Magic Gems Gourmet

Chapter 17: Stock up transactions and Ain’s abilities.

“Like I said, the problem with the Sea Crystals has already been solved. “

Olivia denied everyone’s worry regarding the future supply of Sea Crystals and suggested that it wasn’t really a problem.

“Forgive me if I may sound rude Princess, but if this could’ve been solved as easily as you put it, then you wouldn’t have needed to marry into Heim in the first place.”

Warren replied slightly doubtful.

After all, this had been a considerable problem that it had required the princess to marry into a country like Heim.

But according to Olivia, the issue was already solved.

“That was a very painful decision for us. We couldn’t go against the vows of non-aggression the founding King did. Resulting in you, Princess, to marry into Heim in order to gain access to the Sea Crystals……”

Ishtalika didn’t allow acts of aggression against the continent.

This was because the Founding King, the one who united the people across the continent of Isthar, decided on this policy the moment he was coronated as the first King.

Except for when a crisis was imminent, waging for any political or economical reason was not allowed.

Trade sanctions could be considered as a measure during political disputes, however, the trade with Heim was negligible in the first place.

For this reason, the most they would do as a retaliatory measure was usually ceasing of diplomatic relations.

These were the main reasons for Ishtalika not forcibly taking the Sea Crystals and instead made a legitimate deal without any use of force.

“To be honest, I have a little grudge against the research team that looked for Sea Crystals…… and you who ordered it, Father.”

“I know you do; and I can’t blame you for resenting me.”

“Ara, do you think that’s why I’m angry? “

“……I was the one who gave you away as a bride. But that wasn’t what I had wanted to do.”

Olivia complained a bit, but the source of her complaints seemed to be about something different than what Silvird was thinking.

“Now, will you please tell me? I won’t be able to apologize as King. But as a father, I need to apologize to you.”

“Is that so? Then let me tell you my grudge…… I thought that our country, Ishtalika, had developed our technology by leaps and bounds compared to other countries. I thought the researchers were amazing when they came back and had discovered a huge amount of Sea Crystals.”

“Certainly, they did a great job.”

“Yeah, but only if they hadn’t been satisfied with just that.”

“Princess, what do you mean?”

Chris wondered what Olivia was talking about.

Somehow, it seemed the flow of the story was changing.

“The Roundharts gave me quite a lot of freedom. With that, I was able to use part of the tax revenue from the Earl’s house somewhat for my own research. This is why I was able to discover something.”

“Is that somehow connected to the topic of the Sea Crystals? “

“We should’ve have questioned that they were only found near Heim. I was able to find them in the Dukedom of Euro, located northwest of Heim, as well……”

“Princess, is that true!? “

Lloyd’s surprise was easily comprehensible.

Sea Crystals, which were supposed to be quite precious, were usually not found all over the place and finding new mining sites was quite rare.

“(When did Mother lead those investigations? )”

“However, Princess, how did you find out about that? For a proper investigation of that scale, you need to dive deep to the ocean bed. I was never notified of a dispatch of Ishtalika’s research team.”

“Indeed, I did not use the research team. What I used…… what I requested was the help of the continent’s guild, the Adventurers Guild.”

“You made a request through the adventurers? Olivia, then, that means……”

“Well, that would’ve taken several years. After all, I would have to request for adventurers who were fine diving into the deep sea. But in terms of costs, this was beyond what I could do with the freedom granted to me.”

Ever since Olivia married into the Roundhart family, she, slowly but steadily, investigated about Sea Crystals.

She investigated this because finding a new source of Sea Crystals would be in the end better for Ishtalika. This proved to be quite useful for this time’s situation, but at the time this was not her goal.

“I’m getting tired of talking about this so let me put it in simple terms. Ishtalika’s research team only investigated the nearby waters. They didn’t investigate hidden coves, neither did they include the local people and their stories.”

“C-coves……?! But the monster bones shouldn’t accumulate in a cove……”

“Mother, could it be that you found them by digging the sand on the cove?”

“Fufu……That’s right, Ain. I knew you were a smart child.”

“The Dukedom of Euro is a region with many wind-related disasters. This being the case, the waves should also be stronger……I only thought along these lines.”

