This time, I’ve decided to accompany the army once again.

Chining could easily be the commander-in-chief—he’d even outshine me at it.

But Baha Balm needs at least one person to stay behind as garrison commander, and Chining is unquestionably the best choice.

I rubbed the military token in my hand. This was the third time I’d held it.

The empire’s policies over the past year became the fuse for its fragmentation.

Yes, that policy was merely the spark. This nation was doomed to crumble.

Territories declared independence one after another.

No one knew why.

Some lords had long awaited a chance to overthrow the empire. Others sought profit in the chaos. Or perhaps some thought like Alto…

But whatever the reason, war was inevitable.

I slowly opened my eyes, gazing solemnly at the fluttering Baha Balm flag.

Alto and I stood atop the castle.

I’d stood here so many times before.

“Sas.”

“I’m here.”

“Do you see it?”

“Yes. I see it all.”

I knew what Alto meant. I looked down—the entire Windward Fortress lay before me.

The outer walls remained dilapidated. The city was sparsely populated. Houses were still run-down.

But this city had changed…

People’s faces no longer held that numb emptiness. They were vibrant, alive.

From my solo travels, getting lost in Baha Balm, to now… huff, nearly nine months had passed.

Since birth, I’d never seen myself as a noble. Not even my father in this life demanded I act like one.

I hated being dressed by servants. I disliked appearing with attendants. I couldn’t stand traveling by carriage. All of it set me apart.

I felt no reason to look down on others. Perhaps because I wasn’t from this world.

When I saw suffering people, I couldn’t view them like ants. They were humans—living, breathing humans.

Nine months ago, I hadn’t even considered bringing a servant on my journey. Was it mandatory for nobles?

But I wanted to travel alone. This wasn’t for enjoyment—it was for enlightenment.

Who walks the land with a servant trailing them constantly?

So, even with a body not fully healed, I left alone.

On the road, I finally grasped what this world had become.

The fear of not knowing tomorrow.

Not something a pampered lord, playing house with servants, could ever understand.

That’s why few nobles grasped commoners’ hardships…

“Huff, Alto… you gave me courage to chase my ideals.”

“Sas, you gave me the chance to realize them. Look at this land… you brought it back to life.”

“Was it me?”

I, who’d never handled governance, pieced together a plan from scattered fragments I wracked my brain for.

When I inherited Baha Balm’s mess, I had no clue what to do.

No money. No food.

Methods we took for granted were laughable here.

Economic stimulus?

People couldn’t even eat their fill—you’re joking.

Massive agriculture?

In this flood-ridden land? Still joking.

Sustain war through war?

With a few thousand troops? You’re kidding.

Policies… which one actually worked for Baha Balm?

Baha Balm needed holistic growth, not patching holes. There were too many holes already.

I wasn’t smart. If I were, I’d have awakened my talent by now.

So I was just an ordinary person.

What could I do that others couldn’t?

In the end, only one thing: viewing everything from a third-party perspective. With knowledge from two worlds, I could stand above it all.

So I spent all the money on grain.

Gold coins were just tools to me. But trapped in this era, no one here could see beyond that frame.

I used my own medium to replace gold in circulation.

The cycle consumed only grain and labor.

Some called this policy simple…

But the “New Policy for Governance” seemed simple too. Could you have thought of it so clearly?

Put yourself in that era—could you devise those simple rules?

Like Thales discovering electricity. To us now, it seems obvious.

Baha Balm needed simple, feasible measures!

No infrastructure?

Build it!

Need manpower?

Hire them!

Hired laborers need food?

Buy grain!

Basic water projects would restore Baha Balm’s harvests. Fed people could then fuel the economy. The spent money would slowly return…

That’s how we’d build a virtuous cycle.

Yet constructing it was incredibly hard. Every step was cautious.

But it was for prosperity decades—even centuries—ahead.

Because my goal had always been the people’s happiness…

Since Morana’s assassination attempt, I understood this burden’s weight.

So heavy I might never carry it to the end. But if I didn’t lift it first, who would follow?

Granting world happiness wasn’t beautiful.

It was brutal war. Soldiers’ sacrifices.

“Alto… are we wrong? Must happiness need war?”

“Sas, remember what you once asked me?”

“Mm.”

“Good. Then hear this—Sass Vies, your every act is the greatest benevolence to this world.”

“Hahaha… wishing the world turned beautiful on its own… I’m still not that naive!”

“Sas, I believe in you. Don’t lose your way. If even you stray…”

[Then I could never keep my own heart true…]

“Strategist! Troops are counted. Give the order!” Barzak bellowed.

His booming voice nearly shook the whole city.

“I’m not deaf, Barzak. March out.”

I smiled, gesturing toward Stanki.

The military token gleamed under the setting sun.