To Deprive a Deprived Person

“Hey”

“Haa”

A man of the deprived people who was working nearby replied to Yuu's call.

"I'm taking these guys to the Dish Tree, so tell them to prepare the items I created in the second warehouse"

"Leave it to me"

That said, the deprived people man puts his magic into something like an white ear cuff on his right ear.

"Interrupt.... The king is heading to the dish tree from now on――"

While Victor and the other merchants pretend to be chatting, their consciousness turns toward the deprived people man. On the contrary, the queen and her group opened their eyes wide and couldn't hide their surprise.

"King Nameless, may I have a word with you?"

"What?"

"Isn't that thing he's wearing in his ear some kind of communication magic tool?"

"Yes"

When asked by the queen, Yuu admits that it is a magic tool for communication without trying to hide it.

"I know that communication magic tools can only be obtained in labyrinths and they are supposed to be in pairs"

The merchants shouted inwardly, 「I'm glad you asked」. Not all of them, but all of the port workers had the same communication device in their ears. They were made in such a way that they seemed to have been adapted to the shape of the ears, which differed from race to race.

"Hee. You know a lot for a royalty"

"I'm not sure if the Nameless Kingdom is capable of producing communication magic tools, even ones that can make multiple calls at the same time"

It wasn't the case that she was reacting to Yuu's ridiculous words. The queen immediately calculated how much convenience and profit it would bring and how frightening the effects would be if used for military purposes.

"I'm not selling it"

Yuu's heartless words discouraged the merchants more than the queen.

"I'll buy it at the asking price"

"I told you, I won't sell it. Generally, the country that borrows money from me buys at the asking price. Besides, you know how valuable this is, don't you?"

"It is the Morbel Kingdom that is receiving aid from the Nameless Kingdom, not me"

"You can say things. If you can't return the money, do you get away with it? It doesn't matter because it's a national debt"

The queen's eyes narrowed, but when she realized that Yuu would not break down if she forced him, she straightforwardly withdrew.

"My king, everything is ready"

The man from the deprived people, who had finished his communication, reported to Yuu.

"All right. Ah, yes. You guys don't follow me"

It's not only the deprived people man who reacts to Yuu's words, but also the people who were working around him.

"But――"

"These guys don't have an escort, but if I only had an escort, they would be scared"

Among the people working at the harbor, there were some people who were monitoring the Morbel Kingdom and the merchants. These men wore armor under their clothes and were always on the lookout for Yuu to move as soon as something happened.

"Anyway――hmm?"

Yuu feels the line of sight. It's not just one or two, it's many. The gaze came from the beach. When Yuu turned around, he saw children riding on Ao, in the forest nearby Shiro, Hisui and Pixies and even a black wolf staring at him with expectant eyes.

"Let's go"

The children's frustrated voices reached Yuu's back as he walked away, ignoring them.

"It seems that King Nameless is quite well-liked by his people"

"They're just noisy"

It was not far from the harbor to the Dish Tree, but the queen was talking to Yuu about this and that.

"What about that small castle?"

"You'll see"

"For a port of this size, you don't have many ships, do you?"

"I don't care"

The queen asked questions about every little thing that caught her eye and made her curious.

"King Nameless, I am the queen of a friendly country. Can't you be a little more friendly to me?"

"It's not a friendly country. I lent money to Dadaan"

"Then not His Majesty. If it had been the Former King, the First Prince or the Second Prince"

"I wouldn't lend money to such incompetent people"

"Is that so?"

The queen felt a little better when Yuu said that he lent his money because it was Dadaan.

"The merchants here are all great merchants whose names are widely known throughout the Ream continent. These wickedly intelligent people are flattering the Nameless Kingdom――no, more correctly, the Nameless King. They are all after the enormous wealth that King Nameless brings. If you don't mind, please tell me one of the secrets"

Aside from Viktor, Mago and the others were upset by the queen's brazen request to teach her how to make a fortune. If Yuu was offended by this, they would have to deal with the consequences.

"I don't care how much money I have, it's only personal money. If you run the country, you´ll be out of money in no time"

The merchants shout in their hearts, 「It's a lie!」. Yuu's personal wealth should be in a few countries, even if it is lightly estimated. The only owners of assets comparable to Yuu would be the Eight Coins of the free nation Hameln or the emperor of the Derim Empire.

"It's easy to rob the bad guys, I recommend it. For the long term, I recommend compound interest"

"What's compound interest?"

"It's what these merchants call the wisdom of the merchant god. If you want to know more, ask Dadaan"

"His Majesty?"

