Steel and Mana

The following day, after waking up and having breakfast, Mikan came to see me at my office. When she arrived, I was just about to start showing and explaining my tractor's plans to Sasha, so it had to be postponed for the moment.

"Did I... come at the wrong time?" Mikan asked, noticing that she had interrupted something, but I smiled and shook my head.

"No, these plans can wait. Are you here because of the instruments?"

"Yes." She nodded, holding a folder in her hands and placing it on my desk. I compiled all the songs that I think are appropriate for the occasion. I talked with Merlin, giving him a copy for reference, and he is helping me set up the same, um... microphones? The things that were used yesterday. When it's ready, I will play a little every day for the people on the main square!"

"Oh! We will go and listen to it, for sure!" Sasha exclaimed, clapping her hands, and of course we would. I didn't think about skipping it at all.

"I am a little bit nervous as I have never played before with so many people watching but... It should be alright!"

"It will be fine~!" I added, encouraging her while I looked over the multiple music sheets. As I expected, they looked like nothing I knew of and were utterly alien to me. I was about to ask Mikan when Sasha did it before me.

"Haaah... I want to learn to play on one! Can you teach me? I can't read these..."

"It would be my pleasure, Lady Sasha! I was going to go and practice today; if you want, you can come along, and in the meantime, I can explain everything!"

"Really?!" But before she could follow her, she suddenly remembered that we were about to go over my blueprints. "Ah..."

"Go!" I giggled, patting her bottom, "This can wait; it is something for the far future!"

I saw that they wanted to argue, but instead, I pushed them out of my office, telling them to go have fun and bring Luna with them, too. It would be best if Sasha learned how to read music sheets and, in turn, taught me later. That way, I could copy down the things I knew of and help her translate and integrate them into this world's established framework.

While they were away, I leaned back in my chair, thinking. If I am going to manufacture something like a tractor or go for an even bigger machine later on, I will need a new place to manage it. It is not something that could be done in Avalon. The local blacksmiths can handle weapon forging and making parts of it, but something that requires their assembly and working on the complete machine, especially in the case of a tank or a mech, would need something entirely new.

"Well, it is time to take a little tour..." I mumbled, finding Yuri and Oleg to accompany me while I headed out to visit a few places.

...
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......

"This is all that there is to report about integrating the new fiefs we have received, Duke Kustov."

"Thank you for your hard work, Barnabas." He nodded, sitting in his comfortable leather chair while his head advisor presented the latest reports from within his domain.

After becoming a duke, their territories and key sites that previously belonged to some other nobles were now directly under his control. Of course, this did not mean the land under Kustov's family was one homogenous mass but instead different spots scattered all over the Empire while the family lived within the Capital. With the recent events and multiple families being wiped off the face of the earth, it wasn't only him who jumped up from being a Marquess to becoming a Duke. There were also now Earls who became Marquesses and so on and so on.

With a sudden shift in allegiances and merges of families, reorganizing the lineage was something Kustov had been dealing with in the past few weeks. But, it also delighted him. The area they lorded over grew almost twice their previous size. Managing it all alone would be impossible, so the nobles under him were put in place to oversee the provinces, further breaking it down, following the nature of how their feudal society had been working for the past two millennia.

"There is only one problem left, My Lord." Barnabas continued, bringing up a topic he did not really want.

"The northern slice of the pie that was cut up between the new Dukes?"

"Yes..."

Although Barnabas was nervous, Kustov kept smiling, surprising his old confidant who served not just him but grew up under his late father's leadership. They received one, old and thin territory, hugging the endless mountains up North. There were no passages there, but instead, there were dozens of old mines that were depleted or barely yielding any notable quantity anymore. Yet why were they still being operated? Simple. They were producing CC.

"Cosmic Crystals..." Kustov murmured, licking his lips, "The gift of the Gods themselves."

Even if the mines were already emptied, with only a trivial amount of CC being extracted every year, it was still one of the most critical items within the Empire. Only the Dukes were given the ability to govern any territory that had CC located within, so this tiny region, up in the North, had to be assigned under someone who was directly from the Kustov family.

"Is my family back yet?"

"They should arrive in the next two days." Barnabas answered at once, thinking he had asked because he was still worried about them.

After he was sent away to become the captain of the Justice, people close to him, including his wife, son, and daughter, were all sent away from the Capital to govern different territories under their rule. His brother knew full well he couldn't kill them, but he could make them obsolete. Now, it turns out, this act was the one thing that saved them because many of his immediate kin were now dead.

"Elena is already old enough; she will turn sixteen this year, so I will anoint her as the Regent of Greyback."

"My Lord!" Barnabas gasped, not understanding why he would do something like that—sending her to the North. To Greyback?

Was there still danger lurking in the city? Was there something that only the Duke knew? Is there another reason to send away his own daughter, someone who could be the key to creating strong ties with other dukes? Why order someone so young to travel to an area that was effectively a place of exile? Of course, there was no way that Barnabas would ever understand it.

"We are low on numbers, and the only kin I can trust who is eligible to govern a place like that is her. I must keep my son here as he will begin preparing to inherit my place in the future..."

