Chapter 243

It's hard to feel it when you're in the city of Yuritania, where the temperature is controlled by a【 Temperature Control Ward 】. Today, the first day of the summer month, the season has changed to that of summer.

In this world, it doesn't get hot gradually, but from the day the calendar enters the summer month, the heat of the summer season rushes in. So the farmers who work outside the wards and the merchants who drive the wagons must have started fighting the heat right away.

It's hard, but we'll just have to bear with it.

If we go into the cities or villages, it will be cooler, so it would be better to broadcast the message to the people to take a rest to avoid heatstroke.

“―――There is no such thing as a perfect world, right?”

As usual, Yuri spent the morning in her office, reading through the reports that had come in from all over the place and breathing a sigh of relief.

Of course, it would be better if there were no troublesome situations such as demons invading from other countries, war breaking out when you try to support them, or dragon hordes suddenly gathering.

…Or rather, thinking back again, isn't the situation of the Yuri Empire these days too much?

Yuri believes that she has an extremely high level of blessing, which is directly related to her so-called "good luck". So why is it that she keeps getting into so much trouble?

(Maybe I should get rid of my bad luck once and for all…)

Yuri thought about this while letting out a big sigh.

If we could get Amaterasu, the presiding deity of the high heavens, to go directly to her, we might get an extraordinary effect. Or perhaps we should give it some serious thought.

At any rate―――preferably, the nation seems to be at peace at the moment.

The “trade” with the Republic of Aneka is going well.

It seems that many merchants based in the Yuri Empire are visiting the bad cities frequently.

Unfortunately, the variety of local products that can be loaded on the return trip is not that great, so the interest of the merchants may not last long. Still, the situation of the two cities in the badlands will be much better than before.

At least there will be no more tasteless meals to choose from.

As for the trade routes, we are currently laying them west from Yuritania, and we are having them improved to make a trade with the Holy Land of Nimun more comfortable.

If Altorius requests it, it would be a good idea to have the three troops bearing the name “Rose” start working on the trade routes within the Holy Land of Nimun.

She heard that horse-drawn carriages that have been adjusted for the local conditions can run through the desert trade routes without any problems, but their speed is still much slower than in normal land.

If the children of the Rose make full use of spirit magic and sorcery to build a trade route, it should be possible to keep the carriage in a comfortable condition even in the desert.

With a good trade route in place, it would be easy to bring in trade goods from the cities and villages in the western part of the Holy Land of Nimun.

Or even the cities and villages of the Rapier Kingdom, which is further away, maybe within range of land trade. If that were to happen, the Yuri Empire would be able to see enough profit.

As Yuri was reading the report, she was thinking about this.

―――Suddenly, there was a knock on the door of the office twice.

“Come in?”

Yuri said, raising her voice a little higher so that the other side of the door could hear.

The door was immediately opened and a girl in a maid's uniform appeared.

“Excuse me, master.”

The one who answered in a rather sweet voice and came in was Kanon.

Kanon is a child who belongs to the maid troop <Nadeshiko> and is also one of the vice-captains.

“What's the matter, Kanon? You're not on love duty today… are you?”

The memory of spending a passionate night with a beloved child never fades.

Yuri still vividly remembered that she had already spent a night with Kanon last fall.

“I've brought you a report from Ms. Rubetta.”

“Yes…? I've already got the report from Rubetta for today, you know?”

The reason Yuri had just learned that trade with the Republic of Aneka was going well is precise because she had read the report from Rubetta.

“This is an additional report, she said. It was brought to my attention just now by a person from the Rostine Trading Company, who said he had something he wanted to inform of as soon as possible.”

“Oh, really? Thank you for bringing it to me, Kanon.”

“I'm glad I could be of help. Is there any shortage of tea?”

“No, I’m fine for now.”

“All right. Now, if you'll excuse me.”

After Kanon left the room, Yuri immediately looked over the report.

This report was probably approved by Rubetta in a hurry. The writing in the report was clearly more disorganized than her usual neat handwriting.

The report briefly stated the fact that the Loftsdrake and its rider that had left Hourai yesterday morning had not yet returned.

Hourai Air Transport, which is a branch of the Rostine Trading Company, flies Loftsdrake to various cities within the Yuri Empire every morning and afternoon to “air transport” the necessary cargo.

According to Rubetta's additional report, the Loftsdrake and its rider that departed yesterday morning for the city of Yose in the former Eldard Kingdom territory have not yet returned.

It is not unusual for a Loftsdrake to leave and not return immediately.

If the wind is blowing strongly, the flight of the Loftsdrake will be disrupted, and if it is raining hard, the rider, not to mention the Loftsdrake, will be exhausted.

Therefore, when the weather is not suitable for flying, the rider can delay his return to Hourai for up to a few days at his discretion.

However, in this case―――the Loftsdrake that left for Yose yesterday morning has not returned yet, while the Loftsdrake that left for Yose yesterday afternoon has already returned.

Air transport is basically a route that connects the starting point and the destination in a straight line.

So it was strange that the later Loftsdrake had already returned, while the earlier one had not.

(If it wasn't the rider's laziness and slacking off, there must have been some kind of accident, or…)

Yuri pondered a few possibilities in his mind. However, no matter how much she imagined based on the fact that it hadn't returned, she couldn't go beyond guesswork.

To make a proper guess, she needs more information to understand the situation.

Yuri immediately informed the children of the Yuri Empire of the contents of the report he had received from Rubetta through the guild chat room, and at the same time, ordered <Nadeshiko> to investigate the matter.

If we leave it to <Nadeshiko>, who has excellent intelligence skills, we should be able to gather a good amount of information within a couple of days.

(……I hope this doesn't turn into a nasty problem…)

Yuri thought to herself in her heart and hoped for the best.

In the past, she learned the hard way that this kind of wish often comes true in vain.

Even though she knew that, she couldn't help but wish.