kscans

Chapter 269 - Product

"Welcome, Your Excellency, Lord Calamity."

"Thank you for having me again, Princess Lisabet."

Princess Lisabet was waiting to greet me in front of the lord's manor on the hill. This was the same manor I had stayed at twice before, on my way to and from Tuvil Mountain before the battle with the Magic Insects. Its completely unchanged appearance brought a sense of relief to me, a man as vulnerable to environmental changes as a small fish.

However, the building was the only thing that had not changed. The view from the highway to the manor had transformed. Looking down, I could see a large new building standing along the highway, even larger than the lord's manor. Surrounding it were several other buildings that had not existed before, not even a trace of them.

The unrefined, boxy three and four story buildings, made of a combination of wood and stone, were lodging facilities. The large, single story building seemed to be a warehouse. The increase in trade volume was immediately apparent. It was like a Shinkansen station being built in a countryside town.

"Oh? And no greeting for the Consul Princess?"

"My apologies, Princess Maytyl."

"I know Ricardo is just here because I'm returning to the country... but oh well. How should I put this. It’s changed quite a bit, hasn't it."

Maytyl looked at Princess Lisabet, the local lord and a member of the imperial family, though their blood relation was apparently something like second cousins. Since the new city was the knot tying the Empire and the Kingdom together, I wanted Maytyl, the consul of Central Garden, and Princess Lisabet, the nearest imperial lord, to get along.

"...It was a remote area to begin with."

"After receiving such a great benefit, the Grand Duke of Central Garden naturally takes precedence over the former number one in line for the throne, I suppose."

"Your Highness, former number one in line for the throne, would you mind not using that nickname, Princess Lisabet. We do not have a grand duke in our town. A balanced government by three counts who pledge their loyalty to the Kingdom, that is our system."

"Ricardo is so much more polite to Lisabet."

"Oh my, are you boasting that you and Ricardo-dono have a much more casual relationship than I do, Your Highness?"

"You sent him a love letter too, didn't you, Lisabet? And you did succeed in summoning him here."

"Well now, that letter was strictly for business. When it comes to cooperating with Lord Calamity, you, Princess Maytyl, as the consul and the one nearby, will have to do your part."

"I am doing my part. It’s Ricardo’s fault for not playing along."

What on earth were they talking about? Surely the servants around us and the knights standing behind us were getting uncomfortable.

"Let’s move on to business."

"You are right. Princess Maytyl has mellowed out so much that I got carried away."

Princess Lisabet’s expression turned serious.

"Now then, Your Excellency, about the matter in that letter. The contents are correct, but I truly doubt it holds enough value to warrant Your Excellency staying here personally to conduct it..."

She seemed a little bewildered. The letter concerned information about a new product I had requested. Yes, it was a genuine tale of a small business venture.

"Since that is a business matter, I would prefer if you called me Ricardo."

I said this loudly enough for Maytyl, whose eyes had suddenly lit up, to hear.

"Understood, Ricardo-dono. Shall I show you the way at once?"

"Please."

My target was a living thing. Considering the time it would take, the sooner we started, the better. And judging by the view below the hill, Princess Lisabet was likely quite busy herself, dealing with the population increase brought on by the rapid development.

◇◇

We descended the hill, still guarded by knights from both nations. A clear stream flowed from the mountains behind us, running alongside the road. A thought occurred to me, and I stopped to check the granularity of the stream's sand. I picked up some gravel from the bottom of the stream and felt its texture.

Incidentally, this small check of mine altered the course of more than ten people.

Being unable to move freely is a significant cost in terms of business efficiency. In the old days, I could have just run down to the riverbank by myself. For an ordinary person whose selling point is the efficient application of trial and error, this was a difficult constraint.

"This is the place I mentioned in the letter."

After our detour, we were guided to a spot between the residential area and the forest. A pond was there, fed by the small stream that passed through the residential area. As we approached, creatures resembling frogs leaped into the water. We could see a school of small, light-reflecting fish take refuge among the water plants all at once.

"Yes, this looks good," I said, observing the pond's environment. I picked up a small branch and stuck it into the water. Brown mud swirled up.

"It looks good? Um, this pond is basically only used for agriculture. The townspeople do not really drink from it."

Princess Lisabet trailed off. It clearly had the feel of domestic wastewater flowing into it. With a clear mountain stream nearby, one that would be home to ayu or yamame trout in Japan, anyone would be hesitant to drink from here.

Technically speaking, the chemical oxygen demand seemed a bit high. But for my intended product, anything less would have been a problem.

"It would be an issue if they could only live in very clean water," I said, watching the pretty little fish emerge from the shadow of the water plants, seemingly reassured now that the mud had settled and there was no movement.

