Chapter 562 - Chapter 6: Mary's Work
After the investigation at the mine site was over, when I went to the Regnentes Royal Palace for a report, the Lord of the village where Beatrix is the landowner was there. He told me to come to his mansion in the Royal Capital. It's my first time at the Lord's mansion in the Royal Capital. After the report was over, I finished my greetings to everyone, and wondering what it was about, I went to the Lord's mansion. The location is not that far from the Royal Palace.
I rode in the carriage the Lord provided, but if I knew the way, it's a distance I could walk.
When I gave my name at the window to the butler, I was guided with, "This way, please."
I knocked lightly on the door.
「Jeanne-sama has arrived.」
「Please show her in.」
The voice I heard sounded familiar...
「Understood.」
He opened the door and let me in.
「Jeanne, you came. Wait a moment.」
For some reason, Mary is there.
Moreover, she has taken over what seems to be the office, wearing a dress that could be mistaken for formal wear, and is doing paperwork accompanied by three maids.
「What are you doing?」
In the Regnentes Royal Capital, I thought she was at an inn. Apparently, she is being allowed to freely use a room in the Lord's mansion.
「Once a week, I borrow the Lord's room to organize documents used for trade with important customers.」
I see. That's a confidential matter. It can't be done at an inn.
Saying, "One is done," she rolled up several pieces of parchment and handed them to a maid, who put them in a box already filled with many. Next to it is a box full of rolled-up documents. I heard later that the Lord signs and seals them all at once.
After that, she finished her work after making several documents. Two maids left the room with the boxes containing the documents. Another maid, without being told anything, brought drinks for two people and was about to leave after a bow.
「Ah, wait. Thank you for helping. This is a new snack handled by our shop. Please eat it among the three of you who helped.」
She is handing over a box with packaging that wouldn't lose to Highway Cookies Deluxe. If it's new, Miana must have made it.
「Eh? Is it alright? It's a snack from the Class of 175, right? Wow! Thank you very much!」
They left the room making a fuss.
「Mary, you're amazing.」
Her attire, and the behavior of the maids, she's like a young lady from somewhere.
From that young lady Mary, I was handed a letter from the King of Sertoria.
When I cut the seal and looked inside, it said to go straight to Primordia. If I take a trade ship, the Henry Party's bowl will pick me up on the way. Then, it'll take less than half a day to arrive. Most likely, the return will also be by bowl.
If the stay in Primordia is about four or five days, it's enough time for the recovery of the Northeastern Forest.
「Theresia-sama is returning to her country. The King apparently decided it would be better for Jeanne to go see her off, considering future matters.」
Finally, she's going back. Actually, she could have gone back a long time ago, but since King Seldic of Engrio attacked the northwestern coastal part of West Liber and was on the verge of taking it, she was taking it easy.
「What do you mean by future matters?」
「I haven't heard the details either. It might involve the situation on the continent.」
「It's in the middle of a war, right? Is it about the magic water?」
Supply from Northern Gram has already begun. Soon, the orbs managed by the Wetlands Priestess should start functioning.
「It's probably measures against the plague spreading in West Liber.」
「But Theresia-sama is the Princess of East Liber, right?」
「I think it's occupied territory policy.」
「Occupied territory policy?」
I didn't know at all, but apparently, part of the northwestern coast and part of the northeastern coast of West Liber have already had their major port towns fall, and the surrounding land is occupied by the allied forces mainly from East Liber.
「They're going to create a principality in the northwestern part. And the rumor is that Theresia-sama might be the lord of that principality.」
To be honest, I don't understand the meaning. No, I can understand it as knowledge, but it's a world too far removed for it to feel real. In short, Theresia-sama is getting a promotion. I understood that much.
That night, I was allowed to stay at the Lord's mansion with Mary. There was no banquet, just a normal dinner, but Harold-sama arrived.
「Lord, as I told you before, next month I'll be moving to that village with my wife. I'm counting on you.」
「It is a great honor for someone as famous as Harold-sama to come to our village. I'm sure there will be many inconveniences, but we look forward to having you.」
The Lord was almost prostrating himself.
「Where are you going to live?」
He is a great noble, after all. There's no house in that village suitable for him.
