Vol 03 Chapter 84-2: Honeymoon I
「I want to go to the library tomorrow.」
「The library, huh? I’m interested too.」
Are all the books written on clay tablets? Or are they using wooden slips? Maybe they copied them onto paper?
「I want to visit a Kirisian temple! Maybe they will let us bring back a Kirisian god?」
By the way, Julia doesn’t mean to buy a god as a souvenir, she wants to receive a small part of the spirit of the god, something similar to ‘bunrei’1 in Japan. It seems it has some magical significance and can be used as a catalyst for spells and barriers, or something like that.
「Are you sure it’s okay to bring a foreign god to the temple back home? Wouldn’t the gods of Adernia get angry?」
「The gods are magnanimous; it’ll be fine.」
Really? I don’t want any divine punishment.
「Almus, is there anywhere you’d like to go?」
「Well, I’d like to take a good look at the harbor. Also, the market and how the city walls are constructed.」
「Why are you so interested in the harbor? Our country doesn’t have a coastline, right?」
「Not at the moment.」
It’s worth having some knowledge for the future. No harm in being prepared.
「I’d like to bring back a bunch of artisans and other craftsmen as souvenirs.」
「I want some dishes. Persis glassware.」
It would surely surprise our patricians and foreign dignitaries if we served them food using glass dishes. Maybe we should purchase several sets.
「Books. I want books. Let’s make copies to take back.」
Do they charge a fee for copying a book? How much would it be… Or would they just let us copy as much as we want? There are no copyright laws here, after all. But copying all the books in a library could take months.
「Let’s request some copies later. We can have them sent to us when they are finished.」
Maybe I should build a huge library. Something like the Library of Alexandria or the Royal Library of Nineveh2.
I hope it doesn’t end up getting burned down…
「Hey, Almus. We have some time before dinner, so…」
Tetra hugged me and with a suggestive voice asked,
「How about we play Memory?」
And then we played a lot of card games.
◇
Shrimp, crab, shellfish, fish… It was a feast of seafood.
The meal started promptly.
The seasoning was simple, consisting mainly of salt, olive oil, and lemon.
「Is this pepper?」
I asked while tasting the meunière, and a council member dining with us responded.
「Yes, it is. Spices from all over the world gather here in our beautiful city.」
Pepper, huh? It tastes delicious after not having it for a while. I’d like to secure a stable supply.
I noticed that a small amount of spices was used in every dish, just enough to flavor without overpowering the meal.
Here is the same, huh?
While engaging in light conversation, I observed the council members’ hands.
The Kirisians also use their hands to eat; they have more or less the same table manners as the Adernian countries. Spoons are used for soup since it’s hot and liquid but the solid food is eaten with the hands. I’m already accustomed to this, but I wonder if there are any countries where tableware is used? According to Akira, the Scarlet Empire uses chopsticks.
Maybe the Persis Empire uses them?
「Hey, Almus.」
Julia called to me while clinging to my arm.
Hey, mind your manners.
「I want to eat fish every day. I prefer it over meat.」
Julia’s comment froze the council members’ movements.
What’s their problem? Oh, I see. They read too much from Julia’s comment, 「I want to eat fish every day」 「I want the sea」「I want Lezado.」
Aren’t they overreacting a little too much?
I checked Julia’s expression only to confirm, and she was just smiling; she only meant what she said and didn’t imply anything aggressive like wanting to invade Lezado.
You can’t really fault them, though. If you look at it objectively, our country recently surpassed a population of about 200,000, making it the largest country in the southern part of the Adernian peninsula. On the other hand, while Lezado has a strong navy, its population is around 60,000, and its army relies on mercenaries and is relatively weak.
Considering the distance to the Kirisian peninsula and Lezado’s suzerain, Claris, reinforcements would take at least a week to arrive. When you think about it, our country is quite a threat to them.
It’s tough being in power; you can’t even make casual remarks.
I should do some damage control.
「If we were to transport fish caught in this country to ours, how long would it take?」
「Well… about four days by carriage, I suppose. If packed with ice, they should be fine to eat. Dried fish can last without ice.」
「Good news for you, Julia.」
The council members, having heard my conversation with Ainz, resumed their meal with relief. Ainz gave me one of his weird winks.
This guy is really bad at winking.
Transportation, as expected, requires ice. In this world, ice is harvested from mountains in winter and stored in cellars.
In the warmer southern parts of the Adernian peninsula, water rarely freezes in winter, making ice storage challenging.
The harder it is to acquire ice, the higher the transportation costs. Moreover…
「When traveling to King Rosais’ Country, we have to pay a toll in King Belvedire’s Country, right?」
A council member sighed and complained, which prompted Ainz to cough. Realizing his faux pas, the council member quickly retracted his statement.
Politics should be avoided at the dining table.
By the way, Lezado has border friction with King Belvedire’s Country. I did wonder if my visit to Lezado might provoke King Belvedire, but I decided to come anyway.
I prioritized the potential benefits over the risks.
Finally, dessert was served. The main items were fruits: grapes, pomegranates, and figs.
All were fresh and delicious.
◇
「Wow, it’s quite spacious,」
「Yeah, it’s even bigger than the palace bath.」
「It’s a little irritating.」
While looking at the bath, voices of admiration escaped us.
The palace bath is just regular hot water, but here, it’s a hot spring, which gives Lezado an edge.
I hope the new capital has a hot spring vein under it. If not, we could always bring it in by carriage.
「Still, you can’t let your guard down with those Kirisians.」
Tetra muttered under her breath.
Aren’t you half Kirisian too?
Still, I agree with her sentiment. They had prepared thirty beauties to attend to my bath from various ethnicities: Adernians, Kirisians, Pofenians, Gallians, Germanis, Persis, and even individuals who appeared to be of Asian and African descent. It was quite a selection.
Thanks to Julia and Tetra clinging to me and making it clear that such a service was unnecessary, I was spared.
Not that I needed saving. It’s a bit disappointing, though. You understand right? Thirty women, all attractive, and a veritable salad bowl of ethnicities wanted to serve me in the bath…
「Ow!」
「What are you grinning about?」
Julia slapped my back with all her force.
Damn, that hurts!
「That’s why violent women are not good. Come, I’ll wash your back, Almus.」
Tetra said, casting a disdainful glance at Julia and then smiling slyly as she had me sit down.
Then, her expression shifted to one of puzzlement.
「What’s this?」
「It looks like a sponge. Probably used for washing the body,」
If I recall correctly, there is a natural sponge made from a living organism called sea sponge or phylum Porifera.
「What is this weird fruit-like thing?」
Julia pulled out a black fruit from a jar. I took it, squeezed it, and it produced foam.
「Is this soapberry?」
It’s lathering so it’s probably natural soap.
I’ve heard of soapberries being used in eco-friendly detergents, but I don’t know if it’s safe for use on the human body. Well, it might be a different thing altogether, considering this is another world. This is probably something similar but skin-friendly.
I’ll have to ask Ainz about it later. But for now…
「Hey, you two. There’s actually something I’d like you to do with this fruit.」
What happened next, I’ll leave to your imagination.
TN1: Bunrei (分霊) is a practice in Shinto that involves the division of the spirit of a deity to create a talisman or enshrine it at a new location. This allows the deity’s presence and blessings to be disseminated across multiple locations, and be worshiped by more persons or more easily.
TN2: The Royal Library of Nineveh was one of the most important libraries of the ancient world, it was located in Nineveh, the capital of the Assyrian Empire. A great number of its books, written on tablets made of clay, still remain nowadays.
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Otherworld Nation Founding Chronicles
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I guess next time come without the wives LOL.