Chapter 84

Since this is the second chapter, please go back and read the previous one if you haven't.

So, this is our honeymoon.

It took two months to prepare. Well, being a king is tough. You can't just go on a trip whenever you want.

Actually, it would be more appropriate for a diplomat to go, and the king should stay put...

But I think it's better if I go in person. The Kirishians have a lot of pride.

This time, we also have the goal of acquiring lower-level officials and technical personnel.

But if the two of us get pregnant, we won't be able to travel for a while.

This is not good.

...Tetra is probably at the point where she could get pregnant soon.

Is it my seed, or is it Tetra's pot?

Or maybe it's just bad luck that they haven't hit yet.

I need to try harder.

This time, the guards are Gram and Ron, and also Baltor and Ial.

Rozward's cavalry has some behavioral issues, so I asked them to stay behind.

Baltor and Ial are here as advisors. Baltor for military matters, and Ial for political matters.

"Okay, revolution."

"Whaaat?! Why?!"

Yuria screamed.

Tetra had made the revolution.

"Probably, you have two twos and one one."

Yuria is in a tight spot.

In a three-player game of Big Two, a revolution is highly likely. You need to think carefully.

By the way, the order is Yuria → Tetra → me.

The King cards have all been played, and both Jokers are out.

Yuria played a six on her turn.

Yuria's plan was probably to play a two and then go out with a two and a one.

But Tetra cut with an eight and made a revolution with four fours.

All four eights are now out.

Unfortunately, I can't counter the revolution with my cards. Sorry, Yuria.

"Then, three of Hearts and three of Clubs. No? Five of Spades. I'm out."

Tetra, from the bottom of the heap to the top.

I'm the top, but since there are fewer players, there's no rule of being exiled this time.

By the way, I have one one and three Queens.

Considering the cards that have been played, Tetra's prediction was spot on.

Well, Yuria was grinning.

She had a "I'll decide this turn" look on her face. That's why she was read.

As the game progresses, you can figure out who has which cards.

"Then, two Queens. One flows. I'm out."

"Aah! I lost!!"

Yuria threw her cards away.

"Quick, reset, bottom of the heap."

"Ugh, I'll remember this!!"

Yuria glared at Tetra while picking up and reshuffling the cards.

"Hey, I'm getting bored. Want to play Memory?"

"Trying to run away with a win?!"

"That way, you'll always win. Let's play Old Maid."

I'm getting tired of games that require too much thinking.

"Then, it's Yuria's turn to be the Old Maid."

"Why?!"

"I'm seventeen. Yuria is eighteen."

By that logic, I'll be the old man.

Yuria and Tetra started bickering.

"Almost at the border of Lezard!"

The driver called out.

Remembering the presence of others, Yuria and Tetra sat down quietly.

Both of their faces were a bit red.

"Lezard hasn't been visited in a year, right? Since before the battle with King Verm."

"Yeah, that's right. I want to visit the main country of Kirishia."

Isn't that a bit difficult?

"I've never been. I'm looking forward to it."

Yuria said with a smile.

"Well, we'll be doing boring diplomacy. Maybe we can go shopping while hiding our identities?"

Lezard doesn't have any tourist spots, right?

There's nothing to do except shopping.

"Agreed!!"

"Then, let's ask Eyns to make an exception."

At the border, five councilors, including Eyns, welcomed us.

We were then led to the capital of Lezard, Lezard.

Lezard is a coastal city, with over a hundred ships entering and leaving every day.

Not only Kirishians, but also Pheonians, Adelians, Persians, Gauls, and Germanians of various ethnicities live here.

"Our Lezard is very welcoming to non-Kirishian immigrants and merchants."

Eyns explained with a smile.

Among the city-states, including the main country of Kirishia, there is no other country as tolerant of other ethnicities.

Well, you know.

It's a way of saying, "We want to be friends with Lord Almus."

Cheers could be heard from outside the carriage.

The citizens of Lezard were welcoming us en masse.

I opened the window and waved.

