Chapter 169

“Well, it’s a pleasure to meet you, Miss Sofia. Is there a reason why you brought her all the way here?”

“Yes, of course. Now that the war with the Kingdom of Hydra is over, I thought I’d ask you to let me set up the【Transfer Gate】in this country, as I promised.

“Oh, that’s very kind. I’d love to have that.”

In response to Yuri’s words, King Raven’s voice was laced with an easily recognizable joy.

Prince Lexmar, who was sitting next to him, also had a happy smile on his face.

“We have already set up【Transfer Gate】in the Holy Land of Nimun and the Principality of Selsia, which are allied with our country. There are a few rules regarding the use of these gates. I hope that the Rapier Kingdom will abide by these rules as well, now that they have been installed?”

“I see. The Kingdom of Rapier is a new nation that has just allied with the Yuri Empire, so of course, we should follow the rules that our predecessors are following.”

“I’m glad you said that.”

You can only use the【Transfer Gate】if you are registered with the Explorers Guild, and it doesn’t matter if you are actually in the “Labyrinth” or not, as long as you are registered.

It is allowed to buy food and other necessities for personal and family life in the city, but it is not allowed for merchants to use the gates to transport goods.

For this reason, when you use the【Transfer Gate】, you will be asked to check the cargo you are carrying, and if you have storage skills, you will also be asked to check the cargo you are storing there.

―――Yuri explained the rules of using the Gate one by one to King Raven and Prince Lexmar.

“Is it okay for someone from the Kingdom of Rapier to use the【Transfer Gate】to visit Ulysses and bring back to the Kingdom of Rapier the flesh of demons and such that they have hunted in the “Labyrinth”?”

After listening to the explanation, Prince Lexmar expressed his doubts.

“Yes, that’s no problem at all. You can bring back to your own country all the materials that you have hunted yourself, regardless of the quantity. So, if the explorers of the Rapier Kingdom secure a large amount of demon meat in the Labyrinth of Ulysses, and bring it back to their own country to sell to merchants, etc., they can do as they please.”

“I see. That’s very nice of you.”

“Well, thank you very much. We have been facing a serious shortage of food, and one of the problems we have been facing is how to procure food.”

“… Oh, that reminds me.”

In the capital of the Kingdom of Hydra, food is at a very high price.

This was because the government was buying up food supplies to send out a large army. Thanks to this, the market price of food had skyrocketed, and I heard that many of the people could not afford to pay the heavy taxes and were living in hunger.

Of course, the Kingdom of Hydra made the nobles who governed the cities supply the food for the army, so there was a shortage of food in cities other than the capital as well.

―――With the conquest of the Hydra Kingdom, the Kingdom of Rapier is forced to take on the troublesome cities as they were.

It’s a problem that will be solved in time since the land is flat and fertile. However, all the fruit that was supposed to be harvested this fall will have been harvested before it is ripe, so it will take at least a full year to recover the food situation.

(I guess―――we should provide support for this.)

Since we are shifting our relationship with the Kingdom of Rapier from a ‘mutual defense treaty’ to a normal ‘alliance’, it is only natural that we cooperate with them regarding difficulties other than war.

“The reason I brought Sofia here today is that I’ve entrusted her to be the guild master of the Explorers Guild, and if we’re going to set up the【Transfer Gate】, we’ll need to set up a branch of the Explorers Guild in this country.”

“Oh, I see―――I finally understand now. The head of the Explorers Guild is a very important position, and I’m sure Miss Sofia can handle it.”

“Fufu, I’m glad to hear that King Raven has taken a liking to my Sofia. Now, I would like to entrust Sofia with one task, if you don’t mind.”

“Oh, yes. What would you like me to do?”

“I want you to run another state-run business in addition to the one you currently run, Theodore’s Chamber of Commerce. I’ll give you full permission to use the【Transfer Gate】to transport food to the cities of the Rapier Kingdom, and arrange for the people to purchase food at the same prices as in the Yuri Empire. ―――Can you do that?”

“Of course. I will be happy to serve you if that’s what master wants.”

Sofia bowed deeply to Yuri’s request.

At the moment, Sofia is still fulfilling her two roles as the head of the Explorers Guild and the manager of the Lost City of Ulysses, while also running the Theodore Chamber of Commerce, so she’s a very busy person.

Even so―――if she says she can do it, then it’s probably possible.

“So, King Raven. I promise to provide food aid to the Kingdom of Rapier for the next year through the State Chamber of Commerce, which I’ll leave to Sofia. If you can last until next fall, then you can improve the food situation on your own, right?”

“Of course. I don’t know how to express my gratitude to Yuri-dono―――”

“We have a surplus of food in our country, so don’t worry about it.”

In the past, the Yuri Empire provided large-scale food aid to the Duchy of Selsia, but that was discontinued as soon as autumn arrived.