"Daddan is definitely using the money you´re lending him not only for the reconstruction of the country, but also to increase it. If you are foolish enough to use it as is, the Morbel Kingdom will never be able to repay you. Both the royal family and the aristocrats of the country want to squeeze money with taxes or to be a merchant"

Victor, Mago and the others were also thinking about this. They looked at each other and laughed.

"Just....... Daddan is different from the others. Yes, just a little"

After that, the queen continued to ask Yuu questions about how to increase her assets. In the meantime, they arrive at the Dish Tree.

"What......a big tree"

One of the ladies murmured in front of the huge tree and the queen´s group entered the Dish Tree with fear. However, it was not as dimly lit as they had imagined and there were no small insects. And the lights were set at regular intervals. As they walked up the stairs, they noticed a dish-shaped branch, as the name implied. It was a familiar sight to the merchants, but it seemed unusual to the queen´s group and whenever they saw people working, they would look at them to see what they were doing.

"Here we are"

Yuu led the way and there were women of various races in maid's uniforms waiting in line.

"We've been waiting for you"

As the old cat lady bowed, the other women bowed in unison.

"What, Flavia's grandmother is here too? It's a long way from here, isn't it?"

"My king, I am still able to work, despite my appearance"

Flavia's grandmother, Flavis, smiled elegantly.

"Satou-sama, how dare you speak against Flavis-san?"

"Flavis-san, I will always be grateful to you"

"Yes! What are you doing holding my hand in the middle of all this!"

The merchants shouted in defense of Flavis. The merchants had a sloppy smile on their faces that made Yuu wonder if it was because they thought Flavis might be there that the merchants had insisted on accompanying the queen 's group.

"They're a noisy bunch, aren't they? Shut up when we're talking business"

Is this the same old exchange? Yuu was fed up and treated the merchants appropriately. The dish-shaped branches of the dish tree were usually lined with circular tables, but this time they were rectangular tables connected to each other. The tables were covered with tablecloths and various items were displayed on them.

"This comb is the one I thought would sell, but it didn't"

Yuu picked up an unadorned comb and began to explain the product to the queen´s group.

"What are the benefits of this comb?"

"If you comb your hair with it, only the gray hairs will fall out. It costs 100,000 Madoka to buy"

When Yuu showed this comb to the merchants, they said, 「Pulling out hair is outrageous!」.

"I don't think they want it very much"

The queen, like the merchants, wasn't tickled with the desire to buy.

"What about this one?"

The queen looked at the hundreds of combs lined up in front of her. The combs were all beautifully crafted, but there was no sense of unity――no, there was a sense of unity if you looked closely. However, the characteristics of each row varied greatly.

"This comb has a moisturizing and smoothing effect on the hair. If you want to buy one, the cheapest one costs 500,000 Madoka and the one with jewels embedded in it costs at least 1,500,000 Madoka"

"Oh my. That's a wonderful effect. But still, there seems to be a lot of them"

"The front row from you is the teens, the top row is the twenties, and the top row is the thirties, a popular choice for the forties and fifties. In addition, this design is popular among the nobility, mainly in the Udon Kingdom and that design is popular in the Set Republic. Do you need explanations for the other countries?"

"No way......what's the trend in each country?"

"Is that so surprising? But you may not usually investigate that much. Even if you ask the merchants about the trendy designs, regardless of the country. They don't have a detailed grasp of the generations, races, riches, or nobility. So I made him look it up. In Nameless, we're aware of the trends all over the Ream Continent. From the nobility of the human race to the goods sold to other races"

The queen's beautiful willow eyebrows rose slightly, although her mouth was covered by a fan. The merchants nodded to the queen, who couldn't hide her upset, as if to say, 「I understand how you feel」.

"Nuhahaa! You must have been really surprised! This is Satou-sama's――cough"

Victor, who was glared at by Yuu, deliberately cleared his throat and moved to the back of Mago. The queen, after receiving an explanation of the combs, seemed satisfied and purchased one for her entourage as well.

"What effect does this unfamiliar device have?"

"It's a magic hair remover. All you have to do is roll this little roller over your skin and it will remove unwanted hair painlessly"

"Let's buy it"

"This is Dapun tea. If you drink it, you can have a stool within a few minutes without any burden"

"Let's buy it"

"It's a lumbar corset, it helps to align the lumbar vertebrae correctly and at the same time, it gives you a load to strengthen your muscles. If you continue to use it, your lower back will remain tight even after the corset is removed"

"Let's buy it"

The plan was to investigate Yuu's personality in the Nameless Kingdom, but before she knew it, the queen had spent a fortune.

"The corset was made by the king for the elderly――ihyaii"

A beast girl holds down the nose hit by Yuu's magic bullet.

