Sometimes, the most unbelievable things happen in groups of two. Yesterday, I learned not just about the possibility of eating Ellees, which were to this day considered inedible, but about the existence of a way to craft magic bags.
"Haaah…" I looked out of the window of my mansion, waiting for the minister's arrival. Me and Henry arrived here late in the evening and I scheduled this meeting right away.
Honestly, I don't know what I'm supposed to think of Arito… There are no records of the Aruze tribe anywhere in the Reva archives and even my brother didn't find anything in the royal archives. Is it possible they were originally from Soulea Continent? Crossing the ocean seems impossible with Alliance's patrol boats and borderguard. Maybe they lived in one of the Great Seas? That is also possible… Most of the Great seas, like the Great Sea of Forests, or the nearby Great Sea of Stone, are inhabited by powerful monsters and only a select few can survive in them… actually, that would explain why Arito is so freakishly strong. Yet he has quite a soft and nice side too. Though he only shows it to Blanche and Lena. Not like he is cold to us, but the two girls are much more connected to him, I think.
It is a weird feeling… until now, my little Lena always felt a little distant, but meeting Arito changed her. She is smiling much more and her occasional blabbering is often met with Arito's remarks that together make much more sense… it somehow feels like the two of them are cut from the same cloth…
Behind me was sitting a chubby man with small glasses, he was cleaning almost all the time. He was the Head Guildmaster of the Fishermen guild, Port Oak, and every little move he made was accompanied by creaks from the chair he was sitting on.
"T-to think you would find someone who can make that infamously inedible Ellee edible… that person can be trusted, yes?" he asked me while wiping his sweat off his forehead.
"Without a doubt. That person is very knowledgeable about various different things… my granddaughter jokingly called him a 'Sage' but she might be correct…"
"To earn such high praise from you, my lord… it must be a really amazing person to earn favor not only from you, but from your daughter too, yes."
"That might be the case..."
You won't get any information out of me for now, you money grubber.
As that thought resounded in my head for the third time today, there was a knock on the doors and a maid came in.
"Lord Kalvig, the ministers have arrived."
"Then we better go greet them. Port, come with me."
"Y-yes!"
We walked through the mansion and entered the waiting room. There, three men were drinking their tea and three women were standing by the wall, trying to blend in with the tapestry. Out of all Ministers of Natural resources, I was the only one whose Head Guildmaster was a male. It could say something about the preferences of the three, but decided not to, as it could threaten the relations of our nations.
"Lord Kalvig, I must say I have not expected you to call for a meeting so soon. Either way, I am happy to see you healthy," the youngest man in the group, Lepran, a Sphinx of the Xesnuaji Republic, greeted me.
"It certainly was a surprise, but I believe you have a good reason for it, yes? I'm sure, the Unicorn horn trade is also doing well," The second oldest man shot me a sharp look. He was Baquer the Blight of Amoeba Principality and while he looked weak, he was once hailed as the 'Unbrunable treeman'. Blights are generally genderless, but Baquer took a more masculine look compared to the other Blights. Blights are one of the rarest Magicfolk, sometimes even called rarer than Ancients.
Coincidentally, our ministry of Natural resources was mainly dealing in agriculture and meat production. The Unicorn horn trade was set up by Amoeba principality, as rising Unicorns is a rather arduous task. For rising mostly male herds of Unicorns, you need a location that is greatly isolated and the herd can be only tended to by those with Divine Magics.
"Let us start then. I'm interested in what you bring us, lord Kalvig," the third man to enter the conversation was Aulek of the Draggera Empire. While he was a human, he won favor of Dragon king a long time ago, so even though his age was considerably high for a human, he still looked young enough to pass for a student in our Royal academy.
The last one to remain silent except for curt greeting was the man of Aclelania Kingdom. He was an Ancient like me, but he was from the Armarowa tribe with whom my Reva tribe fought many battles in the past. Except for the sack of fat behind me, this would be my greatest adversary in meetings to come.
We sat down in the meeting room and once the maids brought in tea, the meeting started.
"Gentlemen, allow me to start by stating the reason why I called for a meeting, which is a rather simple one. Yesterday, I was able to confirm there is a way to make Ellee edible."
