Chapter 129 — Please Protect This Land (6)
Grünent entered the office with a supremely confident smile.
"...What are you talking about all of a sudden, Grünent?"
"The right to experiment! The right to experiment! How much, how much will it take?!"
"Hehe, Count. Please wait just a moment."
Grünent, after calming the panting Count with a wicked-eyed smile, looked at Roan with that exact same face.
The merchant's expression, one he had never seen before, was unfamiliar.
"Your Majesty. Our GDI Trading Company exists to distribute Your Majesty's possessions, generate profit, and return it to Your Majesty. This concerns the rights to Your Majesty's most precious body—how could our company possibly miss such an opportunity?!"
"...Uh, er...."
He faltered, overwhelmed by her intensity.
"The right to experiment will be issued only as much as Your Majesty desires. And the scope of the experiments will go through review by the Small Council, just as you originally stipulated. What do you think, Your Majesty? It is exactly what Your Majesty originally intended to grant. It merely passes through our company once more."
Roan watched Grünent, who was beaming with narrowed eyes.
In that smile, Roan sensed a flickering desire. A will to obtain what she wanted by any means necessary.
Baron Grabe, you....
What on earth have you raised...?
When Roan reluctantly nodded,
Grünent turned to look at the Count.
"However, by leveraging our company's negotiating power, we could also negotiate for things the Small Council would not normally approve. What do you say, Count? If you would sign a contract with us, I could speak to His Majesty about relaxing the conditions for obtaining the right to experiment."
"A... contract, is it?"
The Count, who had been bounding with excitement, settled down for a moment as if a sensitive word had been spoken.
At that, Grünent tilted her head and placed a finger on her small lips.
"It is free of charge, though. I trust the Count would at least write up a contract regarding confidentiality. Would you not say there is now room to negotiate even for experiments that the Prime Minister would absolutely, positiv-el-y~ never permit otherwise?"
"Oh, ohhh...."
The Count let out a small exclamation of admiration.
Roan's face darkened.
And Grünent smiled with her eyes once more.
"Something like this, or something like that."
"Give me the contract!"
"Here you are."
As if she had prepared it beforehand, Grünent swiftly produced a contract on confidentiality.
The contents written on the paper, just as she had said, stipulated that the deadline for qualifying to obtain the rights to the experiments Roan had intended to grant the Count was not conditional on a successful experiment by spring, but could be extended through negotiation between Roan and the GDI Trading Company.
And that even if the Small Council rejected an item, one could consult with the GDI Trading Company, readjust, and then reapply for approval of the experimental rights.
In exchange for all of this,
absolute silence was required on everything related to these experimental rights that others did not know.
The scope of confidential information was fairly broad.
It encompassed everything: from the start of this crystal research, which was the background to obtaining the experimental rights, to the fact that Roan's power was connected to this crystal.
And the fact that the Emperor had granted the right to experiment, all the way to presenting the results to the outside world.
Roan raised one hand and ran it over his face.
In the end, things had turned out as Grünent wanted,
and Roan had also gained a safeguard.
...But why did it feel more dangerous than before?
"Then please excuse my intrusion during your conversation, Your Majesty, Count!"
"Not at all! Lady Grünent, you are even more capable than I expected, ahahah☆"
The Count's mood was sky-high.
Once Grünent had swept out of the office like a storm, the Count turned to Roan with gloomy eyes.
"...Ufufufufufu...."
"...Count, those eyes are.... No, never mind."
After taking a moment to steady his breath, Roan finally remembered that what he had to tell the Count was not the only matter.
"Ahh. And there was one more thing to inform you of."
"Ahat, yes! I would not be surprised now even if Your Majesty told me you were truly a human!"
...My insides are human, though.
Would he not be surprised if I said it?
"While looking through a book with Grünent, I discovered something interesting."
And Roan pointed to a section of the book she had shown him.
"The crystal upon which I bestowed a blessing transforms completely. As you said, it is different from Helen's blessing. I considered why that might be, and I thought these words might serve as a hint."
"...Awaken.... You mean to say Your Majesty awakens the crystal?"
"You mentioned the term 'activation' once before, didn't you? Yes. I have begun to think that perhaps my power genuinely activates this crystal."
"Then, Your Majesty...."
The Count stared blankly at the Emperor, unable to finish his sentence.
