After being forced to step down, the once-annoying nun eloped with me.

But when he heard the phrase "one-thousandth of the total military expenditure", he was shocked.

His joy turned into confusion.

What exactly does this mean?

In the Roman Empire at that time, even one-thousandth of the national military expenditure was enough for General Dreschka to train an entire fully armed cavalry force for the military district while the steam factory was operating normally.

In Ysgard, with its ironclad warships and expensive new rifles, the value of this "one-thousandth" of military spending would only be far greater...

If Ysgard had to pay such a high price to create a single prototype of a [single-soldier mech], then the situation in Gabon and Byzantium now is even more dire...

On the other hand, His Majesty the Regent was initially surprised that Isgard could develop such advanced technology, but after Nia's explanation, he understood: the key to the technology lay in Isgard's multi-racial advantages.

The Sirens, who can create flesh and blood from inorganic matter, are probably the main force behind this core technology. As for the so-called [gems and night vision], they are negligible and insignificant. If Yang Hao wants to obtain this technology, the help of the Sirens is indispensable.

While Gaparia and Bayez should indeed have plenty of alternative magic and enchantments, only they possess the magic to make metal grow flesh and blood—in that sense, the Sirens' future is truly not to be underestimated.

...Yang Hao wasn't interested in any of Ysgard's other classified research. So, after much consideration, he chose the research data on the [Single-Soldier Mech] and the future migration of the Sirens as conditions to agree to Miss Nia's request.

"In this way, I can report back to them, and the warriors of Isgard won't have to worry about fighting the Romans with sticks after winning a battle in Elusia."

So let's leave it at that for this contract. Let's sign it right away... Is there anything else?

Yang Hao's question made Nia shake her head:

"No, that's our most pressing concern right now. Besides that, there's the evaluation of the steam rifle from Alessar... If I had to say anything else, I'd like to ask if Your Majesty Yang Hao has time after the celebration on February 5th?"

"It may or may not."

"If you have one, please save one for me—I'll discuss some less important things with you later. Thank you."

Black Dragon relaxed and signed his name on the contract, affixed the seal of Isgard, bowed, and left.

Yang Hao also signed his name and affixed the seals of both countries before leaving the reception room with Natalia.

Someone will handle the rest. He will personally go and make adjustments to Naruja's situation tomorrow... The work in Gaparia is finished for today. The Regent just wants to see how his good child is doing. After that, he has to go to the Purple Palace to work.

He muttered to himself, calculating how long it would take before he could reach her side during his actual break in February. Just then, Natalia beside him let out a deep sigh:

"...Upon closer inspection, Your Majesty's workload is truly strenuous. Even during meals, you choose to eat quickly in order to keep up with your work... It's hard to imagine how long someone like you can endure this."

“Sigh. That’s just how my job is, Natalia. It’s better here than at Roman’s.”

Yang Hao's sigh made Natalia tilt her head:

"Back then, Roman... you mean the time when he was often forced to go to the debate the next day without any preparation?"

"That counts too. But more importantly, when I was working in Roman, I not only had no time and no supporters, but I also had to take on the task of educating Anna, and even handle all diplomatic and development work. And from time to time, there were also emergency meetings that I had to chair... Working in Roman was really like hell, and I still can't forget it to this day."

But here, although my workload is still heavy, at least I have supportive people. They give me a week's notice before meetings to prepare, and I don't need to handle all the work myself... Working here is much easier than in Roman. And I'm very happy to work here.”

"...It seems your mindset has changed since you were exiled."

"It's not so much that my mindset has changed, but rather that I've grown up—but if it weren't for you protecting me, I wouldn't be where I am today."

"Ah."

Natalia, in a sense, is one of the most important women in Yang Hao's life.

If it weren't for this presiding judge who saved Yang Hao's life and changed the original death penalty to exile, Yang Hao wouldn't have gone through so many hardships, met Teresa on his way back, and finally reached where he is today.

He was grateful for Natalia's efforts and admired her courage and strength in enduring the pressure at the time.

