The next day, on the outskirts of the town.
Leaving all town affairs to Maya, who had assumed duty as minister, I took Cindy along and headed out with Noufe to her home.
It was a modest house pieced together from wooden boards, built in such a way that drafty breezes seemed likely to sneak through here and there.
Near the house lay a paddy field.
It was roughly the size of a field that a single young girl could somehow manage on her own.
"Is this it?"
"Ah, yeah. I just harvested the previous crop, so I wonder if the new shoots are coming up..."
Saying so, Noufe headed toward the paddy field.
"Master, the cut seems to have been made quite high."
"Yeah, it looks that way to me too."
Cindy pointed it out, and I nodded.
I possessed a fair amount of knowledge regarding paddy fields—and rice cultivation in general.
It was the main staple crop cultivated in the south, a critical harvest so vital that the population fluctuated drastically depending on its yield and success.
Naturally, I had committed a decent amount of knowledge on the subject to memory.
Noufe's paddy field had been harvested at a much higher point on the stalk than usual.
"Ah, they're coming up. Look, right here."
Noufe stopped in front of a certain rice plant, turned back to me, and beckoned.
I made my way over to her.
"This?"
"Yeah."
I bent down and stared intently at the plant.
Just as Noufe had said, new shoots were sprouting from deep within the harvested cut.
"...Meaning,"
I thought for a moment.
"These will grow, and you'll be able to harvest them a second time?"
"—Ah?!"
As I said it, Cindy caught her breath.
Cindy instantly understood the sheer magnitude of what that meant.
Noufe, on the other hand, admitted it casually.
"Yeah, if you harvest it around this height, it barely makes it in time for a second crop. It's close unless you have plenty of warm days, though, so it might not work if you go a little further north."
"Sunlight, then. Are there any other factors that affect the yield?"
"You probably have to add a lot more base compost and topdressing fertilizer than usual. I mean, you're harvesting two rounds, so of course you do. Also, it's because of this specific strain."
"...I see."
Thinking it over for a moment, I pressed Noufe further.
"Does the yield change drastically for the second harvest?"
"Just a little, but if you do it right, you can get almost as much as the first time."
"Is anyone else doing this anywhere else?"
"Huh? I don't think so. I just left it alone after messing up a harvest, found it by chance, and tried it out."
"...Noufe."
"Y-Yeah. What do you want to ask next?"
"..."
I thought.
In terms of actual time, it was less than a few seconds, but the gears in my head spun faster than they had in years.
Though it was merely a few seconds, Noufe grew uneasy, looking back and forth between Cindy's face and mine.
"Um... What's wron—"
"Your parents?"
"Huh? Parents? Mine?"
Noufe made a face as if wondering where that had suddenly come from, but she answered timidly.
"They're gone, but..."
"Then I will adopt you."
"...Huh?"
"Master? By adoption, you mean...?"
"With that, your status will become that of an imperial princess. When the next admiral takes office, you will oversee and expand the cultivation of this strain as a special envoy beneath them."
"............Whaaaaaat?!"
After a moment's delay, comprehension caught up, and Noufe shrieked at the top of her lungs.
I fired off orders in rapid succession.
"Cindy, contact the imperial capital. Summon Evelyn here."
"Lady Evelyn?"
"Everything is inside this child's head, but she cannot keep those around her in check. Evelyn will serve as her weight and anchor."
"Using someone of Lady Evelyn's stature as... an anchor?"
"Yeah. That's simply how serious I am about this."
"—Understood! At once!"
"Noufe."
"Y-Yes!"
"Five thousand Rien per year."
"W-What is?"
"Your stipend."
"Ehh?!"
"It is an amount befitting an imperial prince who handles state affairs, not just an imperial princess. Do not refuse; it is necessary."
"Wh-Wha, whaaaaat?!"
"Cindy, contact Henry at the same time."
"Y-Yes."
"Shore up the defense on the front line for one... no, two years, and keep them skillfully in check. We will not go on the offensive, but do not let them realize we have no intention of attacking. If necessary, losing a bit of land is acceptable. Ah, you may repeat this part verbatim."
"Understood."
Cindy responded while folding down her fingers as if counting off items.
Though flustered at first, once she grew accustomed to me barking rapid-fire orders, she bent a finger to count each one she received, engraving it deeply into her heart.
"Neil... no, send Eisen here as well. Tell him that for the next few years, there is someone whom he must not allow to die even more than the Emperor."
"Yes."
I hurled out orders one after another.
Cindy earnestly burned my commands into her mind, one by one.