「I'm thinking of getting permission from Beatrix to live in her house. I hear she leaves the house empty most of the time, especially in winter. A house goes bad if people don't live in it. Besides, when Beatrix comes, she'll need someone to cook and take care of her, right? My wife is from a poor noble family, so she can do those things to some extent.」
I have met Harold-sama's wife several times when I went to his mansion. She's a lovely-looking old lady who doesn't seem like the wife of a monster called a former hero. She must have been very popular when she was young. Once, at a banquet, she lit a candle without chanting, so she must be a middle-level or higher mage who uses fire magic.
「Your wife was, if I recall, a former light infantry soldier.」
It was the Lord. His gaze was directed diagonally upward, which means his memory is fuzzy.
「Yes. Since she was the third daughter of a poor noble family, she aspired to be a soldier in the Kingdom's army to make her own way. At that time, there was no scout unit yet. I was her direct superior.」
It's a common story. Apparently, there are many workplace marriages among the Sertoria scouts. I heard that both the instructors and the newcomers can tell the person in charge which partner they want.
Eh? Wait a minute.
「Um, by any chance, can the instructors choose which newcomer they will educate?」
Mary pricked up her ears with a composed face, and Harold-sama looked away. His face seemed a bit red, and seeing the Lord desperately holding back laughter, I guess I hit the mark. Every country is the same, I suppose.
The next day, it was an early morning departure. I said goodbye to the Lord and Harold-sama at the mansion.
Mary is wearing a blue-toned marble dye suitable for summer. Blue is precious, so the price would be high if you bought it, but since the dye itself is made at the main shop, it's actually not that expensive. We rode in the Lord's carriage, and after being seen off by the maids, we set out. I thought we were going straight to the port, but we were taken in a different direction. Apparently, it's the Lord's warehouse.
「Wait here for a moment.」
Saying that, she took a bundle and went to the service entrance. When she called out, after a while, a person who looked like a butler came out and she was shown inside.
After a short while, she came out without the bundle. She got into the carriage just like that.
「Ufufu. What you just saw is a secret.」
She is laughing as she says that. It also means don't ask anything.
After visiting several mansions, we went to the lower town.
「Wow—, to be able to do business with the continent. I never even thought of it. The quantity is small, but I'm counting on you.」
It's the owner of a dried fish shop. In the lower town of Regnentes, they sell small pieces of dried magic beast meat for commoners. Large chunks must be the monopoly of nobles and big merchants.
「Yes. This product is popular at the port taverns. I think it'll sell immediately at the port of Sertogne.」
Certainly, that would be better for commoners.
Other shops were accessories. These were also not expensive items and were for commoners.
Children came out at every place we went, so she is handing out Miana's new creations. After saying thank you, the children are showing them to their mothers.
「Sorry as always.」
「No, it also serves as a tasting for our products.」
「They always say it's delicious and are happy. Are you going to open a shop soon?」
「At the moment, there are no plans.」
「But Mary, you have the status to have an audience with the King, right? If you talk to him directly, couldn't you open one anytime?」
「That's a different matter.」
「It would help us too if you opened one, though.」
「Thank you very much. I'll do my best as much as I can.」
In the lower town, we visited several shops, and she gathered various items packed in barrels and put them into wooden boxes on the luggage rack. It came to two boxes worth.
「Are you doing business tie-ups in Regnentes too?」
「That's right. Didn't I tell you?」
Well, even if I, who am not a shop manager, knew, it wouldn't change anything.
Once the tour of the lower town was over, it was finally the port.
I thought we were going to get on a ship, but we were taken in another direction. It seems to be the Lord's warehouse.
Mary, after introducing me to the warehouse keeper, went inside, and we were taken to a place where a sign for the Class of 175 was hanging on a pillar. When we unloaded the luggage we had on the carriage, we carried it to the same place with the help of the warehouse keeper. While comparing with a parchment list, she checked the contents of the boxes and barrels already placed there and wrote "Primordia" on them with chalk.
Next, we went to another warehouse. The emblem is different, so it's not the Lord's warehouse. When she produced another parchment to the warehouse keeper and was let inside, several pieces of luggage were carried out. They were carried to the Lord's warehouse as they were and lined up next to the luggage of the Class of 175.
