Kaede hardly paid attention as the maids brought her dinner in. Her focus was still transfixed upon the scroll-like magical map, as each of her hands held onto one of its rollers.

Admiral Winter's 'World Expedition Map' -- it was labeled in gold letters on top -- was unlike anything she had ever seen. The scroll stretched no more than a pace in width, or roughly 3/4 of a meter, and half that in height. It displayed twisting rivers and jagged shorelines in an amazing degree of detail, all in vivid watercolor soft to the eyes. Furthermore, it could zoom in or out at her prompting, with lines shifting and colors rolling across the parchment to as fine as 1/10,000 scale, complete with topography markers and elevation lines near the maximum zoom.

The map also marked the 'current location' in red. An extra, semi-transparent overlay covered an area of fifty kilopace radius, which displayed weather effects like the wintry mix of sleet and rain currently descending in the northeast.

Yet despite the impressive display features, the map was woefully incomplete. When zoomed all the way out, Kaede could see the huge masses of cloudy gray that represented terra incognita. Narrow lanes cut across the far oceans of the world and through the 'Frontier' continents, where much of the eastern coastal regions -- as much as the Thirteen Colonies, Caribbeans, and Argentina combined -- were marked as Skagen colonial territory. Meanwhile in contrast, the interiors of Hyperion and the southern continent of Euryphaessa were largely unknown.

Give it another century and Skagen will have an empire on which the sun never sets, she thought.

Kaede pressed a button that she found in the right scroll roller. The familiar felt waves of mana pulled from her and into the map. The magical power requirements were enormous, straining even the rate that Pascal could resupply her through the familiar bond. However the reason behind it soon proved apparent as the map began redrawing the contents within the highlighted, fifty-kilopace spread.

This is an actual map of Admiral Winter's travels! Kaede confirmed at last. It was so detailed yet incomplete because the late Admiral had to journey to each region for the map to magically scan and plot the surrounding lands.

"Kaede, stop doing that here."

Her eyes were still wide with astonishment as she looked up to meet Pascal.

"It's charting the surrounding lands! And even recognizing the nearby villages!" She muttered in her awed, wispy voice.

"I figured as much, hence I told you to stop it." Pascal repeated with even more authority, though for a moment Kaede saw hints of a cringe in his brows.

The tremendous mana consumption by the map could not have escaped his notice.

"If you are going to run a scan, do it outside, preferably on the roof," Pascal scolded her. "Cartography magic has pitiful efficiency when used indoors. You are going to drain me dry with a mapping tool that powerful. Furthermore, dinner is already here and it is in the way."

Kaede looked to her side and finally noticed a young, impatient-looking maid.

"Sorry," she rushed to close the map scroll before putting it away in the messenger bag that was slung behind her chair. With the tablespace before her no longer blocked, the maid was at last able to place down her meal.

How the mouthwatering waft of baked fish could have escaped Kaede's notice was an even bigger mystery. The meat came in a huge slab and was flavored with a green sauce and fine-chopped spinach. It was served with fried calamari, white asparagus, red cabbage, and oddly enough -- a deep-red sausage.

I think this is baked whale and fried kraken, Kaede thought as she examined the huge chunks.

One thing was for certain: Weichsel certainly didn't waste food from the battlefield.

She really wasn't sure about eating what had been an endangered species back on Earth. Though the sausage was also strange, as she looked around and noticed she was the only diner who had one.

"What's this?" She pointed with her fork and asked.

"Blutwurst," Pascal answered. "Perceval said you needed extra iron."

Don't tell me this is freshly made from whale or horse blood too.

Kaede frowned as she definitely wasn't a fan of the famous 'blood sausage'. But there was no arguing with the doctor. With a quiet sigh, Kaede closed her eyes to take a deep breath. She exalted in the aroma of the fine cuisine. It was the one item she couldn't complain about since coming to Hyperion.

"I am going to miss this once we leave for the front," Pascal said with a wistful smile as he breathed in the smell of his cheesy beer soup.

"Can't you just bring your cook along?" Sylviane asked from her seat across the table from Kaede as though it was only natural.

The Princess had changed before dinner into a velvet evening gown in royal blue. Delicate lace framed her narrow shoulders while silken gloves hugged her arms. Sylviane seemed to wear something different each time Kaede saw her at dinner. It made the familiar wonder if the Princess had an extradimensional storage item that brought her wardrobe along wherever she went.

"The army's policy is no special treatment in regards to anything concerning logistics," Pascal explained. "We have too many nobles in the military. If everyone demands this and that of their own, even the most efficient supply train would be overburdened. So to remove any potential conflicts, our founder King Ferdinand wrote it into the Writ of Universal Conscription that everyone receives the same bland rations in the field. And if supplies fall short of demand, priority is given based on military rather than social rank."

