Bathing and Mission (Two-in-One)

The gates of Evernight City slowly swung open.

The moment Luna’s group appeared, Lucia—who had been waiting at the entrance—hurried forward.

As soon as Luna spotted her, her little legs dashed like the wind.

“Lucia! I’m back!”

“Slow down, you’ll fall.”

Lucia bent down at once, scooped her up, and planted a kiss on her cheek, eyes brimming with affection.

“Did you have fun in the countryside? Were you good?”

“So much fun! Super-duper fun!”

Luna wrapped her arms around Lucia’s neck and began chattering excitedly.

“Big Sister Luna showed me tons and tons of crops! I played with lots of kids too!”

“I even made little bunnies for them—they loved it!”

She gestured wildly as she spoke, completely oblivious to the fact that Vivian and Lucia had quarreled over her.

“And at first the villagers were really quiet, but after Big Sister Luna explained the elections, they all agreed to vote!”

“Big Sister Luna is amazing!”

Luna smiled and stepped closer.

“It’s all thanks to Luna. Once the children warmed up, the adults let their guards down too.”

Vivian watched Luna’s beaming face, the corners of her own mouth lifting.

“Very good. Looks like this countryside trip was quite rewarding.”

“Yeah!”

Luna hopped down from Lucia’s arms, ran to Vivian, and tugged at her hand.

“Mommy, I wanna go again next time!”

“Of course. When we have time, Lucia and I will take you together.”

Vivian ruffled her hair, then turned to Lucia.

“Right—we promised that once Luna was back we’d all go relax at the public bathhouse. Perfect timing.”

Lucia had been looking forward to this for ages. Her eyes lit up instantly.

“Yes! I’ve been ready forever!”

“I even brought the new bath bombs you mentioned last time—they make the water so nice!”

“Bath bombs? What are those?”

Luna asked curiously.

“They’re things you drop in the water. They fizz into lots of bubbles and smell wonderful.”

Lucia explained patiently.

The three of them headed toward the bathhouse, laughing and chatting.

Along the way, the sights filled Vivian with pride.

Streets that had once been desolate and crumbling were now clean and spacious.

Buildings stood neatly on both sides.

The citizens wore peaceful smiles.

“The change in Evernight City is honestly staggering.”

Lucia couldn’t help marveling.

“If I hadn’t seen it with my own eyes, I wouldn’t believe a rebuilt city could transform this much.”

“The last time I was here was ages ago, and I only passed through quickly. I never really looked.”

“Now walking down the street feels completely different.”

“Yes. When we first returned, this place was nothing but ruins. There wasn’t even a proper road.”

Vivian recalled those days with a sigh.

“And… there seem to be far fewer slaves on the streets now. Where did you move the ones you freed from the nobles?”

Lucia glanced around and suddenly asked.

Vivian smiled.

“They’re not fewer. They’re simply no longer slaves.”

She paused, then explained.

“They can now choose to work in factories or farm the fields. They earn wages and have their own lives and dignity.”

Lucia nodded.

“That’s good. Everyone should have the right to choose their own life.”

Perhaps from spending so much time with Vivian, even her way of thinking had changed quite a bit.

As they talked, they arrived at the newly built public bathhouse.

Vivian had designed it based on modern bathhouse concepts: separate men’s, women’s, and family sections.

Water was heated by mana crystals—convenient and comfortable.

The pools and walls were built from mana-crystal bricks with excellent energy efficiency and heat retention.

This was one of Evernight’s earliest research achievements.

Back when manpower was scarce, they still had a few old troops and mages like Luna who could use magic and possessed some scientific aptitude.

That was how reconstruction had been possible.

“Wow!”

It was Luna’s first time in such a place; she was beside herself with excitement.

Before this, she had been too young, so Vivian only ever gave her simple baths.

“The water’s warm and smells so nice!”

Luna dipped a hand in to test the temperature and squealed happily.

Vivian chuckled helplessly.

The three chose a quiet corner with a private soaking pool, screened off for privacy.

Lucia dropped a bath bomb into the water.

It dissolved instantly, releasing a cloud of pink bubbles.

“So comfy!”

Luna sank in, eyes narrowed in bliss.

“You two hurry up and get in!”

Vivian and Lucia exchanged a glance and smiled, then stepped into the pool.

The warm water enveloped them, melting away days of exhaustion and relaxing body and mind.

