"Listen closely... Our first step may sound contradictory but it is something that needs to be done. I want you to keep most of the coal and iron you get from your two mines inside or near those mines until further notice. I know this will eat into the treasury even more but it is necessary for our future development. We will use these materials to improve our power base as a whole by increasing our steel production and stocks using a few various methods by at least ten-fold within a month. You probably already have some kind of forge as well as a bloomery setup for your steelmaking needs which will probably do fine for now, but it will definitely need an upgrade in the near future. Don't worry though as I will provide designs for that as well." I said as I grabbed the metal cup with the quill on top of it. I also grabbed a sheet of paper that only had a few words written near the top of it before placing both items on the table in front of me.

The table had ample space for the items so there was no need to move anything around. The adults present which was Leon, Sasha, Karl, and Paul all watching my actions with a bit of skepticism at first and I really couldn't blame them as I did wear the uniform of someone who couldn't write or read for that matter. But one should never judge a book by its cover, not to mention I was about to solve their whole dynasty's 'crisis' with a few lines of ink.

I began drawing a sketch-like schematic of a beehive coke oven which was widely used in the times before I was alive back on Earth. I made the image big enough to be seen clearly but not enough to take up the rest of the piece of paper. This was because I needed space for four other sketches, namely the Bessemer converter, a steam engine, a milling machine, and a lathe. I tried to be as neat as possible but I never was any good at drawing back on Earth, not to mention that I didn't have the luxury of having a way to erase any mistakes I made. However, the image was decent enough to be referenced from, which is what I planned on using it for when I have the twins use their talents to make the image larger and cleaner.

After finishing my drawings, I showed them to the three adults before I began to explain the items.

"I have drawn three things which will help us achieve our goals, the first is called a beehive oven and it is used in the production of a material called coke which is essential for making steel. It is possible you have seen this material before but using this oven we will produce it at a much larger scale. The by-products of the material are also useful when used as an ingredient in brick-making, but also when making cement, as well as when used as fertilizer for crops." I paused to allow my words to sink in before continuing.

"But even with all the extra benefits it brings us, it still doesn't compare to the developments the next item will bring. And for this reason, it will need to be considered one of our biggest secrets. The device is called a Bessemer converter and it will be the key to expanding our steel production to levels far beyond whatever you are capable of now. It melts pig iron using coal and coke to heat the materials while using air to remove as many impurities from the materials as possible creating steel. Using this method, we can convert an average of four tons of iron into steel in less than twenty minutes per heat." I looked over the people in the room to gauge their reactions to my statements.

Out of all my cousins, only Zoe seemed to pay attention to my words while Kai, Luca, Ash, and Bell all focused more on the sketches on the piece of paper that was being carefully passed around as it were a newborn. Of the adults present only Sasha and Paul seemed to understand the significance of the ideas I was putting forth, but what caught my attention even more than that was how they seemed to be communicating with their eyes whilst making sure to hide their actions from Leon, who was just as fascinated with the drawings as my cousins.

I found their actions to be incredibly strange, but now was not the time to confront them. Not to mention that I didn't feel any hostility from the short stares they tried to sneak at me every now and then. I will keep a close eye on them nonetheless.

After waiting for everyone present to finish their various reactions to the drawing, I began explaining the third image that I had drawn which was a steam engine. I wanted to choose the Corliss steam engine for its ability to provide electricity as well as its efficiency when it came to powering mills, but I decided to go with the Watt steam engine instead as it was more versatile in areas I could use it in and since I could only focus on one, for now, the Watt steam engine was probably more useful at our current stage. Hell, they barely have enough infrastructure to support the population, which is perhaps ten thousand inside of the wall and at least thirty thousand people outside of the wall, let alone something they never heard of like an electricity grid.

With that in mind in began explaining how we could the steam engine to power the machinery that is used in making paper, flour, cotton, and various other textiles, while also telling them how we can use the machine to gain access to fresh water by using it as a pump or using it to power other waterworks. I also wanted to explain that we could use the engine to power simple locomotives such as trains or boats but it would probably be a waste of words as I doubt they would understand without an image to look at alongside my descriptions. I decided I would instead talk about how the effects of this machine would allow for a larger workforce as many labor-intensive activities could be replaced with the machines, achieving more consistent results in products while also being able to do said labor-intensive activity for a much longer time than their human counterparts.

I went on to state that some of the free hands could be used to operate the last two machines I had drawn, which were a milling machine and a lathe. Without going into too much detail, I described how these two machines could allow us to mass-produce many items that will be useful in not only securing our place within the town but also in improving the daily lives of everything within the bounds of the town if we use them correctly.

