Chapter 136

Alicetia’s Influence (2)
The news that Alicetia had been insulted by the Guildmaster of the Merchants' Guild Headquarters and the Locas Company quickly spread throughout the kingdom. The first to react were the beastfolk nobles.

"They dare insult the princess who brought us happiness! Unforgivable! We'll crush them!"

The kingdom's nobles had been equipped with magic cell phones, a high-performance, mass-producible invention created by Alicetia. Although only Alicetia herself could currently produce them, she used her magic to create clones of herself that worked tirelessly to manufacture and sell these devices to the kingdom.

The beastfolk nobles had long coveted the magic combs that Alicetia crafted. The delay in their release had been so agonizing that some nobles might have even resorted to kidnapping her.

This stemmed from the unique nature of the beastfolk. Their fur was a source of pride, and poor fur quality could even hinder marriage prospects. For instance, even if the heir of a count proposed to the daughter of a lower-ranking baronet, the proposal could be rejected if the heir’s fur was deemed inferior.

The beastfolk longed for magic tools to enhance their fur, aspiring to achieve the splendid quality displayed by Alicetia’s maids working in the royal castle.

Mixed-blood beastfolk generally had worse fur quality than purebloods—a fact invisible to other races but glaringly apparent to the beastfolk. Yet, Alicia, a half-beastfolk herself, possessed fur that even surpassed that of purebloods.

It was maddening. They shed tears of envy and repeatedly petitioned the King to grant them access to Alicetia's magic combs.

"Please, let us use them!"

The answer was always no. The only explanation given was that the combs were incomplete.

Even unfinished ones would do, they thought. Surely they were already perfected. Then why were they off-limits? It must be that maid hoarding them for herself!

The pressure on Alicia was relentless. At worst, she endured scornful remarks. The fact that she served as a royal maid offered some protection, as angering the princess behind her would have been dangerous.

Years passed. By the time nobles started punching holes in their walls out of frustration, an announcement finally came from the kingdom:

"They’re complete. Use them as you will."

It was a dismissive proclamation, issued to silence the incessant complaints. Every beastfolk noble rushed to the castle. All of them. They ignored the pleas of their retainers left behind in their territories.

However, upon reaching the castle, they were furious once more.

"Why are these marvelous items confined to a single room? They deserve to be enshrined in a temple!"

The beastfolk then petitioned the kingdom to build a temple. It was tiresome.

"We lack the funds," came the reply.

"Then please lend us land near the castle! We'll fund it ourselves!"

The request was denied without consideration, as the Kingdom was financially strained. Undeterred, the beastfolk pooled their resources and constructed an opulent temple, even to the point where some nobles lived worse than commoners. Although the King fumed at the spectacle, they paid no mind.

In the temple, they knelt in gratitude before a crystal goddess statue for an hour. The statue faintly resembled Alicetia, which annoyed the priests, but the beastfolk didn’t care. Their devotion was directed entirely toward Alicetia. While the statue's resemblance to the royal Alicetia made protests futile, the priests placed a proper goddess statue beside it. Nevertheless, the crystal Alicetia remained the focal point.

Alicetia was subsequently banned from entering the temple. It was deemed too inappropriate for her to see. Ignorance would bring her more peace.

One nobleman, previously rejected by a baronet’s daughter due to his poor fur, visited her once more.

"Please reconsider marrying me."

"Of course! I’ll marry you right away!"

The baronet’s daughter, who had once refused him, blushed as she accepted. Similar scenes unfolded throughout the beastfolk territories. Poor fur was no longer an obstacle. Everyone could now achieve magnificent fur.

They finally understood why Alicetia had withheld the magic comb. Their envy had been directed at an inferior version of what was now available.

The new magic comb was leagues ahead of its predecessor. The improved fur quality of the lords also boosted their popularity among their people.

"If someone with such splendid fur is our lord, I’ll follow them forever."

Fur was life to the beastfolk. No one wanted to follow a lord with poor fur.

Thus, when the beastfolk learned that the Guildmaster of the Merchants' Guild and the Locas Company had antagonized Alicetia, their rage knew no bounds.

They immediately summoned all merchants and branch Guildmasters in their territories. Those unaware of the situation hurried to their lords, only to be met with terrifying scenes.