“I never knew soaking could feel this good.”

Lucia stretched her limbs and sighed.

“In the past, only nobles enjoyed such luxury. Now we all can.”

Vivian said.

“Public bathhouses don’t just let people relax—they improve hygiene and reduce disease.”

“That’s why I plan to build them in every village eventually, so everyone benefits.”

“That’s a wonderful idea.”

Lucia nodded.

“But won’t they require a lot of mana crystals and materials?”

“Not too bad. Mana-crystal workshop output keeps rising, and the cost of mana-crystal bricks has dropped.”

Vivian replied.

“Once grassroots organizations are in place, future construction and management will get easier too.”

“Everything is hardest at the start. Once we’re past the toughest phase, the rest will fall into place.”

Vivian spoke slowly.

Evernight City had already trained a batch of personnel with basic literacy and skills.

They were the key force pushing her policies forward right now.

Of course, time was tight, so the initial curriculum had focused only on essentials: reading, arithmetic, and basic work methods.

Their abilities were still limited, so they would need to return to the academy for advanced training later.

It was a rotation process, but for now, it was sufficient.

Luna played with the bubbles, then suddenly remembered something.

“Mommy, have the beans in the academy’s experimental field ripened yet? I wanna see the glowing pods!”

“Almost. Should be any day now.”

Vivian answered.

“We’ll take you to see them when we get back.”

Just then, the communication crystal Vivian had set aside began to vibrate—it was a message from Gru.

“Lord Demon Lord! The mana-crystal beans in the experimental field are ripe!”

“Yield is even higher than expected, and mana content is up thirty percent!”

“Please come see if you have time!”

“Perfect!”

Vivian’s eyes lit up. She replied with mana at once.

“I’ll be there shortly.”

After sending the message, she turned to Lucia and Luna.

“The beans are ready. Shall we head over after our bath?”

“Yes yes yes!”

Luna agreed instantly.

“So soon? Then let’s go take a look.”

Lucia knew Vivian rarely had free moments like this, so she nodded happily.

After the bath, the three headed straight to the academy’s experimental field.

From afar, they saw a sea of golden bean plants, pods plump and faintly glowing with mana.

Gru, Thomas, and the others were busy at the edge of the field.

The moment they spotted Vivian’s group, they rushed over.

“Lord Demon Lord! You’re finally here!”

“This harvest is absolutely astonishing!”

“How do the numbers look?”

Vivian asked.

“We took samples. Yield per acre is more than double regular beans, and mana content is up roughly thirty percent!”

Gru handed over a detailed report.

“The beans nurtured by the mana-crystal beetles are plumper and absorb soil mana better.”

“They’ll be perfect for making mana-crystal bricks or fertilizer later.”

Vivian listened while flipping through the report, a satisfied smile spreading across her face.

“Excellent! This proves the beetle-fertilizer-crop cycle is completely viable!”

She finished speaking, then noticed everyone staring at her with strange, puzzled looks.

Only then did she realize what she had let slip.

She quickly explained.

“My original idea was this: the beetles loosen soil and provide nutrients while serving as natural fertilizer to boost crop growth.”

“The crops, after absorbing mana, produce fruits that feed the beetles and can be used for mana-crystal products—forming a perfect closed loop.”

“This raises yield while cutting mana-crystal consumption. It’s killing two birds with one stone.”

“If we scale this model, Evernight’s food production and mana-crystal efficiency will skyrocket!”

Thomas understood instantly and grew excited.

“Exactly!”

Vivian nodded.

“There is one issue with scaling, though.”

She recalled the village reports and continued after a moment’s thought.

“Many remote villages suffer severe water shortages. Even with this cycle, crops won’t grow without water.”

“Controlling beetle populations there would also be tricky.”

Luna chimed in.

“Yes, the village I visited relies entirely on rainfall.”

Vivian frowned, deep in thought.

“To solve water scarcity, we need irrigation projects.”

Evernight City’s water issues had largely been resolved, initially thanks to the frost banshees, but there weren’t enough of them to cover the entire territory.

Then Vivian remembered water pumping stations and pipelines from her previous life.

An idea formed.

“We can build a system of mana-powered pumping stations and water pipelines.”

“Mana-powered pumping stations? Water pipelines?”

Thomas and Gru looked at her curiously.

“Exactly.”

Vivian explained.