Because of this, there is a bit of a surplus of food in the Yuri Empire.

Even if the entire land of the Hydra Kingdom is annexed, the Rapier Kingdom has a much smaller landmass than the Principality of Selsia. It’s a good thing for us to be able to adjust and release surplus food in the form of food aid.

“I don’t mean as compensation, but can I ask you for one favor in return?”

“Of course. Can you tell me about it?”

“In the northern part of the Kingdom of Hydra, there is a dragon habitat called ‘Loftsdrake’, which they used for the Dragon Trooper. It would be great if the Yuri Empire could be granted the right to freely hunt and capture this dragon.”

“Hmm… If that is the extent of your rights, then of course we have no objection. I’ll put it in writing right away.”

“I thank you, King Raven.”

The Loftsdrake is a dragon with a level of only 15, making it a very vulnerable demon. That’s why it has the potential to be used by ordinary people.

It’s a very convenient existence to realize ‘air transportation’ in the future. If we can get the right to hunt and capture them now, it will be easier to make use of them in the future.

“Yuri-dono, if possible, could you please make some other demands of our country?”

“Something else…?”

“Yes. Yuri-dono not only annihilated the invading forces of the Hydra Kingdom but also helped the forces of the Rapier Kingdom to occupy the country. In exchange for this, Yuri-dono demanded the right to [Broadcast] within the Kingdom of Rapier, but if that’s the only demand you can offer, then we are at a loss.”

“Mu…”

For Yuri, it would be most gratifying if the [Broadcast] within the Kingdom of Rapier was approved, and faith could be gathered more efficiently, and this would be a way to repay Lydina for her kindness.

However, if Yuri only demands the right to broadcast, it’s practical as if the Rapier Kingdom is not paying anything. Even though he was the one paying the price, he could not understand why King Raven was not satisfied.

“… Well, could you please allow me to build a city along the coast of the land obtained by the Kingdom of Rapier and occupy the narrow area around it?”

Since the Kingdom of Hydra was one of the nations located on the western edge of the continent, its land area included a lot of land facing the sea. The Kingdom of Rapier had conquered a part of it, and the Yuri Empire was willing to share it with them.

In negotiations between nations, the most valuable thing that can be put on the table is, after all, land. If we were to be given a part of it, it would not be too cheap a price to pay.

Normally, there would be more disadvantages than advantages to owning an enclave away from the land.

Perhaps if we set up a【Transfer Gate】, we can ignore all those problems.

“Yes. Are you there for the seafood?”

“Yes. I’m thinking of setting up a separate state-run trading company from the one Sofia has and permitting it to use the【Transfer Gate】to transport seafood, and supply it to the Yuri Empire and its allies at low prices.”

“I see. I think it’s a very good thing that the blessings of the sea are brought to a landlocked country.

However, it would be nice if you could leave room for our country to use dried fish and other marine products that can be transported by land as exports.”

“That would be a natural request. Then I promise not to deal with any items that the Kingdom of Rapier cites as ‘infringing on our interests’ in the State Chamber of Commerce.”

“Thank you for your consideration.”

The reason why we allow marine products to be transported through the【Transfer Gate】is that it would be difficult to provide marine products to landlocked countries if we didn’t do so.

However, it is not Yuri’s intention that the interests of the Rapier Kingdom be harmed as a result. As the King of Raven said, it would be wise to restrict the national merchants from dealing with dried fish that can last for a long time, as the state of the region has the right to do so.

“Master, are you still planning to leave your ‘national seafood trading company’ to Rubetta-san?”

“Yes, that’s what I intend to do.”

“If that’s the case, then Master should be the head of the State Chamber of Commerce. I think it would be better if I were in charge of the ‘transporting food to the Rapier Kingdom’ department and Rubetta-san was in charge of the ‘transporting marine products to inland countries’ department.”

“Hmm… If that’s what Sofia says, then let’s make it that way.”

Yuri didn’t know what the point of having all the heads of the national business association in one place would be. If Sofia insists on doing so, then there must be a reason for it.

“So, let’s talk about where to build the city. Of course, we’ll make sure that it doesn’t overlap with any of the cities that currently exist along the coast.”

“Yes, sir. That consideration alone will be enough to help us.”

“Next, I would like to discuss alliances and trade items…”

Yuri and the others spent the next three hours discussing many issues and finalizing the future relationship with the Kingdom of Rapier.

―――And then, that night.

In the [Broadcast] that Yuri also made to the Kingdom of Rapier for the first time, she made it known that the Yuri Empire had destroyed the invasion forces from the Kingdom of Hydra and that the Kingdom of Rapier had conquered the Kingdom of Hydra. She also made known the fact that the two countries had allied due to this process.

This was the moment―――when the sphere of influence of the Yuri Empire in the center of the Mekia continent finally reached the western edge of the continent.