Steel and Mana

Chapter 80 – Leon’s Dream

I was visiting Dorian's workshop and checking on the last order of attires for the new recruits that they would wear for the winter. Their training included cleaning the streets and roads, even those that were leading out of my territory, so my caravans could run back and forth between Elliot and me, even in the winter. Since building those 'highways,' the traveling time back and forth between Lothlia and Avalon was cut down by days.

"Very nice..." I murmured, examining the undercoat of the pants and jackets while most of the staff were looking at me, barely managing to work, which, honestly speaking, I was still not used to. No matter where I went, it always happened, as if I was some kind of celebrity. It was... weird. Nobody approached us, thanks to the two guards I had with me at all times, so I could concentrate on what I came for. "I will tell the drill sergeants that if anyone complains again, just work them harder."

"The wool we produce should keep them warm, no matter the weather, My Lord!" He nodded proudly, being the owner of a 'factory' employing around 100 people. Well, I was employing them and ran the factory, but I let him direct it, and he was good at it. Very good.

"How long until we equip the whole army with multiple sets?"

"Should be accomplished by the middle of next year. The only thing that limits us is the quantity of the wool. We can't make them if we run out of resources... If we limit how much the public sector can buy..."

"No. That is good. I don't want to take it away from the people when they finally got courageous enough to open up their own shops, lease the required machinery, and form guilds."

"Understood. The winter clothing is mostly all finished; we will begin manufacturing the summer clothes for the 4,000 soldiers in service, starting with the officers' garbs."

"I am more than satisfied, Dorian!" I exhaled, patting his shoulders, "I will inform Merlin that from next year on, you will get your full citizenship in your Red Book. He will come and issue you and your family your new ones. Consider your old records being wiped clean!"

"It is my honor, Sovereign!" He bowed, his eyes shining as if he were a child again, wiping the tears from its edges.

The Red Book. By now, every citizen had it, and it was mandatory. Losing it or forgetting to keep it with you would result in heavy fines and punishments. It was my way of proper identification, a mix of a passport and an ID. We recorded everyone's name, birth date, address, and, finally, their fingerprints. Those who had the Red Book could open up businesses, apply for special deals, or register for a higher education that, depending on their performance, would be either paid or completely free.

Dorian's, for now, explicitly stated that his citizenship was still pending, so they were very limited in what they could buy or do in the city. Still, he and his family never complained and integrated into the life of Avalon surprisingly well. More than that, Merlin was singing praises of his son, attending school, and how creative he is, being one of the best with numbers in his class. That is a talent I want to cultivate...

"You have earned it. I will be glad if you remain as the director, or you can pass it down and open up your own-"

"I'd like to stay!" He answered quickly, and before I could even mention the other options. "I am satisfied, My Lord. I had time to reevaluate my life, and I came to the conclusion that this is fine. I am being valued and paid well and can have free time for myself. While I was running my own workshop and doing the trading, I barely had time for my family. This type of peace that I had in the past years is something I don't want to give up. I am happy with what I have and don't need more!"

"That is commendable." I whispered, nodding at him because he wasn't lying; I could see the truth in his eyes.

"There is another thing, My Lord... It is unfinished, but I wanted you to see it and give me your feedback!"

"Oh? Is it something to do with the CC strands you asked for?"

"Yes!" He nodded like a chicken picking up seeds, leading me to a different room where, on a table, a vest was prepared for my arrival. Its design followed the drawings I showed Dorian about my previous life's vests that the special forces had in the army. It was slick-looking, even if a bit unrefined, and clearly nothing but a prototype with its rough edges and hasty sewing marks. It covered only the torso, leaving the neck, stomach, and arms open, but it was by design. This was only one piece of a future set, as the rest were still only present on the drawing board.

"Not bad... it looks similar to what I have shown you."

"I used My Lord's design, yes, but I made some modifications to make inserting future plates into the... um, the carrier, yes, much easier."

"Impressive, let me see... oh? It isn't that heavy!" I exclaimed after lifting it up, weighing the mostly leather armor, checking the pockets on the inside where pre-shaped metal plates would be slotted in, creating a mix between modern and medieval-body armor.

"I had an idea, My Lord, that is why I asked for the longest strands we had! Turn it over!" When I did so, there was a line of CC strands on its back, running down vertically, where one's spine would be.

"Is it reactive?" I asked, and he produced the fist-sized, charged CC he had for testing. The moment he brought it close, the vest in my hand suddenly lost its full weight, making my brows jump up. "You mad lad!" I laughed, letting it go and watching it float in mid-air before the 'power' ran out of it and it fell to the ground.

"We looped two strands of CC within it before sewing the correct formation into the inner side. That part was very hard..." He whispered, picking it up with pride oozing from his gaze, caressing the vest, "Took me two months, working on the formation every day. But it is functioning! The duration is around," he continued, taking out his own watch, looking at it, "two minutes. But that is when pushing it. We didn't have the chance to test it with either Lady Sasha or Lord Merlin, but I hope to do so soon."

"I will inform them; this must be tested thoroughly!" I murmured, "It has potential. More than I could list in one go... Implementing it the way you did is why you are the director of this place! I want the full documentation of the build process as soon as possible."

"It will be sent to you, My Lord!"