“We use mana crystals to drive pumps that draw water from rivers or lakes, then deliver it through pipelines to every field.”

“Even terraced fields far away would get reliable irrigation.”

Thomas’s eyes lit up.

“Brilliant! We can repurpose parts from the mana-crystal factories for the pumps—not hard at all!”

“Pipelines can be fired from mana-crystal bricks—corrosion-resistant and durable!”

“The pumps can be set to activate on timers, no need for constant staffing.”

“And water flow can adjust automatically based on field needs.”

Gru added.

“That saves manpower and uses water rationally.”

“Then it’s decided!”

Vivian made the call.

“Thomas, you’re in charge of designing the mana-powered pumps. Request whatever materials and parts you need directly from the factories.”

“Gru, calculate water demand for each village and map out pipeline routes. Get a plan ready fast.”

“We won’t cover everything at once—start with Evernight City and expand outward gradually.”

“Understood!”

Both answered at once.

Just as Vivian finished assigning the irrigation tasks to Thomas and Gru, she turned and met a pair of sparkling, expectant eyes.

Luna was staring up at her, practically wiggling.

Vivian instantly saw through her.

“Sorry, did I forget about you?”

Luna’s cheeks flushed crimson. She waved her hands frantically.

“N-no! I just… saw Thomas and Gru get new tasks and felt a little envious, that’s all!”

Her voice grew quieter.

“I want to help Lord Demon Lord more too…”

“How could I forget you?”

Vivian withdrew her hand with a smile.

“As it happens, I have something important for you.”

Luna’s eyes lit up like stars.

“What is it? Just say the word, Lord Demon Lord! I’ll do it perfectly!”

“Here’s the thing.”

Vivian paused, then continued.

“We’ll gradually roll out the mana-crystal beetle cycle agriculture, plus the upcoming mana-powered pumping stations and pipelines.”

“Soon every village will use these mana-crystal devices.”

“But what happens when they break? We can’t have Thomas and Gru running all over the territory fixing things.”

“They have more important research and planning to do.”

Luna nodded thoughtfully.

“You’re right! When the nest controller was bombed last time, Thomas was busy for days.”

“If equipment breaks in remote villages, travel time alone would be a nightmare.”

“So, I’ve decided to add two new majors at Evernight Academy: Mana-Crystal Equipment Maintenance and Agricultural Technology Guidance.”

Vivian nodded and went on.

“The maintenance major will teach students to repair all mana-crystal-powered devices—like nest controllers, mana pumps, and the new farming tools.”

“The agricultural guidance major will train students in circular farming techniques.”

“Graduates will be sent to villages to teach proper beetle use and field ecosystem maintenance.”

She looked at Luna seriously.

“I want you to take charge of both majors: draft the curricula, recruit students, and ensure every graduate meets certified craftsman standards.”

“They’ll be the real technical backbone at the grassroots level.”

“Wow! This task is perfect!”

Luna didn’t care how big the workload was—what mattered was that Vivian trusted her.

She jumped in excitement.

“I understand! Lord Demon Lord, you’ve thought of everything!”

“With local technicians, equipment issues and farming guidance will never be a problem again.”

“Thomas, Gru, and the others can focus purely on research and planning.”

“Production efficiency across the territory will soar!”

“Exactly what I want.”

Vivian smiled, a hint of pride in her eyes.

Luna was one of the few who could keep up with her thinking instantly.

All the effort spent training her had paid off.

“Grassroots technical talent is the foundation of infrastructure.”

“Only when every village has its own skilled people can our reforms truly take root.”

“I know! Please trust me, Lord Demon Lord—I’ll make these majors a success!”

Luna declared solemnly, determination blazing in her eyes.

“I’ll draft the curricula right away, select students strictly, and guarantee every graduate meets craftsman certification!”

With that, she spun around and dashed off.

“I’m going to start preparing now! Wait for my good news, Lord Demon Lord!”

Watching her joyful retreating figure, Vivian’s smile deepened.

This was the kind of subordinate every leader dreamed of.

In the days that followed, news of the two new majors spread like wildfire through Evernight City and then the entire territory.

Mana-Crystal Equipment Maintenance and Agricultural Technology Guidance were incredibly attractive to the citizens.

After all, as Lord Demon Lord had decreed long ago, anyone who mastered these skills was guaranteed excellent work.

The appearance of new majors meant even brighter futures.