature seasonal quests. Adventurers continue to make more money thanks to Celestina's effort in increasing production. Wyverns that are no longer suitable for military commission are reassigned into a delivery unit, with some went to the slaughterhouse or given to the dragons as a meal.
The Director of the farm, who happens to be there, reports to Shiela.
"Grand Duchess. The Qua-Toyne Principality has ordered around a thousand pigs, five hundred cows, five hundred goats, two hundred turkeys, and two thousand chicken from us. They plan to establish a farm in Granary Region."
"That's interesting. I will give clearance for it, and before you can send it to the farm, make sure the infrastructure is ready to accommodate all of them when winter comes."
"Yes, Ma'am. I will prepare my men ready for it. On the other hand, the Tibetain Principality has requested more wools. They want to buy some sheep for farming for local production."
"Have them coordinate with the Qua-Toyne Principality for the food resources. We can send them if they decide to purchase it, but make sure you do the same thing as I ordered to Qua-Toyne."
"Yes, Ma'am."
Shiela wants to expand the farm, but she needs to think of infrastructure, personnel and manage it. So far, three farms manage to expand overseas using the Celestina Empire's banner, and all of them are operating at the Qua-Toyne Principality. Prime Minister Tanaka has requested Celestina that the Qua-Toyne Principality wants to make a farm using their own flag, where Shiela welcomes it with open arms. The recent order is for the Qua-Toyne Principality to establish their own farm.
Because the chefs of Qua-Toyne have a good reputation at the Rodenius Continent and start to influence the Third Civilization, they intend to make local food and open more restaurants outside Celestina and Qua-Toyne to expand the power of culinary.
This becomes a daily routine for her to manage her territory.
Alicia Permeal
The Royal Academy of Celestina, The Capital of Studia, Juno
11th November, 1525 / 226
"Theoretically, if you know how to disassemble and making the blueprints for it, you can assemble it by using blueprints you just make. In practice, however, if you did not understand how it works, then you won't be able to assemble it again. Even if you do assemble it, the output will not be as you can expect.
Reverse-engineer means you need to understand it step-by-step, disassemble the parts and understand its concepts, and reconstruct it to see if you can rebuild it after you disassemble it."
That's all for the class today."
Myrus and Mu's Engineers went to the workshop to continue working on their project. They've received the Jet Engine and Sherman Tank Engine from Alicia to learn. Alicia takes a peek at Mu's lab, and it's full of blueprints and notes. If they wish to graduate, the first thing Mu have to make is a Gloster Meteor or an M4 Sherman.
"Mu really work hard to develop new tech given by us."
"Yes. So far, they almost aced on all class, except for material production."
"Interesting."
Alicia went to the academic oral hall. After the class, she will put Rosaria Verlaine on trial for earning a Double Degree of MSc. The first one is Business and Management, and the second one is Politics and International Relationships. Rosaria's dissertation, known as "The effects of Politics and International Affairs on Verlaine's Management," becomes a hot topic for the student. Not only was this dissertation the first topic to be researched in the New World, but the dissertation itself is also worth being rated as the Ph.D. degree.
The lecturers that will test Rosaria are Alicia Permeal, Peter Andrews, and Alice McNeal. If Rosaria can impress them, she will earn not just a Double Degree but also a Ph.D. degree. Professors, Lecturers, and students are flocking to watch Rosaria. Shiki also arrives to see his fiancée taking an oral test.
"Here is written that the external political strength to determine the fate of your country was strong. How can you explain it?"
"The Eleventh Leadership Conference, from the information I've gathered, is the conference that can determine the movements of all countries. Because the Superpowers have absolute authority, the political interference and influence will be extensive rather than internal. Throughout the case of when the Papaldia Empire demand something from us is one of the evidence that we cannot deny it."
"Then, how're these international affairs can affect your kingdom?"
"When I opened a relationship with the Papaldia Empire decades ago, we desired to increase our national power and economy. However, because the Papaldia Empire's requirements were absurd, and yet, we desperately need it, we have no choice but to comply. This makes our economic strength start to fully reliance on the Silitsa Magic Gem. Should we earn more freedom to strengthen our economy, we were able to export the Roses."
