CH 310

“Ah… is this the capital of this territory, Caanburg?” a diplomat said.

“It’s the capital of a small Feudal Lord in the countryside, but it’s fantastic,” another said.

Everyone but Kanbee is casually saying such things. It is certainly a fantastic town that blends into the forest and makes you feel as if you are one with it. But that’s not what you should see. Kanbee is irritated by the diplomats who do not understand this.

There are still many wild forest areas left in this town. There are quite a few buildings lined up along the highway, but if you go a little deeper, you’ll soon find yourself in a forest. It creates a fantastic atmosphere as if the town and the forest are fused. But… but there’s a lot more to watch out for.

First of all… the wells that are installed all over the town. The people who live here are operating some kind of device on top of what looks like a well. Then, the water comes out with a “zab, zab.” He’s never seen anything like that. It’s clearly equipment and technology that neither their country, the Kingdom of Del, nor the Kamaal Alliance has ever seen.

For example, those who are busy with their daily lives have no time to spare for anything else. To use water, they go to the river several times a day, chop firewood to make a fire and engage in hunting, gathering, and farming to obtain food. You can’t do anything else after all that. It’s all you can do just to live day to day.

Of course, if you can only do things related to your daily survival, you can’t produce anything. Even if there is some leeway, you don’t know what you can do with it.

As daily life becomes easier, a surplus labor force and productivity will be generated, and that surplus labor force will create things other than daily necessities.

No matter how a big country has a huge population, if the people living there are busy with their daily survival and all the labor and production power are used only to eat and live for that day, nothing will happen, as nothing is produced.

Compared to that, even if the population is small, if there is leeway in daily life and most of the day can be spent on things other than daily survival, it is possible to create other things with that surplus labor and productivity.

Indeed… it’s about improving productivity and production efficiency.

He’s not talking about people being able to live a convenient and easy life. Freed from daily tasks like fetching water, you can easily get water by turning the faucet. The time and effort that would have been spent on that is now surplus, and as a result, it’s spent on other things. The wives who have become more comfortable with housework help with farm work, sew at home, and do other side jobs… 1

At first glance, this town seems to have a small population, but in terms of its productivity and efficiency, it cannot be compared to other towns that are just large. Don’t measure this town by its apparent population. If the production efficiency is many times different, it is equivalent to having many times that population.

And the town’s structure. In this place, many buildings line the streets. It means it’s thin and widespread.

From what Kanbee knew, he had heard that these countries were building castle cities with walls around their towns. It was probably because they judged it was better to prepare for foreign enemies, even if it cost a lot of effort.

But what about this town? It is thin and wide and built in the forest, but there is no castle wall at all. Certainly, it seems that it is vulnerable to external enemies, but it means that there are no drawbacks to a walled city.

The walled city certainly seems to be good, using the castle walls as defenses against foreign enemies. However, the inside of the castle walls is narrow, gloomy, and dirty. Low expansion ability, poor sunlight, and unsanitary conditions. Compared to that, this town can expand as much as it wants in the future. It is also sunny and hygienic.

You can live a rich, comfortable, and hygienic life. This will bring people in and increase the number of children. More children will grow up without facing starvation, unsanitary conditions, sickness, and death. And if the number of children increases, the overall population will increase, and the town will prosper further.

It’s not the time to say that the town is quite small or that it looks beautiful. Kanbee is amazed and irritated by the diplomats who can’t understand such a thing. While he was considering the implications of all this, they arrived at their destination.

“Everyone, we welcome you warmly,” the blonde woman said. “First of all, please relax and heal the fatigue of your trip.”

“Thi-This is…”

The delegation is at a loss for words at the large mansion in front of them. It is a huge and luxurious mansion that makes you think that this is the ultimate glory. Other diplomats only got the sense that the Lord would impose heavy taxes and spend them on their luxury. But Kanbee is different.

If only the Lord lived such a life with low productivity, Kanbee would have judged that this luxury was from imposing heavy taxes on his people. But not here. Considering the technology and productivity of this town, it’s easy to support the Lord’s lifestyle.

Thanks to the overwhelmingly high production capacity and productivity, the lives of the people as a whole have become extremely wealthy. The fact that the people as a whole are wealthy means that they have plenty of leeway. The Lord can maintain this much life just by skimming a little off the top each time.

He wondered how much taxes the people would need to live this well in the Demon Country, but for this town, they can live this much just by paying some of their surplus production to the Lord. How big is the difference?

“I appreciate your hospitality, but I would like to postpone that welcome,” Kanbee said. “First, I would like to speak to the Lord. We’d like to start negotiations at the table, but would that be possible?”

The other diplomats were annoyed by Kanbee’s words. Just as they arrived in town, they were offered hospitality, but he declined the offer and decided to go to work first…

Being a diplomat is an inherently good job. Of course, there are dangers, but as diplomats of a large country, they basically won’t be harmed wherever they go, and they will be treated grandly and treated favorably. They are entertained, they take bribes, and they can travel all over the place. Even so, Kanbee was so stubborn that he turned down the entertainment and asked them to start working immediately.

But Kanbee is more than that. He does not despise this country. It’s foolish to let your guard down when you don’t even know what the other person wants. First, explore the other person’s guts. And if possible, he wants to listen to their requests and work out countermeasures as soon as possible.

“Is that so?” the blonde woman said. “Then let’s have a meeting in half an hour.”

“Mm,” Kanbee said.

A meeting was arranged immediately, and Kanbee and the others began preparations as soon as they were guided to their rooms and put their belongings down.

As they arrived at the meeting’s venue and it started immediately, Kanbee couldn’t hide his surprise. The blond woman who came with them from their country is, genuinely, the Lord of the Territory. That’s what she called herself, but Kanbee suspected that someone else was running the show. And yet, on the other side of the table, there is the blond woman, Floto von Caan.

