Thanks to the new road, supplying a military march through the Wolfsbrook Mountain Range wasn’t nearly the problem it once was. After all, the Bell & Rango Company, the Mary Chamber of Commerce, and even the Business Guild regularly used Seatoh Village as a resupply point. It was possible to send supplies through the mountains now. And if I went out there myself, I could produce all kinds of new equipment. The adventurers and the machine bow squad could hunt monsters, too, which meant meat.
At this point, stress really was the biggest factor. I nodded.
Just then, one of the lookouts at the wall ran over to us. “Lord Van, Bell from the Bell & Rango Company has arrived! And for some reason, he’s with Apollo from the Business Guild!”
I blinked. “Huh? Apollo?”
His Majesty, meanwhile, nodded as if this was perfectly ordinary. “The Business Guild, eh? They were slower than I expected,” he murmured. Then he looked back at me and chuckled. “On the way here, we bumped into a caravan composed of the Business Guild and the Bell & Rango Company, but we soon left them behind.”
“Oh, really…? Wait a second. You were traveling with thousands of people! How did you get here so quickly?”
He gave me a big smile and continued to laugh, apparently pleased to have stumped me. “Ha ha ha! Do not underestimate the training my Chivalric Orders undergo! Now then, it seems that someone from the Business Guild has business with you. Surely you do not mind if I sit in on your meeting?”
There was no way to decline. Even Li’l Van, boy genius, could do nothing but nod and smile.
Accompanied by a rather boisterous king, I made my way to the front gates where Apollo was waiting. Upon our arrival we were greeted with some ten large carriages packed into the main street. Surrounding the vehicles were dozens of adventurers, so the area was absolutely stuffed. Even with His Majesty commanding his men to wait outside the gate, our main street was packed to the brim with people.
“Ah, Lord Van!” Bell shouted from within the caravan.
Behind him was Apollo.
“Welcome back.” I waved and walked over, watching as a momentary look of shock ran over Apollo’s face just before he took a knee.
As soon as Bell saw this, he noticed His Majesty behind me. “M-my apologies!” The adventurers around us, watching the two men kneel, followed suit.
Personally, this made me feel like a hotshot, but the reality was that I had the superpowerful token known as “the king” behind me. I turned around to find His Majesty magnanimously waving a hand. “At ease,” he said.
Apollo stood up first. “Thank you very much. We hurried here, but we were unable to catch up. As is to be expected of Scuderia’s infamous Chivalric Orders!”
“Ha ha ha! Indeed! They are the foundation upon which our might rests, after all.”
Even faced with the king of a huge nation, Apollo easily made small talk. Bell looked speechless. No wonder the Business Guild was such a massive organization, capable of dealing with all the major nations. Apollo looked practiced at dealing with powerful people.
“What has brought you to Baron Van?” His Majesty asked. Apollo looked over at me, adopting a strained smile.
“I’m embarrassed to say it, but the Business Guild has finally decided on a course of action.”
I tilted my head. His Majesty burst into laughter, nodding. “Is that so? In other words, the Business Guild has chosen to forsake Yelenetta?”
“No, no… It’s just, well, doing business with Scuderia is such a promising endeavor that we have decided, for the time being, to put off doing any business with Yelenetta. With heavy hearts, of course.”
“Ha ha ha! It must be difficult to have to play the diplomat with so many nations! Be honest now, I will tell no one: you are not truly putting off business with Yelenetta? Surely there is a great deal of money to be made, selling goods, weapons, and food.”
His Majesty had heard what Apollo wasn’t saying. There was a reason the term “special procurements” existed. It was easy to imagine the Business Guild, with their connections all over the world, making huge money by dipping their toes into all sorts of markets. In other words, the guild was selling Scuderia goods for their supply line while also selling weapons and armor to Yelenetta.
Suddenly, I remembered the black balls. “Apollo, I have a question. Has the Business Guild been selling Yelenetta those black balls?”
He shook his head and smiled. “No, we do not carry that particular weapon. Unfortunately, a single nation has a monopoly over it. We still don’t even know how to manufacture them.”
His Majesty crossed his arms and groaned. “I expected as much. Only a fool would let such a useful weapon fall into the hands of other nations. I do not know how much time or how many resources their manufacture requires, but victory in battle could rely heavily on their supply.”
He narrowed his eyes, his words making the atmosphere tense. At that moment, another new arrival casually entered the mix.
“Well, well,” Panamera said, her beautiful blonde hair swaying back and forth, “if it isn’t His Majesty! I hope you can forgive my tardiness.” The unshakable confidence in her eyes belied her apologetic words. It was that confidence that made the king smirk and nod his head.
“Mm. I sent you word of this before I left the capital. If anything, I am impressed by how quickly you have arrived.”
“Well, as it happens, I was eagerly awaiting word from you when your message arrived.”
“Ha ha ha! I expect nothing less from the dauntless Viscount Panamera!”
Panamera’s invincible smile put His Majesty in an even better mood than before. Watching all of this out of the corner of my eye, I turned my gaze to Bell.
“How’d it go?” I asked, keeping my question as short as possible.
Bell seemed a bit disoriented. “Well, we purchased slaves and did some publicity work in not just the capital, but also two large cities we passed through. We ended up recruiting a group of merchants who want to start businesses, former adventurers who want to become knights, and even some mercenaries. Including the slaves, we now have a total of two hundred people who want to move here.”
“Wow, a whole two hundred? I’ll be able to get more funds from Esparda later, so heads up: when the time comes, I’m going to have you guys go back to the capital. All right, then first things first; let’s feed anyone who is hungry, then bring them to the bathhouse.”
Bell looked relieved to finally receive his next orders from me. It must have been extremely stressful to be in front of His Majesty. “As you wish.” He bowed and left.
I watched him walk away, then turned to Panamera. “Long time no see, Viscount Panamera. Good luck in the coming battles!”
Panamera let out a breathy laugh. “Leave the fighting to me, boy. By the way, have you developed any new weapons? I would be interested in any prototypes, too.”
Mere minutes since we’d reunited and already she was egging me on about new weapons. The childish look on her face and the twinkle in her eye made me smile. “I’ve had a few ideas, but none of them are workable yet. My older brother Murcia will be participating in the coming battles, so for now I’m preparing a few new weapons, but…”
“Oooh, I’d love to take a look,” she responded. The twinkle in her eyes had practically become a sparkle.