Chapter 688

An Unexpected Reunion
A… alright, let me just tell you exactly what just happened.
I was wandering around the stalls in my hometown territory, when—believe it or not—I saw Prince Kaldor of another country working as a vendor at one of the stalls.

I don’t know what I’m saying either, but that’s really what happened!

“… Why would you be in a place like this?”

As far as I knew, the spice and medicinal herb trade was going smoothly.
If anything, with the spice boom, I thought he’d be stuck back home, buried in work.

“Haha, well… spices were selling so well I didn’t have anything left to do. So now my people told me to go sell fruit instead.”

Prince Kaldor answered, averting his gaze a little.
Uh, no, shouldn’t you leave market expansion of new products to your trading caravans?

“That’s exactly it, y’know. Our lord’s people are so demanding, we’re at our wits’ end! Oh, hey, wanna try some?”

Tika-san cut in smoothly, peeling a fruit with practiced hands, arranging it neatly on what looked like a plate made from a coconut shell, sticking in some toothpicks, and then offering it to us.

… Hmm, flawless.
It feels like he just changed the subject neatly, but faced with the fruit’s temptation, resistance is impossible.

“W-well then, I’ll have some…”

I picked up one of the toothpicks, while Tika-san quickly distributed the rest to everyone else.

Oh, so fast. His movements were as smooth as Miria’s serving skills.
No surprise—he’s been Prince Kaldor’s attendant for years. As expected of Tika-san!

Admiring Tika-san’s work, I looked down at the sliced fruit before me.

… Hmm, looks like mango.

Even while he was cutting it, the air filled with a sweet fragrance so rich it screamed, “This is going to taste amazing!”

Without hesitation, I took a bite. Immediately, a wave of sweetness—so rich it was almost overwhelming—burst across my tongue, accompanied by the fruity aroma.

Wow… incredible.
Yep, definitely mango!

“Mmm! It’s so sweet and delicious!”

“Wow… fruit this sweet is really rare in the Doristan Kingdom.”

Mariel-chan smiled dreamily, cheeks slackening as she agreed. The others, too, were savoring the fruit happily.

Indeed, even in my previous life, this kind of mango was rare—probably one of those expensive ones that cost tens of thousands of yen each, meant for gifts.

In Doristan Kingdom, berries, apples, pears, and citrus fruits are common, but I’d never seen tropical fruits like mangoes in circulation.

Maybe it’s too hard to cultivate them here because of the climate… though, if you built a greenhouse, maybe…?

Unlike my past life, this world has no strict seedling laws. Ethically questionable by Earth standards, but here, I could probably save the seeds and try cultivating them myself.

“Told you it’s good, right? Around here, only Samonar grows them.”

Prince Kaldor grinned as he spoke.

O-oh… sorry. I’m not trying to sabotage Samonar’s market, but—could I maybe try growing them too?

Of course, I know full well that even if I got seeds or seedlings, recreating the same temperature, humidity, and soil conditions of Samonar would be incredibly difficult, and even then, the flavor probably wouldn’t match.

Back in my previous life, even when people smuggled back seedlings or seeds, the results never matched the originals. They’d look the same but taste different—bland, bad, and heavily criticized.

Even so, as an experiment, I’d like to hand the seeds over to Thomas Ojiichan, our gardener, and ask him to try cultivating them.

He’s been bored lately since I haven’t been around to make unreasonable requests, so this might be just the thing for him.

But first, I should at least ask Prince Kaldor. If he says no, I’ll give up right away.

“Um… would it be alright if I tried planting these seeds at my estate…?”

“Hm? Ah… I won’t forbid it, but honestly, they probably won’t grow in the Doristan Kingdom.”

Prince Kaldor answered after a brief pause.

Ah, just as I thought—it’s tough here due to climate conditions. His answer was basically, “It won’t work anyway, so try if you want.”

“Really? Thank you so much!”

“Well, just so you know—these can only grow in very limited parts of Samonar. Still, if you’re fine with that, give it a try.”

“No, wai—Young Master, that’s—”

“Thank you! I’ll ask our gardener to try raising them for me♪”

Tika-san tried to object, but too late—I already had his word!

I replied happily, and though Prince Kaldor just smiled, Tika-san wore an “uh-oh” expression. But too bad—I’ve got his permission.

Anyway, it’s just a trial.
Now then, I’ll have to ask Father to build a greenhouse—one that can replicate Samonar’s climate.

I’ll get Kurogane to bring me good fire-aspected magic stones, then use the water-aspected stones I’ve already deposited to handle temperature and humidity adjustments. I’ll ask Owen-san to remodel the greenhouse.

What? This looks like I’m going all in?
Oh no, not at all—it’s just a trial.

I’ll just casually mobilize my finances, my connections (Father), and facilities (a magically remodeled greenhouse). That’s all. A harmless little experiment, hohoho.

“… Cristea-san has an evil grin.”

“She does. She’s definitely plotting something.”

“Indeed. But as her retainer, I’ll obey my master’s wishes.”

“Yeah, same here~”

“… Tea?”

Uh oh! Oniisama is smiling while radiating “you’d better explain later” pressure!
I mean, I will explain…

“…Young Master, was it really alright to give her permission?”

“… Honestly, I’m already kinda regretting it.”

Prince Kaldor muttered to Tika-san, but la-la-la, I can’t hear you!

Anyway—this fruit would make perfect shaved ice syrup!
Normally, coldness dulls sweetness, but this mango is so strong it would be delicious even frozen and shaved straight.

I also spotted lychee and dragon-fruit-like tropical fruits, so I bought them by the armful.

“This is too much to carry on your own. I’ll have them delivered to your estate, with a little extra.”

Prince Kaldor said, adding quietly, “Too much to stash away in an inventory here, anyway.”

“Wow, thank you so much!”

He was right—if I made a pile of boxes disappear into a bag here, and admitted it was a magic bag, people would start coveting it. Too dangerous. Better to accept his help.

“Keep them in a magic box with time-stop function, if you can. Otherwise, they’ll spoil quickly.”

“… Is that also why you’re only selling them in the Ellisfeed territory?”

“Yeah. We let them ripen in transit, but this is the limit. If we had magic bags or boxes, it’d be fine, but moving this much produce with them would be too costly. And it’d attract bandits.”

He explained that they already had large magic bags for spices, but fruits required separate ones, which would be too expensive and dangerous.

“Ellisfeed territory is safe. Selling them here is best.”

“I see, that makes sense.”

Indeed—our roads are well-maintained, and adventurers often hunt monsters around here, making it relatively secure.

“Young Master, that’s not the only reason though, right~?”

“Shut up!”

“?”

“You said you hoped Miss Cristea would come buy some if we sold them here.”

“Wha—!?”

“I-I never said that! Nope! Definitely not!”

“… You still haven’t given up, have you. Tea, I’ll cover the bill—go to Sei.”

“Eh? O-okay…”

Suddenly, the air turned chilly—Oniisama was radiating cold.

Though honestly, it just felt refreshing to me.
But his expression was so seriously angry, I couldn’t even make a joke about it.

So, with only a quick farewell to Prince Kaldor and Tika-san, we hurried off toward the Bastea Company.

What do you think about this chapter?