Greatest Alchemist? Chapter 404

Learning from the Queen

As we watched the carriage run away, Queen Fraal spoke to us.

「What, was that person your acquaintance, Iruma-dono?」
「No, he was picking a fight.」
「What!? What a fool he is for starting a fight with Iruma-dono.」
「It’s Count Sechnal, Your Majesty. A vested noble without any territory, but he trades extensively, even transacting with our country, even if slight. His reputation though…… He is infamous for being one of the two foolish nobles in Samandour Kingdom alongside Count Vautarc.」

I don’t know who that Count Vautarc is, but if Ryuka-san puts him side by side with Count Sechnal, he was probably not the definition of a decent person.

「Instead of standing around talking here, why don’t we head to the hotel we’re staying in? Have you decided on an inn yet?」
「No, we thought of searching for one after this.」
「If so, we’re only using two reserved rooms . We rented two floors, so you may use as many rooms as you want as well.」

Queen Fraal invited us to their hotel, and Ryuka-san offered the rooms that they had reserved in Accuros.
When I talked about it with Sophia and Akane, it was decided we would accept their generosity, we and their escorting knights headed to the hotel in our carriage.

Queen Fraal and Ryuka-san were surprised by the relaxing space inside the space expanded interior of the carriage, and were impressed by the minimal shaking of the carriage that already began moving. Now that I think about it, they’ve never had a turn in the carriage.

「……it’s amazing, Ryuka. I want this carriage in our country too.」
「Your Majesty, this is the carriage of the Dragon Horse which is Iruma-dono’s familiar. It would be difficult to have an identical carriage.」
「Hmph, certainly it would be impossible for an Earth Dragon to pull the carriage, wouldn’t it?」
「I can build it if the size is reduced. Though, if you contact Valkyra Kingdom, well, it would probably be fine.」
「I see, how about if we order a carriage which could be pulled by two Raptors.」
「Your Majesty, please hold off until we have a meeting when we return.」
「Mu…………」

Told off by Ryuka-san that it would be unreasonable to decide on it immediately because of the country’s budget, Queen Fraal puffed her cheeks in a pout, but it felt out of place as she was a sexy onee-san type.

The hotel that a ruler of a country in the Demon Continent, despite its small size, was staying at was truly a splendid hotel.
The two floors that Queen Fraal had rented included the lodging of their escorts and attendants, but there were, of course, still a surplus of rooms, so we borrowed two rooms.

Once we had settled into the room, Queen Fraal and Ryuka-san had come to visit without their escorts and attendants in tow. The entire hotel was guarded, so it would have been fine even without the escorts.
More than anything, Queen Fraal, a ruler in one of the countries in the Demon Continent where the strong becomes “King”, was more than enough of a force by her own right.

「Thank you for what you did a while ago.」
「Not at all, we would continue to trade with you from here on as well, Iruma-dono.」
「Indeed. A dispute with Earl Sechnal is a misfortune. It’s rare to find noblemen as foolish as him, so I think it would be fine.

We chatted idly with Queen Fraal while sipping the tea Maria brewed.

「This country is a bit weird. Is it because the King is weak, or is it because the nobles and merchants are strong?」
「Indeed. It’s unbelievable for the countries in the Demon Continent where power is everything.」
「Heh~, But it still worked out well, didn’t it?」

A feudal system where the king’s influence is weak…… I’d have to say that’s closer to capitalism. Isn’t it? It felt like a twisted feudal system.

Samandour Kingdom is a country that prospered through trade. This was evident from the fact that they sold supplies to both sides during the the Trination – Triaria War.

「However, there has been a shadow looming over Samandour Kingdom’s trade, which in turn caused Earl Sechnal and Earl Vautarc to be more unbecomingly impatient and irritable.」
「Your Majesty, those two have always been mad scum.」

That sounds terrible. When I listened to it like a person unrelated to it, Queen Fraal said that I wasn’t unrelated.

「The decline of Samandour Kingdom was because of the consequences of their actions, but you had been a large influence too, Iruma-dono.」
「Eh? Is that so?」
「Takumi-sama, the current Samandour Kingdom buys plently of things from Valkyra Kingdom and Lomaria Kingdom, but they have practically not been selling anything.」

According to Sophia, during the war with Triaria Kingdom, skirmishes included, they profited from large sales of goods such as armor and magic devices from Gnomstoll Kingdom, as well as food. Among them, salt was the chief commodity, taking advantage of the fact that other countries could practically not make it to increase the price.

However, Triaria Kingdom lost the war and was no longer capable of invasions. Moreover, the Divine Empire of Sydnia which purchased large quantities of luxury products had collapsed. Valkyra Kingdom and Lomaria Kingdom ceased war for the time being, so Samandour Kingdom was unable to export munitions.

「Ah, the salt made in the Sanctuary is being sold in Valkyra Kingdom, Lomaria Kingdom, and Yggurle Kingdom, right?」
「Yes. For the cheap, high quality salt sold in large quantities to appear on the market, Samandour’s expensive, low quality salt had to be removed.
「……because of me?」

I don’t know if that foolish noble knew about me, but I seem to be the reason for his irritation.

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