When I''d received a report from Dorahachi that the students hadn''t returned, I hurriedly began the search. Only around midnight was I able to confirm their safety. Apparently, they''d been exploring Kurik without my permission.


    To be honest, it chilled my guts. They seemed to have found a strange door in the depths of the 4th floor, got sucked into it, and been temporarily transferred to the Tower of Deceit.


    Tower of Deceit was a zone so vicious that even my current self would lose his life if I didn''t put up a defense. Fortunately, the chance encounter with monsters was lower this time, so it was a relief.


    However, I couldn''t make head or tail out of how the students coulde back, even after listening to their exnations. Well, it should be a terrifying memory, though, so it was understandable.


    Anyway, I believed they coulde back safely with nothing more than luck. For the time being, all students were banned from exploring Kurik, unless they were apanied by a guardian.


    Meanwhile, I was still dealing with the Maguire family. White luminous worms were crucial for the family''s industry, but there were more important matters to deal with than this. It was about the reformation of agriculture. The new industry, at best, was only to increase the productivity of the territory, and it was quite natural.


    Unlike Toto vige, the Maguire family had surplus power, and the farmers themselves weren''t in dire straits. Consequently, it was tough to persuade them, but thanks to the Toto vige chief and the words of wealthy merchants introduced by Grace, they finally consented.


    Right now, a council was conducted to discuss the future development of the territory, attended by the retainers of the Maguire family and the chief of all viges and towns.


    "Hey, what is the purpose of constructing a sewer system?"


    A pink-haired girl with sparkling eyes, who was sitting in the front row, raised her hand and asked.


    She was Yui Maguire. My cousin. Apparently, thinking that the territory was still in crisis, she demanded to participate in the council too. Despite being a girl, she was someone who would lead thisnd in the future. So, she had enough qualifications to take part in the discussion. Besides, there was still an anachronism that women couldn''t participate in management. For these two reasons, I agreed to let her join the council.


    "Many contagious diseases, like korori, cause excretion. It creates an outbreak, which can actually be easily prevented just by dealing with it appropriately."


    A cheer rose up from the attendees.


    At first, these people hadn''t listened to my childish talk, and showed their half-convinced expressions instead. However, it all changedpletely after I invited trusted members of the Maguire family, like Dimer and Bart, and the chief representative of viges and towns to stay for a few days in Camelot, the capital of Radol. Since then, no one had doubted my words.


    By the way, "korori" was the world''s name for what we call cholera on Earth.


    "Hmm. Does it have any rtion with the fact that toilets in Camelot were clean?"


    "Yes, in Camelot, fecal matter collected from the toilets of each household is sent to a certain facility via a sewage pipe running underground. After being purified and cleaned there, it is flushed into nearby rivers."


    Many residents still drank river water. We couldn''t just flush feces and urea into rivers. Therefore, I used a motor to collect the excretion to sewage pipes and secure it in one ce, where it was cleaned by activating sludge and sterilized, before discharging it into nearby rivers.


    All of this wasrgely due to the establishment of generator manufacture and the sessful development of motors to power the established steam engines.


    However, even in my territory of Radol, only two major cities, Camelot and Arkroy, had sewage technology. It would probably take a long time before they could be widely used in this territory as well.


    "Then, then, does it mean it will not be necessary to deal with waste in each home like Camelot?"


    "Yeah, for that, I assure you. Even so, that''s a future talk for now. Right now, we''re going to try to install the system only in public facilities on an experimental basis."


    First of all, the Maguire household didn''t have enough capital to turn this territory into something like Camelot. I was a merchant. I wasn''t a bit interested in charitable work. Even if it was my rtive''s territory, it would be too much for me to provide the funds. Besides, to begin with, it would not make any sense if I did all the work.


    "Then, the next is about the research of white luminous worms. I am thinking of improving the original facilities in Shirokane vige for research and development. But, since the worms and the threads they produce are poisonous, the construction of this facility and the research guidelines will be taken over by mypany. Is that okay?"


    "It''s fine. Either way, we can''t handle it."


    On behalf of everyone, Dimer replied. The poisonous white luminous worms had to be examined from the ground up, which was not something that could be easily achieved.


    That''s right. For now, we should push forward with agriculture and generalmerce, where short-term profits could be expected.


    "So, let''s start with establishing the infrastructure."


    I began exining the specific n for the territory development.


    An aromatic and sweet fragrance tickled my nose when I returned to the Maguire mansion, where I was currently sleeping apart from the main building as it was being used as a meeting room.


    Around six months after staying in this residence, I''d brought a cake specially made by Sagami Co., and my mother loved it so much that she wanted to learn how to make it. So I asked thepany confectioner to teach her.


    Since then, she had been making it in her spare time. There was a very understandable reason for this.


    As expected, the three proud mascots of Sagami Co. were sitting on each seat around the table with a fork in their hand today too.


    "Here, Dora-chan and the others, you can eat."


    "Ohh!"


    "Yay!"


    "Yeah!"


    When Yui saw Dorahachi, Sheena, and Haku waving their fork cheerfully, her face lit up. She rushed forward to rub her cheeks with them.


    "Cute! So cute!"


    Yui''s face was dyed with ecstasy as she rained down kisses on Dorahachi''s cheeks, making it a bit difficult to eat. But, she might not be that displeased, judging from how she didn''t reject much.


    In this regard, I ordered Dorahachi to guard this ce along with Hatch, who had been guarding my mother. Unexpectedly, she immediately grabbed the women''s hearts instead and became very popr.


    It seemed that guarding was only in names as the three of them only yed together during the day and slept in the mansion throughout the night everyday, but I guess it was fine since they were kids.


    "Mother, I am going back to the academy."


    "Be careful. Also, make sure to show your face here once a week without fail."


    Running up to me, she gave me a hug and a gentle pat on the back of my head.


    "Okay, I promise."


    At first, my mother had been firmly against me leaving this ce. Even after listening to my exnation that I must return to the academy, she''d insisted oning along with me.


    It wasn''t like I hated living with my mother. But, it was just that if we lived together, she might soon realize that I wasn''t just a student there and became even more worried. Besides, my mother wasn''t someone who could lie. If she were toe face to face with Cliff, my true identity would pretty much turn into a known fact. That would not be good for anything.


    In the end, I told her about the teleportation ability and somehow managed to convince her that I would stay in the mansion at least once a week.


    "As much as possible, I wille home."


    For the time being, I had to manage this territory. As long as I wasn''t too busy, I''d try to show up once every three days. After bowing to Dimer and Bart, I invoked the teleportation to my room in Straheim.