The cheers grew louder. It felt good.

We were first led to a huge mansion.

It's not as big as our palace, but it's comparable in size.

The exterior is adorned with intricate carvings. I haven't seen this style before. Is it Persian?

When we got out of the carriage, many men in formal attire welcomed us.

They are probably all councilors. Considering the number, it seems all the councilors came to welcome us.

"This is the largest building in our country, excluding the parliament. Please stay here for tonight. Tomorrow, we will show you around our country. We will discuss the difficult political and business matters afterward."

First, they want to welcome us and put us at ease before starting the diplomacy.

Yeah, I don't mind. I want to enjoy it too since we came all this way.

"By the way, can the three of you eat fish? In Lezard, fish is preferred over pork, so if you're not allergic, we'll make fish the main dish."

"I'm fine."

"Me too."

"I prefer fish to pork. I welcome it."

The councilor looked relieved at our responses.

"By the way, is there a bath?"

"Yes. There are hot springs here."

That's great.

We were each given a room, but Tetra and Yuria quickly came to my room.

The bed in my room was unusually large, so all three of us could sleep in it.

I guess they arranged it that way.

"Look, look! The sea! It's amazing! So big!!"

Yuria exclaimed at the sea visible from the window.

Several sailboats were coming from the other side of the sea.

"Hey, is the sea really salty? It's saltwater, right? Then why do we dig for rock salt? Can't we get salt from the sea?"

Don't ask so many questions at once.

"It's really salty. I tasted it."

Tetra said, sticking out her tongue.

"I don't know the details, but maybe it's cheaper to dig for rock salt. It seems a lot of firewood is needed to make salt from the sea."

There are salt pans, but I don't know the details.

Even if I knew, I wouldn't make them. It's our main industry.

"I want to visit the library tomorrow."

"The library, huh. I'm interested too."

Are they all clay tablets?

Or do they use wooden tablets? Or paper?

"I want to visit the Kirishian temple! Can I bring back the Kirishian god?"

By the way, "bringing back" or "not bringing back" refers to the concept of "bunrei" in Japan.

It may or may not have some magical significance.

But is it okay to bring a foreign god? Won't the Adelian gods be angry?

"The gods are broad-minded, so it's fine."

Is that true?

"Almus, is there anywhere you want to go?"

"Hmm, let's see. I want to take a good look at the port. Also, the market and the city walls."

"The port is great. Our country doesn't have a coastline, right?"

"Not anymore."

It's not a bad idea to check it out. It's good, isn't it?

"I want to bring back a lot of craftsmen and people like that as souvenirs."

"I want some plates. Persian glassware."

When I invite other Adelians, they'll be surprised if I serve them glassware.

Maybe I should buy them all.

"Books. I want books. I'll copy them and bring them back."

Does copying books cost a lot of money?

Or will they say, "Please, help yourself"?

There's no copyright, but it could take months to copy all the books in the library.

"Let's ask for copies later. We'll have them sent."

Maybe I'll build a huge library.

Like the Library of Alexandria or the Royal Library of Nineveh.

It might get burned down, though.

"Hey, Almus. We have time before dinner..."

Tetra said, hugging me.

"Want to play Memory?"

We played a lot of cards after that.

Shrimp, crab, shellfish, fish...

It's all seafood.

The meal started right away.

The seasoning is simple, mainly salt, olive oil, and lemon.

"Is this pepper?"

I asked while eating the fried fish, and a councilor who was dining with us answered.

"Yes. We can gather spices from all over the world."

Pepper. It tastes good after a long time.

I want a stable supply.

I noticed that all the dishes had a little bit of spices, but not enough to ruin the taste.

They were used in small amounts to add flavor.

Still...

While chatting, I looked at the councilors' hands.

They eat with their hands, as expected.

The soup is hot and liquid, so they use spoons, just like in Adelia.

I'm not bothered by it now, but do other countries besides Kirishia use utensils?

According to Seimei, the Scarlet Empire uses chopsticks.

