CH 320

I wondered if it would have been a bad idea to do diplomacy on my own and even conclude a peace treaty, after all… What should I do…….? It’s really bad to get everyone in my family and my vassals killed. I can’t afford to trouble my parents and my wives, too.

“Eh~…” I said. “Was it wrong to do diplomacy on my own? Not as a noble of the Kingdom of Ploiss, but as a Feudal Lord of Goslant Island, outside the Kingdom of Ploiss…”

Excuse me for now. It was not in my capacity as an aristocrat of the Kingdom of Ploiss… it was as a foreign lord… So please forgive me…

“It doesn’t matter!” Wilhelm yelled.

“No, Your Majesty, it does matter,” Dietrich said. “But let’s leave that alone this time.”

Somehow, Wilhelm and Dietrich began to do a comedy act. What? Will they show me something?

“How insane it is to have successful diplomatic negotiations with the Demon Country!” Dietrich said.

“If you could have done that, then this is not the time to confess that you exercised diplomatic powers without telling the state!” Wilhelm said.

“Haa…” I went.

What the? Wasn’t this supposed to be a straight man and fool show? Even if Mikoto was with me, I was a human among demons, but the citizens of the Yamato Empire were relatively kind. There are guys like Takeru among them, but those are probably the minority. They were basically good people. If you apply for diplomacy from anywhere, won’t it be accepted normally?

“If you send a messenger normally, won’t they be received normally?” I asked.

“Do you think that humanity has never sent a messenger to the demons before?” Wilhelm asked.

“Until now, diplomacy has never been successful,” Dietrich said. “On the contrary, no one has even reached their home country. All we can do is meet a messenger over there in the Kingdom of Del, which has been our contact point.”

Hmmm… But isn’t that rather bad? They say they are the contact point here, but from the perspective of Del, if other countries get close to the Demon Country, their position will be weakened. That’s why they wanted the Demon Country and other countries to remain at odds with each other, right?

If the Kingdom of Ploiss establishes direct diplomatic relations with the Demon Country, the Yamato Empire, and concludes a peace treaty, the sphere of influence in the Hulk Sea will become almost stable. If that happens, the Yamato Empire will no longer need to rely solely on Del to maintain its influence here. This leads to a relative decline in the position of Del and a loss of their authority.

Wouldn’t it be more profitable for Del to bribe the diplomats of the Yamato Empire and prevent the conclusion of a peace treaty?

From what I’ve seen of Kanbee and the other envoys, I don’t think the diplomats of the Yamato Empire, no, most of the citizens of the Empire, are very interested in the sphere of influence here.

The Heavenly Fall Shrine must be maintained. That’s why defending Hexennacht is essential, but other than that, it didn’t seem like they weren’t very interested in the rest of the region. Some might even despise us as barbarians. And they don’t do much trade. The profit will be higher, but since the total volume is small, they’re happy with what trade already happens.

In that case, there is a high possibility that the diplomats who were bribed locally will act for Del’s convenience. No matter how much we try to reach out to the Yamato Empire through the Kingdom of Del, I feel that it is useless.

“Maybe that was the problem?” I said. “The pragmatic realities between the Demon Country and the Kingdom of Del…”

I will talk about what I know about the Demon Country and Del to the extent that Wilhelm and Dietrich can know. Of course, I’m not talking about everything. I didn’t talk about information that I should keep in my hands or things that could cause trouble for me and Mikoto if they found out.

“I see……” Wilhelm said.

“But… in the first place, you can’t even go to the Demon Country alone,” Dietrich said. “How odd that you could have done it.”

“Haa…”

Well, it’s because I had Mikoto… you could certainly say that. That whirlpool that swallows you up… No, if you jump into a place where you find one of Heaven’s vortexes, you’ll just be blown away somewhere else in the world and get lost… if you’re not careful, you’ll just be swept away in the Dragon Vein and lost forever…

“So, Princess Flora, you’ve already concluded a peace treaty with the Demon Country?” Dietrich asked.