"I think that's wise of him," Kaede appraised. "After all, logistics is the backbone of military operations in war."

Her Russian half was well educated in this. Popular opinion might think that the infamous Russian winter was the destroyer of conquering armies, as men always blamed nature for their own failures. Though in truth, both Napoleon and Hitler's invasions failed because their logistical preparations were woefully inadequate for campaigning across a realm as massive as Mother Russia. By the time either reached Moscow, their men were already lacking in food, ammunition, shelter, and fuel. Without adequate warmth and nourishment, any harsh blizzard would take its toll, let alone a Russian one.

Hence why the only outsiders to succeed in an invasion of Russia... were the Mongols.

Though not in this world, Kaede couldn't help but smile as she imagined how different Russia could have been without the cultural trauma left by the 'Mongol Yoke'.

...

 

"The Glassmakers' Guild is lucky I need them for reconstruction efforts." Kaede heard Pascal snarl from the head of the dinner table. "Otherwise I would be cutting their access to the King's purse for their selfish greed and impudence!"

Pascal and Sylviane had been discussing their lunch meeting, when they met up with the city's guild leaders for the second time. Apparently one of the guild leaders had demanded that Pascal prioritize their needs, due to the heavy loss of materiel they suffered during the bombardment.

"The trading facilities must be given priority, as Nordkreuz is a trade city dependent on supply chains!" Pascal explained in an irritated voice as though the facts should be obvious. "Next comes the recovery of steel production. We trade with Rhin-Lotharingie for much of our lumber and stone, and steel is what a nation at war needs! The glassmakers mostly rely upon their fancy, artisan glass for profits. It is folly to claim that such luxury items are a priority during times like these!"

"Isn't Weichsel most known for its blackened steel and stained glass?" Kaede asked. It was mostly to redirect Pascal's anger though, as she already knew the answer.

"Yes, those are two of Weichsel's main exports," Sylviane nodded.

"Had it not been, the Glassmakers' Guild would not be so full of themselves." Pascal fumed, before a new thought seems to have caught onto his attention. Curiosity overcame his anger as he turned towards his familiar and asked:

"Kaede, what would you prioritize in this case for the city's recovery? I have been meaning to ask you yet it kept slipping my mind."

The Samaran girl brought her hand up to her chin and she launched into deep thought. However the answer seemed a little too obvious. It almost felt like this was a trick question, another one of Pascal's tests.

"As you mentioned, public infrastructure demands the highest priority," she concurred first to put them on the same page. "Roads and docks are important for bringing in materials for reconstruction and restoring commerce. Another item of priority should be the city's bathhouses. The last thing Nordkreuz needs is for disease to spread while its people live in overcrowded, temporary housing."

"That's a good point," Sylviane voiced in approval as she turned to her fiancé. "Perceval tells me that the healers are already stretched on resources. An outbreak of disease now would be devastating."

"Exactly," Kaede gestured with her fork. "After that comes the reconstruction materials. You've mentioned that lumber and stone comes from Rhin-Lotharingie. What about the others?"

"Steel nails, bolts, glass, and lime are all made domestically," Pascal replied. "Weichsel has an abundance of metalworking and glassmaking."

"Though it's still cheaper to produce within the city than to be carried in, especially given the distance between Nordkreuz and Weichsel's other urban centers." Kaede noted, as she had been examining Weichsel's maps long enough to commit its geography to memory. "So steelworks, like the arcane forge we visited last week, should definitely come after infrastructure. With the abundance of labor in the city right now, construction capacity will be largely decided by the availability of tools and supplies."

"And architects," Pascal added before smiling. "Though I agree. Restoring the blacksmiths will also help with war production. The Lotharins have always used arrowheads faster than they can produce them."

It was clear that Kaede had passed his latest 'test' already. However, the answer she gave was just the low-hanging fruit. To hasten the recovery of an industrial-trade hub like Nordkreuz, they would need far more than just construction and war production. Otherwise even after Nordkreuz was rebuilt, its economy would be extremely unbalanced. It would be like the Soviet Union after the Great Patriotic War, with far too much heavy industry and an economy built around military spending, rather than relying on light industries geared towards consumer production.

To promote long-term growth, it was far better to take the American route.

"Apart from the steelworks, I think it would also be helpful to let the market decide what's most important," Kaede voiced next. "After all, it is simply not possible for us to sit here and grasp what all of the common people's needs are. Only the shopkeepers in the streets know that. Therefore they, in turn, should be allowed to play a part in the decision-making process of what to prioritize."