「What are you doing?」
「I received a sudden request from a customer. They said they wanted to send it experimentally. Since the contact comes directly to me, I'm organizing the luggage here.」
Saying that, she wrote "Primordia" on the newly brought-in box. When that was finished, she gave souvenirs to the warehouse keepers of both warehouses and left the warehouse. We had lunch at a port diner with the coachman just like that.
After resting for a while, the carriage returned to the Lord's mansion, and finally, we got on a ship. The ship is a Primordia ship. By that time, the loading of the cargo was finished. All the cargo Mary had written "Primordia" on at the warehouse was there.
I greeted the captain, and once she handed over a high-quality bottle from Finis, it was time to set sail.
After that, we just had to wait for the Henry Party's bowl, so I cast [Refresh] so I wouldn't get seasick and went out on the deck. The national flag hoisted was that of the Kingdom of Sertoria. In other words, it's within our own country. I finally felt relaxed. It was sunny, and neither the wind nor the swell was that strong. With the effect of [Refresh], I felt refreshed.
「Mary, are you always busy like this?」
「Today is on the lighter side. After all, we don't have our shop in Regnentes. The cargo itself is small.」
If I hear correctly, it seems that what was loaded was not our products, but only cargo requested by nobles and cargo with business tie-ups.
「Is there none of our cargo?」
「It's already loaded. Look, it's that one.」
In the direction she pointed, the mark of the Class of 175 was written.
「Where did it come from?」
「Sertoria. It's Jeanne's magic scrolls, marble dyes, and accessories. They're from the main shop and the third shop.」
In other words, the trade ship connecting Sertoria and Primordia passed through Regnentes.
「Recently, trade ships centered around Sertoria have been going around. From Finis to Sertoria, and from Sertogne to Sertoria. Isn't it amazing?」
I heard that Sertoria's trade is at its best ever. I heard they made many ships with the reparations they received from the previous war, and this is what it was.
「They are putting our products on every ship. For free, of course. It's about one flight a week. Marble dyes are especially popular on the continent, especially the ones where wool is dyed, so we might as well expand the scale a bit.」
「Are you going to build a factory?」
「That's right. I'm currently consulting with Magdalena-sama. Especially in the eastern part of the Royal Capital area, there's quite a bit of wasteland, right? Wilson-san is researching turning wasteland into farmland, but she said it might be good to raise a lot of sheep and make it a major production area for wool.」
「Are you going to sell marble dyes?」
「That's right, that might be better.」
「I wonder if we can make enough?」
Wouldn't it be better to have high-volume, low-margin sales with just wool? It takes time and effort, so the price is also high.
「There's a powerful enemy that we can't beat with just yarn or woolen fabric.」
「A powerful enemy?」
「Yes, Engrio.」
That is a powerful enemy. It's about that King Seldic. He would calmly do things like crushing other countries with the economy.
「There's a war going on on the continent, right?」
Mary changed the subject. Previously, she was not a girl who talked about war.
「Yes. I wonder if it'll ever end.」
「That might be a different story.」
「?」
「The problem is the area occupied by the Crown Prince of Engrio.」
If I recall, it's around the port towns in the northeastern part of West Liber.
「It was separated from East Liber by a river, but originally it was an area where the same tribes lived. I think he might make both East and West into a province.」
「Hmm, I see.」
I don't know at all.
「That place, you see, is actually a major production area for woolen fabric.」
Does the story connect here? I'm surprised.
「King Seldic might be planning to hand over the place he occupied to East Liber, and in exchange, take the western part of the place Crown Prince Richard occupied and own it as a province with independent autonomy.」
I see. It wouldn't be a match for the wasteland in the western part of the Royal Capital area. After all, when it comes to new technology, it's the continent. Engrio's wool will surely become splendid woolen fabric if taken there. For the same product, we wouldn't be able to win on price.
「So, we're talking about aiming for the gaps and competing with colors.」
「That's why it's colored.」
「In Medioland, they also produce wool, and it seems there's talk about whether they can somehow interfere with diplomacy.」
I heard an outrageous story. When did Mary start telling such grand stories? By any chance, did she become an advisor to Magdalena-sama, which should be a vacant position?
「Ufufu. I don't need such a status. I just want to have peaceful and free trade and go to various places.」
「You're amazing.」
I reflexively let out a sigh.
「Ah, they've come.」
At the end of the gaze of the girl who thinks about trade on a grand scale, there was the Henry Party on a bowl.