Ripening (8)

Since I roughly understood what picture the Kingdom of Wedia wanted, I intended to move roughly according to the picture they wanted for now and receive the technology transfer. Moreover, there were good points to having exchanges with them.

First, unlike the Central Continent, I could purchase in large quantities things from the Western Continent, which possessed fairly abundant resources, and in the case of the Western Continent, the aftermath of the war had not yet had a major effect. Finally, there was the part where I would not have to deal with spies from the Terakan Empire, which was close to being an enemy nation, or from the other neighboring countries.

That did not mean I could completely cut off exchanges with them, so I did intend to interact with them at an appropriate level, but because of Ingrad’s circumstances of being surrounded by the Terakan Empire, I thought exchanges through land routes would not be easy. To put it bluntly, without Terakan’s permission, one could not pass through the land route.

According to what I heard from Branne, one could enter through illegal methods, but… since this was an exchange between nations, I wondered if they would go that far.

Furthermore, although it was not as if there were absolutely no methods other than these, for now, I intended to closely watch the situation, and what kind of movement the Empire, to which the Princess had returned, would show was something that still had to be watched.

However, the problem was the military force of the Terakan Empire, which had recently been organized as if hastily improvised.

That was because no one yet knew whether they would head to Ishtain, or if not that, whether they would go to support Atoon and the Mirkas Federation.

However, the fact that their known commander had changed from “Count Rex de Pearl” to another noble bothered me. That was because I had been preparing this and that while thinking that Rex, the son of Archduke Pearl, would surely become the commander because of things like the Imperial Family’s initiative.

In the process, I came to know how capable he was… but the problem was that I could not know what kind of change of heart had occurred.

The problems immediately before my eyes were urgent too, so even though I wanted to find out the story behind it, I could not focus on it, which was only frustrating.

So for now, thinking that I should focus on Forne de Wedia before my eyes rather than on them, I opened my mouth.

“I only hope that exchange between our two countries proceeds well. I shall remember Princess Forne’s thoughtfulness.”

“Thank you, Your Majesty.”

She showed a bright smile and lightly brushed her green hair behind her ear. Her transparent nape was subtly revealed and appealed to her beauty, but that was as far as it went.

After that, I exchanged a few more words with them and sent them back. Then, while taking a brief rest, I asked Demina.

“I never imagined the roles of a lord and a king would differ this much. Being a lord was comfortable!”

Hearing my words, which were close to complaining, Demina said.

“To me, it does not look like much has changed.”

“Why is that?”

“Mm, because Your Majesty is always doing everything you want to do, is he not?”

“…That is true.”

In truth, Demina’s words were not wrong either. I was living while doing everything I wanted to do. One could say that the life of a lord and the life of a king had not changed.

However, the only slight difference was that the people I had to deal with were not commoners or merchants, but royalty and high-ranking nobles?

That did not mean I was not dealing with the people. That was because I went around under the pretext of inspecting the streets, bought and ate street food, and provided suitable houses to those who needed buildings.

The way of life was the same, but there had only been changes in the qualitative aspects. Well, I thought even those qualitative aspects would probably wither after a certain amount of time passed.

‘Right now, it is because the kingdom is in its early days…’

It meant that this was the hottest time. I believed that after this time passed, the degree of interest would change greatly depending on what policies I carried out.

“By the way, they say the number of merchant companies requesting steelwood has been increasing lately. What is that about?”

I asked Linda, who was in the Audience Chamber with us, and she sighed and spoke to me.

“Once it became known that all the lumber piled up at the shipyard was steelwood lumber close to supreme grade, the number of people who wanted to purchase it increased.”

“Mm, even if it is a prohibited item for sale, they are trying hard to purchase it?”

“Yes. Moreover, since there is an extremely large amount, I think they want to buy even a little of it.”

In truth, we were in a situation where there was an excessive amount of lumber. However, when looking long-term, we were not in urgent need of money, and because it was “supreme grade,” I had not been thinking of selling it off.

In the long term, I thought it would be right to use it when constructing those ships after receiving the technology transfer, and although it was regrettable, I had no choice but to tell them to ignore the requests.

“Continue managing it steadily, and make it clear that there will be no sales. Deliver an official notice and inform them that it is an item prohibited for sale. And if anyone tries to steal it or trade it illicitly, punish them severely. Understood?”

Linda nodded. It would probably be difficult for her. That was because Linda was always involved in matters related to money. These days, we are constantly recruiting personnel.

There were also many applicants, and I knew that there were quite a few travelers who came to Ingrad with big dreams.

After recognizing that we needed a method to actively use them, I thought about several things, then for now carried out today’s schedule.

The country I faced after the Kingdom of Wedia was the Kingdom of Antaf, which was somewhat distant from Wedia but was on the same Western Continent.

I remembered hearing that the country itself was extremely small. However, this small country had powerful strength, and that was “magic.”

I had heard that the country itself consisted of a massive labyrinth and a mage’s tower, and I remembered hearing that the country was prosperous because of the various magic tools and knowledge excavated from that labyrinth.