Normally, the coves were peaceful places, but the bays in the Dukedom of Euro were quite different.

Their rocky cliffs were very sturdy, and quite hard to erode.

Still, the strong waves would eventually manage to erode them, given enough time, creating hidden coves.

As a result, the sediments on the seabed gradually moved, being transported by the ocean currents and were being swept away by the strong waves, and like this, the Sea Crystals accumulated in the coves of Euro.

“It’s as Ain explained. The Sea Crystals were carried to the coves due to the waves created by the particular climate of Euro.”

“……So, do you want me to make a deal with Euro now, Olivia?”

“Now you’re just being silly, Father. I won’t be someone’s wife any longer. The talks about a deal with Euro have already progressed up to a certain point.”

“……What do you mean by that, Princess?”

Just as everyone had a blank expression in response to Olivia’s words, Warren was the first one to recover and inquired further.

“Yes, here. This is the reason why I said 『The problem with the Sea Crystals has already been solved』.”

As she spoke those words out loud, Olivia revealed two message birds.

Just like the one Olivia used when she returned home, a message bird was not a real bird but a disposable contact device that could be used when both the receiver and the sender had one such device.

It worked by dividing a magic stone into two using a special processing technique, and maintaining a connection between the two.

Since this was a one-way communication tool, two message birds were needed. One for receiving a message and one for answering.

Olivia really wanted to have message birds worth at least two rounds, but since the distance between Ishtalika and Euro was quite large, the cost of the message birds had also been extremely high.

These two message birds were ones Olivia was able to prepare using her funds provided by the tax revenue from the Roundhart territory, juggling her expenses.

“This looks like a message bird, right Warren?”

“Yes, without a doubt Your Majesty. Princess…… Can it be that the reason why this problem has already been solved is……”

“Ahh…… the Princess has always been smart, and when it comes to negotiations, even His Majesty would sometimes be defeated by her……no way.”

Martha said in a surprised voice after seeing Olivia’s message birds.

Warren seemed to have expected it, and Martha also somewhat understood.

“I had to go through a number of people from the Commerce Guild and the Adventurers Guild. However, I couldn’t seal the deal since I was just the lady of house Roundhart. Along with these message birds I’ll also give you this document. It contains Euro’s price for the expenditures regarding labor cost and their selling price for the mined Crystals.”

Taking out a piece of paper, Olivia handed it over, alongside the two message birds to Prime Minister Warren.

“Hahaha……You’ve always been a girl who could anticipate the future, Princess. But who would’ve thought you would be able to prepare the negotiations alone up to this point?”

“Since this was a resource that wasn’t worth much in Euro, I tried bringing down the price to a certain extent in the negotiations. Well, this was all I could do as an intermediary.”

Silvird, Warren, Lloyd and the others couldn’t hide their surprise at Olivia’s words.

“Princess. What did you do for them to recognize you as a potential trading partner?”

“I moved forward with the guise of a new company. I told them we wanted to use the minerals for the development of new products.”

“……The price per unit for the Sea Crystals is reasonable, it seems you brought it down a decent amount. Even if the labor costs are included, it’s still more than enough to call this an achievement in and of itself. The projected amount should be enough to cover us for a while.”

Warren, after finishing to read the document, expressed his opinion to Silvird. There appeared to be no issue and it looked like Ishtalika would be able to proceed with the deal without any issues.

“But that said, how shall we proceed from now on? With these conditions, the deal seemed to be progressing well. So, it looks like there wouldn’t be any problems revealing ourselves as Ishtalika.”

“Sorry…… I have no idea what to say.”

“You’re not alone Your Majesty. I’m the same.”

Martha joined Silvird in having a tired expression.

“I’m tired of talking about this already. Father, can I leave the rest of the deal to you?”

“With things progressing this smoothly, it seems there was no point in sending Olivia over to become a bride.”

“I’ll just write it off as even since I got my cute Ain.”

“……I see.”

For Olivia, having the child named Ain had already erased all the hardships that she had experienced in the other country. Everyone had been surprised that Olivia had come back, but in the end, they were relieved that everything seemed like it would work out.

It seems Mother was the most overpowered person here.