It must have been because he himself found what he was about to say hard to believe.
"...Your Majesty's power, could it be the Goddess Laurecia's...."
"I do not know."
Roan shook his head frankly.
There was circumstantial evidence here and there, but he had not heard it directly from the Goddess either.
"In any case, there are many in the world who have received a portion of the Goddess's power. It only exists in the human world, so my appearance in the realm of demonkind with such power is merely a slightly unusual occurrence."
"Your Majesty, I mean this with truly the greatest respect, but...."
The Count's hands were trembling slightly.
It was not from fear, but because he could hardly contain his excitement.
"Truly, perhaps, even a little, some human blood...."
"That too I do not know."
Roan shrugged.
"At the very least, the Former Emperor and Former Empress were outstanding demons. But in the old days, when it is difficult to track all of a family's powers? Would you, Count, be able to ascertain everything about your ancestors three or four generations back?"
"That would be... difficult, yes."
The Count looked at Roan with a truly regretful expression.
"The fact that we demons gather this way, imitating humans by forming families and inheriting things, is itself a tremendous feat. To trace our roots any further would be difficult. Therefore, I cannot know."
"Is that so.... Well, it is of no consequence. I now have the right to experiment, after all."
The Count grinned.
"And it seems far easier to obtain than it was before, ahat☆"
At the unidentifiable chill, Roan flinched and pulled his body back. Yet, as much as Roan retreated, the Count leaned his body further over the desk.
"Well then, now I must acquire some experimental materials. I have received a wealth of new materials, so I can proceed with research in a different direction!"
"Do... that."
It was already late at night,
but on that day, not even the Emperor could stop the Count.
The Count, having gained a new idea, departed carrying a basket full of crystals bearing Roan's blessing.
All the while constantly marveling at the transformation of the materials.
There was not the slightest hint of political calculation or betrayal in his mutterings.
Rather, it was Roan who ended up a little embarrassed.
The next day, the Count, who had stayed up all night, came with an unexpected request first thing in the morning.
"Please summon the Finance Officer."
"Do you mean Liron?"
"Yes. I have an urgent matter to discuss."
No sooner had the message been delivered than word came back that the Finance Officer would set aside all other matters and come near the Count's laboratory.
Roan asked the Count, who bowed his head and turned to return to the laboratory.
"The reason you are suddenly calling for the Finance Officer?"
At that, the Count scratched his head with a smile on his face.
"...Your Majesty told me, did you not? That you succeeded by seeking the help of many."
"...."
Roan merely smiled back in silence.
Afterwards, he heard from Helen that a large-scale experiment had begun, consuming a considerable amount of magic stones the Count had stored in Dos and most of the magic stones Liron possessed.
Because the matter was confidential, Liron could not participate directly in the experiment, so he emptied the private reserves he had saved at the Count's request.
And then—
the Count, Helen, and consequently the Finance Officer as well
all disappeared from sight for several days.
"...Master."
The one who visited the office was a thoroughly haggard Helen. Roan rose from his seat in surprise.
"Helen, are you alright?"
It was the fourth day since he had seen her face.
For her, who appeared exhausted by anyone's measure, Roan cast the divine magic he had learned from Helen.
With his arms wrapped around her shoulders, Roan cast a spell to bolster her stamina.
With some color returned to her complexion, Helen smiled.
"Thank you, Master."
"What brings you all the way here? A servant would have sufficed."
"Master."
A trembling voice.
Yet Helen smiled brightly.
"It is a success."
Roan's eyes went wide.
The Emperor, forgetting all decorum, let out an exclamation and applauded.
Even Helen, seeing this, widened her eyes in surprise for a moment before smiling again.
"The experiment using the crystal imbued with Master's power has succeeded."
Roan's body trembled lightly.
At last, the very first step toward being able to farm the land of Evirgio had been taken.
**
"Cou...."
Roan, having entered the greenhouse at nearly a run, could not finish his sentence.
Seeing the Emperor rendered speechless on a rare occasion, the Count laughed triumphantly in his disheveled state.
"Ahahahaha☆, what do you think?!"
Intelligent eyes shining from a drawn face.
The Count looked with a proud expression at the greenhouse flower bed, which was completely covered in green.
"...Incredible...."
Roan let out an exclamation of admiration.
