His wife personally cooked and prepared a warm and sumptuous dinner for everyone. It was not very delicious, but it was warm and heartwarming.
As Claude had spent the entire day in Normanley's manor, he didn't have time to buy some books from the bookstore. Manrique decided to stay for another day and bring Claude and Lonkedo around the royal capital before going to the bookstore in the commercial district. After dinner, they would head back to the military academy. That way, they would arrive in the middle of the day and wouldn't miss any official business.
That was why Claude and Manrique returned to the academy on the morning of the third day. Poor Loncordo, who had been riding in front with the coachman all night, was as cold as a quail.
Manrique generously waved him back to his dormitory and found another coachman to send Claude to Nathalie's house.
When they arrived, the coachman helped Claude move a large box of books into his room before driving the carriage back to the military academy.
Claude brought a large bag into the courtyard and greeted Nathalie. He gave her the note written by her precious son and told her about Phaedra's condition before telling her not to disturb him during the day. He wanted to get a good sleep.
Even though Claude and Manrique managed to sleep in the carriage after rushing through the night, they didn't sleep too well since it was a carriage, after all.
That was why he was mentally exhausted and needed a good rest.
He didn't wake up until three in the afternoon. He left the room and went to the kitchen to boil some hot water for a bath.
Doris was the only one in the kitchen. The moment he saw her, he was reminded of what happened that night and felt rather awkward.
Doris blushed a little, but she pretended not to mind and asked Claude if he needed anything.
Knowing that Claude wanted to boil water for a bath, she enthusiastically offered to help. So, Claude went to get some water and sent it to the kitchen.
Doris, on the other hand, used a clean copper pot to boil water and had Claude pour it into the water tank outside the room.
After a long while, Claude could finally enjoy a hot bath. However, there was only a shower head in the bathroom and no bathtub. Claude was rather disappointed. He really wanted to take a bath.
After his bath, Claude remembered that Halbena had taken his clothes to wash and hadn't brought them back. Even though he had changed into a new set of underwear, he didn't have anything else to change into.
Claude had no choice but to open the window and ask for Doris's help. He shouldn't have soaked his uniform in the tub when he was bathing. Otherwise, he could have put it on first.
Doris, on the other hand, heard Claude's call and went upstairs to fetch the clothes he washed last time. They were folded neatly and the uniform was even ironed. That made Claude feel that the three riyases he spent every month was worth it.
Claude wanted to thank Doris for her help, so he gave her an egg roll he bought from the royal capital as a gift.
Doris didn't think that Claude would actually give her a gift. She seemed rather flustered and embarrassed. After a long while of dodging, Claude put the gift in front of her and left the kitchen.
What he didn't expect was to see Zahirak standing at the entrance of the yard with a dark expression. "What are you doing?"
What am I doing?
I didn't do anything, nor did I want to do anything.
What do you mean by that?
Claude was rather flustered and didn't know how to respond.
Zahirak didn't bother with the dumbfounded Claude and stormed into the kitchen. He looked Doris up and down and didn't find anything wrong with her clothes. Only then did he ask, "What's this kid trying to do in the kitchen?"
"Ah, he just came to thank me," said Doris.
"Thank you? Why would he thank you?" The old man seemed rather paranoid.
It was only then that Claude noticed that the egg roll he put in front of Doris was gone. He was rather annoyed at the old man's suspicious attitude. "Hey, what's the meaning of this?
I wanted to take a bath just now and she was the one who helped me boil some water. I didn't even get my clothes back after I took a bath and she was the one who went upstairs to bring them to me. Now that I'm going to the military academy, can't I just thank her? "
Doris nodded, indicating that Claude was right.
The old man was annoyed, but he was too embarrassed to apologize, so he just snorted and went upstairs.
