I feel it's a good idea. The more we open ourselves up, the more we can discover the potential of the demi-humans. As the supreme leader of the kingdom of Nemorosa, I must be wise in making decisions for the sake of all my people.
"Alright, let's try this. I also feel that this plan has the best potential of all the options."
The merchants could not continue to hold back their merchandise because there was an expiration issue for their merchandise.
"Yes, princess. I will prepare everything."
With that, it was agreed that the free trade town would open soon. We chose the best and closest location to the whisperwood forest. It was Branz Castle.
Since I still need to get involved, my temporary office was changed from Memora capital to Branz Fortress.
Before the opening of free trade, I will make a big announcement at Branz Fortress.
"EVERYONE, TODAY, I CHRISTINE LUMINARA, QUEEN OF THE KINGDOM OF NEMOROSA, HEREBY OPEN FORT BRANZ AS A FREE TRADE CITY. ANYONE WHO HAS IMPORTANT COMMODITIES MAY TRADE HERE. I DO NOT CARE WHETHER THEY ARE HUMAN OR DEMI-HUMAN, ALL MAY TRADE HERE WITH THE RULES I HAVE MADE.
IF ANYONE VIOLATES THEM, THEY WILL FACE ME DIRECTLY. I HOPE THAT ALL OF YOU CAN ABIDE BY THE RULES THAT I HAVE MADE. THEN, THE MOST IMPORTANT THING IS, I DON'T WANT ANY BAD THOUGHTS BETWEEN HUMANS AND DEMI-HUMANS IN THIS REGION."
I said that and ended my speech. All the citizens of Branz heard my speech but they seemed petrified after that. Then,
"LONG LIVE THE PRINCESS OF THE SWORD"
That one shout aroused everyone there then another shout echoed in the plaza of Branz castle.
It seems that everyone is in favor of what I'm doing. Let's see how it turns out.
***
It's been three days since this trade opened. Only three days, we've already discovered that the Beastman has started trading with us. They are a tribe of Tigers, bears and wolves.
This is also the first time I've seen them. Their faces are originally human-like yet they have animal ears and animal tails.
It's really interesting. Unfortunately, the elves and dwarves haven't dealt with us yet. I'm currently reading the trade report. I saw that the beastmen tend to trade in the meat of their hunts.
The meat they carry are fanged deer, horned rabbit, blood bat and the occasional black wolf. The monster level was at the intermediate level but this intermediate was the category that the demi humans created. The strength of medium monsters is actually equivalent to monsters that can destroy villages and require a platoon to deal with them.
This is why we can't invade the whisperwood forest. The horned rabbit does look cute but its speed is very dangerous. It can suddenly stab you to death.
Even so, they, the Beastmen, were able to hunt it down.
Today, Duke Irvine and I were having a discussion.
"Princess, as I suspected, demi-humans often monitor humans. Some of the evidence I got is that they know the current state of the Luminara empire and the breakup of the empire.
There is also the trade news that immediately reaches their ears. Most likely, their Intel always regularly visits the village and even this Branz fortress.
The day before yesterday, our spies managed to discover the movement of the Elves who have yet to make contact with us. They are still looking at the situation in Branz Castle"
Duke Irvine said that.
"Hmm, that means they are basically always looking at the human situation huh? This is quite interesting. Are they looking for revenge opportunities? Or do they want to seize some territory? From what I know, demi-humans are not good at managing large groups and only live by forming small tribes.
Only the Elves have the wisdom of approaching humans who continue to be cautious while keeping an eye on the situation.
Perhaps we need to monitor a little more. After all, it's only been two weeks since we opened trade with demi humans -"
As I was speaking, there was a knock on the door that hit me and Duke Irvine. Normally, the guards wouldn't dare to interrupt our discussion if it wasn't something important.
I then invited the guard in and the guard immediately saluted me and the Duke.
"Greetings, Your Majesty the Queen, Your Majesty the Duke"
"Get up, is there something important for you to interrupt my meeting with the Duke?"
I immediately asked him. After all, since she dared to interrupt the meeting, it should be talking about something important.
"I beg your forgiveness in advance, Your Majesty the Queen. I was forced to interrupt the meeting because the elves came to request an audience with Her Majesty the Queen. If it was ordinary elves, I would have told them to wait. Unfortunately, they claimed they were representatives of the Lord of whisperwood forest, the ruler of whisperwood."
Hearing that, I was immediately shocked. Who would boldly claim that the whisperwood forest was under his rule?
Was he crazy? But, those elves dared to say that of course they also had their own basis. Rather than guessing, perhaps I should meet them? Let's ask Duke Irvine for his opinion.
"Duke, what do you think?"
Duke was currently closing his eyes. He was considering all the matters at hand. I didn't interrupt him either and remained quietly waiting.
"Princess, let's go meet them. I feel like this is a great opportunity for us."
Duke said that and I agreed.
***
Audience room.
Right now, in the audience room, there were me, my guards and Duke Irvine from the human side.
From the Elf side, there was a man named Mali, Gil and Steve.
"Greetings Your Majesty Queen, I'm the representative of whisperwood village, Gil. Please don't look down on me because of the village. Originally we wanted to establish a Kingdom but our Lord wanted to keep a low profile."
I frowned at the words of the man named Gil. His handsome face and conversational style like that, if he was in a human environment, he would immediately be considered an imposter.
"Alright, I understand. Then what is the purpose of you requesting this audience?"
I didn't want to talk nonsense with her and asked her to get straight to the point.
"Well, the purpose of us coming here is to convey the message that our Lord will come in person to discuss trade cooperation. Before that, we brought the daughter of commodities from our territory.
For your information, our commodities can be supplied regularly and in large quantities. Her Majesty does not need to fear supply bottlenecks.
Mali, Steve, bring samples."
Gil said that and the other two elves opened the boxes they brought in. The first item, was dwarf-made goods such as farming equipment to combat equipment. The quality of the dwarves was unquestionable. It was the number one quality.
I who saw it became stunned. This is treasure. That's what I was thinking.
I could see how excited Duke Irvine was about this. At least Nemorosa's armaments will be safe with this.
The next item is a food commodity. A lot of food I've never seen. The man called it banana, rambutan and some other strange names.
Duke Irvine and I tried them and our eyes widened.
They tasted like the food of heaven. It was so delicious that I ate brutally without any regard for my dignity.
(WE HAD TO COOPERATE WITH THEM!!!)
This is my determination.