Interlude: Information Exchange

Vonodoru had come to Golen, meaning to pay his respects to Kehma-dono, the lord who now governed this region. But at the Beddhism church he stopped by beforehand, he ran into a face he hadn't expected… or rather, one that wasn't all that unexpected after all.

"Ohh, Vonodoru-dono! It's been a while!"

"Sora-dono. It has indeed been a while."

The lord of Pavera, and father of Cid, chief of Draco Village. Sora Pavera.

A boisterous man, like a pirate. And in fact a lord descended from pirates.

"Excuse me, but I must ask you to keep quiet in the church."

"Oops. My apologies, Sister-dono… looks like I've been scolded, hahaha."

"You mustn't disturb people's prayers in a Beddhism church. Let's step outside; your voice is far too loud in here, Sora-dono."

Taking Sora Pavera with him, he headed out of the church.

A good spot for talking… which was why they made their way to the dining hall of the [Dancing Doll's Pavilion]. For a matter of the highest confidentiality it wouldn't do, but for idle chatter it was just right.

If anything, it wouldn't hurt for word about the Margrave to get around a little. Still, just in case, he made use of an anti-eavesdropping magic tool as well.

"So, Sora-dono… is it about the Margrave, after all?"

"Indeed. There was an official notice, and I felt I must pay my respects, so I hurried over. He wasn't in, though."

"Ah, he's away? I wonder if Kehma-dono is at the Imperial Capital."

"Most likely. A letter would be faster, after all."

As for confidentiality… a notice had already reached Vonodoru and the others, so the topic hardly qualified as secret.

Now, a discussion aimed at rebellion would have been another matter, but neither of them seemed to have any such inclination.

"Come to think of it, I believe a letter went out asking Pavera's stance on the matter."

"Oh, I thought I'd answer that in person too. Naturally, we intend to submit to the Margrave."

"…And the old-timers, did they fall quietly into line?"

"If anything, the old-timers were the more enthusiastic ones."

It was the exact opposite of Tsuia's reaction, and the surprise made Vonodoru blink.

"What's brought this on?"

"The Dyne Trading Company. The Margrave is its backer. We show respect to those who earn great fortunes. …And faced with a triumph like the Karisoto District, no fool would say no."

"I see. A merchant's way of thinking."

That more or less branded the Tsuia old fossils who'd pushed back as a pack of fools, but Vonodoru thought the same, so he had no particular objection.

If anything, he was rather envious.

The karaage he'd ordered arrived, and he nibbled at it as they carried on.

"So, I've been wondering what to give as an appointment gift. Might I pick the Pavera family's brains, seeing as you're merchants?"

"Oh, by all means. Since he's the founder of Beddhism, wouldn't something bedding-related be the thing?"

"The finest bedding you can get around here is the Ofuton used in this very inn."

"Dungeon-made, straight from this place. But bedding isn't only beds, sheets, and blankets. Take lamps, for instance."

Lamps? Vonodoru tilted his head for a moment before it dawned on him.

"I see. Something like a night-light magic tool."

"Indeed. With a few of them, you could switch between them to suit your mood. A light at your bedside that you can snuff out at once is quite the convenience."

"…By the way, have you ever stayed at this inn?"

"I haven't. What, is it impressive?"

"Every room has a lighting magic tool. And they turn up from this place's dungeon fairly often, too."

"…So they've no shortage of those, either. Well, I suppose that's only natural. …Mm. Better to go with an artistic angle, then."

Treating the lighting magic tool out of the dungeon as mere raw material and using something like a cover to dress it up as a piece of high artistry seemed like a sound idea.

A lamp fitted with a shade studded with seashell shaved so thin the light shone through it would surely look splendid.

"That reminds me, Vonodoru-dono. I hear there's a master craftsman around here who makes marvelous stone statues. Might one commission a piece? It'd be a rush job, so I'd expect to pile on the gold coins."

"Ah… you mean Sotokari-shi. Best to steer clear. Just between us, that person's true identity turns out to be the Margrave's daughter."

Vonodoru knew this because the coloring of those stone statues was farmed out to the orphanage through orders placed with his own daughter, Maiodoru.

"You don't say. Now that you mention it, the names do sound alike. …By the way, I hear there's a clothier named Karini who does groundbreaking designs."

"Mm."

"And that there's a dining establishment run by a mystery noblewoman called Risotto-jou."

"Mm."

"And a young genius magic-tool artificer known as Nisoto."

"Mm."

"And there's a ruler of the red-light district called Sotti…"

"Mm."

"I see. So this is the sort of thing that explains why bloodlines are held in such esteem."

There's a proverb that goes, "a wyvern gave birth to a dragon," but in this case it was more a matter of a dragon giving birth to a dragon. Reasonable, and no mystery at all. And this parent-and-child pair of dragons had to be hydras, the both of them, no question.

The next generation of Golen was secure, too. For Vonodoru and the others, who would soon fall under its wing, that was cause for celebration.

"To keep our main gifts from overlapping, let me ask: what does the Pavera family intend to give?"

"A ship. We're to govern Pavera, sea and all, so it only stands to reason we should own a ship or two, no?"

"Ah, that's a fine idea. Say, how about I chip in and we give it jointly—"

"Hahaha, too bad. This gift is the Pavera family's alone."

Flatly refused, Vonodoru clicked his tongue. Tch.

"For Tsuia it would be farmland… but the land is the Margrave's territory to begin with, so that's out before we even start, and gifting farm tools would miss the mark too."

"How about a carriage? A means of transport, same as the ship."

"It'd pale far too much beside a ship. Then again, a carriage is a consumable, and a Margrave can never have too many, so perhaps I'll put five or so on the list. …Come to think of it, the new-model carriage made by the magic-tool artificer Nisoto is quite comfortable."

"What, that much?"

"'A piece that makes every carriage before it a thing of the past,' so goes the sales pitch. …And in fact they even sell carriages that need no horse at all."

"…You mean having slaves pull it? I've heard that in Wakoku there's a thing called a rickshaw."

"It's pulled by a magic tool made in the likeness of a horse. It isn't as clever as a horse, so the driver can't doze off, but it takes less looking after and doesn't flinch at monsters. Oh, and I hear Kehma-dono had a golem pull his…"

After that, their exchange of information about the new Margrave and their talk of gifts carried on apace.