kscans

Chapter 251 - Episode 1: A Prophecy of Disaster?

Friends are precious. This is especially true for me, as my status, my home, and so much else has changed in such a short period. Their unchanging presence in my life is something I truly treasure. Today, I was feeling that more keenly than ever.

Ever since I became the proprietor of a shop in this city, more or less independent from my family home, we have all gathered like this about once a month. The members are myself, Sherry, Vinaldira, and Natalie. Mia sometimes joins us as well, though she is not here today. We take turns hosting, and this time, we were in the reception room of my very own Tritt Company.

We gathered around the Yokan that Natalie brought and the green tea from Sherry, a tea which has steadily gained admirers over the past two years and is now a specialty of Central Garden, and we all shared what we had been up to.

This city, which could be called the knot tying the Empire and the Kingdom together, sees a massive flow of information even when left to its own devices. It is developing at an incredible pace. What is more, thanks to someone's schemes, information seems to beget even more information.

Just keeping up is a struggle. And we find ourselves more or less at the center of this change. Even though all the participants are busy, I think the reason no one ever misses these meetings is that, beyond the exchange of information, they have become a time for us to relax. I know because I feel the same way.

To borrow Sherry's words, it is "a gathering of normal girls." A group of normal girls who have had some very not normal experiences. I am getting to an age where using the word "girls" feels a bit awkward. No, no, I will not think about that.

Sherry, who once had a timid side, and Vinaldira, who did not even try to hide her raw hostility when we first met, now both have the air of calm, mature women. Well, I suppose they have been forced to accumulate enough experience to not be fazed by much of anything.

In any case, the atmosphere was gentle and pleasant.

But then. I looked out the window. I saw two men entering the shop.

It seemed it was almost time to shatter this peaceful atmosphere. As I heard the footsteps of a servant hurrying down the hall, I stood up.

◇◇

"So, what was so important you had to summon us here?"

Dalgan spoke, his arms crossed. Plural, sitting beside him, adjusted his glasses with a sarcastic air, his gaze demanding a quick answer. I was the one who had suddenly called them both. Even though they were our neighbors, they were even busier than us, so I was grateful they had come.

"I have something important to discuss."

"Don't tell me. Rilka, you can't get a head start on us."

Sherry said. It was not that kind of happy news. I ignored Sherry's joke. Then, I stated the reason I had gathered everyone here.

"Mia has given a prophecy. Vinder is planning something big."

My words plunged the room into silence.

"Why. He's been so quiet lately."

Sherry, who had been so calm just a moment ago, began to panic. It was true he had been quiet recently, having gotten married and had a child. I felt a flicker of irritation.

"So this means a new disaster is about to begin."

Vinaldira said in a somber voice. The disaster in this case, by the way, did not mean the disaster from the prophecy. It was a disaster for us, the normal girls. It was a situation that could shake the very foundations of the businesses we were each responsible for.

"The fact that I haven't heard anything about this means it must be related to magic."

Natalie was the one who spoke in a relatively calm tone. Her position is almost exactly between the Vinder Company and the Plural Company.

"What is it, specifically?"

Dalgan asked. He was pretending to be calm, but the arms he had crossed moments before were now unlinked.

"It seems to be a magic tool that makes the inside of a box as cold as winter all year round."

"What is that."

"Mia said it's an application of that magic wand that produces flames."

"Why would a wand that makes fire lower the temperature?"

"There's no point in trying to figure that out. We can leave that sort of thing to Mia, Noel, or Maytyl. What we need to think about is what this will do to our businesses."

I had unthinkingly referred to the Imperial Princess without her title. Noel is a noblewoman, too. It seemed I was just as flustered as everyone else. Oh, well, she did tell me I could be informal when we are not in public.

"We could eat ice cream anytime?"

"That would be nice, but please stop avoiding reality."

I chided Sherry. She had to know it was not going to be that simple.

"The preservation time for food would be extended."

Sherry corrected herself.

"This affects all of us, then."

"If anything, it's something our company should welcome. We could sell ice cream even in the summer. If we were just a user, that is."

Even though he tried to make light of it by borrowing Sherry's words, a vein was twitching on Plural's temple.

