After a short boat trip, we arrived at Steltin. We will get off here, but my parents and the last group of Carruthers Vassals will continue on this ship to Cien.

“Mother… are you certain you’re fine?” I asked.

“I, I’m fine…” Mother replied.

She doesn’t look okay at all.

My mother has never been seasick on a boat trip before and now seems to be very seasick this time. Maybe it’s not seasickness, but morning sickness.

She may have gotten seasick this time due to changes in her physical condition and hormone balance due to pregnancy, and that’s why I thought it may be morning sickness, not seasickness. Alternatively, it is possible that both the effects of pregnancy and seasickness are working to make it the way she is now.

I don’t know the cause, but this is the first time I’ve seen my mother like this after she traveled to various places with me. In fact, she must have had times when she was sick and unwell, even if she didn’t say she was seasick. I used to think of my mother as a completely invincible superhuman, but my mother also gets sick and unwell. I think I’m reminded of that again.

“I’ll prepare another ship later, so why don’t you rest in Steltin for a while?”

“How about it, Maria? Flora is already offering…” Father said.

“I’m fine…” Mother said. “Let’s go back to Cien. But I will get some rest there. Shall we have the vassals return by boat as planned, and I’ll rest at Flora dear’s mansion in Cien?”

“Understood,” I said. “Then let me spread the news. Please leisurely return to Carruzan by land.”

There are a certain number of Carruthers Vassals who are withdrawing. If you’re going to send them back, it’s easier to ship them all together by boat. I don’t mind having them return to Carruzan by land, but it’s a hassle to prepare vehicles for everyone.

The Carruthers Vassals will change ships in Cien and return to Carruzan as planned, and my mother will rest at Cien Villa as she says. If it’s just a few people, it’s not too much of a hassle to move by carriage later.

Well… I don’t think a riverboat going up the Dierbe River would shake that much, and I don’t think she would get seasick that much either… My mother is pregnant, and considering her physical condition, it would be better to take the land route because it is easier to respond immediately in an emergency. If it’s our carriage, it shouldn’t shake too badly as long as it doesn’t hit a fairly bad road.

“Well then, Father, Mother, be careful.”

“We ask the same of you as well, Flora.”

“Right.”

My father and mother see me off and I get off at the port. The ship will not leave the port soon because it may still be loading and unloading. But waiting here is a waste of time, so we left Steltin before the ship left.

If we were with the Carruthers Vassals, we would have gone up the Odel River by boat, but since we were the only ones heading to the capital, we blew past them in a carriage. I am driven by the urge to repair the roads we often use.

I wonder why we have to use funds and labor to repair roads in other people’s territories, but if we leave it to the current Lords, it won’t be a decent road no matter how long it takes. The craftsmen and technicians, the funds, and the labor force to send to a place like this, even though it’s House Caan, we don’t have that much leeway, but… it’s unbearable that the road continues to be rough.

There should be craftsmen who taught our civil engineering and construction techniques in the deal with the royal family, so I would like at least the main artery to the royal capital to be properly maintained.

Even our carriage endured the rattling road and finally came into view of the royal capital.

It’s good that we arrived at the royal capital, but I don’t have time to do anything today. While resting at the Carruthers Residence, I think about the future. Before that, I suddenly remembered one thing that bothered me.

When I’m in the royal capital, I always stay at the Carruthers Residence, but that’s strange for the Head of House Caan. As Flora Charlotte von Carruthers, who attends the academy, there is no problem even if she goes to the academy from here. But sometimes when I’m staying here, I’m staying as Floto von Caan.

Another independent aristocratic House Head does not have her own mansion in the royal capital, and although it is her parents’ home, she is renting a room in another noble’s mansion. Could this be a bit of a problem?

It may be a secret from others that we are separate noble families. No matter how much the parent and child are neighboring Lords who have a cooperative relationship, there should be various secrets and things that should not be known. I don’t think it’s a good idea to stay in the Carruthers Residence all the time when such problems can occur.

It’s not that I don’t trust my parents or that my parents don’t trust me. It means that it was natural for independent nobles to do it until now.

Well… it’s quite troublesome to try to build or acquire a mansion for House Caan in the royal capital now. The aristocratic town in the royal capital is already full and there won’t be any new vacancies for renewal right now. On the other hand, even if you own a new residential area far from the center of the royal capital, such as the royal castle, it will only be inconvenient and ridiculed.

Having a mansion in the aristocratic district is the status of a nobleman, and no matter how much you set up a splendid mansion in the suburbs, it will only be a target of ridicule. Normally, even if it’s small, it’s customary to somehow manage to have a house in the aristocratic district.

House Caan, no, the Caan Barony, is building a town, not a mansion, near the royal capital. It will be inconvenient if you have business in the royal capital or royal castle, but I should move my base there once Charlottenburg is completed.

This time I got back to the royal capital with plenty of time to spare, so first of all I had to finish various things in the royal capital…, take the final exams of the academy…, inspect the construction site in Charlottenburg… and say my greetings at the royal castle… and then after that…

………… Hm?

“Huh?”

Where is this…? A desk that fits nicely… This is my office desk. This is… my office in the Carruthers Residence in the royal capital. Come to think of it, last night while I was thinking about various things in the office…, my memory disappeared halfway through. It seems that I fell asleep.

When I woke up, my paisley cardigan fell off. Apparently, it was hanging on my back. When I looked at the sofa, Katharina was lying around there. I hadn’t been out of the office for a long time, so she came to see how I was doing, and since I was sleeping, she probably put on the cardigan. She herself must have fallen asleep while waiting on the sofa.

