Chapter 21: 17.1

Stock up transactions and Ain’s abilities.

 

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“Like I said, the problem with the Sea Crystals has already been solved. “

 

 

　Olivia denied everyone’s worry regarding the future supply of Sea Crystals and suggested that it wasn’t really a problem.

 

 

“Forgive me if I may sound rude Princess, but if this could’ve been solved as easily as you put it, then you wouldn’t have needed to marry into Heim in the first place.”

 

 

　Warren replied slightly doubtful.

　After all, this had been a considerable problem that it had required the princess to marry into a country like Heim.

　But according to Olivia, the issue was already solved.

 

 

“That was a very painful decision for us. We couldn’t go against the vows of non-aggression the founding King did. Resulting in you, Princess, to marry into Heim in order to gain access to the Sea Crystals……”

 

 

　Ishtalika didn’t allow acts of aggression against the continent.

　This was because the Founding King, the one who united the people across the continent of Isthar, decided on this policy the moment he was coronated as the first King.

 

 

　Except for when a crisis was imminent, waging for any political or economical reason was not allowed.

　Trade sanctions could be considered as a measure during political disputes, however, the trade with Heim was negligible in the first place.

 

 

　For this reason, the most they would do as a retaliatory measure was usually ceasing of diplomatic relations.

 

 

　These were the main reasons for Ishtalika not forcibly taking the Sea Crystals and instead made a legitimate deal without any use of force.

 

 

“To be honest, I have a little grudge against the research team that looked for Sea Crystals…… and you who ordered it, Father.”

 

“I know you do; and I can’t blame you for resenting me.”

 

“Ara, do you think that’s why I’m angry? “

 

“……I was the one who gave you away as a bride. But that wasn’t what I had wanted to do.”

 

 

　Olivia complained a bit, but the source of her complaints seemed to be about something different than what Silvird was thinking.

 

 

“Now, will you please tell me? I won’t be able to apologize as King. But as a father, I need to apologize to you.”

 

“Is that so? Then let me tell you my grudge…… I thought that our country, Ishtalika, had developed our technology by leaps and bounds compared to other countries. I thought the researchers were amazing when they came back and had discovered a huge amount of Sea Crystals.”

 

“Certainly, they did a great job.”

 

“Yeah, but only if they hadn’t been satisfied with just that.”

 

“Princess, what do you mean?”

 

 

　Chris  wondered what Olivia was talking about.

　Somehow, it seemed the flow of the story was changing.

 

 

“The Roundharts gave me quite a lot of freedom. With that, I was able to use part of the tax revenue from the Earl’s house somewhat for my own research. This is why I was able to discover something.”

 

“Is that somehow connected to the topic of the Sea Crystals? “

 

“We should’ve have questioned that they were only found near Heim. I was able to find them in the Dukedom of Euro, located northwest of Heim, as well……”

 

“Princess, is that true!? “

 

 

　Lloyd’s surprise was easily comprehensible.

　Sea Crystals, which were supposed to be quite precious, were usually not found all over the place and finding new mining sites was quite rare.

 

 

“(When did Mother lead those investigations? )”

 

“However, Princess, how did you find out about that? For a proper investigation of that scale, you need to dive deep to the ocean bed. I was never notified of a dispatch of Ishtalika’s research team.”

 

“Indeed, I did not use the research team. What I used…… what I requested was the help of the continent’s guild, the Adventurers Guild.”

 

“You made a request through the adventurers? Olivia, then, that means……”

 

“Well, that would’ve taken several years. After all, I would have to request for adventurers who were fine diving into the deep sea. But in terms of costs, this was beyond what I could do with the freedom granted to me.”

 

 

　Ever since Olivia married into the Roundhart family, she, slowly but steadily, investigated about Sea Crystals.

　She investigated this because finding a new source of Sea Crystals would be in the end better for Ishtalika. This proved to be quite useful for this time’s situation, but at the time this was not her goal.

 

 

“I’m getting tired of talking about this so let me put it in simple terms. Ishtalika’s research team only investigated the nearby waters. They didn’t investigate hidden coves, neither did they include the local people and their stories.”

 

“C-coves……?! But the monster bones shouldn’t accumulate in a cove……”

 

“Mother, could it be that you found them by digging the sand on the cove?”

 

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“Fufu……That’s right, Ain. I knew you were a smart child.”

 

“The Dukedom of Euro is a region with many wind-related disasters. This being the case, the waves should also be stronger……I only thought along these lines.”