“Ain, I’m sorry, we’ve been talking for a long time, were you bored? “

“No, there’s no way that’s the case. After all, I felt as if all my questions had been answered at once.”

“That’s great then.”

About one hour later, everyone’s questions seemed to be answered?

In the end, my mother showed she was a bit more of a cheat than I thought.

“Martha, can you prepare some tea for us?”

“As you wish.”

“I’ll help you too. Your Majesty, Princess, please excuse me.”

His Majesty asked Martha to go prepare some tea, and Chris followed to help her with her task.

Certainly, my throat felt a little dry.

“Seriously, it seems that every child is loved by conflict in one way or the other.”

“That seems to be the case, Your Majesty.”

“That certainly appears to be the case for you. ……Your Majesty, may I ask you one question? “

“What is it?”

Seemingly having a question on his mind, Warren asked the King.

“It might be impolite to ask, but I can’t bear to not know. Why did the Roundharts disinherit you, Ain-sama?”

“……My skill was the cause, Warren-san.”

“Huh? Your skill……you say? “

Lloyd-san looked at me with a puzzled face.

“Forgive my continued inquiry, Ain-sama, but was it really just your skill? “

“Yes. My skill wasn’t acknowledged by either my father, who’s a great general, or my grandmother, Isis or any member of the house, since House Roundhart is a military family. And then my little brother Grint was born with the Holy Knight skill.”

“Hmph……that’s a bit strange, isn’t it, Lloyd-dono?”

While Warren-san kept looking at me with a puzzled gaze he started talking to Lloyd-san.

“I somehow expected this of Heim…… But now I’m convinced that continent is lagging behind in many ways.”

“Uhmm, what do you mean, Lloyd-san?”

“Ain-sama. I am the Grand Marshal that oversees and commands Ishtalika’s knights. What skill do you think I was born with?”

Why would he ask me something like that? I’m sure it’s something like a Holy Knight.

Are you bragging? Please spare me.

“……Something like a Holy Knight, right?”

“Ptff……kukuku, Lloyd-dono born as a Holy Knight, you say……HAHAHAHA! “

“Hey Warren-dono, you don’t have to laugh……I don’t really talk much about it much, but the skill I was born with, is ‘Sewing’……”

Sewing? Sewing, like in, sewing clothes, that kind of sewing?

Was such a strong-looking man born with a skill like Sewing? Is this a joke?

“I’m a bit confused. Wouldn’t it have been better for you to make clothes then?”

“While I ended up doing this, you might be right. I don’t like to brag about my own efforts, but…… after continuously training to the point of vomiting blood, I eventually became one of the strongest people in Ishtalika’s Knight Order.”

Lloyd-san said he was one of the strongest.

His expression, showing an extremely proud face, was so cool that even I felt a bit envious.

“This wasn’t easily done but as I kept trying, someone like me, who wouldn’t normally be suited for being something like a knight…… I eventually reached the top of the Knight Order.”

“Ain, I acknowledge Lloyd’s strength and efforts.”

I see, if His Majesty says so, it must be true.

“It should be fine to show him your sewing technique sometime.”

“Nu! “

“……So, here you have an example of someone working their way to the top through sheer effort. Let me be clear with you. In the history of the Knight Order of Ishtalika, there have been many people who have reached the position of Grand Marshal through their own efforts and not their skills. I don’t think you would be able to do the same with the Knights of Heim. If you think about it, there shouldn’t be any reason why it couldn’t be done in Heim as well.”

Warren-san sure likes to talk a lot.

I haven’t seen the strength of the people in Ishtalika.

However, looking at their technical capabilities, there might be a considerable number of talented people.

“Umu. Ain-sama, this is why we were wondering about them disinheriting you just for a lack of an inherent combat skill.”

“I too didn’t think it would be this bad until I went there, but in Heim, people are greatly segregated at birth. They never really give much thought to the subsequent growth through hard work.”

“What a waste……what are your thoughts on the matter, Lloyd-dono?”

“Since they have to purely rely on luck at their birth, there might be a lack of training or educational skills.”

I thought that the skills you were born with were important in Ishtalika, but seeing0 that there were those who reached considerably high positions with their own efforts made me feel a bit relieved.

