"Her Highness Princess Ranea Meln Kandria has arrived!" A royal announcer announced her entry into the viewing gallery.

Most guests in the gallery bowed to varying degrees. The custom was such that even the degree to which they bowed was a testament to their social status. Martial Masters, guests from outside of the Kandrian Empire who were not citizens of the nation, and bodyguards in active duty were not required to bow; they had automatically moved to the back, furthest away from the princess, observing polities.

Rui bowed by about forty-five degrees, expressing respect to a member of the Royal Family as she made her way to the other end of the gallery, turning around at the end.

"Raise your heads," She gracefully instructed them, relieving them of their posture. "Distinguished guests from and beyond Kandria, welcome to the inauguration of the first seal-class Karokann Av412. Today the Kandrian Empire takes a historic step for all of East Panama. Today, our naval and seafaring channels will include a new dimension… a new world. A world we know less than we would admit."

More than her words, Rui was impressed by her oratory skill. She delicately controlled the pitch and tone of her voice, even quivering it to add a hint of alarm to her tone.

"The depths of the ocean are ripe with resources, just waiting to be ceased, yet our ability to reach them is crippled in comparison to our ability to extract resources from land. Today…that changes forever." This belongs to : ©.

Her arms spread, and just a moment later, the visible ocean through the large glass rippled as the Karokann submarine emerged from the depth of the ocean, fully floating above the ocean water.

"Ooohh…"

"Wow…"

A wave of murmurs spread through the crowd as many of the guests beheld the first submarine of the Kandrian Empire.

"While I would love to tell you all about the marvels of this submarine, that honor belongs to the lead developer Rankan Vlaren, who oversaw the project from scratch to completion; please welcome him with a round of applause," Princess Ranea gestured to a beaming man.

"I thank Her Highness for this honor," He began. "The Karokann was truly a project that I poured my heart and soul into, yet I won't bore all of you with the full depth of the technical details, for this is a celebration, not a lecture. Today, I simply wish to convey the manner in which the Karokann defies…well, everything."

"As Her Highness rightly mentioned…the Karokann adds a new dimension to seafare. This alone will require us to break everything we thought we ever knew. Seafare will no longer be an open book but also a domain of stealth. It opens up new avenues of exploration, for the depth that the submarine can tolerate is…"

Rui listened as the developer brought up several points in defense of submarines. The exploration of the depths of the ocean was indeed quite a good point, but Rui wondered if they were entering a territory that they were sorely ill-equipped to handle.

This was especially true with the monsters of the Panama Continent. He didn't know if it was the most prudent to be so eager to set off on an adventure for the ocean floor.

Regardless, he wasn't too interested in the performance parameters of the Karokann.

While the lead developer continued on, Rui glanced at Princess Ranea, getting a good look at her. While she exerted a great deal of control, Rui could sense her enthusiasm and excitement in her eyes.

While she did not hide her royal bearing, she did seem sane, all things considered.

That was already a better start than Princess Rafia and Princess Raemina.

It reduced the probability that she had crazy ideas regarding the Kandrian Empire.

"…Thus, in this manner, submarines can revolutionize the Royal Navy as well as the underwater mining industry," Mister Rankan smiled. "I look forward to serving the Kandrian Empire in its development in the field of submarine seafaring in the future. However, for today, please enjoy the Karokann."

He offered a short bow, earning a round of applause as he made his way back into the crowd.

Princess Ranea took center stage again upon the speaking podium in the viewing gallery, addressing the crowd. "Distinguished ladies and gentlemen, submarines are the future for all matters beneath the ocean surface. They will be at the forefront of all things furtive and clandestine in the ocean. They will be at the forefront of securing the Kandrian Empire's dominance across the marine sector, after all…"

Rui narrowed his eyes at those words as a confident smile appeared on her face. "As Empress, my first act shall be to commission the development of ten thousand such submarines!"

Rui's eyes widened as he recalled the stated cost of development of the submarine, estimating the total cost of such a venture, including estimated costs for expanding manufacturing capabilities to complete such a vast number within a reasonable timeframe.

'That's huge!' Rui stared at her with a stunned expression. 'That's already close to one-fourth of the annual fiscal budget of the Kandrian Empire!'

That may not sound like much, but it was absolutely bonkers. Such a huge chunk was being dedicated solely to the production of submarines!

"With an enormous fleet of submarines, the Kandrian Empire's seafaring power will be unrivaled across the entire continent!" She declared. "Be it trade flux, be it extract and mining, be it defense, this great Empire will be the strongest in the entire world! We shall hold no bars to developing our marine and naval sectors to the absolute limit, no matter the cost!"

Rui stared at her as she confidently unveiled her commitment to aggressively expanding the Kandrian Empire's navy.

This didn't even include the expenses of her other ambitions, like similarly expanding the shipbuilding prowess of the Kandrian Empire and the ports and harbors to increase seafare and trade flux to and from the Kandrian Empire.

'Just how much does she want to drain the nation to fund her ambitions?!"