Chapter 11
Chapter 11
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 11
Chapter Title: Legacy of the Ancestral Dragon God (2)
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Prime Minister Marquis Ruindra.
As the man in charge of the kingdom's finances, he had far too much on his plate.
"What's the status on our debts?"
"We've borrowed three tons of mana stones from Duke Estramore's house, two tons from Marquis Roienfeldt's, 2.5 tons from Marquis Bellafort..."
A low-ranking noble from the Prime Minister's office rattled off the list, and the mid- and low-tier nobles' faces grew paler by the minute.
'This holy site pilgrimage has completely wrecked the royal treasury in one go.'
'The money we borrowed from the noble houses... Can we even pay back the interest?'
Gathering every single one of the kingdom's millions of citizens was an impressive feat, but the financial hemorrhage had been too severe.
Yet the Prime Minister's expression remained serene.
"The Tebe Kingdom has agreed to buy Lumière de Ver with mana stones."
"Oh? Really?"
"Yes. They're taking 80% of our stock, so we can pay back all the mana stones we borrowed from the nobles and even replenish some of the royal coffers."
Lumière de Ver—the famed liquor across the continent, beloved by Arcana's Ancestor.
The low-ranking nobles' faces brightened.
"As expected, Your Excellency had a plan all along."
"Come to think of it, most citizens die without ever seeing the holy site once in their lives, don't they? The royals have bestowed a great favor."
"We've shown off our administrative prowess by assembling all our citizens in one place so quickly. The neighbors will fear our kingdom's strength now. It's a win."
The mood in the field office of the Prime Minister's staff was cheerful.
Then one low-ranking noble burst in, pale as a ghost.
"His Highness the Prince! The Prince!"
His face screamed, 'The Prince has lost his mind.'
Everyone stared in tense anticipation, holding their breath—everyone except the Prime Minister, who asked calmly with a gentle smile.
"What is it?"
"He says to bring out every last drop of Lumière de Ver and offer it all up to the altar!"
"..."
"..."
"..."
"Heh heh heh."
The Prime Minister chuckled softly and turned his gaze away.
"It seems the Ancestor is in high spirits today and enjoying her drink. Bring out every last bottle of the remaining Lumière de Ver."
"Your Excellency, what about the mana stone deal with Tebe Kingdom...?"
"Don't worry about that. Nothing's been exchanged yet, so no penalties. It's a gain, isn't it?"
The low-ranking nobles staggered.
Canelian immediately shelved her suspicion that 'the Prince must have some grand scheme.'
Atop the altar.
Prince Ragna was upending bottles of liquor into the air, pouring them out in streams.
Anyone could see he looked utterly mad.
'Do you have any idea how much that's worth?!'
Arcana's prized specialty, worth a hundred times its volume in gold, was melting away in a single ritual offering.
Even his own older sister Ceres was pale beside her, clutching Canelian's arm and wobbling.
"C-Canelian. Wasn't Lumière de Ver supposed to be just one bottle for rituals?"
"I think so."
"B-But how many bottles is His Highness planning to offer now?"
"Looks like he's scraping together every last one he can find."
Piles of wooden crates stacked below the altar.
All of them filled with bottles awaiting their turn.
"M-Maybe His Highness is showing off to the world just how wealthy the Arcana Kingdom is?"
Arcana, founded under the Dragon's blessing, was renowned for its riches.
The weather was always favorable for farming, and resources abounded.
But still...
"...No matter how wealthy, this pilgrimage must have drained it all."
Ragna had indulged in extravagant luxuries rivaling his tyrannical behavior up to now.
He'd squandered massive sums from the royal treasury on personal pleasures.
But compared to the fortune spent on this nationwide pilgrimage, it was nothing.
'What in the world is that wastrel Prince thinking?'
Lumière de Ver.
It occasionally popped up as an errand quest item, but aside from the description "liquor beloved by dragons," it had no effects.
So I'd pulled out the entire stock without a second thought and offered it to the Ancestral Dragon God.
"Ancestor, you're sure the mana herb seeds are still in the skull, right?"
-A dragon's memory is flawless and without error.
"It's been over four thousand years. Will they still sprout?"
-Mana herbs aren't ordinary plants, so no issue. They'll grow beautifully.
"Thank you. I trusted you. Here, down another bottle."
-Haaah... This chewy, sweet flavor...!
I gripped a corked bottle in each hand and poured them into the air.
The streams of liquor cut off sharply midair.
As if some invisible presence was guzzling them down.
A glance downward showed the citizens cheering at the sight of me.
The ritual's bold progress seemed to have them all thrilled.