"So this means that international power has more strength than inside your country, isn't it?"
"Yes."
Rosaria answers Alice's last question, and the three of them start to talk to each other.
"Does she worth earning a Ph.D. for this?"
"I would give her a Ph.D. because of this. Never in our life that she was able to combine both studies into one dissertation."
"I also think the same too. This is the first time we saw someone pursuing not only a Double Degree but also combining both. It's worth earning a Ph.D. title aside of just MSc."
Looking at the audience, Alicia makes a decision.
"This trial will be adjourned for one hour."
During the breaks, Alicia, Peter, and Alice continue to debate whether Rosaria deserves three titles at once or just a double degree. Rosaria feels nervous, but Shiki comes to comfort her.
"You did a good job on the trial, my dear."
"A-Am I going to pass?"
"I'm sure they will… Now, it depends on their decision whether they will give you a Double Degree or another title as well. Let's relax for a while."
"Y-yes…"
Both Shiki and Rosaria went to the cafeteria to relax. Ordering some Jasmine Tea, she finally got some moment to ease her tension once she sips the tea.
"I've heard from Alicia about your dissertation. They say that this is the first case you combine both studies in one dissertation."
"Is that so?"
"Yes. None has ever attempted to put a Double Degree on a Master's Degree together in a single dissertation. That is why they put you on trial today."
"I thought that I wouldn't be called for trial when I submit it."
"Your case is special since you combine both."
"I see…"
"Attention! The trial will resume in five minutes!"
"Let's go."
"Yes."
When returning to the trial, Alicia, Peter, and Alice have made their decision. Alicia speaks to her by the time the adjourned time is over.
"Rosaria Verlaine. I hereby declare you to earn an Honoris Causa of Business and Politics Ph.D. Aside from deserving to earn the title of both MSc, we will give you the Honoris Causa title for your achievements in placing both two degrees together in a single dissertation. This achievement will mark the new pathway for those who pursue Double Degree on a Master's Degree.
For all students, let this day be remembered as the day where we will continue to pursuit of knowledge!"
The attendees are cheering once Rosaria manages to earn an Honoris Causa title of Business and Politics. When the trial ends, she didn't forget to express her gratitude to Alicia and her mentor, Peter Andrews, and Alice McNeal.
Once the trial ends, Alicia went to her office to handle other academic affairs. Mu, Qua-Toyne, Quila, and Verlaine request Celestina to assist them in opening the academy outside Celestina. Alicia approves the proposal as she prepares to send Professors and Lecturers overseas to spread the knowledge further.
Cecilia Keyron
Cecilia visits the Natunia Seraphic Armory, which specializes in making equipment and arsenals fitted for stealth operation. She comes here to know the progress of the new Special Assault Armor prototype she requested a year ago.
"How's the new prototype going?"
"We got some issues at the barrel at the moment. The rest of it, including the specification Grand Duchess, wishes for has been requisitioned as scheduled from the manufacturer."
"Excellent. I was hoping I can test it out soon. What's the problem with the barrel?"
"We're still working on finding a suitable material that can resist water and corrosion."
"Why not use Sage Ore?"
"It's too expensive, Ma'am. If we do wants Sage Ore, this prototype has been ready for the field-testing months ago."
"I see… So you want to produce more of it?"
"Yes, Ma'am."
"I understand."
Leaving the factory, Cecilia went to the Celestina Imperial Intelligence Security Agency or CIISA Headquarters to check on reports.
"Seems Annonrial doesn't make a move yet…"
Despite the Gra Valkas Empire's vast technology, the World War II arsenals, and the possibility of possessing some of the technology at the earliest Cold War era, they can pose a problem to Celestina should Celestina did not keep them in check.
An initial report from the Zealots at the Gra Valkas Empire indicates that the Gra Valkas Empire possesses around fifty Army Group or between thirty to fifty million personnel. The population itself was confirmed to be up to a billion, considering Gra Valkas mainland's size was equal to the entire North America region. While they can be self-sufficient, the major problem is the military doctrine that can be considered problematic.
