While it may have seemed mundane, simply leveling the ground was by no means a waste for developing the region. The ideal next step would be to rush-build a pier so boats could come and go. Even if it was a simple construction, it would allow people and materials to be brought in by sea and improve efficiency by no small amount.
However, even a slight amount of consideration led one to the conclusion that building a pier in a natural bay was not something that just anyone would be capable of. It required dependable, knowledgeable craftsmen to make it a reality. It was easy to imagine how much such simple and harsh conditions would increase labor costs. Forcing skilled laborers to work with very little in the way of facilities would not be cheap.
Conversely, preparing the land and laying foundations was possible with people who had a modicum of strength and health, outside of a small number of supervisors. Such people could be hired in droves for relatively little money. Turning the coast into a port was so tightly intertwined with the budget they had available.
“If we could hire people capable of casting earth manipulation, things would be a lot more efficient,” Zenjirou pointed out.
“If we had the budget for that, we could have started with the pier to begin with,” Freya replied with a pout. It went without saying that people capable of using the spell on a decent area would cost even more than the specialists to build the pier.
“True enough,” was the only response he could give her.
“While the budget may be under Her Majesty’s control, the plan is mine alone. If I could secure funds of my own, the situation would change,” she said, almost to herself.
Freya had nearly unprecedented levels of freedom for a woman in this world. Those freedoms also included a certain level of economic activity. The duchess had the right to the money from the royal family—not only to spend it, but to invest the funds and use them as she wished.
“A seed to grow your business,” Zenjirou mused, hearing her words.
While not to the same extent as him—since she was at least from this world—Freya was from distant lands and was also the product of a significantly different culture. There were likely things she knew or had experienced that were completely unknown on the Southern Continent—or even if known, not the norm. There might be some piece of knowledge within those experiences that could be used to gain her funds.
“Uppasala is advanced even on the Northern Continent, so if we can cultivate that technology here, it could fund the project,” he said to her.
Freya looked up at the sky in thought. “Technology that could earn funds? We have brought people fairly skilled in those things, but the majority were snapped up by the Capuan royal family,” she replied.
That was an obvious action for Aura to take. While Freya had married Zenjirou and become part of the royal family, she was unlikely to dedicate her loyalty solely to her new home. Granting her the title of duchess and the uninhabited coastal land to go along with it, and then allowing the engineers with more advanced techniques to report directly to her on top of it would essentially be allowing the formation of a sovereign state within the country’s borders.
Aura’s plans would be to take the foreign elements from Freya’s people and slowly absorb and digest them, turning them into nourishment for Capua. They could not be allowed to remain alien to the country forever.
Freya understood the logic, but she was not so selfless that she’d just follow the plan without question. There was a decent pause before she spoke up. “Would it be possible to personally hire Uppasalans as part of the Capuan royal family?” she asked.
Zenjirou considered what he knew of the country’s laws as he answered. “Hmm, there shouldn’t be a problem with that. It would need one of us to transport them through teleportation, though, so the decision would depend on Aura’s feelings.”
Freya faltered briefly at the end of his answer, but she soon rallied. “Perfect. I won’t lose this time.”
Seeing her decisiveness, Zenjirou wondered if there was some way he could help. Freya’s work finishing would, in itself, not be a detriment to either the country or royal family as a whole. The Northern Continent was more advanced than the South outside of magic. That was an irrefutable fact. While shipbuilding and smithing were the first things to come to mind, Capua was already directly importing such skills that directly impacted military matters.
In turn, the areas that Freya could personally import skill in would be different from that. To put it bluntly, they would be things that Aura could overlook.
He considered what he had seen on the Northern Continent that had made the biggest impact on him. The ships, metalworking, glass, candles, lace, clothing, and accessories... As his thoughts reached that point, he cast his eyes to the clothes Freya was wearing. They were horse riding clothes from the Northern Continent, consisting of a white shirt under a brown vest. The white was particularly noticeable in the sunlight.
“I just had a thought. They had a big lace industry in the commonwealth. Does Uppasala have the same?” he asked.
Freya tilted her head in slight concern, not quite understanding where he was going with his questioning. “Lace? We do make some, but not as much as the commonwealth. Besides, while it is a luxury good, getting enough with a minimal number of workers would be difficult, so it would have little return.”
Zenjirou shook his head. “We do something similar to making the actual cloth in Capua. The important thing isn’t the final product, but the thread used to make it.”
“The...thread?” she asked, blinking her blue eyes at him in confusion.
“Yeah, the thread. The Northern Continent’s thread is far whiter than what you find here. So if you can let those skills spread, they might be useful.”
Freya still wasn’t entirely on board. “Pardon me, but I don’t see that much of a difference.”
It had been several years since she had first come to Capua. She’d had the opportunity to see a lot of Capua’s clothing, and she didn’t have a particular impression of white cloth there being “less white” than she was used to.
“Are you sure that’s not because you’re comparing the thread and fabric you see in both of the palaces? The fabric you see in the palace, particularly whatever the royal family uses, would be the cream of the crop, chosen for being as white as possible. The fabric for more general use, though, is far whiter on the Northern Continent. Part of it might be due to a difference in materials, but if there’s a difference in the cleaning and bleaching, it might be useful.”
“I see...” Freya mused, considering it seriously. “That seems worth looking into. If you’re right, then this is an excellent chance.”
“Yeah. You’d still need to get Aura’s permission in the end, though.”
Despite her initial flinch at his final statement, she immediately clenched her fist and spoke up. “Urk. I-I won’t lose!”
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