Education Is The Future. Enforcing The Child Labor Ban!

For a while, the Polia Kingdom Navy had moved aggressively in search of the Kraken, but with not even a trace of it to be found, they could not help but grow flustered at the creature’s unknown whereabouts.

In truth, they could not keep the fleets tied down to the homeland indefinitely. Under normal circumstances, each fleet had its own duty—patrolling and conducting reconnaissance across vast waters. But now, because they were chasing the Kraken, they could do none of that at all.

Because of this, a different mindset gradually took hold. It was already March, and the judgment came down that this could not continue. In the end, they had no choice but to begin releasing the fleets one by one from their coastal tether.

With matters like this, the fleets now patrolling the homeland were the 2nd Fleet and the 10th Fleet, along with the 1st Fleet. They wanted to free up one more of the three, but with their wariness toward the Kraken still not gone, they had no choice but to keep reconnaissance focused along the coastline.

Polia Kingdom Royal Palace, Grand Conference Chamber.

“Then we will further build out coastal gun positions using towed artillery at fixed intervals along the coastline of the homeland.”

At Ian’s words, many nodded in agreement. This incident made the world think of the sea as a dangerous place—one from which threatening beings could rise at any moment. And so the plan they established was to build a defensive system similar to Noma’s.

They intended to deploy towed guns at intervals, paired with several dozen troops each, prioritizing pieces already in production or currently deployed. Of course, the spacing mattered—it could not be too close, but it could not be too far either.

They were deliberately not building fixed fortress batteries, because no one knew when the situation might change and they would be fighting humans rather than monsters like the Kraken. They wanted positions built around mobile, towable guns that could be relocated at any time.

“To do this, we estimate that we will require an additional force of at least two hundred thousand troops.”

“I agree. In the end, we will need to raise two hundred thousand more.”

Their current forces were sufficient for the moment, but considering the manpower needed to garrison a coastline that stretched for an enormous distance, even two hundred thousand could be called too few. It would be unreasonable to raise more than that, so they decided to recruit roughly two hundred thousand and spread them as widely as possible.

It was the first conscription since the decision in World Era 1911 to raise an additional hundred thousand—proof of how long it had been since they had expanded their manpower. Compared to other empires it was not much, but those powers were recruiting in massive numbers like a bloodletting competition, so it was not a fair comparison.

“More importantly—still no news of the Kraken?”

“Yes. We are detonating depth charges in various areas to draw it out, but it shows no reaction at all.”

“This Kraken is a cautious one.”

“Thinking on it now, we suspect it may be the same Kraken that was reported in Noma waters.”

“That… does seem possible. I’ve heard Noma has not detected any Kraken movements either.”

“And we have found traces that several fishing boats were attacked—estimated to have come straight down from the north.”

With that report, Ian’s earlier concern—that there might have been ships already hit—proved correct. He had ordered an investigation, and the conclusion was that several fishing boats had indeed been attacked. It was a tragedy—people who did not need to die had died.

‘I should order the Royal Welfare Foundation to provide support to the victims’ families.’

He had previously established a scholarship foundation under the royal name, and through it they were already providing many welfare benefits. It was possible only because the royal house had steady streams of wealth coming in and accumulating.

Another king might have begrudged spending even that, but Ian understood that money like this became power later. It gave struggling families a chance to live—and even provided scholarships for their children, creating stepping-stones for them to grow into capable talent.

‘And those talents will be loyal to the royal house alone.’

In truth, this was modeled after what Ian remembered a major conglomerate in Korea had done. They, too, funded welfare foundations and scholarships; the supported children grew, took root in society, and through them the organization exerted enormous influence.

Of course, not every child studied just because scholarships existed, so the scholarship continued only if they maintained grades above a set threshold. It was not only about the children—adults could try to game the system just to take money. So they built an environment where studying was the only viable path.

‘Come to think of it, it’s about time to address child labor. No—it’s actually late.’

If children were to study, they needed a complete environment in which they could study. Even in the capital and its surrounding region, reports said child labor had decreased greatly under his influence, but children were still suffering under harsh work.

Chimney sweeping, shoe shining, newspaper selling—those went without saying. Even in factories, countless children were being worked. Treatment was poor, wages were often withheld, and the largest concentration of child labor was, in fact, the rural farming and fishing villages.

In those places, the very reason they had many children was to use them as labor. It was even said that in the past, when people could not eat or survive, they sold some children to keep the rest alive.

‘I understand the circumstances… but no more.’

He had already sent down substantial tax relief and created various rural benefits to reduce the burden. Even so, making children work was nothing but greed.

They returned briefly to discussing the Kraken, but Ian’s mind was already set. It was something that had to be done.

“If we still cannot find it by April, we will conclude the Kraken has left for elsewhere. We cannot cling to it forever, can we?”

At Ian’s words, everyone nodded. Watching them, Ian smoothly raised a new agenda item. Since so many were gathered, he believed the matter could be processed quickly.

“This is a separate issue, but we will proceed with a bill to prohibit child labor.”

“A child labor prohibition bill, Your Majesty?”

“Yes. How long will we inflict the pain of labor on children who barely have the strength for it? Do you not pity them?”

“That is true, but as you know, there will be considerable backlash.”

“Even so, I believe we have no need to place that yoke of labor on children. My doctrine is that a child must grow as a child. Therefore, we must erase this vile custom thoroughly—at a stroke.”

