"How long have I been asleep?" Kailar asked, startled, as he sprang up from the bed.
"Six hours, oh." Teresa said with a slight smile. She had followed Kailar for over ten years and was increasingly fond of seeing him flustered.
Time was a unit established by Kailar. Evidently, he established time to allow future generations to discover the mysteries of the universe through it... but for now, it was merely the common unit of time in Red Leaf Ridge.
"My goodness, didn't I say only half an hour! I've overslept by twelve times that amount!" Kailar said, annoyed, as he tugged at the silver strand of hair on top of his head.
"It's alright, because everything has already been resolved by Artoria, oh. Oh god, calling her Artoria is such a mouthful, I'll just call her Lily instead." Teresa smiled gently, her mood growing more pleasant as she watched Kailar's expression.
"Alright," Kailar jumped straight out of bed, his silver hair flying wildly as he shook his head: "You even washed my hair while I was asleep!!!" Kailar exclaimed in disbelief: "The most terrifying thing is that I didn't even notice you getting me wet!"
Shrugging slightly, Teresa walked out of the room with a joyful mood, taking cat-like steps.
"Alright, alright." Kailar grumbled as he jumped off the bed, walking barefoot on the soft wool carpet towards the dining room.
Early in the morning, besides the maids, there were only a few people in the entire dining room.
Coincidentally, Kailar's disciples all inherited his habit of getting up early. Several of his more important disciples were here, for example, Kailar's sixth disciple, Benjamin, who was in charge of mathematics and statistics. He was here because the junior disciples he led had finally compiled yesterday's casualties and data today.
Seeing Kailar walk in, many people stood up.
To be honest, yesterday's war had been too shocking, especially for these war novices. They felt ashamed of their performance yesterday. At Kailar's command, as members of the science department, they had fled into the city like stray dogs, abandoning Kailar. They felt shame and disgrace.
"Teacher! You're not wearing shoes again!" Agons stood up and accused.
"What does it matter, it's my own home." Kailar grumbled, waving his hand and walking to his seat. A nearby maid naturally brought Kailar a plate of fried eggs, sausages, and a glass of milk.
Kailar was a firm believer in the concept of a nutritious breakfast. He believed that consuming enough sugar and protein in the morning was sufficient for a day's brain consumption: in fact, if you were confident in your body, you could even skip lunch and dinner, which was a pure waste of time. — Kailar believed, but he rarely did so.
Nodding slightly to the maid in thanks, Kailar's expression turned serious: "Alright, Benjamin, let's talk about something serious. What were the exact casualties yesterday?"
"1725 people, including warriors who died due to the mistakes of those novice doctors after being injured." Benjamin said with a serious expression — in fact, those who do statistics tend to be more serious, both in life and at work.
"And the enemy eliminated?" Kailar asked.
"922 people, including 305 from Leinuo Knight Order, 517 from Madesia Knights, and 2 prisoners." Benjamin held the parchment in his hand and read it out meticulously as if reciting a text.
"Prisoners?" Kailar was surprised for a moment, then dismissed the question and continued: "So, what was the haul?"
"606 sturdy armors suitable for heavy infantry and Knights, all intact. Three hundred intact horses, and two hundred horses capable of agricultural labor. Also, 908 Knight lances, 992 Knight sabers, and Knight shields."
"Very good, Ben. Now, I'll teach you a small statistical trick. From the numbers above, your ordinary statistics are already perfect, but a mathematician should separate pure income from peripheral income, understand? You forgot to calculate those two 'Lord's who were completely defenseless and just waiting to be incorporated into Red Leaf Ridge's territory, you know."
Although he was saddened to hear that 1,700 of his people had died, Kailar's mood brightened again upon hearing the income.
With a happy curve to his lips, Kailar guided Benjamin on his path to becoming a Great Mathematician.
"Yes, Teacher." Benjamin was very humble and down-to-earth, qualities Kailar liked. In fact, besides liking down-to-earth people, Kailar also preferred: capable, willing, hardworking, and intelligent people. Without exception, all the students Kailar personally taught were these types of people, and Kailar's personal teaching was completely different from teaching on a projection-like candlelit white screen—most of those who received personal instruction could now teach students themselves, while most of the others were currently only at the level of high school graduates. This was the difference.
"So, Agons, can you tell me what you all decided yesterday that required Artoria... hmm, that really is a mouthful to say. What did you decide that required Lily to make the decision for you?" Kailar asked curiously.
"Teacher, it was the common people. The common people wanted to return home, but Artoria firmly rejected it. Her excuse was that the war order had not yet been lifted. Except for the families of the wounded who could come out to care for them, everyone else had to remain in the city." Agons said: "Because I wasn't sure whether we needed to immediately restore the market to normal, otherwise we would lose a lot of tax revenue for a day."
"Firstly, Agons, your goal is small, but you are still looking too much at the present. Secondly, you should know that from the very first lesson, I have been emphasizing a people-oriented approach. If a home still has people, then it is a home. If a country still has homes, then it is still a country. If there are no people, no homes, no country, do you understand?" Kailar patiently and gently taught Agons: "In other words, if you let the common people out of the city at this time, you know the speed of a Knight. It only takes a blink of an eye to rush into the city. Can you guarantee there won't be a second Leinuo Knight Order?"
"Yes, Teacher, I understand." Agons bowed his head deeply, feeling profound shame for his obsession with money.
"It's alright, your decision to go to Lily was the correct one. I am skilled in strategy, and Lily is skilled in decision-making. In fact, sometimes the timing of a decision is far more important than strategy. You did nothing wrong." Kailar said with a smile, comforting Agons. He couldn't help but think of Zhuge Liang and Fang Xuanling in history. Zhuge Liang was good at strategy but missed many good opportunities, while Fang Xuanling was also good at strategy, yet in the Twenty-Four Meritorious Officials' Tower, he could only rank below Du Ruhui, who was good at making decisions... Shaking his head slightly with a smile, Kailar began to attend to other matters.