The usually calm lords, or those who kept their distance, now glared with bloodshot eyes, gripping swords as they sat in their chairs.

"Which side are you on?!"

The lords bellowed, intimidating the merchants and Guildmasters. Communication failed. The merchants quickly realized something catastrophic had happened without their knowledge. The nobles' wrath was overwhelming.

When they finally managed to explain themselves, the merchants turned pale.

"Anyone foolish enough not to side with the princess is banned from operating in my territory! This is final!"

Merchants couldn’t survive without trade. Each had their commercial spheres of influence; stepping outside those meant certain ruin.

The local branches of the Merchants' Guild faced an even graver predicament. They risked expulsion without negotiation.

"We’ll side with the princess immediately! Let’s pressure the Merchants' Guild Headquarters!"

Some merchants had dealings with the Locas Company, but under such pressure, they had no choice but to sever ties. Trading partners across the beastfolk territories began cutting off Locas Company. Their operations in the region collapsed.

The local Guildmasters also united to demand the dismissal of the Headquarters' Guildmaster. Typically, such positions allowed for cushy retirement, but now they called for his outright removal—a rare occurrence. By offering the Guildmaster as a scapegoat, they placated the nobles.

The lords weren’t fools. As long as the merchants cooperated, no issues remained. However, to ensure compliance, the lords assigned their subordinates to monitor each merchant. Any betrayal would be met with dire consequences. The merchants could only await the resolution of the matter, trembling.

At the same time, an announcement declared that the Ponpoko Company had been acquired by Alicetia and renamed the Viceroy Company.

The Ponpoko Company was renowned, especially for its sugar trade. Now, it was branching into magic tools.

When merchants investigated its goods and prices, they were stunned. Its main product was storage bags—magical items typically crafted only by skilled magicians and sold at exorbitant prices. In the magically underdeveloped Kingdom of Arland, they were nearly impossible to obtain.

Alicetia's storage bags, however, offered equivalent performance at just one-tenth the cost of those from the Magic Kingdom.

"Locas Company must disappear. This deal is far better."

Merchants intensified their pressure on Locas Company, hoping to curry favor with Alicetia and secure access to the storage bags.

Next, surprisingly, the human and mixed-blood territories took action.

Humans were primarily ordinary people, while the mixed-blood territories housed hybrids and minor races. The Kingdom had Five Dukes overseeing humans, elves, dwarves, beastfolk, and mixed-blood populations, respectively, managing the lower-ranked nobles of their own kind.

The human and mixed-blood nobles had little interaction with Alicetia. Yet they, too, had something they eagerly awaited: airships.

The Kingdom’s nobles enjoyed discounted airship purchases—30% off export prices. However, due to the kingdom's financial struggles, 60% of the currently constructed airships were earmarked for export, 20% for royal use, and the remaining 20% for sale to nobles.

Unsurprisingly, the Five Dukes had priority. Lower-ranked nobles anxiously awaited their turn.

Fearing that offending Alicetia might jeopardize their chance to buy airships, they decided to side with her.

"If we earn the princess’s favor here, we might receive purchasing privileges for airships."

For them, sacrificing a trading company or two was a small price to pay for securing airships. Since the Locas Company's sphere of influence didn’t extend into their territories, they swiftly demanded reconciliation with Alicetia and the Guildmaster’s dismissal from the Merchants' Guild Headquarters.

Unlike the beastfolk, their demands were more measured. Still, they were appalled by the beastfolk nobles’ frenzied behavior.

Human nobles didn’t stake their lives on hair luster. Among mixed-bloods, only a few valued it. What they truly desired were magic tools for hair restoration. Unfortunately, Alicetia hadn’t developed such tools, and her magic comb lacked hair restoration capabilities.

The work of a lord was incredibly stressful; a single misstep could result in their people’s deaths. Consequently, baldness caused by stress was a common issue among human nobles.

Unable to outright request help from a young princess, they instead sought to win her favor in hopes she might eventually create such tools. But it was unlikely. Alicetia didn’t see baldness as a problem. Even the balding King of Ostland was, in her eyes, ruggedly handsome.

Still, the nightmare for the Merchants' Guild and Locas Company continued.

Now, the dwarves and elves were joining the fray.