Looks like I’ll never get her to just call me Lucas ever again, Lucas thought to himself wryly before nodding, "Does the mill here also make firewood?"

"Firewood?" Molly felt a bit perplexed at the abrupt change in subject, but she still answered promptly, "Yes. Although we mainly process wood for construction purposes here, we also turn about 20% of our logs into firewood. We also sell most of the scraps we produce for cheap."

"Great!" Lucas smiled, "Then I’d like to buy 10 kilogr... er, a large bushel of firewood from each of the hardwoods you work with here."

"Hardwoods?" Molly looked at him funny.

"Uh, I mean, from the different species of trees that shed their leaves," Lucas corrected himself.

"Oh, sure, that’s not a problem," Molly nodded.

Compared to Lucas’ first request, getting a few piles of firewood from different leaf-shedding trees was quite simple.

"I also need to know what species the firewood came from, as well as how abundant they are in the local forests," Lucas added quickly.

"Consider it done," Molly smiled, "Anything else?"

Glancing over the eager young woman’s shoulder, Lucas also wanted to propose some upgrades to the sawmill itself, like installing large circular saws or even a bandsaw powered by waterwheels.

He had gotten a lot of benefits from Molly today, and given how enamoured with his Master she was and the fact that she seemed to be in charge of the mill, Lucas figured she would be more receptive to his unconventional ideas.

Also, improving the productivity of her family’s sawmill would be a good way to thank her for her help.

However, Lucas ultimately decided to hold off for the moment, partly because he didn’t want to introduce significantly more advanced technology to someone he had just met without considering the possible consequences first, and also because Molly technically wasn’t the owner of this sawmill, her parents were.

.....

After completing the small tour of Falcon Bend’s shipyard and lumbermill, Lucas was understandably in an outstanding mood.

In his opinion, this city was an ideal staging ground to establish a number of villages and towns dedicated to harvesting Lych Tree sap!

Even better was the fact that unlike most big cities in the Rockwell Kingdom, there were very few outlying settlements around Falcon’s Bend.

This was mostly due to the city primarily being a military and industrial settlement, but the rough terrain and lack of good farmland nearby was also an issue.

The ultimate result of this, however, was that the land around the city was essentially untouched and untainted, leaving it free for Lucas to exploit as he saw fit.

Lucas was already thinking about just how many factories and workshops he would need to set up, as well as how much new infrastructure, how many settlers, and what kind of security measures he would need to put in place to get a large-scale sugar manufacturing operation up and running.

This was going to be a massive undertaking, one that would likely have to be done in multiple stages over several years, but that didn’t deter Lucas in the slightest.

I’ll need the Randolph Family’s full cooperation, along with significant cooperation from the Swift Current Legion, Lucas mused, but given the financial difficulties Falcon’s Bend was facing, as well as the severe lack of any kind of local products unrelated to the military, he was certain the burly Count and skinny General would be more than happy to assist him in this matter.

The icing on the cake of all of this was that in order to manufacture sugar, an extensive amount of firewood would need to be burned, which Lucas could then use to supply a large soap factory.

Lucas happily hummed a tune as he rode back to the manor together with Lord Lester and Lord Nathanial, a fact the two older men didn’t fail to notice.

They were both curious why Lucas was so excited all of a sudden, but with both of them being experienced politicians, they wisely chose not to probe for details right away.

If Lucas needed something from their city, or the forests around it, he would eventually need to consult with them; and if it was something they could profit from, the smartest course of action right now was to leave a positive impression on the young lad, starting with letting him celebrate this moment.

Unfortunately, after all the good news Lucas had received today, it seemed the Heavens wanted to maintain balance and delivered him an unpleasant dose of reality.

Just before Lucas’ group reached the city walls, a messenger wearing a steward’s uniform rode up to them and whispered something in the Count’s ear.

Instantly, the look on Count Randolph’s face turned stern as he asked back, "How certain are the lookouts of what they saw?"

"100%, My Lord," the steward replied solemnly, "They noticed the abnormality over an hour ago, but it wasn’t until the ships approached to within 20,000 paces that they relayed the information back to the Manor and Legion Base."

