Chapter 173

―――It was the morning of the 28th day of the Autumn Moon, the end of autumn.

As usual, Yuri was holed up in her office at the Yuritania Palace, deciding whether or not a matter needed to be decided, and looking over the reports coming in from all over.

According to the report, the Loftsdrake air transport, which she had entrusted to the Rostine Merchant Association, had progressed to the point of actually conducting test transports to several cities after employing explorers of level 40 and above.

At this rate, the practical application of this technology will probably be just around the corner.

(……My.)

Yuri, who was looking through the documents in order, was slightly surprised to find something rather unexpected.

It was a document titled “Proposal for the Establishment of an Educational Institution for Minors”. The names of Sera, the captain of <Water Lily>, and Primula, the captain of <Red Rose>, were signed in the representative proposer column.

The content of the proposal is to establish an educational institution, or school, for minors in the city of Ulysses, which can be reached from any city using【Transfer Gate】, to provide education, increase the literacy rate in the country, and teach the minimum level of knowledge. In a world, education is compulsory.

Even though there is no compulsory education in this world, the literacy rate itself is quite high.

This is because the people who work in the cathedrals and other temple facilities use their spare time to teach reading and writing to those who wish to do so, free of charge.

However, this is only to a ‘moderate’ extent. More than half of the students can read simple characters that are often found on signs and billboards. There are probably less than one in ten people who can read a proper book, such as the Bible published by the Eight Gods religion.

The reason why the children of <Water Lily> and <Red Roses> proposed the establishment of an educational institution for minors is because letterpress printing has become common.

Since then, the letterpresses made by the children of <Rindou> have been distributed to the major business associations of the Yuri Empire and its allies, and the number has reached more than 40.

In this world, the paper itself can be easily created by processing wood with magic, and as long as printing technology is available, books can be made commonplace.

Therefore, as a result of the energetic activities of the merchant associations that had acquired letterpress printing machines, books that were incomparably cheaper than before began to circulate in the market.

When books are sold and bought at prices that can be easily afforded by ordinary people, many people are naturally interested in them.

However, for those who cannot read at all, and even for those who can only half-read, reading books is still a difficult task.

It seems that there is a sudden increase in the number of people in the country and abroad who want to learn how to read and write or relearn how to read and write.

This is a problem for the cathedrals and other temple facilities.

Until now, they have been able to teach those who wanted to learn to read and write in their spare time. However, the number of applicants has increased dramatically, and if everyone wants to learn to read and write at a level where they can read books, it is no longer something that can be handled in leisure time alone.

―――It seems that the children of the <Water Lily>, who have close ties to the temple, found out about it, and after discussing it with the children of <Red Rose>, who is the most intelligent in the Yuri Empire, and it seems to have reached Yuri in the form of a proposal for the establishment of an educational institution for minors.

(…… This is not an area I want to mess around with too easily.)

Yuri let out a small sigh as she skimmed through the proposal.

In this world, where only reading and writing are taught in temples. Basically, education itself is rarely done in this world.

It was hard to imagine how difficult it would be to suddenly establish an educational institution in such a place. It was not hard for Yuri to imagine.

Well, as a realistic line of thinking, we should not be greedy and only set up a place to teach reading and writing.

The proposal written by the children of <Water Lily> and <Red Rose> says that they want to ‘increase the literacy rate of minors and teach them the minimum level of knowledge,’ but if we try to do both of these things at once, the degree of difficulty will probably skyrocket.

It would be better to focus on the former at first and leave the latter as a long-term goal to be considered in the future.

(However, even if we only teach reading and writing, we still need a lot of teachers…)

It would be better to consult with High Priest Badanterre, who is the head of the cathedral in Yuritania, or Altorius, who is the Pope of the Eight Gods Religions.

Alternatively, it might be a good idea to consult with Rubetta and Ados. I’m sure there are many merchants who have mastered reading and writing at a high level.

Personally, I’d like to see the Japanese language permeate this world.

I’m not going to do it because I know that it would be reckless.

While Yuri was thinking about this―――.

There was a knock on the door of the office twice.

“Come in?”

Yuri called out from the door. A girl came into the room and said, “Excuse me.”

It was a young girl who looked about thirteen years old to Yuri’s senses. But Yuri knows that this girl is smart and intelligent enough.

“Oh, it’s Roselotte. It’s unusual for you to visit me in my office.”

That girl’s name is Roselotte Eldard.

She is the princess of the now-defunct Kingdom of Eldard, along with her older sister Lizelia, and is currently in the position of Yuri’s ‘fourth concubine’.

“Husband, I’m sorry to have disturbed you in the middle of your duties.”

“You don’t have to worry about that. Since you are one of my concubines, you are welcome to visit me at any time without any hesitation.”

“Thank you very much, I will keep your words in my heart.”

Roselotte then bowed her head slightly.

What can I say―――she really is a very serious girl, Yuri thought again.

“So, what’s going on today?”

“Yes. I was wondering if you could give me a job?”

“Oh, my. It’s only mid-morning, and you’ve just received a passionate invitation”

Yuri smiled at Roselotte’s words.

She is Yuri’s ‘fourth concubine’. When Roselotte asks Yuri for work, it means that she is seeking her favor.

“… Ah! No, no, no! I didn’t mean it like that!”

“Oh, it’s not? That’s a little disappointing.”

“Oh, no. Of course, if it’s what you want, I’m more than happy to do it, and I’d love to… 

But… you should leave it a little longer, don’t you think?”

“Well, yes. Roselotte is right.”

Yuri limits the frequency of inviting the children of her concubine to no more than once a month at most.

This is because her wife, the children of the Yuri Empire, are more important to her and she wants to give them more love.

Many of the girls from the Yuri Empire have never made love to Yuri before.

This is due to the fact that they are always put in charge of their own “love duty”. Even though more than a year and a half, or 240 days, have already passed since we arrived in this other world, there are still a total of 359 children in the Yuri Empire, not including the main one, Yuri.

It will take some more days for all of them to experience the “love duty”. In that case, she was hesitant to call Roselotte and the others, who were only ‘concubine’ so often when she had a real wife she had not yet embraced.

“So. If it’s not a job as a concubine, then what exactly is it that Roselotte is looking for? I believe you sisters have been entrusted with the task of negotiating with the noble ladies who rule the cities and villages of the former Eldard Kingdom.”

“I’ve decided that my sister alone is sufficient for that role. Thanks to that, I’m now free… Is there any work that I can do?”

“If you don’t have a job, you can be a lady’s maid and have fun when you’re not on duty. Roselotte is so serious, going out of her way to ask for a job.”

When Yuri told her that, Roselotte’s eyebrows dropped as if she was a little troubled.

“I don’t feel comfortable with the fact that I’m not contributing much to my husband or my country, but I’m being given a good life. I don’t know, it just doesn’t sit well with me…”

“I’m not sure how I feel about that, but you’re really serious. ―――Well, if that’s the case, would you mind if I entrusted Roselotte with one task?”

“Yes. I’ll do my best to help as much as I can.”

In response to Yuri’s words, Roselotte hung her head deeply.

Of course, Yuri didn’t dislike serious children.