Ultimately, during that period of travel in the Monster Forest when he didn't want to trust anyone, and at that time when Yang Hao's mindset was unstable, if he had to choose someone other than Theresa to contact, Natalia would probably be the only choice.

At that time, Yang Hao either considered others someone he absolutely did not want to associate with or someone he simply did not want to trust. He could only trust Theresa at that time, and Natalia, whom he could interact with, naturally held some weight in his heart as well.

Therefore, Yang Hao was truly grateful to Natalia. However, on the other hand, Natalia's feelings towards Yang Hao were also changing every day.

If she initially saved Yang Hao because she didn't want to see a down-to-earth person who made contributions to the empire being humiliated by a group of petty people, and hoped that he could save the country...

So, after becoming the little queen's handmaid and discovering the little queen's miserable treatment, she decided to dedicate her life to taking care of the little girl.

Natalia's feelings for Yang Hao gradually changed from initial sympathy to a kind of hope.

And finally, during the time when she had come to regard herself as Anna's mother, this feeling transformed into a hazy, budding romance.

Now, after realizing that Anna also wanted her to be her real mother, this affection finally turned into clear love. Natalia was very clear that in the world of the aristocracy, the most important thing in building a family might not be love, but she was willing to be a haven for Yang Hao to rest when he was tired.

After all, family is a haven that tired people can always return to. And for Anna, she also needs a complete family.

With this in mind, Natalia made her decision.

If Natalia still wants to start a family even though he doesn't love her, then all she can do is prove her worth and muster her courage.

...She took a deep breath. A seemingly casual remark:

"But indeed, Your Majesty, working like this must be too tiring, right? If you had a family where you could find a haven to rest when you're exhausted... that might be a good thing for your future work and life, wouldn't it?"

“Yes, I agree.” Yang Hao nodded. “And it would also be very beneficial for Anna.”

Natalia was initially delighted upon hearing this, but then her heart began to pound erratically.

She knew Yang Hao's pragmatic nature, and she knew he definitely wouldn't refuse... Therefore, her romance had a chance to blossom. All she had to do was take one last step—if she were brave enough to express her feelings, then...

...Natalia will then be able to find her own happiness.

She opened her mouth excitedly, her green eyes sparkling with deep love, but at that moment, Yang Hao looked up at the ceiling of the corridor and sighed:

"I'll take you to the Purple Palace to meet Theresa. I hope you're prepared, since it'll be her first time meeting you..."

"...Huh?"

Te...Leza?

A very unfamiliar...woman's name?

Natalia looked at Yang Hao blankly.

Faced with Natalia's gaze, Yang Hao slapped his forehead and said that he was too busy at the time and hadn't had time to tell them about it yet.

“Theresa, that’s my love,” he smiled happily, “and also my family. But she has to work hard at the Purple Palace, so she won’t be able to meet you for a while. You’ll be able to see her after the celebration, and I hope everyone can get along well then, so… um? Natalia? What’s wrong?”

"...No, it's nothing...I just feel a little tired."

The former court president, his eyes vacant, muttered to himself.

The budding love was shattered in an instant. Before she could grasp happiness, her delicate hand was suddenly slapped away.

...Perhaps she needs time to calm down. Perhaps she should tell Anna that Anna already has a new mother she's booked.

............

After playing with Anna for a while and making his good child happier, Yang Hao told Natalia, who was inexplicably exhausted, to rest for the time being. He then had the elven mage deliver the information about Isugard before taking himself to the Purple Palace.

Theresa seemed to still be handling work in the audience hall, so Yang Hao sat down on the office chair, assessing the strength of the Aresers while reviewing the intelligence on Isgard, and making predictions about the future situation in Isgard.

The Alesian steam rifles seem to have the capability to kill unarmored units at around 400 meters—in reality, this capability is largely exaggerated, considering that the enemy they were facing was a group of unarmored militia.

