At Simmons Harbor, the largest harbor in the kingdom, the trade ships from the Eastern Empire had docked and the members of the Rothschild Company were helping unload the cargo.
Joshua approached Prince Tasuku, who was disembarking the ship. “Prince Tasuku, it’s been far too long.”
“So it has, Joshua. I just took a look at the inventory you are sending to the Eastern Empire. Thank you for the additional food and silk.”
Even after defeating the owatas, the Eastern Empire still had more to deal with. Though there were no longer plant monsters on their farmland, their fields had been destroyed, so it would be difficult to grow anything right away. One had to look at the long game to restore their civilization, or it would only spell ruin. The Stewart family, who owned land along the border, understood that all too well, and used the Rothschild Company to regularly send food to the Eastern Empire. If this relationship carried on smoothly, then the kingdom and the Eastern Empire could even become regular international trade partners.
“Think nothing of it. You’re giving us something so precious, money can’t even buy it.” Joshua said as he walked alongside the Imperial Prince. There was no need to thank each other in a mutually beneficial trade.
Most of the imports from the Eastern Empire were magic stones. They were special stones that could amplify a mage’s magic or hold magic within them, but no known country had been able to excavate them in recent years. However, the Eastern Empire had plentiful veins still running through their country, and every vein yielded great numbers of stones. A country didn’t only need a mage to survive; it also needed magic stones to maintain the barrier.
“The Eastern Empire always repays its debts, and we are greatly indebted to the Stewart family.” It was a strict secret that the Eastern Empire was giving far more magic stones to the Rothschild Company than it was to the kingdom itself...and there was one other thing the Rothschild Company asked for from the Eastern Empire in return for keeping this information close to the chest.
“I must thank you for the large quantity of canned kitty food. The Stewart family cats will be overjoyed.” Joshua smiled wider than he had for the magic stones. After all, happy cats meant a happy Emma.
Once there was a lull in the conversation, a boy who had been standing behind Prince Tasuku presented a bug box to Joshua. “Um... I-I wanted to give this to Lady Emma...” The boy was one of the Taros who had studied western recipes under Melsa Stewart, Chijiwa Taro. He loved bugs just like Emma, so they got along very well. It was difficult for people in the kingdom to understand his name, so his nickname was Miguel. All four of the Taros who had stayed with the Stewart family could now speak the kingdom’s language (albeit very roughly), so they’d come along with Prince Tasuku as his aids on this trip.
Joshua’s face fell when he saw the bug box the boy was holding. “It’s been a while, Lord Miguel.” It would normally be unthinkable to give a young lady a bug box as a present (especially since it was likely holding bugs). Unfortunately, as much as Joshua hated to say it, Emma would absolutely adore it.
Even though it had only been for a short while, Miguel had cohabited (boarded) with his Lady Emma for a time and quickly grown closer to her through their love of bugs. Joshua felt threatened.
“This is a bell cricket. Their wings make a pretty sound. They’re from my country.”
“I thought it might be rude to give a lady bugs,” Prince Tasuku added, “but Miguel raised them himself. He wanted desperately to give them to her directly.”
“Directly?”
When Joshua asked for clarification, the prince’s face reddened slightly. “Yes...directly.”
“Well, unfortunately, Lady Emma is taking part in a school field trip and is not currently in the capital.”
I can’t let Prince Tasuku or Miguel meet Lady Emma here now. When did this happen?! When did Prince Tasuku fall for Lady Emma too?! It isn’t just Miguel. Prince Tasuku was acting odd before I even knew it!
“Field trip...? Is that so?” When Prince Tasuku heard he wouldn’t be able to meet with Emma, he glared at the area behind Joshua. Then one of the ninjas who’d stayed back in the kingdom, Momochi, and the boy Hugh appeared with a fwsh. The two of them hadn’t made themselves known, but they were tagging along with Joshua as his bodyguards.
“That’s right. Lady Emma’s staying in the Skyte region for school. Master Joshua wouldn’t lie to you, man.” His expression practically screamed, What’re you, dumb or somethin’?
“Hugh! Don’t be rude to Prince Tasuku!” Momochi chided the boy for his exasperated tone.
The ninjas were still staying at the Stewart house. While they had originally been studying the kingdom’s language to become better informants, before they knew it, they were making miso, soy sauce, and teaching Hugh all about the ninja arts.
“Oh...”
“That’s a shame...”
Both Prince Tasuku and Miguel were visibly disappointed to see that Joshua wasn’t just pulling their legs and they really wouldn’t be able to see Emma after all.
What the Stewarts had left in the Eastern Empire was still of use even though they were no longer present. The land that had been pockmarked by owata seeds had all been smoothed out by the cats. Citizens who had lost their homes were easily able to rebuild using the know-how the Stewarts gave them on reusing owata lumber. With their regular food shipments and their lessons on canning food as well as processing monsters for meat, the Stewart family truly had become the pillar that the Eastern Empire’s restoration rested upon.
And all of it had come from one little girl’s head. She was thirteen years old. Only thirteen years old. And she’d saved a nation. Why, nobody in the world could possibly be better suited to become the next empress.
“Prince Tasuku? I hope you’re not thinking anything untoward.” Joshua got a very bad feeling about the prince and went to put a stop to it. If this was going to keep happening, he almost wanted to hide Lady Emma away in Pallas, locked up where nobody could see her.
Almost.
He couldn’t possibly separate her from her family. After all, the worst thing anyone could do in this world was take Emma’s smile from her. Besides, Emma was beautiful no matter where she was. It was no exaggeration to say that no man alive could resist her angelic charms. Therefore, Joshua just had to become the greatest man among those men. He’d make it so not even the kingdom’s princes or the Eastern Empire’s princes or any of those other pests could even hold a candle to him.
“Heh.” Joshua psyched himself up and gave a most unsavory grin.
“Heh.” Prince Tasuku’s lips turned upward as if he were ready for war.
“Heh.” Even Miguel laughed. After all, even though he was at a clear disadvantage, he had a certain buff from being Emma’s bug buddy that could easily be built upon.
“Heh... Heh heh heh heh...” The three of them all laughed together.
“Yeesh, these guys are freaky...” Hugh muttered at the unsettling sight.
“Prince Tasuku!” Just then, some more ninjas appeared with a fwssh sound.
“How was it?” Prince Tasuku immediately went from smiling to serious.
“Those ships have some very frightening things on board,” the new ninja, Hattori Hanzo, said as he pointed to the ships lined up near the Eastern Empire’s tradeship. They were apparently ships that the firstborn prince Maximilian’s friends were aboard, yet nobody had disembarked despite having been docked for days.
“Frightening how?” When the tradeship had arrived at port, the magic sensor device the prince had on him had begun to react. He thought it odd that it would react in the kingdom, where there were supposedly no mages around. When he investigated, he found the source of the reaction had been the boats beside his own.