Chapter 299 - Chapter Thirteen: Northern Gram Visit ②
The Royal Capital of Northern Gram is a town developed on a terrain that is surrounded on three sides by a river that curves greatly as it flows through a vast plain. The royal palace is built on a small hill. When I climbed the watchtower with Eowyn-sama's guidance, the view was quite good; looking around the surroundings, I could see mountain ranges far to the north and west. Going east leads to the coastline, and to the south, a river called the Gram River flows from west to east, and the south of the river is apparently Old Gram.
There are gentle undulations throughout the plains, and forests can be seen in places.
"In the past, we always assumed two enemy countries beyond the mountain ranges. Now there are only allied nations. It is all thanks to Priest Jeanne's guidance."
"No, that is not true."
Has he been possessed by a ghost from Finis or something?
"It is the result of the efforts of each country. That aside, is trade possible between Sertoria on the west coast and Northern Gram on the east coast?"
I have to change the subject immediately, or I don't know what he'll say.
"There is a port in the Old Gram Capital that Medioland can use. We are thinking of offering that to the west coast countries. Of course, we will collect usage fees for the port facilities and berths. Each country will gain convenience, and our country will gain profit."
They also seem to be considering joint protection as a measure against pirates. This area is typical of a Crown Prince.
"I have heard that Jeanne-sama is managing a shop called the Class of 175 together with your companions. Since you have obtained free commercial rights and free passage rights in our country, are you not also considering trade with the continent in mind?"
"Th-That area is left to Mary, so..."
I hadn't thought about trade with the continent at all.
When I asked Evans-sama, Eowyn-sama's concept had been made known to the allied nations, and the west coast countries were generally in favor.
Medioland, which had stationed troops at the port, will also withdraw to its own country, leaving behind navy ships.
"If we use the port of the Old Gram Capital, the target countries for trade will expand. You just need to use them differently depending on whom you are trading with."
Well, I suppose that's true.
"Also, the navies of each country will gather. It will be a powerful deterrent against Engrio."
Currently, Engrio is not an allied nation. There are two types of Council of Lords meetings, and apparently there's one that excludes Engrio. Isn't the goal coexistence and co-prosperity?
"It's fine. If we use Engrio's port, we'd have to pay freight for our luggage too."
Mary said that she was also able to get the freight for passing through Northern Gram for free.
"It's thanks to Jeanne-sama. Eventually, we might be able to open a branch on the continent."
The scale is too grand for me to imagine.
More importantly, why are you calling me with '-sama'?
At the dinner party, Mary, wearing the Alraune (male) stone, is attracting every man, whether young or old. Since Sertorian merchants are swarming around her, it must be as she intended.
As usual, royals are around me.
The people who come to greet me probably just came because they were near the royals, but since Eowyn-sama is calling me with '-sama,' even the people who come to greet me are calling me with '-sama.'
Since everyone knows about Eowyn-sama's illness, there were no deep inquiries, but instead, I was asked about the trade of the Class of 175.
"That area is managed by Mary over there, so if you tell her you heard from me..."
Just by saying that, they went over to Mary.
In any case, we aren't up to the task of dealing with great merchants who are called to the royal palace. Mary will listen to the products and then appropriately assign them to the merchants who came from Sertoria. I think it's Evans-sama's idea, but the State Chancellor himself isn't doing anything.
"Jeanne. The Princess has arrived."
Magdalena-sama whispered to me.
Sertorian Queen Magdalena is part of this envoy group. To be precise, it's not as an envoy, but an inspection.
The purpose of the inspection is to visit and look at the management methods of clinics, machine shops, and orphanages in each country, and to discuss better methods with the Queens and Princesses of each country. Aira is participating from Finis. No one is participating from Medioland, but Sertoria and Finis are special, and for other countries, the Ambassadors are acting as stand-ins.
At the end of my gaze, a girl with long, wavy blonde hair, wearing a dress based on pink and white with a large pink ribbon on her back, is coming, accompanied by a veteran woman who seems to be a lady-in-waiting dressed in dark blue.
She held her chin up slightly, a smile only on her mouth, and seemed a bit nervous.
"Jeanne-sama. Welcome to our country. Please, I would also like to receive a blessing."