Wheat, corn, potatoes, sweet potatoes, beans.
From plants that could be used as staple foods to quick-growing ingredients like napa cabbage and radishes.
And a few lush trees growing in one corner of the flower bed.
A large tree was blooming with pale pink blossoms that were familiar even to Roan.
"...There was a cherry tree in the greenhouse? There wasn't a large tree like this in here. Where did you procure it?"
"I grew it for 300 years, and it grew this much! Ahahat."
"...What? Don't tell me, Count, this place is...."
The sound of Helen stifling a laugh came from behind. The Count puffed out his chest and declared,
"Yes. This field is one that has achieved 300 years' worth of generational turnover."
The Count, his voice hoarse to the point of breaking from days of staying up all night, said proudly.
Roan could only be appalled.
"Count, you... 300 years later...."
"We are not the only generation who will use these crystals, after all."
The Count, shrugging his shoulders lightly, looked upon the flower bed he had cultivated as if with affection.
Not something like a Biting Flower.
Now, crops that could truly feed demonkind looked genuinely beautiful even in Roan's eyes.
"It seems Your Majesty's hypothesis was correct."
The Count added an explanation toward Roan, who was gazing at the field and fruit trees with emotion from one side of the greenhouse.
"When the crystal Your Majesty blessed is turned into powder and sprinkled on the flower bed, it functions similarly to the crystal Helen formerly blessed.
That is, it converts and supplies mana back to the soil."
They had said that Helen's blessing had meaning only if the crystal was broken and bestowed, but my own apparently differed in the very form of its application.
"The function of absorbing mana does not disappear, but because only an extremely small amount is mixed into the soil, it is not as fatal as it is in crystal form."
The Count gave a shrug.
"We have not yet conducted experiments on living creatures, so we cannot be certain about the precise long-term effects. Even so, it is relatively safe. At the very least, we have confirmed that the amount of mana drained away is infinitesimal."
As he said, the Count was not wearing the bright yellow shielding suit he often wore.
"Moreover, for now... it is permanent enough to last 300 years. To be precise, as we have only verified up to 300 years, the word permanent is slightly off."
"Then, at least during the 300 years you have confirmed so far... this crystal absorbs mana and supplies it as the earth's energy?"
"Yes. It first uses the mana the crystal possessed, and thereafter absorbs the surrounding mana to supply the earth. So to speak, it is a cycle."
"...Count."
Roan grabbed the Count by the shoulders.
"Uh..., oh. Your Majesty."
As if flustered, the Count stammered.
But the smile that had appeared on Roan's face did not disappear.
"You have worked hard. Truly, this is remarkable."
"Oh, er. Thank you!"
The Count, after a moment's hesitation, beamed brightly.
Even from his gaunt face, an irrepressible, pure joy radiated.
Helen was laughing, tears dropping from her eyes.
"Helen too. You have worked very hard. Thank you."
"Master, hic... thank you...."
"Count. I shall reward you handsomely for this."
"Ahat☆ Then, if you increase the number of experimental rights...."
"You, it seems you have gone far too long without sleep."
The Count was not in his right mind at the moment.
Roan hurriedly cut off the words before anything stranger could come out and offered,
"First, let us ensure you can rest properly. Let us continue our discussion tomorrow."
"No, just a moment, Your Majesty. The experimental rights...."
"Give me your hand. I shall show you my power directly."
"Here it is!"
The Count, who had exhausted all his strength explaining and could barely speak through the drowsiness closing in, suddenly answered with vigor and held out his hand.
What was so difficult about showing his power?
If the Count asked him to carry him right now, Roan would do that too.
It was absolutely not because he did not want to hear about those experimental rights.
Roan took the Count's hand and concentrated his power.
His power flowed into the Count.
It drove away the Count's fatigue,
and the Count startled at the unfamiliar force surging into his body.
Then he quickly relaxed.
Because
the languid energy felt as though it were gently caressing his entire body.
The Count lowered his guard
just a little more than usual.
"Euuh...?"
The Count's face flushed for a moment as he swallowed his breath.
But when the Count snatched his hand back,
Roan could only watch with a bewildered expression.
"Count...?"
Huh?
Why...?
Why is 'Mihon' activating?
And what suddenly rang out was
the bleep-bloop alert sound he was sick and tired of hearing.