“Yes… it progressed so quickly, and it was difficult to refuse, so as the lord of Goslant Island…” I started.

Let’s use excuses for now. It’s true that it progressed smoothly, like marching perfectly to the beat without stopping. The treaty doesn’t specify that I’m the Lord of Goslant Island… though it was also true that it was difficult to refuse. It’s hard to say that we should wait even though the other side made a decision so quickly.

“That’s enough of that,” Wilhelm said. “It’s just an excuse, isn’t it?”

“Uu…”

They’ve got me~… I figured as much…. but I’ll push through with it. I don’t want to be put to death in a place like this.

“Fret not, I won’t try to accuse you of a crime,” Wilhelm said. “Rather, we’re more frightened of you trying to defect after trying to accuse you of a crime…”

Ah~… That’s right. The fact that I have a relationship with the Demon Country means that if I reject the charges against me and rebel, the Demon Country may side with me. It’s scary. Is that why the other nobles will be suppressed and deceived?

“The problem is whether the foolish lords who want your downfall, Princess Flora, won’t start making a fuss about you exercising diplomatic rights to try and shackle your legs. How do we keep them in check…?” Dietrich said.

“Right……”

Hey! Go for it! Razor-Sharp Prime Minister! You’re the smartest prime minister! Do something!

“Well, we’ll think of something to do here, domestically,” Dietrich said. “I don’t think we have time to ask you to handle that, Princess Flora… (And it would be a problem in itself if your solution was killing all of your opponents…)”

“Indeed…” Wilhelm said. “We need to ask you, Flora, to conclude a non-aggression pact between the Kingdom of Ploiss and the Demon Country… a neutrality pact, a peace treaty, some other kind of international agreement. Since we will deal with the domestic matters, you should be in charge of negotiating with the Demon Country.”

“Right. Understood,” I said.

It seems that the crime will not be questioned. If Wilhelm and Dietrich screwed up and the other nobles tried to punish me in their stead, I would have to crush all the royalists.

I got more work in return for not being charged with the crime. Also, I have to contact Emperor Sumeragi and ask him to dispatch another mission to negotiate with the Kingdom of Ploiss.

After this, we discussed the content of the treaty between me and the Demon Country to Wilhelm and Dietrich, and we also discussed my new authority. How far will I make concessions? What kind of treaty do they want? What legal basis and authority do I have to handle diplomacy? How many permissions are allowed? There are many things to decide.

Even though school ended in the morning, a lot of time passed when I was talking to Wilhelm and Dietrich. Can these two just talk to me? Don’t they have any other work? You are a king with so much free time, Wilhelm. I envy you.

We haven’t decided on the fine details yet, but they’re all roughly carved out. After that, bureaucrats and civil officials will work out those details, codify them, and put them into effect. After the bureaucrats decided, Wilhelm and I held a final confirmation meeting, and the story was settled.

“Ms. Puddin’, you there~?”

“Princess Eleonore?” I asked.

I thought someone had come in without knocking though we were having a meeting, and now I saw it was Princess Eleonore. When she sees me, she smiles and jumps in.

“Ms. Pud~din’!”

“Wah! Hold!”

I catch her gently so as not to injure her. I want her to stop that because it’s bad for my heart. I don’t know what kind of punishment Wilhelm would give me if I ended up hurting his lovely daughter like this. He forgave me in unsanctioned diplomacy, but I don’t think he’ll forgive me for hurting Eleonore. In this world, it’s not acceptable to say she was at fault because she was the one who jumped on me. Status is a terrifying thing.

“Fumu… Shall we call it here for now…?” Wilhelm said.

“Indeed,” Dietrich said. “We’ll just pick up where we left off with that new tea.”

It seems that diplomacy with the Demon Country is over for today. If Eleonore comes in, it’s not the time to discuss it.

“Then let’s have another cup of tea. And let Eleonore have one, too,” Wilhelm said.

“I agree,” Dietrich said.

With Wilhelm’s new instructions, Dietrich informs those servants who are waiting outside. He asked for another tea cup and a portion for Eleonore and then returned to his seat. Even though it was a secret meeting, the Prime Minister himself went outside to ask for something…

“Princess Eleonore~? Princess Eleonore~~~?”

