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Um, why are my frozen Vietnamese friend just standing there spacing out?
「Whoosh, whoosh」
I had to wave him over to a seat before he came to his senses and wiped the drool off his chin. Ugh... gross.
Hm... wait, I'm one to talk about collecting drool, aren't I?
"!#@$!#!#"
What is he even saying?
"Have some tea. How would I know your language?"
"...."
What a hilarious guy. Reminds me of that Roman noble from back in the day. He did the exact same thing.
"!@#!%$!"
"...?"
And what am I supposed to do about that?
"Hoo..."
Now he's sighing? Nice going, buddy. And why is he glancing at the interpreter beside him?
"Pleased to make your acquaintance. I am called Lê Tư Thành."
"...!!"
What's with this guy? Why is the interpreter so surprised? Well, I'm surprised too, honestly? Did he expect me to speak his language or something?
"Yeah. Nice to meet you too."
"Ahem. Still, one ought to observe proper etiquette upon a first meeting, no?"
What is this little old man in a child's body?
"This is just how I talk. Feel free to speak casually too."
"Ahem..."
The atmosphere is incredibly awkward right now?
「Clack」
Thankfully the tea arriving freshened things up. It was suffocatingly awkward there for a moment.
"It's coffee. Try it."
You guys don't have this stuff, do you? It'll be bitter — should I sweeten it with some sugar for you?
「Slurp」
"Cough. Cough."
"Oh? Too bitter? Here, add some sugar — that little bottle next to you is sugar."
Must have been pretty bitter, judging by how he's spooning it in by the heap.
I wonder when our brown sugar will finally turn white? It's bleached quite a lot already — gone from dirt-brown to dark brown, at least....
"It clears the head, so think of it as medicine and sip it slowly."
"Very well."
He glances at the sugar, then the coffee, then at me. Busy little eyes, this one.
「Slurp」
Goodness. He looks young, but he really is just a kid, huh? Can't handle bitterness yet, so he just dumps the whole bottle of sugar in.
"Pfft, hah."
"Wh...why are you laughing?"
"You're cute. How old are you?"
"I have eaten my share of years."
I only asked because he's cute, but it's obviously a kid's answer.
I wonder if someone from China will come too....
"!@#!%^!@@"
Ugh, noisy foreign language. That has to be the Chinese guy — is he basically shouting everywhere he goes?
「BANG, CRASH」
Is he insane? Kicking the door open to someone else's house like that?
"...."
"...."
"...!"
"Gasp!"
My friend Lê Tư Thành stared blankly at the newcomers, speechless — and the ones who walked in looked even more stunned than he was.
Come in quietly, why start off with all that ruckus? Absolutely no manners.
"If you've come as guests, you're being far too loud~"
Well, at least they can read a room — the Ming fellows' faces went bright red.
Then again, is that Ming kid even younger?
Looks more like he brought a nanny along? Normally things like conditions and negotiations are handled by the underlings, and the high-and-mighty are just the pretty faces, right? As far as I know, they're here to kill time and goof around?
"Sit down. We'll just exchange greetings and part ways anyway. The condition talks are for the officials you brought along, no?"
"True enough."
"#!$!@#!"
Lê Tư Thành has grown a lot more agreeable, but that Ming brat is truly insufferable.
"I don't speak your language, so I'll just read the mood and sit. Gotta have some sense if you want to be served tea, you know?"
What kind of minor country doesn't bother learning the language of a great power? Are they trying to get scolded?
Hey, you! Have you ever seen Americans come to Korea for a summit and speak Korean!?
"So while the officials work themselves to the bone bickering over terms, we'll just sip our tea and relax."
"Pahaha! Quite right. What work is there for the likes of us? Hahaha!"
My, my, Vietnamese prince, you accelerate awfully fast, don't you?
"'My, my'? Seems you've gotten a bit more comfortable?"
"I have. Er — I mean, yes!"
Going casual with each other is technically a loss for me, but fine, I'll cut him some slack.
"I do look older than you, so I'll speak comfortably as well."
He's not, though? Not that he'd believe me if I said so.
"As long as you don't pull any of that 'call me honored uncle' nonsense, call me whatever you like."
"Ahahahaha!"
"!#$!!@"
Tough luck. If you wanted in on the conversation, you should've learned the Daehan language? There's an interpreter standing right beside you, but with every word delayed a beat through translation, how would you even manage to cut in?
