CH 401

Eating Too Much, and Still…

The Merchant King, Shalloak Cornrogue, had built up a vast amount of wealth during the great famine. While the continent’s people suffered, he’d managed to turn disaster into opportunity, eventually going so far as to call himself a king.

Mia had met the man before. This encounter had occurred in the previous timeline, when the empire was beginning to crumble under the crushing weight of the famine. Together with Ludwig, she’d set out on a journey to seek assistance, and this man was one of the potential sources.

Financial pressures had manifested themselves in the carriage they took, which was now considerably less luxurious. It also conveyed the bumpiness of the road far more faithfully.

“Was there seriously no better carriage we could have taken?” Mia grumbled as she rubbed her tender buttocks. “One that doesn’t assault its rider like this?”

“It costs money to maintain non-assaultive carriages. Money that you might have noticed we’re lacking right now.” Ludwig’s merciless rebuttal stuffed the rest of her complaints back down her throat. She scowled darkly at him. “Feel free to glower at me as much as you wish, but I implore you to put on an agreeable face when we’re in front of our potential business partner.”

“Yes, yes, I know. What was the fellow called again? Merchant King Cornrogue? That’s a pretty pretentious name…”

“It certainly is. To be honest, he’s not the kind of person I like asking favors of… Debts with his type tend to accumulate interest.”

“My, coming from a four— Ahem. Coming from you, that’s quite the comment. He must be pretty bad.”

“For the millionth time, Your Highness, you really should stop calling me that. It’s not language befitting your station.” Ludwig shook his head and shrugged wearily, clearly used to having his admonishment ignored. Then, his expression turned serious again. “But seriously, do be careful around him. The man built up a veritable empire of wealth in a single generation. And I mean that literally—he’s richer than some kings. I suspect he’s going to be quite the eccentric one.”

“We’re good to go then. After all, I have plenty of experience with eccentric people.” Mia eyed him and smiled.

To their mutual dismay, the meeting that day would prove futile. They weren’t even taken seriously, suffering not only disappointment but the humiliation of being effectively turned away at the door.

—

The carriage stopped at a village near the empire’s border. Mia and Ludwig stepped out and followed the directions they’d been given. Expecting to be led to an inn or tavern where they’d hold their meeting, they instead found another carriage. This was Shalloak’s personal coach, and it was luxurious. Stepping in, Mia couldn’t help but ogle its resplendent interior decor, which was every bit the equal of how her private room in the Whitemoon Palace had once looked.

“What a gorgeous carriage this is, Mr. Cornrogue,” said Mia, greeting the owner of the vehicle. “‘Merchant King’ indeed.’”

Shalloak Cornrogue twirled his curly mustache and smiled. “I’m glad it pleases you, Princess Mia Luna Tearmoon. Your approval is no small honor. It makes all the money I spent on this thing worth it.”

“Yes, it’s very much fit for a king,” said Mia, voicing her honest thoughts.

She’d intended the phrase to be a casual compliment, but Shalloak’s smile gained a snarky edge. “But not, I assume, for a lowly merchant who has the audacity to call himself one? Does it offend you for me to be called a king? Me, who has no citizens, army, or land. The name Merchant King must seem unbearably pretentious to you.” He was dead-on. So much so that it left her fumbling for words. The sight amused him, and he chuckled. “I get the same reaction from everyone. But know this—I am a king. However high and mighty you aristocrats are, I am equally so.”

He stood up and reached into a nearby bag, from which he withdrew a handful of objects. “These are my subjects. They are my army. My soldiers and forts. My fields and livestock. The source of my wealth. And the god I worship.” Holding his hand before her palm down, he released his grip. The objects fell to the ground, scattering haphazardly at her feet in a cacophony of metallic clinks. She glanced down, eyes drawn by their aureate glow.

“My… Are these…gold coins?”

“Yes. Gold is our god. This is the power that governs the world. Simple, right?”

“R-Right… I suppose so…”

Mia fought hard to keep up a smile through Shalloak’s theatrics. Despite her best efforts, her cheeks twitched. The Merchant King, meanwhile, paid her no mind and plunked casually back down on his seat—no, his throne.

“Good.” He grinned. “Let’s hear it then, Princess Mia. What, pray tell, do you seek from my kingdom?”

“Uh, well…we were wondering if you could help us with something…”Mia shot a sideward glance at Ludwig, who picked up where she left off. “Our empire is currently in need of foodstuffs. We’d like to purchase a supply of wheat from you.”

“Wheat? Of course. I certainly have wheat for sale. But do you have the money to pay for it?”