Suddenly, I was knelt to by the Princess. If the brother is like that, the sister is like that too.
The King and Queen also troubled me when we met at the ghost's mound. They didn't kneel, but they wouldn't let go of my hand.
The only one who just ended it by hugging me was Gwyn-sama's wife, whom I met when I went to Finis. She has given birth to a healthy heir, and she probably knew that Eowyn-sama's illness had nothing to do with the bloodline.
"Princess. Priest Jeanne is not even a Bishop. Please, stand up. Otherwise, Jeanne's position in the Church will worsen."
I was glad that Magdalena-sama took her hand and made her stand up. The gazes of the Church priests are painful.
The Princess's name was Saxburg. She just came of age last month and still feels quite young.
Because of Eowyn-sama's illness, it seems the Queen was in charge of facility-related matters, but since it's known he'll recover, the Princess has also started to help. The Queen has to deal with the envoys from each country, and since the representative from Finis is Aira, it seems Princess Saxburg will be the central figure from now on.
"I believe efforts to eliminate orphans are necessary."
First, I try to see how things are.
"That is true. We have no choice but to have each country work hard on anti-war efforts and the enrichment of clinics as national policy."
(The problem is how to actually devise the response for orphans.)
"Yes. I believe it is as Aira-sama says, but just how should we..."
"In our country, there is an orphanage that is independently managed. There, they don't rely on donations, but earn the operating costs themselves, and arrange for the orphans themselves to find jobs and become employed."
It's no good. The conversation only revolves around orphans as they are. It's important, but it's no different from the current situation.
"Jeanne. I hear your magic, [Anti-Sepsis], is useful for preventing illness. If possible, I'd like you to tell us the reason."
Suddenly, Magdalena-sama threw the conversation my way. Moreover, the topic has changed completely.
"Um, Dune and Mel... ah, they are my friends, but they say it can kill the source of illness. Illnesses that spread to people happen because the person who has it has a lot of the source of illness in their body, and it comes out and spreads to other people..."
I don't really understand this part either. After all, until now, I was taught that bad air... miasma makes people sick. Because the Demon Lord and monsters carry illness.
Some priests say it's because prayers to the Goddess are insufficient. Price-sama says that since ancient times, plague patients have been isolated from others to prevent them from spreading it to others. If so, it should have nothing to do with the amount of prayer to the Goddess.
The spirits say both are wrong. They say small living things like mold or the ones that make niter are the cause. So, if you kill such living things with anti-mold water, you can prevent illness.
"In other words, can plague also be prevented using Jeanne-sama's magic water?"
"I do not know. In that area, perhaps Aira, who has actually done various experiments, is more knowledgeable than I am."
According to Aira, she has tried it on all the patients in Finis who have illnesses that cause skin abnormalities.
(Based on what Jeanne just said, it might be effective for various illnesses. How about it? Fortunately, in our countries, we regularly purchase Jeanne's magic water, so why don't we try it on other illnesses and report the results to each other?)
"I understand. Both prevention and treatment. Since there will be symptoms unique to the land, let's proceed with the same illness in three countries simultaneously as much as possible. If all three of us get good results, we might report it to each country through the Church or, depending on the case, at the Council of Lords."
"That is wonderful. I would certainly like to help as well."
After that, things got exciting, and we talked about various things.
The interest of the three is, above all, plague measures. It spreads from person to person, easily becomes severe, and many people die. This island, which has the Goddess's protection, is one thing, but on the continent, it can apparently cause a country to decline.
"Um, I heard that in Sertoria and Finis, they prevent Just a Disease from spreading from patients to clinic priests and others. In Northern Gram, we have those involved with clinics bathe in magic water once a day, but is that enough?"
Saxburg-sama is asking. Since she just came of age, various things must be new to her. A veteran lady-in-waiting is standing by and listening, occasionally whispering to her.
"Those who work in clinics for Just a Disease not only bathe but also wear special clothes and masks made of bat wings. Also, if you soak a cloth in Jeanne's magic water and wipe the room, you can kill the source of illness that has spread in the room. Besides, we also make sure to wash tableware and clothes with fresh magic water."
(After that, weren't they supposed to drink one cup or bowl's worth once a day?)
"Is that so? In the story I heard from Jeanne's friend, I heard they should just rinse their eyes and mouth when washing their face and hands."