“I understand Your Majesty’s intent. I also believe such a vicious custom must disappear. But even if it is banned by law, can we truly watch everyone? They will lose labor. They will make children work in secret.”

Hearing the Chancellor’s words, Ian replied as though he had already prepared for that.

“I intend to build basic schools on a large scale across the provinces. If we make children attend school without exception, won’t we be able to check that they are not working? And starting now, I intend to ensure they complete at least a minimum basic education from childhood.”

“You mean to educate all children?”

“Yes. At the very least, they should be able to read and write their own names. And if they can do basic arithmetic, it will be useful in daily life as well.”

“But… if we do that, those children may grow up and speak ill of the monarchy. There were such cases in the past—this is deeply concerning.”

As the Chancellor, Marquis Norwen, said, there had indeed been a time when education had been extended even to commoners’ children. It might sound surprising, but at the time they were desperately short of administrative officials, so they created learning opportunities for commoners to put them to work.

The result was the rise of “awakened minds” shouting for liberalization: The monarchy is unjust. Everyone must be given freedom, and human rights must be guaranteed. When that happened, they halted education for commoners’ children.

They even banned books advocating liberalization, and some who had shouted for it were arrested or exiled.

“Back then, wasn’t the nation in far worse condition?”

Excessive taxes and years of drought had made life brutally harsh. In that situation, once “awakened minds” emerged, events like that were almost inevitable. But now, it was far less likely.

‘Even if such people appear, I can suppress it quickly.’

“Since Your Majesty has resolved to proceed, I will assist. But how many schools do you plan to build?”

“In the end, we will likely need around ten thousand.”

“T-ten thousand?”

“That is the minimum. When you consider that our population has now exceeded one hundred million, even ten thousand will be too few—especially accounting for children still to be born.”

Even Korea, with a population above fifty million, had over five thousand elementary schools. Considering a population exceeding one hundred million—and likely still growing—this could become a massive national project, perhaps requiring fifteen thousand or more schools.

‘Banning labor matters, but if we think about the future, nothing is as important as education.’

Since he had decided as king, it would happen. He brought it up in this meeting because proceeding without telling anyone at all would look worse.

“As a first phase, we will build roughly three hundred and fifty schools starting from the central cities of each province.”

“Understood. We will rush to assemble the budget.”

“It will proceed step by step, so we will not burn enormous funds all at once. And if parents resist, block everything with a royal decree.”

“Indeed. There is no better method.”

In this country, nothing outranked the king’s command. For measures like this, it was the most fitting tool.

Still, because confusion and shock would be inevitable once the Child Labor Prohibition Act went into effect, Ian intended to announce it in advance.

‘We’ll start with newspapers and radio.’

Even in the provinces, people listened to newspapers and radio. If they learned through the media, they would at least have time to prepare.

March 10.

The Polia Kingdom had been in turmoil due to the Kraken’s appearance. But with no further sightings, it had regained a measure of stability. Then a major disturbance erupted again—because of what the newspapers reported.

「Polia Royal House declares opposition to child labor! The Child Labor Prohibition Bill will proceed.」

「Once the law is enforced, any violator will face severe fines and punishment. If the violator is a factory, the factory will be shut down as well.」

「Schools will be built in the capital region and across provincial cities for children to attend. Once schools are established, a set number of children must attend without exception. Parents who violate this will face severe fines and punishment.」

「His Majesty the King’s grand vision! Education for children is the nation’s future—therefore he will provide opportunities for many children to receive education!」

「The Royal House announced it will build more than ten thousand schools nationwide over the next decade. Construction stocks surge as firms race to inquire about school projects.」

Many heard this and thought they must have misheard. To them, making children work was simply normal. What labor was cheaper and less burdensome than children?

Factories, in particular, reacted most fiercely. More factories than expected used children for repetitive menial tasks. They could hire them far cheaper than adults—and for orphan children, they could even feed them and pay nothing, because the children had no power to protest.

Farming and fishing villages were the same. With limited mechanization, agriculture and fishing demanded manpower. Now the crown was saying it would cut off that labor, and backlash was inevitable.

[This is the king’s command. From the moment the Child Labor Prohibition Act is enacted, no child may be employed or made to work under any circumstances. Violators will face enormous fines and punishment.]

Even through the radio, the hardline wording provoked outrage—How can this be allowed? Yet amid that outrage, the phrase the king’s command forced them into silence.

What happened if they disobeyed? The king would surely be angered. Perhaps the king would change. Perhaps he would raise taxes excessively, or cut the benefits they had been receiving.

They had not forgotten the harsh reality under the previous king’s rule. That memory alone kept people from stepping forward directly, even if they were dissatisfied.

Meanwhile, the real work began: selecting sites and preparing to build schools. Contractors were assigned. Groundwork started.

As time passed into April, the search for the Kraken was suspended. And then the moment arrived—the Child Labor Prohibition Act formally went into force.

In some sense, it happened remarkably fast. That was only possible because Ian had established absolute royal authority. And with enforcement, amid widespread confusion, children—bewildered—were forced to be freed from labor.

Many of those children were orphans, so separate facilities were prepared to house them, enabling them to live without working. The state would also provide them education, creating a reality in which they had no choice but to study.

Some said it had been pushed through too quickly—calling it policy far ahead of its time. But from Ian’s perspective, it had been implemented too late.

In any case, even under these conditions, the Polia Kingdom continued to run.