Damn it, you old man. Claude was rather angry. I went to the royal capital two days ago to bring a huge package for your precious son and even spent so much money on the carriage. I didn't think that you'd turn on me the moment I came back and say a few words to your daughter-in-law. You're even suspecting me of hitting on your daughter-in-law. What kind of person is this? Fine, just you wait, old man …
Doris, on the other hand, said, "Are you alright? That's how my father-in-law is. Since my husband isn't home, he cares a lot about other men interacting with me."
Claude replied with a dark expression, "I'm fine. I'm going to the military academy now."
Since he came in a carriage in the morning, he had to walk to the academy.
It wasn't too far anyway. It would only take him half an hour to walk. In other words, it would only take him about ten minutes on horseback from one end of the village to the other.
The road was a little wet. The village roads were made up of rocks and were rather flat, which was much better than the other villages.
Many of the roads in the village were made of dirt and would turn into mud puddles when the ice melted in February. During the rainy season in March, they would turn into small puddles that were impossible to walk on.
Claude slowly walked along the village road towards the military academy. Carlaiben Village was huge and the houses of the villagers weren't built together. Instead, they were spread out. Between the houses were small vegetable gardens and gardens. Flowers were also one of the specialties of Carlaiben Village.
It didn't take long for Claude to reach a large empty plot of land in the village. It had already been bought by a few merchants and they were going to build the first tavern in Kleben Village there. It was obvious that the merchants were targeting the cadets. Compared to the villagers, the cadets were more willing to spend their salaries and allowances in taverns.
At that moment, Claude was called by someone. He turned around and realized that the person who called him was rather familiar. But when he saw the fake wooden leg, he remembered that the person who called him was the chief of Kleben Village, Nathalie's eldest son. His name seemed to be Chenova.
The chief was very polite. He wore a faded military uniform without any epaulets. It was likely that he brought it back when he was disabled.
Since he was a citizen and a retired soldier, it was fine for him to wear an old uniform, but he wasn't allowed to wear any official epaulets.
That was a completely different treatment for soldiers and officers of the kingdom. If Claude retired with the rank of major, he could wear an official major epaulet for his daily social activities.
The chief was curious as to why Claude was walking instead of riding a horse. He also wanted to know if Claude was used to staying at his parents' place.
Claude gave a simple explanation and said that Natalie was very hospitable. However, he didn't understand why his father, Zahirak, seemed to be so unwelcoming towards him.
Chenova smiled bitterly and apologized on his father's behalf.
He told Claude the reason. His father didn't like the idea of a military academy in the village and felt that it would disrupt the peaceful lives of the villagers.
On the other hand, Chenova strongly supported the establishment of a military academy in the village, believing that it would bring about drastic changes to the village and change its poor image.
"Sir Claude, Kalaiben Village is quite far from the royal capital and is the farthest village. Even though it's under the jurisdiction of the royal capital, it doesn't have much of an impact on the village.
For example, the fresh flowers from our village are often not delivered to the royal capital in time for their freshness. As a result, the prices are kept so low that it's not worth it to grow them.
The villagers might as well go to the mountains to pick some mountain products and sell them in the sun to earn a few coppers. "
Chenova was a man who had seen much of the world. When he first joined the army, he joined the marines and followed the kingdom's Fearless fleet to Nubissia and was stationed in many places.
However, after eleven years in the army, he wanted to make a name for himself. After receiving officer training, he was transferred to a local army in Nubissia. Unfortunately, he was shot by a poisoned arrow while suppressing a native riot. The herbalist amputated his left leg in order to save his life and he was discharged from the army due to his disability.
Chenova learned how to read and write in the army, which was much better than his semi-illiterate father.
When he returned home, the first thing he did was marry a wife, but due to his status as a citizen, he was appointed as the chief of Kalaiben Village. He had a conflict with his father, who was originally the chief, and had no choice but to split from the family and build another house in the village.
Regarding the conflict between him and his father, the old man Zahirak, Chenova had simply mentioned that it was just that they had different viewpoints.
Zahirak wasn't a person who liked to meddle in other people's affairs. Apart from collecting taxes or conscripting soldiers, he wasn't willing to interact with the villagers and preferred to live his life behind closed doors.
