NOVPUBThe reason no issues had arisen with the soldiers’ training so far was because it focused on basic drills for discipline.
But once intensive training began, the limitations of the soldiers became glaringly apparent.
The problem lay in the condition of their bodies, shaped by years of surviving in the barren North.
"It’s obvious—how could they have strength when they’ve barely had anything to eat? Just look at them, all scrawny and frail."
People in the North had grown up malnourished and were generally undersized.
Recently, they had started eating better in Fenris, but that was mostly limited to wheat products.
Meat was a rare commodity. It went first to the nobility and knights, while soldiers only got scraps in their stews, if anything. Often, they had to make do with foraged roots.
'Most of them have never had proper meat, so there’s no way they could develop endurance or stamina.'
Strength doesn’t come from training alone; nutrition and rest are equally important.
Eating plenty of meat to build muscle and maintain a solid physique would greatly enhance their combat abilities. While growing as big as Gordon was unnecessary, maintaining a suitable build was beneficial for combat.
'Meat... That’s not easy to come by. But I need more.'
Even with ample funds, some things were just difficult to obtain, especially animal-based resources.
Meat, milk, leather—these were incredibly hard to source due to widespread droughts that had decimated livestock across the region.
Other territories faced the same challenges.
'Wheat alone won’t be enough. Somehow, I need to increase our meat production.'
This issue had plagued Ghislain for a long time.
In a wheat-based society, solving the food crisis with a reliable wheat supply was a priority. But that was only the bare minimum, not a satisfying solution.
To strengthen not just the soldiers but all the residents, a more accessible source of meat was essential. Especially for the future of the territory, the children needed proper nutrition.
Although Ghislain had passed laws banning child labor and mandating education, if the children remained malnourished, the efforts would be meaningless.
'Back in my past life, I used to spend whatever money I had on meat to bulk up and grow stronger.'
Though he’d since reached a state of enlightenment where that wasn’t necessary, ordinary people had no such luxury.
"Even those elves keep demanding meat every day."
Raised in privilege, the elves had very refined tastes.
They refused to eat grass and roots, finding them flavorless. Their demands for alcohol and meat were relentless.
But it was somewhat understandable. After all, to build stamina, one needs to eat well.
Imposing physical training on those who weren’t properly nourished would go against Ghislain’s pride.
"Looks like it’s best to address that issue first."
Ghislain had multiple plans in the works. Although priorities shifted occasionally depending on circumstances, the larger vision remained intact.
And securing a steady supply of meat and leather was naturally part of that vision.
"Let’s start by increasing the meat supply."
He immediately summoned Gillian.
"Lower the intensity of the training for now. The soldiers are struggling to keep up."
"My apologies, it seems I’ve failed—"
"It’s not your fault. Our standards were probably too high. They’ve only been eating bread, so they’re likely running out of energy quickly. Focus on formation drills for now, so they don’t lose discipline."
"Understood."
Upon returning to the castle, Ghislain called a meeting with his advisors. Anxiety was evident on their faces.
'What does he want now?'
'Please don’t give us more work.'
'Maybe he’s suggesting a break?'
Even with an expanded administration, the workload was still heavy, especially with the growing population and needs of the territory.
They certainly wouldn’t welcome more tasks.
Sensing their apprehension, Ghislain chuckled and spoke.
"I have something I want to create."
Of course, it was more work. His advisors drooped their shoulders, visibly disheartened.
Reading the room, Ghislain reassured them.
"It’s nothing major. For now, it won’t require a large number of people. I’ll only need the mages."
The advisors sighed in relief, though Alfoi looked horrified and spoke up.
"Why mages again? We’re already drowning in work! I feel like I’m dying here!"
"I’ll let you off some of the other duties for now."
"What are you trying to make?"
Hearing this, Alfoi perked up with interest. To be honest, the construction projects were so grueling and monotonous that he was on the verge of losing his mind.
"I want to increase our meat production."
"M-meat?"
Alfoi’s mouth watered, and he wasn’t alone—others also perked up at the mention of meat.
While they were eating better than before, it was mostly limited to wheat bread, not meat.
Claude, fully aware of the scarcity of livestock, stepped forward.
"How do you plan to increase the meat supply? Our current livestock count is limited, making it challenging to expand."
"It’s difficult because livestock like cattle and sheep take a long time to raise, right?"
"Yes. We have few animals, and they take a long time to mature. We can raise pigs and chickens relatively faster, but there still aren’t enough for everyone."
"Which is the fastest to raise?"
"Well... chickens are the best option. They lay plenty of eggs, grow quickly, and have the lowest upkeep."
Nodding, Ghislain replied with satisfaction.
"Exactly. So, we’ll start by raising chickens in large numbers. My goal is for every resident to be able to eat chicken at least once a week."
Claude let out a scoff, unable to hide a wry smile.
"Adding ‘Meat King’ to your ‘Wheat King’ title, I see. But suddenly raising that many chickens isn’t possible. They’re hard to obtain in bulk even from other regions."
"Then we’ll have to increase production ourselves. I’ll show you how. First, we’ll change the way we raise them."
"Change the way we raise them?"
"Instead of letting them roam freely, limit their space and feed them more. That way, they’ll gain weight and yield more meat."
'A life of lounging and feasting? Lucky birds!'
The advisors nodded in agreement. It sounded feasible.
Due to the general scarcity of food, they had never focused on increasing the chickens’ weight. It seemed like a logical approach.