I didn't want to go into a lot of detail though as I believed these machines were probably too complex for us to produce at this moment... Honestly, I would be lying to myself if I said that I thought we could reproduce any one of these machines within a reasonable time frame, besides maybe the beehive oven which was the simplest of the drawings by far. I mean we had all the materials that were required to recreate the devices, but I could never expect them to be able to make each piece of the machine as precise as they will need to be to make items such as gun barrels, rifled or not, or even the wooden stocks that were obviously needed along with the barrels. If we couldn't even get our basic industry tools done correctly, then we might as well just turn our heads in on a silver platter to the nobles.

*sigh*

I was grateful for the blessing of the knowledge from Earth I had received whenever the being that had brought me here did so, but without the ability to bring the ideas to fruition, it was probably more dangerous than not having anything with me at all. I was still determined to carve out a place of my own within this world, but without some kind of shortcut, I will likely be dead before many of the ideas I have make it out of this stuffed brain of mine.

After thinking this I took the paper that held the drawings from Karl, who grumbled at my action but quickly let go of the page with haste. But instead of grabbing the quill, as everyone thought I would, I tore the bottom half of the page containing the three drawings of the steam engine, a milling machine, and a lathe. I then rolled the piece of paper I tore off into a shape of cylindrical nature resembling a particular recreational activity that I perhaps partook in a bit too much given the instincts that kicked in when I began the action. I even place to rolled piece of paper behind my ear leaving it covered by my dreads which came down to my shoulders, while even covering my face if didn't pull them back.

Once I placed the piece of paper behind my ear I ignored the stares of all the individuals present while placing the piece with the first image of the beehive coke oven in front of Leon. I then jabbed my finger down on the paper drawing everyone's attention toward it before speaking.

This book's true home is on another platform. Check it out there for the real experience.

"Sorry for the sudden actions but I have come to the realization that while we may be able to produce all four of the machines I described for you earlier, the results of the last three will probably not be up to the standards that I considered to be necessary. Therefore I have decided we should focus on what we can accomplish efficiently which is the beehive ovens. We can consider it as us rebuilding the shattered foundation that we stand upon. Leon, I will give this piece of paper to you as you will be overseeing this project. I am trusting you with this so don't make me regret it." I finished off by sliding the paper toward Leon before I began explaining how he should go about building the contraption.

I instructed him that he should use similar but smaller stones to the ones used to construct the building lining the road through the center of the town, well the ones inside the walls at least. I also told him that the name of the oven comes from its shape which is that of a beehive. They had bees in this world so there was no trouble there but the picture I drew was more useful given that it was more in line with the dimensions of the ovens we required albeit miniaturized because of the lack of space on the now-torn page. I then went on to describe how wide and high the dome of the oven should be while also giving out some figures for the diameter of the hole in the roof of the dome, as well as for the discharging hole in the circumference of the lower part of the wall. I specified that only five of these could be built at the most simply because I wouldn't want the design slipping into the wrong hands. Obviously, no one said anything against my words aloud so I couldn't tell if they disagreed or not, but given their current circumstances, I could only hope that any greed they have kept hidden would work in my favor for the time being.

After babbling out a few more specifics pertaining to the oven such as how thick the walls of the dome should be or what material he should use for the base of the structure, I yawned as my lack of sleep these past few days had caught up to me. Even though the act was involuntary I didn't try to hide it as I was feeling pretty exhausted at the moment, but it was not only me though as my cousins looked to be just as tired as myself.

Leon saw this and began to speak.

"I understand your instructions sir and I will begin the construction of your project at first light tomorrow. But you should get a proper rest as I am sure you have not had one in a couple of nights. Joann and I can move to one of the six rooms in the corridor so that you can--" I stopped him as I realized where he was heading with his words.

"That's not needed Leon, you can keep your room. My cousins and I will choose from the six rooms outside but thank you for the generosity." I said as I stood up from the table before heading toward our bags which were right beside the door leading to the corridor that held the six rooms Leon mentioned. My cousins stood up and followed behind me with Kai and Luca grabbing their respective backpacks while I grabbed mine as well. Leon seeing all this tried to stand up as well but required a bit of help still as he winced in pain because of his injuries. Karl help him out of his chair while Sasha and Paul walked toward our group standing by the door.

I spoke once again while all of this was happening.

