Turmoil?
“So this is the dragon’s egg and the scale? Both are beautiful, don’t you think they look alike?”
“That’s because the egg is made from dragon scales.”
Raphael had come over to visit our home, bringing curry powder as a souvenir. We go through it quickly, so it’s a big help. Seriously.
“Thanks to your advice, Reinhardt, we put the merchant house’s crest on the curry powder jars. For the first sale, we set up a stall selling curry soup and skewered meat dusted with curry powder. They sold like crazy.”
Word of mouth spread fast, and inquiries to the merchant house are increasing by the day.
“Is production keeping up?”
“For now, yes. But keeping an eye on merchants trying to resell at high prices is the real challenge.”
“Sorry, I’m the one who pushed for this.”
“No, it’s not a big deal. Once enough people can get it at normal prices, reselling at a markup won’t work. It’s only a temporary problem.”
“When things settle down, it might be fun to roll out new dishes or even open a curry restaurant.”
“... Reinhardt, I appreciate the ideas, but just handling current sales is already overwhelming.”
I didn’t go into detail about the dragon’s purification, just gave a broad overview. Raphael must’ve understood, since he didn’t press for more.
“Reinhardt, if your mana aligns with the dragon’s, doesn’t that suggest the dragon’s attribute is either water or healing? Being a white dragon, I’d bet on healing.”
Now that he mentions it—no one had brought it up before—but considering it tried to purify a mana reservoir, it might indeed be a healing-oriented dragon.
I hadn’t thought of that. I’ll need to report this to the family.
As a thank-you, I served Raphael curry rice for lunch. Before coming to the capital, Brother Chris had taken me to Helios Village, where we got a large amount of rice.
Using my blessing: Growth Acceleration, I declared, “Let the rice grow in abundance!” and we ended up harvesting more than double the last time. We even served curry rice to the villagers there. When Natalia said she would expand the rice paddies next year, the other beastkin nodded in agreement.
After eating the curry rice, Raphael looked at me.
“Sorry, but we don’t have enough rice to sell. We plan to grow more next year, but we don’t have enough yet to supply the ducal house.”
The next day, Duke Clondale, Raphael, Uncle Davit, Brother Isaac, and Brigitte came to visit.
When I looked at Raphael, he mouthed sorry.
Brigitte explained, “I came back to the capital with Isaac just to see the dragon’s egg and scales. Then Lord Davit said there was a new curry dish, so he invited us along.
You gave some to Raphael, but not to me? That’s not fair.
I’ve been cooperating with Westland so much, and you didn’t even invite me? That’s just cruel.”
For some reason, both Father and Brother Chris were out since morning. I had to deal with everything on my own.
There’s no way I can handle the duke or Uncle Davit alone. I obediently ordered the kitchen to prepare curry rice.
Sorry, Brother Chris. We might run out of rice soon…
“This dish… and this grain—where is it from? Did you import it?”
“Duke Clondale, I’ve never seen this grain before. You’ll tell us what it is, won’t you, Reinhardt?”
“This grain is called rice. In the beastkin country, it’s used as feed for livestock.”
“Feed? Even though it tastes so good?”
“Uncle Davit, they just didn’t know how to prepare it properly. The beastkin didn’t.”
“How do you know that?”
“... I can’t say who told me, but someone did.”
“… A god?” the duke asked.
“I refuse to answer.”
That’s not a lie. Let them assume what they want.
“In what regions can this grain be cultivated?” asked the duke.
“It should grow fine in this country.”
“Then we need to start preparations now for next year. Sorry, but can you send some beastkin over? I’ll make sure they’re well treated and will offer compensation. Even if we market this as a new curry dish, there’s no way supply will meet demand.”
“Duke, that’s not something I can decide on my own. I’ll need to consult my father first.”
“Reinhardt, you should serve this dish to the royal family too, and maybe expand rice farming into other territories,” Uncle Davit suggested.
“That’s difficult, Uncle. If we keep doing taste tests, we’ll run out of rice for next year’s planting.”
“If my domain succeeds next year, other territories can start planting the year after. That way, the beastkin won’t have to travel. We can send our own people instead.”
Father and Brother Chris returned around lunchtime. Seeing the state of the dining hall, they sighed in understanding.
This isn’t my fault. They all came on their own—I want to say that, but I can’t in front of this crowd.
“We’d like to eat first, and then continue the discussion,” Father said.
The duke and Uncle Davit both nodded.
I’ll leave the rest to Father.
“… Reinhardt,” Uncle Davit called out, stopping me just as I tried to slip away after passing the baton.
“Show me the backpack you used to carry the dragon’s egg at the palace, as well as the crest stamps and embossers the Westland merchant house recently started using.”
… So I can’t escape after all.
What do you think about this chapter?
