Chapter 485

Welcome Banquet – Food Supplies and Diplomatic Affairs
The banquet continued, and this time, a large shrimp dish was served.
They grilled a shrimp as big as my head right in front of us, and once it was cooked, we dipped the meat in sauce to eat it.
The sauce was refreshing and enhanced the shrimp’s natural sweetness even more.
It was truly a luxurious dish, both in appearance and taste.

“Lady Lily, is the food to your liking?”

“Lady Kiri. Yes, I like it very much. The sashimi I had in the port city was also delicious.”

“I’d heard from Kouro, but you really did try the sashimi, didn’t you? I imagined raw fish wouldn’t suit someone from abroad.”

“I’m fine with it. Well, everyone else with me didn’t eat it at first, though.”

Now that she mentions it, eating raw fish is something people might hesitate over.
In the McFarlane Dukedom, we do have thinly sliced meats close to raw, but they're usually smoked or boiled—so we don’t eat truly raw fish.
It’s one of those cultural differences.

“Pardon me. I’ve read Kouro’s report, but so you really did eat raw fish.”

“Yes. Um, you’re the Wind Seat, right…?”

“I’m Furi. Normally, diplomacy falls under my jurisdiction, but due to unresolved issues with external merchants, I wasn’t able to travel to your country to greet you. I apologize.”

Lady Furi was an elf from a different island than Lady Kiri.
Traditionally, elves from her island served as the diplomatic representatives who handled foreign affairs.
However, a number of merchants started traveling abroad without going through the Wind Seat family, and many were deceived, which became a problem.
Lady Kiri thought, “Then we should educate them,” and decided to act on her own, coming to see me directly.
How should I put it—Lady Kiri also tends to skip protocol.

“I’ve heard the details from the Light Seat and the Water Seat. We’re deeply grateful that you're willing to lend us both a knowledgeable instructor and monsters with agricultural expertise for the sake of our country.”

“Think nothing of it. Though... putting merchant education aside, is agriculture really in such a bad state?”

“Let’s see... Agriculture and fisheries fall under the Water Seat’s jurisdiction, but I assisted Kiri shortly after she took her post, so I know a little. Things aren’t too dire at present, but we’ve hit the limit of our productive capacity, and there’s not much land left to develop. Since we’re an island nation, both land and water available for agriculture are limited, and increasing yields on the farmland we do have is a major challenge going forward.”

“I see. But just so you know, my kids might not produce results in just a few years, okay? They don’t know a thing about island climates.”

“That’s perfectly fine. We’re not expecting results in such a short period… Although, that does mean we’ll be working together for quite a long time.”

A long-term relationship, huh?
If that’s the case, we’ll have to make sure we get proper compensation too.
Now then, what to do...

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