Back then, Chenova had just been appointed as the chief and was filled with ambition. He hoped to gather the strength of the entire village to change the impoverished state of Kalaiben Village, which was something his father was most opposed to.
Zahirak believed that it was none of his business whether the villagers were doing well or not. Rather than finding a way to get rich, he would rather enjoy it for himself.
It could be said that Zahirak was an extremely selfish and narrow-minded villager who only cared about his own land. He wouldn't care about anything else even if the sky were to fall.
Chenova, who had been a soldier for more than a decade, knew very well that many ways to get rich weren't something his family could monopolize. Instead, it was a matter of scale.
Just like the Nubissia continent he had been to, a town or village would often become famous because of some special product, which would lead to the prosperity of the entire village. This would then affect the surrounding areas and create even more opportunities to get rich.
It was because of this that he strongly supported the military academy being established in Kalaiben Village. This might bring about a great change to the peaceful lives of the villagers, allowing them to no longer be content with being poor.
At the same time, it would also bring him great benefits. For example, if Kalaiben Village was able to develop, he would have a political achievement as the chief.
On top of that, there would also be great economic benefits. For example, he had invested in the tavern that was about to be built.
But what troubled him the most was how he could change the economic situation of Kalaiben Village and find a way for most of the villagers to benefit from it. That way, he would be able to form a collective effect in the village.
Fresh flowers were a specialty of the village and their shelf life was too short. The villagers didn't have a lot of mountain produce either. They had to slowly collect them before they could sell them. The scale of production was too small.
The only other crops they could grow were oats and potatoes. They didn't have any local specialties.
After chatting with him for a while, Claude prepared to leave, but he stopped after a few steps. After some consideration, he decided to tell Chenova that there was actually a type of cash crop that could satisfy his needs. Claude also felt that half of Kalaiben Village's hilly terrain was suitable for growing it.
However, it was rather expensive and he wasn't sure if Chenova had the courage and confidence to grow it.
Chenova stopped Claude and asked what that cash crop was.
Claude simply said, "Tobacco."
Chenova came to a sudden realization and raised his palm to slap himself.
He knew that tobacco was a specialty of Nubissia. It wasn't as if he hadn't tried tobacco back when he was stationed in Nubissia.
Tobacco was a luxury on Freia, but on Nubissia, it was used as a common medicinal ingredient. He had only given up the habit after returning to Nubissia because it was too expensive.
Perhaps it was due to how common tobacco was on Nubissia that even the major merchants who monopolized the supply of tobacco on Freia didn't think of growing tobacco on Freia.
All they had to do was transport the tobacco from Nubissia back to Nubissia and they would be able to multiply the price. It was a simple and profitable business, so there was no need for them to grow it elsewhere.
Claude only thought of growing tobacco when he saw some tobacco seeds being sold in the commercial district of the royal capital.
If Chenova listened to his words and really planted tobacco in Kleben Village on a large scale, then the price of tobacco in the kingdom would definitely plummet. It might even attract a blow from the big trading companies.
However, Claude believed that Chenova would understand the risks involved. If he insisted on growing tobacco, he would be able to deal with the merchants who monopolized the trade.
After bidding farewell to Chenova, Claude went to the military academy. Manrique told him that the seminar would begin the day after tomorrow and that all the participating officers had already arrived at the academy.
At half past eight the next morning, General Michaelic Priest would be the head instructor of the seminar and would be in charge of the topics and topics to be discussed.
"Do I need to make any preparations?" Claude asked.
Manrique gave it some thought and shook his head. "You were personally selected by General Michaelic to participate in the seminar. I don't know what you should prepare, so we'll see when the time comes.
However, I think it's best if you bring a pen and notebook with you. You can take notes when the other officers are speaking. That might give them a better impression.
It can't be helped. You're the lowest-ranked captain. You should leave a good impression in front of the field officers. "