"But... Lady Elena is-"

"I already decided!" Kustov said, raising his voice a little, and Barnabas simply nodded, leaving to begin preparing a group to travel to the end of the world with Lady Elena. "She will be the perfect choice for it. She doesn't need to stay there forever. In fact, I don't think she will."

There was something else behind his decision that he would not share with anyone. That place stands very close to the Frontier and far away from real danger. Kustov was already thinking about using his daughter to be the perfect connection between him and Avalon, feeling that this would be the best decision. Especially if Elena manages to capture the attention of the Sovereign... his Sovereign, then the title of Duke would mean nothing, quickly leaving it to his son so he could finally go to where he belongs. To Avalon... to his promised land.

"Ah... Avalon... The Heaven on Earth..." Kustov murmured, almost as if he was in a trance after being left alone, "I will have to write a detailed report; I am sure that My Sovereign is already waiting for my letter to know what is going on within this wretched Empire!"

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After dinner in the palace, I was sitting on my couch, being hugged by Sasha as we were alone this time.

"Where is Luna? The moment you came back, she disappeared with Yuri." I asked while gently stroking her head and playing with her hair.

"I think they went out to visit the new tavern that opened up. Yuri has been talking about it since she saw the advertisement in the papers. It says the owner has made some new sweet drinks designed especially for the ladies, and it has been gaining attention amongst the women of Avalon."

"Really now? Huh... I missed that... I hope they don't trash the place!"

"Mikan is with them, so it should be... fine. I think. She is well respected amongst the people... Also, hauh, she is beautiful! When she begins playing, the square will be filled up to the brim again because you just can't look away. You should have seen and heard her! The way she does it, how she carries herself while playing... I can't wait to learn it all; I was getting bored out of my mind being stuck with your Mom in the palace!"

"Ahaha... sorry about that. But, by summer, your belly should start showing the signs, and you will enter a stable period. I guess she will ease on her supervision after that."

"I hope so. I miss working with you!" she moaned, climbing into my lap and leaning against me. Where were you today? I returned after lunch, but they said you had left the city. I wanted to spend some time with you alone, but... this is fine, too~"

"I was out scouting a place that would be perfect for installing our military industry."

"Oh, is it about the tractor blueprints? I looked them over, and they are fascinating! Making them with the current blacksmithing station would be hard... something more significant is needed, so I was about to suggest revisiting the flooded old mine."

"This is why you are my wife!" I giggled, kissing her lips but separating before it got too heated, or I wouldn't be able to hold back. However, she was already getting really pink. "I came to the same decision in the end. The area would be cleared, trees chopped down, and we would build walls and house an entire garrison of soldiers there. It would be off-limits to the citizens; only authorized personnel would be able to go behind the walls we are going to erect around it. The water that caused the incident back then will come in handy for what we are going to build there."

"Not to mention, the possible ores within the mountain are still there. If we could exploit it again, then we could mine out the resources that would be used there without needing to transport it."

"Um, and I am planning to do that with explosives. I will use the Dragonfire cannons to blast open the mountainside. I am not just thinking about mining; I want to dig into the mountainside and establish underground, hidden bases."

"Hauh... I want to see that..." She grumbled, knowing full well that Mom would not let her come for sure.

"I don't even know if it will work!" I added with a laugh because even if the cannons pierced the body of a giant monster, would it do the same with a mountain that separates two different worlds? Well, we will see it, but I had mixed expectations. "I already talked with Merlin about it, and the workers are being gathered for the task. We will begin establishing our first Research & Development site when the festivities are over; for now, it is time to relax and not work. If all goes well, it will also be a place where we will make the first tractors, revolutionizing agriculture before moving onto bigger things."

"I want to move onto something big too..." She whispered into my ears while grinding against my body. Damn girl, if you say something like this...!

"Geez, you are on fire!" I answered after pulling off her top, running my fingers along her body and her much more puffy, swelling breasts that became even more sensitive than before.

"And not because I am not using my magic..." With a soft moan, she pulled my head against her chest, and just a few kisses and squeezes were enough to make her shiver in a way that I knew at once what it meant.

"Let me pour some water on you then. We can't cook our future heir now, can we?"

It didn't take much to lay her on her back, strip her from the remaining soaked clothes, slipping into her ever so slowly. She was burning up... no joke; I thought she was having a fever with how hot her body was at that moment. With only a few thrusts, she let out a loud moan again, her nails scratching my back as she held me tight, proving how sensitive she was at that moment.

"A finger is truly not enough... I missed this..."

"Me too!" I answered, sealing her mouth with my lips and moving a bit quicker. The way she was gripping me at that moment was almost painful, resulting in me taking only a few minutes to let myself loose, filling her up while her legs locked around my waist.

"Much better... So much better!" She sighed loudly, shivering with pleasure.

Sasha wasn't lying. I physically felt her body's heat finally lowering, returning to something much more acceptable level as I was lying atop her while she clung to me, not wanting to let go.

"Aren't I heavy?"

"No... Stay like this... I like this... You are mine... Um... This is good..." She murmured, her eyes closed and only loosening on her hold after she fell asleep under me with a satisfied, innocent smile.