I’m a little past my usual daily routine. I didn’t think I was that tired, but maybe I was more tired than I thought. I don’t plan to absolutely have to do this today. If it’s a school exam, I can’t change the schedule for my convenience, but if it’s just an inspection of the Charlottenburg construction, I can handle it for my convenience.

""

That said, there’s no reason to change it, so I’m just a little behind on my morning routine. After waking up and getting ready, I went to my usual routine. I thought Katharina was still sleeping on the sofa as she was tired, so I let her sleep, but later she said, “Why didn’t you wake me?’ and got mad. Oops.

After breakfast, I think about various things again. First of all, I don’t have Father or Mother, so morning training is not enough. Musashi, Janzicka, and the others are also involved, but it’s not enough to raise a handicap and have a few people to deal with them.

I don’t feel like I’m growing much even if I’m devising and training alone… Maybe I’m about to reach the limit of my talents. Until now, I’ve been training as my parents told me to keep up, but is this my limit?

…… Well, let’s think about this another time. No matter how much I think about it, there’s no way I’ll come up with an answer, and it’s pointless to just worry about it. I have no choice but to ask my father, mother, or someone I can talk to.

For the time being, let’s head to Charlottenburg to inspect the construction site for today’s schedule. The school exams are still ahead, and I’m not ready to go to the royal castle yet, so all I have to do is get a promise to go to the castle.

If you leave a lot of work to other people… you’ll fall into the illusion that you’ve suddenly gotten free time. I don’t really have free time. As always, the paperwork piles up every day, and I finish it on the same day, but the other people are gradually having their stacks pile up, and sometimes I help them with the processing.

But it wasn’t like that… How should I put it…? Compared to the way I used to spend every minute and every second, I was constantly moving around, working, and thinking about something. Time is too calm now.

I have to finish the construction of this construction zone today! Today I have to go for an inspection here, an inspection over there, and an inspection over there! I have to draft a new construction plan and launch the plan! The design of the building! New technology development! Magic research!

Until now…it’s been like that all my life. It’s like it suddenly disappeared… Of course, I still do it now, but the construction plan for the town is just checking and approving the plans launched by others. Construction work is done by craftsmen. The inspection is also about looking around the place I went to. There is no research institute here, so I can’t even show my face and express my opinion.

I don’t know how to say it… When I was full of work and it was hard, I lamented that I couldn’t handle it… but when I don’t have any work to do… I feel lonely, I feel like I have too much free time…

In a word, “I want to work!”

But if I try to get involved in other people’s work poorly, I’ll rather be kicked out… “Don’t you trust us with the jobs you gave us?!”, that’s what they’ll tell me. Above all, I can’t stand being told that such a thing is not the job of the House Head…

Until now, I was probably at the site supervisor level. I work on-site with the workers and have to respond on the spot. That’s the role. But now it’s higher, it may be the site manager, or if anything, the general level of the region.

I receive reports on the work being done by subordinates, confirm and approve them, and allow them to make corrections.

I know my position is like that. I know, but I don’t know what to say… There’s too much of a gap in my life so far that I can’t get used to it… how should I say…

“Well… won’t it start even if I say it… Let’s head to Charlottenburg for an inspection.”

“Yes.”

I head to Charlottenburg for an inspection with Katharina. Mikoto and Alexandra are studying for exams. Since Claudia has returned to the royal capital after a long time, she is showing up at the Royal Guard Division. Louisa is visiting her family home and the farms here.

Arriving at Charlottenburg, I went to inspect it with my usual hidden appearance. The town will open in a few months, so everyone was very busy with the final push.

Charlottenburg is becoming like that. But it feels like I’m really wondering if the town will be able to open in a few months.

Well… I’ve opened towns and villages with Caanburg, Cien, and Floren, but they were still incomplete when the towns were opened. Only the mansion of the feudal lord and its surroundings have taken shape.

Charlottenburg also seems to be able to complete the palace and fort in time, but if you ask if the city can actually do everything, there’s no way it can be done. Once the first, minimum town is completed, the rest will gradually be completed as the population increases. So it’s nothing wrong, but…

“Is this really enough?”

While deceiving them with the voice-changing magic that I used on the Blish Isles, I took the site supervisors along for an inspection. However, it is still under construction here and there, and I am worried about whether it can really be done.

“The construction of the block that will open with the town is progressing ahead of schedule. The construction around here is set to be completed after the town’s opening, so there is no problem because it is a block that was added beyond the original plans, anyway”

“Fumu……”

Now that he mentions it, it wasn’t in the first set of finished blueprints. Seeing that the town is gradually being built, the number of applications from merchants in the royal capital to set up stores here has also increased. Is this area a section that was added after the initial confirmed plans?

I have a feeling that it might get in the way of the ceremony if construction is still underway when the town opens, but in reality, it’s not the case that everything is completed at the time of the town opening. For the time being, if the palace, which is the center of the town, and its surroundings, the government district, and the fortress on the cliff are completed to some extent, will it be possible to fix up the appearance…?

“There are a few more months until the opening of the town,” I said. “I think we’re already on the last stretch but please do continue working hard.”

“Yes! We’ll make certain you’re satisfied with the finished result.”

I nodded back to the supervisors who bowed their heads in an exaggerated manner, finished the rest of the inspection, and left the Charlottenburg construction site.

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