Chapter 222

222 . Return Trip to the Territory 2

We’ve arrived in the Yamano Viscounty .

Nothing really happened on the way .

Well, it’s not like we’d do business on the way, and things like bandits or monsters are rarely appears on the main road . And there’s no one reckless enough to attack carriages with the flag of Bozes County and the flag of Yamano Viscounty (commonly known as the Himemiko flag) on them .

Well, there were a few Gokiburi (Cockroaches), I mean, goblins, but the escorts cleaned them up with no problem .

…In other words, it is safe to say that [nothing had happened] .

If everyone passing the main road is attacked all the time, no one would want to run a carriage because the risk and loss would be too big…

Anyway, I got off the carriage and then unloaded the cargo Beatrice-chan had personally bought . And the vacant space will be loaded with seafood that the merchants will buy from the stores in the Viscounty after this .

Since we’re adjacent to Bozes County, the types of seafood we catch are almost the same, but we’re better at processing them . Our catch amount is also higher because we use Japan-made fishing gears and the ones we made by imitating those .

That’s why there’s almost no other fishing village can beat our original production method with the Japanese way added, which has a big difference in technology and the know-how to make products like smoked products, sun-dried products, overnight-products, etc . Even if it says dried fish, it’s not just completely dried, after all .

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…by the way, except for the wholly parched ones, even though it’s dried fish, it can’t be kept for a long time . There’s no refrigerator, after all .

In addition, we have processed seaweed, shellfish, and various other products that popular as snacks that go well with alcohol .

…those who imitating us have already appeared in the fishing villages in Bozes County, but they haven’t caught up with the quality of our products yet . Sooner or later, they would be able to catch up, though…

But, as expected of the merchants of the Bozes County, they sure are sharp . They would never miss an opportunity to earn even one copper coin, I see…

The merchandise that Beatrice-chan bought were unloaded to be sold in our territory, but Beatrice-chan herself didn’t get off and went straight to the Bozes County with the transport corps .

She has to report the trip to the Count after all…

Well, I’m sure she’ll be back here soon, though .

But if she returns here too early, I’ll get complaints from Count-sama and Iris-sama . Needless to say why… she has to stay with the Bozes family for at least two weeks .

…but what should I do…

Sabine-chan’s wish .

Colette-chan’s wish .

And Beatrice-chan’s wish .

Yeah, I’m talking about whether I should tell Beatrice-chan everything and invite her to [this side] or not .

The advantages are…

Sabine-chan and Colette-chan would be happy . Of course, Beatrice-chan too… and me too .

And my handy pieces would be increased .

Well, even now, she has been useful in trade relations, but if I do that, I would be able to entrust even more things to her .

And I would be able to use her as a messenger, vanguard, trump card, weakness … well, she would be useful in various ways against Count Bozes and Iris-sama .

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And the disadvantages are…

I would feel sorry to all members of Bozes family because Beatrice-chan would be separated even further from them . Beatrice-chan is their only daughter, after all…

Even now, they sometimes complain and whine to me about it, and if it escalates even more, then…

And there’s the undeniable possibility that information about me will be transmitted to Count Bozes, either inadvertently or purposely for the benefit of the Bozes family .

No matter how close she is to me, it would be too light when weighed against her parents, siblings, the folks, and the royal family in a balance . … I’m not talking about bodyweight!!

Beatrice-chan is, undeniably, a daughter of a noble family . She properly understands her obligations .

In that respect, Sabine-chan is the same, but well, in her case, her relationship with me went on steadily before she could think about loss and benefit, after all…

Besides, Sabine-chan is a little different from ordinary aristocratic children .

Somehow, I feel like she would abandon her country with no problem if it’s for me…

No, as expected, she wouldn’t sell or betray the country, but it seems like she would easily leave the country and say [I will follow Mitsuha-neesama!]…

Sabine-chan’s love is heavy!!

