Chapter 307

City Stroll (2)
“Ugh… Princess… I don’t think I can… eat any more…”

“As expected, I ate too many sweets…”

After wandering the city and buying up wagashi-style confections and Southeast-style sweets, the knights ended up absolutely groggy.

I had them check everything with magic before eating, so there was no poison, and no stomach trouble magically speaking. They simply ate too many sweets.

“How sloppy…”

“You usually eat so little… yet when sweets are involved, you never stop, Princess. It’s strange.”

For knights accustomed to a meat-heavy diet, a sweets-only food spree might be fun at first, but long-term it seems like torture.

We had no choice but to take a short break at a nearby food stall selling grilled chicken skewers. They devoured the food. As for their guard duty, their discipline held. Half of them ate and stayed ready, and the others kept guard until their companions finished eating.

The locals of the Land of Tranquility looked at the fact guards were eating out in front of their protectee in disbelief.

But in Arland, it’s custom to eat properly so that you’re always ready to perform at peak. Honestly, when working before the king, we don’t pause our meal even at the meal table. Eating is part of the job. And the Arland army doesn’t demand refinement, but starvation is unacceptable.

A well-trained body needs proper nutrition. If you scold them for that, their loyalty gets shaken. The only military rebellion in Arland’s history happened when food supplies were delayed for some reason too many times.

They apparently ignored orders and hunted nearby monsters to eat. Arlandians care about food more than any stereotype of Japanese gluttony. And yes, it wasn’t that supply ran out, they just couldn’t handle the food restriction.

Thinking about expanding the supply corps once we get back, I waited until they finished eating. Meanwhile, Helios, ever rude, has been eating meat continuously since we left the inn, without pause.

Mr. Coote will get mad later. It’s excessive. As a dragon his size, maybe meat feels like snacks to him, but the food cost alone is enough to make Alicia turn pale. Of course, my income isn't affected, even if I get 100 more of him, it’s fine. If things get bad, I’ll just force the Empire to pay 70 % of their tax income to me every year until they comply, and they’ll hand it over with a smile. The Empire has been conditioned by similar threats, they can’t complain.

After a short rest, having gathered a good stash of sweets in the treasury, we decided to stroll the market properly.

Mufu~ the level of sweets in this country is high. There are bad shops, but many delicious ones too. Just today I stored around 2,500 sweets in the treasury. Once back, I’ll donate part to orphanages. Good sweets should be shared. (Clones are exceptions.)

The market was lively and full of energy. What a good country. First, I looked for fruits that don’t exist in Arland.

“Is that… banana?”

I quickly found a fruit shop. But in that shop, only the bananas remained unsold. Others were already sold out. Well, given the time of day, that’s understandable. If I came earlier, there would’ve been more. Other fruits can wait, right now I want bananas.

“Sir, why are these bananas still unsold?”

At my question, the shop owner hung his head.

“… Welcome. These don’t sell because people think they’re creepy.”

“They are bananas, right?”

“Yes. But these have no seeds.”

Hmm. Seedless bananas, you say… mufu. Depending on taste, I might even import them.

But why is having no seeds considered bad? Alicia and Takuto looked puzzled. The knights… maybe they couldn't tell if it was a fruit at all. Or maybe they sensed we're hunting sweets and lost interest. They looked like they were just fulfilling their duty, no taste test needed. Have they already grown tired of sweets?

“Why is it bad if there are no seeds? It’s easier to eat.”

“… Bananas aren’t rare themselves. But because the bananas around here tend to have many seeds and are hard to eat, they’re already unpopular… Even so, there was someone cultivating them. Then by chance a seedless one appeared, but people who never liked them to begin with are too afraid to eat something that suddenly changes. The taste is good, though.”

I see. Fear of the unknown, huh? The shop owner’s words made even the locals frown.

“Your Highness Alicetia. I’ve eaten bananas before but I can’t recommend them. And as the shop owner said, seedless bananas are suspicious.”

Even the Foreign Minister doesn’t recommend them. Perhaps because the fruit is unpopular to begin with. Its value as a fruit might be low.

I used appraisal magic to confirm there was no poison, then ate one. Yes, it was delicious, no different from bananas from old Earth’s Brazil.

“Minister, I want to import this to our country.”

“T-This...? Are you sure?”

“Of course. Shopkeeper, let's pay down a deposit… I don’t have enough money. Is gold acceptable?”

“Sure, that’s fine!”

When the shopkeeper realized these unwanted bananas were suddenly going to sell, he looked happy.

“Then here. One ton of gold as deposit for now.”

“!!?”

“Oh? Not enough? Then two tons?”

“No, it’s enough. Actually these aren’t that expensive.”

“In that case, use the rest to increase production. If they don’t sell, the quantity must be low. Use my gold to scale up production.”

If they’re unpopular, production must be low, especially as the seedless type just appeared. I doubt Arland’s demand alone will clear it.

Investing here might not be bad. Ponpoko and the others would be thrilled to find a new trade partner.

If bananas exist here, maybe something else does too. I asked the shop owner.

“Oh, you mean that? We don’t have it in the shop now, but yes, we can get cocoa.”

“Good. I want to import that too. On a large scale.”

What a surprise. This country apparently has cocoa. And it seems it’s not selling well there either.

I clenched my fist and raised it high to the sky.

With cocoa, I can make chocolate. A wonderful discovery.

Chocolate does exist in this world too. It’s one of the Empire’s main industries, monopolized in the southern region. Yes: a monopoly.

Arland bought small amounts via third-party nations, but I hated that the Empire had sole access, so during the war I made the southern region, including cocoa plantations and chocolate factories, a target for carpet bombing. Now the Empire can barely produce chocolate.

To make things worse, the southern lord who held the industry still had money. And I, being lazy, only bombed, I didn’t bother with looting. In effect, the southern lord lost their main industry but kept their wealth. Problematic, but not unmanageable.

Because of that, when nobles vied for the throne, they included those southern nobles as supporters. Now that region is one of the main battlefields of the civil war. So cocoa is gone, and chocolate production is impossible. I hope the raw cocoa and processing technology survive after the war ends.

But then I realized: even if we get cocoa, how do we make chocolate from it?

Then I remembered something from my previous life.

Iris: “Papa, I’m giving Takuto chocolate for Valentine’s tomorrow, but Papa, how do you make chocolate from cocoa?”

Carls: “WHAT! You think you can make it from raw materials?”

Iris: “Yes…”

Carls: “… You’d need a national license to process cocoa into chocolate. So forget it.”

Iris: “License? Isn’t it made in factories?”

Carls: “Yes! The chocolate uncles labor in factories to produce it!”

Iris: “I see…”

Hmm.

“Then we need to build an interworld gate and invade America.”

“!? Why are you thinking that!?”

Takuto was stunned.

“We need chocolate uncles urgently. Threaten America to send them to Arland.”

It’s my old home, but if they don’t send them, I’ll show no mercy. At worst, world depression again.

“That was just a joke! I know how to make chocolate.”

“What… did you say?”

I was shocked that in my past life Papa’s story was just a joke, and I believed it until now.

But I was even more shocked that Takuto actually knows how to make chocolate.

Come to think of it, even in my previous life, Takuto knew far more than I imagined. He’s a walking encyclopedia. Alright, scratch the America invasion plan.

What do you think about this chapter?