Tap, tap, tap…
After getting dressed, Lucas was on his way to the dining hall with Mina and Nicole.
"How is Camilla's studying coming along?" Lucas suddenly asked. He planned to visit the beastkin tribe leader in a few days and then take her back to Riverden City.
"Her learning ability is excellent. She can grasp new concepts from a single example," Nicole replied softly.
"Calculating ledgers, managing grain mobilization... have there been any problems?" Lucas continued. "If Camilla is to manage Riverden City, she'll be in a total mess if she isn't capable."
"Aside from a few mistakes at the very beginning, she has completed everything else very well." Nicole paused to think, understanding why he was asking.
"That's good." Lucas nodded, satisfied. "In the next few days, let her review some of Sedona City's tax policy documents."
To manage a city, the tax system had to be the first thing to be stabilized. It represented the City Lord's main source of income and the foundation that determined how many soldiers he could support.
"Master, are you really going to make Camilla the City Lord of Riverden City?" Mina spoke up. "From what I've observed, Camilla doesn't seem to have any interest in the position."
"That will be her choice. If she's unwilling, then we'll just find someone to act as a regent." Lucas paused, then said slowly, "Or, we can have her act as the regent temporarily while we train a new candidate."
Riverden City was the key supply station for sheep, horses, and cattle. Therefore, it absolutely had to remain in his control.
Tap, tap, tap...
"Ah!"
With a startled cry, the rabbit-eared girl collided right into Lucas. He wrapped his arms around Helen's slender waist to steady her.
"What's the hurry?" Lucas asked, holding the rabbit-eared girl. "Not eating breakfast?"
"I- I ate." Helen blushed, still flustered from seeing Lucas's naked body earlier. To avoid the awkwardness, she had planned to grab her breakfast and rush to school, only to crash right into him as she was leaving the dining hall.
"Why so early today?" Lucas raised an eyebrow, a slight smile playing on his lips. He could guess what the rabbit-eared girl was thinking, but teasing her was always fun.
"Sch-school... needs to organize some files," Helen stuttered. Her rabbit tail was being pinched by the Lord—a sensitive spot for her. Her long legs felt weak, and her entire body sagged against him.
"Have Freya accompany you later. It's not safe for you to go out alone," Lucas said gently. "Sedona City is filled with all sorts of people right now, too many strangers have arrived. The intelligence network doesn't have a complete handle on all suspicious individuals yet. If someone were to make a move on you, it would be too late for regrets."
"My Lord, Gaba will escort me to school." The corners of Helen's mouth turned up. It felt so good to be cared for. She actually wasn't as flustered anymore.
"Then go ahead, be careful." Lucas gave a slightly sheepish smile and let the rabbit-eared girl go. He'd almost forgotten that Gaba was now part of the guard.
"Mhm!" Helen replied softly, her face red. She lowered her head and ran off. Today was going to be a happy day.
Lucas saw the teasing looks from Mina and Nicole, shrugged, and strode into the dining hall. He found the other beast-eared girls staring curiously at something on the table.
"Good morning, Master (My Lord)!" The beast-eared girls greeted him.
"Morning." Lucas nodded and sat down at the head of the table. He stared blankly at the item on his plate. Isn't this a tea egg?
"Nicole, what is this?" Annie asked, staring curiously at the dark-colored, cracked item on her plate.
"They're tea eggs. Just eggs. It's not like you've never had an egg before," Nicole said, revealing a mischievous smile.
"Is this edible? It's so ugly," Annie pouted, holding the tea egg with a look of disgust.
"This? This is an egg?" Ayesha picked up a tea egg, looking stunned. She was just confused by it; otherwise, she would have already started bickering with Annie.
"You'll know once you try it." Lucas was the first to peel his egg. He caught sight of Amelia staring blankly and asked, surprised, "Amelia? What's wrong? Not eating?"
"No." Amelia looked at the tea egg on her plate and shook her head. "It's gross."
"Huh? Gross?" Lucas's eyes widened slightly. He glanced at Nicole, wondering if she had messed them up today. He popped the egg into his mouth, bit off half, and chewed...
"Not at all. This is delicious!" Lucas raised an eyebrow. The tea egg was made well and was very flavorful. How could it be gross?
"..." Amelia stared at the half-eaten tea egg in Lucas's hand. Then, she pushed her own egg away and took the one he had just bitten from his hand.
"Uh..." Lucas froze, then realized what was happening. He hesitated, "Amelia, are you... afraid of eggs? Or did you have a bad experience with one before, like eating a raw one?"
"..." Amelia didn't answer. Her small mouth was full of the half-eaten egg, and her green eyes just stared at Lucas. She simply refused to say a word.
"Alright." Lucas sighed, helpless. He was now certain Amelia had a fear of eggs, or at least, things like eggs.
"Hey, this is delicious!" Ayesha chewed, taking a big bite. She looked down at her plate, where only two eggs remained, then glanced at Elisa's plate, which also only had three eggs.
"Not enough?" Elisa saw the ox-horned girl's expression, chuckled, and passed one of the eggs from her own plate over.
"No, that's not it." Ayesha quickly shook her head and turned to Nicole. "Nicole, does everyone only get three tea eggs today?"
She asked because they were used to eating their fill, no matter what was served. But today's breakfast was only tea eggs and wheat porridge.
"You can't eat too many eggs at once," Nicole explained, peeling another tea egg and placing it on Amelia's plate.
"Oh, I see." Ayesha nodded in vague understanding, then picked up her large bowl of wheat porridge and began eating it with her tea eggs.
"How are the chickens at the farm doing?" Lucas asked, popping the half of a tea egg he'd just bitten into Nicole's mouth.
"Ahem..." Annie cast an envious glance at Nicole before answering, "Right now, the farm has three thousand chickens. The daily egg production is over two thousand."
"Still too few." Lucas frowned. These chickens had been hatched from fertilized eggs he brought from Earth. In other words, Earth chickens had also crossed over.
His internal space couldn't transport living things, yet for some reason, he could bring over plants and eggs. He couldn't even bring a single fly, however, which he found very strange.
"Master, should we build more farms?" Annie put down her chopsticks and asked.
"No. Fence off an area in the Forbidden Mountains and let them all be free-range," Lucas said in a deep voice. It wasn't like he was short on land, and free-range chickens were the best.
"Understood." Annie nodded, making a mental note.
"Later, come with me to the Research and Development department," Lucas said, taking the tea egg that Annie had just bitten in half.
"Yes," Annie replied, blushing. The corner of her mouth, still chewing, turned up in a smile.
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