276 - - 276Th Through.
Crunchy Crunchy ....... Crunchy Crunchy....... ......Chiririririririn.
You ring the bell on the desk, and immediately there is a knock at the door and a man enters.
"You wanted to see me, sir?"
"I've signed all the approval forms, so please take them with you."
"Thank you, sir."
The man bowed reverently, accepted the sheaf of papers, and left the room.
"Phew~. Oh well... ...... It's time to go. I'd better get going.
With that I went back to Doki's store.
"Mr. Linos!"
As soon as I entered the store, Doki jumped out and came to me, bowing his head.
"Are you all right?"
"Yes. So far, no one but our customers have been ......."
"I see."
We have a brief exchange and then move on to the other restaurant he owns.
"Sir ......"
"Mr. Cronullo, is something wrong?"
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"No, I'm fine. ......"
"I'll try not to cause you any trouble, don't worry."
Dawki is talking to the Tiger-Beastman man in a calm voice. Then we head back to the room we left.
"......"
As we entered the room, Posehay's Zenhai and Fit gave a small bow. In front of them were three sleeping women, and right next to them was Zhuang, who was also sleeping with a happy face.
"Are you all right? I'm sorry you guys got caught in the middle of all this."
I apologized and they both smiled and shook their heads.
"Chi-wan must have been up all night ....... Let's let him sleep for a while."
We exchanged smiles. Then I slowly turn my gaze to the women.
After putting Satsuki on ice, I put the three of them in the ward and put them to sleep. At that time, I melted Satsuki's ice. After that, I had some business to finish in Agartha, so I transferred from there and began my duties as king. At the same time, Doki helped the cook and prepared for the opening of the confectionery shop.
The business style of his store is quite unique in this world. The cook store is open for lunch and dinner, but opens at 11:00 a.m. and closes at 2:00 p.m. The cook store is open for lunch and dinner, but closes at 2:00 p.m. The cook shop is open for dinner and dinner. After that, it opens again at 6:00 p.m. and stays open until 9:00 p.m. The sweets shop opens at 12:00 and closes at 16:00. Moreover, the confectionery shop closes its doors so early that it is rare for it to stay open until 4:00 p.m. The sweets shop opens at 12:00 p.m. and closes at 4:00 p.m. The sweets shop closes at 4:00 p.m.
At first glance, this seems like a very aggressive business attitude, but there is a good reason for this. Doki is selling limited quantities so as not to lose the taste. As a result, both the restaurant and the pastry shop are basically sold out by reservation. Although they do not make much money, neither he nor Cronullo, who works with him, are very interested in making a profit. They think it is enough to make enough money to feed themselves, and they use their spare time to invest in themselves by attending the activities of the Kitamachishu and study groups organized by the townspeople.
Since I knew his lifestyle from my association with Doki, I decided to let Satsuki and the others sleep and meet with Tei in the evening when he would be free. Basically, the emperor was always willing to meet with Doki whenever he asked, but he was also very good at coordination. While tending to his store, he asked a customer who came to buy some sweets to bring a petition to the emperor to the mansion, and a few hours later, he had already received a permit from the emperor granting him access to the mansion. The handwriting, which is said to be written in the emperor's own hand, is very powerful, but at the same time, it has a somewhat graceful style, and even from this handwriting, one can see that the emperor is no ordinary person.
"Well, let's go."
I leave the restaurant with Doki. We continued along the pavilion and entered through a large gate, where we saw two large buildings that looked like warehouses.
"This way, please."
We proceeded slowly, keeping the building on our left. The ground beneath our feet was covered with a gravel-like material, which made a jarring sound as we walked. After walking for a while, we saw a full-fledged pavilion, and we turned left just after passing it.
...... We were struck by a truly magnificent garden. There was a large pond with various trees planted around it, and their reflections on the surface of the pond created an indescribably relaxing space.
"My Lord!"