Although plate armor was still superior and cool-looking, most of our soldiers wore either chainmail or leather workings. With our now multiple mines and their outputs, I could equip my soldiers in plate armor, but I would sacrifice their mobility. With this, I could design a modular armor system and, by tweaking the formation, maybe make it feel like they were wearing nothing when going into battle.

"Haaaahhh..."

"What is it, My Lord?" He asked, looking at me, getting worried.

"CC. We opened four new mines, expanded the oldest one, and we are swimming in ore. So much so that we can't sell them all, or it would raise alarms and suspicion towards us, especially within the royal government. Last year, I even slightly raised the tithe I sent to the capital, explaining to their ministers that I am 'innovating' and making sure the Frontier places less burden on the other regions. To stop siphoning away their resources to equip my soldiers guarding the Pass. Yet..."

"You never found a CC mine." He nodded, knowing full well that I had been grumbling about it for the past year.

"I have so many ideas... I just lack the main resource."

I was moaning, once again, because it was the truth. We created the first machinery powered by magic in the summer and introduced it to our deepest iron mine. It was like a steam engine, but the fire came from a magic formation instead of burning coal, wood, or something similar. With it, we also revealed the first modern mining carts. Because the machine could go on for long, extended periods and function with the same intensity, it accelerated the output while also lowering the strain on the workers and remaining clean to boot. No matter how deep we dug, it could easily drag out tons of ore.

Like the formation inside the water-purifying system, it could operate for a whole year before the CC within needed changing, so for now, we are good to go... Damn it. I would sell all my gold in a heartbeat for something even bigger! With the knowledge of how to charge CC, I want to use a big one. I want a human-sized CC...

The reason for this was hidden in my study. Arriving back home, I couldn't help but sit down, and while Luna was preparing coffee for me, I pulled out my personal notebook, opened it, and reread my blueprints for the hundredth time. Sasha and I were combing through multiple spells and runes, just spitballing ideas back and forth when everyone else was sleeping, causing us to stay up all night. Because she knew my whole story, she could understand the machines I was telling her about and help me go back and forth, expanding on my ideas.

"The 'Big Human' plan again, Master?" Luna chuckled, watching the drawings before me.

"It is called a mech." I shrugged, stroking the lines with a child-like ambition in my eyes. "It is the dream of mine! Don't laugh, or I will bully you!" I added with a snort, pinching her butt.

"How would that thing even move? Making one would use up all our iron, and it would be too heavy to stand still!"

"I know!" I moaned, raising my cup, taking a sip, and flipping the pages. "We have it worked out on paper though..."

"Sasha even mumbles about it in her sleep." She giggled, rolling her eyes, wholly uninterested in the project, thinking it sounded ridiculous.

"The weight would be kept in check with magic formations." I continued explaining, ignoring that she wasn't listening but going back to the couch and lying down to read Merlin's newest book in print, The Heroes of Avalon, released this winter.

"Magic is cool..." She mumbled, but not because of what I was saying.

"It is! With that, the mech could ignore its weight, and it only has to deal with the CC used in its creation. With Merlin's help, we designed a way to use CC strands to run them from formation to formation, connecting them in a complete system and allowing the machine to move around. Although its joints still need live testing and work... Anyway, that boy instantly fell in love with the concept ehehe... What can I say? We love robots!"

"Uhum..."

"For now, we are stuck with how to control it...?" I mumbled, flipping more pages, "Via controlling formations? Or make it into a wearable-type?"

"Hmmm..."

"We would have to build it first and begin experimenting, then we can find the optimum and go from there... haahhh... I WANT TO BUILD ONE!"

"Yeah..."

"You are not listening to me, huh?" I stood up, looking at her lying on her stomach, kicking her legs around while immersed in her book.

"Naaah..."

"You little!" With an evil smirk, I just walked over, flipping her skirt and slapping that white, round bottom she had, forcing a thin squeak out from her lips. I wasn't surprised she didn't stop reading or began protesting... Little masochist. "Bad Luna!" I slapped it again, watching it jiggle.

"Master, I am reading; please don't disturb me!" She said calmly, but I could see her ears go pink.

"Then read, don't mind me, I am just disciplining my cheeky maid's plump little cheeks! You became really soft, you know!"

She became really good at acting, the little pervert. She didn't even flinch when I continued spanking her, acting as if she was reading and ignoring me, yet her white panties were turning transparent between her thighs. But... she couldn't hold the act together after I mounted her from behind. She finally buried her face in the book, trying to stifle her moaning, but she only managed to drool all over the pages.

Because it was still the middle of the day, and soon I was expected to meet with Sasha and visit my parents in the old castle, I was maybe a bit rougher and more forceful than usual, finishing quickly. After our quickie, standing up and beginning to fix myself, Luna remained lying there, gasping for air and turning her head to the side to look at me.

"I'm not going... I'm full... Wanna sleep..."

"Still cheeky, eh? Sure, you can stay and laze around..." I whispered, leaning down and giving her a kiss. "We will be back tomorrow. Lucky you! I know you just want to avoid my mother."

"Ehehe..."

I could understand her. I also felt like not going the moment I remembered that she would. You just can't be prepared to be stared at, her asking how many times we try for a grandson. Per day. Even my father began feeling bad about it... but, maybe, this time, her sharp senses can confirm my thoughts. Maybe my first wife was not feeling off from time to time because of the signs of being sick but because her body was adjusting to nurture the new life she was carrying around.

I really hoped so!