And from outside I heard Margarete’s voice looking for Eleonore, as usual.

The table is surrounded by 5 people, including Margarete. Wilhelm and Dietrich have already tasted it all, so they are starting to drink it as they preferred. I will teach Margarete and Eleonore how to mix their cups to their liking.

“Mnm, well~…… Eleonore wants honey~!” Eleonore said.

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“Right,” I said. “Well then… here, there you go,” I said.

“Thank you!”

In the past year, Eleonore has become quite proficient in speaking. I think it’s too delayed, though. The lisping way of speaking is not the fault of the person herself, but also the fault of the body. Has her speech become more normal as she grows up?

“Wow… It smells good,” Margarete said.

“First of all, enjoy the scent… check the taste… then you can add anything you like, or not, as you please,” I said.

Margarete was also interested in various things and tried several tasting cups. When Margarete learns how to drink tea, Wilhelm asked,

“So then… how much does this product cost? When can I get it? And how much do you have of it?”

“Your Majesty! How unfair!” Dietrich yelled. “I, as well! No, my House will purchase, too! Princess Flora!”

“Hahaha…”

It’s great that it’s so popular, but even with that being said, the quantity is limited… what a surprise!

In terms of tea quality, the first pick of the year is the best, but the tea picking itself can be done about 2-4 times a year. So if you don’t care about high quality, you can get it relatively easily. It’s still an experimental attempt, but the yield will increase year by year. After all, the tea plantation is still under construction.

It’s not House Caan’s experimental farm, but a proper tea plantation on the slopes of the mountain. Next year, we will be able to pick from there as well.

I don’t think it’s a good idea to simply replant or graft. I want to grow varieties grown from seeds and seedlings here from the beginning. Therefore, to secure the quantity first, it is necessary to have mass production that is not so concerned with quality and variety, and for the future, it is necessary to cultivate varieties that are completely grown from seeds and that are particular about quality.

Well, we’re doing both in parallel, so for the next few years, we’ll focus on quantity rather than quality.

“First of all, we will be starting mass production, so if it is a small amount, we will be able to wholesale it… in a few months,” I said.

Unfortunately, the amount of tea leaves this time is not so much because there were many failures during processing. Until the next tea picking and processing, there is only as much as I have now. Not enough to sell to Wilhelm or Dietrich. As long as I donate a small amount…

“Ah! That’s unfair! I, as well! Flora! I want some too!” Margarete said.

“Uuu…”

Even Margarete says such things with watery eyes. I think women doing this is rather cunning. I just can’t resist. I would rather be more agreeable with Margarete than with Wilhelm or Dietrich…

“Hmm… then… first of all, let’s have you present it to me,” Wilhelm said. “Both of you, Dietrich and Margarete, just put up with the amount we serve here at the castle. Anyway, it’s a matter of patience for a while. Isn’t that right, Flora?”

“Uh… yes…” I said.

So I’m being implicitly told to kick-start mass production and distribution for sale…

Well, I would like to sell it if I can mass-produce it and distribute it, but since this is a plant, I can’t suddenly increase it in large quantities. Originally, it would have to be cultivated for many years before the tea picking could be done. It’s fast because it uses cuttings and seedlings and trees imported from the Demon Country, but there may be a problem with the quality.

“I will hurry as much as possible, but in the end, the source is a plant… so please be prepared for the minimum required time,” I said.

“Umu.”

“I am looking forward to it!”

“Flora! Good luck!”

“Ms. Puddin’! Seconds!”

Haa……. The expectations of royalty and dukes are a burden, but… Eleonore is cute… Eleonore seems to like it, too….

Well, I wanted to drink it, so I put a lot of effort into it. It would be better to expand the tea plantation a little more… Expand the plantation, no… make a new place entirely…

On the other side, I have to do various things related to the Yamato Empire, but… I have more work to do, and I don’t have enough hands… When will I be able to relax…?