Chapter 599

Debut Party (8)
“Excuse me. May I have a moment of your time?”

“Oh, Mr. Kouro. Lady Kiri, Lord Riku too.”

After Lord Sazaby and the others left, we were talking a bit about what comes next when Mr. Kouro and the others from the Isles of the Eight Gods came over.
I’m really happy they crossed the sea just to celebrate with me.

“It’s been a while, Lady Lily. Congratulations on your promotion to Platinum-ranked Merchant.”

“It has indeed. I can’t quite grasp how impressive that is myself, but judging from what Kiri and Kouro said, it sounds like a very high position.”

“Well, I suppose so. But I’m still me.”

“That’s just like you.”

Mr. Kouro lives in Vardmoi, so we sometimes have tea together, but Lady Kiri and Lord Riku are among the Eight Seats— the highest decision-making council on the island.
They can’t just leave on a whim.
I had sent invitations to all eight of them, but I honestly didn’t expect any to actually come.

“So, how are the Parfes who came over here doing?”

“Oh, Lord Riku, really. Can we not talk business just yet…?”

“Ah, my apologies. I’m not really used to these social gatherings.”

“It’s fine. The Parfes are doing well. With the Kiblinki Saltas watching over them, they’re comfortable even in crowded areas. They usually walk through the city pulling the tourist Parfe carriages. And on rest days, they relax at the tourist ranch, where the local children come to play.”

“I see. That’s good to hear. The Parfes here have also been much more relaxed ever since the Kiblinki Saltas started protecting them. They’ve even been producing a lot more milk lately.”

“Parfe milk really is delicious. The cream used in today’s dessert is made from it, actually.”

When I said that, all three of them looked surprised and glanced around the banquet hall.
They probably didn’t imagine that *all* of these desserts were made using Parfe milk.

“Well, I’m amazed. The Parfes here can really produce enough milk for this many people?”

“I’m surprised as well. Parfe milk is extremely rare and not usually distributed publicly. Is there some kind of secret to it?”

A secret… huh?
Is there?

“Kiblinki Saltas, a moment?”

(What is it, Contractor?)

“When caring for the Parfes, is there anything special we should keep in mind?”

(Let’s see… those creatures are quite delicate. We’ve completely enclosed their area to keep them isolated from the outside world, but they don’t like being seen by people except those they recognize as visiting for fun.)

“I see. Anything else?”

(They play a lot. And they sleep a lot. For that, they need a peaceful environment where they feel safe. At first, we guarded them with four of our kind, but now twelve handle their protection.)

“So, it’s better if humans don’t handle that role?”

(That’s hard to say. We can communicate with them directly, so they feel safe around us. But if there are humans who can truly understand and communicate with them, that would likely be fine as well.)

“That’s what they said.”

Wow, I didn’t even know that myself.
I’ve completely left the Parfe management to the Kiblinki Saltas.
The only parts I handle are scheduling the tourist carriage routes and opening days for the ranch.
Gotta appreciate those competent spiders.

“Hmm, I see. So as long as they have trustworthy guardians nearby, they’ll feel secure.”

“This might be useful information. The Kiblinki Saltas we borrowed from Lady Lily were assigned to support rural villages along with a few Parfes. We should try handling the rest ourselves.”

“Agreed. Still, I must apologize, but could we perhaps request additional Kiblinki Saltas soon? Villages that were suffering from food shortages have revived thanks to them and the Parfes. Now everyone’s asking when they’ll get their turn…”

Ahh, that’s the trouble with leadership, huh.
But we don’t exactly have a large surplus of Kiblinki Saltas to lend out.
Now, what should I do about this…

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