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I blinked after putting down the letter.

Though I had dealt with a lot of documents today, it wasn’t enough to bring on presbyopia. I wasn’t of that age yet.

Yusuf glanced at the letter again, but the content wouldn’t change.

“Not a kangaroo, but at least a marsupial.”

Marsupials are animals that carry underdeveloped young in a pouch due to placental issues.

There are marsupials in America, but the description seems to point to a member of the kangaroo family.

“This means Mustafa did go to Australia.”

The rest of the content was nothing special. It was a story about replenishing food and water through simple barter with the natives before returning.

Yusuf closed his eyes for a moment and wandered through his memories.

Though it was Britain that explored Australia, the largest continent of Oceania, the first Europeans to discover it were Dutch.

Before that, there were records of ships, similar to Mustafa’s, being blown off course by storms and arriving in Australia. Of course, they just turned back upon seeing the barren northwestern part of Australia.

“It’s not weird to say it was discovered. New Guinea is also close to Indonesia and part of Oceania.”

There’s also talk that Indonesians occasionally visited Australia’s northern coast.

If luck favors Mustafa, he might discover it by chance, but the important thing is what to do moving forward.

“Your Majesty, is there a problem?”

Seeing Yusuf’s serious face while reading the letter, Semsi asked with concern.

It was understandable; someone who was smiling while reading a letter suddenly deep in thought warranted worry.

“Seems Mustafa found an interesting island.”

“An island? I’ve heard there are many islands in that region. If it’s Prince Mustafa, he might have discovered something.”

Semsi, known for his ability to find something since childhood, reacted casually.

“But it might not just be an island; it could be called a continent.”

“A… new continent?”

At Semsi’s sparkling eyes, Yusuf raised one corner of his mouth.

“Calling it a new continent is a funny thing. There’s a native population already living there, saying it’s new just because we didn’t know about it. Anyway, I doubt it’s fully explored yet; it’s likely just a large island.”

“Still sounds like a pretty big island.”

“And the civilization level seems low. At least the Imperial Army won’t face significant danger going there.”

A vast land that would be easy to conquer.

Semsi’s eyes deepened, and Yusuf asked as he put the letter in an envelope.

“Do you think it would be good for the Empire to conquer?”

“We need to properly explore it first, but wouldn’t conquering be better? Either way, I think exploration is necessary.”

“You’re right; we can’t just brush this under the rug.”

Yusuf wasn’t alone on Mustafa’s ship, and sooner or later, there would be moves to explore upon hearing rumors, whether quickly or slowly.

It might have been barren land discovered, but it was land where natives lived—which meant it was potentially inhabitable land.

“There’s no way Mustafa would just leave Australia alone.”

That prince loved adventure and getting into risky voyages, and having discovered something himself, he wouldn’t let it go.

This didn’t mean it was bad news either. At least it meant no need to separately instruct them to discover Australia.

It was due to the mission given by the system to build a grand empire spanning across six continents, not because of any genuine interest.

“I don’t know what kind of selection rights the rewards entail, but for me, life is all about living and dying. Rewards hold no meaning.”

He just acted because it was beneficial for the Empire.

In any case, Australia had been discovered, and it was more important to decide how to approach it.

“Grand Vizier, if we were to occupy the island, what do you think we should do?”

“The simplest and most common method would be to conquer it with force, like the Iberian Peninsula folks.”

“Military occupation, huh.”

It’s a way of establishing colonies, but Yusuf frowned slightly.

It wasn’t out of sympathy for the natives. He had already walked a blood-stained path to ponder over humanity.

Rather, he believed it wasn’t a particularly suitable method.

“If we assume we’re settling, no one would voluntarily go, so we would have to mobilize prisoners or slaves?”

“That’s correct.”

How many people would want to settle in a perilous land where they could die at any time? The only way was to forcibly mobilize people.

The English also initially mobilized prisoners.

“How many could we really send with prisoners or slaves? Nothing worthwhile would happen until we die of old age.”

“Isn’t Your Majesty still young for this? Lately, I can hardly even read.”

“But we can’t resign. Didn’t we decide to retire together?”