"Hm. It's about time for dark."
"Is there some spectacle that only comes at night?"
"Yep. Something that'll shock you?"
Time to show these country bumpkins who've never seen electricity or lightbulbs a brand-new wonder.
"Daehan is always full of astonishing things. I wonder what marvel awaits us this time?"
"Wait and see — it's a secret. It's only fun if you don't know beforehand."
Oh, it almost feels like we're friends now?
I can't even remember the last time I had a friend like this.
"Shall we have dinner Daehan-style?"
"Splendid."
"...."
"I've traveled far and wide, and Daehan-style food is the most delicious there is."
Every cuisine has its own character and makes for the occasional delicacy, but this sheer variety? Only we have that.
「Knock knock knock」
"Dinner is served."
The dishes began appearing before us, one by one.
It resembled a traditional Korean full-course spread — many small dishes, each holding just a little of something different, all arranged across the table. The rice and soup, the heart of the meal, came generous and ample.
"Oh? So many fascinating things?"
"Yep. So many different peoples live blended together here, you see?"
Ever since the food culture of the Eastern Continent joined in, the variety of things to eat has exploded!
Which means we're always agonizing over what to eat next?
"Mm... may I ask you something?"
"What is it?"
"Almost no one anywhere claims to have actually visited the Daehan mainland. The stories people tell are like grasping at clouds and I just... wondered."
Why are you hesitating so much?
"How large is the land of Daehan?"
"Curious?"
"I suspect an enormous number of people in every other nation are wondering the very same thing."
Hm? Maybe I should think about letting them have a little look sometime? The Original Continent can afford to loosen up a bit now, can't it?
"Hm... about ten times the size of Vietnam and Ming combined?"
The kids will be shocked, so I should probably tone it down.
"Gasp!"
Lê Tư Thành was stunned, and —
"Do not lie to me!"
— the Chinese fellow spoke Daehan, and —
"Huh?"
"Huh?"
— Lê Tư Thành and I were both shocked by something else entirely. That sly little weasel? He speaks Daehan?
"Mmph!"
Covering your mouth now, what's the point, kid? What a funny guy.
"Well, well? Sneaky little thing, aren't you?"
"Enough is enough! He is the crown prince of a nation! Show some respect!"
The bodyguard-slash-interpreter had been glued right at his side, and now that there was nothing left to interpret, apparently nagging was the next duty on the list?
"Guess we don't need an interpreter anymore, huh?"
"I suppose not?"
"...."
The Ming crown prince clearly had nothing to say for himself, and Lê Tư Thành had already agreed, hadn't he?
"Everyone out! Let us eat in peace."
One must eat quietly — it's basic manners, really.
"The Crown Prince could be in danger!"
"Wouldn't a guard just be surplus?"
I'm simply telling you to stand by the door. Why so much nagging? Will the world end if you're not right next to him?
"Everyone out. If anything happens, I'll take full responsibility."
"And how would you take responsibility, might I ask!"
"Me? I'm the kind of person who can turn both your nations into ash if things go wrong?"
"Wha—"
He can't tell if I'm serious or not, so he won't push it, right?
"Now then, let's make a pact. If either one of you dies, I'll graciously erase both your countries. Fair enough?"
Very~ fair, isn't it? Everybody dies together!
"...."
"...."
What? Why is everyone frozen stiff? I'm only half serious, you know?
"What? Why both? Whichever one dies would be the victim!"
"And if someone schemes against the other from within, how would I ever know?"
They're exactly the type to send precious royalty as envoys and then use their deaths as a casus belli, aren't they?
"How dare you insinua—!!"
"Message received? Then get out. Let's eat in peace already!"
And so I chased them all out — even the ones who'd been standing behind the folding screen at a distance — when,
"Sob, Your Highness! Do you abandon this handmaiden so!?"
Uh.... what's with this hideous old auntie clinging to the crown prince like a jilted lover? What is this, a trashy melodrama?
She's old — far too old. And hideously ugly, on top of that? I know Chinese beauty standards flip-flop from era to era, but surely not that?
Wow. That young brat's taste is wild.... Is that even a human and not a pig?
"Wow.... your taste.... I respect it...."