Shalloak handed him a piece of parchment. On it was written the selling price of wheat. When Ludwig saw the number, he let out a choking sound. Mia, in her curiosity, took a peek, only to have the same reaction.

“Wh-What?!” She stared at the price in shock. “Huh? How?! Wheat can’t possibly be this expensive! This is price gouging!” Mia’s furious complaints bounced impotently off Shalloak, who smiled at her with a vexing amount of composure.

“With all due respect, Princess Mia, that is how the world works. When the number of people who want something increases, so does its price.”

“But this is too much! It’s way, way more than it should be. We’re not trying to build a castle here.”

“Indeed you are not. In fact, no one is. All this means is that we live in a time where wheat is more in-demand than castles. You can’t eat castles, after all. Bah ha ha.” He chortled at his own joke before picking up a cookie from a nearby snack tray. Mia’s eyes became glued on the tasty-looking treat, following it from the tray into his mouth. “Mmmm. Perhaps you’re too young to understand this, but the world runs on money. Money is power. Money is my god, and I’m an ardent believer. I pray to it. Pour my faith into it. And I ask it to bring more of itself to me. Therefore, so long as you have money, I’m willing to do whatever you ask of me.”

Mia gnashed her teeth and growled, which wasn’t a very productive reply, so Ludwig answered instead. “Fine, we’ll pay. We only ask that you wait for us to procure the funds. The empire is currently in a difficult situation, but once we pull through, I promise that we’ll reimburse you for the wheat.”

“Promise, you say? You can promise me the world, and it still won’t be worth a penny. I have no need for empty words. If your empire were well on its way to recovery, then perhaps some consideration would be possible, but it’s no mystery why Tearmoon’s finances are in tatters. The only reason I agreed to this meeting today was to see if there’s anything I could squeeze out of your empire before it collapsed for good, but…” Shalloak glanced pointedly at Mia and shrugged. “Judging by your carriage and that cheap dress the princess is wearing… I’m clearly too late. Oh, but that hairpin of yours is a fine item.” His smile suddenly took on a different color. “I’d be willing to trade you a box of cookies for it—”

“Enough. This is ridiculous.” Ludwig shot down his offer before Mia’s resolve had the chance to falter at the allure of cookies. “People are starving. They’re dying. People are the pillars of a nation. It’s their work that props up society. We need a healthy populace. You’re a merchant. Surely, you do too.”

“Ludwig, was it? Hah. I see that you’re a man of loyalty. And you’ve got a heart of gold to boot. I can tell that you truly wish to save your people from starvation. I have no doubt you’re an exceptionally competent man, Ludwig, but unfortunately, you don’t seem to have the makings of a good merchant.”

“What do you mean?”

“What I mean…is that it’s difficult to extract the gold in one’s heart. Your compassion might make you a wise and virtuous person, but it won’t make you rich. You need to see the pain and suffering of others as chances to make money. Sometimes, even their deaths. Everything is a business opportunity. That’s the creed you must subscribe to if you wish to be an adherent of the golden lord.” Shalloak leaned back and shrugged. “In other words, Ludwig, I couldn’t care less how many people in Tearmoon starve. As I’m sure you’re aware, this famine won’t kill every last person on the continent. The question, therefore, is how to make the most money from this situation. Granted, you can’t do business with dead bodies, so I won’t let the whole nation perish, but setting aside profit to save every living soul is not business. It’s charity.”

“Oooh you’ve done it now!” said Mia, piping up. “I heard you loud and clear! When I tell Miss Rafina about what you just said, I think she’ll be rather upset.”

“Go ahead. Tell her all about it. We’ll see whose word the world chooses to believe. That of an unpopular princess, or a known philanthropist who has already invested in a track record of giving money to charitable activities. I’m quite eager to find out which of our images will win out in the end. It’ll make for an amusing diversion.” He scoffed at her.

“Hnnnngh.” Mia gnashed her teeth. “If you think you can solve everything by throwing money at it… Well, you’d better think again!”

“Princess Mia, if I may be so bold, allow me to offer you one piece of advice. Don’t be a sore loser. It only makes you look worse.” He looked down his nose at her with what almost felt like pity. “Now then, if you have no other matters to discuss, then please leave. I’m a busy man, and I have many more important matters to attend to.”

…They’d been effectively turned away at the door.

—

I’ll have you know, I haven’t forgotten the humiliation I suffered that day… Well, I mean, I guess I did forget, but I ate some food and it all came back to me, so it’s fine! Also, this sweet bean paste is absolutely delicious! Not that it matters right now, but it is!