This made me feel like this was the place where I was always meant to be.

I’ll ask Lloyd-san to show me his Sewing skill later.

“I’m sorry to have kept you waiting. I’ve brought some hot tea.”

While my head was busy with the implications of our conversation, Martha-san and Chris-san returned.

“Well then, shall we go to the backroom? Ain, there’s a room behind this one where you can take a break. Let’s continue our talk over there.”

“As you wish, Your Majesty.”

“Your Majesty, huh?…… well, we can leave that for later.”

＊

We were led to the back of the throne by His Majesty……A large cloth hung there, or rather, a luxurious item exquisitely embroidered with gold thread.

Hidden behind that cloth was a door and past that door was a large room with several large sofas inside.

“Everyone, please have a seat. We’ll serve your tea now.”

“Here you go Princess, Ain-sama.”

While Martha-san handed out tea, Mother and I were guided by Chris and sat down on a sofa nearby.

I wasn’t able to take a long break after the meal, so I’m glad to be able to sit down.

Drinking some of that tea, that was handed to me, calmed me down quite a bit.

“Haaa. This is a really nice tea, Martha-dono. Well then, Ain-sama……If it’s alright with you, is it possible to show us your status card? “

Warren-san asked me to show them my status, but I’m not sure if it’s alright to show it this easily.

For now, let’s send a glance to Mother.

“It’s okay to show it to them, Ain. There’s nothing to be ashamed of in it.”

“Alright. Then, let’s see……”

I took out my status card from my chest pocket.

I feel like I haven’t seen it in forever……But, there’s no way my status have increased.

Ain

[Job]　Houseless Child

[Level]　9

[Stamina]　235 =>180UP

[Magic]　341 =>300UP

[Attack]　74 =>52UP

[Defense]　40 =>19UP

[Agility]　95 =>70UP

[Skills] Toxin Decomposition EX, Absorb, Auto HP Recover, Gift of Training.

I couldn’t help but wanting to retort.

I don’t know when my level increased, and it sort of feels like my status growth is quite strange.

Also, what’s Absorb? When did I learn that?

I don’t know what the deal is with all this, but I can’t help but feel overwhelmed.

“M-Mother……”

“It’s alright, Ain, there’s nothing to worry about.”

“No, it’s something else I’m worrying about, can you look at this first?”

And so, I handed my status card over to Mother.

” ! ? Ara……? I wonder what happened here……?”

Well, it’s to be expected, it’s a mysterious phenomenon that’s too much, even for my Mother.

“What’s wrong, Princess?”

Ahh, this is a bother and Chris-san might’ve already noticed it, so let’s just show it to everyone.

“I don’t know how this happened, but my stats have grown quite rapidly. However I don’t know the cause, so I’ll just show it to you for now.”

Saying that, I placed my status card in the middle of the table.

“What do you mean by rapid growth……HOOO?”

“For a five years old, this is……moving in the direction of a Battle Mage, one who’s good as a vanguard.”

“Let me see! “

The three men approached to see my status card.

The first two people seemed to be surprised, and were most likely already thinking about which direction to take for my further education.

But I wonder what kind of job is this Battle Mage, Lloyd-san spoke of.

“Fumu, these are not bad stats at all. It’s a waste that they decided to disinherit you……This is……!”

The King seemed to be surprised, ahh, did he see it?

He probably saw my Toxin Decomposition EX, right? I already know it’s a failure of a skill, so please don’t be too surprised.

“Warren, Lloyd! Look at this.”

“You mean the skill, Your Majesty? ……Oh my. Hoho, this is rather……”

“……We should be grateful to the Roundharts, Your Majesty. If things had gone poorly, this could have ended up as a huge ‘issue’.”

Following Warren-san, Lloyd-san looked at my status.

Please stop, this might be a trash skill, but it’s not something worth getting into a fight with the Roundhart family over, right?

“Olivia. Could it be that you thought this far?”

“Even in Ishtalika, there shouldn’t be a single person who can use it, so that’s why my Ain is such a great boy.”

I don’t really get it, but thank you, Mother.

