Chapter 171 - Postlude 1 "I'll Have You Lower Your Head and Your Tariffs!"
Gokigenyou! I am Violia Nico Fortesia!
Right now, I am in the middle of scattering ghosts throughout the Kingdom of Solas!
Tonight is the new moon! It is the perfect night to release ghosts while blending into the darkness!
And since there were no other lights, the ghosts headed straight for the capital of Solas!
Ghosts are very distinctive monsters. They are incorporeal and do not interfere with physical matter. Therefore, they are monsters that cause absolutely no damage to things like food or houses.
However, ghosts steal life force from living creatures. On top of that, almost all weapons except for silver are ineffective against them. So, if you challenge them without preparation, you will undoubtedly have your life force sucked out and become a corpse!
"Now then, I wonder how the royal capital is doing about now?"
Since it is a royal capital, I don't think it will perish from just this, but... if the entire country is overflowing with ghosts, it's quite obvious what will happen, isn't it?
"It's already morning, isn't it?"
And so, it is morning. It took a little bit of time.
...It couldn't be helped. After all, my bag was packed tight with enough ghosts to scatter across the entire country. Yes, I never imagined that many would be prepared...
"Even if it's a small country, traveling around the whole nation to release ghosts naturally takes time."
"The morning sun is so bright, it's annoying..."
Doran is the type who is more energetic at night, and Chesta simply seems to hate the brightness of the morning sun, so they aren't very energetic. Well, it can't be helped. Ever since I became Queen, Doran and Chesta have been working behind the scenes. They almost never walk around outside in the early morning.
"Now then, after a night has passed, I wonder what the state of the Solas capital is?"
"They're probably gathering information on attacks from various regions via bird-letters right now... but it won't be until after noon that the full scope of the situation becomes clear, right?"
Well, I suppose so. And then, they'll realize that 'the mass outbreak of ghosts wasn't just near the capital'... Naturally, there will be towns and villages in a state of collapse due to insufficient military strength, so they'll be in a frantic rush to respond to that and check their weapon inventory, and then when night comes again, the ghosts will attack once more...
"I wonder if the request for aid will come in about seven days?"
"I'm betting on six days."
"Then I'll go with five. Hey, can I get high on my meds yet?"
While Doran tidied up by stuffing the drug Chesta started to take back into the Spatial Bag, we leisurely began our journey home. I look forward to seeing what becomes of the Kingdom of Solas!
And so, we returned to the country a little after noon. I'm home.
It's a bit far to the Kingdom of Solas, but once you ride a dragon, you can come and go with ease. Well, even so, it is tiring... but now is not the time for resting.
When I returned to my office, the thoughtful Giovan was already waiting for me. He really understands these things well.
"Giovan. How is the condition of that thing?"
"It's perfect, our Queen-sama."
Giovan was drinking tea he had brewed himself, acting as if he owned the place. Since he went to the trouble, perhaps I'll have some too.
"I've secured all the silver weapons that were on the market and easy to get a hold of."
What I had asked Giovan to do this time was 'cornering the market on silver weapons.'
Yes. In short, so that the Kingdom of Solas cannot obtain silver weapons, I had him buy up every single silver weapon—the specific weapon used against ghosts—available.
This time, I had him use the country's funds to secure the silver weapons. So, technically, it's treated as if I made the purchase. Well, Solas will inevitably fall into a situation where they have no choice but to buy silver weapons from us anyway, so the national funds used here will come back with a healthy profit! Ohohoho!
...Well, this is essentially picking a fight with the Kingdom of Solas head-on, but they were the ones who tried to extort us with the Kraken and tariffs. Since they started it, I shall return the favor in full.
"So, most of the silver weapons currently on the market belong to us. And as for holy water and the like, it seems Carol is pulling strings for that."
"Good work. I must thank Carol later as well."
I'm putting that girl through a lot of trouble too... Her work at the Cathedral must be busy, so I must properly appreciate her later!
"And, I also worked through the night, Ojou-san."
"Oh, is there something you desire?"