"That’s doable. We’ll just need to make some adjustments to the facilities. But even with that, the meat supply would only increase slightly. The absolute number of chickens is still lacking."
"Which is why I want to build something. How are the eggs currently hatched?"
"Well... mostly, we use hatcheries instead of having the chickens incubate them."
With a one-and-a-half-month incubation period, a chicken could lay over ten eggs at once. But due to environmental factors, less than half typically hatched successfully.
Hatcheries played an essential role by providing a stable environment and minimizing temperature fluctuations.
However, due to technical constraints, hatcheries were small. Even so, they were still more efficient than leaving the eggs to the hens.
Ghislain pointed out this limitation.
"Why don’t we build a much larger hatchery? If we can incubate the eggs reliably, the chicken population will grow quickly. We could be looking at thousands, even tens of thousands, of new chickens each month."
Claude pinched the bridge of his nose.
'Here he goes again.'
It was difficult to know where to start explaining.
After organizing his thoughts, Claude took a deep breath and spoke.
"May I explain a few things?"
"Go ahead."
"It’s not that we don’t want to build larger hatcheries; it’s that we can’t. That’s why they’re small."
"I’m saying we should make them bigger. Why can’t we?"
'Why doesn’t he ever listen properly?'
Suppressing his frustration, Claude continued.
"...The current hatcheries, even though they’re small, don’t have a high success rate. It’s challenging to maintain stable temperature and humidity levels. The larger the hatchery, the harder it is to keep conditions uniform. It requires constant monitoring...."
Hatcheries varied in design and materials based on region and the builder. Some were wooden, others stone.
The common factor was that they used heat to warm the eggs, with regular water applications to control temperature and humidity.
In short, they were labor-intensive and technically complex.
Claude explained this thoroughly, but Ghislain barely listened. The current limitations weren’t his concern.
Building the hatchery was what mattered.
Technical barriers? Irrelevant. In his previous life, he’d seen large-scale hatcheries. He knew it was possible, having witnessed it in the future.
"Okay, I understand the current issues. Let’s improve the system. Assign the mages to build a new type of large-scale hatchery. It should be as automated as possible with minimal manual input. Got it?"
In his past life, urban fortresses were common, and large livestock farming was impractical. Those spaces were reserved for warhorses.
But cities needed meat, so they opted to raise chickens. Large hatcheries became a staple in every city.
Having seen this firsthand, Ghislain assumed it would be possible now, too—but the mages didn’t share his confidence.
Alfoi, blinking in confusion, asked, "You’re saying we should build a large hatchery?"
"Yes."
"But... how would we do that without a method?"
"Just scale up the small hatcheries, and control temperature and humidity automatically. Run a few tests to determine the right settings. It’s not that
hard, right?"
Ghislain’s tone made it sound obvious.
For mages, more accustomed to esoteric research, a chicken hatchery was beneath their interest, so their hesitation was understandable.
But he figured that once they began researching, they’d find a solution quickly.
However, Alfoi looked at him with disbelief and replied, "There’s no such thing as humidity control magic."
"What? Why not? If there’s temperature control magic, why wouldn’t there be humidity control magic? That makes no sense."
"It’s not that it doesn’t make sense; it just doesn’t exist... yet. Who would create such a spell...?"
Ghislain crossed his arms, frowning.
There were countless types of magic unknown to the mages. Ghislain himself, not a mage, couldn’t be expected to know every detail.
But in his past life, he was sure he’d seen this magic used in hatcheries. That’s how they had managed to build such large facilities.
Without magic, it would have been impossible to maintain temperature and humidity in such massive hatcheries.
'So... they must have created new magic during that time of crisis.'
Back then, mages and scholars had collaborated to invent whatever was necessary for survival.
That meant a humidity control spell was likely developed then.
He had no choice but to start researching and find a solution from scratch.
"Try everything. Use every spell you know to find a way. I’ll supply as many runestones for experiments as you need."
But the mages only looked back at him, clearly expecting something.
Feeling a bit uneasy, Ghislain leaned back slightly and asked, "What?"
"How do we create a humidity control spell?"
Alfoi’s question left Ghislain exasperated.
"Why are you asking me?"
"Well, my lord, you seem to know everything! You’ve made cosmetics, you’ve improved farming, you’ve healed the sick, and created hot-air balloons. You must have more information, right? Not just about magic but also about hatchery structures and techniques."
The others nodded. While Ghislain hadn’t created everything directly, he had always provided the key insights.
Even the dwarves had been given all necessary details for their new material developments. That alone had been enough to make it all possible.
But this time, he was asking them to create a spell that didn’t exist, so they naturally sought his guidance.
"..."
Ghislain was momentarily speechless.
Was this the downside? Because he’d always pushed them to succeed, they now looked to him for every solution.
But this time was different.
The cosmetics were something he’d learned to prepare for future funds when they conquered the capital.
Agriculture, too, was for the self-sufficiency of his mercenary base.
'I’m not a mage. I don’t know the specifics of hatchery technology, either.'
How could someone among the Seven Strongest know all the ins and outs of chicken farming?
'If only Claude had come back with me... Or maybe I should’ve asked more questions then.' 𝘯𝘰𝘷𝘱𝘶𝑏.𝑐𝘰𝑚
Still, he had heard that building such a system wasn’t all that difficult. If it had been, it wouldn’t have been implemented in every city.
Although they lacked a humidity control spell, Ghislain had shared the concept. They would figure out the rest through experimentation.
So he responded firmly.
"I don’t know about such magic."
Alfoi’s face twisted in frustration.