"Now then..."

A knight in armor presented me not with a sword, but with a net. Another knight stood by, holding a washtub-like container. Watching this from behind were two princesses.

Amid this truly surreal scene, I swept the net from the surface toward the water plants.

I emptied the contents into the washtub, which was filled with water from the pond. The shimmering light of glittering scales and the piyon piyon of bouncing, brown-colored small creatures scurried about in a panic inside the tub.

About ten in one scoop. A great catch.

The largest among them was a head smaller than a medaka, probably just under two centimeters. It had a slender body, a nearly transparent color, and a vertical red pattern. Below that was a blue circle. Its dorsal and anal fins had a wavy pattern.

Its size and beauty were perfect for my purpose. From what I saw earlier, they seem to form schools, so this just might work.

"Fish."

"They are fish."

Maytyl and Princess Lisabet, who had peeked in from either side, tilted their heads.

"They’re a bit small to eat, aren't they."

"They are common small fish in the ponds and irrigation channels around here. No matter how poor, no one would eat these. Of course, it would be a different story if we truly ran out of food..." Maytyl commented thoughtfully, and Princess Lisabet agreed for the honor of her domain. Of course, that's how you would feel if you had seen them since birth.

I transferred the pond water and the fish into a bucket to take back to the manor.

◇◇

Back at the manor, I moved a few of the fish along with some water from the washtub into a ceramic bowl, then took a wooden bottle out of the portable refrigerator I had brought.

When I opened the lid, a scent familiar to anyone who has ever gone fishing, fragrant but not appetizing, reached my nose.

It was dried and powdered bee pupae, what you would call pupa powder. I scooped up the brownish powder with a tiny, earpick-sized spoon and dropped a small amount onto the water’s surface. The brown powder spread with an oily film.

The small fish swarmed the food on the surface all at once. They competed to open their mouths for the floating food, and the impact caused some of it to sink, which other fish then devoured.

I observed them closely, but none of them spat out the food they had taken into their mouths. In fact, when I brought the small spoon close to the surface again, a few fearless individuals approached. They probably feed on things like zooplankton in the pond.

"I guess that’s the first stage cleared," I said. Some fish species will only eat live bait. On Earth, they even sold things like feeder crickets and durable plankton eggs for that purpose. There would be endless problems to consider when it came to breeding them from fry, but that could wait.

"So, what is all this for?"

"Aquariums... no, I plan to make fishkeeping popular in the Kingdom. This fish will be the centerpiece."

I told the two of them. Hobbies are a profound karma. And my own karma, for trying to spread that hobby in this world for profit, was perhaps even more profound.

But that was fine. I am a merchant, after all.

"Keeping fish, you say. It’s true that people in the Imperial Capital have ponds in their gardens... but these are rather small. Forgive me for saying so, but cats seem cuter..."

"That's true. If I were to keep a pet, I think a dog would be more interesting."

Apparently Princess Lisabet was a cat person and Maytyl was a dog person. I see, so people desire what they themselves do not have.

"Small fish like these are certainly on the plain side. But the product I intend to sell does not stand on the fish alone. For that, it is better for the individual fish to be small. And what’s important is that they are from a foreign country. They may be a common sight to you, Princess Lisabet, but to the people of the Kingdom, they are a novelty."

I listed the necessary elements for the product. These were essential to spark an aquarium boom. People seek out things that are rare, beautiful, and interesting, because they show us worlds we have never seen.

"Hmm. Looking at them like this, they are kind of cute when they eat, and they are pretty, I suppose. Could you let me try?"

Maytyl snatched the container of food from my hand.

"Whoa, hey, Maytyl. That’s too much. Half of that, no, one fifth is enough."

I stopped Maytyl just as she was about to dump a heaping spoonful of food into the bowl.

"Won't the fish be happier with more?"

"They’d probably eat it all easily enough. But they only need a tenth of that amount. Fish float in water, and their body temperature is lower than ours. They don't need a lot of food."

Besides, more food would naturally lead to more of something else. I glanced at the space between the small fishes' anal fins.

"Is that so. Hmm, I still can't see your true objective, Ricardo..."

Maytyl crossed her arms and thought. I just told her my true objective.

Anyway, when she noticed me looking, she uncrossed her arms and changed to a more feminine pose, touching a finger to her chin. ...I think the first pose looked more natural and suited her better.

In any case, I needed Maytyl’s cooperation for the next step.

"Maytyl, there’s something I need you to do. Please arrange for those small screws."

I said this while lifting the bucket of gravel I had collected from the stream. In developing the product known as an aquarium, the first and most basic step is making the water.