"Judging by our rifles and those of Isgard, these steam rifles are undoubtedly the worst," he muttered. "Especially against the heavily armored elven riflemen of Gaparia—the steel balls fired from 400 meters couldn't even make a magical barrier appear. But it's already quite remarkable that steam rifles can do this... but the Alessars still haven't solved the common problem of steam rifles being impotent."

Of all the rifles Yang Hao knows about, Alleser's steam rifle is one that is highly questionable.

Although the Isgardians assessed that those steam rifles were capable of penetrating plate armor within fifty meters and killing unarmored humans within 500 meters, the limitations of steam rifles still remained.

After multiple shots, insufficient cylinder pressure will result in the steel ball lacking initial velocity and power upon ejection. Furthermore, the steel ball's speed in the air is significantly slower than that of a bullet.

Given the curvature of the steel ball itself, if the Isgardians had developed equipment such as bulletproof vests and helmets, they could have easily broken through the Areser's defenses by overcoming their steam rifle blockade.

If we had to pinpoint the advantages of these steam rifles, it would probably be their semi-automatic firing mechanism.

"The semi-automatic firing mechanism... we need to find a way to borrow it for reference—otherwise Arthur and Joseph really won't have any rest time. At this stage, we should copy the best parts whenever possible, rather than trying to reinvent the wheel ourselves."

His Majesty the Regent grumbled, put down the report in his hand, and once again considered the possibility of the barbarians moving south in the near future.

With barbed wire, heavy machine guns, and rifles—a dense barrage of firepower from the Golem grenade launcher and the Golem machine gun—Yang Hao was confident he could stop the barbarians' southward advance.

The real fear is that these barbarians are genuinely fleeing. Those fleeing might directly enter the monster forest and become wandering bandits...

It's not that it's difficult to solve, but it would waste already limited human resources—if possible, Yang Hao would prefer to confine them to the grasslands...

Shall we try using the magic of the elves?

Just as Yang Hao was deep in thought, suddenly—

He felt as if two large dough balls were weighing down on the top of his head.

"Theresa?"

He tried to call out, only to find that his eyes had been covered at some point.

In the darkness, he could feel his body being slowly guided to lie down... He could feel the two heavy dough balls gradually moving away from his head, and finally his head resting on his comfortable and familiar thighs.

"Hmph, don't even think about work after you get home, okay? If you keep going like this, you'll die of exhaustion out there one day, and then I'll have to waste my divine power to save you," the nun said with a hint of sarcasm as she gently stroked Yang Hao's cheek. "So close your eyes and get some sleep—there's still some time before dinner."

"But I'm thinking about work, you know?"

"So go to sleep!"

She tapped Yang Hao on the forehead and then softly hummed a Bayer Jess lullaby.

Does this mean they're treating me like a naughty child?

His Majesty the Regent muttered to himself.

After letting your whole being be immersed in comforting tranquility.

He gave up thinking and chose to fall into a deep sleep under Mother Teresa's gentle care.

Chapter Four: The Great Khan and His Army (8K)

......

late at night.

Within the territory of the Khuttod Khanate after the unification of the northern barbarian tribes.

The Great Khan, Hutod Khan, was making final decisions and preparations in his tent before heading south. But before that, the Great Khan needed to deal with a thorny and important matter.

After the enactment of the new laws, a loyal but highly decorated kheshig (military advisor to the emperor) committed a capital offense. Ignoring the severity of the new laws, this kheshig, while intoxicated, raped a respectable woman and even accidentally started a fire that nearly burned down one of his army's grain depots, which were being prepared for a southward advance.

Now, the woman's family is also weeping in their tents, recounting the terrible treatment their daughter suffered. This Kheshig soldier, however, is also a noble and valiant warrior. He is not only a warrior but also a loyal attendant who has followed the Great Khan faithfully since his rise to power. He too deeply regrets his mistakes and is willing to accept any punishment from the Great Khan.

But for the Great Khan, this was not a major issue that could be resolved simply by "protecting" or "executing according to the law."

If he chooses to protect the Khan, then the laws he painstakingly promulgated will become a joke in the eyes of the steppe kingdom and the tribes, and everyone will take the Khan's actions as an example.