It could be said that, from the Devil Fruits Gawain had brought back, Arthur successfully summoned two extremely important figures: Agravain and Morgan le Fay. The former served as Britannia's chief administrator, keeping domestic affairs orderly and efficient; the latter possessed terrifying combat power.
That was the main reason Arthur had been able to leave Britannia and come to Fish-Man Island at all.
"Mm."
Sitting back on the sofa with one leg crossed over the other, Arthur asked, "Agravain. How has Britannia been these past two weeks?"
"My King."
"Long time no see."
Agravain first offered a respectful salute, then began his report in a steady, serious tone.
"In the past half month, after the Silver Axe Pirates were repelled, there have been no major incidents. However, in terms of population… we've seen a massive influx."
"In just half a month, nearly three hundred thousand people attempted to enter Britannia."
"Unfortunately… only about thirty thousand were ultimately acknowledged by Britannia and allowed to remain."
A one-in-ten ratio.
That's right—earning Britannia's recognition and becoming a citizen had never been easy.
And in truth, a tenth was already a very high rate. In the past, among those who flooded in, sometimes only one percent made it. At its most extreme, it had even dropped to one in a thousand.
That alone showed how difficult it was to be accepted. And yet, even so—gaining thirty thousand people in half a month was no small feat.
"Heh-heh…"
Arthur chuckled softly. "None of us can interfere with that. That's Britannia's choice—its own will. Interfering would be meaningless."
"Yes, my King." Agravain replied respectfully. "Mother discussed this matter with me as well. Those Britannia chooses to accept are absolutely loyal to Britannia. They are not the sort who would betray it."
Arthur gave a slight nod. "Indeed."
Of course, that "will not betray" was still relative. As Arthur grew stronger and Britannia became more powerful, betrayal naturally became less likely. But what if Britannia were weak?
Or worse—
What if Britannia were destroyed?
Human hearts changed with their environment. The human mind was the most complex thing of all. The fact that Britannia could steadily stabilize itself through this method was already remarkable.
It wasn't easy—at all.
Then Arthur continued, "Agravain. What about everything else?"
He had been away from Britannia for over half a month. Honestly, if Agravain hadn't been there, Arthur would never have dared leave—doing so would've been suicidal.
Within Britannia, no one else could handle this workload the way Agravain could.
Agravain went on.
"Britannia continues to develop steadily. As for population, Britannia's total population now stands at seventy thousand—about ten thousand non-human residents, and sixty thousand humans. In my view, we should continue recruiting refugees from outside and expand Britannia's population."
"Mm." Arthur naturally agreed.
In truth, Britannia wasn't as small as it looked.
Yes, there was the main island and seven smaller outer islands—but the main island alone was massive, easily comparable to Wano Country or Dressrosa in scale. Housing a million people wouldn't be a problem at all.
The outer islands could each take tens of thousands as well, effortlessly.
That said, Arthur never intended to swell Britannia's population without restraint. A citizenry of hundreds of thousands—or at most a million—was already enough. And as more non-human races joined Britannia, Arthur's vision wasn't limited to humans alone.
He wanted to build a Britannia that truly welcomed all races—a continuation of myth, in a sense.
And more importantly, Britannia—as the last isle of myth's inheritance—was never a simple place. It held many special powers. As Arthur grew stronger, and as Britannia's power was developed further, the world would eventually learn what the Britannia Isles truly possessed.
"Of course…" Arthur smiled. "Recruiting population matters, but there's no need to rush. Only those Britannia acknowledges are qualified to be its citizens. Don't force it."
"Yes." Agravain understood perfectly.
Otherwise—if they let a swarm of parasites slip into the heart of the nation, it would become a headache later. Not that it couldn't be solved, but if it could be prevented from the start, then it should be.
Besides, Britannia itself had the ability to "see" such things. Abandoning that advantage and letting trouble bloom was pointless.
Tap. Tap.
Arthur lightly rapped his fingers on the coffee table, producing crisp sounds as he thought.
"Ease up on that matter for now. Agravain—before long, I'll be withdrawing all Fish-Man members from the knights and transferring them out. In this battle, after accounting for those who fell, we have about 3,800 left."
