Chapter 67

When he heard that the Marquis had come to visit with his daughter, the Crown Prince also decided to join the tour.

Ricardo guided them through the work shed, the construction site of the employee dormitories, and the bathhouse.

"Hmm, a bath for the employees. Do you really make such luxuries, and still manage to profit from raising the demon tree Kumiri?"

The Marquis Boniperti spoke up.

"Raising the demon tree Kumiri does not yield a profit."

"Hmm, there must be some secret, then."

"Yes, this way."

Ricardo led them to the fourth enclosure where the apricot demon tree, grafted with Shuram tree branches, was being raised.

He opened the door and guided the Crown Prince and the others into the fourth enclosure.

Before their eyes, an apricot demon tree, in full bloom, was slowly walking.

"Beautiful, it's in bloom."

"What kind of flower is this?"

Greta marveled at the sight, but the Marquis, sensing something amiss, asked Ricardo.

Just as Ricardo was about to explain, the Crown Prince, with a smug look, spoke up.

"Did you notice? The flower on the head of the demon tree is a Shuram tree flower. This demon tree bears the fruit of the Shuram tree."

"Indeed... the fruit of the Shuram tree is the one that acts as a catalyst, isn't it?"

"Yes. This is the source of income for the breeding ground."

Ricardo was puzzled by why the Crown Prince was boasting so proudly.

Later, he learned that the Crown Prince had been pushed into handling a backlog of administrative tasks upon returning to the capital, which had caused him stress for several days.

Ricardo's letter had prompted him to go out, and he was currently using this time to relieve his stress.

Next, they went to the enclosure where the demon tree Kumiri was being raised.

Monta and Dario were desperately chasing after the Kumiri.

"Damn, it ran that way."

The Kumiri, which had changed direction in front of Dario, ran towards Monta.

"Kykyah!"

Monta pounced and captured the Kumiri.

"Monta, that's amazing."

Greta clapped.

"These demon trees seem to be ordinary Kumiri."

The Marquis's comment made Ricardo nod.

"The demon tree Kumiri is not useless. Kumiri has the ability to improve soil unsuitable for farming, turning it into soil where crops can grow."

Ricardo guided them to the enclosure where crops were being cultivated, showing them the mori potatoes and soybeans growing there. In this enclosure, the former weavers were mainly responsible for growing the crops.

"Can crops really grow in land so close to the coast? I see, that's why you bought the land along the coast."

The Marquis Boniperti, who had helped Ricardo buy the land, found it a curious coincidence.

The Unius breeding ground had been expanded in the spring, completing up to the eighteenth enclosure. The setup was capable of raising up to 300 demon trees, but there were not enough people to increase the number, which was causing Antonio to worry.

When it came to a shortage of manpower, cultivating crops required land reclamation. The demon tree Kumiri could remove salt from the soil and make it fertile, but stones buried in the soil remained. When trying to cultivate and plant crops, these stones would get in the way and needed to be removed.

Incidentally, only the eighth enclosure, where crops were being planted, had been properly cultivated by hiring residents from the slums.

The Marquis Boniperti was unsure how to evaluate Ricardo.

At first, he thought Ricardo was a young and talented magician. However, seeing the breeding ground, it seemed he also had business acumen. Moreover, it was surprising that he was on good terms with the Crown Prince.

"Ricardo, when did you gain the favor of the Crown Prince?"

"The Crown Prince first visited the breeding ground last autumn, so it has been more than half a year."

The Crown Prince nodded, as if remembering.

"That's right. At that time, I was treated to Chukaman for the first time. It's almost noon; what have you prepared for today?"

Greta was invited at noon because he wanted to treat her to delicious tempura, so lunch was already prepared.

However, the Marquis and the Crown Prince were unexpected guests, so there were not enough ingredients. It seemed they could only provide for Ricardo, Antonio, and Dario.

Ricardo guided the Crown Prince and the others to the kitchen set up outside the work shed.

Antonio and the former weaver forewoman, Micaela, were preparing lunch. When the Crown Prince approached, Micaela stiffened.

"Micaela, I'll take care of the rest with my brother. Please take care of the fields with Jessica and the others."

To prevent her from failing, he asked her to leave.

"Yes, I understand. Master Ricardo."

Ricardo approached the pot filled with oil, took the vegetables that had been cut and coated in batter, and dropped them into the oil.

The sound of sizzling and the popping of the oil could be heard.

"What is this dish?"

The Marquis asked.

"This is a cooking method called tempura. Let's start with vegetable tempura."

Antonio poured a small dish of tare, made from fish sauce, and distributed it.

He placed the well-fried vegetable tempura on a plate, drained the oil, and set it in front of the Crown Prince and the others.