 

 

　Normally, the coves were peaceful places, but the bays in the Dukedom of Euro were quite different.

　Their rocky cliffs were very sturdy, and quite hard to erode.

　Still, the strong waves would eventually manage to erode them, given enough time, creating hidden coves.

　As a result, the sediments on the seabed gradually moved, being transported by the ocean currents and were being swept away by the strong waves, and like this, the Sea Crystals accumulated in the coves of Euro.

 

 

“It’s as Ain explained. The Sea Crystals were carried to the coves due to the waves created by the particular climate of Euro.”

 

“……So, do you want me to make a deal with Euro now, Olivia?”

 

“Now you’re just being silly, Father. I won’t be someone’s wife any longer. The talks about a deal with Euro have already progressed up to a certain point.”

 

“……What do you mean by that, Princess?”

 

 

　Just as everyone had a blank expression in response to Olivia’s words, Warren was the first one to recover and inquired further.

 

 

“Yes, here. This is the reason why I said 『The problem with the Sea Crystals has already been solved』.”

 

 

　As she spoke those words out loud, Olivia revealed two message birds.

　Just like the one Olivia used when she returned home, a message bird was not a real bird but a disposable contact device that could be used when both the receiver and the sender had one such device.

　It worked by dividing a magic stone into two using a special processing technique, and maintaining a connection between the two.

 

 

　Since this was a one-way communication tool, two message birds were needed. One for receiving a message and one for answering.

　Olivia really wanted to have message birds worth at least two rounds, but since the distance between Ishtalika and Euro was quite large, the cost of the message birds had also been extremely high.

 

 

　These two message birds were ones Olivia was able to prepare using her funds provided by the tax revenue from the Roundhart territory, juggling her expenses.

 

 

“This looks like a message bird, right Warren?”

 

“Yes, without a doubt Your Majesty. Princess…… Can it be that the reason why this problem has already been solved is……”

 

“Ahh…… the Princess has always been smart, and when it comes to negotiations, even His Majesty would sometimes be defeated by her……no way.”

 

 

　Martha said in a surprised voice after seeing Olivia’s message birds.

　Warren seemed to have expected it, and Martha also somewhat understood.

 

 

“I had to go through a number of people from the Commerce Guild and the Adventurers Guild. However, I couldn’t seal the deal since I was just the lady of house Roundhart. Along with these message birds I’ll also give you this document. It contains Euro’s price for the expenditures regarding labor cost and their selling price for the mined Crystals.”

 

 

　Taking out a piece of paper, Olivia handed it over, alongside the two message birds to Prime Minister Warren.

 

 

“Hahaha……You’ve always been a girl who could anticipate the future, Princess. But who would’ve thought you would be able to prepare the negotiations alone up to this point?”

 

“Since this was a resource that wasn’t worth much in Euro, I tried bringing down the price to a certain extent in the negotiations. Well, this was all I could do as an intermediary.”

 

 

　Silvird, Warren, Lloyd and the others couldn’t hide their surprise at Olivia’s words.

 

 

“Princess. What did you do for them to recognize you as a potential trading partner?”

 

“I moved forward with the guise of a new company. I told them we wanted to use the minerals for the development of new products.”

 

“……The price per unit for the Sea Crystals is reasonable, it seems you brought it down a decent amount. Even if the labor costs are included, it’s still more than enough to call this an achievement in and of itself. The projected amount should be enough to cover us for a while.”

 

 

　Warren, after finishing to read the document, expressed his opinion to Silvird. There appeared to be no issue and it looked like Ishtalika would be able to proceed with the deal without any issues.

 

 

“But that said, how shall we proceed from now on? With these conditions, the deal seemed to be progressing well. So, it looks like there wouldn’t be any problems revealing ourselves as Ishtalika.”

 

“Sorry…… I have no idea what to say.”

 

“You’re not alone Your Majesty. I’m the same.”

 

 

　Martha joined Silvird in having a tired expression.

 

 

“I’m tired of talking about this already. Father, can I leave the rest of the deal to you?”

 

“With things progressing this smoothly, it seems there was no point in sending Olivia over to become a bride.”

 

“I’ll just write it off as even since I got my cute Ain.”

 

“……I see.”

 

 

　For Olivia, having the child named Ain had already erased all the hardships that she had experienced in the other country. Everyone had been surprised that Olivia had come back, but in the end, they were relieved that everything seemed like it would work out.

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