Files retrieved from the Royal Archive indicate that the Gra Valkas Empire was almost complete in the World Domination. If the Kain Kingdom falls, then the Gra Valkas Empire is certain to rule the entire Yugudo planet. Celestina probably was summoned to teach the Gra Valkas Empire a lesson. This is a good chance to experience a Redux War ever since the First Celestina World War against the Trumper Empire. Considering both opponents share similar technologies, Celestina wants to know how the Gra Valkas Empire will act against Celestina.
Opening the comms, Cecilia wants an update from Faira.
"Lieutenant. How's the recon on the Gra Valkas Empire's mainland? Have you locate the capital?"
"We've located the capital as Grand Duchess' ordered. The location is 1500km west of the south-eastern island border. Our warship can strike them if we position them 120km south of the capital."
"Excellent. Got any useful intel about the military?"
"We've confirmed the presence of Bismarck-class, Hood-class, South Dakota-class, and Nagato-class. Their country is confirmed to have a mixed technology of Allies and Axis at World War II. They have a lot of MG, SMG, even an assault rifle such as STG-44 and BAR. For the armor, we've confirmed the biggest tank on their campaign will be a Maus Tank. So far, they've been developing transport ships capable of transporting heavy arsenals, possibly up to Ratte Tank's size."
"Isn't Ratte too big for the size?"
"If it can be used as a Battle Tank when transporting, it can give the Navy a Nightmare."
"Open canopy, huh?"
To face a Maus Tank means Celestina has to deploy the Crown Jewel of the Tank, the Mammoth Tank. Even the size was smaller than Maus Tank, its firepower and armor superiority can obliterate Maus Tank. But, facing Ratte, it has a risk of being splattered by such tank, practically due to the weight and size. Cecilia can deploy a Sniper tank fitted with HEAM (High Explosive Anti Materiel) shells, but the effective range is between five to ten kilometers.
"Faira. I notice you already heard about the possibility of entering the Changing of the Hats, right?"
"Yes, I do."
"You will get a promotion next month, and when it's done, you will be officially entering the Changing of the Hats candidates for Main Council adjutants."
"Thank you, Grand Duchess."
Closing the report, Cecilia continues to work on the intel.
Freya Luminaire
"The mana emits from our body is linked to the spirit. This is the reason why we were able to use magic more efficiently than you do."
Freya and the magicians at the Royal Magic Academy learn about magic from the Qua-Toyne Principality. Ever since the first contact, Celestina starts to research magic more efficiently.
"We're surprised to have Celestina mages that are capable of having a large pool of mana despite you didn't form a contract with the spirits. Most of us have a contract with the spirit should we want to increase the mana pool. How did you increase your magic power and mana capacity without forming a contract with spirits?"
"We constantly train ourselves, and the store sells plenty of restriction items. When we wear it, it forces us to use magic constantly to the point where we need to replenish our stamina by eating and drinking multiple times."
The answer from one of the student makes the Qua-Toyne lecturer thinks.
"So this means all of you are raising your magic power as naturally as possible?"
"Yes."
"That's interesting. But if we haven't formed a contract with the spirits, we can use magic, but not as efficient as we can expect."
When the class ended, the Qua-Toyne lecturer went to Freya's office to ask for more detail about magic.
"Grand Duchess. I wish to know how we can increase our magic even we have formed a contract with the spirits?"
"I think one of our students already answer that question. We bought some of the magic restriction items, so we can constantly flow our magic for training. But, to increase efficiency, we need to find a way to compromise. Most of the Celestina citizens did not form a contract with the spirit."
"Hmm… I will try to research it out. If I can find that my citizens are using magic more efficiently without making a contract with the spirit. I will let you know."
"Thank you."
The magic development in the Celestina Empire has shown progress. After the first encounter where Qua-Toyne diplomat heals the injured adventurer using standard heal, while the efficiency can be worth being listed as High Heal turns Celestina magicians into a frenzy. They wish to learn more about using magic more efficiently from the Qua-Toyne Principality, which makes the academy has more student that Freya can expect.
