Finally, after repeated question time, we arrived at the second city.

The name of the city first came to me as Pompeii, but I changed it to Antium because it sounded ominous.

The city walls were completed, but the interior was not yet complete.

Charles’ decision seems to have been to fortify the defenses first.

Upon arrival, I was greeted by the governor, Oracio, the teacher, and Prytanis.

I greeted those who greeted me.

“It’s been a long time, Sir Oracio, teacher, Prytanis.”

Oracio has a little white in his hair.

He seems to be having a hard time.

“It has been a long time, my lord. You seem to have grown somewhat taller.”

I am not aware of it, but it seems so…

The teacher looks at me and smiles.

He looks a little worn out.

“Alfred is also having a growth spurt, after all.”

Oh, so you’re stopping calling me kiddo.

“Looks like I finally ranked up from a kiddo. Anyway, aren’t you a little bit thin?”

“It’s not good to call you a kiddo when you’re already 18 years old, after all. Well, I’ve been busy with various jobs.”

“Teacher is no longer young, so please do not overdo it. If you want, you can go back to the capital to recuperate, you know.”

Teacher snickered at my suggestion.

“I can’t do that. If I go back to the capital, Oracio will become a white wolf.”

“But if the workload is heavy, divide it reasonably well. If necessary, we will send someone to help you.”

“A child shouldn’t worry too much. I know what I’m doing.”

That’s the usual line for a person neglecting his health.

It’s like an alcoholic saying he’s fine and drinking.

I turn to Ardelheid.

“Ms. Ardelheid, please take a look at Teacher.”

Ardelheid smiled and nodded.

“I understand.”

As soon as she finished replying, Teacher was taken by the medical staff.

Ardelheid, no matter how much of a muscle fetishist she is, she probably won’t make Teacher all muscled up.

Let’s leave this story at that.

Looking at Prytanis again, he seems to have grown taller.

“Prytanis seems to have grown taller, too.”

Prytanis scratches his head in embarrassment.

“Even if I grow taller, it’s a problem if the inside doesn’t catch up with the outside. I’m studying every day, you know.”

He’s really diligent.

If he’s not here, is Charles on the road?

“Is Sir Rossi on an inspection?”

Oracio nodded.

“With the construction of the fortifications near the city and the castle defended by the Poncio, he has hardly returned.”

Fortresses are also places to manufacture weapons and stockpile provisions.

Imitating Napoleon’s point, he instructed that they be built near the cities, not near the borders.

“I see. Come to think of it, I heard that Sir Poncio was quite resourceful in the defensive battles.”

Oracio smiled shyly. He must be pleased to hear that his child is praised.

“He’s still inexperienced. But he will be pleased to know that my lord has praised him.”

It’s great to see new talent coming up.

We need something to reward them for their achievements.

In my previous life, it would be medals, but we don’t have them here.

Before my reincarnation, I disregarded medals because I grew up in a culture that made fun of them, but I think they need something that can show how much they have contributed to society.

I’m in a position where I shouldn’t disregard authority, etc., and it makes me think about it deeply.

Here’s something to think about.

“I will think of something else to reward Sir Poncio. Tomorrow we will ask him about the challenges of the new territory and what is needed.”

Oracio nodded happily.

“Then I will show you to your quarters. We don’t have luxurious accommodations, though.”

“That can be done after we build the necessary infrastructure.”

We were led straight to a large mansion.

“Is this the official residence of the governor?”

Oracio shook his head.

“I had heard for some time that the ministers would be coming, so I built a house exclusively for them to accommodate all the important figures.”

“You didn’t have to build it in one place, though.”

My carefree dialogue made Prytanis, who was accompanying me, laugh.

“It is more troublesome to build a lot of buildings. It’s also hard to think about the layout of the buildings.”

Ah… I see.

At the mansion, Mil and I were put in the same room.

It seemed more luxurious than the capital.

Mil also noticed and laughed.

“Al, do you want to build a new mansion in the capital soon?”

“I don’t have any trouble with the current size. If we need it, we can make it bigger.”

“Yes, we’ll need to rearrange the plants as well. Oh… we need to put them here too.”

I laughed a little, remembering the name tag.

“You’re right…”

Mil puffed up and lightly tapped my arm.

“Geez! Forget about that one!”

“No, you can be proud of that one. I’m glad to say that I noticed that. If you think about it, elves come in handy in forested areas. They can detect enemy attacks, after all.”

“Well, you’re right. No one ever used them for that purpose, though.”

“Thanks to the apostles, we no longer have large-scale wars. Right now, I guess the people have become more civilized at the common level.”

Mil looks surprised.

“That’s unusual. For Al to speak of the apostles in a positive light.”

I look out the window.

I’m not looking at anything in particular…

“I’m just saying that there are parts of it that are useful. Up to a certain point, I think it was doing the world a favor. Otherwise, it would have easily turned into a world where people would kill each other. Now it just doesn’t fit the times, and I guess the downside just got bigger.”

“That’s one way to think about it too.”

“Disciplining children helps when they are children. But it is useless to discipline them in the same way when they grow up. It’s the same thing.”

Mil came next to me and we looked out together.

“By that logic, Al’s way of doing things… will also become useless at some point.”

“Yes, I suppose so. If it’s something you can see, it’s easy to understand the difference and change it. But if you can’t see it, it’s hard to change it.”

“You’re right, It’s very difficult to grasp… and change what you can’t see. I think there are a lot of things they can’t agree about because they can’t see them.”

“Many people only see the reality they want to see, after all.”

Mil chuckled, leaning lightly against me.

“Is that real?”

I smiled at her, too.

“Reality is something that is perceived differently by different people. I think that the apostle’s society is harmful to me. It is the reality of the Church that the apostles are righteous and the world-bearers who protect people.”

“That’s true for what you can’t see. But isn’t there more than one visible thing?”

“That is, if there is no inconvenience. Suppose there is a reality of an apple. The reason it is a common reality is because there is no inconvenience in affirming it.”

Mil looks a little thoughtful.

“What’s the inconvenience in having a few apples?”

“Well… suppose there was a rule that if you had one apple, you had to share it with your siblings. What would you do if you absolutely wanted to keep it all to yourself?”

“I guess I’ll just have to shut up and eat it.”

“As long as no one sees you. What if they see you holding it?”

Mil pondered for a moment, then shrugged.

“I give up. I guess it’s not the right thing to do, is it?”

“Then they can deny the reality that it’s an apple… saying that it’s not ripe and that they can’t share it because it would upset their stomachs if they ate it.”

Mil started laughing at my answer.

“That’s not real or anything, it’s just a big lie.”

“It’s because it’s an apple that I can see… that’s how they know it’s all a big lie. But for those who want to keep it to themselves, it becomes an important reality. What if this is something you can’t see?”

“Ohh… that would be hard for others to tell. But he can tell that it’s a lie, can’t he? It doesn’t seem very real.”

I chuckled sarcastically.

“If you jump to what you want to think, you may not even realize it’s a lie. Then it’s real for them. The most obvious of all the invisible things is love.”

“Oh, yes, indeed. Because we tend to think our hopes are real.”

As expected of a woman.

When I use an analogy over here, she immediately understands.

When I was thinking that, Mil was looking at me with a serious look.

“It’s okay. We are looking at one reality, after all.”

At these words, Mil nodded happily.

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