Chapter 99 – R&D

Chapter 99 – R&D

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.

...

....

......

"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.CHeCk for new stories on no/v/el/bin(.)c0m

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

"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.