Volume 7, Chapter 1 – A New Request

With that momentum, we reclaimed Crieri, the central hub of the Madura Region.

Once we figured out the countermeasure, the undead soldiers of the Black Rainbow Empire were no longer anything to worry about.

We swept them aside with effortless ease.

However, Hugues-san, who was supposed to have been taken prisoner, was nowhere to be found in Crieri. In fact, none of the other knights were there either.

After questioning some of the surviving residents who had been unable to escape, we learned that the Black Rainbow Empire’s army had been raiding surrounding towns and villages, capturing primarily young men, loading them onto ships, and carrying them off to some unknown destination.

I wasn’t entirely sure why, but perhaps by taking away the young men capable of fighting, they intended to strip those towns of their ability to resist.

Furthermore, by literally turning nearly all of the approximately 5,000 Black Rainbow Empire soldiers into dust during the battle to reclaim Crieri, the invading army lost its operational capacity.

Consequently, it was decided that there was no longer any need to keep both Saints on the front lines,  and the King issued me an order to return.

Of course, I could have refused this order, and part of me wanted to stay and encourage Char.

But there wasn’t much more I could do.

Besides, the only way Char would truly be able to smile from the bottom of her heart again was to get Hugues-san back.

With that in mind, though it pained me to leave her behind, I returned to the Royal Capital ahead of Char.

Upon our return to the Royal Capital, we were immediately summoned to the castle. Once again, it wasn’t the audience chamber, but the same meeting room as last time.

“Lady Fiene, Holy Knight Christina, and Shizuku-dono and Lumia-dono—you have all done well. Thanks to you, we were able to halt the invasion of the Black Rainbow Empire, those who sold their souls to monsters. You have my gratitude.”

“Not at all. We couldn’t simply stand by and watch the Royal Capital, and the people of this country, be trampled upon.”

“I see.”

The King nodded with satisfaction upon hearing my response.

“So, why have we been summoned?”

At my question, the King gave a magnanimous nod and spoke.

“Yes. There is a favor I wish to ask of you.”

“A favor? What is it? If it is within my power, I shall accept.”

“Indeed. I want you to cross the sea to our neighboring country, the Yellow Planet Federation of Emirates, and explain the situation regarding the Black Rainbow Empire.”

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“Excuse me?”

I asked back, not quite grasping the situation.

“Those villains launched a war of aggression across the sea, though their motive remains unknown. Furthermore, while the Yellow Planet Federation is further away than our own kingdom, invasion is possible once they cross the sea. If they establish a base in the Yellow Planet Federation, it would be as if a wedge were driven into the east-west trade routes of our nation.”

I see. That does sound serious. It would be terrible if they started acting like pirates, and if places like Novarbour were invaded, east-west trade would grind to a halt.

“Therefore, I wish to entrust Lady Fiene, as a Saint, with my personal letter. I want you to go to the Yellow Planet Federation as an envoy of our country, explain the danger to their Emirs, and if possible, Enchant their weapons with Purification Magic to give them the means to fight back.”

“Um… wouldn’t it be easier to just export items Enchanted here, rather than me going in person?”

“Yes. Unfortunately, while our country and the Yellow Planet Federation are not currently at war, we are not exactly on friendly terms either. In fact, to be blunt, we get along quite poorly. However, as a Saint, Lady Fiene would undoubtedly be welcomed.”

“I see. So that’s how it is.”

While pretending to think it over, I glanced at Chris-san and the others.

“Fiene-sama, I believe it is no problem for me.”

“I think it’s a fine idea as well. If they’re offering it, we should take it properly.”

“Hmm, I bet that country has delicious food too, right?”

I see. All three of them were in favor.

“All right. I will accept the role of envoy. However, first, I’d like to settle the payment for the rewards we’ve earned so far.”

When I looked at Shizuku-san, she gave me a firm nod.

“Fiene-dono, leave it to me. We have worked quite a lot.”

“U-um. I shall leave the negotiations to the minister over there. Please, be gentle with him.”

And so, we set off for the Yellow Planet Federation of Emirates as envoys of the White Moon Kingdom.

◇ ◇ ◇

After the King departed, the negotiations between us and the minister began. By the way, Lu-chan said she wasn’t interested, so she went to another room to get tea and sweets from the maids.

