It was around the time the continent had been reorganized, the world had finally stabilized, and people were beginning to look towards the new era ahead.
Tomoe and Yuriga’s school friend, Lucy Evans—now vice president of the Evans Company, one of the five largest businesses in the royal capital—had been invited to the castle to visit Souma’s third primary queen, Roroa.
“Lucy, I’ve got a new business I want you to get in on.”
The two of them were seated across from each other in Roroa’s private quarters. That Lucy, a mere commoner, even if she was the daughter of an influential merchant family, was allowed into a queen’s room spoke volumes about how much Roroa trusted her.
“A new business, you say?”
Lucy had arrived with her heart full of glee at the honor of being summoned by the woman she idolized, but now she blinked in confusion.
“I do say,” Roroa replied with a nod. “The world’s enterin’ a period of stability. The bloodthirsty types are packin’ their bags and headin’ north, so there won’t be any major wars down here in the south for a while. ’Course, that’s partly ’cause Darlin’ and me are keepin’ watch to make sure it stays that way.”
“Uh-huh... But what does that have to do with this new business?”
“In an unstable world, people spent money ’cause they had to. Not just on the supplies they needed, but ’cause they never knew what might happen tomorrow. That made ’em live for the moment, instead of savin’ up for a future they weren’t sure they’d ever see.”
In short, they’d lived hand-to-mouth.
With no telling which place might turn into a battlefield or whether monsters would strike, even those who managed to save might not live long enough to enjoy what they had. And so, in an unstable world, people chose to use their money to live each day to the fullest.
“Conversely,” Roroa continued, “once the world stabilizes, people’ll start savin’ instead. They’ve lived through the hard times, so they’ll be scared of goin’ back to ’em, and want to be ready just in case.”
“I see what you’re sayin’... Maybe not all of it, but I get the gist.”
“Yep. But here’s the rub. If everyone’s savin’, the economy grinds to a halt. That’s why, as the world settles down, we’ve gotta make it easier for folks with money to keep spendin’ it. And the way to do that is simple—we give ’em more ‘fun’ things.”
As she spoke, Roroa poured fresh tea into Lucy’s empty cup.
“Thank you kindly,” Lucy said, taking a sip.
Roroa grinned and poured herself a cup from another teapot. “People want good food. They want to see new sights and chase new trends. That’s the kinda luxury I’m talkin’ about. We’ll make ’em want to spend on those things, and keep temptin’ ’em with more and more.”
“It’s true. Our company’s been puttin’ out all sorts of new sweets to tempt people’s loosened purse strings now that the chaos of the war’s behind us. If we can get folks to stop bein’ stingy and feel confident buyin’ good things, then craftspeople can make those good things with confidence, and we merchants can sell ’em too.”
As the daughter of merchants, and nearly as sharp a businesswoman as Roroa herself, Lucy grasped the point immediately. Roroa gave a satisfied nod.
“Ya got it. That’s how economies and technology move forward. But it’s scary to think what happens if it goes the other way—if people start holdin’ back on spendin’. Even if craftspeople make fine goods, their motivation’ll die if no one’s buyin’, and without the inventory on the shelves, merchants like us lose our spark too.”
After saying this, Roroa set her cup down on its saucer and fixed Lucy with a serious look.
“To stop that from happenin’, Darlin’ and I have been workin’ to create more ‘fun’ things, and pullin’ in the rulers of other countries to help. That’s why we expanded the variety of broadcast programs, and why we’re pourin’ so much effort into tourism now.”
“Tourism...?” Lucy blinked.
Vacations weren’t common in this world. The upper classes had their villas and sometimes took trips to escape the summer heat, but most people were too busy struggling with daily life to even think about vacations. The biggest obstacle was travel itself, which was too costly for ordinary folk. Even with the kingdom’s rhinosaurus transportation network, there was only so far someone could go on a mere three days off work. Because of that, Lucy couldn’t imagine the industry booming anytime soon. But Roroa just grinned at the doubtful look on her face.
“What’re you smilin’ for? You got some kinda scheme in mind?”
“Yep. Nothin’ finalized yet, but...” Roroa covered her mouth with her hand and dropped her voice to a conspiratorial whisper. “You’ll keep this a secret between us, won’t you?”
“Let’s hear it,” Lucy said, leaning in. The scene looked like an evil magistrate and a villainous merchant plotting together.
“In the near future, the Nothung Dragon Knight Kingdom’s gonna propose regular flights between all the countries at the summit. It’s a revolutionary plan that’ll allow movin’ people and cargo in bulk, all at once.”
“Wow! That’s gonna be a huge deal.”
