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

"A higher-level career?" The archery master—the old elf who should now be called the rifle master—said thoughtfully, "To use bow making as an analogy, you don't want our children to continue pursuing [making longbows], but instead choose to [design rifles]?"

"Yes. This is the only way to maximize the value of the elves. More importantly, only in this way can the changes in the elves intensify and eventually become an inextinguishable flame of change for this kingdom and this race."

If the elves are destined to walk the path of perfection, and are destined to be blocked by "perfection" once again in the future, then Yang Hao's choice is to free the elves from work that is "easy to achieve perfection".

To put it simply, 1+1=2 is an easy and perfect task; even elves could calculate it with their eyes closed.

But what if we let the elves pursue programming careers on Earth? What if they pursued creative professions that have no upper limit, and could never have an upper limit?

It's like the same task of moving bricks. The original repetitive work could at most allow the elves to perfectly deliver 50 bricks from A to B each time. But if we encourage elves to pursue high-end careers, can we program them to have countless robots move bricks for them?

Although it may seem like a roundabout way, turning a simple task that could be done by one person into one that requires several machines, in the end, the byproducts that the elves gain from programming will also benefit the entire elf society and cause changes to the society inadvertently.

Although it may seem strange and troublesome at first.

But in the end, when people see countless robots efficiently moving bricks in all sorts of unbelievable ways, they should be grateful for the efforts of these creators.

Yang Hao's idea was to completely liberate the elves from repetitive labor. If everyone is a creator, then even after Yang Hao and Theresa pass away a hundred years later, the elves will continue to evolve in ever-changing ways.

This is the biggest change Yang Hao brought to the elves—a path of change that will never stop.

The old elves understood Yang Hao's meaning. Their eyes burned with admiration as they looked at him. What a hardworking person he was!

They even planned out their own path after death in great detail, and this path would not cause the elves to feel any sense of being "bound".

Fen, great Fen—when will you finally take such a man to your bed? That way, we can grant this regent a long life, like an elf, and let him continue to lead us to prosperity.

The old elves were deeply moved, and naturally, the proposal was passed unanimously.

After completing the projects of adding enchanting functions to the Oak Factory, providing a way out for the arrow maker, and the mass production plan for Golems, Yang Hao and the elves reflected on the various mistakes made since the reforms in Gaparia.

All the elves acknowledged the objective fact that the reform period was too short, but some elves believed that "rather than saying the reform period was too short, it's more accurate to say we weren't bold enough." Naturally, a third group of elves also emerged: "If we endlessly accelerate reform in order to speed things up, won't we end up like humans, embarking on the wrong path?"

The discussion was quite heated, and in the end, Yang Hao shrugged and offered a definitive conclusion: Biology is bound to make mistakes. The important thing isn't how to permanently avoid mistakes, but how to gain experience and knowledge after making them and then improve upon them.

He made many mistakes during his time as regent in the Roman Empire. Even while traveling with Theresa, he almost neglected the feelings of Naruja and the others due to his awkward personality. These mistakes are understandable; after all, acknowledging them allows for a chance to correct them.

"Now, let's move on to the next topic... the equipment reform for the Eagle Knights."

"Next topic..."

"Next..."

From noon to afternoon, during which Yang Hao successively proposed a weapon plan for the equipment of the Eagle Knights, a plan to establish a special expert organization to shoot improved models of the Japa 1404 rifle, and a proposal to fully equip the Japa 1404 rifle.

There's not much to say about the very beginning—the Eagle Knights can only fight the Griffin Knights with longbows and swords while riding their eagles. Although the Eagle Knights are very agile, and their scimitar skills are indeed extremely unpredictable!

The problem is that this is like putting a speaker in a boxing match against a boxer. The griffin rider is covered in plate armor, while the eagle rider, due to equipment limitations, has to choose a near-suicidal method to fight the enemy. To be honest, this is not something the elves and Yang Hao want to see at all.

Therefore, the proposal to miniaturize the Japa 1404 rifle for use by the Eagle Knights was put on the agenda. This plan naturally spurred proposals for improvements to the Japa 1404 rifle.

After all, the rifle Yang Hao currently possesses is merely a bolt-action rifle. Submachine guns, semi-automatic rifles, fully automatic rifles, assault rifles, submachine guns, trench guns, and even machine guns haven't appeared yet!

It's definitely right to increase efforts in improving firearms, and if we're going to increase efforts in improving firearms, then how can we forget the proposal to equip all citizens with rifles?

After some back and forth, it became a done deal that the entire elven army would be equipped with rifles during the rest period. Ten of the old elves immediately abandoned their supposedly beloved longbow wives and devoted themselves to rifle research, leaving Yang Hao bewildered and questioning the stability of elven emotions, while also making him feel extremely gratified.

Finally, Yang Hao raised the most important and necessary problem.

"The final question is... about the [Magic Storage] plan—please turn to page... Let's review the previous battle to defend the outskirts of the Monster Forest."

The issue of [Magic Storage] is a major reform issue that Yang Hao carefully considered and proposed.