I even heard that they had crossed the continent using magic during this enthronement ceremony, and I thought it was truly fascinating, but the problem was that they were interested in the Demon Dragon.

“So you are asking me to create an opportunity for you to meet the Demon Dragon?”

“That is correct, Your Majesty. According to rumors, she can be communicated with. Furthermore, that bracelet is imbued with a unique magic power… That must be the rumored bracelet that can grant a wish, correct?”

Risina de Antaf, the princess of the Kingdom of Antaf, had her eyes shining as if she might rush forward at any moment, so several old mages nearby grabbed her and hurriedly spoke.

“The Princess loves magic tools so much… please understand…”

“Please regard her generously.”

I nodded at the old mage’s words and looked at the two mages, wondering if this was truly something they should be so flustered over. That was because, through Hare’s confirmation, I knew that the abilities of those two old mages were at the level of “Archmages.”

The sight of such remarkable experts flustering like that was a part I could not quite understand. However, just as there was the phrase “the royal family of magic,” I had heard that Risina de Antaf was also quite a remarkable mage.

She was in her early twenties, but it seemed that her ability had almost reached the level of an Archmage.

‘Curiosity, huh…’

The purpose of their visit was literally a trip to satisfy their curiosity about seeing the Demon Dragon, using the enthronement ceremony as an excuse. However, there had been times when they looked surprised while examining some of our country’s technology.

Perhaps because the continents were different and the origins of magic were also somewhat different, Princess Risina had said that there were many cases where the magic of the Central Continent was fascinating.

“It is not difficult to arrange a meeting, but the problem is the price.”

“If it is something we can do, we shall grant you anything.”

The expressions of the Archmages, who were startled by Princess Risina’s words, were quite a sight.

“The price paid to us is not the only problem. The Demon Dragon may demand a price. If I knew clearly what you desired, I could specify the price with something, but in the end, both your country and ours would have to suffer great losses.”

“In the case of the loss that Ingrad would suffer, we will somehow compensate for it instead. So I wish to meet the Demon Dragon.”

“May I ask the reason?”

Hearing my words, Princess Risina fell into thought unlike before, and soon, after turning to look at the two Archmages, she asked me as if she had made up her mind.

“Would you allow me to use magic for a moment?”

First, I glanced at Hare, and she nodded.

“May I know what kind of magic it is?”

At my question, Princess Risina answered, “It is to open a subspace.” So when I looked at Hare again, she nodded.

Thinking that she would prepare on her own, I gave permission, and Princess Risina quickly began drawing a magic circle.

Honestly speaking, I could not know exactly what level Princess Risina’s magic ability was, but by looking at the amount and quality of the magic power used, I could get a rough sense of it.

‘She uses higher-quality magic power than Richard… but the quality is much lower than Hare’s… Hm, as for the speed of drawing the magic circle, is Richard slightly ahead?’

Perhaps because he had repeatedly used only familiar magic and become proficient, there were cases where Richard was remarkably ahead of Hare in certain kinds of magic, and perhaps thanks to that?

These days, Richard often received Hare’s praise that his understanding of magic had risen and his abilities had grown greatly.

Well, although he was not present here right now, when comparing her to Richard, I thought Princess Risina was worthy of Hare’s praise.

That was because Richard was an advanced mage recognized by the Empire’s Magic Tower. Now, his level had risen a little more, so I thought it would be fine to consider him at the highest-grade level.

A moment later, the magic circle was completed, and a small crack appeared in the air. It was an unfamiliar sight, but Princess Risina immediately pushed her hand inside and took out several items, and watching the two Archmages carefully receive them and set them down on the floor, I wondered if it was all right to leave them like that.

But at that moment, Hare subtly narrowed the distance and approached, then spoke quietly to me.

“They are sealed magic tools. I cannot know exactly what is sealed inside them, but it seems that extremely high-level magic seals have been placed on them. I think they probably wanted to meet the Demon Dragon in order to undo those. What will you do?”

I alternated my gaze between Hare, who had spoken, and Princess Risina, who finished taking out all the items and canceled the magic, and first asked Princess Risina.

“Our Archmage says they are high-level seals. Do you know what is sealed inside?”

I could see the expressions of the three people change from moment to moment in surprise at the unexpected words, and soon, as if she had finished agonizing, Princess Risina opened her mouth.

“We know one of them, but we do not know the other two.”

The total number of items she had taken out was four.

“Is one of them not sealed?”

“The item that is not sealed is the price we will offer to the Demon Dragon.”

“May I know what it is?”

“It is an ancient dragon’s legacy called the Tear of the Dragon God. We thought that with this, the Demon Dragon would also grant our request.”

It was an unexpected story, and wondering if Hare also knew of it, I looked at her, and Hare shook her head.

‘She will probably try to obtain a load of alcohol again… Tsk. First, should I hear what they can give us and then decide…?’

“Then what is the price you will give us?”

“We shall give you one of these three.”

It was an unexpected answer.