Steampunk Era: Mad Abield

This was exactly what Malin wanted—the fate of this child was a national concern, and even someone like Carter, who swore revenge, found it extremely difficult to accept the idea of killing a child. Especially upon discovering that the whole affair was driven by the nobles funding them, who sought to kill the child after using him. He developed a bit of sympathy for the last child of the Manheim family, stating that the child’s life or death was irrelevant to him; he wouldn’t kill him, nor would he let him become a banner for the restorationists.

So after Malin consulted everyone on this matter, these people held a small meeting within the Northernist group and finally decided that as long as Goethe swore not to let the child fall into the hands of the Northern Kingdom’s restorationists, they would agree to let him leave the Northern Kingdom and become Goethe’s adopted son.

A Legendary oath has the effect of making spoken words come true, but Goethe still agreed and stated this intention in the presence of the bishop of the Lord of Justice’s Church.

With such declarations, no one had any objections. Consequently, Malin personally brought Prince Soren over and handed him to Goethe.

"Mentor..." Soren had yet to recover from such a significant change; he looked at Malin, somewhat bewildered—his father must have told him to heed Malin’s words, so even though the child harbored hatred for all the Northernists, he never spoke ill of Malin.

"Child, listen to His Majesty Goethe. I don’t have much time left and can no longer teach you." Malin’s words carried a double meaning—indeed, Malin didn’t have much time left. He needed to work hard for this land and had several little dreams in the Thainan region he wished to fulfill. Then... he needed to find a way to save the world.

Soren nodded and ultimately chose to leave with His Majesty Goethe.

Watching Soren depart, Jon was the most relieved. He looked at Malin, expressing that the child was really difficult to deal with—the notorious deeds between Manheim and the nobles were known throughout the North, and he didn’t know how to handle the child, especially after Malin recounted Manheim’s last conversation with him and Link.

As winter set in, the nation gradually started showing signs of vitality. Thanks to Malin’s efforts, all provinces finally obeyed the commune, signaling that the country’s most difficult phase had passed—the Malin group’s fleet, carrying food, arrived in the North for the second time, bringing not only food but also sweet potatoes.

These were seeds obtained from the laboratories of the Thanans, cold-resistant and capable of growing even in the North. When combined with the Northerners’ cold-resistant potatoes, a few planting areas could be established on hillsides in winter, allowing for more food by spring. Malin even had the military clear land on mountains until the snowy season began.