Chapter 273: What is a 'Zuekluk?”

Chapter 273: What is a “Zuekluk?”

Waaaaaaa, Im done. Speaking with people is more stressful than Kramps training. I crave sweets. Gib me candy! I declared before falling face-first on the sofa inside our RVs communal room.

Please enjoy, Lady Hestia. Some small confections we made under Tasiannas and Lady Tamaes instructions. The breading encases a concentrated jelly of fragassa. It might be a bit too sweet, so please be careful.

I moved my head up before taking a heart-shaped cookie from Svenas tray. Putting it into my mouth, I crunched on it and enjoyed the extreme sweetness I needed to refuel my fatigued brain. Giving her a thumbs up, I planted my face back on the sofa.

Lady Hestia, you really shouldnt lie on the sofa like that. It is unladylike, I heard Josines voice ring in my ear, followed by Svenas.

Its okay, Josine. Youve seen the line of representatives Lady Hestia had to meet. I believe if this were to happen to Lady Ellaine, you would let your mistress act up a bit, correct?

I dont act like a lady when Im not in public anyways, I retorted.

But Svena didnt take that too lightly. Please, dont talk with your mouth full, Lady Hestia. We will be the ones to clean it up later.

Urk

Anyways, stress was stress, and the life of a princess was not the least bit chill. Accepting my position as a dragon princess and also the fact I announced it all at the Griffonpeak battle, made it easy for my reputation to spread.

According to the rumors, while Saori was known by people as a wolfkin adventurer with black lightning instead of a garm, people knew me more as a champion of Aurena and a dragon. And that was very relevant in Ullistar when those merchants approached me, and now its head reared itself again with the people of Gleisvale.

Like Mother mentioned, nobles and guilds had gossipers and spies in this city. The moment we entered the city, no, the moment we entered the country even, people knew we were coming. There were the border guards, the valley guides, the city entrance soldiers, and not to mention the various merchants and towns we met on the way to Estralias capital. Any one of them could have sent a pigeon over, or even all of them.

Regardless, that wasnt the point. What was important was the fact the merchants and senators of this city wanted to meet with me. Some had small-time business ventures they wanted to discuss with me, mostly to advertise their products, while others clearly had ulterior motives. Politics and grandiose goals, or something. It was a headache.

But deal with them I did. Our main objectives for Estralia concerned Tasiannas and Shatureins business, while Amelias expansion of the Sarlenzia company was a side quest. However, from a political point of view, our overarching goal should be to befriend Estralia and get its president to support Artorias and possibly dissuade a war between Artorias and the countries in this part of Altrust.

Estralia, or to be specific, Gleisvale held the position of the most important trading hub of the mid-western part of Altrust. They had access to dwarven craftsmanship, a train station which the dwarves used to trade with the Empire and the Beastman Alliance, and a river that spread throughout the land and into the Empire. Gleisvale was also strategically located in an area where sieging it was hard for any invaders.

Earning their trust and making them favor Artorias over the other countries would be important for the latters safety. I had to speak with them eventually, so seeing some of the senators wanting to speak with me expedited stuff. Too bad the president hadnt sent a representative, but I remembered Duke Fillion saying he was a puppet leader or something.

Nevertheless, without Saori, Ellaine, or Nishio around to help me out with the political stuff, I wouldnt dare do it on my own. I wasnt that knowledgeable about it. I knew I should study more, but it just didnt interest me.

As such, I used the mightiest tool in my arsenal for this moment delaying it. Rescheduling it. Whatever you wanted to call it. All that was important was that I accepted their business cards and letters and told them I will reschedule with them when I could. With anticipating smiles, they left the inn, but it left me completely overwhelmed.

[Master did well. Good good.] Rajah patted me on the head with his paws, all while I could hear some boing-boing sound moving around on the sofa. My guess? It was Shoyi, our cleaning slime.

Thanks, Rajah. Thanks, Shoyi. I stroked the two little guys. One was furry and fluffy while the other was smooth and wobbly. They were super cute now, but the moment they grew up and evolved, that would change. Ooooh, I love you two, so much!

I couldnt stop myself from hugging them.

Ahem. Somebody coughed to draw my attention. Lass, I know you were busy and probably want to get some recreation time, but could you stop and tell me why exactly you called me into the living room? I was planning on working.

I turned my head around. Aside from our maids Svena and Josine, and Rajah and Shoyi, the other people in the communal room were the members of the Misfits, minus Haruka, Mother, and lastly, Grimnir. While Mother looked at me cheerfully as if I was a cute cat, the latter half were waiting for me to begin.

