During the war between the Great Tiger Kingdom of Haan and the Gran
Chaos Empire, the Republic of Turgis, a nation on the southernmost tip of
the continent, had taken advantage of the confusion. They invaded
Mercenary State Zem, an ally of the Great Tiger Kingdom, and took three
cities that were near their own borders.
That said, though the cities were taken by force, most of Zem's
mercenaries had been away fighting alongside the Great Tiger Kingdom—
spreading their defenses thin. The Republic had even more forces gathered
for the push north waiting in nearby cities. As a result, the Republic didn't
face much in the way of resistance.
When the war ended, they returned just the northernmost of those three
cities, the one that was vital to Zem's defense, while the other two were
incorporated into the Republic's territory. This happened due to three main
reasons. The first being, after essentially declaring victory, Fuuga wanted to
focus on stabilizing his newly expanded land—not deal with the problems
of his vassal states. The second being due to the Head of the Republic, Kuu
Taisei's, stubborn negotiating. And lastly, because Souma had been dragged
out to mediate as leader of the Maritime Alliance.
"Ookyakya! We finally managed to go north, huh!" Kuu said, smiling as
he surveyed his new cities from a distance. "It's bold of Fuuga Haan to have
us give back just one city and let us keep the rest."
"Maybe he thinks it's fine to give them to you for now since you won't
be able to hold them anyway?" Nike Chima, who was standing beside him,
suggested with a shrug.
This young, capable commander who wielded a spear was Kuu's friend
and confidante.
"I'll bet," Kuu said with a wry smile. "Anyone who knew the history of
the Republic would think that. We've taken cities in an attempt to expand
north before, but we've always had to abandon them in the end."
The Republic was unmatched in winter combat where the power of air
forces such as wyverns was suppressed. But because their cold climate
prohibited them from raising wyverns, they had no air force of their own.
When things warmed up, and the enemy was able to send out their wyverns,
the Republic inevitably ended up on the back foot. Furthermore, the
Republic was locked in snow and ice during the middle of winter, shutting
down communication between the homeland and the cities they'd taken.
That's why it was so hard to hold their conquests.
Fuuga must have known that too. He figured that even if he stopped
negotiating with the return of just one city, he could take the rest back later
anyway.
Kuu smiled daringly. "Ookyakya! But that's how the Republic was
before. Let's show him that that reasoning won't apply to the Republic
we're going to create."
Nike's eyes widened at this confident declaration. "Feeling rather sure of
yourself, I see. Do you have any reason to think we can win?"
"Hah! I've learned a thing or two from watching my bro Souma rule.
I've studied up on how to win the hearts and minds of the people in the
territory under our control."
"Are you talking about the way Sir Souma annexed Amidonia?" Kuu's
second wife Leporina asked, tilting her head slightly. She was standing
opposite Nike, and was also here as Kuu's bodyguard, so her bunny ears
were twitching with alertness. "He broadcast a music program, right? Are
you going to do that, Master Kuu?"
"Ookyakya! Not quite. Providing broadcast programs for entertainment
is just one method, but the essence of winning people over is deeper,
simpler than that."
"It's...simple?"
"Yeah. To sum it up real quick—it's about presenting them something
new."
After saying that, Kuu gestured towards what was in front of them with
his chin. There were dozens of people from the two cities and their outlying
areas gathered there. They were wealthy farmers, big merchants, and exmercenaries who'd retired to life as lords—those with power, basically.
They had been called here in Kuu's name today and were now trembling,
surrounded by soldiers of the Republic.
Currently, they were all gathered at the foot of a mountain. These
influential figures were all worried that they might be massacred here, and
their bodies discarded in the mountains, as to prevent them from interfering
with his rule. No one had explained to them the reason for gathering, so you
could hardly blame them for thinking that.