Noufe remained utterly dumbfounded.
"Next is Mother—the Empress Dowager. Present this rice to her and explain the details."
"Um... Does Her Majesty the Empress Dowager not refrain from interfering in affairs of state? I believe Your Majesty would not wish for that either..."
"Yes, indeed. Mother will surely say nothing, and I do not desire it either."
"Then—"
"However, the fact that it was presented to the Empress Dowager will remain. And I can employ the sophistry that 'she did not deny it.'"
"Sophistry..."
Cindy repeated the word as if rolling it over her tongue.
She was likely savoring the significance of why I had deliberately chosen the word "sophistry."
"And also—Cindy."
"Y-Yes!"
"Were you dealing in horses? Warhorses."
"Not currently. But I possess the know-how."
"Good. Set up shop on a grand scale in this vicinity. I shall exempt you from taxes for ten years."
"Why horses?"
"I have tried various animals before—horses, cattle, chickens, pigs. But horse manure has the highest effectiveness as fertilizer. If this rice can produce the projected yield, not only will we need fertilizer, but ultimately we will also require a massive number of warhorses. In that case, it is best to handle it nearby together."
"I see! That is amazing, Your Majesty. To think you planned that far ahead in a single moment."
It wasn't actually in a single moment, though—I thought, but chose not to say it aloud.
"That is all for now. Any questions? None? Good, then go."
"Yes!"
Cindy nodded and dashed off at a run.
She boarded a carriage stopped a short distance away and departed.
It meant leaving me behind in this place, but after decades together, Cindy knew me well.
At times like this, I prioritized and valued the execution of orders above all else, so Cindy left me behind without hesitation.
Remaining on the spot, I gazed once more at the rice plant.
Truly... if the cultivation of this gets on track—
"H-Hey."
Noufe's voice came from the side, pulling me back from the contemplation I had begun slipping into.
"Hm? What is it?"
"What on earth have you been doing just now? Why go so far?"
"How much do you know about the history of agriculture?"
"Huh? Just a little."
"Then you understand that agricultural technology has continuously advanced on the order of millennia, correct?"
"Ah, yeah. Like irrigation, farming tools, and all sorts of things."
Noufe looked at me with an expression that seemed to ask, Is that enough?
"That is sufficient. The upper limit of a nation's total population recorded in history is roughly linked to the progress of its agricultural technology."
"...Meaning that because you can make more crops, the number of people you can feed increases?"
"Precisely."
I smiled faintly at Noufe's quick comprehension.
"A nation's population hits a ceiling at a certain level when there are no wars or disasters for a while. Whenever that wall was broken, it was always because of some massive breakthrough in agriculture. I... surmise that this rice is precisely that."
Gazing at the rice plant, I said:
"And it is something I have long awaited."
"Does Your Majesty want to increase the population?"
"I wish to expand our imperial territory."
"Expand the territory... Huh? Does that mean—"
Noufe looked astonished.
Though clever, at her core she was still a young girl. The current topic seemed to carry a bit too much shock for her.
Of course, wanting to increase the population wasn't incorrect, but at its root, it was connected to wanting to expand our territory.
The Empire was a nation of warriors.
To prove that the Empire was the Empire, clear military achievements were necessary.
The late Emperor—my father—had guided the Empire into a golden age.
Partly because he devoted particular effort to domestic affairs in his later years, not only the territory but also the Empire's population reached the highest in history.
He handed the Empire over to me in that state.
And my father had said:
Ninety percent of those called wise rulers tarnish their twilight years.
By stating that outright, there was no doubt my father did not wish to be counted among those who tarnished their twilight years.
My father passed away having accomplished everything.
However, a single factor remained that would determine whether his twilight years were tarnished.
That was his choice of successor.
One of the vital duties of an emperor is choosing a successor—the next emperor.
My father chose me.
In other words, my actions and my achievements as emperor would directly tie into the evaluation of my father.
If I were foolish, it would tarnish his twilight years for having chosen such a successor at the very end of his life.
Therefore, I had to strive as the Emperor of the Empire.
Maintaining the status quo was merely a passing grade; expanding the territory even further was the true path of an Emperor of the Empire.
Of course, I could force the issue.
I could defer every single consequence and achieve a temporary expansion of territory.
Yet history was merciless.
If pushing forward resulted in those deferred consequences leading to the Empire's decline, it would unquestionably be recorded as my blunder and misgovernment.
And my misgovernment would also be my father's failure.
That was why I believed I should increase the population further, make the Empire even stronger, and only then expand our territory.
