Your Majesty, Wonders are Harmful to the Country!

A beggar's chicken was quickly devoured by the two men though, of course, Bruno ate most of it.

Seeing that the harvesting of pyrethrum was proceeding in an orderly manner under Shabi's command, Bruno was able to set his mind at ease. After all, this flower field had been acquired using his hard-earned glory points, so he had to come and inspect it personally.

The truth was, Bruno simply couldn't sit still. He wasn't the type to spend all day cooped up in the lord's castle of Idar, passively listening to reports like other nobles.

Hearing alone was unreliable seeing was believing. Especially in this era where commoners were treated like grass, Bruno needed to step out of the castle himself to witness the living conditions of Idar's lowest classes.

Besides, he saw this as a chance to stretch his legs, observe the people's livelihood, and breathe in the free air of Idar.

Now, more than half a month had passed since the pirate attack on Cape Saltworks. Those who managed to escape must have been scared out of their wits because they hadn't dared to return for another raid.

The lowest-class commoners of Idar had also gradually returned to their busy daily lives, treating the pirate attack as nothing more than a topic of casual conversation.

After all, Cape Saltworks had suffered no real losses, and the attack hadn't significantly disrupted their normal lives.

As for the fallen soldiers, Bruno had held a grand funeral for them in the military camp and provided their families with generous compensation.

However, he had not used this as an opportunity to stir up public sentiment against the pirates.

If he did so, what would become of the captured pirates?

An eye for an eye? A tooth for a tooth?The fact was, these captured pirates were currently helping to build warships for Idar!

Whether it was a pirate captain like Jack or his underlings, most of them had some knowledge of sailing or shipbuilding. Their experience in constructing three-masted ships and forming Idar's navy was proving invaluable.

Thus, with Bruno's silent approval, they were sent to the fishing port under the watch of White Barrel to assist in shipbuilding.

The official term for this? Labor reform.

Another reason Bruno chose to handle this matter quietly was his intent to recruit some of the pirates after crushing their forces.

According to Captain Jack, not all pirates at sea were ruthless criminals. A large number of them were once impoverished commoners who had lost their land and were left with no other options.

For Idar, completely eliminating the pirates wasn't the best course of action.

Bruno's plan was to eradicate the truly vile criminals while sparing those with lesser offenses. These individuals, familiar with the overseas territories, could be instrumental in extending Idar's influence eastward across the sea.

After all, Idar simply didn't have enough manpower to achieve this goal on its own.

Furthermore, after revealing information about the Franz Archipelago, the captured pirates no longer dared to play tricks.

They cooperated fully with Idar, answering every question without hesitation.

The reason was simple exposing the location of the Franz Archipelago had severed any remaining ties between them and their former leader, Kelvin Plato.

Even if Bruno were to release them now, they wouldn't dare return to piracy.

If they did, they'd most likely be executed on sight by Kelvin Plato.

At this point, their fates were tied to Idar's success.

If they performed well and helped Idar defeat the pirates at sea, perhaps the earl would show mercy and grant them a second chance at life.

If Idar failed… well, Kelvin Plato had never shown mercy to traitors, and his methods of execution were notoriously gruesome.

When Captain Jack first saw the blueprints in White Barrel's hands, he nearly gasped aloud.

Even on Earth in the previous world, the structure of a three-masted ship was considered a near-perfect "great masterpiece of humanity."

The three-masted ship was the culmination of countless generations of sailing wisdom. Every part of its construction, down to the positioning of each wooden plank, was designed with incredible precision, embodying the dreams of all seafarers who longed to set sail.

For a native of this world like Jack, seeing such an intricate blueprint was nothing short of a revelation.

He was utterly stunned secretly even relieved that he had been captured so early.

Otherwise…

Who knew what kind of massacre would unfold if he ever had to face such a warship in battle?

The wood used to construct these three-masted ships had to meet extremely high standards only the finest materials were selected.

Fortunately, all the necessary timber could be sourced directly from Armis Mountain. The felled logs would then be bound into rafts and floated down the Idar River to the shipyard.

This drastically reduced the manpower required, a crucial advantage given Idar's already strained labor force.

Perhaps, once the insecticide was widely used, Idar would finally have enough workers to go around…

While the construction of the three-masted warships was well underway, Idar's navy was also taking shape.

The navy was initially composed of 200 combat personnel, mostly coastal commoners and former serfs.

That's right serfs!

Due to the rushed formation of the navy, Bruno even allowed some serfs to enlist, promising that they could earn their freedom through military merit.

This drastically boosted the enthusiasm for recruitment. In a short time, the navy was the talk of Idar, overshadowing even the standing army in public discussion despite never having fought a single battle.

Though the navy was still relatively small, the number of personnel handling logistics, ship maintenance, and supply transport far exceeded the combat force.

Bruno was making long-term preparations although the current situation was difficult, if they endured this rough period, the future would be much brighter.

Supply transport was one thing, but skilled roles like shipwrights and harbor maintenance workers needed early training to ensure Idar's naval dominance in the long run.