As he looked at these men, Kuu said to Leporina, "These guys are like
how the Republic used to be. They have a sense of values they've built over
time, and the traditions they've cultivated make it hard for them to accept
things that come from outside. If someone's got their fingers in their ears,
no amount of honeyed words will persuade them. You've gotta pull those
fingers out first. It's necessary to create a moment of vulnerability."
"And that's what presenting them with something new does?" Nike
asked.
"Yeah," Kuu replied with a nod. "When people see something they
hadn't imagined, the surprise leaves their hearts vulnerable. It brushes away
all their established traditions and values for a moment. If you can just use
that opening to present them with something tempting, they're bound to
accept how incredible it is."
Kuu clapped his hands. The sound gathered all eyes on him.
"Bro used broadcast programs for it, but this is what I'll use." Kuu
raised up his cudgel, turning just his head. "Do it, Taru!"
With that, he swung his cudgel down.
Bang! There was the sound of an explosion in the mountains, then...
Rumble, rumble, rumble! The ground shook, and the birds in the
mountains took to the skies.
"Is this an earthquake?!"
"Don't tell me it's a landslide!"
"Sh-Shouldn't we run?!"
The assembled crowd looked on in confusion, but Kuu was resolutely
calm as he told them, "There's nothing to worry about! I've got something I
want to show you."
Next, he pointed to the rocky face of the mountain with his cudgel.
Grind, grind, grind... The rock face collapsed before their eyes,
revealing a massive cylindrical machine. This machine, chewing through
rock and dirt alike, was the product of the Republic of Turgis, Kingdom of
Friedonia, and Gran Chaos Empire's joint research project: the drill.
For the past two years, Kuu had been building his own drill for boring
tunnels. Then, after he'd decided to take Zem's cities, he began slowly
tunneling through the mountains along their border.
"The hole behind that machine goes all the way to the heart of the
Republic!" Kuu told the power brokers assembled before him. "Up until
now, whenever the Republic seized land outside the Turgis Region, we
struggled to hold it when winter snow made communication difficult. But
with this tunnel, traveling back and forth will be much easier. Once you're
inside the Republic, we have a lot of mounts that can handle the snow. The
supply of goods to this area should become much better... Ookyakya! Like
this!"
With that, a group of people riding numoths and snow yaks with baskets
began emerging from the tunnel. It was a merchant caravan from the
Republic of Turgis.
Kuu had them lay out the things they had brought for the people of Zem
to see. Their eyes widened when they saw what the baskets contained—
fresh fish. There were shellfish too, and they were still alive.
"Now, take a gander. We've got fresh seafood, caught in Turgis's ports
today. You're a bunch of inlanders, so you probably don't get fresh fish
often. I've been putting effort into my logistics, just like the Kingdom of
Friedonia," Kuu boasted. He took a bottle of alcohol from his first wife,
Taru, the Republic's top technologist, who had rejoined them after directing
the drill team. He held it up for the crowd to see. "Now, let's drink and eat
fish! We can save the boring talk for later!"
The crowd roared with applause at this declaration. They'd figured they
were going to be murdered and buried. But they weren't just being allowed
to live—they were being shown this newfangled drilling machine, treated to
fresh seafood, and even drinks to go with it. The release from fear
combined with this excitement dulled their decision-making ability. No one
here thought of Kuu and his people as invaders anymore. These influential
figures had fallen for his scheme.
"Okay, everyone! Let's go all out, partying and stuffing our faces today!
Cheers!"
""Cheers! To Lord Kuu and the Republic!""
As the curtain of night began to fall, a big banquet was held between the
Republic's military and the influential figures of the former Zemish cities,
along with their families. They put a simple curtain over the front of the
tunnel and laid out the food and drinks brought from the Republic behind it
to create a space for the occasion. Kuu was in the center of the party,
speaking about the future with a glass of wine in one hand.
"From now on, you're people of the Republic too! We'll be bringing
more and more seafood through this tunnel! But that's not all! This warm
land will become an important bridge between the Republic of Turgis, the
Kingdom of Friedonia, and the Gran Chaos—er, wait, they're the Euphoria
Kingdom now, aren't they? Well, it'll be an important bridge between the
three countries! People and goods will gather, which means you can count
on a lot of development!"