“I… never made such a promise.”

“I did, so it’s settled.”

Such shameless words, but as Yusuf was the owner of the Empire, this kind of argument held water.

“Anyway, sending prisoners isn’t enough. We’ve got plenty of use for prisoners and slaves within the Empire.”

Of course, this didn’t mean there were no options at all.

“If we discover gold mines on the island, people would flock voluntarily. Wouldn’t that be the case?”

“If they exist, sure.”

A gold rush.

Australia had many exposed gold mines, and in real history, this gold rush led to explosive population growth.

The problem was it wasn’t the right time to use this method.

“Whether gold mines actually exist is secondary, but just recently we discussed the issues arising from the growing gold reserves in the Empire.”

“Right, that’s the problem. If gold mines are actually discovered and quickly colonized, the Empire’s wealth would expand tremendously. That would be tough to manage.”

Prices could skyrocket, mocking the price revolution of real history, and efforts to minimize damage could become meaningless.

Feeling reluctant to mobilize prisoners or slaves and with no chance to use the lure of gold, the conclusion was singular.

“We must try to assimilate as many natives as possible into the Empire to make them citizens.”

“I think that’s the best option. Better not to shed unnecessary blood. After all, they’ll be laborers.”

It’s estimated there were around 750,000 natives living in Australia at this time.

As the pro-Ottoman forces began to grow, wars would undoubtedly break out among the natives, reducing their numbers, but that was better than sending just a few hundred.

“Leave the matter of this island to Mustafa. Fortunately, from the letter’s contents, it looks like he’s started off on the right foot.”

“Then I’ll contact Prince Mustafa to come to the capital.”

“Proceed with that.”

In the past, a prince becoming a Sanjakbey entering the capital would have been a big deal, but that precedent had long been broken, so there was no burden.

Once Semsi stepped back, Yusuf, left alone, organized his thoughts.

He planned to attract natives through Mustafa in Australia.

Pirates led by Dragut would be troubling the route heading from the Americas to Spain.

“But, just this doesn’t feel enough to trouble Carlos.”

It seemed lacking for the Ottomans to meddle in the New World, and a solution had already been prepared.

“Chamberlain, arrange a meeting with the envoy visiting the Empire.”

*

“Haha! Am I to be treated like this as an envoy from the Great Ming Empire?! I could tell just from the careless use of ‘Empire’!”

“Calm down, my good man. Wasn’t it just recently a war situation? It wouldn’t have been a good time for a meeting with the envoy.”

As he watched Um Sung, the representative of the Ming envoy, fuming, Kim An-ro consoled him with a gentle expression.

Of course, like Um Sung, who appeared anxious, Kim An-ro also felt frustrated.

Um Sung needed to achieve results with this envoy to gain favor from the Grand Herald, and Kim An-ro needed to push out Jeong Gwang-pil, who had solidified his power since the Ottoman entry.

However, being stuck in a near-imprisoned situation was understandably irritating.

“If I meet this country’s emperor, I will certainly say my piece! Aren’t they people without a sense of courtesy?!”

“Quite right.”

While casually agreeing, Kim An-ro’s eyes sparkled slightly.

Even while cursing, the fact he addressed the counterpart as an emperor rather than a king indicated a covert recognition of the Ottomans.

“Considering it makes sense.”

Seeing the thriving capital’s landscape, it was hard not to feel that way.

Of course, the palace seemed shabby compared to the Forbidden City, but the power of the Ottomans, experienced firsthand on the way here, couldn’t just be appraised by the palace alone.

“If they set their heart to it, they could build a palace as massive as the Forbidden City.”

The current Ottoman emperor wouldn’t unnecessarily burden citizens with such constructions, so it was right that they didn’t.

As usual, while venting frustrations about the prolonged situation, a knock echoed.

– I shall enter.

“Come in!”

With Um Sung’s angry words, the door opened, and Ibrahim Pasha walked in.

Seeing Ibrahim, who had successfully completed his mission and even gained rank, Um Sung accused him sharply.

“When will we be able to carry out the envoy mission?!”

Under normal circumstances, he would have received the usual “just wait a bit longer,” but a different response came out.

