Volume 1 Chapter 44 The Reason Sartzstadt Isn't Declining
*We're back to Ryuuji's perspective.*
<hr>
"Hey, sorry to keep you waiting."
As I waited with Lene in the reception room, a friendly-looking guy in his forties came in, bowing his head.
He didn't really look like a noble, but he was definitely a Marquis.
"No, it's totally fine. Thanks for taking the time out of your busy schedule to meet with us."
"Heh, what a polite young man! Oh, I should introduce myself. I'm Walter von Reichner. I'm honored to hold the title of Marquis as conferred by His Majesty the King. Nice to meet you!"
"I'm Ryuuji, a Third Rank enchanter."
"I'm Lene, also a Third Rank Alchemist."
After standing up to introduce ourselves, we were told, "Go ahead and sit," so we settled back down.
He's really easygoing for a noble.
What a breath of fresh air compared to Elmer──it's almost making me tear up.
"I read about you in the letter from His Majesty. It mentioned you're both skilled enchanter and alchemist."
"That's an honor."
"And──I've heard rumors in the territory that you've created fields that can grow crops overnight."
I could see Walter's eyes light up at that.
Well, if he's a lord, he's probably already heard about it.
"Thanks to that, even though distribution hasn't fully recovered yet, we've got plenty of fresh veggies in the area. If it's not too much trouble, could you do something similar for other fields?"
"I really want to do it, but I'm so sorry, it's impossible. Even if I could do it, it would just be up to luck."
I know, I want to fix this too, but you can't just make magic stones that have the 'gift' effect.
When I said that, Lord Reichner sighed deeply, his face looking pretty serious.
"Oh, well... Truth be told, other farmers are freaking out, and I really want to help them out..."
Yeah, if one night suddenly gave everyone fields where crops grew instantly, the other farmers would be screwed.
A lot of them probably quit their own farms and started working for Lana and her crew.
That's a smart move.
But there are still farmers who don't want to give up the land their families have worked for generations.
Those guys keep growing vegetables they know won't sell, so they're probably pretty angry at us and Lana.
That's why Minori and Suzu are guarding Lana non-stop right now.
"...Anyway, we can talk about that later. For now, let's focus on the port. Thanks to you guys going to bat for us, they've finally figured out a plan to fix it. Thank you so much!"
"Nah, it'll be good for us too when things start moving again."
"You guys are enchanters and alchemists, right? You'd be in trouble without customers buying your magic stones and potions."
Mostly adventurers buy magic stones and potions.
If the town is dead, adventurers just leave.
So the town's health really matters.
"The plan is to have the port fixed in 3 months. It's crazy that after half a year they still couldn't fix it, but now they're moving so fast to get it done. It feels like a dream."
Lord Reichner must've been doing everything he could with just the money on hand to fix things up, but with people leaving, it looks like tax revenue's taken a hit.
Us adventurers are also paying quite a bit in taxes through our guild, and the drop in adventurers is probably one of the reasons behind it.
"If the port gets rebuilt, do you think trade with overseas will start up again?"
"Well, that kinda depends on whether the sailors come back. If His Majesty the King promotes the port's restoration widely, it'll probably thrive again as the top port in the southwestern part of the continent."
"That would be awesome! Lene, let's whip up some magic stones and potions for the sailors before they arrive."
"Haha, Mr. Ryuuji's already thinking about business, huh?"
Lene and Lord Reichner laughed at me.
Can you blame me?
We've set up a workshop, so we gotta keep hustling to make some cash.
Just because we completed a request from Her Highness the Princess doesn't mean we can get lazy; money can disappear in no time.
* * *
We wrapped up our discussion with Lord Reichner about what to do with Lana and the others' fields moving forward, and then we left the lord's mansion.
"He was a good lord."
"Yeah, if it weren't for Lord Reichner, this town would have fallen apart a long time ago. Knowing there's a lord like him makes us want to lend a helping hand."
Some lords impose heavy taxes just to avoid lowering their own living standards after a disaster.
It seems Lord Reichner had no choice but to raise the tax rate to help rebuild the port, but he made sure to personally ask everyone for support.
I felt relieved that, with the king's help this time, we could get things back to normal.
"Alright, guess I gotta head over to the merchant guild. Gotta wrap up that whole thing with Lana and the gang."
"Yeah, makes sense."
We've got this letter from Lord Reichner that's addressed to the merchant guild.
It's got all sorts of stuff about the harbor and how Lana's plot of land is being handled.
Right now, it's just a spark, so it's a big help that the lord's stepping in.
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