To be honest, it's not that the elven archmage and ancient tree are ineffective; rather, the magic in this world is just too, too problematic.

Because the magic limit of the Demon Forest was insufficient for the elves to continuously unleash spells equivalent to forbidden divine spells for humans, Yang Hao could only rely on the elven mages at the most critical moments.

Is this reasonable? Compared to a clergy system where anyone with followers can freely cast divine spells, is this reasonable?

This is absolutely unreasonable! So Yang Hao believes he has to solve this problem!

Otherwise, if they lead a bunch of mages to attack the capital, only to find that Priscilla has used up all the local magic first, leaving their own mages helpless, wouldn't that make them a laughingstock?

"Therefore, we need to consider whether the proposal to store the magic of the Elf Forest and then transport it to other regions for use is feasible."

Therefore, Yang Hao considered whether they could extract the excess magic power when the region's magic power was fully restored. Just like how one can put the money beyond living expenses into a piggy bank when receiving a salary—magic power, as a mage's "salary," could naturally also be stored away.

The elves exchanged bewildered glances: living in the Elf Forest, they had never considered the necessity of storing magic. It was like a human living in a bank vault overflowing with gold and jewels not worrying about running out of money—was it really necessary?

The old elves reviewed the war report again. After staring at the blood-stained lines of red text for a while—"[Due to insufficient magic power in the Monster Forest, ancient trees and mages could only be used in the most critical moments]"—they nodded, indicating that they hadn't considered this before because they were so perfect, but now they had to.

After all, even the Monster Forest, which is right next to the Elf Forest, is experiencing a problem with insufficient magic power. Therefore, the magic power in other areas far away from the Elf Forest must be even worse.

In order for the elves to adapt to combat in other regions, and for the elven mages to unleash high-intensity magic in these areas, they must research a method for [mana storage]...

So how exactly is it done? Some elven mages specializing in enchanting say that enchanting is essentially about "carving" magic power onto a weapon according to a specific circuit. Since magic power can be carved onto a solid object, it's naturally possible to store it.

The question is, what kind of material should we use to store magic? What shape of device should we make to store magic? How should we design it to make storing magic more convenient and easier?

The elves were making a ruckus over this, but Yang Hao, who couldn't get a word in edgewise on the topic of magic, could only stand on the stage, wondering why the Elf Council hadn't even provided a single chair.

His legs were aching from standing. The Regent sighed softly, feeling that the Elven Council needed reform—at least to provide a place to sit during meetings.

...........

While the elves were having their meeting and Yang Hao was unable to finish his meal anytime soon, Mother Teresa and Finn were also engaged in their own women's war, while simultaneously discussing another matter of interest to them.

If Yang Hao is concerned with the overall transformation of Gaparia, then Finn, who considers himself inferior to Yang Hao in terms of the "overall" aspect, will naturally begin to focus his efforts on the "details".

Mother Teresa, as Yang Hao's wife [although they didn't have a wedding], naturally had to share his worries. Naturally, the two women, their eyes blazing with rivalry, came together. Although they each saw the other as a formidable enemy and love rival, they were willing to temporarily set aside their differences for the sake of the same man.

"So... what's going on with the demons?"

"You know how the demons in Demon City are treated, right? The gladiators are alright, but the women have it awful. Many have become pregnant with those old noblemen's children, and now many of them want to abort their 'tainted children'..."

“Is there a problem with this?” Finn tilted her head. “Or do you think it’s a good thing to make them remember their past pain all the time in the future? Especially considering that one day, the man who humiliated her in the war might use this as a reason to plead for her, do you think that’s appropriate?”

“That’s not what I care about. I’m a firm supporter of them aborting their children because of this. What I’m worried about is their mental state.”

"Psychological... oh, you mean mental state, right?"

The demons in the Demon City have all developed some psychological problems to varying degrees.

Because of the countless lives taken by their own kind, almost all of those gladiators suffered from mania. But these people were relatively okay; as long as they were properly cared for and took medicine regularly with herbs that could be found in the Monster Forest, their mania was quite easy to manage.

But the girls found in those underground courts, who were simply used as objects of lust and treated like flesh, were in a terrible state. Especially those women whose own children had been skinned and dismembered, and who were also pregnant with the tainted seeds of humanity—their mental state was already teetering on the edge of madness. If Yang Hao hadn't chosen to attack the Demon City, they might have gone completely insane.

Now that we've brought them back, we naturally need to find a way to treat their mental state. With this in mind, Theresa decided that after Dr. Joseph did his job of removing the filth from these poor women's bellies, she would try to help them recover through the faith of the Church of Light.

This may seem unrelated to the Elf Kingdom, but Mother Teresa actually had another purpose.

“I’ve heard that you don’t mind accepting demons—so my idea is simple: Gaparia will accept demons as official citizens with the same rights as elves, and then I will spread the religion of light among the demons and make it their state religion.”

"Oh? Didn't you refuse at first?" Finn looked at Theresa, whose face was serious, with great interest. "But I was willing to let you preach for all of Gaparia at first, you know?"