“Now then, Minister-dono. This is the invoice for this occasion.”

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Shizuku-san handed over the invoice along with an itemized statement.

“What! T-to think the bill would be this high…!”

For reference, the itemized statement Shizuku-san created was as follows:

▽ ▽ ▽

Airoll Relief:

Healing:

– Level 4: 17 times, @ 10 gold coins = 170 gold coins

– Level 3: 981 times, @ 1 gold coin = 981 gold coins

– Level 2: 3,592 times, @ 1 silver coin = 359 gold coins and 2 silver coins

Purification:

– 1 time, @ 1,000 gold coins = 1,000 gold coins

Potion Creation:

– 521 units, @ 5 gold coins = 2,605 gold coins

Travel Expenses:

– Saint: 37 days, @ 20 gold coins = 740 gold coins

– 3 Attendants: 37 days, @ 5 gold coins = 555 gold coins

Crieri Reclamation:

Healing:

– Level 6: 1 time, @ 100 gold coins = 100 gold coins

Enchant:

– Level 3: 476 times, @ 1 gold coin = 476 gold coins

Travel Expenses:

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– Saint: 11 days, @ 20 gold coins = 220 gold coins

– 3 Attendants: 11 days, @ 5 gold coins = 55 gold coins

Other:

Enchant:

– Level 3: 5,321 times, @ 1 gold coin = 5,321 gold coins

Discount: 2 silver coins

Total: 12,582 gold coins

▽ ▽ ▽

How should I put it… once it all piled up, it became a staggering amount.

Converted to Japanese yen, it’s just under 630 million yen.

It almost felt like we were overcharging, but when each item is explained, it starts to feel reasonable.

By the way, Shizuku-san had added the travel expenses on her own. She said that since we’d gone all the way out there, it was only natural to charge travel expenses.

I don’t really get it, but I guess that’s how it works?

“T-to suddenly ask for such an amount…”

“Oh? If Fiene-dono had not been there, the town of Airoll would have been trampled by Great Ogres and Evil Treants. Furthermore, was the Royal Capital not being ravaged by the Black Rainbow Empire?”

“T-that is…”

“Fiene-dono willingly gives charity to the poor, but she has no qualms about charging those with wealth—such as your kingdom. If the people could be protected for a mere amount like this, is it not a bargain?”

The minister’s face turned pale, and beads of cold sweat began to roll down his forehead.

“We have provided a detailed breakdown and are charging in accordance with the fair prices set by the Temple. I’d say I’m being quite reasonable.”

“B-but…”

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“Is there something you find unacceptable?”

Shizuku-san, pressing the hesitant minister, felt exactly like a Merchant. The minister checked the statement with a pale face.

“T-this ‘1,000 gold coins for one Purification’…”

“That was when Wraiths infiltrated the town in the middle of the night, and we were attacked by a horde of Undead that nearly blanketed the entire area. Fiene-dono purified all of them single-handedly.”

“What?”

“Then shall we price it as though each Undead had required its own cast of Purification Magic instead? Since the town of Airoll was completely surrounded, there had to have been at least tens of thousands of Undead…”

Upon hearing that, the minister slumped his shoulders in defeat.

“…I-I understand.”

“Then it is settled.”

As expected of Merchant Shizuku-san. Still, I started to feel a bit sorry for the minister.

“Um, since we’re doing this, I’d like to donate a part of this money to the people who suffered damages.”

“R-really?! How much will the donation be?”

The dejected minister instantly looked up, his face lighting up with a sparkling smile.

“Eh? Um…”

“Minister-dono, please make the payment first, and then we shall decide the amount on our end.”

When Shizuku-san snapped back, the minister simply said “Yes” and slumped once again.

Author Note

Just as a supplement, in this world, the concept of income tax does not exist, so the received amount is not deducted.

Looking back at world history, income tax is generally said to have first been introduced in Britain during the Napoleonic Wars, around 1798–1799.

I do not intend to describe such things in detail, but in this country, as in the medieval world, tax revenue is covered by poll taxes, market taxes, transit taxes, fixed asset taxes, guild taxes, and so on. Furthermore, since the nobles are the ones collecting the taxes, they are tax-exempt.