"How far along is he?"

"According to Mia, it's still a prototype, the first model. It seems he wants us to try it once it's done."

"So we have a little bit of time, then." "Yes." "Th, that's not bad news."

Everyone's expression relaxed just a little. But that was just wishful thinking.

"It's not that simple. You all know what's happening in three months, right? Mia says Vinder is planning to unveil it then to coincide with that event."

I said. It was an event that happened only once every ten, maybe even several tens of years in the Kingdom. And we were about to be dragged into the center of it.

"Three months from now. That's Prince Craig's coronation, isn't it?" Sherry said in a strained voice. It was the beginning of June now, and at the start of September, the Crown Prince would be enthroned as the new king. It was the birth of a new king with whom we had a certain connection. That in itself was not bad news.

"So the magic tool is a gift for the new king. For the coronation."

Vinaldira stated.

"B, but it's not going to be as simple as just giving him the gift and being done with it, right?"

"His asking us to test it probably means just that."

Everyone's face grew even grimmer than before. Our position had just changed from having the leisure to test a new magic tool beforehand to being the vanguard, using it for the first time on a massive public stage.

Normally, this was the kind of project we would politely decline. But we had our own circumstances, or rather, this city did.

"It's true that we can't just sit back and celebrate. There's our, well, you could call it a connection with the Crown Prince, of course. But we also have to consider this city's position."

Plural's words were heavy with meaning. This city holds a special place within the Kingdom. It has been granted various privileges as a base of operations against monsters. When it was the front line against the monster territories, no one voiced any complaints. But over the last year or two, the disaster has faded, and trade with the Empire has grown.

In the Royal Capital, the ill will toward a city that enjoys a free status while earning enormous profits, and toward us at its heart in Central Garden, has become too strong to ignore. This information came from Jean, who is currently in the capital on business.

"Our tax-exempt status was decided by the former king. Now that the system is changing with the new king's coronation, they're saying it should be reconsidered. That's the kind of talk going around."

"They can say what they want. After all the hardships we've been through. But we do need a plan."

The new city, and we along with it, need to show that we are worthy of our privileges. We have to make them understand that, as Vinder says, "a lot of people stand to lose if this city collapses," and use that to push back against the pressure. For that reason, the new king's coronation is an event we cannot afford to miss.

When I think about it calmly, I wonder what we, a group of mere merchants, are shouldering. I cannot help but want to curse the source of it all. But.

"Besides, he's going to be the new king's brother-in-law. There will be complications."

"Even if he himself, or the new king for that matter, isn't too concerned, the people around them will be."

Ricardo Vinder is not a merchant, not a soldier, and not a nobleman, yet he is all of those things. He carries an even heavier burden than we do, and his unprecedented position looks precarious even from the outside.

The fact that the disaster has subsided also affects Vinder's own standing, which was built upon it. He would probably be happy to have his authority reduced, but that reduction in power would weaken him politically.

On top of all that, his own sense of self-preservation is close to zero. The only reason I do not say it is zero is that, having a wife and child now, I can see some small signs that he might be trying to be more careful. Well, that assessment, which had only just begun to sprout among us, was blown away today.

I want to say he brought this on himself, but that would leave a bad taste in my mouth. And it is not just Vinder who will be dragged into this, but Mia and.

"Alfina-sama, too."

Sherry said. Mia, of course, but Alfina is our friend, too. And for that matter, so is Vinder. I looked at everyone again. For some reason, they all looked as though they had made their peace with it.

"You never know what's in the box 'til you open it. But we've got to do it. Guess we'll just have to think of it as another chance to make a huge profit, like always."

"As long as we are Central Garden, we'll be involved one way or another. So it's better to start preparing right away."

Sherry, Vinaldira, Natalie and I all nodded at Dalgan's and Plural's words. I remembered the Shoken Festival. Really, how did we always end up in these situations?

But I have never once regretted my decision to join that small gathering in the courtyard back then. So it cannot be helped. For my friends, who remain constant even as my circumstances change, I suppose I will let myself be pushed around, just as I always have.

"Vinder can't do anything without us, after all. What choice do we have?"

I said with a smile.