In addition to Kanbee, there are several diplomats from Ploiss sitting here, but it’s no exaggeration to say that Floto von Caan is the only real representative.

Certainly, there are several other people around her, but from what Kanbee has seen of the exchange, the one who gives all the instructions is a woman named Floto. There is no one giving Floto instructions, she is the one giving all the orders.

If it was this woman who created this unbelievable town and adopted these devilish policies… then this woman is the Devil herself. Kanbee faced Floto without letting his guard down.

“So then… what does your country want after diplomatic relations are concluded?” Kanbee cut in immediately after the greetings were over.

He does not intend to make useless exchanges. With that in mind, he stares directly at Floto.

“About that… a request for technical assistance… that is our desire, you see?” Floto said.

“”A request for technical assistance?”” Kanbee and the diplomats all say, tilting their heads in confusion.

Other diplomats have traveled to the Kingdom of Del and the member-states of the Kamaal Alliance, but have never been asked to do something like this. Most countries just ask to buy the Demon Country’s advanced goods and agricultural products.

But Floto makes a completely different request. And he doesn’t really know what the words mean. No, he does know, but the reasoning behind the request was too mysterious for Kanbee.

This country is clearly superior in terms of technology. In terms of national power and military power, Caan territory may not be comparable to their country, but even Kanbee thinks that they are overwhelmingly defeated in terms of technical strength. But what does a request for technical assistance entail, exactly?

“I’m ashamed to say that our territory is lacking in everything…” Floto said. “For example, I would like skilled farmers in the Demon Country to teach agriculture.”

“Hmm… Anything else?” Kanbee said, listening to the full details whilst breaking out into a cold sweat.

She won’t just want technical assistance in agriculture.

“Yes. About that…” Flora said.

“-!?”

Hearing Floto’s request, Kanbee felt a slight chill run down his back.

“Iyaaah… yahari, this is a small country in the countryside after all, deshyouka?” one of the diplomats said, once they were alone in private.

“To ask for such a thing, it’s a small country of barbarians.”

“There is no loss to our country if that’s the price she’s willing to pay. Let’s work to conclude a treaty immediately, shall we?”

Kanbee listened in, trembling as the other diplomats foolishly spoke. His and the other diplomat’s sentiments are diametrically opposed. The others know nothing. They’re giddy that all Floto asked was for technical support in exchange for a gigantic sum of money.

“Are you idiots?” Kanbee wants to say. No, rather, these guys are all idiots. It’s like they don’t know anything.

What Floto requested, specifically. The dispatch of specialists. It was also the importation of some “certain things.”

The first item mentioned was the dispatch of skilled farmers. This is because they want the support of experienced farmers familiar with the cultivation methods of their country, to grow their corps in this country as well. She asked for leaders of various crops including rice, potatoes, and other vegetables.

Next are the architectural engineers. In the Demon Country, their civil engineering corps are split between stoneworkers and woodworkers who build stone walls and embankments. Floto demanded them both. Ordinarily, they can only be seen as low-level workers, mere laborers. No one would want someone like that. But Floto demanded them. That is to say, to acquire the civil engineering and construction technologies of their country.

The civil engineers and architects of each country have their unique characteristics. It’s not that one is inherently superior to the other, but there are justifications and advantages that have developed from various reasons and circumstances they faced. Even if the Demon Country country is behind in technology, there are things others should learn from them. Floto understands that. She is trying to further develop their technology by absorbing the Demon Country’s civil engineering and construction technologies.

Then there is the dispatch of paper manufacturers. In the Demon Country, paper production is very popular. In this country, there is only parchment that uses animal skins and poor-quality paper. She is telling the diplomats to donate their paper industry’s technologies to them.

They will also import mulberry and silk moths. And the dispatch of sericulture workers… she’s asking them to hand over their precious silk manufacturing methods. That’s what she’s trying to do on her own.

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In addition, Floto has sought the dispatch and immigration of as many craftsmen and laborers as possible, such as potters and woodworkers. Then export some seeds, seedlings, and things like the aforementioned silk moths…

The payoff for those exports is incredibly huge. No wonder the other diplomats are excited. And that’s how much value Floto sees in them.

It is not the same as just importing food or sake, paying the price, and being done with it. They are looking for the manufacturing method, the technology, and skilled workers who already know both. And she says she will pay the price for them.

It’s certainly a huge amount of money to receive at once. However, if those technologies leak out, they can longer sell them in the future. Caan Territory will no longer need to buy them. It’s a one-time sale. And depending on the case, there is a high possibility that the Caan Territory will become a business rival in the future.

Their country does not make money by exporting to these other countries. It is true that the trade balance is more profitable, but both the volume and amount of trade are insignificant. The reason is, they can only transport so much through the Heavenly Fall Shrine and it’s unsuitable for mass production.

Therefore, for their country, the amount of trade is insignificant, and even if they are gaining overwhelming profits, if the total amount itself is small, the trade surplus is nothing more than what they already know. Even if it disappears or shrinks in the future, it will not be a big problem.

But… is it really okay to receive this request and export seeds, seedlings, and technology instead of the finished goods for money?

Kanbee doesn’t think so. If these are leaked, the superiority of their country will be shaken. However, no matter how much Kanbee tries to stop it, the other diplomats have decided to report to the Emperor that they should accept this trade request. The rest is a matter of how the Emperor will judge their report.

Kanbee couldn’t get any more frustrated with these stupid coworkers. Enough of this……. he’s had enough of this. These people know nothing. If… they receive the request from Caan Territory and do as Flora asks…

Kanbee started to act secretly, thinking about the future.