'If I cultivate and sell mana herbs, money won't be an issue anymore.'
Mana stones and mana herbs.
Both key resources widely used in Dragon Defense.
Mana herbs were spirit herbs that absorbed mana.
A premium resource treated far more preciously than mana stones.
Because they were ingredients for magic elixirs.
And their yield was incomparably low.
You'd scour mana-rich areas and get lucky to find one or two roots.
'Impossible to farm artificially without seeds—they have to be hunted like wild ginseng.'
So mana herb seeds did exist.
I'd thought they just sprouted naturally.
"Ancestor, how do you get mana herb seeds?"
-You have to make them bloom. To do that...
She explained in detail how to bloom the flowers and harvest seeds, and the best cultivation methods.
The pleasantly tipsy Ancestral Dragon God spilled it all.
"Mana herbs are such a finicky spirit herb to propagate."
-From a human perspective, yes.
They needed mana-rich soil, but not too saturated or they wouldn't bloom.
Sunlight was essential, but direct rays wilted the flowers.
Water was a must for plants, but direct rain killed the blooms...
No wonder artificial cultivation was impossible.
-And imagine if a mana-absorbing spirit herb like that propagated easily. The world would be overrun.
"Mana depletion would blanket the globe."
-Exactly. The first dragon designed them that way on purpose. Only dragons can make them bloom.
"Incredible. I never knew mana herbs had such a secret."
The origin of mana herbs.
A creation of the first dragon, forgotten even among dragonkind, unrecorded anywhere.
'...Which is just the dev team's lore, of course.'
Whether the devs invented it or copied the world's laws, who knows.
'Essential consumable for every mana-based class to grow. No more money worries.'
It was originally crafted as a treat for dragon palates, after all.
-Make a flower bed in mana-rich soil, bury one of the bone fragments I left behind at the base, and it'll thrive through typhoons, droughts, or floods.
"Truly grateful. The kingdom's about to prosper."
-Then, my prince, could this ancestor ask a favor?
"I'll visit often, loaded with Lumière de Ver."
Though invisible,
I could picture a silver-haired beauty, merrily drunk and grinning wide.
Maybe because I'm a possessor, it felt less like chatting with a real ancestor and more like getting a healing quest from a cute, pretty epic NPC.
-Come play often. This ancestor's bored.
Prince Ragna descended from the altar.
Having poured out every last bottle of Lumière de Ver into the air.
Canelian approached the Prince.
"Your Highness, what in the world have you done?"
"What do you mean?"
"Why offer up all that expensive liquor?"
"The Ancestor loved it so much—how could I, as her descendant, skimp on mere liquor?"
"'Mere liquor'? It's far too precious for that. It's the drink that continental royalty and nobles—not to mention the Imperial Emperor—covet even one bottle of."
"It's still just liquor."
Canelian was dumbfounded by the Prince's nonchalant attitude.
"'Just liquor'? Your Highness, you know one bottle of Lumière de Ver trades for a volume of gold a hundred times its size, right?"
"What? A hundred times the volume in gold?"
The Prince's eyes wavered, and Canelian nearly reached for her sword without thinking.
"Duchess, is that true?"
"...Lumière de Ver is the kingdom's specialty, counted among the continent's most storied and prestigious liquors."
"..."
"The Prime Minister planned to use it to buy mana stones from Tebe Kingdom and patch up our depleted coffers.
But Your Highness poured it all into the air—what now?"
The Prince looked genuinely shocked.
Soon, he muttered in a deflated voice.
"Damn... there was no such setting."
"What did you say?"
"...Nothing, Duchess."
The Prince waved it off.
"I didn't know it was that valuable. But it's already been offered to the altar—what can we do? Ask the Ancestor to spit it back?"
"Your Highness?"
"Let's just say we're flaunting Arcana's immense wealth."
"You call that an excuse...!"
"Duchess, it's done, so let's think positive."
Canelian began to genuinely worry for the future of the kingdom and duchy.
'Maybe it would be best for everyone if Princess Raisha became queen?'
"Do you know the treasury's bankrupt from this pilgrimage?"
"I know spending was huge, obviously."
"Huge? It's shattered!"
"Don't worry. Thanks to the Ancestor, we've found the kingdom's path forward."
"Did she reveal a rare with hidden treasure? Something forgotten for millennia?"
'He probably just got some empty blessings.'
No past king had ever received practical knowledge from the ascended Ancestor during rituals.
Ascended beings couldn't interfere with the mortal world.
"She taught me how to bloom mana herb flowers and harvest their seeds."
'Now this disaster of a Prince is spouting nonsense?'
Canelian's hand drifted to her sword hilt unbidden.