“It’s hot…”
I couldn’t help but comment, and Rehme, seated in front of me, nodded. It was really hot. Tanya had made sure to prepare my coolest dress, but what’s hot is hot.
“What can you do? The duchy stretches from north to south, and obviously the farther south you go, the muggier it gets.”
She said that, but… When I looked over at Tanya sitting next to me, even in this melting heat, she alone maintained a frosty expression.
“My lady, we can rest in a bit. Please bear it for a little longer,” she said anxiously when she noticed my stare.
“Thanks.” I grinned tightly, then returned my eyes to the scenery.
It had changed quite a bit on our journey. It was still rich with nature, but the varieties of trees and flowers popping up between them were clearly of different species from those in the northern clime. After what seemed like an eternity of being rocked by the carriage, we stopped for a break by a small stream.
“Lyle, Dida, aren’t you hot?”
Since they were our guards, they wore heavy-looking armor. Surprisingly, though, it was much lighter than their official armor.
“This is what training is for,” Lyle responded with a refreshing smile, a few beads of sweat dripping from his cheeks.
“No training can change the temperature. With your permission, Princess, I’d jump in that water this instant.” Dida cackled to himself.
“Even if she permits you, I wouldn’t,” Tanya said flatly, shooting him down.
“Aw, don’t be like that, Tanya.”
I found myself smiling for some reason. When our break was over, we got back in the rocking carriage and headed for the village. Before long, we reached where it was located at the duchy’s southernmost point. Crude wooden fencing surrounded the village. It was nothing like the capital, and its wooden buildings were all run-down. Upon entering, I saw there was hardly any foot traffic. The few people we saw were all starved and thin.
Who has it better, them or the people in the city slums? I caught myself wondering.
Rehme noticed my wrinkled brow and attempted to explain. “The region has lately been too hot for traditional crops to grow. Perhaps that’s why taxes have lately been such a heavy burden for them.”
“So that’s why our income here is down, then?” The terrible sight numbed my tongue for a moment. But it was only for a moment, as I soon forced myself to move on. “In other words, we must find another way to make money than via agriculture.”
But how? It wouldn’t be easy by any means. No one had the faintest clue. Even with my previous life’s memories, I didn’t possess any superpowers.
“My lady…” Rehme looked at me with concern.
“I’m fine. Now, let’s go meet the mayor.”
I told the driver to wait at the entrance to the village, and the five of us proceeded on foot. The mayor’s house didn’t immediately stand out to me. It was nearly identical to all the other houses. When we arrived, I couldn’t help but think, Wait, this is it?
It was, at least, slightly bigger than the average.
“Welcome! You honor us by traveling to our remote village.”
The moment we arrived, we were welcomed and invited inside. That said, there was no reception room, so we entered the living room like members of the household. The mayor had been born and raised in this village, just like all the other residents. The only thing unique about him would be his ability to move around despite his advanced age and crooked back. He showed me to a chair, and I sat. The rest of my group stood behind me save for Dida, who was outside standing guard.
“Now, my lady, what brings you here?”
He politely got right to the chase. Did he ask because the duke’s own daughter was visiting him? Or was I the first government official to ever visit his village? In the former case, I wasn’t worried; in the latter, I feared that would mean this land had been abandoned for a long time. And, as governors of this duchy, the responsibility for this error would be on my family.
“I’m conducting an inspection of the duchy. Naturally, I had to make my way out here as well.”
“I see… Still, to be visited by such a key figure… How many years has it been since we last saw one of your status?”
So, it was as I feared… I suppressed my urge to sigh. “Good mayor, I noticed there aren’t many young people, specifically men, in your village. Why is that?”
“Ah, you see, the young men have all moved away in order to find work. Many second and third sons follow this path. They have no education, so most of them enlist with the army.”
“I see.”
“There’s little farmland here, so there’s really no other option.” The mayor smiled sadly.
“And have you experienced animal attacks from the forest?”
“Every now and again, but they’re never very large, so we manage.”
“Hm.”
The army was supposed to be in charge of keeping the peace, but perhaps because they had to cover the entire duchy, they couldn’t spare the men to protect such a small village. Protecting our borders was a very important job and inevitably outweighed the plight of these villagers.
“Thank you for sharing. Would it be all right for me to tour the village?”
“Oh, let me guide you—”
“That’s quite all right. You just go about your day, sir.”
And so, I left the mayor’s house.
✦ ✦ ✦
According to the mayor, this place lacked many things: money, workers, doctors, and education. As I toured the village, my inspection only reinforced his report.
Second, we explored outside the village. The fields, as Rehme described, were hardly flourishing due to the rough climate. The villagers seemed to have given up and looked at me with exhausted expressions.
Third, we investigated the nearby forest. According to Rehme, there were several fruits unique to this location. Dida took the lead, followed by me and Tanya, and tailed by Rehme and Lyle. The trees were a deep green, and the fruits were of a subtropical variety. I suggested selling them, but Rehme warned that their exotic nature could make them unpopular at open market.
“This place sure has a lot of stuff I’ve never seen before.” Dida picked the fruits one by one and examined them. “Oh! What’s this, Rehme?”
He stuck a bumpy, yellow mass in her face. It was slightly bigger than Dida’s own large hand, and somewhat familiar…
“It’s called cacao,” said Rehme, “and—”
I froze, then cut off Rehme mid-explanation and grabbed Dida by the hand, drawing close to study the object in his hand. “Brilliant work, Dida!”
I was so excited that I nearly tackled him, but Dida caught me without trouble. Unfortunately, the cacao fruit flew out of his hand in the process.
“Whoa! Pr-Princess?”
“Very, very good! That’s it! If we have that… Oh, Rehme!”
I asked her if she’d ever heard of a certain product. She looked back at me blankly and sheepishly admitted that she hadn’t.
“Wonderful! I know what we must do now. First, let’s buy this cacao.”
It took some work to convince the villagers to take my money, but eventually, I managed to buy the cacao fruit. We left the village with as much as we could possibly carry.
“My lady, are you sure about this?”
“Hm? About what?”
“Um, this cacao… It’s the least popular of all the unpopular southern products, you know.”
“That’s fine. They’re exactly what I need,” I said confidently.
Though she acquiesced, her expression said clearly that she didn’t understand. It would be difficult to convince everyone of what I wanted to do, so upon seeing her doubt, I resolved to make it first—that would be proof enough.