Hall Of Exchange (3)

After sending everyone back, I returned to the lord’s manor in the carriage obtained from Baron Rubins, doing various tasks like completing the unfinished rest stops and stationing personnel to manage them. It took a full three days to get back to the manor, but the problem was that I had a visitor.

“What in the world is this? You need to tell me.”

The person who greeted me was Princess Riana. She was the princess who almost exclusively handled the bi-monthly regular visit herself. She said that upon arriving at the domain, she found me absent and a strange, unique structure cutting across the territory for a long distance, and she couldn’t stand the curiosity, so she endured waiting for almost a week.

“It would have been fine if you had visited next time, too.”

“No. I felt I absolutely had to know. But, what is it, truly?”

“It’s an elevated road.”

“An elevated… road?”

“It’s a road designed to prevent monster attacks and safely allow communication with other domains.”

“Other domains…?”

“That’s right. This bridge, if you ride straight for three days, will reach the Hameureun Barony.”

“…..Is that true?”

“It’s something you can check for yourself later, so there’s no need for me to lie.”

Princess Riana looked at me with an expression of utter disbelief. Moreover, Agnes, who had accompanied her, wore a similar expression, and then Princess Riana, with a look of incomprehension, asked me a question.

“Did you dislike trading with me?”

Since unnecessary misunderstandings could arise, I intended to give a vague answer. First, I needed to make sense, so I racked my brain and spoke.

“That’s not it. A high-end method of transport like a Teleport Scroll wouldn’t be able to handle the food needed for all the Beastkin. This is especially true because most of the monsters within the Ingrad Domain have recently been hunted to near extinction. Since the Beastkin mainly use ‘monster meat’ as food, meat was needed, and to acquire it, a land transport method was required. Therefore, the conclusion I reached after much deliberation was this elevated road.”

“Ah… I see… Were the circumstances that dire?”

“That’s right. The population has increased. No substantial grains are grown here, and most of the meat is from monsters. With the increase in population, including slaves and the Beastkin living in the Forest of the Demon Dragon, a countermeasure was needed. Furthermore, thanks to the Beastkin, the monsters decreased, making it the perfect time to build a road, so I pushed ahead with its construction.”

Unlike Princess Riana, who nodded at my words and looked understanding, Agnes stared at me with a sharp gaze and asked a question.

“Isn’t there another meaning to this?”

“What ‘other meaning’ are you referring to?”

“Perhaps, that you don’t trust us…”

“If I had such suspicions, would I have so crudely installed a road that is so clearly visible?”

“One never knows, of course.”

As Agnes and I exchanged words with a strange undercurrent, Princess Riana intervened and spoke.

“A trusting relationship is established by mutual belief. I don’t think this is appropriate right now. Miss Agnes, have you forgotten that I suggested you accompany me for a vacation, as you seem too sensitive lately?”

“I apologize. I also apologize to Viscount Ingrad.”

“It is I who apologize, as I seem to have let my emotions show.”

I was able to gloss over it, but Agnes was subtly sharp. The road was built because I couldn’t rely solely on the Imperial Family. It could be seen as having suspected the Imperial Family’s intentions.

Because of this, the situation I was trying to talk my way out of nearly got complicated, but I felt saved thanks to Princess Riana. I realized she trusted me more than I imagined.

Was she acting a bit more intimately since the previous poisonous spider incident?

I briefly entertained that thought but decided to stop for now and frankly explained the volume of goods agreed upon for the trade.

I informed them that I hadn’t given anything from the domain, but had merely bought food using an Imperial bill, and after only letting them know that a suitable trade would take place when merchants next visited the domain, I was able to move past the situation.

‘She’s a difficult woman, alright…’

Since Agnes maintained quite close ties with the Imperial Family, I wondered if she might also serve as the Empress’s eyes and ears.

I thought there was no harm in being cautious, and for now, I intended to minimize the potential for conflict by putting ‘transparency’ first.

After that, I had to lead the carriage with the princess back onto the elevated road. In the meantime, after leaving orders for Wijel and Debik to begin preparing for the Demon God’s Month, I decided to focus only on the princess’s escort and drove the carriage to the Fourth Rest Stop.

The surrounding scenery viewed from atop the 10m high bridge is quite good. The sight of all the trees spread out below our feet and birds flying right in front of us could be called quite a spectacle.

Moreover, when we arrived at the Fourth Rest Stop, Princess Riana, as she looked around the area, repeatedly expressed her admiration and asked me various questions.

“Which goddess does the statue in the temple honor?”

“Doesn’t our domain have a lot of Beastkin, given its nature?”

“It does, right?”

“I sculpted the god of those Beastkin. She’s called ‘Artemisia’, do you happen to know her?”

“Ah, I do. She’s not a widely revered god on the continent, but I learned she’s a very powerful one. I also know that there are human believers.”

“You’re knowledgeable. As expected of Your Highness, the Princess.”

As the saying went, praise made even whales dance. The princess blushed as if embarrassed and smiled shyly. If you only looked at her like this, she was a tremendous bundle of charm who could bewitch people, but to me, she was merely a woman to keep at a distance.

After that, the princess asked about the square and the lines drawn on the ground, and when I explained the concept of a ‘parking lot’, she looked surprised, asking how I could have thought of such a thing.

Subsequently, hearing my words about the future expansion and broadening of the currently empty shopping district and various other things, and that the area where people could live freely would also be extended, the princess looked at me as if I were some great figure.

Even while we were spending this pleasant time, Agnes looked at me with an expressionless face, but I thought I could gradually work on the relationship over time.