"You should get some rest as well Leon. Remember I said you oversee the project not take part in it. Make sure to delegate the small things to some of your most trusted servants whenever possible as it will make your assignment less stressful." I said as I open the door I was standing in front of before waving my cousins out of the room.

I walked out behind my cousins and was followed by Sasha and then Paul who closed the door behind him. Once we all made it to the center of the corridor Sasha spoke to us while Paul marveled at our backpacks that we guys held over our shoulders. I noticed Sasha had a strange look in her eyes but I didn't feel any hostility from the look so I wasn't worried about our lives at the very least. She stared deeply into my eyes as she began.

"All of the rooms here are pretty much the same size. However, I recommend you take the first room on the right side of the hall for... convenience's sake. What do you think sir?" I returned her stare while I tried to figure out what she meant by her phrasing. I assumed she was referring to my ‘convenience’ but I could not understand why that was the case.

I could only nod at her words before looking toward my cousins who had begun choosing their rooms. Kai and Luca took the two rooms closest to Leon's quarters, while Ash and Bell decided to stay in the same room for some unknown reason. The room they chose was right beside Luca's room leaving only one more vacant room on the right side of the corridor considering I would take the room closet to the stairwell. Finally, Zoe decided she would take the room across from mine on the left side of the corridor and everyone went into their respective rooms to finally get some sleep without worrying about insects or animals harassing us.

I waved at Zoe who had just closed her door before nodding at Sasha and Paul who stood near the stairwell with patience as they both bowed to me causing my eyes to squint a bit. I waved them away as well before walking into my room and closing the door behind me.

The room was decent in size and was fully furnished with many items one would expect to be inside a bedroom. The bed was probably queen-sized and was decently made, but had no feature that stuck out in any way. Unfortunately, that was all I could make out in the room as it was pretty dark. I mean I could make out the shape of other furniture but all the details were lost in the darkness. Not to mention that my eyes were naturally attracted to the bed simply because it was what I was sorely missing these past few days.

I walked toward the bed and threw my bag on it before jumping onto it myself. The bed itself felt like a bed should except it had a lot less spring which was a given. I guessed that the cushion was made from feathers or wool of some kind but I really didn't care at the moment because either was better than the grass outside.

I began to doze off before I heard a faint noise.

The noise sounded like something was opening but when I looked at my door I saw that it was still closed.

I figured it was just my mind being overactive before sleep kicked in so I layed my head back down on the pillow and closed my eyes. As I was tired already it was easy to begin falling asleep again.

However, just as I began dozing off once again I felt a few fingers poke my back.

Goosebumps… Chills... Whatever you want to call them ran through my body as I jumped out of the bed away from the hand before looking toward the source of the appendage.

I scan the darkness with my hand on my sword while trying to make out a figure for a few seconds before my eyes adjusted enough to see. The person I saw was someone I was somewhat familiar with given I had just waved her away from my door not even ten minutes ago.

"..Sasha?? What are you--" I paused my words because of the spark of light that ran through her eyes as she looked at me. She smiled at my reaction as she spoke for the first time since coming into my room.

"Yes, it is me. You can release your grip on your sword as I mean you no harm... As contrary as that may seem right now." She kept her smile as she talked while staring into my eyes. I still didn't feel any hostility from her gaze but I would not drop my only defense right now just because she asked nicely.

"Your words may be true but I can't risk my life simply because a pretty face asked me to. Hopefully, you can understand that..." I said as I returned her smile trying to mask the fear I felt just seconds previously.

Sasha nodded her head at my words but didn't take her eyes off me. I stepped forward so I could be within reach of my backpack that was still on the bed but I guess Sasha took this as me preparing to draw the sword so she point her finger at my waist.

I was confused by her action which only compounded once I saw a redish-white line shoot out from her fingertip into the handle of the sword passing straight through my hand. I didn't feel anything when the line went through my hand, but I quickly removed my hand from the sword once I felt a burning sensation coming from my palm.

Sasha then flicked her finger down toward the ground which caused a small flame to shoot out from it toward my waist.

As the small but bright flame came closer to me, I watched the display with an equal amount of shock and fear displayed on my face. I was scared that I might meet my end but I was definitely more shocked at the supernatural act that I believed would be said end.

I was woken out of my stupor when I heard a soft thump coming from beneath me.

I looked down and saw that the sword and its sheathe now lay on the floor beside my feet while leaving a burnt leather smell in the air.

I slowly raised my head to look at Sasha who kept that same smile on her face the entire time. I could only think of one word as my eyes met hers once again.

'...Magic...'