Starting with the defeated female knight

I see, so this is your goal.

Then he shook his head.

But it's okay.

Since she wants to play.

Then he'll just play with her.

------

P.S.: I was stuck on writer's block until the wee hours last night and passed out. I just woke up, more to come later.

Volume 1: Chapter 99: Forced Instruction by Tentacles

A crimson undercurrent began to surge.

But it's still too far away, too faint, and with the help and cooperation of certain entities, it hasn't attracted anyone's attention, at least for now.

If it were an empire of the past, perhaps one could still detect the gradually spreading crimson.

But now, let alone bloodshed, almost everything in the capital is struggling to survive.

Because of industrialization?

No.

It's because of them.

"Ha, even now, those idiots still think it's just a problem of 'products not selling'."

"They even naively fantasized that as long as they could get other families to open up their territories and sell their goods, the problem would be solved."

Inside the Stuart family mansion, Elise twirled the dagger in her hand.

Then, with a gentle toss, it pinned the target to the wall.

Then, he let out a deep sigh.

"They don't even consider that if it were really that easy, why wouldn't I have done it as soon as I got back?"

Although the Empire's apparent problem is the accumulation of products due to industrialization, it seems that as long as this is solved, everyone can instantly change their attitude and sit down together to make dumplings.

But Elise knew that behind this seemingly simple 'product backlog problem' lay a complex and terrifying fear that would make anyone's scalp crawl at just a glance.

In reality, while normal industrialization can bring many problems due to rapid development, it is extremely difficult to deliberately reach the level of an empire.

The reason why the situation has become like this is not so much because industrialization is dangerous, or because increasing production is wrong.

It was purely the empire's own doing.

Take, for example, the most direct example of blind production, which is a common phenomenon in industrialization, and indeed in most of the time.

After all, no one would turn down money. If something is particularly lucrative, everyone will flock to it.

The problem is that anyone with a sound mind will not stubbornly persist once they see that the market is saturated and realize that they can't make money.

They won't exit outright; at most, they'll maintain the current scale to minimize losses.

But the nobles did not.

Even now, with the powder keg about to explode, all sorts of factories are still being built.

Moreover, they are all incredibly brainless and unscrupulous, and you don't even know what they're after when they set up those factories.

Why is this happening? Are those nobles out of their minds?

【It really is】

Yes, this isn't an insult or slander; it's that the nobles genuinely have something wrong with their brains.

For the same reason, in order to produce superior bloodlines, the nobles are now completely obsessed with bloodlines.

While consanguineous marriage has a high probability of producing children with birth defects, the combination of bloodlines is relatively stable, and the probability of giving birth to a child with high bloodline is indeed high.

As for other aspects, such as whether the body is deformed or whether the intelligence is normal...

Tell me if your bloodline is high or low!

After this group spread among the nobility, coupled with the gradual neglect of education due to the obsession with bloodline, the consequences were catastrophic.

When the empire was stagnant, things were alright; these people were still lying there obediently, not even knowing how to move.

But after industrialization, especially after seeing others popping rice, these nobles, who might not even have a thought process, naturally started to have ideas.

However, due to their limited intelligence and education, they simply cannot understand those complex things and logic; they only know one thing.

Building a factory equals making money.

As for what constitutes building a factory and how to make money, they don't care at all; they just leave it to their subordinates to handle.

If you can do it, great; if you can't, that's when your bloodline comes into play.

Subsequent events proved just how much damage a group of mentally challenged people with genuine bloodline powers could cause.

It could even be said that the scale of the empire's industry was controllable, and even the mages and the original investigation team were aware of the problem and had even tried to discuss it with each other.

But even they couldn't completely control that group of lunatics.

Some of the mentally ill even have a lineage higher than that of the nobles in the investigation team.

But if the mentally challenged are like this, are the intelligent people any better off?

The answer is obviously no.

In terms of intelligence, the mages of the association are among the best in the entire empire.

And they also reaped the most benefits throughout this entire industrialization process.

After all, nobles have to invest in materials to set up factories, but these people can just provide the technology and sit back and wait to collect money.

In addition, there was the previously agreed-upon profit sharing, as well as the nobles' continuous expansion and factory construction.

It can be said that during this period, most of the funds in the capital flowed directly into their pockets.

Logically speaking, they should be very happy now.

But in reality, let alone being happy, the dark cloud hanging over the association is even more terrifying than that over the nobles.

After all, smart people are the best at calculating.

Especially considering the sheer volume of profits this time, and the fact that they were almost entirely extracted from academic slaves, they were essentially unclaimed property.

Coupled with years of experience in power struggles within the association, it can be said that from the very beginning, it was a bloody and turbulent affair.

Not to mention between different factions, even within the same faction's "warm family," various open and covert struggles have begun, and the rifts are widening.

But that's not the worst part.

The most critical issue was that, after too much money flowed in, the magicians gradually noticed that the nobles were looking at them with increasingly strange expressions.

Moreover, even if you have money, you need somewhere to spend it. With nobles and the church controlling almost all resources, it's useless if they have a lot of money but can't spend it.

Frankly speaking, industrialization and increased productivity are a good thing.

Even if it brings many problems, it will definitely bring benefits, and after getting through the initial chaos, it can bring great improvements in all aspects.

But what makes the empire so remarkable is that, despite having such a good cause, it managed to lose everything thanks to the rot it had accumulated over the years.

Not a single social class, family, or individual benefited from it.

Oh, wait, it seems there really is.

"This is just great."

"The capital is in such a mess, nobody cares about you grabbing a little girl."

Elise reached out and peeled off the tentacle that was clinging to her little maid and playing with her, giggling and saying, "Don't touch me, Tentacle Master, it tickles!"

After holding it in my hand, I extended my index finger and, as if scratching a kitten's chin, fiddled with the tip of the tentacle.

Snapped.

The tentacle swatted her fingers away in disgust.

[What are you talking about? What do you mean no one cares about me catching little girls?]

【I've never arrested anyone, okay?】

"What about those missing 'trash,' 'deformed children,' and even those with 'superior bloodlines'?"

I didn't arrest anyone.

I simply asked their friends to invite them over for a chat or something.

And in the end, didn't they all go back?

"Yes, they've all come back."

Elise nodded.

"There wasn't even any unusual behavior, except that his whereabouts would occasionally be a little strange."

"But don't you think this situation is even more terrifying than if they hadn't come back at all?"

I don't think so.

The tentacles swayed slightly.

Anyway, I think it's pretty normal.

normal......

Elise remained silent for a moment, then composed herself.

"So, what exactly are you planning?"

“I counted them, and at least a third of the tentacles in the secret room are gone.”

[You just realized that?]

"We discovered it a long time ago, when the first tentacle was missing a few months ago."

Elise pinched the tip of the tentacle and gently rubbed it.

"But you should know why I didn't ask."

Are you sure you want to ask now?

His eyes welled up slightly as he looked at her intently.

You know, I'll tell you if you ask.

silence.

Elise paused for a moment, looking at the tentacle in her hand with a complicated expression.

for a long time.

"......never mind."

She sighed and then released the tentacles in her hand.

"If I had known it would turn out like this, I would have stayed in Dawn City and never come back."

That's true.

The tentacle nodded.

So, should we join the next caravan?

I've always saved a seat for you.

"let it go."

Elise shook her head, then stood up, walked to the window, and looked out.

Although dilapidated, although rotten, although filled with all sorts of disgusting things.

She knew, of course, that Green genuinely meant well for her, and she could even sense the impending danger.