"Don't lie"

"It's not a lie~"

Flavis stares with a troubled face at the beast girl who rubs her nose with teary eyes.

"King, why don't you recommend this one as well?

A fallen demon woman brought a small bottle of blue liquid to the table.

"I won't buy potions"

"It's not just a potion. It's a potion made from cells extracted from the teeth of fish and sharks. If you drink this potion, your teeth will grow back. I've heard that some of the most luxurious nobles die of tooth decay"

"Kuu. Let's buy it!"

"One million Madoka"

"It's quite expensive, isn't it?"

"Because it's a freshly made potion

"Maybe not all of them, but are you sure you want to share the ingredients of your newly developed potion with us?"

"Fishy sharks live in the deep sea. It also acts in groups. If you can catch them, go ahead and try. Even if you can catch them, how many people will it take to make this potion? And if you mix the potion wrong, whoever drinks it will grow teeth all over their body, inside and out"

Yuu's words discouraged the few merchants who had been wondering if they could create their own.

"Yes! King, I think women like this will be pleased"

The fallen demon girl placed a vial on the table. Unlike the small bottle mentioned earlier, the content doesn't seem to be liquid such as a potion.

"Hmm? This is no good. Pull it back"

"Why is that? I'm sure they'll like it"

"Just put it away"

The queen controlled her hand with a fan, while the depressed girl reached for the vial.

"You're trying to play games with me?"

"No, of course not. The cream was created for the fallen demon race and cannot be mass-produced enough to sell"

"Whether I buy it or not is for me to decide. May I at least know how it works?"

"So this is for sale――

"Yes! I will explain it to you"

The fallen demon girl raises her hand, interrupting Yuu's words. Flavis frowns again with a troubled face.

"You may not know this, but the fallen demons suffer from symptoms similar to burns when exposed to sunlight"

The ladies, who were unaware of the peculiar nature of the fallen demons, let out a cry of surprise.

"I'm fine now, thanks to the sunlight-resistant ornaments created by the king, but I was accidentally exposed to a lot of sunlight when I was a child. I was in such a terrible state that even my own parents turned away from me, if I do say so myself"

The queen looked at the fallen demon girl with half-questioning eyes. Although the girl's skin was pale, a characteristic of the fallen demons, she looked like a baby, so beautiful that she didn't need any care or makeup, not a single stain.

"This cream! The king made it for me"

The fallen demon girl jumped up, holding her buttocks.

"You can't talk like that without my permission"

"I told you there's no need to bargain. I understand. Let's buy it"

"I said no sale"

"How about if it's just me?"

The ladies behind the queen complained with their eyes, 「That's not fair」.

"No sale"

"How about one?"

"No"

She persisted for about ten minutes, but Yuu would not budge. The queen let out an unladylike voice over the fan, 「Gununuu」.

"This is the last item"

"It looks like a card, doesn't it?"

"It's a membership card for the salon. You see that castle-like building on the way here? That's where we provide the salon for our members"

The products that Yuu had shown them so far were all items that could not be purchased in other countries. And since it was the last product, it was very likely to be the highlight. The queen expected that it would not be a salon that provided a parlor or a common room.

"A beauty salon, if you will. The membership card is 100 million Madoka and the annual fee is also 100 million Madoka"

"100 million Madoka? That's way too expensive!"

"Is that so? I asked these merchants, but I was surprised to hear how much you, the royal aristocratic women, spend on beauty in a year. I'll tell you what, I promise you it will pay for itself"

"You want me to pay a lot of money for something I don't even know works?"

"Then, the business talk ends here"

"Please wait"

The queen hurriedly waited for Yuu, who had started to put away the products on the table.

"Fine"

The queen made a face as if she was biting down on a bitter bug. This time, she brought ten of her entourage to the Nameless Kingdom. If she buys a membership card for them, including her own, the annual membership fee will total 2.2 billion Madoka. It was a painful expense, but the queen hoped it would be worth it.

"Let's buy for the number of people"

"Only one can be sold"

"Why?"

"Because there are only 100 members. I can't sell eleven to you alone"

"We have a wide range of connections to other countries"

"Do you want to advertise yourself? You don't have to do that, because I´ve already giving out to the merchants here"

The queen looked at Mago and the others quizzically.

"It's not for them, it's for their wives and daughters, because we've been putting them through a lot. It's like a reward"

"Reward......, you're proud to say it's that effective?"

"That's part of it, but the price of the membership card has already skyrocketed. I mean, their wives and daughters would never allow them to sell their membership cards"

The merchants smile with a bitter smile, 「You understand」.Victor is single, but he tributes his membership card to Benjamin Gochester, one of the Eight Coins of Free-State Hameln. Benjamin is not a very beauty-conscious woman, but he would never give up his membership card, no matter how many gold coins accumulated. That's how effective Yuu's salon is.