"They'll be replenished under your command."
"Recruit again, and raise the total back to over ten thousand. There's no need to rush—fill the ranks gradually as we bring in new people."
"Yes." Agravain took out his notebook and carefully recorded every item.
For a qualified administrator, these were not casual matters.
After a moment's thought, Agravain added, "My King. Regarding the knights, I believe ten thousand is already sufficient. With Sir Galahad's instruction, their martial skill is beyond question. And under Britannia's blessing, their physiques will improve and undergo further transformation."
Arthur nodded. "Agreed. Now—how are supplies?"
Of course, when Arthur said "ten thousand," he didn't mean ten thousand ordinary bodies.
The recent war looked like an easy victory—Britannia's side suffering only light losses while wiping out the Five Peaks Pirates.
But Arthur knew the truth.
There were many internal issues: individual strength was lacking, and even with formations, the lines had been broken repeatedly. If not for Morgan's magic—granting everyone a defensive enchantment that helped them avoid fatal injuries—
Then their losses would've been closer to four thousand, perhaps even five thousand.
In the end, they only managed to finish the battle after Fish-Man forces assisted, paying one thousand knight lives… but that concealed another cost:
Fish-Man troops had lost five thousand.
Those were elite soldiers Neptune had personally selected. In other words, they'd paid roughly three times the price to annihilate the Five Peaks Pirates completely.
Of course—one victory is built on countless bones. Arthur didn't shy away from that.
But he still needed to strengthen the whole: overall power, individual combat ability, Armament and Observation Haki, martial technique, knight armor, knight swords—everything.
Arthur had a complete plan, and Agravain could execute it flawlessly. That was crucial.
Because the knight order had to be strong—strong enough to stand on its own.
Arthur exhaled slowly, then asked again, "Agravain—how are supplies?"
"My King. The resources and supplies we've purchased are enough to support a million people for ten years. However… that is all external procurement. Britannia must still build internal production. No matter the work, we can't continue like this forever."
Arthur agreed.
Still—
Did Britannia have any unique resources?
…Actually, it did.
Arthur suddenly realized it and asked, "Agravain. Do you have a plan?"
"Yes."
"Volcanoes, glaciers, mountains, forests, grasslands, lakes, deserts—seven regions."
"Each has its own resources. Farmland are essential, and we can harvest and develop these resources. It isn't about how much money we make. Britannia doesn't need to become a rich empire."
"It's about not letting our people waste their lives. We must keep them moving—working, building."
Agravain had already prepared a clear plan.
Evidently, over the past month and a half—nearly two months—he had been seriously considering every aspect.
Arthur nodded. "Good. Agravain, handle it. If you need anything, allocate it directly."
Agravain continued, "Lastly—Sir Tom's sea bridge and underwater passage."
"According to his estimate, the sea bridge can be fully completed within three years."
"As for the underwater passage—from design to experimentation and implementation—it will require at least ten years."
Arthur calmly measured the timeline. "Have my sister take a look. If it's feasible, we'll try. If not—time is not something we lack."
"Next—there have been attacks and probes from various pirate crews."
"In total… in the past half month, there have been approximately 382 assaults."
"…"
Arthur went a little blank.
How many pirates were there in the New World? Even Arthur couldn't say. It was like fish crossing a river—too many to count.
But 382 attacks in half a month?
Someone was clearly pushing others to test them.
Still—wasn't that number absurd?
Arthur frowned slightly. "That's… a bit too many. What about casualties?"
Agravain replied, "Mother was harassed again and again until she grew impatient. In the end—if not for my persuasion, she would have gone out and started slaughtering them personally."
"Mm." Arthur nodded. That was understandable.
His "big sister"—
Morgan le Fay Pendragon.
Arthur knew her well. She was, in essence, a shut-in. A mage who could stay home all year researching spells—creating life, plotting how to stab her little brother in the back—rarely leaving her room.
If she went out for three to five days in a year, that was already a miracle. Sometimes she wouldn't even do that.
So if you forced that kind of person to go outside every single day to deal with troublemakers?
She would absolutely explode.
Arthur asked, "So what happened after that?"
Because once his sister's temper flared, it wasn't so easily stopped.
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