Ripening (2)

Idlen, who welcomed me gladly, had indeed not seen me in a while.

It felt like almost a month had passed, but the problem was that she did not seem to be alone. Should I call it the atmosphere of guiding someone?

After getting down from Demina’s back, which I had been riding on, I first asked Idlen a question.

“Who is the person beside you?”

“Ah, this time… he is a merchant with whom we newly formed an alliance. He said there was good news for Ingrad and that he wanted to come along…”

“Greetings. I am called ‘Rens.’”

At the sight of the man politely offering his greetings with proper courtesy, I also gave my greeting.

“Nice to meet you. Rens-ssi, was it?”

“That is correct. But… if you are His Majesty the King, should you not speak more informally?”

“I am not yet used to speaking down to people, you see. I am making an effort, but it ends up like this every time. Let’s go.”

Then I walked ahead and asked Idlen a question.

“Did you come to watch the coronation?”

“Yes. Considering our relationship with the Dust of Sands Trading Company until now, we could not be absent.”

“I see. But I heard that during the previous transaction, you could not fill the volume and sent great gold coins instead. What happened?”

At my question about how she had sent great gold coins, saying they could not match what they had previously promised to send entirely as food, Idlen answered carefully.

“In truth, I think it would be correct to say that the Empire’s financial situation was worse than expected.”

“Worse, huh… Did something happen?”

“The more we investigated, the more strange points there were. Thinking that there was something behind it, we investigated other countries as well, and a few days ago, I received a report that it was not only the Empire whose situation was bad.”

“Other countries are bad too? Which places were bad?”

At my question, Idlen first told me that the circumstances were bad in all the countries adjacent to the Terakan Empire, the Dradnos Empire, and the weaker countries of the Central Continent.

“You don’t know the cause, do you?”

“There was not enough time to find that out. I have taken measures so we can look into it separately, but I do not know when we will be able to find out.”

“Hmm… I see. That means we need to be careful.”

Idlen nodded. To put it bluntly, we too did not know when, where, or how things might turn out. We were controlling those entering from the outside, but separate from that, circumstances could worsen, and if there was a force aiming for something, or if not that, some strange flow had arisen, I thought we needed to prepare in advance.

Honestly, our finances were not merely stable but broad enough to be overflowing, so there was nothing to worry about in that regard. Still, thinking that we should not let our guard down, I returned to the lord’s castle while discussing various things.

“I think I can’t help but be impressed every time I come here.”

Recently, I have been decorating the inside of the castle with “alcohol.” Mostly, old alcohol was the main feature, and I spoke to Idlen, who was admiring the various bottle shapes of “rum.”

“It’s a hobby. Only liquor that is at least thirty-three years old is displayed in the corridors, and the older ones are being decorated in the banquet hall and my office.”

“It is surprising that there is this much alcohol that old.”

Since it was not exactly an open secret, I could joke that it was the power of the liquor storage, and the man called Rens, who was following along with us, also glanced at the liquor bottles with an admiring expression.

I was curious what kind of expression he would make if he knew that I was deliberately decorating the interior to see expressions like that, but well, that was that, and the work came first.

“But you surely did not come simply to watch the event. Was there something you separately wanted to trade this time?”

When I gestured with my chin toward Rens as well, Idlen nodded.

“You know that the value of Black Gold has risen even further recently, correct?”

“Well… because it has not been distributed for a while due to the war. Isn’t it about time the stockpiles begin to run out?”

“That is right. It would not be an exaggeration to say that the continent is literally suffering from Black Gold fever.”

It was an expression I could call exaggerated. Chocolate was no longer commoner food now. At this point, it had become something like food enjoyed by the wealthy, so I thought this talk of Black Gold fever was laughable.

“Is it because you want to increase the trade volume?”

“No. I do not think there is any need to increase the trade volume itself. I intend to maintain the current situation for a while and gradually increase its value.”

“Wouldn’t even nobles feel burdened if it becomes too expensive?”

“I intend to create a current. Nobles often hold banquets and the like to express their sense of superiority. But what if there is no Black Gold at such banquets?”

Idlen cut off her words there. So I thought carefully, trying to recall her intention, and it seemed she was trying to turn it into an issue of pride.

“It’s provocation. You are trying to raise Black Gold into something that wounds pride… something like a symbol of wealth and a symbol of authority, aren’t you?”

Idlen’s intent was contrary to my original intention. To put it bluntly, I did not think chocolate was that kind of food. So just as I was about to feel a little repulsed, the man introduced as Rens spoke.

“There are often foods that belong only to nobles.”

“Is that so…? In truth, I am not very interested in that sort of thing. It is true that I thought I could earn a lot of money. And in reality, I am earning an enormous amount of money beyond imagination. That is why my head is a little complicated.”

“Would it not be easier on your mind to think of it as collecting from those who have?”

It was something I could think about just as the man called Rens had said. However, that was a statement that knew one thing and did not know another.

“Who do you think those who have will exploit in order to earn enormous amounts of money? In the end, it will lead to direct blows to people’s lives. That is what I am concerned about.”

That did not mean I was some philanthropist. I simply felt sorry for those who would be exploited, live painfully, or have to die because of the goods I made.