"Ah — no, it's not... Zhenger! Just go out for now."
"Sniff, sniff..."
Goodness.... turns out there's plenty of entertainment in life even without television or the internet....
"Just the three of us left, so it's quiet at last. Let's eat."
"But isn't it getting rather dark in here?"
"Lights? We can just turn them on. Wait a moment."
At this level of darkness I'd normally switch them on, but I'd told them to hold off until it got darker tonight. The darker it is when they come on, the more dramatic the effect, after all?
By the way, kids? Time to turn them on — I can't see anything anymore?
「Flick」
And the lightbulbs blazed to life.
"Gasp!"
"What is that!?"
Called it? Shocked out of their minds, just as predicted?
"Light this bright — how!?"
"What is this!?"
Ah~ and that, my dear country bumpkins, is what we call a lightbulb. Heh heh heh!
"Sit down and eat. Stop gawking at the lightbulb."
"Lightbulb? What's that?"
"The thing you're looking at."
My, Lê Tư Thành is in quite a hurry, isn't he? But how am I supposed to explain this? Nobody's asking for a university lecture here, right?
"How is that thing made!?"
"Skillfully?"
"No! Not that! Can you make many of them?"
He means how many can be produced? Honestly, I have no idea?
"The artisans would know that, not me. But judging by how many they're installing all over the place, I'd say they're making quite a few?"
Now that I think about it, I don't even know how long those bulbs last?
"Gasp!"
"What now?"
"They're lit outside too!?"
Oh? He noticed the glow through the window, huh?
"Only the main streets. There are people with things to do even at night, you know?"
Even we have to exercise some restraint, after all?
But the funny thing is, it's turned out rather well — people started hanging out along the lit streets, and some started studying there too.
Then merchants appeared to sell things to those people, and before I knew it, the cities started running around the clock.
Hm? Birth rates are going to drop, aren't they?
"Could you make these for our country too?"
"Near a Concession Zone? Not hard at all."
"Not in the capital?"
"That's far too distant from wherever we'd build the Concession Zone."
We couldn't manage it, and besides, we can't exactly plop a generator right in front of their eyes.
Even if we strung power lines the whole way, the current would die out long before it traveled that far....
Their capital is probably way out of range, and honestly I'm not even sure how much output our generators have? Could we step it up to high voltage?
"Ugh...."
"I'll look into it. If it's feasible, I'll make it happen."
"Understood."
"Actually, I should go see it for myself sometime. How else will I know just how far it is?"
I should have them rough out the latitude and calculate the distance.
Back when they measured the circumference of the Earth, it was genuinely quite a sight.
They grabbed a compass and a measuring cord and just kept walking in one direction, checking the distance and displacement and multiplying it out. I think they came up with something like fifty thousand kilometers? Huge margin of error, sure, but what they were doing was so hilarious I just kept watching.
"Oh!!! Are you coming to our country?"
"Just a quick visit. It's not hard."
Strange! There are three people here, but only two voices?
"Why are you so quiet? At any gathering like this, the underlings would be at each other's throats hashing things out, while the ones on top laugh and jolly and get along famously. That's how it's supposed to go."
"...."
This one's awfully young, though?
"By the way, how old are you two, exactly?"
"I'm seventeen!"
"Twelve..."
Goodness. So he really is the nanny.
"A pair of kids, then?"
"What!? We are of an age to be wed already! How dare you say something so outrageous!"
"I am no child either!"
If you throw a tantrum about being called a kid... that's exactly what makes you one.
"Must be nice...."
"Hmph!"
"Um...."
Oh? Look at that. The crown prince is finally about to say something himself?
"Could they be installed in our Ming as well?"
"Definitely near a Concession Zone, but the far-off places are tough. Honestly, it's doable — it just costs a truly enormous amount of money."
High-voltage power transmission is anything but easy, you see?
"How much would it cost, then?"
"That's the thing? It really does cost a lot?"
These two? Still princes, I suppose — they have no idea how terrifying a budget can be?
"How much copper do you two have? Copper is what we desperately need."
Shall I dangle the bait?
"Copper alone would suffice?"
"Not just copper — plenty of money too. Did you think that'd be the only cost?"
Would you look at this naive little thing. It's the money that matters, kid!
"And how much gold or silver do you have?"
My dear customers — just how much did you come prepared to spend?