Chapter 102

Three days ago, on the 15th day of the winter month, the Duchy of Selsia became a vassal state of the Yuri Empire.

The Duchy of Selsia will pay 20% of its total tax revenue to the Yuri Empire while it is a vassal state. In addition, diplomatic and military activities will be restricted, and it will not be allowed to form alliances with other countries or send troops outside the country without permission from the Yuri Empire.

On the other hand, as the Sovereign State, Yuri Empire is obligated to help ensure that there is no shortage of food in the cities and villages throughout the Duchy of Selsia. It will also have to play a role as a protection against any pressure or military action from other countries, most notably the Volmician Empire, against the Duchy of Selsia.

Both the Duchy of Selsia and the Yuri Empire is free to request the termination of the vassal relationship that has been established.

However, it is specified that the relationship will only be dissolved one year after the request is made by either side, so even if the request is made on the same day, the relationship will continue for another year.

However, this subordinate relationship will probably continue for a longer period than just one year.

As suggested by Hera, the captain of the <Shirayuri>, and Sera, the captain of <Water Lily>, Yuri gave the utmost support to the Principality of Selsia, which had become a vassal state.

As a result, the ‘filth smell’ reminiscent of the Nildea of the past that wafted over the cities and villages of the Principality of Selsia now completely removed by the magic [Purification], and the threat of demons was no longer a problem as the country was surrounded by [Barrier Ward]. And even though the season is winter, thanks to the [Temperature Control Ward], it is possible to live in short sleeves.

[Transfer Gate] has been set up in each city. In the Yuri Empire and the Holy Land of Nimun, only those who have registered as explorers can use the gates, but the people of the Principality of Selsia can use gates without registration.

This has allowed the citizens of the Principality to easily visit the [Labyrinth Dungeon] areas of Ulysses, and the problem of food shortages, which had even led to price hikes in the Principality, has been quickly solved.

In addition, the food stalls in Ulysses have become so popular among the people of the Principality that some of the nobles even go to Ulysses for every meal.

Furthermore, the broadcast is now freely available in the Principality.

There is only one broadcast from Yuri every day, but the explorers who spend all their time-fighting in the [Labyrinth] of Ulysses can be watched 24 hours a day, every day.

As a result, the culture of cheering on the explorers while watching the videos has spread rapidly among the citizens of the Principality.

There are also branches of the Explorers Guild in the cities of the Principality, where people can register as explorers, and many of them have become one.

Of course, the explorers from the Principality received enthusiastic support from the citizens of the Principality, which was also very exciting.

To tell the truth, there were a good number of people in the Principality who voiced their dissatisfaction with the idea of becoming a vassal of the Yuri Empire.

Yuri Empire is a small country with only two cities and four villages, while the Duchy of Selsia is a large country with nine cities and 25 villages.

In a sense, it is natural that there are people who find it difficult to accept that a large country is a vassal to a small country.

However, these voices of dissatisfaction were quickly silenced.

You can find a lot of things that you can do to make your life easier. The support and culture brought by the Yuri Empire are all too special. This is because no matter how hard they try to stand up to them, they were all things that the Principality could not obtain on its own.

The benefits of becoming a vassal state will naturally be lost when the vassal relationship is dissolved and the country becomes independent from the Yuri Empire.

When the people of the Principality realized this fact, the voices of dissatisfaction that had once been raised became a lie. This time, on the contrary, the people strongly voiced their desire to remain a vassal state of the Yuri Empire forever.

Moreover, the aristocrats, who should be on the side of suppressing the voices of the people, are on the contrary sympathizing with them. Yuri doesn’t understand anymore.

―――Because of this situation, it seems that the subordinate relationship with the duchy will continue for much longer than I had initially expected.

As for Yuri, it’s not that she wants money, it’s just that it’s troublesome to have more objects to protect. But if Lydina tells that through a series of events, the amount of faith gathered in Yuri is increasing further, she can’t ignore it.

This is because it is Yuri’s sincere desire to repay her debt to Lydina by transferring the faith she has earned.

In addition, due to the rapid increase in the number of noblemen and wealthy people visiting from the duchy, the “Tourist Resort Section” in Ulysses is now very crowded, as if the previous deserted area was a lie.

The high-class cosmetics that have been put on sale in the tourist zone are selling like hotcakes, and the number of men who pay large sums of money to go to the brothels has increased, making it seem that the Hayes Trading Company is making a lot of money.

As with the Divine City of Yuritania, Ulysses will be tax-free for the rest of the year, so the profits from the brothels will be the income of the Hayes Chamber of Commerce.