"""Yeahhhh!"""
"The continent is now divided between the Maritime Alliance and the
Great Tiger Kingdom. Even if Fuuga comes knocking, we don't have to
worry! Does he have an awesome machine that can pierce through these
mountains? No! Only the countries of the Maritime Alliance do! If Fuuga
attacks, we'll come through this tunnel to rush to the rescue!"
"Wow! You're so cool, Lord Kuu!"
"Ookyakya! Thanks!"
As Kuu waved to the clapping drunk, a round of applause erupted. Taru,
Leporina, and Nike watched him from a short distance away, eating and
drinking themselves.
"Here, Nike. It's hot wine."
"Oh, thanks." Nike gave a polite bow to Leporina as she poured him a
drink.
Though he drank it for warmth, he never let go of his spear. If anyone
tried to harm Kuu, he was going to be ready to run them through at any
moment.
As he kept watching Kuu, Nike whispered, "He looks like he's getting
drunk and rowdy, but he's actually sober, isn't he?"
"Of course," Taru responded. "The milk Master Kuu's drinking isn't
fermented, it's just normal milk."
"He's acting like he's let his guard down in order to get them to open up
to him, but he hasn't relaxed his guard at all," Leporina explained. "He's
willing to put on a goofy act in order to win their hearts. It shows you he's
operating on another level."
Taru nodded. "As a ruler, he gets full marks. As a husband, I have to
take off five marks."
"Hm? Why is that?" Leporina asked, but Taru looked away peevishly.
"He's all caught up in his work, leaving his two cute wives alone."
"Ah ha ha... You have a point there. By the way, how many points is a
full score?"
"One hundred."
"Even after you mark him down, he's still scoring ninety-five? You're
head over heels, aren't you?"
You could tell from the way his wives were talking that they understood.
Kuu was still fighting. And he was confident he would win.
Sensing the trust between the three of them, Nike thought, Watching
them makes me want a wife of my own...
◇ ◇ ◇
Meanwhile, in the Kingdom of Friedonia, Souma was so busy with work
he thought it might kill him.
This was nothing new, but the amount of work being brought in to him
recently was on the rise. That's because, with Maria retiring from her role
as empress and marrying Souma, Hakuya the Black-Robed Prime Minister
had gone to marry the new queen, Jeanne. The adoption of a system of "two
countries, one nation" in the Kingdom of Friedonia and the Euphoria
Kingdom was necessitating many changes.
So, once again today, Souma was working alongside his wife, Liscia. It
was around the time it began to get dark outside.
"Excuse me, Your Majesty."
Ichiha, who was serving as acting prime minister while Hakuya was in
the Euphoria Kingdom, came in.
"Ichiha? What's up?" Souma asked, and Ichiha stood tall as he gave his
report.
"Sir Poncho has returned. He is waiting in your family's personal dining
hall, sire."
Ichiha was doing a good job maintaining his composure with the eyes of
the royal couple and their bureaucrats on him. You could tell he was
Hakuya's successor. He'd really settled into his role as acting prime
minister.
Souma nodded and stopped doing paperwork. "Let's take a break. Will
you come too, Liscia?"
"Yeah. It sounds like there might be something interesting."
Liscia, who seemed to know where Poncho had been sent, smiled
peacefully as she set a bundle of papers down on the desk. It produced a
heavy thunk, making Souma grimace.
There's still that much left...? Well, it can wait. Souma shook his head,
changing gears, and then left the office with Liscia and Ichiha to go see
Poncho.
When they reached the dining hall, Poncho had already laid the fruits of
his trip out on a long, wide table. Noticing Souma and the others, he bowed
repeatedly.
"Wh-Why, Your Majesties. It's a pleasure to see the two of you. I,
Poncho Ishizuka Panacotta, have returned, yes."
"Thank you for your trouble, Poncho."