"Please dip it in the tare and enjoy."

"I'll go first."

The Marquis, perhaps to test for poison, first pierced a pumpkin tempura with a fork, dipped it in the tare, and put it in his mouth.

After chewing and swallowing, he silently put a mountain vegetable tempura in his mouth. Then, the next...

"Marquis, how does it taste? You haven't said anything, and Ricardo looks worried."

"Ah, my apologies. The taste was so good that I forgot myself."

"Hmm, is it that good?"

The Crown Prince put the tempura in his mouth, and a smile appeared on his face.

"This is bitter."

Greta, who had eaten the mountain vegetable tempura, spoke up. It seemed the slightly bitter taste was too early for a child's palate.

"Ha ha ha... This taste was too early for Greta."

The Marquis laughed at Greta, who had a strange expression.

On the contrary, the Crown Prince seemed to like the bitterness of the mountain vegetables.

"I'll have another serving of mountain vegetable tempura."

Ricardo served mountain vegetable tempura to the Crown Prince and shrimp tempura to Greta.

Antonio distributed steamed buns to the maids and the royal guards. The guards looked unsatisfied, but since the guests were unexpected, it couldn't be helped.

"To think you've been monopolizing such delicious food all this time."

The Marquis seemed to really enjoy the tempura.

"When the new shop is completed, I'll serve it there."

"Where is this new shop?"

"It's where the Chinese buns are sold."

"I'll definitely come when it opens."

Hearing this, Ricardo furrowed his brow. Perhaps a VIP room was needed.

After the meal, Ricardo, the Crown Prince, and the Marquis Boniperti moved to the work shed.

Ricardo intended to send the Marquis home after the tour and talk only with the Crown Prince, but the Crown Prince insisted on keeping the Marquis and talking together.

The work shed only had simple chairs. The three of them sat on the chairs and looked at each other.

Ricardo explained the Serrato prophecy to the Marquis, who knew nothing about it, and asked the Crown Prince.

"Did you know about the Serrato prophecy?"

"No, I didn't. It seems the royal family kept it a secret."

The Crown Prince learned about the Serrato prophecy for the first time from Ricardo's letter. Realizing its importance, he quickly investigated and came to meet Ricardo.

"Why do you think the royal family punished Serrato?"

"The timing was bad. When Serrato mentioned the 90-year cycle, it was shortly after the abnormal weather and disasters had ended. The people must have been anxious about the possibility of abnormal weather happening again, causing a big commotion."

The Marquis nodded.

"I see. To suppress the pessimistic masses, they had to silence Serrato."

Ricardo frowned. There should have been other methods, given the time until the next abnormal weather. The royal family simply chose the easiest option.

"But why didn't they take measures against abnormal weather afterward?"

"From the documents I found, the king who decided to punish Serrato passed away the following year. As a result, the truth about the Serrato prophecy was not accurately passed on to the next generation."

"That's ridiculous... I apologize."

Ricardo inadvertently said something impolite and apologized.

"No, I understand why you would say that. However, changing the king is a difficult time."

Though he didn't understand, it seemed that when the king changed, many high-ranking officials and ministers were also replaced. This led to political chaos, and the information held by the previous king and ministers was not accurately passed on.

"What do you think of the Serrato prophecy, Your Highness?"

The Marquis asked.

"It seems to be true. We need to take immediate measures."

The Marquis Boniperti thought about returning to his territory to investigate how much the previous abnormal weather had affected his land.

"What measures do you have in mind?"

Regarding the severe cold and heavy snow, he wanted to see if any measures were being considered.

"The specifics will come later. However, I've heard that the Milan financial group has started a coal mining business, anticipating the severe cold starting three years from now. It seems the heating fuel for winter should be sufficient."

Ricardo tilted his head.

"I've heard that the population of the royal territory is over a million. I wonder if the coal from the Palente coalfield will be enough."

Bernardo had mentioned building a permanent coal mining base in the Palente plateau. This would significantly increase coal production, but assuming that the need for heating fuel would double due to the severe cold, would the Palente coalfield be enough?

It would be necessary to go to a cold region and conduct a survey to determine how much heating fuel would be needed.

Ricardo explained the current state of the coal mining business and his predictions about the severe cold, emphasizing the need for a survey.

"I see, I'll have a survey conducted. Do you have any other suggestions?"

"I've heard that the snow can pile up to the height of a person. In such a case, the roads would be blocked by snow, and people would be confined to their homes."

The Marquis's eyes widened at this.

"What? That much snow?"

"According to the records, it's written that way."

Farmers and merchants who transport food and daily necessities would not be able to reach the capital. It would be necessary to stockpile these items.

