3 bar menu

The Staggering Price of Bridging Worlds – Part 03

She’s turned into a genuine queen.

Born into the royal family and growing up in the midst of political machinations, she chose to be powerless to protect herself. She thought her plan worked well, but in the end, her intelligence was recognized by those who cared for this country, and she was thrust into the position of a queen.

If the chamberlain hadn’t weakened the king using drugs, or if the Fire Drakon that Hikaru encountered in Paula’s hometown hadn’t come to the capital, this might not have happened. At that time, Kujastria was the only royal who confronted the creature, and her fleeting yet brave figure was burned into the eyes of many people.

Margrave Grugschilt had initially asked her to be the queen for only a year, maybe half, but as Hikaru had guessed, this would go on for a while. Until she found a consort, gave birth, and her child grew to maturity.

She could also marry Galeicrada of House Nightblaze and give him royal authority, but that seemed impossible because Galeicrada fell for Sophie of the Four Eastern Stars. It was a tough choice between royal authority and love, but Galeicrada had been sick for years, and his father, Duke Nightblaze, loved him so much that he also preferred letting him be free rather than giving him power.

To make up for it, both the duke and Galeicrada assisted Kujastria fully in her duties.

I expected it to turn out like this, but not for her to grow up this fast.

A 17-year-old girl, carrying the weight of a nation on her small shoulders, could express gratitude to a suspicious individual like Hikaru.

Kujastria had the qualities to become a remarkable ruler—an outstanding one at that. A gifted queen, appearing in a time of crisis like a bright comet in the night sky.

No matter how much she pretended to be powerless, those who saw her recognized it, and those who could tell, understood.

“Your Majesty, please raise your head. You should be giving coins, not thanks to people like me.”

“I know you’re not that kind of a person.”

“You give me too much credit.”

“Do I, though?”

Kujastria stood up and brought a letter from the desk. It was made of high-quality parchment, with no ornate embellishments.

“…What is this?”

Hikaru’s 3 points on Instinct rang alarm bells in his head.

“It’s a personal letter from Emperor Kagurai G. Quinbrand of the Quinbrand Empire.”

“What?”

“It says that the Empire is greatly indebted to Silver Face, but they have not been able to repay him yet. If he were to appear before me, please tell him to come to the Empire again.”

“…”

“What in the world did you do?” Kujastria asked, tilting her head.

The gesture was adorable, but behind the question was a hint of irritation.

“All right. I’ll talk.”

Hikaru told her what happened in the Empire. Not what he did, but that Pope Luvain of Bios visited the Imperial Capital, had a meeting with Emperor Kagurai, and signed a ceasefire agreement.

“I see. That matches the information I received.”

Was it written in Kagurai’s letter? Or perhaps, the kingdom’s spies were quite proficient, obtaining intel in the imperial capital.

“But what I heard from Lord Galeicrada was that Silver Face barged into the imperial army’s camp alone, threatened the commander, and forced his way through with Pope Luvain.”

“That’s one hell of a way to put it.”

“You probably did something in the capital as well. As far as I know, Count Dred, a powerful figure in the empire’s business community, lost his position. And the position of the Foreign Minister is currently vacant.”

So you already know everything, Hikaru thought with half-lidded eyes.

Kujastria giggled. “Seeing you make that face is very satisfying.”

“Good to hear.”

“But you didn’t have to do everything alone.” Her voice took in a gentle tone. “You could have asked me for help. I could have made some arrangements to get a seat at the negotiating table for the ceasefire between Bios and Quinbrand.”

“Uh…”

“Or was I not capable enough for that?” Kujastria smiled sadly.

Hikaru wanted to deny it. He hadn’t even considered that possibility. He wasn’t a diplomatic professional, and he hadn’t studied political economics. At that time, he was focused on the immediate situation, wanting to be freed from obligations as soon as possible, but Kujastria didn’t see it that way.

Hikaru—or rather, Silver Face—thought it would be quicker to resolve things on his own than to involve a distinguished figure like Kujastria.

If that’s the case…

He didn’t deny it. Instead…

“Thanks. I’ll ask for your help from now on.”

She didn’t want comfort; she wanted recognition, and to be relied upon.

Kujastria’s breath caught in her throat, not expecting Hikaru to say such a thing. However, this momentary display of discomposure quickly turned into a smile as bright as a flower blooming.

“Please do.”

After that, Hikaru exchanged some information with Kujastria. They also talked about the priest that Hikaru borrowed from Luvain, Leonie, who was currently helping Kujastria with her research on the spell for crossing worlds.

“She’s been a great help. There’s not enough people who can handle paperwork, and her knowledge about the Church is very welcome.”

A critical acclaim.