Apparently, it was transmitted in a strange way when it went from Sertoria to Finis. Well, the Ambassador was involved, and he might not have been able to show the Princess spitting out the water she had held in her mouth.
The three looked at me all at once, so I pulled Dune over.
"Drink it? I wonder. It might be effective when your stomach hurts."
In Dune's case, she doesn't know unless she actually examines the patient. Her way of thinking is different from humans.
By the way, Saxburg-sama's gaze toward Dune is suspicious. She doesn't even greet her, despite her being a Princess. On top of that, whether it's the Queen or the Princess, she speaks casually.
When I secretly told Saxburg-sama that she is a spirit, she shouted, "Oh!" drawing people's attention, and then started jumping around while covering her mouth, so I also called Mel and Fiona and we moved to the next waiting room.
When I revealed their identities as a greeting, she was overjoyed, saying, "Amazing, amazing!" She had been acting properly at the dinner party, but inside she must be a sheltered young lady who doesn't know the world.
"The Four Great Spirits are wonderful. And even a ghost! I've wanted to meet them just once!"
It feels like she's returned to being a child, but in fact, she was a child until just a month or two ago. It's no wonder.
Since Eowyn-sama had a difficult illness, she must have been cared for even more. She doesn't seem to have gone out much either. She might have read fairy tales and longed for the world outside the window.
"I saw the play. The content was a bit adult, but it was interesting."
Before I knew it, even the play has been exported. To think it has spread even to the east coast countries, Eleanor-sama is truly something.
"Jeanne-sama, are you perhaps also acquainted with Goblins or Alraunes?"
Far from being acquainted, I live together with Flora.
"Why don't you come and play once? Let's all have a banquet together."
Following Mel's words, the gazes of Aira and Saxburg-sama gathered on Magdalena-sama.
"Both of you should just ask your fathers. If we consider our discussion this time as the first, I propose holding the second one in our country. If we get the approval of the Kings of each country, it should be fine, but what does Jeanne think?"
"Um, I don't really want to make it too public..."
"Of course, the visit to Nakanohara will be undercover. How about it? Are Aira-sama and Saxburg-sama interested in things like disguises? Apparently, you can surprisingly avoid being recognized just by changing your hairstyle and hair color."
There's no way they wouldn't take the bait.
The dinner party ended safely, and I pulled Mary over, who was being pampered after successfully assigning business deals to established merchants, and consulted her.
"It feels like it's going to become a big deal."
"Isn't it fine? Henry-sama and the others have been participating until now."
"But two Princesses from other countries are participating. If something happens, it'll be terrible."
"With Dune and Mel there? Serena, Renata, Alex, and Violet are there too. Even if an army attacks, it'll be fine."
Come to think of it, that might be true.
Dune and Mel say that they can easily deactivate magic used by humans and return it several thousand times over.
"The second phase of the Nakanohara waterworks construction is half for drawing water to the planned reclamation area, right? If there's enough water to flow through an irrigation canal, they can win even if the Demon Lord comes."
"If it comes to that, shall I set up a wind barrier over the entire planned reclamation area?"
Aira and Saxburg-sama were clapping their hands with joy.
"I'll count on you if it comes to that. If you two come to our country, you are state guests, so you will stay at the royal palace. From there, if you ride in my mother-in-law's... Eleanor-sama's bowl, you can go to Jeanne's farm without anyone knowing. If it's realized, it'll be my first time participating too. I'm looking forward to it."
Is this okay?
Mary says it's fine.
"Hey, Jeanne. It's all in how you think about it. Only spirits know just how effective Jeanne's magic water is. That said, Dune can't go everywhere, right? But look, there are spirits who can relocate. We might be able to coordinate with the spirits over here too. If things go well, we might be able to achieve coexistence and co-prosperity across the whole island."
Is that so! We should just achieve coexistence and co-prosperity first.
"Mary, you're amazing. As expected of a shop manager who spans five countries."
"Oh, it's six countries. I received orders for magic water from the Royal Families of Regnentes and Primordia too. Regnentes was already there, but for Primordia, it was decided that I'll get free passage rights and free commercial rights next month. So, Jeanne, work hard on making magic circles and scrolls too."
She really is amazing.