"What?!"
"You serious?!"
"So that's why you called us here so soon…"
The three ministers looked grave, knowing by my bluntness that I was not to play by noble standards. No talking around and in euphemisms this time around.
"This is something that would greatly help our country with our food situation, so what is the price?" Kai of the Armarova tribe asked me with a hard look on his face.
"The price is still to be determined. The person who created the way wishes to remain Anonymous, though."
"Huh? And you know this person? Is he credible?" Baquer asked with a hint of worry.
"As credible as it gets. He also tamed a Big Slime and his logic for how he did it was so impeccable it sent Barot and Helmina to their knees."
"Those two old racoons?!!!" Baquer's eyes threaten to jump out of their sockets.
"This person seems very knowledgeable, it would be a shame if one country kept him for themselves," Kai muttered with a dark look.
"That certainly is true. If someone tried to profit from him he would most likely just bring that person down in a heartbeat."
"Is he that strong?" Aulek asked.
"That person is really strong. My son-in-law saw him defeat a Skull bear alone without getting hurt. Later, I confirmed that he has a title called [Natural Enemy of Skull bears]."
Murmur ran through the room. Even the Head Guildmasters were shocked, as most of them were former adventurers.
"I will have to speak with his majesty before I can decide on anything… this information will be helpful, though," Aulek raised from his chair as he finished his tea. After a short parting, the remaining ministers decided to go as well.
"Fuuu… this was quite a development…" I went over the rewards I wanted to get for Arito.
Secrecy of the national level (meaning his name could be known only by rulers of the alliance's nations) and non-interference treaty; License for fishing in all countries of Southern Alliance (I would have to write his name after the ministers gave their stamps of approval on the card though); fifteen percent of sales of all Ellees in the Alliance for next twenty years (might have to change it a little here and there, though); a ship for both hunting and traveling with paid maintenance.
Looking at this, I would feel much better if I could also provide him with a slave crew, but that might be too much and Arito would probably refuse. Though he might refuse to use the ship too…
***
A week has passed. The ministers have talked with their rulers who made it to the country and had their own meetings with our royal family. In the meantime, I received a report from Laina that everyone who knew was silenced with Contract magic and that she spread the information of how to prepare the meat to misguide possible investigators. Everything was going according to our plan.
"Lord Kalvig, we of the Amoeba Principality decided to support the person. We will also add fishing equipment that only our lands can provide."
"Xesnuaji republic will also support the Savior."
"We of the Draggera empire will also support the person and offer two Wyvern eggs to him."
"Aclelania Kingdom will support the Ellee Sage as well."
"Now the method please," the eyes of all four were practically shining now.
"Umm… shouldn't we put it on paper, first?" I tried to distract them, but sadly, I failed. The three immediately showed me their written promises signed by their respective rulers and them as well.
What am I gonna do now? I don't know the method myself… I should've asked Arito when I could…
At that moment, there was a knock on the doors and a maid entered the room.
"Lord Kalvig, your granddaughter came to see you."
"Tell Henretta that I don't have time right now," I shoo her away as I tried to think of a way out. This came from my own negligence, so I need to find a way out on my own too.
"It is not lady Henretta, but lady Lena, my lord," the maid refuted.
"Huh?!"
"She came with her butler-in-training to show these fine gentlemen the way of preparing Ellee, sir," the maid said with a bow and led Lena with a maid and a butler in the room. Those two were Blanche and Arito, no question asked. Both of them had black wigs, maybe to throw off any possible assailants. Arito had his Ancient marks hidden and even the aura surrounding him was different.
"Greetings, ministers of Natural resources and Head Guildmasters of the Fishermen guilds. My name is Lena Nomille, I am daughter of Duke Nomille and granddaughter of lord Kalvig," Lena introduced herself flawlessly, "This man behind me is Alito Roppa, my Butler-in-training and a chef. He will show you a way to prepare Ellee and one of the recipes."
"Good day, ministers of the Natural resources of the Alliance, my name is Alito Roppa, and today I will be your chef. I hope you will find my cooking delectable."