“I wish she would stay here forever.”

“She’s a priest, you know.”

“Truly unfortunate. If she were a civil servant, she would have risen through the ranks in an instant. Duke Jackrune, who is overseeing internal affairs, also gave her the stamp of approval. He said that her only flaw was that she was affiliated with the Church. The duke rarely compliments people.”

Apparently, Kujastria was treating Leonie as a civil servant. There was a severe shortage in human resources everywhere.

Following the king’s death and Kujastria’s ascension, and with Bios’s pope passing away—due to Hikaru administering the Accursed Toxin, and Luvain turning a blind eye—Quinbrand punished the nobles who sought to exploit the empire in the aftermath of the catastrophe.

All these countries were trying to eliminate corruption and return to a proper path. If that resulted in a shortage of personnel, Hikaru thought it should be welcomed.

“Does that mean Leonie isn’t contributing to the actual research?”

“Uh, well, no, she is! Without her, I wouldn’t even have had time to write the formula for the spell.”

Technically correct, but she was just treating her as an errand girl.

“Well, whatever. I don’t really expect immediate progress. It took a lot of time and effort from you and Roland to get us to this point. Honestly, I was worried it might be too much for Leonie, but if she can ease the queen’s load, then it’s all good.”

“She saves me a lot of effort. The best gift I could have received.”

“She’s not a gift. She’s on loan.”

“I am indebted to the Church. To think they would send such a wonderful person.”

“Again: we’re only borrowing her. Just so you know, Luvain is a tough guy to deal with. Who knows what he would demand if you fleeced him?”

“Fleeced? What does that mean?”

“To defraud someone.”

“Silver Face, I hereby appoint you as an exclusive foreign envoy to the Theocracy of Bios.”

“Quit joking around. No way am I dealing with that guy. I’ve decided not to have anything to do with him ever again.”

“Is he that formidable?”

“Oh, very.”

“Really?”

“Really,” Hikaru said with a straight look.

“Ah, but I really want her,” Kujastria muttered.

Hikaru keenly sensed that the country was grappling with a shortage of personnel. It would be ideal to somehow persuade Leonie and enlist her as a bulwark against Bios.

“Your Majesty,” Hikaru said, “regarding the elemental magic stones you provided, were there any larger ones?”

A stone that size could only open a tiny, experimental rift. In fact, Serika only managed to send a smartphone and a high-capacity battery here; Hikaru couldn’t even send a single letter.

“Hmm… the royal treasury is tight at the moment. That stone actually cost a lot.”

“Really? Elemental magic stones have various applications.”

Hikaru casually retrieved his smartphone, switched it to video mode, and filmed the entire room. He didn’t know the demand for footage of a different world’s 17-year-old queen’s office, but he thought he’d give it a shot.

“What are you doing?”

“Don’t mind me.”

“I think I will!”

Click. He ended the recording.

“So, about the elemental magic stones.”

This time, he switched to portrait mode and snapped a picture.

“Huh, um…?”

“Don’t worry about it.”

“Okay.”

Wearing a look of mild confusion, Kujastria proceeded to explain.

Elemental magic stones were crucial for operating magic items. For instance, streetlights in the capital were magic items, requiring elemental magic stones for daily operation. They powered large trolleys, and huge ones were used for magic boats.

There were other materials besides elemental magic stones that contained mana, but since elemental magic stones were relatively easy to obtain, and most magical research focused on them, other materials were seldom used.

As the name suggested, these “stones” were mined from mountains or dropped by monsters. Mountains where elementals gathered over time, imbuing them with magical power, were known as elemental mines, typically controlled by the government—the nobility, basically.

“Currently, the price of elemental magic stones is soaring. In the kingdom alone, there was the Fire Drakon Catastrophe, the king’s death, the new queen’s ascension, the Accursed Toxin disaster, and on the border, the skirmish between Quinbrand and Bios. Soldiers assigned to guard the elemental mines have been reassigned, resulting in mining operations halting and disruptions in circulation. When that happens, merchants rush to buy up the remaining elemental magic stones in the market.”

“I see… So it’s difficult to obtain larger stones?”

“You might find some in dungeons.”

“Yeah, I guess.”

Hikaru recalled the Maze of Magic Locks he had explored a while ago. Elemental magic stones might appear in such places, but traveling to the distant Southleaf Island every month was practically impossible. Besides, he had never heard of any other dungeon where elemental magic stones were guaranteed to appear.

“Oh,” Kujastria said, clapping her hands once. “There’s a place where you can reliably get them.”

Her words gave Hikaru relief.

“It’s where the inflated items end up.”

“Huh?”

Kujastria wore a bitter smile. “An auction.”