「Just in time to study. Let’s bring out our textbooks」
「Eeh? We just arrived you know. Let’s take a bit of a break」
「No. Studying is also an important part of daily training. That’s what makes the difference」
「Calm down, Lina-chan. Sophie-oneesama’s coming over to teach so why not use her help」
「Well, if Alec says so, I’ll listen」
Just as I was thinking about taking break before dinner, but Sophie-oneesama came over and saw Lina-chan accompanying me. Apparently, she didn’t come over to play but to study. The teacher is of course, Sophie-oneesama.
When Sophie-oneesama found out that Nasha-chan’s been entrusted to negotiate with the dwarves, she offered to support her. She’s supposed to be busy as she’s on her sixth year, but she immediately got here after making arrangements.
Well, she’s been studying on her six years in various ranges so her written grades seem fine.
By the way, you take seven years studying at the Upper Dragon Academy.
Discipline for the first year. Disciplining selfish Kiryu children, teaching them group behavior, giving them the luxuries to adapt them to the society.
For the second and third year, you’re given additional studies within the kingdom.
For the second year, you study the central area, including the academy city and the royal capital.
For your third year, you’re taught about the four provinces and the threats around the kingdom. Well, we came to the northern land before we could study at school.
「–The great mines of the north. The kingdom extends to the foot of the mountain. The surface of the big mine and the north of it is a deadly world blowing ice and snow」
Sophie-oneesama teaches us on behalf of the teacher, pointing at the map of the empire shown in the textbook.
「The kingdom will not expand from the great mines here. The knights aren’t allowed to reclaim it either. Do you know why?」
Sophie-oneesama asks, but I know the answer.
「Do you know, Lina-chan?」
「….Because the monsters are too strong?」
「Wrong. A Kiryu who’s an excellent lord will not falter even monsters appear」
It seems like the monsters on the north don’t pose that much of a threat. Most of the damage comes from the West and South monsters.
「If the monsters are weak, why is it not easy to reclaim?」
Hearing the monsters are weak, Lina-chan is curious why are they not developing the area.
Fourteen. She’s only been in school for two years. Well, it’s hard for Lina-chan to figure it out.
「Lina-chan, you see… It’s too cold in the north. That’s the reason why there’s no progress in development and nobody’s coming」
「Yes. Cold. That’s the biggest proble. That’s why there’s a limit in the northern kingdom」
「Cold?」
Lina-chan’s confused, but the biggest reason for this is the dragon’s cheat.
In fact, the those with blood of dragons such as Kiryu and Zatsuryu are extremely resistant to heat and cold.
Of course, if you get hit by flames or ice made of magic, you get burned, or frozen, but the heat and cold air are bearable.
「Lina-chan may not be bothered by the heat or cold, but normal people can’t live in a place that’s too cold. If you bring residents to a cold field stretching the north of the great mine, they’ll freeze and die, so no further development is allowed.
「Eh? They die from cold?」
「Yes, they die. And quickly too」
「….To think that normal people die that easily」
Lina-chan’s shocked, are the Kiryu and Zatsuryu just too much, or maybe the ordinary people are too brittle? Which one is it?
If there were people living in the northern islands I feel like they could be taught how to live and adapt to it, but there’s none.
「Even if you have a territory, people can’t survive there. Without humans, there won’t be any taxes. There’s no point in defending a territory if you can’t tax them. So, the kingdom gave up on taking the north. Do you get it, Lina?」
「Oh, I see. So, a lord makes money from their territory, and they don’t want a territory where they can’t make money」
Lina-chan also figured it out from Sophie-oneesama’s explanation
Territorial management is a job. The lord protects the territory to get tax, but he can’t tax a place where people freeze to death. That’s why nobody’s taking the northern lands.
Also, there’s a settlement of dwarves underground the great mind of the northern lands.
The dwarves also seem to be a quirky race. Nasha-chan and the group will be negotiating with them, but I’m looking forward to seeing what real dwarves are like.