“……So, it’s such a skill, after all.”

Chris-san nodded convinced after looking at my status card.

Saying ‘It’s such a skill after all’, please stop it, because it hurts.

“Hey, Warren. Before anything else, there are some documents that need to be prepared, you understand? “

“Of course. I’ll start on those as soon as the conversation is finished.”

“Lloyd, check the level of security in the castle. Raise it as you see fit.”

“Right away, Your Majesty.”

Aren’t they overreacting a little too much?

I’m somehow getting scared……

And what are these documents that they need to prepare?

“Martha and Chris. I think you should already know this, but treat this as confidential.”

“As you wish.”

“Yes.”

“M-Mother, why the confidentiality?”

As expected, this is a bit too scary, so I turned around and asked Mother, please help me out here.

“Ain is an amazing boy, so it’s alright.”

“I don’t know what’s amazing about me, but…… Okay.”

“……Excuse me. Ain-sama, how much do you know about your skill? “

“About which one? If it’s Toxin Decomposition, well…… I do know a little bit.”

“No, it seems you don’t understand it at all! “

Whoaa, Warren-san suddenly raised his voice, taking me by surprise.

It feels like he’s about to take a bite out of me.

“We’re honestly grateful towards the Roundhart family. Who would’ve thought this could happen…… To disinherit a son whose ability could become so fearsome depending on how it’s used.”

“Ain-sama. Your skill might not be as incredible as you might want, but it isn’t as cheap of a skill as you might think. For now, don’t disclose it to anyone.”

Following Warren-san, Lloyd-san somehow praised me.

I wonder what the heck is going on?

“……certainly this isn’t a skill that improves one’s stat values but… Olivia……The Roundhart family, how should I say it…………are they stupid? How did they not know how to take advantage of this skill? Isn’t there a limit to how stupid one can be?”

“You can speak openly, Father. The people in that house couldn’t understand how great it was. To be honest, I was very surprised about that.”

“I suppose so. But even if the Roundhart’s are a warrior family, aren’t they being a bit too ignorant? “

They were being quite rude, speaking ill of the Roundhart family without end. I couldn’t say anything since they were speaking like it was as a matter of fact.

“…………When my mother-in-law, Isis-sama, learned of Ain’s skill, she said in a murmur: 『A failure』. That’s why I never gave them any explanation or advice on it. I didn’t feel like teaching them anything after showing an attitude like this.”

After hearing Mother’s words, the King and Warren-san, as well as Chris-san and the others held their head in their hand.

“Princess. Then, ever since he was born, you knew their treatment towards Ain-sama would be bad…… were you thinking about coming back to Ishtalika ever since then? Even with the Sea Crystal issue, don’t you think you were a bit too prepared?”

“Since I knew Ain wouldn’t be happy staying in that house, I probably could have taken steps to make Ain’s situation more ‘favorable’. But I just wanted Ain to be happy. Regarding the Sea Crystals, I was simply researching them in my free time, and at first, I did so thinking purely about Ishtalika. But I was glad that it could become useful for a time like this.”

Mother replied with a smile, as if she had successfully pulled off a prank.

“Seriously, the Princess is just……”

“Martha-dono. I’ve lost count of how many times we’ve sighed today.”

Both Martha-san and Chris-san were sighing.

“……Uhmm, you said it’s amazing, but I’d like you to tell what part exactly is so amazing…… If at all possible.”

“……Gohon. Let me explain, Ain-sama.

Warren-san cleared his throat, it seems he will be the one explaining it to me. Ohh, please do.

“‘Poisons do not work on you, Ain-sama. This, you understand, right? “

“Yes, that I know. But it’s only that they don’t kill me……”

Ahh, I made a Star Crystal the other day.

It seems it might be a valuable skill in that regard.

“Certainly. That is great on its own…… but I think Ain-sama’s Toxin Decomposition EX will probably even nullify diseases.”

“Diseases? “

“We still don’t know if it’s just what the body classifies as poison, or if it’s what you, Ain-sama recognize as poisonous. However, we believe most of the diseases and poisons can be broken down. With this, many people can be saved.”

“T-That’s…… true.”