"Ah, I forgot to mention. You can't change your membership card for a year once you sign up, so you can't use it again. So, what are you going to do? Buy or not buy?"

"Let's buy it......."

She didn't even have to think about it.

"Now you know better. You're not going to be able to negotiate with me on an equal footing. Next time, you'll have to bring Dadaan with you"

-----------------------------------------------

After the business talks with Yuu, the queen´s group returned to the Morbel Kingdom and gathered in a room in the palace.

"First of all, thank you for your hard work"

No matter how talented they´re, they´re still young women. The queen thanked them for their hard work in a foreign land.

"As I told you before we left――"

"Don't worry, my queen. No magic or skills of any kind have been used"

The queen nodded lightly at the ladies' words.

"Then let's hear what you think"

The queen sits down in her chair and tells the ladies to speak as they wish, regardless of their status.

"Yes. It seems to me that King Nameless was daring to offend the queen"

"The population of the Nameless Kingdom is not that large. Or perhaps the education of its people is not that advanced. The maids at Dish Tree did not seem to be very well educated as evidence of this"

"I don't think that's true. I found out from one of the merchants that some of the maids have mastered manners comparable to those of the maids who usually work in the royal castle"

The queen pondered a little at these words.

"You think they deliberately assigned inexperienced maids?"

"I think it is highly likely. The more I look into the Nameless King, the more I realize that he is not an ordinary man"

"It seems to me that he was aware of our intentions from his correspondence with the queen"

After that, the conversation continued in a way that you would not expect a lady to do.

"What would happen if the Morbel Kingdom and the Nameless Kingdom were to go to war?"

"That must be avoided at all costs"

"I think we should focus on rebuilding our country"

"At the risk of sounding far-fetched, I can't help but think that King Nameless is so concerned about the relationship between the Ream Alliance and the Morbel Kingdom that he's prepared to sever ties at any time"

"He doesn't seem very kind to me"

"No! He was a very mean man. I wanted that cream"

"Well, so did I"

"You guys are getting off on the wrong foot, aren't you?"

"""I'm sorry"""

The queen lightly scolded the ladies for letting their desires run wild.

"It seems that it is preferable to maintain the current relationship with the Nameless Kingdom. You two should proceed with the change of the official merchant"

"May I?"

"How valuable is a merchant who looks down on you when the very survival of your country is at stake?"

"I was prepared for the queen to make that judgment"

"As for the new merchant, there are a few merchants I spoke with in Nameless who have expressed interest. As long as you give us permission, we can take them in right away"

The queen nodded in satisfaction at the talented ladies.

"In addition, let's get rid of the nobles who disobey His Majesty at this time, as well as those who are neutral"

"Among the disobedient nobles, there is one who is related to the Queen's family, the Devonria Duke Family, is that okay?"

"Doesn't matter"

"""Understood"""

For the sake of the country, the queen´s group, who are called geniuses, obey because they are the queen's entourage who are willing to slash and throw away even their blood relations. The queen was staring at her right hand. There was a card in her hand――a membership card for the Nameless Kingdom's salon.

"E, Emm......my queen"

"What can I do for you?"

"It's your membership card. No matter how friendly the Nameless kingdom is, how about the queen herself going? But it's also the Nameless king's not to buy and use it. You may get angry"

"Then let me――"

"In the middle of my talk――"

"No No, I'll take care of it myself――"

"You must withdraw. I am the Marquis――"

"Oh, dear. Did you forget that the queen said that we should speak regardless of our status?"

The queen was troubled by the adulterous ladies. If she told them that she was going to use it here, they would not complain openly, but she was sure that they would resent her. As she pondered what to do――

"Nuooooooo!!"

The door opened vigorously and Daddan came thudding into the room.

"Your Majesty, how can I help you?"

"ZeeZeee....... You would have stolen it from my, my room!!"

The breathless Daddan approaches the queen.

"I don't know what you're talking about. I'm afraid to look at you like that"

"Hey! What do you mean!"

"Do you mean this?"

The queen held out a silver medal in front of Daddan's face as if to show him.

"You still have it! Give it back!!"

"Ohohoo. Here it is"

Daddan and the queen come into close contact as he tries to grab the silver medal.

"It's a good thing you're here. I can feel the pressure of your flesh"

"You pervert!!"

"Here, here. Your Majesty's precious medal is here, you know"

"Nuooo!!"

"Ohoo. Ohohoo"

Fearlessly, the queen was delighted to be crushed by Daddan's fat. The ladies kept a straight face and quietly left the room so as not to disturb the queen's fun.