The Subway Was Completed.

The imperial palace in Noa, the capital of the Magnia Empire.

“Lacen, did you hear? They say the one who fled and vanished has shown himself at the Polia royal palace.”

“As expected… he was alive.”

“They say he’s sitting comfortably in the Polia royal palace. And do you know what he said? He claimed it wasn’t that man. He even asked when our people would be returning.”

“He did that on purpose.”

“Exactly. It looks like he intends to pretend what happened at the ruins never happened.”

Emperor Jedic thought that if he were in King Ian’s position, he would have done the same. There was no reason to needlessly sour relations. From a state-to-state standpoint, it was better for both sides to let this matter pass.

“But do you think King Ian has the White Crystal?”

“I don’t know. At the time, we couldn’t tell who took it.”

“So the odds are fifty-fifty.”

What happened at the ruins was deeply disappointing to Emperor Jedic. Gaining one additional White Crystal was good, but they failed to obtain one out of the two. Worse, the blunder had been caused by the traitors that surfaced among their own ranks.

“It was a mistake that we let a few of the traitors slip away. If we’d caught them all, we could have been certain.”

“I apologize.”

“You have nothing to apologize for. The problem lies with the traitors who were embedded inside.”

As Emperor Jedic spoke, his eyes burned with fury. The idea that someone had dared to plant traitors among his people was intolerable. That was why he was now conducting a thorough investigation.

He was digging into family backgrounds—even combing through entire lifetimes—tracking the traitors down. There had to be a gap somewhere, and if so, he could find it. With several traitors already caught, torture was underway as well. He intended to make them spit something out.

“If it ended up in King Ian’s hands, then he would now have two White Crystals, wouldn’t he?”

“That is a possibility.”

“I wonder whether they’ve found a way to make use of it.”

“They possess decent technical capability. If they pursue research, won’t they be able to figure it out?”

“Before that, I’m even thinking it might be better to seize it.”

“Wouldn’t that be difficult?”

The secret organization had already tried—and failed—so there was little reason to believe they could succeed where it hadn’t. And from their prior clash, it was clear that even for him, the opponent guarding that palace would not be easy. Moreover, their covert intelligence suggested that strange entities were stationed within the palace.

On top of that, with a war already raging against the Doicheun Empire, making an enemy of the Polia Kingdom would be a massive burden—even for the Magnia Empire. Millions of troops were already being dispatched, advancing and advancing.

At first, they had attacked with tremendous momentum, but as time passed, the enemy adapted and began implementing strategies to halt their advance, gradually slowing their pace. Seeing this, it felt likely that the battles ahead would not be easy.

Perhaps Emperor Jedic was thinking about the war situation as well, because he asked about when it might end.

“Lacen, in your judgment, when do you think the war will be decided?”

“The Doicheun Empire’s momentum is still formidable, so perhaps it will take several more years.”

“Hm, several years… Do you know how long this war has been going on?”

“It began in 1912, so now, in 1915, it has entered its fourth year.”

“That’s right. For a long four years, the war has continued. And not as the small-scale(?) wars of the past—this is a great war, a total war in every sense, dragging every ounce of strength into the fight.”

The Magnia Empire, having joined late, still had plenty of strength left, and if time passed like this, even more troops and weapons would be produced and put to use. The problem was the enormous consumption of war funds that would follow.

Magnia had already confirmed, through theory and observation by experts, just how brutal this war of attrition truly was. Victory seemed certain, but the cost in war expenditure was expected to be astronomical.

Even now, the spending was staggering. This was not a war mobilizing a few hundred thousand, but one that drafted millions and demanded constant attrition. They might even have to draft more than ten million in the future.

“I intend to end the war for certain within the next year.”

“If that is Your Majesty’s wish, then surely you will achieve it.”

“Do you trust me that much?”

“You are His Majesty. I have always believed in you.”

Seeing Lacen stand as such a reliable pillar at his side, Emperor Jedic let out a small chuckle. Then his eyes gleamed as he spoke.

“To end the war, we’ll have to use the secret weapons we’ve been developing.”

“You intend to use them already?”

“Shouldn’t we? To end the war, we must use weapons even more powerful than theirs.”

Emperor Jedic’s eyes were filled with unwavering confidence. And “secret weapons” carried an air of something beyond ordinary scale. In fact, that was exactly right. Before long, Magnia began sending something to the front lines.

Time passed, and one day in June arrived. Even now, there were occasional signs that an epidemic might spread, but the Polia Kingdom immediately implemented quarantines and quickly suppressed outbreaks.

Amid these circumstances, Ian spent his days as usual, handling royal duties. And during this time, something meaningful occurred: the completion of the subway that cut through beneath the capital was finally within sight.

Construction had begun in 1912. In a way, it was a massive project started right as the Great War was about to unfold. Now, in its fourth year, it appeared it would finally be completed. No one could count how many twists and setbacks had occurred along the way.

There had been numerous accidents, and the number of those who died during construction exceeded one hundred. Even though he had emphasized safety above all else, the fact that there were casualties proved just how difficult the project had been.

After enduring that hardship and reaching the verge of completion, it was hard to overstate how significant it felt.

The population growth of the capital, Pullea, was astonishing. People flooded in from the provinces, and the population climbed exponentially. In 1914, it had hovered just over three million, and now it had reached 3.5 million.

In barely a year and a half, the population had surged by 500,000. It was a frightening rate of growth, and inevitably, the utility of mass transit could only rise. Moreover, across the capital region, residential construction was in full swing.