Anyway, those goods were purchased with her personal expenses . She used all of her allowances that she had saved up until now .

Yes, this is Beatrice-chan debut in commercial activity, not as a representative of Bozes County, but with her own investment .

The profit from this, of course, will be Beatrice-chan’s personal profit, separate from the Bozes family’s .

And she knew it would be more profitable to sell the goods in our territory rather than in the Bozes territory where the merchants bring in a lot of cargo . Also, she intends to bite into our sales route with this deal .

How shrewd…

I raised that girl!

…she grew up a little too much .

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Especially her chest .

Damn it!

However, even if it’s just a child’s saving, it is still [the whole fortune of a child of a noble family]; on top of that, she secretly sold some of her accessories, which is a reasonable amount in total if seen from the commoners’ point of views . It’s much more than the initial seed money when a salaryman debuts in stocks and futures trading in Japan .

…you shouldn’t bet on leverage, Beatrice-chan…

Nobody comes out even when I approach the door of the mansion .

They should’ve known that I’m back from the noise of the carriage and the whinnies of the horses . Normally, Colette-chan would’ve jumped out right away . Of course, the other servants would also be welcoming me .

…so that means​…

“ “ “ “ “ “Welcome, home!” “ “ “ “ “

Yeah, of course, they’re waiting inside…

Colette-chan walked up to me with a serious face . Then, she corrected her posture right in front of me and gave me a sharp salute .

“Reporting in! There’s no particular event! Personnel; Equipment; no abnormalities!” (Colette-chan)

“Good work!” (Mitsuha)

“You have command!” (Colette-chan)

“I have command!” (Mitsuha)

“Mitsuha, welcome home!” (Colette-chan)

As soon as she finished the ceremony, Colette-chan jumped at me and said so .

Yeah, this trip took quite a long time, after all . I wonder when the last time we spend almost a month without meeting with each other at all…

Perhaps she wanted to jump out of the mansion and go after me, but she managed to put up with it until I formally retook the command . You did a great job, Colette-chan!!

Ah, [You have] and [I have] is the dialogue that considered obligatory when the pilot transfer the control of the plane to the co-pilot or vice versa . [You have control!] indicates that the control has been transferred, and [I have control!] suggests that the transfer has been confirmed . It is a procedure that I arbitrarily established . (Note:Anime example< YT link)

…why did I used such a dialogue, you ask?

Of course, [Because it’s cool]!!

Look, all the servants are looking at Colette-chan and me with an impressed look on their faces!! Small things like that can raise their respect towards me .

And at the same time, the idea that [Colette-chan is the chief vassal of the Yamano Viscounty right next to me] could be naturally instilled into everyone’s mind .

Right, Colette-chan is the number 2 in the Yamano Viscounty who’d be taking care of the territory during my absence, after all!

Miriam-san, Wilhelm-san, and the butler Anton-san are just staff, not a commander or vice-commander . The one that could be entrusted with the Yamano Viscounty when I’m absent is Colette-chan . My precious friend, who will never betray me .

Besides, without the knowledge of the Earth, the existence of the Wolf Fang, and the existence of the emergency weapon and ammunition hidden in the mansion, there’s no way they could make the right decision, whether to put up a defense and wait for my return or to surrender .

So, even if Wilhelm-san is responsible for making the tactical decision and Miriam-san is accountable for making the policy decision, the one who can make the strategic decision and the final decision that would determine the fate of the Yamano Viscounty during my absence is still Colette-chan .

Including some of the authority to open the hidden armory…

Oh, I wonder if I should adopt Colette-chan .

That way, Colette-chan could succeed the Yamano Viscount family in case of an emergency .

Picking a little girl (read: loli) as an adopted daughter… (Note: It’s a wordplay, little girl = youjo, adopted daughter = youjo)

… Yeah, that might be good … .

In the future, I could become a vamp… (Note: vamp (or enchantress) = youjo . Look here forevery possible meaning of youjo)