“Elves are elves, and demons are demons. Elves belong to Gaparia, and demons belonged to Gaparia before they belonged to themselves.” Theresa simply shrugged. “If you preach to the elves, they might one day side with you for the sake of their race, but I think it’s possible to preach to the demons.”

"In the end, you just want the power to fight me, right?"

"Heh. Who told you to be a blonde, blue-eyed sparrow in heat? Always whispering sweet nothings to my man. Are you planning to climb into his bed one day when I'm not around?"

"..."

Fen glanced away strangely: How come she didn't think of that?

Theresa didn't notice Finn's strange behavior. She simply sighed heavily as she finished speaking.

After all, Finn had saved her life, and she had already put it this way, hoping that Finn would be a little more rational and not resort to underhanded means—Teresa meant that she wouldn't mind openly stealing a man. Since she was certain to win, giving Finn a chance to repay her life-saving grace through a sure-win war would be a huge win for her.

But then again... how much has changed about me since I regained some of the divine power of light?

Mother Teresa looked down at the crystal statue on her chest. This statue, representing the doctrine of "Light," was emitting a faint white light.

If Teresa was initially just a "Nun of Light"... then according to her understanding, she has now become something akin to a "Saint".

Although that good-for-nothing Guangming doesn't seem to be waking up anytime soon after eating and drinking his fill, in a sense, Teresa is now Guangming's spokesperson.

Every move she makes represents "light," and in a sense, she can even invoke light by temporarily abandoning her own personal will, allowing this god to temporarily "descend"... But ultimately, Teresa does not actually want to become a saint.

Her biggest dream in life is to have a quiet home with Yang Hao in a peaceful and convenient place in Gaparia. She worries about what to eat for three meals a day, gets angry about the children wetting the bed, and argues about where to go for walks.

Becoming a saint meant facing many... she feared, duties and responsibilities she had never encountered before yet had to bear. Perhaps it would be countless government decrees, perhaps the people's pleas for divine revelation, perhaps the expectations of others, perhaps...

...

She doesn't think she's cut out for it.

She knew very well that she could never be the best on the path to imperial rule like the Basilius or Barcelisa of the past—she had been a nun since she was old enough to understand, and her life had been related to nuns until now... She knew that she was not suitable to be Barcelisa, and she could not drag Yang Hao into it because of her willfulness.

He was already very, very tired. I shouldn't make him even more exhausted. And because of that...

She feared becoming the princess in the prophecy. Becoming a princess meant that, no matter how unwilling she was, she would have to rule an empire from thousands of years ago. This meant that Theresa would have to face many unfamiliar tasks that left her bewildered and dependent on Yang Hao to complete.

She hated it. She hated... that she could only be pampered.

But she... lacks the power to stand alongside Yang Hao.

Now that Yang Hao has become the Elven Regent, for some reason, Teresa, a young nun, feels that he is getting further and further away from her.

She could no longer keep up with Yang Hao's pace. Gradually, she went from being the [leader] in Shkul Village, to a [parallel traveler] in the Monster Forest, and finally to a [follower] in Gaparia...

Her steps followed his, gradually expanding. The intense clash between ideals and reality tormented her, and even after becoming a saint of light, this rift and alienation still haunted her with nightmares every night.

Each time she woke up to find him curled up in her arms, the little nun could calm her pounding heart. Only when she woke up from a deep sleep and found him waiting for her to wake up did she realize that she was still living with Yang Hao.

...Teresa wanted to help Yang Hao. She never wanted to be the one being cared for...what she wanted was a life where they supported each other.

Therefore, no matter how much she resisted in her heart, Theresa had to become the Holy Maiden of Light and restore the Church of Light... just so that she could stand shoulder to shoulder with him.

...Theresa sighed heavily.

It was at this moment that, perhaps because he sensed Theresa's feelings, or perhaps because he felt the complex emotions emanating from Theresa, that he was able to act.

The sensitive elf simply smiled and said, "In that case, I will openly regard you as my rival."

“Princess in purple, whether you like it or not, I will consider you my greatest rival.”

Finn smiled and adjusted Teresa's nun's habit shawl.

"Whether you are a nun now, a saint, or will become the prophesied Basilissa of the Bayrgans Empire, I will regard you as my greatest rival in love—but in private, I am willing to be your friend."

I swear I will not use underhanded means to win his heart in front of you. But Theresa. Just as an unwilling elf will eventually be forced to change by the tides of time.

Will you also change your cowardly mindset? You bear the highest rights and responsibilities of the Bayerzans Empire. You can choose to relinquish these rights and responsibilities and become the nun you desire.

But are you really confident... that you can keep up with His Majesty the Regent after becoming a nun forever? Are you really confident that you can have him accompany you on walks amidst his busy schedule, instead of having to bitterly prioritize his work?

Theresa. Become Baselissa, and you will have the ability to stand shoulder to shoulder with him—no, you will have the ability to become his leader, to be an adversary of my elven kingdom of Fen, instead of ending up as an outsider.