"Understood," Lester nodded before ordering, "Return to the Manor and alert the healers."

"Yes, My Lord!" The steward saluted and whipped the reigns of his horse, riding off rapidly.

"Something the matter, son?" Nicholas asked warily.

Instead of answering his father directly, however, Count Randolph turned to Lucas and said, "A large convoy led by several Raging River Legion warships has been spotted by our lookouts."

"Is there a problem with the convoy?" Lucas asked hurriedly, a look of worry spreading across his face.

Nodding faintly, Lester explained, "The lookouts reported that the convoy is moving unusually slowly, and it appears that at least one of the ships has suffered visible damage."

Frowning deeply, Lucas continued to ask, "Was it storm damage, or battle damage?"

Shaking his head, Count Randolph replied, "The ships are still too far away to tell."

Clenching his fists, Lucas took several deep breaths to try to calm his nerves before nodding back, "Thank you for informing me, Count Randolph. I’d like to be part of the party that greets them when they reach the harbour."

"Certainly," Lester accepted while silently praising the boy before him for his ability to remain composed.

"Whatever happened, Falcon’s Bend will do its best to help," Nicholas Randolph added reassuringly.

Nodding in acknowledgement, Lucas motioned firmly, "Please lead the way, Lord Randolph."

.....

Instead of heading straight to the docks, Lucas followed the Randolph father and son duo back to the Manor.

Immediately upon arriving, Count Randolph entered the main mansion to handle the administrative arrangements while the former Count actually rode his horse out of the Manor, heading to somewhere in the city.

Lucas wasn’t sure what the old man was going to do, but now wasn’t the time to satisfy his curiosity. Instead, he simply moved to the central square where he noticed a flurry of activity taking place.

Entering the open yard, Lucas saw that a team of Doctors, Herbalists, and Healers were already assembling their equipment, along with a number of guards and specially marked carriages which were clearly meant to deliver them to the docks.

As a military-focused city, Falcon’s Bend was no stranger to battles and all the chaos that accompanied them, so their response to such situations was significantly swifter than in any of the other place Lucas had seen so far in the Rockwell Kingdom.

Watching the preparations being made all around him, Lucas couldn’t help feeling slightly anxious, but he knew better than to recklessly try to involve himself in the planning or execution of this operation.

Lucas was new to this city and unfamiliar with both its people and its procedures, so him trying to add his voice to the mix right now would likely just result in him getting in the way.

Even so, there were still some small things he could help with, like moving boxes; so, without any hesitation, Lucas ran over, grabbed a crate of supplies, and began carrying it from a warehouse over to the waiting carriages.

A few people gave Lucas strange looks, wondering what such a young child was doing here, but most quickly assumed he was a stableboy or kitchen worker of some kind who had been temporarily assigned to handle menial tasks, so they didn’t think too much about it.

15 minutes later, once all the wagons and carriages were loaded and the medical teams had boarded, the small caravan set out from the Manor with a team of riders having gone on ahead to clear the route to the port.

Lucas had also mounted the horse he had been using earlier in the day and followed along, accompanied by a handful of guards assigned to him by Count Randolph, including the old maid Linda who apparently had training as a medic.

With the road to the harbour free of civilians and other wagons, it only took 15 minutes to cross the distance from the Manor, which again highlighted to Lucas how used to similar situations the population of Falcon’s Bend were.

Upon arriving at the port, Lucas noticed that several ships were maneuvering out of the closest bays under the direction of the City Guard.

This was a complicated process involving rowers and sails that Lucas didn’t quite understand, but it was impressive none-the-less.

Lucas also spotted what appeared to be a couple Battalions worth of soldiers standing by in defensive positions, all of them wearing the crest of the Swift Current Legion.

There was even a warship from General Caldwell’s Army that had set sail and was moving out of the bay, probably heading to rendezvous with the approaching convoy to ascertain the exact situation.

All-in-all, it seemed that the leaders and people of Falcon’s Bay had the situation well in hand, meaning the only thing left for Lucas to do was to wait.