"That's it... Youzan's hansei reforms!"
Yuri suddenly threw up his head and shouted, as if a revelation had struck him.
"Youzan's... reflection reforms?"
At the unfamiliar term, Lieselotte tilted her head. She could not make sense of what Yuri was talking about.
"It's from my memories of a previous life, but he was a man in Edo-period Japan who successfully reformed his domain.
His lands were drowning in debt, the fields were laid waste, and his retainers' stipends had been cut to less than half...
And yet, over the course of several decades, he turned it profitable again."
Yuri went on excitedly, his eyes shining.
A previous life...? Japan...?
Lieselotte turned those words over in her mind. Once again, the conversation had veered into something far removed from reality, and it made her feel faint.
Celine instinctively raised a hand to stop him.
"W-w-wait just a moment! I don't even know where to begin. This conversation has suddenly become outrageous."
Exactly... A previous life? What is my lord husband talking about? Lieselotte and Aina both nodded emphatically at Celine's protest.
"First of all, what do you mean by a previous life? You have memories of one, my lord husband?
And 'Nihon'... I remember seeing that word in one of the First Hero's research papers. Surely you don't mean... you possess the same otherworldly knowledge as the First Hero?"
Leaning toward Yuri, Celine pressed him with roughened breath.
"Y-yes. I didn't know the First Hero had been reincarnated, but if 'Nihon' means Japan, then... I think it must be the same place."
Though slightly cowed by Celine's intensity, Yuri answered honestly.
The same as the First Hero...? My lord husband came from another world...?
A rush of alarm and confusion spread through Lieselotte's chest all at once.
"This is terrible... If the King, the Empire, or the Church learned of this, it would become a matter of enormous consequence..."
With a deep sigh, Celine leaned back in her chair. The concern in her eyes was unmistakable.
She's right... If it became known that my lord husband possesses otherworldly knowledge, it would shake the entire kingdom.
Lieselotte fully agreed with her mother, yet she also felt there was little point in pursuing that line of discussion any further right now.
This is something we need to think through more calmly. For now, I need to focus on these 'Youzan reflection reforms'... that's probably the highest priority.
Reaching that conclusion, Lieselotte let a little of the tension leave her shoulders.
"Mother, let's set that matter aside for later. Shouldn't we hear what he has to say about turning the territory profitable first?"
Lieselotte spoke gently to Celine, who still looked half stunned.
At that, Celine abruptly straightened in her seat and leaned toward Yuri.
"Tell me everything."
Startled, Yuri nodded several times, hastily cleared his throat, and began to explain.
"Put simply, he fostered industries within the domain and turned what their own land could produce into trade.
That created a system where the people gained work, and the profits flowed back into the territory.
In other words, it was a way to make the whole land prosper without depending on outside support."
Celine nodded with interest, but still tilted her head.
"I understand that much, but how was it actually done?"
"First came agricultural development.
They opened up uncultivated land within the territory and improved their farming techniques.
In terms of this world, you could say he encouraged knights to reclaim fallow land and increase yields."
"He had knights do farmwork? And they didn't revolt?"
At Celine's question, Yuri answered with a small wry smile.
"No, there was resistance from his retainers in reality too. But some of the younger, more motivated knights cooperated, and somehow he managed to push through."
Drawn in by Yuri's explanation, Lieselotte still forced herself to remain practical.
"Even if you say you'd increase yields, that can't be easy. How exactly do you harvest more crops?"
"Wheat is a crop that strips nutrients from the soil easily, so if you grow it continuously, the land becomes exhausted.
Rice, on the other hand, is grown in paddies, which makes nutrient management easier, so continuous cultivation is possible.
That means the harvest is more stable, and the yield per unit of land is more than twice that of wheat."
"Rice? That's a crop grown in the southern imperial state, isn't it? Do you think it would grow in the Reberk Barony?"
"We won't know until we try, but I can use my Gift to obtain seedlings, so I do think it's worth attempting."
"If we can secure food, the lives of the people will improve as well."
With a soft sigh, Celine nodded at Yuri's words.
"The next thing he did was austerity.
He cut expenditures by banning luxury, and even the lord himself lived frugally.
His meals were reduced to rice, soup, and just one side dish."
"Ah... I couldn't possibly skip meals."
Celine sounded genuinely appalled, but Yuri continued in the same calm tone.
"We don't have to start by cutting meals. We can begin by cutting waste.
If we eliminate unnecessary expenses, we can redirect that money toward rebuilding the territory."
"That much is true... But how do you actually identify unnecessary expenses?"
Frowning, Lieselotte asked the question with real skepticism about whether any of this could be put into practice.
With bribery and embezzlement already rampant, it can't be something simple...
Yuri thought for a moment, then gave a small nod.