To accommodate that population, there needed to be cheap, abundant housing. That was why construction on apartment buildings of at least seven stories was ongoing. Inevitably, commercial zones flourished around major construction sites.

Government money funded the projects, workers earned wages building them, and that money flowed into nearby markets—creating a virtuous cycle that steadily boosted the market economy. And the completed apartments were provided to citizens as affordable housing.

As this pattern repeated, money circulated heavily through the capital, giving many people opportunities to earn and showing the city’s growth. Of course, rapid development also meant side effects.

In particular, real-estate speculation in land was still rampant. Even when they tried to stop it, profit was right there in front of people, and they couldn’t help but get drawn in.

The King’s office.

“How about this area?”

“You mean here?”

A massive map lay spread out across the office. It depicted the capital and the entire capital region in detail. The meticulously drawn map included river systems and even small hills. It even recorded elevations where there were mountains.

“Though there are some hilly areas, I believe it’s good land for building a new planned city.”

“I agree. There’s even a small river system connected, so there should be no issue securing water.”

“I intend to build housing here for a population of over 300,000.”

“Three hundred thousand… considering the population growth rate, shouldn’t it be at least 500,000?”

“Hm. Completion will take time, so by then even more people may flood into the capital region. Should we increase it?”

“Yes. At this growth rate, shouldn’t we build a planned city that can hold over 800,000?”

“Over 800,000… then we’ll need a larger site than I initially planned.”

As Ian nodded at the chancellor’s words, he recalled the problem.

“Once they catch the scent, more nobles will try to buy up the land.”

“That is highly likely. We have reports that last time, many learned the planned-city site meant for 300,000 residents in advance, bought land, and later resold it—earning significant margins.”

“That will drive land prices up rapidly.”

Through various regulations and policies, they were doing everything possible to prevent real-estate prices from rising. If prices soared, only the wealthy would profit, while the poor would be left unable to buy homes because of inflated housing costs.

‘That must never happen in this country.’

Because he understood the harm of excessive real-estate inflation, he was trying to clamp down early. In practice, they imposed heavy taxes on those who profited through land speculation.

If they couldn’t stop the behavior outright, then they raised the taxes to reclaim those gains for the state. People complained, but if they didn’t like it, they didn’t have to do it. The fact remained: even with the taxes, there was still profit to be made.

That was why the speculation continued.

“Even if the state merely shows signs of buying land on a large scale, they’ll swarm like a cloud of insects.”

“They certainly will.”

“Isn’t there a way to prevent them from buying it?”

The royal house monopolized certain resources, but land transactions could not help being free. That meant the land purchases needed for the planned city had to be made using state budget funds. Therefore, land acquisition had to be carried out in secrecy.

“With noble eyes and ears spread across the entire capital region, it’s nearly impossible to block completely. Of course, if you pass a bill under royal authority that prevents land purchases for a fixed period… it would be possible, but…”

“I know the problem would come after me. So that’s something we should avoid if at all possible.”

Once a law was enacted, it could not be easily changed, and if the royal house later became corrupt, such a law could become a tremendous abuse. That was why it was not easy to force things through by sheer power.

“Then we’ll gather as much manpower as possible and execute the plan all at once. Some will profit, but won’t the damage be less than openly announcing it in advance?”

“That seems to be the only option.”

No one yet knew where in the capital region the planned city would be built. So nobles were buying land all over the region, and among them there were surely those who had already purchased land on the site Ian had chosen.

In any case, that conclusion was reached. Then, a few days later, Ian left the palace for the first time in a while—this time not alone, but together with Princess Adrina.

In June, with only about a month left until Princess Adrina’s birthday, the wedding would be held soon. They needed to appear in public frequently, and that was why they came together to the newly completed subway site to hold the completion ceremony.

With citizens, reporters, officials, King Ian, and his fiancée Princess Adrina all present, the ceremony could only be noisy and bustling.

Ian descended into the subway station. The central hub—Central Plaza Station—was quite deep underground. Given the era, it had been built deep enough to serve as an air-raid shelter as well. And since it was in the heart of the city, the interior was remarkably spacious.

“Wow, it’s decorated beautifully.”

“I was told it was designed to look artistic.”

Patterns in varied colors covered the walls. He had ordered it to create a more familiar atmosphere rather than a bleak one. It looked good now, but decades later, some of it might look rather tacky.

‘They said they used the latest techniques… but for now, we’ll have to be satisfied with this.’

If it looked outdated later, they could simply change it then. With that thought, he examined the broad station. There were various facilities, starting with restrooms; there was even a small fountain and a modest indoor garden.

He saw Princess Adrina reacting with open admiration, and Ian asked how it compared to the subway in Noa, the Magnia capital. After thinking briefly, she smiled and answered.

“I think each has its strengths. The subway there felt heavy, ornate, and imposing… but here, the vivid colors make it feel comfortable.”

Ian nodded at her precise description. As she said, the decorations had been chosen after reviewing subway photographs from various empires they had gathered in advance. In any case, a train arrived—slow, but clearly capable of functioning as a subway.

They even held an event where they boarded the train and rode to the next station. It moved slowly, but they reached the next stop as it followed the tunnel. With lighting installed, it wasn’t dark inside. Still, there was a subtle fear that came from being underground.

In particular, he saw Princess Adrina, seated beside him, unconsciously gripping his arm—an unexpected side of her. Ian found that he didn’t dislike it.

Thus, the completion ceremony ended, and the subway—now ready to become the feet of countless citizens—was preparing to begin operations.