I let out a loud sigh and sat up properly on the sofa. Alright. So, Grimnir, the reason why I asked you to come is that I want to know whats up. Grimnir frowned as I continued. I know the whole thing with zuekluks and how dishonored dwarves were considered pariahs, but today was too extreme. I expected something like those blacksmiths we met in Cedaraille, and I also expected you to fight back. What happened?

Mhmm Grimnir grumbled. This doesnt concer

No, wrong, Grimnir. I shook my finger. This does concern me. It concerned me the moment you got belittled, insulted, and got things thrown at you. You know me. I dont really take the whole master-retainer stuff seriously, so I won't treat you as such. I consider you my friend, Grimnir, but I also recognize that outside of when you swore your loyalty to me, we havent spoken much about your past. I honestly dont know you as much as I want to.

All I knew was that Grimnir had studied some gun blueprints with his cousin Broggi, ones that were made by the Revolution Queen, Chihiro, but were never finished. Unfortunately, Bleidla, the blacksmith god, despised the idea of guns Chihiro had planned, and banned their creation after her death and apotheosis.

Once they were found out, they were exiled and dishonored, losing their crustlocks in the process. They then traveled on the roads in the old version of the RV and managed to combine a gun with a warhammer, creating the blasthammer in the process. The skills of a master blacksmith and runesmith together with that of an artificer.

However, while traveling, his cousin died somehow, but he never specified how and why. All I knew was that Grimnir blamed Bleidla for it. That he cursed him and his cousin. And now, Grimnirs goal was to create weapons grand and powerful enough to anger the blacksmith god. His drive was to spite Bleidla.

You managed to recreate your blasthammer with Ellaines help, even improving on it. Im really glad for you and thankful that you're also taking Daichi under your tutorship. You might speak brashly in this rough tone, but I know you have a caring and soft side underneath that tough skin. And that is why I want to help you. Seeing you today really hurt me, Grimnir.

Tatsuya nodded to my assertion. I just joined, so I cant really say too much, but I do agree with Hestia-san. You seem so meek today for some reason. Most of the time, you would shout at us for not taking care of our weapons and equipment well enough. My first impression of you wasnt the best, but, you still repaired them so well, I thought you just reforged them.

You show your care for others by making weapons and equipment, Kyouya added. This armor was given to me by the church, so I know very well how it feels to wear it. You made it better. You made it easier for me to move in and fight. I only asked you to repair it, but Mister Grimnir, you went well beyond that.

Daichi is an ass and a bootlicker, Tatsuya continued, earning him a fuck you from Daichi. But the both of us still tried to help you today. I would kinda like to know why you didnt want us to defend you. You even left the train station without defending yourself.

There was nothing to defend myself for, Grimnir answered, but continued his silence afterwards.

While it was interesting to hear that there was a room where all the notes of the Revolution Queen were stored, the story I got it from wasnt as happy. I couldnt help but look at Grimnir with pitiful eyes, which only earned me a scolding.

Ark. Lass! Dont give me those eyes! He was irritated. This is why I didnt want to speak about this bladdarg! I knew the lot of you would look at me like that. Yes, all of you are working with a criminal right now. Nothing will happen with you outside of interacting with me and the consequences it brings since my punishment was exile.

Shisho! There must be something we can do for you! Daichi pleaded. You only wanted to create something new! That isnt worth being treated like scum. I mean, how can you allow that to happen? If people treat you like trash, you should do your best to give them a reason not to!

Gahaha! But Daichis attempt to motivate him was only treated like a joke. As if that would work for this situation, lad. Dwarves can forgive, but they do not forget. Honor is everything to us. Hence, what you said is futile. I will not allow humans and beastmen to disrespect me, but I will for my brethren. I broke their rules. I deserve this punishment. All I can do now is continue down this path I chose and create the weapons, armor, and manatech I always wanted to make. To innovate and stick it up Bleidlas bladdarg for what he did to Broggi. He didn't deserve a dishonorable death like I do

Grimnir stood up from where he sat. He had spoken his piece.

Im going back to the smithy, lass. There is a lot I still need to do for my armor. I owe you my life. I will not dishonor myself again by failing the mistress I swore my loyalty to. I would rather die. And so, I need armor and weapons to protect you for our future battles. He turned around and waved his hand. Lad, come! We will meet them later at lunch.

Once Grimnir left the room through a door, Daichi stood up and turned to me. He was frowning, looking sad at the situation at hand.

