CH 342

“Now then, what I’m about to talk about is the robbers you captured.”

The king coughed and opened his mouth. It was clear that this was the case, but at the same time, I was wondering why he needed to tell us.

Capturing people is a job that even adventurers do, but after that, they become the administrator of the country, so we rarely get to hear how it ends or what happens afterwards. I stretched my back and listened to the rest of the story, wondering what I would hear.

“The results of the interrogation were that the people had left the country to earn money out of poverty. There were no problems with immigration procedures, but they didn’t make as much money as they thought they would, which is why they brought this case.”

“What kind of work did they usually do?”

“One of them was an adventurer and the other one was a carpenter. The pay itself was fine, but their personalities were not commendable, and they were treated as snobs by the people they worked with.”

Oh, so that’s why they called it an ‘uncomfortable royal capital’. Then Prince Orden interrupted him.

“Well, I heard that they had to send money back to their families and that life was hard for them. There’s a big difference between the rich and the poor in that country, so I guess they were poor.”

“I see …… I wonder if life was hard for Helena and the others when they came to the town of Gust?”

“I’ve never seen their father, and their mother was the only one at the entrance ceremony.”

“Fumu, that’s the idol kid, right? I don’t know much about it, but it’s a hard country for a mother and her child to live in, so they must have escaped.”

The king gave a guess as to what Makina and Urka were talking about. But I had something else on my mind, so I raised my hand and asked the king a question.

“If there is too much disparity, won’t more people run away? Wouldn’t that reduce the workforce and make the country unsustainable ……?”

“That’s a good question, Lars. I don’t know what’s going on now that the king has changed, but the poor are not completely without work. But the problem is that there are not many jobs. And it’s a country that still retains slavery, so it’s not hard to get cheap labor, which also adds to the poverty.”

The king let out a sigh and lowered his eyes, saying that it was difficult for him to say too much since it was another country.

He said that there are not many, but there are real problems like this one. It seems that they want to do something about it, so they talk about it, but it’s up to the country to make improvements, so if they don’t listen, that’s it.

“Well, that’s for us to figure out, sorry for the digression. Well, all we know about them is that they had nothing to do with the Gospel’s Descent.”

“Oh, so investigated it.”

“Just in case. I’ve been in the Gust territory, Glasco territory, and Oriola territory in quick succession, I’ll investigate anyone suspicious. There is one more thing I want to say about this. As you may know, criminals from other countries have to ask for their country’s ruling. It’s a hassle …… oh, no, that’s why if we need to testify in any way, we’ll need to cooperate with us.”

I think I saw the king’s true colors for a moment, but we nodded without saying anything. He seems to anticipate that something might happen, since he said he would send a messenger even after Urka returned to the Gust territory.

“Well, maybe it was just right to find out what kind of person the current king is, father.”

“That’s one way of looking at it ……. Well, that’s all I have to say. I’m sorry it’s not much to go on, but I just wanted to let you know what I found out.”

“Oh, come on, you just wanted to see Lars and the others, didn’t you? Well, I wanted to ask them about the dining room too, so I’m thankful.”

“Oh, us? That’s an intimidating thing for a mere adventurer to say. Not you, though, brother.”

“Lars is still good. I don’t have any title or anything like that ……”

“No, Makina, most people don’t have a title ……”

When I said that in astonishment, Sarge, who had been waiting on my shoulder in silence, opened his mouth. 

“Dragon ……!? Now that I think about it, I’ve heard from Basleigh that you’re living in the Irving household. Nice to meet you, Sarge. I welcome you.”

Yep, as I thought, Sarge is very smart …… and also polite. It’s not only because he has lived a long life, but also because he’s been in contact with royalty.

“Umm, I’m done talking. Do you have something to tell me from Sarge?”

“Oh, you mean the thing about the monsters’ garden. I was wondering when I should speak about it, so thank you for your help, Sarge. If I may, your majesty–“

I raised my hand and told him about the plans for the monsters’ garden …… We talked about the scale and purpose of the project, the site, and what we were thinking about. Basleigh-sensei came out of nowhere with a chalkboard, so I didn’t have to worry about explaining anything.

After listening to everything, the king put his hand on his chin, narrowed his eyes, and said.

“Fumu …… So you want to turn it into a facility where you can stop tamer activity and the monsters laziness and still collect money.”

“You’re still thinking of unexpected things, aren’t you …… but I think it’s interesting? That facility isn’t being used very well, so I was thinking of getting rid of it.”

Prince Orden scratched his cheek and chuckled, and we were shocked. It was a very close call. I don’t know if it’s immediate or not, but I’m relieved in my heart because it’s hard to overturn a decision after it’s been made to rescind it.

“Well, if that’s the case–“

And then the king clapped his hands and said a proposal to me.

I’m a little sick, so this is a short chapter ……

Thank you for reading!

[Afterword Theater]

“Are you going to die-!?”

Don’t say …… something …… like that ……