However, the production of high-class cosmetics is handled by the Yuri Empire’s <Rindou>, and 70% of the sales proceeds are paid to the national treasury at the end of the month as product fees.

The amount of money in the treasury, which I can’t think of good use for, is going to increase considerably.

(―――Hmm, I guess it’s time.)

The clock currently showing 11:51.

She quickly signed the paperwork requesting the approval of the business that she had just been looking through. Yuri stretched her body once and stood up from her seat.

Once out of the office, she went to a nearby hot water supply room to boil water with her magic tool.

Took out a teapot from the shelf in the hot water supply room and put the holy domestic tea leaves from inventory in it. Poured hot water and let the tea leaves dance around in the pot.

Put the pot and the two cups on a tray and cover the pot with a cozy. Took it back to the office and laid it out on the table of the facing couch at the side of the room.

As I was pouring the tea into the two cups by hand, taking care to make sure the tea was even. The clock changed to 12:00.

After setting down the teapot, Yuri used the [Summon Subordinate NPC] skill.

Soon, the second-in-command of <Kikyou>, Sinon, appeared in front of her.

“As expected from sister, You’re right on time.”

“I just happened to remember. You’re lucky.”

Yuri responded to Sinon’s words with a small smile. In fact, she had been paying close attention to her watch for quite some time, waiting for the appointed time to summon her, which was twelve o’clock.

“It must have been cold there. I’ve made you some tea to warm you up.”

“I’m sorry, sister. I’m supposed to be the one on “love duty” today, and I should have prepared some for sister as well.”

“It’s okay, it doesn’t matter. I’ll be expecting your services in the night.”

“Yes! I… will do my best at that time!”

Yuri pointed with her palm towards the sofa and urged Sinon to sit down.

It was just noon, so she might be hungry. With that in mind, Yuri took out two madeleines from her inventory and offered one to Sinon.

“Wow! Could it be that sister made this?”

“Yes. I hope it’s to your taste.”

“It must be absolutely delicious!”

Sinon immediately took a bite of the madeleine and her face lit up with happiness.

Just looking at her smile filled Yuri’s heart with joy, so Yuri offered her portion to Sinon.

This madeleine had been baked by Yuri herself yesterday.

The brandy that was given to her by the Duke of Augrot when she signed a vassalization agreement with the Duchy of Selsia three days ago had just the right aroma for baked goods, so she felt the urge to make them.

The [Confectionery I] skill that acquired by making a large amount of zenzai before has now grown into [Confectionery II]. Incidentally, Yuri already acquired the skill [Cooking II].

Yuri is glad that she can do both cooking and confectionery in her spare time, as long as she has the ingredients in her inventory.

It’s a good change of pace, and the food and sweets she makes will be greatly appreciated by anyone in the Yuri Empire, so it’s become one of Yuri’s hobbies lately.

“So… can you tell me about the mining city while we eat?”

Yuri asked Sinon as she began to bite into the second madeleine.

Today’s “love duty” Sinon had been sent to inspect the ‘mining city’ ceded by the duchy.

Since the completion of the construction of the city of Ulysses, the children of <Kikyou> have been free. Yuri had been thinking about ‘rebuilding’ the ceded mining city. 

In any case, the mining city would not have the water supply and sewerage system that Yuritania had. If it was going to be a city in her country, she wanted it to have the minimum infrastructure.

That’s why she asked Sinon, a professional builder, to go to the mining city to inspect it, instead of Yuri himself. The idea of rebuilding the city itself was already a given, but she wanted her to see firsthand what improvements needed to be made.

I lent Sinon ‘Kirin’, Yuri’s messenger beast, and asked her to ride it to the mining city.

Kirin is a monster that can fly through the sky at a very high speed, so it would take less than 30 minutes to get to the mining city. Moreover, Yuri can use the [Summon Subordinate NPC] to return to the city in an instant, so it’s a piece of cake.

Of course, there’s also the advantage of registering the mining city as a [Transfer Point] if Yuri’s servant beast is taken there.

This means that Yuri can now freely visit the new mining cities that have been added to the country at any time by using [Transfer Magic].

“You’re right… What part of the mining city would you like to talk about first”

“Well, I guess the first thing I want to ask you about is the ‘bad parts’. I’m sure there were some areas that you felt could be improved upon in the rebuilding of the city.”

“If that’s the case, I can explain it to you in a few words.”

In response to Yuri’s words, Shinon smiled smugly.

And then―――.

“Everything’s wrong in that city!”

As a professional builder, she ruthlessly denied everything about the mining city.