For that reason, as I had been striving to solidify my foundation since my father's passing, a great transformation—its very seed—had dropped into my lap.
I was distinctly convinced that this was the turning point.
"But..."
"Hm?"
"If you want to expand the territory, can't the current Empire just do it normally?"
"Noufe, do you know the surefire way to win a battle?"
"A s-surefire way? Does such a thing... exist?"
"Clever. Reaching that understanding at your age is quite impressive."
I honestly praised Noufe.
Indeed, with a certain level of knowledge and education, one first arrives at the conclusion that there is no surefire way to win in war.
That was correct; one could even call it a fundamental truth.
Yet among fools, there were those who wished to believe in something like magic—that there was a guaranteed formula for victory if only they followed it.
That was true not just for war, but for all phenomena.
With phrases like "this is the ultimate method," people placed blind faith in so-called secrets of success.
"Since you understand that, let me rephrase it. It is a method that comes as infinitely close to a surefire victory as possible."
"Um... I'm sorry, I don't know."
"It is to always approach the battle with troops and supplies so superior—no, so overwhelming—that they overpower the enemy army."
"Huh? Just that?"
"Just that."
"But isn't that more about domestic affairs than a surefire way to win?"
"Precisely. Fight after creating a situation where you win; do not fight until it becomes a situation where you can win. Over the past several decades, the Empire's warfare has become just that alongside its prosperity."
The Empire's warfare was always the royal road.
At least, it had been that way ever since I was born.
"An unorthodox stratagem is literally a 'stratagem' aimed at being 'unorthodox'—it is out of the ordinary. That also means it will not always succeed. Rather than relying on a desperate, hit-or-miss gamble, follow the royal road. And to realize the royal road, you must raise national power. Over ninety percent of national power is population—more specifically, a population that can stably eat and carry out their livelihoods. And to make that possible, we need food production, a further leveling up of agriculture."
"...I see."
After I explained it all in one breath, Noufe finally wore an expression of understanding.
"Humbaba."
I held out my hand and summoned Humbaba from my ring.
Appearing even more beautiful than when we first met—a woman so gorgeous she would undoubtedly topple cities and nations were she human—Humbaba manifested before our eyes.
"Whoa, wh-what is this?!"
"..."
To the astonished Noufe, I merely gave a single smile.
Then, I commanded Humbaba:
"Lay thread between this location and the palace in the imperial capital, as well as the governor-general's office of this province."
"Understood."
Humbaba smiled gracefully, extending thread as though a shadow were stretching out from beneath her feet.
Both lines stretched at tremendous speed, each in a different direction.
Partway through, they plunged into the ground and vanished from sight.
"I will teach you how to use this later as well."
"How to use it?"
"It is a method to contact the imperial capital instantaneously."
"Such a thing exists?!"
Humbaba thread—a power belonging solely to me as master of the spirit, naturally never taught in the simple education of a merchant household.
It was only natural that Noufe did not know of it and was shocked.
"You know what a beacon fire is, right?"
"Ah, yeah."
"Assuming this thread connects all the way to the capital—"
I touched one of the threads and changed its color.
It turned from white to black.
Humbaba thread had a separate mechanism prepared to change its color so that other humans could use it, but since Humbaba obeyed me, I could alter its color freely with just a touch.
From the spot I touched all the way to where it entered the ground, everything turned black in an instant.
"The side in the capital turns black instantly as well. After that, as long as you have the sequence of white and black, along with a cipher chart distributed in advance..."
"—Ah! Amazing! You can transmit full sentences!"
Perhaps mentioning beacon fires first had done the trick, as Noufe seemed to grasp immediately what Humbaba thread could do, her eyes shining with excitement.
This level of comprehension—she truly was a clever girl, I thought once more.
I pondered a little further.
I believed the fact that I, once an ordinary villager before becoming Noah, had become capable of so much was largely due to the imperial education I had received.
Of course, possessing an adult intellect, understanding human speech immediately after birth, and being able to absorb knowledge were major factors, but I believed an environment that provided education was just as significant.
Noufe was a kind of genius; she had innate intelligence and wisdom.
In that case, just like me—
"Noufe."
"Yes?"
"Do you have any interest in receiving more education?"
"—Ah!"
The moment she heard it, Noufe looked surprised for an instant, and then broke into a radiant smile.
☆
People are treasures.
Noufe's rice was naturally wonderful, showing immense future potential, but to me, Noufe herself was the far greater treasure.
In fact, after taking in Noufe, the Empire and I...
Would subsequently plunge forward along the path toward the greatest territory in history.