As Souma thanked the man, Liscia looked at him, a little confused.
"Hm? Sir Poncho... Have you lost weight again?"
"Now that you mention it, he has..." Souma agreed, nodding.
It wasn't like the sudden, intense weight loss he'd gone through before,
but he'd lost his usual roundness of form.
Poncho smiled awkwardly, scratching his cheek. "Um... Miss Serina and
Miss Komain want 'another,' you see... Yes."
""Ah..."" Souma and Liscia instantly understood. This had happened
before. He must have been putting in a lot of effort, late at night with his
two wives.
Ichiha, who was beside them, listening in, turned a bright shade of red as
he figured it out too.
"That's, uh...more than I needed to know," he said.
"No, no, you're at the age where you need to start thinking about that
kind of thing too, you know?"
"D-Do you think so?"
"Well, we can leave that talk for later. This is more important." Souma
clapped his hands as he tried to move things along from this awkward topic.
"So, how was the Spirit Kingdom of Garlan?"
"Oh, yes. To think I could go to the Spirit Kingdom, take care of my
mission, and return within a week. It's an incredible time to be alive, yes,"
Poncho said with a wry smile.
Liscia looked at Souma. "You put in a request with the Nothung Dragon
Knight Kingdom, right?"
"Yeah, I did. I asked Queen Sill to send dragon knights to drop off
Poncho and pick him back up. Man, their transition from being the Dragon
Knight Kingdom to a 'courier kingdom' sure is convenient. They can
handle the sort of high-speed, long-distance shipping that only Naden and
Ruby could do for us before, allowing us to move men and supplies around
freely."
It was especially tempting as a means of moving retainers around. If he
wanted to, Souma could bring Hakuya back from the Euphoria Kingdom in
about a day, and it was also easy to send people and supplies there from the
Kingdom of Friedonia.
"They're currently limiting their services to requests we submit as a
nation, but with the advance of globalization, the Dragon Knight Kingdom
will become indispensable to the world."
"They're turning into an incredible country... Queen Sill must be
working hard too," Liscia said, sounding impressed.
Next, Poncho pointed to the stuff laid out on the table. "As requested, I
have brought back samples of potential trade goods from the Spirit
Kingdom, yes. King Garula is taking a positive view of trade with our
country."
Souma had sent Poncho to the Spirit Kingdom in order to investigate
what trade goods they had. The independent government on the Father
Island was the only part of the Spirit Kingdom beholden to Fuuga. The
Mother Island still maintained its independence from him.
During the Spirit King's Curse Incident (or Magic Bug Disease
Incident), the high elves of the Mother Island learned there were some
problems they couldn't tackle alone. Unable to remain as they were, they
became more open to trade. The Spirit Kingdom was now opening to the
outside world. They were trading with Fuuga's Great Tiger Kingdom, using
Princess Elulu, who was the representative of the independent government
on the Father Island, as a mediator, and also wanted to trade with the
Maritime Alliance.
However, while the Kingdom of Friedonia had many things to offer,
such as medical goods and foodstuffs, Souma wondered if the Spirit
Kingdom had any alluring goods of their own. If trade was one-sided, it
risked being seen as economic exploitation. In order to prevent friction, the
Spirit Kingdom needed to have some star products of their own. As a
professional gourmet, Poncho was sent to investigate just that.
Well-traveled as he was, even Poncho couldn't have entered the Spirit
Kingdom back when it was closed to the outside world, so he'd been
interested in their local cuisine.
Poncho smiled broadly as he picked up the box he'd brought back with
him.
"Oh, the Spirit Kingdom's cuisine really was fascinating, yes. I thought
they might live exclusively off the bounty of the forest, like the dark elves
of the God-Protected Forest, but it seems they'll eat just about anything.
The hot, humid climate has given bloom to a food culture that uses spices to
make up for the difficulty in preserving food, yes."
"Spices, huh? Come to think of it, I remember Merula mentioning that."