"First, the food problem... It will affect the production of winter wheat, and monster hunters won't be able to go hunting."

The Crown Prince thought seriously about this.

"We must inform His Majesty and take national measures."

The Marquis wanted to emphasize that this was not just a problem for the royal territory. Nobles with territories near the monster realm, as well as the common people across the country, would need to work together to prevent significant damage.

The Crown Prince looked troubled. His relationship with the king had not been repaired.

"I understand. After thorough investigation, I will advise His Majesty."

Afterward, the three of them discussed various aspects, and the prediction of a food shortage became stronger.

In this world, monsters live in the same lands as humans, making it difficult to easily expand farmland. However, there are places where monsters are scarce.

Land that is barren and ignored by both wild animals and humans, such as the land along the coast where the breeding ground is located.

The Crown Prince looked at the coastal land visible from the work shed window.

"Ricardo, if it's possible to turn this coastal area into farmland, we can increase food production."

"It's possible, but it will require a lot of labor and time."

"Labor can be managed, but time cannot be increased. The severe cold will hit in three years."

The Marquis looked troubled.

"In that case, we'll need to prepare other preserved foods besides grains."

"Preserved foods that can be increased include salted meat, ham, and dried meat made from monster meat."

The monster realm guards usually left the monsters they killed in the monster realm because it was difficult for soldiers without storage crystals to carry heavy chunks of meat. The Crown Prince had several storage crystals, but they were protected so that only he could use them, making it impossible to lend them to the soldiers.

The Marquis Boniperti, seeing Ricardo conversing with the Crown Prince without hesitation, felt that he was not an ordinary person.

At twelve years old, Ricardo was the same age as children in the elementary division of the academy. He thought Ricardo was much more mature than his fifteen-year-old eldest son.

The Marquis had thought that the twin princes were more promising than the Crown Prince, who was disliked by the king, but he changed his mind. This Crown Prince had the potential to be an excellent king, and he seemed to have promising people around him.

Ricardo noticed that the Marquis's view of the Crown Prince had changed. It seemed that involving the Marquis in the conversation was a strategy to bring him into the Crown Prince's camp.

Ricardo noticed the fatigue on the Crown Prince's face.

"Let's take a break."

The Crown Prince sighed.

"You're right."

Ricardo asked Antonio for drinks. Antonio brought barley tea with ice.

"Wow, floating ice. You're truly a family of magicians."

The Marquis seemed to think Antonio had used magic to create the ice.

"This ice was made using a freezing storage crystal."

Antonio took out his pendant and showed it to the Marquis. The pendant had two storage crystals, one of which was a freezing storage crystal.

Incidentally, the setting temperature for the freezing storage crystal was between -18°C and -20°C.

"Wow, a freezing storage crystal. It's different from the refrigeration storage crystal I have."

"Do you not know, Marquis? A storage crystal that cools the contents. It's very useful on hot days."

The Crown Prince seemed to have a refrigeration storage crystal where he kept a small barrel of ale. He said that cold ale after work was especially good.

"By the way, a monster hunter found something interesting in the monster realm."

The Crown Prince suddenly changed the subject.

"What interesting thing?"

The Marquis asked, and the Crown Prince, after taking a sip of barley tea, replied.

"It's an artificial structure. However, the entrance was closed, so its true nature is unknown."

"That sounds intriguing. I'd like to see it."

"You should avoid it. It's located deep in the monster realm."

The monster realm is divided into layers as you approach the center: the shallow layer, the middle layer, the deep layer, and the secret layer. The outer edge is the shallow layer, and the center is the secret layer.

Monster hunters usually hunt in the shallow layer of the outer edge, but some go to the middle layer for big game or to search for divine rare trees.

The structure discovered this time is said to be near the boundary between the middle layer and the deep layer.

"Wouldn't there be dangerous monsters in the deep layer?"

"Yes, the monster hunters who discovered it were chased by Wind Cutters."

The Marquis frowned. Wind Cutters are difficult to defeat.

Ricardo was interested in the structure deep in the monster realm, thinking it might provide clues to understanding the monster realm.

"Do you intend to investigate that structure, Your Highness?"

"I want to see it with my own eyes."

The Marquis's eyes widened at this.

"That's dangerous. It should be left to others."

"I thought so at first. However, after learning about the Serrato prophecy, I changed my mind. This country, which has a monster realm within it, has not thoroughly investigated the monster realm. I think this was a mistake."

The Crown Prince seemed determined to investigate the mysterious structure and venture deep into the monster realm. However, it would not be immediate. He planned to start by gathering personnel, and the actual exploration would likely take place about a month later.

2018/1/14 Typo correction

2018/1/17 Correction