"Are you saying we should poll the merchants?" Sylviane looked confused. But the familiar shook her head.

"Polls are useful but not always reliable. I suggest something more direct," Kaede answered with a confident smile. "We create investment funds, where all citizens may contribute their private assets. We then ask the business leaders who need funding to speak publicly about their plans. They will then sell a percentage share of their future establishment in exchange for the cash investments necessary for reconstruction. Meanwhile those with wealth to contribute may invest their money upon ventures which they think will see the most demand, and therefore most profits. Once they own part of the business, they are also due part of the profits. This creates a monetary incentive for those with wealth to contribute to the city's reconstruction."

After all, with morale buoyed by the recent military victories, the geoeconomic conditions that once shaped Nordkreuz into the 'Jewel of the North' would inevitably bring forth its recovery. Reconstruction was synonymous to 'growth', presenting business opportunities that entrepreneurs would seize with relish.

The modern concept of a stock exchange had been established as early as 1600 when the Dutch funded the mercantile ventures of the East India Company. The idea of 'investment shareholding' traced back even further to ancient times. Based on Kaede's reading, there were already signs that the Holy Imperium's commerce guilds and the Grand Republic's Merchant Alliance had adopted share-trading practices. But this institution of modern finance had yet to establish itself in the states of Weichsel or Rhin-Lotharingie.

And despite all the problems capitalism brought to Earth, it definitely understood market economics better than any other, Kaede thought.

However, she was also wary that early systems of investment were highly abusable. The infamous South Sea Company bubble that almost crashed the British economy was a perfect example of this. She would have to consult Pascal on bringing in local business and legal experts to supervise the project if it took off. But for the moment she didn't want to raise alarm bells as she was still in the proposition stage.

"I think it's a good idea," Sylviane was the first to respond. "We can speak of duty to those greedy merchants all we like. But they're primarily motivated by money and this has the incentive of seeing real profits."

"Perhaps," Pascal noted with a frown. "Though I do not like the idea of allowing those vultures to run the show. In the end, merchants care far more about their own account books than they do for communal welfare."

"So don't let them," Kaede replied. "You hold the purse strings of not just Nordkreuz' finances, but also the King's loans from the national treasury. Furthermore, you can also lay down ground rules on who is eligible for investment funding. Use that to your advantage in nudging the markets towards greater social responsibility," the familiar grinned. "Draw attention towards the greatest need and not merely the greatest greed."

Kaede still remembered watching documentaries on the 2008 Financial Crisis, when the US government failed to regulate its finance sector and allowed Wall Street to run amok with its avarice. She might respect capitalism in grasping the in and outs of the market, but she would always remember the lesson from that disaster:

All markets require government supervision and regulation, she thought. The balancing trick is to impose rules without micromanaging.

She had always thought that her father was correct in that Adam Smith and Karl Marx, the respective 'fathers' of capitalism and socialism, should be read back-to-back. Only then could someone understand both sides of a discussion as complex as socioeconomics.

"I will definitely bring this up in discussion with the guild leaders and the Cardinal-Chancellor's representatives." Pascal concluded. "But I think you are correct that with appropriate oversight, this could be a potent tool in revitalizing the city's economy."

Sylviane nodded in agreement as both of them sent the familiar an approving smile.

Yet as Kaede brought her fork up and bit into her sausage, the Landgrave froze in his seat. His turquoise eyes trained upon her with an incredulous stare.

"<Kaede... what, are you doing?>"

"<Eating a sausage.>" She answered with a hint of bewilderment at the sudden shift in behavior.

I guess I forgot to cut it first. But still...

There was no reason to stare at her as though she spontaneously turned into an octopus. Except it only grew worse when she brought the fork back up for another bite.

Even Sylviane was staring at her now, though she looked more annoyed than astonished. Meanwhile the Majordomo Karsten -- who had been pouring some wine for the Princess -- looked somewhere between flabbergasted and petrified by an eldritch horror.

"<That look is kind of... obscene.>"

Without actually biting down, Kaede pulled the meat from her lips and examined it.

"<It's a sausage.>"

"<Way too many inappropriate undertones, apart from being just plain rude,>" Pascal scolded.

What, because I have a phallic object sticking out of my mouth? Can social conventions learn a little maturity please?

"<I used to do this all the time.>" She defended herself even as she set the sausage back down onto her plate for knifing.

"<Maybe as a man. Never do that as a girl in public.>"

Pascal ordered in that stern, final voice of his, to which Kaede put her hands down as she heaved a heavy sigh.

Girls have to watch their appearances way too much.