The princess returned the morning after finishing her tour of the rest stops.

She left a large quantity of magic stones behind as she departed, but unfortunately, Hare was not in the domain, so the time acceleration work couldn’t be done.

So, the first thing I proceeded with was the ‘stainless steel’ work.

‘Pipes, plumbing, and a bathhouse where you can enjoy using water freely!’

Imagining the splendid indoor bathhouse created through a combination of several ideas, I envisioned a picnic (?) to be enjoyed there with Beni and Allena, whom I would summon.

‘Ah, not yet. Not yet. Don’t get hard.’

After admonishing my second personality, I went to find the blacksmith who handled iron. I happened to run into the craftsman who was outside the building, letting off steam as if cooling the heat.

“Hark?! M-My Lord, what brings you here!”

The blacksmith, whom I had previously learned was a Half-Dwarf, hurriedly bowed his head in greeting.

“Gilbert, I have something to ask of you.”

Gilbert the blacksmith tilted his head and looked up at me. I took out two chunks of metal I had received from the princess before and asked.

“I’d like to alloy these two metals and cast something special…”

“One looks like iron, and is that ‘Chromium’?”

I thought I had heard it called that before. As I nodded, the craftsman took the two ores and looked puzzled.

“If you ask me to alloy these two metals, will you be adding any other metals?”

“No, I just want you to adjust the ratio slightly and produce a special iron.”

“Special… iron?”

“Perhaps ‘iron that doesn’t rust’ would be the right way to put it?”

Gilbert’s expression upon hearing my secret was that he had never heard of such iron. However, based on the memories vaguely resurfacing, I made my case.

“First, try making an alloy by mixing the iron with the chrome at an 8:2 ratio, then lower the ratio of chrome to find the optimal state. Can you do that?”

“…. It’s not a difficult task, but. Does iron that doesn’t rust truly exist?”

“After you make the alloy, you’ll know right away if you soak it in saltwater, won’t you?”

“That’s true, but…”

“I’m counting on you. Let me know immediately when the alloy is complete. I’ll have the Beastkin send the chrome and iron right away.”

Gilbert said he understood, and he looked at me with an uncomprehending expression, but the hardship ahead was Gilbert’s to bear, not mine.

After passing off the stainless steel work, I inspected the liquor warehouse and the medicinal herb warehouse before heading to the lord’s manor.

I couldn’t afford to be idle because of the volume of work that needed to be done.

First, I produced a large quantity of magic-power recovery potions and this time also manufactured as much mana recovery potion as possible.

After putting the heavily stacked medicines into leather pouches with good moisture resistance, I secured them around my waist and left the lord’s manor.

The preparations for the Demon God’s Month were finally beginning in earnest.

Meanwhile, on the battlefield, the head of the Hero, a precious resource for humanity, fell during the Demon Tribe’s great offensive.

Humanity was forced to falter in its grief, and the Atoon Kingdom and the Mirkas Federation, which were considered the front lines, were forced to retreat the front continuously due to repeated defeats.

Furthermore, citing the Terakan Empire’s aid not arriving on time as a reason for the Hero’s defeat, the Atoon Kingdom and the Mirkas Federation went so far as to urgently dispatch envoys to the Terakan Empire.

The two high-ranking nobles, who were ushered into the audience chamber, were waiting for the Ruler of Terakan to arrive, recalling what they intended to say. Just then, they saw the Empress enter the audience chamber with a magnificent shout and paid their respects.

The Ruler of Terakan took her seat on the throne and looked down at them with a gaze full of arrogance. The two nobles coughed awkwardly, showing their discomfort.

“What business do the Atoon Kingdom and the Mirkas Federation have visiting us?”

“I am Duke Zetman of Atoon.”

“I am Duke Holleo of the Mirkas Federation.”

After they introduced themselves, the Ruler of Terakan merely nodded without speaking. The two nobles were displeased, but since the national power of their countries was incomparable to hers, they had no choice but to speak.

“There was a problem in the recent war. As a result, we lost the Hero and suffered defeat. However, during the reorganization process, an anomaly was discovered. We have made this difficult visit to inform you that the cause of that defeat lies with the Terakan Empire, and to prevent such an incident from recurring.”

“Did you say Duke Zetman?”

“That is correct, Your Majesty.”

“The cause of the defeat is simply that your nations were weak. Why do you attempt to shift the blame for your defeat onto others?”

“We initially thought so too. However, the reason the Hero died was due to the supplies that were scheduled to be provisioned. Because they did not arrive on time from the Terakan Empire, the supply chain was not maintained as promised, ultimately leading to the result of defeat and death.”

The Ruler of Terakan let out a light laugh. She looked down at the two Dukes and asked.

“What were those supplies that caused you to unnecessarily advance the Hero, who is considered the last bulwark of humanity? It sounds as if you are suggesting that we caused the Hero’s death by not providing those supplies. Did I hear that correctly?”

“There may be circumstances, but we believe it was the cause.”

This time, the Empress became genuinely curious about the assertion of Duke Holleo of the Mirkas Federation and asked.

“First, I would like you to tell me what those supplies were. What was that item we were supposed to provide?”

“It is this.”

As he spoke, he took out a small container from his cloak. The shape was familiar. The Empress lightly pressed her forehead as she looked at it, as the report Agnes had given her previously seemed to be coming to mind.

‘Did she report that a large quantity of medicinal ingredients had been stolen and seized by the Black Hand…?’

The Empress recalled something.