"We'll wait another half a month. If not, we'll send people to the Capital," Lucas said, his dark eyes glinting. He understood what the fox-ear girl meant, but based on his judgment of character and intelligence analysis, Dahlia was not that foolish. Not to mention, Dahlia's father, Joe, was still in Sedona City.
Unless something had really happened to Dahlia, and the people in the Capital were greedy enough to disregard her status as Duke Catherine's daughter.
In that case, he would really have to send a team to the Capital. The War Wolf and the elf sniper squads were very skilled at things like assassination.
"Yes," Mina answered from the side.
Annie pursed her lips and said no more. She knew the Master had a new plan in mind. A reminder was enough; saying too much would become annoying.
Lucas patted the fox-ear girl's head and chuckled. "Don't worry, it will be fine. I'm here for everything."
"Master, if you keep patting me, I won't grow any taller," Annie pouted, her fox tail swishing back and forth.
Mina, who was standing nearby, heard this and rolled her eyes, unable to resist flicking the fox-ear girl's perky butt with her cat tail. This tsundere clearly liked it when the Master patted her.
"You look great even if you don't grow taller," Lucas said with a smile, patting her head again. He then turned to Weiss and asked, "I'll give you three hundred gold coins. How long will it take to build six fifty-meter great ships?"
"This…" Weiss frowned in thought, his mind racing as he calculated the number of shipwrights and the workload. After a good while, he looked up. "My Lord, if we build them in the existing shipyard, we can complete one ship per month."
"How long does it take to build one shipyard? You should have seen what that cement can do, right?" Lucas said flatly. One fifty-meter ship a month was a bit too slow.
"At least ten days," Weiss blurted out. He had calculated it over the past two days. That cement was truly incredible.
"In that case, I want three ships launched per month. I need eighteen fifty-meter ships," Lucas said with a serious face. This number of ships would be just enough to support the initial development of the golden waterway.
"My Lord, I need more men," Weiss said, taking a step forward and pleading, "The current workforce is just enough to build one ship a month."
"How many people are in the shipyard now?" Lucas asked.
"One hundred and twenty in total," Weiss replied immediately.
"So two more shipyards would require another two hundred and forty men," Lucas frowned. The number wasn't huge, but he would have to pull them from other places. Sedona City was currently facing a labor shortage.
"My Lord, it's more than that," Weiss quickly added. "We'll also need to add some new loggers and people to transport the wood."
"Don't worry, someone is in charge of that," Lucas said with a wave of his hand. The new sailors' daily training would definitely include hauling wood, not to mention they had a new batch of draft horses.
His biggest worry right now was still the population. For Sedona City to develop, it needed people. The workshops couldn't stop, and neither could land reclamation, construction, or the military. It really seemed like there was no one left to spare.
"Master, should we transfer people from Riverden City?" Annie asked in a low voice. She could see the Master's difficulty.
She couldn't even imagine it. A city of ten thousand people, worrying about a lack of population. Everyone had a job.
Lucas shook his head. He had considered transferring people from Riverden City, but he had rejected the idea the next second. It wasn't a long-term solution. Riverden City didn't have many people either, and its port also needed to be built. It was meant to be a resting place for the fleet and a supply station to replenish fodder for the sheep herds.
He looked at the surface of the Whispering River in the distance, and his brow furrowed as an idea came to him—a possibility for a rapid population increase. If a major flood really did happen downstream, then the victims would become a source of population.
"Mina, write an urgent letter to the mail courier service," Lucas said, turning to her and lowering his voice. "Use the carrier pigeons. Tell the outposts in the other cities to keep a close eye on the water levels around them and report back immediately."
He needed to analyze the possibility of a major flood himself so he could set out in advance to save people. A population rescue plan.
"Yes," Mina replied respectfully. She immediately took out a notebook and started writing in code, then handed it to a subordinate. Someone would make dozens of copies and send them to the other cities.
"Annie, have people prepare wheat. The fleet needs to be overhauled and ready to depart at any time," Lucas ordered next. His fleet consisted of the few ships he had bought from Sakura City, now joined by the ship they were on.
"Yes," Annie nodded quickly. "Master," She asked curiously, "Are we going on a mission?"
"I suspect there will be another major flood downstream on the Whispering River this year," Lucas said in a deep voice, glancing at the river. Sedona City was close to the Forbidden Mountains, and the meltwater hadn't converged from many areas yet, but it had already caused the river here to rise by three meters.
Therefore, as the water flow accumulated from various sources into the Whispering River, it would definitely swell at some point, and then a major flood would occur.
Lucas analyzed that with the technology and awareness of the people of this era, they would never think to manage flood control. However the flood happened last year, it will surely happen again this year.
"Th-that… Master, that's impossible, right?" Annie's brown eyes widened. This was a bit horrifying. The Master could predict a major flood?
"It's just in case," Lucas said, pursing his lips. He looked at the gloomy sky. It wasn't going to rain in this weather, was it?
"Master, lunch is ready," Mina said, walking over.
"Mhm, we'll head back after we eat," Lucas nodded. He still needed to go to the Research Department. It was time to fulfill his promise to Amelia.
"Time to eat," Annie said, shaking her head to push the thoughts of the flood aside. She realized there was nothing she could do but wait for the Master to make arrangements.
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