If the Main Council can master this, their magic capabilities will increase more than ten folds.
Inside Geffen Territory, more civilians are using magical items than other territories. This because the Geffen Territory was specialized in magic power, and any research related to the magic power will be focused here aside from Studia. Rosaria studies magic to master her fire element, and recently, she has just learned wind, water, earth, and lightning. Rosaria currently was at the Fire Wizard class, but Alicia and Freya would promote her to a Master Sorcerer once she masters another four elements.
Feena Minazuki
Feena is having quite a headache inside her office. While the shipment went on booming thanks to demands outside Celestina, somehow, she needs to manage the construction one way after another. Hiring new workers can be problematic, and while the new workers are on the training, she hires adventurers who have worker licenses to help her with the job.
"Man… This is tiring…"
Feena searches for a suitable spot for factory construction at Qua-Toyne Principality, Quila Kingdom, Verlaine Kingdom, and the Republic of Mu. While Rosaria already recommends several places for construction, Feena has yet to decide which is the best place to set up the factory.
The Celestina Empire prepares to open new factory production overseas. The Qua-Toyne Principality is the first country to receive an Industrial Revolution. To complement the job and to ease the unrest due to manual jobs being taken by the machinery, adventurers will take the job to collect materials and delivering them to the production facility.
Celestina applies such doctrine, so people can still work to earn profits for their daily life. Adventurers who accept the production facility's request were mainly given a dungeon map to harvest the material. Even though there are natural resources to take with, but material obtained from the monster sometimes has more quality than what the factory can expect.
Alicia opens communication with Feena, as she can see Alicia is checking the Granary Region.
"The Qua-Toyne Principality is almost prepared to establish their own farm. They are now investing in the processing facility, so they can produce their own food."
"How much they invest?"
"Two thousand Platinum coins."
"That much!? It's exaggerated if I have to say."
"They will buy all materials and hiring construction workers from us. All they want is to have them operate it by themselves."
"Why they didn't hire some of the people that are proficient in farming? At least they need to know how to handle things if there are diseases and such."
"They do, Feena. They do. The Qua-Toynian people will handle the production by themselves, while they will hire our people as consultants and field experts to assist them."
"Oh, that's good to hear, then."
"How're things at Mu?"
"Mu government has established an Oil Tanker at the shore of Otaheit and Mykal. Our ship now can refuel when we can sail back here. Myrus also informs us that they are currently building a refinery to refine better fuel. I already send three teams of oil experts to assist them in the construction of the refinery."
"Whatever happens, we must not let Mu fall to the hands of the Gra Valkas Empire."
"I'm aware of that. Based on the recent report I've received, the ground army number is worth the Four Army Group. If we can threaten them, they may double the army to attack Mu. I will also bet that the recruitment is ongoing all the time."
"It sure is. Just make sure we got an appropriate unit to deal with them."
"I've heard Cecilia develops Ballista SAA. I think it will be suitable enough should we want to assassinate the Gra Valkas Officers from the mountains."
"Let's hope it will be ready in time."
Feena continues her work as her territory continues to produce more ships to fill the New World's marketing demand.
Eleonora Lisha
Eleonora is preparing the military personnel. She coordinates the defenses with the Ministry of Defense and Adventurers Guild to complement each other. The War Games start to intensify after Shiela installs the Gra Valkas Empire's capabilities and possible scenarios that could happen in the future.
"I've never expected all towers and War Games are at the full house for the last six months…"
The Ravernal Empire and the Etanaru Empire's return were expected, but they would soon be fighting against the Gra Valkas Empire. Intel from Lieutenant Faira and some of the aircraft capabilities are installed inside the Gra Valkas military capabilities ever since the Fall of Irnatea Kingdom several months ago.
"How're the defenses at Mu. Is their military upgrades the airport to accommodate us?"
"Yes. It's been according to the plan."
"Excellent."