And it seems it was quite difficult on this end as well. Giovan's complexion is always bad, but today he looks more exhausted than usual... Securing all the silver weapons at once must have involved considerable hardship on top of staying up all night.
"What? I can have whatever I desire? As expected of our Queen-sama! How generous."
"I like to think my waist is quite slender. So, what do you wish for?"
"The Queen-sama's love... would be far too presumptuous to ask for, so, well, how about 20% of the shipping value of the silver weapons this time?"
"My, how modest. Take about a third. I'm going to make them buy at a rip-off price anyway. As long as you return the principal plus 10% to the country, that will be fine."
The deal is struck. I shook hands with Giovan, and then I offered him some tea sweets, but he said, 'A tea time with Queen-sama is tempting, but right now I'm too sleepy for that, so I'll take my leave,' and went into the nap room. Well, 'good work' is in order.
"What, does everyone who stayed up all night get a reward?"
After Giovan drifted away, Doran suddenly appeared. It's rare for him to come at a time like this...
"Oh, Doran. Do you also have something you want?"
"Let's see. ...I don't particularly want anything."
"A-After all that thinking, that's it? How uninteresting..."
He should have asked for something while he had the chance, but Doran is quite selfless. ...No, it might just be that his desires aren't directed toward material things.
"Well, in that case... let's see, how about a spar next time we have a moment?"
The thing he would enjoy is surely this.
When I said that, thinking so... Doran, who was about to leave, turned around and gave a happy, predatory grin.
"That sounds good. The best reward."
See, just as I thought. In this regard, his tastes are similar to mine.
With Doran as an opponent, I can enjoy myself to the fullest, so it's exactly what I wanted as well! I'm looking forward to it! I'm looking forward to it! Once this mess is settled, I shall have a full-blown brawl with Doran!
"...Um, Violia-sama."
"Yes, what is it, Lital?"
While I was excited about the spar with Doran, Lital called out to me while fidgeting...
"...T-That, it might be presumptuous of me, but... it's fine to spar with Doran-san, but please keep it light, okay? If the Queen is covered in bruises and wounds, people might look down on her..."
...Yes.
I know that! Aaaah! Being a Queen! Being a Queen... means I don't have this kind of freedom! Grrr!
Now then.
After that, I devoted myself to official duties for about four days.
The situation in the Kingdom of Solas reached us even from a distance. As expected, they seem to be struggling quite a bit.
Well, that country neglected its military. If you neglect your military, you need to have enough trade to make other countries provide it for you, but since they neglected that too and did something as stupid as picking a fight with me, this outcome was inevitable. Ohohoho.
Now, since Solas has fallen into dire straits...
"Violia-sama! A letter from the Kingdom of Solas!"
"My, my, my! It's here!"
It's here. Solas, whom I set the ghosts upon, has finally sent a letter.
Which means... well, it means they've reached their limit. Ohohoho. ...In other words, Chesta wins the bet. I feel somewhat unsatisfied...
Well, it's fine. With this sense of excitement, I feel like I can forgive many things right now!
I excitedly opened the letter Lital brought, and as I read the contents with everyone else peeking in excitedly... it was a text that made me smile in spite of myself!
'We are under attack by monsters and are in distress. We request the provision of weapons.'
The content was roughly like that. Yes, I wonder with what nerve they say such a thing. The ones who slapped us with ridiculous tariffs and tried to rip us off with food supplies at three times the market price are being quite convenient, aren't they!
"Violia-sama. How shall we reply?"
"Let's see..."
While Lital was eager, saying 'I'll write it for you!', I told her the wording I had already decided on.
"Reply with, 'We shall sell them to you at three times the market price.'"
If they do it to us, we do it back. It's only natural. If you don't want it done back to you, you shouldn't have done it in the first place!
Now then. Will the people of Solas rub their foreheads on the ground and beg for help, or will they perish along with their country? Let them agonize over the ultimate choice while regretting that a small country like theirs ever dared to defy me!
Next post will be September 1st or 2nd. Probably.