Feeling her anger rise again, Mia took another bite of the pastry. Its sweetness pushed the wave of resentment back down, allowing her to keep a clear head.

Hmm, what should I do next? That’s the question. For the time being, I should tell Sir Marco to sell us some of these sweet bean— Oh wait, in order to do that, I have to save his company first. And if I want to save his company…I might have to fight that Shalloak fellow?

According to Ludwig, Shalloak’s antagonism was directed specifically at Forkroad & Co. His attitude toward the empire was, if anything, positive and eager to do business. That made it difficult for them to throw the first punch.

Chloe looks downright miserable, so I can’t afford to just stand by and watch… Nor do I want to, honestly. This whole thing rubs me the wrong way. In that case…

Mia turned to Ludwig.

“Ludwig,” she asked, “since the Forkroads are being harassed right now, isn’t there anything we can do to help? Have the empire buy up the goods they have in stock, for example.”

Their enemy was willing to lose money to stop the Forkroads from selling their goods. What they needed to do, then, was to prevent the “Forkroads can’t sell anything” situation from occurring.

Oho ho, now this is what I call two birds with one stone. We’ll be helping the Forkroads while also sticking it to that bast— I mean, that unpleasant man. When he realizes his plans were ruined… Oooh, I’m looking forward to tasting his frustration. I bet it’ll be delicious.

One problem remained, though. She wasn’t sure whether this idea would constitute wasteful spending. She glanced inquiringly at Ludwig.

“Or would buying leftover goods from a company just because the owner is my friend’s father be a form of wasteful spending? Am I going to get scolded if I buy things at a higher price when they can be gotten cheaper somewhere else?”

Her heart beat a nervous rhythm as she awaited his answer. Yes? No? What would it be? The hair on the back of her neck stood in anticipation. She gulped. Feeling a dryness in her mouth, she reached for her remedy—another pastry!

She was definitely overeating.

“I see no issue in doing so.”

Feeling a wave of relief wash over her, she reached for her reward—only to be thwarted by Anne.

She’d already overeaten.

Hm. I suppose it’s important to observe the principle of moderation in all matters. It’s the same as what Ludwig is talking about right now. It’s important to have an appropriate price for products, just like how it’s important to eat an appropriate amount of sweets. Yes, it all makes sense now.

This thought of hers would sound far more convincing if she wasn’t already guilty of overeating. Regardless, she continued.

“And there you have it, Sir Marco. We shall purchase your remaining inventory at the appropriate market price. If the empire has difficulty producing the funds, hm… Well, I’ll just ask some of my friends for assistance. There’s no need to lower your prices excessively just because they’re leftovers. Let us deal in good faith and mutual respect.”

“B-But…Your Highness, I can’t possibly ask you to—”

“Sir Marco, not long ago, there was an entrance ceremony at Saint-Noel Academy. During the ceremony, I spoke of the importance of the spirit of mutual aid. You’ve been helping us, so now, it’s only natural that I repay the favor.” She paused for a moment of thought, then added, “And this is for Chloe too. So if you feel like you owe me something, then consider our debts settled, because I’ll be borrowing your daughter extensively. Her time is payment enough.”

Chloe was an invaluable book buddy. Mia was looking forward to spending a lot more time with her throughout the rest of her school life, so maintaining a good relationship was essential. As a closing remark, “Her time is payment enough” was perhaps on the triter side, but it got the job done.

—

A few days later, Marco heard from Chloe the details of Mia’s speech during the entrance ceremony. The words of the eventually-to-be-famed Bread-Cake Declaration caused his thoughts to stir. As he pondered its meaning, he considered her subsequent actions, as well as her desire to “borrow his daughter extensively,” and…put two and two together! Into three! Or maybe five! But whatever it was, it sure wasn’t four, because he felt like he finally comprehended Mia’s true intentions, and everyone knows where that feeling leads.

In her entrance ceremony speech, he saw the inklings of a continent-spanning mutual food-aid network. Her statement about borrowing Chloe, then, had been a request for assistance. She wanted Chloe to help her make this grand vision a reality. That was why Mia had come to him.

“Ha ha, Lord almighty, what have you gotten yourself into, Chloe…? This is going to be the project of the century,” he whispered in awe.

It made him worried. It also made him immensely proud. When this endeavor of the Great Wisdom of the Empire took off, Chloe would be right there with her doing great things for the world.

“Well, I can hardly sit around and twiddle my thumbs while my daughter’s off solving world hunger. I’d better get back on my feet and do my part to help.”

And so, little by little, the way was paved for the creation of the Mianet.