Something about them growing the sort of spices that might be used to
make curry powder.
"That's right, yes," Poncho said, nodding with glee. "There were many
spices I haven't seen on the continent, and I think they will make wonderful
trade goods, yes. I've brought a number back with me, so I'm looking
forward to seeing how I can use them in my own cooking. Ah... I think I'll
try chicken first. I wonder how it will taste marinated in each of them..."
Poncho had a silly grin on his face, no doubt imagining all the different
dishes he was going to make. Seeing him like that made the others present
feel hungry. Especially Souma, who still had vibrant memories of the curry
from his old world.
The Nine-Headed Dragon Archipelago had seasonings the continent
didn't, so here's hoping I can combine them to make something like
Japanese-style curry. That would expand our repertoire of dishes,
and...more importantly, I want to eat some curry. I haven't had it in years...
Sigh...
"Souma, you're drooling..." Liscia warned him.
"Whoops," Souma said, wiping his mouth. "So, did they have anything
other than spices?"
"Oh, yes. There were a number of crops I wasn't familiar with, but the
one that caught my attention was 'bean tea.' It is also drunk in a number of
places on the continent, but there's not much supply. Yet, it seemed the
Spirit Kingdom could grow it in abundance."
"Bean tea?" Souma asked.
"This is it, yes."
Poncho handed Souma a bottle filled with brown beans. Hold on, are
these... he thought before opening the bottle to take a sniff of them. Yeah,
they definitely are.
"Is this coffee? Oh...I see. You guys call it bean tea, huh?"
"As you say, sire, this is a variety of coffee, yes."
"Aw, yeah!"
Souma pumped his arm enthusiastically, earning him a blank look from
Liscia.
"You had coffee at Genia's place before, didn't you? Is this anything to
be so happy about?"
"Well, it's partially because I'm more of a coffee person than a tea
drinker, but it's apparently more of a northern specialty, not something we
have a large supply of. I think Genia got hers from the northern refugees
too. That makes it more of a luxury than something people can drink
regularly."
"Yeah. That sounds about right," Liscia said, nodding. That was how
people saw it in this country.
Souma picked up a bean and sniffed it. "The caffeine in this bean will
wake you right up. I imagine people drinking it when working late or
staying up to study."
"I see why you'd need it then, Souma..."
Working in the palace was a battle of perseverance. For Souma, he was
working at home, and yet still had to do a lot of overtime and all-nighters. It
wasn't as bad as just after he was first summoned, but it still cut into his
sleep time. Souma had been compensating by drinking some well-steeped
tea up until now, but if he could drink coffee on a daily basis, the bean
would be a powerful ally.
"Oh, this is good. If we can trade for large quantities, I'll send some to
Hakuya, since his workload is killing him too... I'd like to import a large
amount of both the coffee and the spices all at once."
"I think the Spirit Kingdom will be glad to hear that, yes."
"Ah... But spices and coffee are both cash crops..." Souma said,
scratching his head. Liscia clapped her hands together.
"Ohh. Like what caused our food crisis."
It looked like she remembered.
"If you grow too many cash crops for export, that lowers your food selfsufficiency rate, and adverse events can result in a food crisis. You can use
the money to import food crops from elsewhere, but it's not good to rely on
that too much... I guess we'll have to talk it over with King Garula and see
if we can find a healthy balance... Well, there's something else to do first."
"Hm?"
"Since we've got some here already, why don't we all try it?"
Souma decided to make coffee for his friends and family right away.
The result was that Juna and Roroa liked it, while Aisha and Naden were
not fans. Liscia and Maria were somewhere in the middle. (They could
drink it with milk and sugar.) Surprisingly, Tomoe, Ichiha, and Yuriga all
liked it. They said that if it became more widely available, they'd want to
introduce it to Lucy's family's parlor. It wouldn't be long before there were
coffee-flavored sweets.
As Souma watched all of them react, he thought, We've found a reliable
ally in a surprising place, and sipped a cup of coffee with milk in it.