But Idlen and Rens looked at these words of mine with strange gazes. Still, what had to be said had to be said.

“Where do you think the foundation of your lives comes from?”

“Well, that…”

Rens stopped mid-sentence, and Idlen also sank into serious thought. So I spoke to the two of them.

“To explain it simply, if an outstanding ruler fills the bellies of the people through outstanding policies, then the ruling class above them will naturally fill their bellies as well. And the things that ruling class releases again while maintaining their lives form a certain turnover rate. But in this process, if the intermediate ruling class becomes blinded by a specific luxury good and spends enormous funds lavishly, and the funds that should flow down to commoners dry up, what will happen to the region where that ruler exists?”

“A serious situation would occur… And surely… do you perhaps think that the drying up of funds could be because of Black Gold?”

“Not necessarily. There may be some other thing that is recently fashionable. The reason I think that is because I am earning enormous funds, but it is not money I am earning from the Central Continent.”

I could not say that I had opened trade with the Demonic Tribe and was raking in great gold coins. Then, after hearing my words, Idlen thought of something and clapped her hands.

“Did you figure something out?”

“Ah, recently… a drug that causes hallucinations has been popular. The state is trying to stop it, but there are no particular laws. And I think I heard that its addictiveness is also quite strong.”

‘Drugs, huh… If that is the case, it would make sense…’

“There are no regulations on drugs that cause hallucinations?”

“It is extremely expensive, and the amount produced is also small. In addition, it is treated as a ‘poison,’ so only an extremely small amount is being distributed and traded. Most of it is used as medicine to guide those suffering from serious illnesses to a comfortable death.”

It meant they were using narcotics as medicine for euthanasia. However, the reason Idlen said this was probably because she had grasped the possibility that it was being used for another purpose.

When I looked at Idlen as though waiting for her next words, she spoke.

“It was being distributed in several large pleasure districts. It was an extremely small amount, but I remember receiving a report that it was sometimes sought at high-class brothels frequented by nobles.”

“High-class brothels… That needs investigation, doesn’t it?”

There were no brothels in our territory. No, it was correct to say that there were no red-light businesses themselves. There were taverns, but there were no establishments that provided other forms of entertainment or where women attended men.

Idlen nodded, and Rens also had a serious expression. I had thought that the man had something going on, but perhaps he might be a noble. With that thought, I spoke to Idlen as we entered the audience chamber of the lord’s castle.

“It must have been a long journey, so I will give you a room at the hotel. How about resting?”

“As you know, I am a merchant. The purpose of coming here also includes trade, so I should do what I must before resting.”

“What are you trying to obtain besides Black Gold?”

“Royal Rum.”

“Haa…?”

It was an unexpected order. So I asked for the reason.

“Is the Imperial Family looking for it?”

“Yes. It seemed all of their stockpiled volume had been exhausted. And this time, when the Princess was on her way back, I was able to receive a request to bring in workers and purchase a large amount.”

I thought it was absurd. To put it bluntly, they drew a border and blocked people from coming and going under the excuse of controlling the land route, yet they requested necessary goods from a trading company coming and going by sea?

If they were going to do that, I wondered why they were controlling it at all.

‘Well… is it for show, to preserve their pride?’

The Empire probably had its own circumstances, but I thought it was unsightly.

Since I could not understand why they were going that far for something like pride, I first told her the volume.

“The volume I have is, hmm… due to recent circumstances, only about two thousand bottles. And unlike the previous ones, these are high-grade goods that have gone through long aging, so the price will not be light.”

“What were the previous ones?”

“They were Royal Rum aged for eleven years. But the volume I have now is Royal Rum aged for at least thirty-three years. By approximate value, I would have to receive more than ten times as much.”

Idlen looked appalled at my words. The previous Royal Rum trade price had been one hundred great gold coins per bottle.

“Can you make a profit?”

At my words, Idlen shook her head, and Rens, who had been listening from the side, also had a curious expression and quietly asked.

“Is that alcohol called Royal Rum truly something that valuable?”

“Value, huh? Well, since there is one I had opened and was drinking, would you like to try a glass?”

Rens confidently nodded, and Idlen beside him also seemed curious, looking at me with an expression that said she wanted some too.

It was not something I felt was a waste anyway, so I immediately told a maid to bring glasses and the Royal Rum I had been drinking. Soon, with the help of the maid who brought it, I was able to hand each of them a glass of Royal Rum. Seeing Rens look at me as if I were a miser after looking at the alcohol that barely sloshed at the bottom of the glass, I said,

“It is extremely strong alcohol. An ordinary person could get drunk from that one glass, you see. Try it, and if you feel like you can drink more, tell me. I will give you more.”

“I apologize. That was not what I was thinking, but… I will not refuse.”

Then Rens examined the scent and color of the liquor before throwing it into his mouth. One could say he drank it in a hearty way, but… I thought it was recklessness.

It was forty-one-degree liquor. Just as I thought it was not liquor to toss back so lightly, Rens grimaced exactly as expected, and I could only chuckle. Then I looked at Idlen, who was savoring the liquor in little sips, and asked.

“How is it? Does it seem valuable?”

“….I think I understand why they are obsessed with this liquor.”

Idlen had a rather satisfied expression, and Rens only looked for water as though his insides were burning.