Dawki's voice suddenly snapped me back to reality. He gives me a look and runs away. As I looked closer, I saw that there were buildings around the garden, and I could see what looked like figures in the corridor connecting them. I run after Doki.
There was a small man standing there, dressed in an outfit that looked like a cloth wrapped around his body. He had two horns on his head. As I approached him, his appearance became clearer. His eyes are narrow and rounded, giving him a sense of softness. His hair was silver-colored, which could be seen through the cloth wrapped around it, and his face was light green.
"You've made it!"
His voice was more high-pitched than I had expected. Dawki knelt on the ground and bowed reverently.
"I apologize for the emergency," he said.
"Yes, that's fine. It's a request from the Dawki. We will meet at any cost.
The emperor looks at Doki with a gentle smile. Then he turns his gaze to me and smiles.
"We can't talk here. Come on, let's go inside.
With these words, he disappeared into the building.
The room to which he led us was empty and deserted. The only thing that caught my eyes was a tiger-like figurine with a faint bluish-white light. The emperor himself placed two green cushion-like round rugs on the floor in front of it, and he sat down comfortably beside the figurine.
"Come, sit down," he said.
"I'm sorry, sir."
Doki took the trouble to remove the cushion and sit on the floor. I followed suit and sat down on the floor.
"Ho-ho-ho-ho, you two are very reserved. Now, what is it you want to tell Maro?
"My Lord, this is Mr. Linos, the man who provided us with the salt."
"What, salt?"
Yes. You have provided enough salt to last the people of this country for three months. I'm not worried about that. You said you would pay for it whenever you could. ......"
When Doki had finished, the emperor stood up quickly and began to untie the cloth that was wrapped around his body. In no time at all he was naked, and he carefully folded the cloth and slowly held it out to me.
"This is Gonnara, ruler of the land of Midaï. I know it will not be enough to pay you, but at least give me some money for it. Maro used it, but it was woven by my wife with all her heart and soul. It will still be worth a good deal if you sell it."
I hurriedly returned the cloth to the emperor.
"No, thank you, really. You can pay for it later. Salt is plentiful in my country. Besides, Doki gave my wife a nourishing rice cake ...... when she gave birth. They helped me a lot. This time I would like to return the favor. Please don't worry about it."
"But the kachin made by ...... Doki and this salt are not quite equal, are they ......?"
"Yes. We'll try to get a small amount of money back each month. It is never free."
"Monthly ....... If you want to charge a fee, Maro will not say anything. ...... sincerely appreciate it. But ...... who the hell are you?"
"I'm a man of many trades."
"So you're a merchant ....... I don't see any evil intentions. And ......, I sense something very powerful."
I'm sorry, sir. I'm afraid I'm buying.
For a moment, it almost comes out in his expression, but he manages to hold it back. I could have called myself the King of Agartha, but my instinct was to disguise my identity, and I answered that I was a merchant. But I did not lie. Besides, I wonder if you have low-level appraisal skills, seeing as you can sense my power, even if only vaguely. The emperor has been looking into my eyes since a while ago. His eyes are very beautiful. He has big eyes so that I can see him clearly. Looking into his emerald green eyes, I feel like I'm being sucked in, but it's very comfortable. I am about to activate my appraisal skill for that, but at that moment, I feel like I shouldn't do it. It seems that he is not a simpleton. It would be better to tell him what I have appraised them for, not what Satsuki and the others have claimed. While I was thinking about this, the emperor opened his mouth again.
"By the way, you want to see Maro?"
"Yes. This time, the Mideast is being salted away, isn't it? It actually seems to be a ploy by the neighboring kingdom of Thana."
"Kingdom of Tana? How do you know such things?
Yes, when I came to this country, I was involved in a kidnapping case and was framed for it. While I was talking with the people involved in the case, I found out some terrible things. I wanted to tell the emperor about it, so I asked for your time to do so.
"Well, ......, I'd love to hear ...... about that."
The emperor straightened his posture and faced me. Seeing this, I gave Doki a look. .......