Roroa explained how the Nothung Dragon Knight Kingdom was expanding its shipping business and preparing to launch the Dragon Ring Airline—also known as Gorilla Airways. Lucy was impressed at first, but as the explanation went on, suspicion slowly crept into her eyes.
“You said this was bein’ headed by the Nothung Dragon Knight Kingdom, but it’s really our king who came up with it, isn’t it?”
“Mwee hee hee. You’re not wrong.”
Roroa laughed gleefully as Lucy pieced together the truth behind the scenes. Perhaps tired of maintaining the conspiratorial posture of whispering in each other’s ears, Roroa finally said, “That’s enough,” and had Lucy sit properly again.
“Anyway, I’m thinkin’ of launchin’ a tourism business alongside the airline. Once flights are available, even international tourism’ll be possible for ordinary folks.”
“I take it you’re plannin’ on ropin’ the other countries into this too?”
“Sure am. I want travelers spendin’ their coin here, and the other countries’ll feel the same way. If our interests align, we can cooperate. Granted, at first it’ll mostly be the upper classes who can afford international vacations.”
“Yeah, that makes sense.”
The thought of riding with a dragon knight was appealing, but Lucy knew it would be costly at the beginning. Nobles, knights, and wealthy merchants would start the trend. Once international travel became fashionable, demand would rise, the number of flights would increase, and prices would drop—eventually opening the skies to the general public.
“So,” Roroa said, clapping her hands, “that brings us back to where we started. To sell the idea of international travel to the upper classes, I’m plannin’ a certain business. I was hopin’ I could count on you to run it.”
“Now we’re gettin’ to the heart of matters. What’s the business?”
“In short, wedding planning.”
“Wedding...what now?”
Lucy blinked, baffled; she’d never heard of such a thing.
“Lemme explain real quick,” Roroa said. “You listen to what the bride and groom want, design a ceremony around it, and then handle the event itself. That’s the business.”
“Isn’t that usually the church’s job?”
“All the religious parts, yeah. But arrangin’ things with the church and priest, invitin’ the guests, preparin’ the reception—that all falls on the family bein’ married into, right?”
“I...guess you’re right,” Lucy agreed, and Roroa nodded in satisfaction.
“For the upper classes, weddings’re way more important than most people realize. Political marriages happen all the time, and the ceremony’s where both houses show off the bond they’re forming.”
“Oh, that’s right. You had a political marriage yourself, didn’t you, Lady Roroa?”
“Oh, shove off. We’re as lovey-dovey as can be now, so it’s fine.”
“Ah ha ha. That’s so sweet.”
“Ahem. Anyway, wedding ceremonies are all about givin’ families a stage to show off as much as possible. And we’re plannin’ to add an option for international ceremonies,” Roroa said, her lips curling into a mischievous smile. “Of course, the real reason we’re sendin’ our upper classes abroad for their weddings is so we can attract nobles from other countries to come here for theirs. Our kingdom’s got a long history. We’ve got plenty of old castles that’ll look downright majestic if we dress ’em up right. And since the Lunarian Orthodox Papal State’s basically inside our borders now, we can probably get ol’ Souji to let us use the main church for ceremonies too.”
“I see... So it’s not just business, but it has political weight too. And the potential for future growth,” Lucy said, sipping her tea. “But if it’s so important...why not do it yourself, Lady Roroa? With the Silver Deer Company you’re secretly the boss of?”
“Oh, I’d love to, but...well, I’ve got another bun in the oven, y’know?” Roroa patted her swollen belly with both hands. She was pregnant with her second child.
Lucy’s tea had been poured from a different pot because black tea wasn’t good for expectant mothers; Roroa was drinking bean tea instead. Incidentally, when they’d learned she was pregnant, Souma and Roroa had realized she must have conceived around the time of the decisive battle with the Great Tiger Empire.
“Musta been back then, huh? The instinct to leave descendants when your life’s in danger sure is strong, huh?”
“Uh, yeah.”
Both of them had blushed bright red, recalling the night they’d spent together in the uncertainty before the showdown. But that was a digression.
Roroa clasped her hands in front of her face, pleadingly.
“I wanna focus on the baby for now, and once that’s over, it’ll be too late to get things started. We’ve already got a number of couples lookin’ ready to tie the knot, so I was hopin’ you could handle it. You can move freely and make the best of the opportunity.”
“I-I see...”
Roroa winked at her. “You’re not the type to be satisfied just runnin’ your family’s parlor, are ya? You’ll have the full support of the royal family, so why not give it a shot?”
With that much encouragement from Roroa, whom she deeply respected, Lucy couldn’t possibly refuse.