"Knowledge of financial accounting and bookkeeping should help. I'll study up on it."
"And that will uncover corruption?"
Lieselotte shot back at once.
She wanted to hope, but if it failed, it might provoke even more resistance from the retainers. The thought only made her worry more.
"Hm... It might be difficult to uncover fraud directly.
But once we can compare the numbers properly, I think it will be much easier to spot anything unnatural."
Choosing his words with care, Yuri still answered in a positive tone.
That alone eased Lieselotte a little. If he remained this cautious, perhaps it could work. His calm, measured attitude took a small edge off her anxiety.
"I'm sorry to place such a burden on you, my lord husband..."
Celine sounded apologetic. There was gratitude in her expression, but also a clear reluctance to push too much onto him.
Yuri, however, smiled and gave a light wave of his hand.
"It's all right. Leave it to me."
That reassuring answer eased Lieselotte again, and Celine smiled with evident satisfaction.
"And finally, he planted lacquer trees and mulberry trees to establish a textile industry.
Lacquer apparently didn't work out there, so here it might be better to plant wax trees, camellias, and olives instead.
That way, we could expand into candle-making and soap production as well, not just textiles."
When Yuri finished explaining, Celine nodded in admiration.
"That sounds wonderful."
A broad smile spread across her face. No doubt she was already thinking that if tax revenues rose, the rejuvenation potion would come that much closer.
Then Yuri opened his mouth again, looking slightly uneasy.
"By the way... are insects going to be a problem?"
"Insects? What do you mean?"
Celine tilted her head in puzzlement, and Lieselotte too looked at Yuri in confusion.
"They're nothing like magical beasts, but if we want silk thread, we'd have to raise silkworms.
It might be a little hard to get used to at first... Would keeping insects in the harem be all right?"
Yuri explained it apologetically, and Celine's expression stiffened in an instant.
"W-well... perhaps we should think about that after we arrive at the territory."
Though she forced a smile, her agitation was obvious.
Mother hates insects... And the thought of raising them in the harem must never once have crossed her mind. I do wonder whether she'll be all right.
Lieselotte could not help smiling at her mother's unease, though her worry still remained.
"If we solve the people's food problems, create more jobs, and raise tax revenue... then the rejuvenation potion won't be just a dream!"
Celine suddenly smiled brightly, her voice ringing with delight.
Mother... in the end, it always comes back to that, doesn't it?
Though Lieselotte sighed inwardly, that too felt perfectly like her mother.
"But planting those trees and building workshops would require a great deal of money, wouldn't it? What do you think about that?"
Turning back to practical matters, Lieselotte put the question to Yuri.
"You said earlier that there was a tremendous amount of debt. How was that resolved?"
Aina asked in a serious tone, and Yuri answered in a calm, even voice.
"He negotiated to have part of the debt forgiven, then had the rest paid off on his behalf and consolidated under three lenders."
"So the debt was consolidated... But would anyone really agree to such a request?"
Celine asked with a slight furrow in her brow, still sounding half unconvinced. Yuri smiled gently as he continued.
"You offer them a share of the profits in place of interest, and you promise them priority access to new products.
And by bringing them into the new ventures themselves, the lenders stand to benefit too."
"I see. So you give them privileges according to how much they put in. In that case, they might accept it."
Celine nodded with interest, visibly deep in thought.
Lieselotte too felt her heart stir slightly at the idea—bringing others in and letting them share in the profits instead of shutting them out.
"But I'd want to consolidate it under people we can truly trust... Do you have anyone in mind?"
Yuri asked a little anxiously, and Celine answered with a smile full of confidence.
"Hehe... Don't worry. I have exactly three people in mind."
"Three...?"
Surprised by her answer, Lieselotte immediately pictured the likely candidates in her mind.
The Grand Queen Dowager, the margravine, and Mother's friend who runs the high-end brothel... perhaps.
Yes. If it's those three, they'd probably protect my lord husband's secret as well.
The thought of how reliable those women were brought Lieselotte a small sense of relief. If they could secure that much cooperation, the plan would surely move forward.
"Leave those negotiations to me."
Celine answered with perfect confidence, and Yuri visibly relaxed at her words.
"Then could you work out how much investment we'll need together with Liese, my lord husband? Aina, I want your help as well."
As Celine gave her orders lightly, both Lieselotte and Aina nodded at once.
My lord husband's otherworldly knowledge truly is incredible... Even accounting for what kinds of trees should be planted...
I still don't know what exactly Youzan 'reflected on,' but to speak this concretely, this precisely... it's astonishing.
Lieselotte was deeply moved by the breadth of Yuri's knowledge, and at the same time, her heart began to race with the feeling that the future of the Reberk Barony had just begun to shift in a far greater way.