But, since Celestina has yet to establish a portal, they can't send their forces through it. Currently, Eleonora is requesting engineers from Feena's team to create a portal to reinforce Mu faster and without shipment. Considering the distance between Zaid to Mu is 27,000 kilometers, it is a challenge should the Gra Valkas is launching unrestricted warfare.
Mu start to study air compression and decompression from the aircraft. The reason is, they need to understand how the compression works before they move to make a submarine prototype. Originally, Mu proposes a submarine as the graduation test, but Alicia rejects it because Mu is not ready to make a submarine ready for combat in two years. Instead, she wants Mu to create Sherman Tank and Gloster Meteor.
"Maybe I should increase the standard as well…"
Eleonora is aware that when Gra Valkas Empire is attending the Eleventh Leadership Conference, they will surely use this chance to declare war on the entire world. At the same time, Eleonora wants to retaliate by threatening them to back off, or they will suffer consequences.
"Grade Atlastar… I'm sure they will send a fleet to attack… It seems I need more intel from Faira later."
The Main Council already plans to dispatch the 1st Expeditionary Fleet under Battle Group Moonlight Sea. Randgris also requests that she will volunteer along with Flauvel 1st Fleet to escort Antoinerei to Otaheit before exploring Mykal for a while.
"But, I can't just approve it without Shina's approval…"
Sighing, Eleonora went to the Kingdom of Verlaine to train military recruits to replenish the national power of Verlaine. Since the Kingdom of Verlaine will be bound to Celestina by blood through the marriage between Shiki and Rosaria, Celestina prepares everything to make sure Verlaine was protected from any harm.
The Eclipse Empire
After the morning session, Armada always held an extra course with Dragzell whenever Dragzell joins the Main Council morning session. Other than that, he plays with his pet, Odin. When he heard Tiamat often visits Byade, he also pays a visit to know what Tiamat is doing.
At the Territory of Byade, there are Annonrial Agents placed inside the arena. The prisoners are watching as Tiamat unleashes Cerberus to play tag with the Annonrial Agents.
"Yeaaah! Yeaaah! Kill them! Kill them!"
The prisoners are cheering to witness the game of tag between Cerberus, Odin, and the Annonrial agents. The Annonrials are panicking, and when they are attempting to tame both Armada and Tiamat's pets, it does not affect them. When the agent tries to mind-control the prisoners, the Colosseum's guard quickly neutralizes it.
"Aaaahhh!"
"Damn it! This Empire is dangerous!"
The Annonrial agents realize the threat of the Celestina Empire that can pose to them. They need to report this to Zaratoshtra, the Emperor of the Annonrial Empire. But somehow, they cannot escape as this territory alone was dangerous. Not only Byade Territory houses dangerous outlaws that currently serve their sentences, but it is also the most airtight defense when it comes to guarding the prisoners, with the Byade Citizens as warden.
Even they've been tortured physically and mentally; it doesn't end just like that. The Annonrial agents, either boys or girls that are skinny and good-looking, are subjected to be punished by Armada and Tiamat.
While Armada is holding one of them in Full Nelson, Tiamat punches right into the gut.
"GOBUUHH!"
As the first prisoner collapses, Sofya's Prisoner Medical Team takes the prisoner to the medical ward for treatment. This time it's Tiamat's turn to holding another Annonrial Agent in Full Nelson, with Armada punching right into the gut. Because the punch is so strong, the agent throws up.
"Hey, hey… That stinks, you know that?"
While Armada and Tiamat enjoy torturing Annonrial prisoners, Dragzell and Zenoral supervise the base's construction at Duro. Since it will be the joint base between the Celestina Empire and the Eclipse Empire, the size must be fit to complement up to four Fleets or up to eighty thousand personnel.
Celestina will deploy New World 3rd Defense Fleet, while Eclipse will deploy the 7th Strike Fleet to patrol around Third Civilization.
The Main Council is aware that the daily routine they took will soon end, as the new war is approaching upon this world. But, in the Kingdom of Verlaine, a fabulous day is about to commence.