“There are a number of poisons that cannot be detoxified. If we can detox them, the demand for such a skill will naturally occur.”

That never even crossed my mind.

Since it has EX attached, I don’t think there will be a poison that can’t be detoxified, and the same might be the case for diseases.

“Another example would be a place that can’t be entered without being cleansed…… A dangerous, difficult to enter place that holds valuable resources within. There are many such places in Ishtalika. Although there are some that might be a bit too dangerous to allow Olivia’s child to enter, there are many options available, like securing a mine, or something similar.”

“Hahahahaha! It sure helped us out that the Roundharts were fools, Warren-dono! “

“Indeed, it worked out for us that they were ‘big fools’, otherwise it might’ve ended up having a huge impact in their nation’s power balance.”

I feel a bit flustered since the skill I thought of as garbage, turned out completely different and I’m even receiving a lot of praise.

But even so…… not being able to realize its usefulness, I guess I was also a fool……

It’s a complicated feeling.

“Speaking of which, Mother…… Some sort of absorption skill has been added, do you know what it is?”

Since I started to feel a bit ashamed, I tried to change the subject.

“Ahh, about that, since you’ve grown up, your race skill has developed, Ain. It’s okay, there’s no problem with that. And about the Absorb skill, it’s something you should’ve been able to use for a long time now, but it just appeared recently on your status card.”

“R-Race? “

What is a race skill?

Are the humans in this world also able to use skills like Absorb?

I’m not sure I’ve used it before it was listed on the status card.

“Ain-sama, there are a few things I want to confirm about the Absorb skill. Is it alright if we talk about it? “

“S-Sure, what is it, Chris-san?”

After thinking about the Absorb skill and asking Mother, Chris seemed to have something to add, and spoke to me.

“I’m sorry, but could you hold this and imagine it as a drink?”

What Chris-san picked up was a small magic stone…… It was about the same size as the ones I saw at the street stall in the Roundhart port city.

Seems like Chris-san also had that bad habit of imagining the magic stone as a drink.

It was similar to the magic stone I saw before, and it also had a sweet smell.

Wasn’t the power of a magic stone poisonous? Well, I guess it’s harmless since Chris-san gave it to me.

“Sure, I don’t mind. But, isn’t it better to just lick it instead of imagining it? “

“Y-You’re licking it? The magic stone……? There should be no problem as long as you hold it in your hand, but if you place it inside your mouth……”

“Well, it’s sweet and delicious like a candy, these magic stones.”

……When I told them that it was like a candy, the air in the room came to a still.

“Princess. Could you explain this?”

“Hey, Ain? Licking magic stones is something dangerous…… I already told you about them before, right? “

I obediently decided to explain to my Mother.

“……It was at the street stall when I went together with you, Mother, at the port town and I was told about the magic stones. I reflected on my actions at the time. However, the magic stones gave off a sweet smell, so I licked one.”

“I see……I understand, I’m not angry, Ain. That’s why you don’t have to worry, I only wanted the truth.”

“I beg your pardon, Princess. Do you have any information about the magic stone sold at the port town?”

“Just that was a cheap magic stone of 500G, so it probably was from a Big Bee.”

If I remember correctly, a Big Bee is a large bee-like monster about 80cm in length.

It’s not too aggressive nor is it too strong, but they have a strong fertility and make big hives.

Therefore, they must be frequent targets of subjugation, and the magic stones obtained after such a subjugation would be sold at places like that street vendor.

Since the amount of those magic stones in the market is large, and they’re not particularly strong, they’re sold at a negligible price of 500G.

“I see. Actually, this is also the magic stone of a Big Bee…… how does this one smell, Ain-sama?”

She then took another magic stone out.

And then, she brought it to me.

“This one smells like Ripple1. Like Ripple with honey, and a sweet and sour smell of pulp! “

It smelled the same as Ripple Juice, making me swallow down my saliva.

“……So, this one smells like Ripple, huh? It’s from a weak monster similar to the Big Bee, I see, so it has that smell……?”

While I was excited about the smell of the magic stones, Chris looked like she realized something.

……I wonder if it’s going to be something bothersome?

“Ain-sama, I might be able to explain your rapid growth in stats.”

For real?