“Prepare yourself. The Padishah has commanded your entry into the palace.”

“Finally!”

As it had been a long wait, Um Sung arranged his attire and confidently led the way.

He walked with vigor, ready to confront the emperor as he’d claimed he would do, and Kim An-ro followed behind, worrying that if he misstepped, it might splatter back on him.

However, that worry became meaningless the moment he laid eyes on the Ottoman emperor.

“Are you envoys from the Ming and Joseon?”

The young face, which could be described as youthful rather than middle-aged.

In a culture where age was highly regarded, his youthfulness could have led them to underestimate him, but the envoys thought otherwise.

‘Is this really the emperor?’

It was natural for emperors or kings to have some weight, and though he didn’t have any excess fat, the aura was remarkable.

‘More like a general. One who has gone through countless wars.’

While civil officials carried the smell of ink, the battle-hardened generals exuded a scent of blood, and so did the emperor.

The atmosphere radiating from him was terrifying enough to take one’s breath away, and brash Um Sung couldn’t even open his mouth properly.

“Must I ask again?”

“Y-yes, indeed. I am Um Sung representing the Great Ming Empire.”

“I am Kim An-ro from Joseon.”

Nodding, Yusuf spoke to them.

“I received the gifts sent. The porcelain from Ming seems exquisite. As for the one from Joseon, you said it was a tonic beneficial for health?”

“Yes. It should be taken in consultation with the physician brought along to suit one’s constitution, but it will help alleviate fatigue and is effective in various aspects.”

“Oh, it alleviates fatigue?”

Upon catching Yusuf’s eye, Semsi responded with a grim face.

“Your Majesty, they say the best medicine is sleep.”

“Who said that? But if it’s good for the body, I shall have to check it out and make sure to take it.”

Semsi couldn’t refuse in front of the envoys and just lowered his head.

With a satisfied smile, Yusuf turned to Kim An-ro.

“Use it well. If effective, we will import it through merchants separately.”

“Understood.”

“Now that we’ve talked about gifts, was your reason for coming all this way to strengthen friendly relations with the Empire?”

At Yusuf’s question, Um Sung calmed his heart and replied.

“That is correct. The emperor of the Empire has a keen interest in distant Ottoman. Having established our first connection well, we hope the friendship between our two countries continues.”

“An emperor of the Empire would naturally develop curiosity for new things. I think establishing friendly relations is good.”

Given the distance, there wouldn’t be much reason to conflict with one another, and establishing friendly relations would merely smooth trade.

It was a low-pressure relationship for both sides, and thus the ensuing conversation was lighthearted.

With the ties between the two nations still short, they couldn’t speak of difficult matters, and naturally, their exchange leaned toward casual chatter.

The atmosphere shifted when Yusuf brought up a new topic.

“By the way, did you say your emperor has a great interest in new things?”

“Yes.”

“Then you must know about the new continent?”

The two envoys nodded.

By now, they were busy establishing the new maritime routes that connected with the north to restore relations with the Ming.

“If you follow the currents connecting to the Ton-do Kingdom, you could reach the new continent.”

The Ton-do Kingdom was a nation located only in the Manila region of the Philippines, having deep political and commercial ties with the Ming.

They were a nation very familiar to the Ming, and upon hearing this, Um Sung widened his eyes.

“Is that really true?”

“There are no lies before the master of the Empire. You can trust that. It might be a good idea to relay this to your emperor to send out an exploratory fleet. He might find results to his liking.”

The mention of pleasing the emperor made Um Sung’s eyes sparkle, and Yusuf chuckled softly.

Feeling that the infamous court official Um Sung from the Gajeong era would take the bait, he thought.

‘If we follow that route, we’ll end up in Central or South America, not North America. Making a friendly relationship with the Spanish who got there first would yield good results.’

Of course, it was a longing desire, and it would only be effective if they could truly connect with the New World invaders who don’t follow Carlos’s regulations.

Gajeong could explode in anger over this, endangering the throne of the Padishah.

‘Then shall I keep stoking the flames to make it ignite.’

Yusuf smirked.

Another gift for Carlos.