Hestia-sama There has to be something we can do for him, right?

Daichis expression reminded me of when we had a one-on-one talk together where he told me the reason why he became a sycophant. He didnt tell me if he faced any problems himself, but he did make an impression on me of why he needed to butter up people he just wanted to stay safe.

It made me wonder if he saw himself in Grimnir or if this was just a matter of master-apprentice loyalty. Regardless, once Ellaine hears about this, I presume she will ask me the same thing Daichi just said.

Ill try. I nodded, earning Daichis gratitude.

At the end of the day, Grimnir was my friend. I had a responsibility to help him. I wondered what I could do, but maybe it was something I needed to sleep on.

Still, with the discussion over, the rest of us went to deal with our own business. I mostly spent time with Mother, training to control my scales and learning how to control heat. This lasted until Ellaine, Amelia, Haruka, and the twins returned home, looking slightly disappointed.

I asked them what happened and Amelia answered me with a deep sigh. Lady Hestia, we managed to rent out a plot of land for the companys building, but it seemed like they werent as thrilled about our pastry and confections as we expected. Even after I mentioned they were made using yeast.

Ellaine continued, Supposedly, Gleisvale already had a confectionery in the city, serving pastries made with yeast. So, we visited the location and confirmed the rumors. Here. Ellaine took out a thin sheet of leaves. When she revealed what was wrapped inside it, I saw a soft-looking bread with some cream on it. They were made with elven yeast.

I picked it up and took a bite, immediately opening my eyes when it tasted exactly like milk bread. The only difference was how fruity it tasted.

Elven yeast is fruitier than our yeast. I presume they are made in a similar manner like when you tested out yeast made from fraggasa? Ellaine proposed. When we asked the clerk where he got the yeast, he wouldnt tell. Elves shouldnt be trading with humans, so this either came from the dwarves or

The black market, Haruka answered for Ellaine.

The most popular products of the Sarlenzia company currently were the pastry and confectionery recipes I gave to Amelia. They were the reason why the Sarlenzia company was growing, and while they could still stay above the green with their usual import and export of goods from the Greenveil duchy, they needed our products to expand at the rate they wanted to.

Their source is far more expensive than ours. We can produce more yeast and turn it into bread and sweets that they can afford, but what we lack is brand and country loyalty, Haruka pointed out. People like rooting for their home country. We can rival and eventually triumph over them since we can sell our products at a less premium price, but if our competition uses propaganda and some, uhm, donations correctly, our chances of winning this might dwindle to zero.

So, giving the people quality and affordable products isnt enough to be successful here? Asaka summed it up. This city was ruled by money, not good products.

I told the five of how I had to meet up with a bunch of representatives today, amongst them a few senators and merchants. While Amelia and Ellaine were excited about this revelation, I had an entirely different idea.

No, no, I just told you guys that to get you up to speed. What I want to propose is I turned my head around, looking Kyouya right in his eyes. Looking at his smirk, it seemed he read my mind. Its time to show you guys what an idol can do during a promotion event!

What could an idol do well? Well, sing and dance, but an idol was also a celebrity. A tool to promote and advertise your product if the price was right. With a pretty face and the ability to lure in people, I was planning to use that aspect of myself to help us garner some traction.

I told the three of them of my plan and that we will have to rope in Nishio and Kazumi for more help on the advertising part. I will help them get more attention, but they had to make sure it became a success. Most likely, we will be using Tamaes ability here. We couldnt just survive with our old products in this city, we needed more! We needed something to distinguish ourselves other than just a cheaper choice. We had to be better than our rival!

It was time to plan things out, so we would probably have to call The Magical Biscuits into the RV for a discussion. Still, while we did that, I began to wonder what Saori, Tasianna, and Gael were doing. They hadnt gotten back home yet. I was starting to worry for them

Yeah, as if! They wouldnt get into trouble.

Welp, Saori. Tasianna. We got ourselves in trouble.

Could you not say that as if this was a normal occurrence? We arent looking for trouble! Tasianna retorted, but it couldnt be helped that Gaels words were correct.

Alright! Alright! You three twinks really think you can walk into our territory and get out of it without a lesson?! We know yall are from Shatu! Better confess or our boss will get you to speak!

We were surrounded in an alleyway by a gang of thugs. The only way to escape? Through the skies.

Haaaaa, why do I always choose the harder tasks? Hestia must be having fun at the train station right now.

Black lightning crackled around my arms. One way or another, we will get out of this scuffle.