Emperor Kelves's Letter

Fortunately, Princess Tianis didn't foist any new work onto me.

It seemed she wanted me to focus on properly managing Luido for now.

With the Royal Capital in that state, if concerns arose about Luido's food production as well, the situation would become uncontrollable.

That was what she feared.

Come to think of it, I hadn't visited Luido since the attack on the Royal Capital.

They might be worried, so I should go check on things.

Though a bit late, I handed over the letter entrusted to me by Emperor Kelves.

I waited while drinking tea as Princess Tianis and Lady Anatia skimmed through it.

I wondered what was written in it.

After finishing reading, Princess Tianis tossed the letter onto the desk.

Her expression was somewhat clouded.

Lady Anatia was smiling, but she gave the impression of being somewhat troubled.

"Yohane. It seems the new Emperor has taken a liking to you. He's written that when diplomatic business arises, they should send you rather than noble diplomats."

"It might be more that the Kingdom's nobles are disliked."

"That's a problem in its own right, Anatia-neesama…"

"May I confirm?"

Princess Tianis waved her hand in a gesture suggesting I go ahead.

Normally someone of Yohane's standing would have difficulty even seeing such documents, but apparently it was fine in this setting.

I promptly picked it up to check.

The opening portion was written with greetings and expressions of gratitude for the coronation congratulations.

The overall tone felt condescending, which was surely intentional.

Even with non-aggression and friendship treaties in place, the difference in national power was clear.

I sensed an intent to make that distinction explicit.

From midway through, it was written that the previous diplomatic representative had been an unpleasant counterpart, with a warning that continued use of him would damage their friendship.

In contrast, it stated that Yohane had treated them well, and due to personal acquaintance with him, they could have constructive discussions.

It essentially said that if they wanted to continue diplomacy, they should leave it entirely to Yohane.

… How did it come to this when I'm neither a diplomat nor a noble?

There was no doubt that Emperor Kelves found me an easy person to deal with, but I'd never heard of another country's diplomat being specifically named like this.

"Isn't it because you stick your nose into everything?"

Alexia whispered from behind me.

I had intended it as after-sales service for customers.

But having gotten involved, it was difficult to refuse now.

Even so, the letter concluded by expressing hope that they could maintain their mutual friendship.

Regarding the magic stones, it was written that they were a gift to be used as I pleased.

It also said to give Yohane a share proportional to their appraisal.

Princess Tianis told me to take half. That was appreciated.

"I wonder if they're reading our minds. It feels like they've seen through the fact that we have no choice but to use you."

"What do you actually think of the new Emperor?"

"That person is quite sharp. And he's surrounded by capable people as well."

"I'm envious… Over here, even the capable ones are all consumed by ideology. Well, whatever. This incident should quiet the voices opposing your appointment. I'm counting on you to continue."

I was reminded that as an advisor, I should visit regularly, and that concluded our meeting for now.

At the end, I was given a magical communication device.

It was higher performance than the one Yohane owned, capable of two-way calls.

Apparently it would be used to summon me urgently.

Using messengers each time would be a waste of time, after all.

And Kanon was hospitalized as well.

I didn't really want to accept it, but there was no helping it.

After leaving Princess Tianis's room, I took a brief look around the Royal Capital.

Perhaps craftsmen had gathered, as it felt more populated than before.

At this rate, the merchant houses dealing in construction materials would be living easy for a while.

Using the portal, I returned to Kassad.

There was still work to be done, but nothing that needed immediate attention.

For now, what I needed was to refresh my body and mind.

I told everyone to take time off, then took a bath first and flopped onto the bed.

The bed in the Imperial Palace was top-quality and fluffy, but I still felt more at ease in my own home.

I surrendered to drowsiness and slept my fill.

Thanks to getting plenty of sleep, my head was clear.

Just as I was thinking that daily life had finally returned, I opened the ledger and was shocked.

The financial situation was quite tight.

No, we were definitely making profits.

The main store was generating stable profits, and Cat's Paw Inn, which I'd entrusted to Kazusa, was performing much better than expected.

The Luido-related agricultural products and processed goods were selling properly too.

The collaboration with the Imperial store was only now starting to show results, but soap and fragrances were consumables with popularity and solid demand.

Plus, we received royalties, so the risk was minimal.

So why were finances tight? Short-term funds were nearly depleted.

No matter how good business was, if we ran out of cash, we'd be done for.

The cause was the large expenditures recently and rising prices.

The renovation costs for Cat's Paw Inn were considerable despite being less than planned thanks to Kazusa's efforts.

The tax payment deadline was also approaching.

I'd honestly let my guard down since I'd earned quite a bit not long ago.

No matter how much money you have, a little ambitious spending and it's gone in no time.

But it was good that I noticed at this point.

The situation was tight, but still manageable.

I worked the abacus and calculated the exact amount needed.

Five hundred gold coins would be enough to get through this.

I had about two hundred gold coins on hand.

I was impressed at how the amounts I dealt with had grown without my noticing.

If I sold the magic stones, I'd probably reach it. Still, I wanted to focus on earning for a while.

So I organized my to-do list.

First priority was delivering the crown to Duke Baroba.

Next was finding a way to restore the Wind Elemental Stone that had lost its magic power.

Checking on Luido's situation.

And then a major expansion of the shop including my home.

This expansion would finally make use of all the land my father left behind.

I wanted to be able to handle two carriages, and I wanted more rooms.

This would probably have to be done with a loan.

Once we had a two-carriage operation, I could pay it back quickly.

It looked like the busy days would continue for a while.