Of course the Rockwell Kingdom was short of funds right now, it had just experienced an enormous crisis with hundreds of millions of Gold Coins lost, hundreds of thousands of civilians displaced, and tens of thousands of citizens killed.

Lucas knew better than anyone the scope and scale of the cost, as almost all official figures were the result of his own reports and calculations.

Even the mass-evacuation that took place in the South-West Province was Lucas’ brain-child.

The young boy had always known that spending so much money would have a negative effect on other parts of the kingdom, he just didn’t expect to run into such a large one the moment he arrived in the South-East Province.

Feeling somewhat guilty, though his logical mind kept telling him it wasn’t his fault, Lucas forced out a wry smile and said, "There are a few ways my Master and I might be able to assist with the financing issue... but it may take a few months before we can re-assign the necessary funding."

Letting out a long sigh, Count Randolph ruffled Lucas’ hair with his giant hand and shook his head, "Don’t feel so burdened, kid. This isn’t your fault, nor is it your responsibility."

"En, Lester is right," General Caldwell nodded, "We can’t let others solve all our problems for us. We’ll find a way to raise the necessary money on our own."

.....

Standing to the side, Vanessa watched the whole scene before her unfold in amusement, a smile that was a mix of pride and exasperation filling her face.

Count Randolph and General Caldwell may not have realized it yet, but at some point, they had both gotten sucked into Lucas’ pace. Now, instead of talking to him like he was a Junior who was centuries younger than them, they were seriously consulting with him about major issues plaguing Falcon’s Bend and the Swift Current Legion.

This wasn’t the first time something like this had happened, but it still amazed Vanessa each time she saw it.

Shaking her head wryly, Vanessa walked back to where Starlight was waiting for her and hopped up onto his back, whipping the reigns lightly as she called out, "I’ll be taking my leave now! Please watch over Lucas until Allie gets here, Uncle Randolph, Grandpa Caldwell!"

"Don’t worry, lass! We’ll take good care of him!" Lester Randolph shouted back, with Oscar Caldwell nodding in agreement.

.....

As light filtered in from the window, Lucas reluctantly opened his eyes, still feeling quite exhausted.

Glancing around at the unfamiliar room he swore he had never seen before, it took him a moment to remember just where he was and how he got here.

Last night, after Vanessa departed, Lucas had accompanied Count Randolph and General Caldwell into the Manor where the three of them continued their discussion about how to increase Falcon Bend’s ship production.

At some point, the trio had gotten into a slightly heated debate about whether it was better to build larger ships that while slower could carry more soldiers and patrol the Lorren for longer periods of time, or small ships that needed to resupply more frequently and had less combat capabilities, but were faster and could be produced more quickly.

Lucas, with military knowledge from another universe, was heavily in favour of the latter option, while Oscar Caldwell strongly advocated for the former as using larger ships was the conventional wisdom for naval combat in the Rockwell Kingdom.

The young boy and old man argued back and forth vigorously, each side bringing up numerous good points related to feasibility, economics, military tactics and strategy, and a whole host of other related subjects.

Count Lester Randolph leaned more towards his long-time mentor’s thought process, but he also couldn’t deny the logic behind some of Lucas’ proposals, so he ended up as more of a moderator rather than an active participant in this debate.

Needless to say, nothing was settled last night, and at some point, Lucas figured exhaustion must have caught up with him, causing him to fall asleep mid-argument.

Well, that must have been awkward, Lucas chuckled wryly as he imagined the looks on the Count and General’s faces when he passed out on the table.

Checking his surroundings again, Lucas realized he was in a guest room of sorts, though it seemed a bit spartan compared to the places he had been sleeping recently.

That being said, Falcon’s Bend was much more military fortress than tourist city, so the décor being less opulent made a certain amount of sense.

Someone clearly helped him to this room, and even went so far as to remove the uncomfortable noble clothes he had been wearing.

Sniffing himself, Lucas frowned slightly as he realized he hadn’t washed since early morning yesterday.

Letting out a sigh, the boy forced himself up and out of bed, grabbed a spare outfit from his Space Bag, threw on the clothes, and then left the room, hoping to find someone who could guide him to a bathroom where he could get cleaned up.

Fortunately for Lucas, there was actually someone waiting for him outside his door.

The muscular middle-aged woman looked more like a soldier than a maid, but Lucas didn’t pay that much mind as he greeted her, "Good morning."

"Good morning, Young Master Lucas. My name is Linda. Count Randolph has assigned me to serve you during your stay in Falcon’s Bend," the middle-aged maid tapped her fist across her heart.

The military salute and the directness of her speech only reinforced the idea that this woman was a former soldier, but that actually made things easier for Lucas. At least he didn’t have to put on a noble act around this woman.

"A pleasure to make your acquaintance, Lady Linda," Lucas returned the salute before promptly asking, "Might I trouble you to lead me to the nearest bathroom? I’d like to wash myself."

"Certainly, Young Master Lucas," Linda nodded before turning sharply on her heels and guiding him forward, limping slightly as she walked, a sign that she had some kind of old injury.

As they walked down the stone corridors of the manor, Lucas asked a few innocent questions about what life was like in Falcon’s Bend, and what serving Count Randolph was like.

Linda, who insisted Lucas address her simply by name, answered all of his questions in a brief yet polite manner. She was blunt and to the point, but she never seemed disrespectful in any way, so Lucas assumed this was just how she normally acted.

A few minutes later, the pair arrived at a rather large pair of partially open wooden doors out of which Lucas could feel hot, moist air was wafting, along with a slightly pungent scent.

"This is the Manor’s communal bath," Linda explained, "It is fed from an underground spring and is one of our proudest features."

"An indoor hotspring!" Lucas’ eyes lit up, feeling truly surprised by this unexpected development. The odour he had been smelling just now must have been from the sulfur in the water, but that didn’t discourage him in the slightest.

Seeing the excitement on the young boy’s face, the older maid also grinned proudly, "Please feel free to take all the time you need, Young Master Lucas."

Saying so, she stepped back and allowed him inside.

Quickly walking past the doors, Lucas found himself in something similar to a locker room where he promptly stripped down, grabbed a washcloth and small box he kept a bar of soap in from his Space Bag, and hurriedly made his way over to the water.

Passing through another set of doors, Lucas was greeted by the sight of a massive stone pool filled with steaming hot water.

The spring was about 8 metres in width, and nearly 20 metres in length, big enough to swim in if one wanted to, but surprisingly, there were only a few other people inside.

It must be because it’s later in the morning, Lucas reasoned, not that he much cared at the moment.

Glancing to his left, the young boy spotted a pile of buckets which were clearly used for scooping up water and grabbed one, filling it up before carrying it to what seemed to be a drainage area.

Lathering his cloth with soap, Lucas scrubbed himself all over before dumping the bucket over his head and rinsing away the suds.

"Hey, what’s that you got there, kid?" A gruff voice called out from nearby.

Wiping away the water from his eyes, Lucas looked up to see a tall, muscular old man with scars covering his entire body.

Is everyone in Falcon’s Bend jacked? Lucas couldn’t help wondering to himself, though when he recalled General Caldwell’s slim frame, he realized he was being a bit biased.

"Looks like Bathing Cream, but solid," the old man stroked his beard in thought, his eyes revealing a look of interest.

"It’s called soap," Lucas replied, "And it’s pretty much as you described, a solid form of Bathing Cream."

"Interesting," the old man grinned, "That would certainly make it easier to carry around out in the field. Mind if I try it?"

"Certainly!" Lucas, always happy to introduce his flagship product to new, potential customers, handed the bar over to the naked old man he had just met.