What about Persia?

"Hey, Almus."

Yuria hugged me.

That's bad manners.

"I want to eat fish every day. I prefer fish to meat."

For a moment, the councilors' movements froze. What's wrong?

Oh, I see.

Wanting to eat fish → wanting the sea → wanting Lezard

That's how it sounded.

Isn't that overthinking it?

Checking Yuria's expression, she was smiling.

She didn't seem to have any intention of invasion.

Thinking calmly, our country recently surpassed a population of about 200,000 and is the largest country in southern Adelia.

On the other hand, Lezard has a strong navy but a population of about 60,000, and a weak army that relies on mercenaries.

Reinforcements from the main country would take at least a week.

Considering this, it is quite a threat.

Being a ruler is tough. You can't even make light remarks.

Well, let's follow up.

"If we were to transport fish from this country to our country, how long would it take?"

"Let's see... about four days by carriage. If we pack it with ice, it should be edible. Dried fish would last without ice."

"That's good, Yuria."

The councilors started eating again, relieved by the conversation between me and Eyns.

Eyns winked at me. He's not good at winking.

But it seems ice is needed for transportation.

Ice is typically cut from mountains in winter and stored in cellars.

Southern Adelia is warm, so water doesn't freeze easily even in winter.

Securing ice is difficult.

That means the transportation cost is high.

Furthermore...

"The king of Rosais has to pay a toll when passing through the country of King Berberdil..."

One of the councilors said, sounding unhappy.

Eyns coughed, and the councilor quickly withdrew, saying it was nothing.

Politics shouldn't be discussed at the dinner table.

By the way, Lezard has a border dispute with the country of King Berberdil.

I thought my visit might provoke Berberdil, but I decided to come anyway.

I prioritized the benefits over the risks.

Finally, dessert was served.

Mainly fruits, such as grapes, pomegranates, and figs.

They were all fresh and delicious.

"Wow, it's quite large."

"Yeah, bigger than the palace's bath."

"Feels a bit embarrassing."

We marveled at the bath.

The palace's bath is just regular hot water, but this one is a hot spring. In that sense, Lezard is better.

I hope the new capital will have a hot spring. If not, I can bring one. By carriage.

"Still, Kirishians can't be underestimated."

Tetra muttered. You have Kirishian blood too, you know.

But I agree with her.

They even prepared thirty beautiful women to take care of my bath.

Not only Adelians, but Kirishians, Pheonians, Gauls, Germanians, Persians...

There were even Asian-looking yellow people and black people.

It was a selection of the best.

Thanks to Yuria and Tetra hugging me and clearly saying they didn't need it, I was saved.

Well, I would have been fine even if they hadn't saved me.

I was a bit disappointed. Thirty people, you know?

Moreover, all of them were beautiful, a salad bowl of ethnicities.

*Slap*

"Ouch!"

"You were grinning!!"

Yuria hit my back hard. Damn... it really hurts...

"That's what you get for being a violent woman. I'll wash your back for you."

Tetra glanced at Yuria, smiled slyly, and made me sit down.

Then she looked puzzled.

"What's this?"

"It's probably a sponge. I think it's used to wash the body."

I've heard that a creature called a bath sponge becomes a natural sponge.

"Then, what's this weird fruit-like thing?"

Yuria took a black fruit from a jar.

I took it and crushed it.

This is...

"Is it soapnut?"

It foams. It's a natural soap.

I've heard soapnuts are used as eco-friendly detergent, but is it safe to use on the body?

But it might not be soapnuts. This is a different world, after all.

It's probably something like soapnuts that is gentle on the body.

I'll ask Eyns about it later.

Anyway...

"Hey, both of you. There's something I want you to do with this fruit."

I'll leave the rest to your imagination.

Chapter three is mostly about internal affairs and diplomacy, so it might lack excitement.

Chapter four is almost entirely about war.

For a while, the story will progress at a gentle pace, so I'll speed up the updates until the angle of the story changes.

But my backlog will decrease...