Chapter 23 - 23: Specialty Products and Naming Aqua
Though it had only been one week, I could imagine it had been a week of upheaval for everyone. Many people had flooded into this territory. The main factor was the opening of the road.
His Majesty did not come, but a letter arrived by carrier pigeon stating that he was 'pleased.'
As things had calmed down somewhat, and since this was also a water city, I headed to the eastern mountain behind the territory capital to investigate its water sources. Several rivers branched off, but at the foot of the mountain, there were countless large ponds scattered about. In one of them, I discovered something squirming.
When I approached to look, there were massive numbers of creatures resembling crayfish. Moreover, the lobster-like shrimp, which were quite large, were swarming in an almost creepy manner.
(What on earth is going on? With no natural predators, did they grow freely and uninhibited to this size? They don't seem harmful or poisonous, so why does no one eat them?)
Finding it strange, I asked a nearby villager. "It's nothing special. They're muddy-tasting and their shells are hard, so there's no one eccentric enough to go through the trouble of peeling them just to eat," was the response. Apparently, people couldn't wait long enough to let them purge the mud?
Upon further investigation, I found they inhabited ponds with high salinity in large numbers. In other words, they seemed to live in ponds where rock salt had dissolved. They also appeared to be omnivorous, and I learned that the saline ponds had plenty of food. So, if they were delicious, I considered farming them.
While searching the mountain for rock salt, I found a cave and was able to discover rock salt. A bear that had turned into a monster, a Wild Bear, had taken up residence there, but I lopped its head off.
(If I skin it, it looks like it'll make fur. It also has quite a bit of fat; I wonder if it can be used as cooking oil?)
I tried decomposing it with alchemy. Then, an appraisal displayed 'Glycerin.' With this, I should be able to make lotion using water magic and glycerin! Thinking so, I tried making it, and ended up creating an 'All-in-One Lotion.' An unexpected byproduct, but I'll be happy about it!
(Oh, right. I have to collect the rock salt too!)
Had it been mined back when this was the Darda territory? Since I had the opportunity, I decided to collect and refine it.
For the time being, I tried boiling the lobster-like creature in salt made from the collected and refined salt, and it was incredibly delicious! The meat was strongly sweet, firm and springy, with a satisfying chew.
(This is viable! It'll sell!)
Immediately, I formed an investigation team and decided to start farming them.
As many travelers began to visit, I had Sera, the Commerce Minister, introduce a consumption tax.
"Tax every transaction? What about merchants who can't keep books?"
"You can just instruct your subordinates to do it. That way, it'll also be easier to grasp what's selling."
When I told her that consumption trends could be understood to some extent from the books, she started moving immediately. She scouted people good with numbers and had them train subordinates as tax collectors and education officers. Thinking they would need time, I gave a two-month grace period. I ordered the merchants, "If you want to do business here, follow the rules of this place!"
At first, some merchants showed resistance, but calculation won out. "You can just add a little on top for that amount. With this many customers, if you mess up, you might make more profit even after paying taxes than doing business in the imperial capital!" they said, and quickly began learning how to keep books.
This territory, which began to show bustle as a commercial city, came to be called 'Shivans Territory,' and its capital also came to be called 'Water City Aqua.'
I immediately headed to the Klaus family estate.
"Shivan-kun, what is it? Was the pigeon letter unclear?"
"No. I understand that His Majesty is also pleased. Actually..."
He promptly gathered the family for me.
"It seems Shivan-kun wishes to apologize to Aqua."
What could it be? She tilted her head in curiosity. There, I reported that I had named my territory capital Aqua and apologized.
"My territory capital has come to be called the Water City, and because the sound of 'Aqua' is beautiful, I named it without permission. Please forgive me. However, it has come to be called Shivans Territory, and though it is a small town praised as the Water City, it has become a town I can be proud of."
For a moment, there was silence, and then Windam burst into laughter.
"You're so dramatic. A name like Aqua is a dime a dozen around here. To come all this way specifically to get permission... You're so earnest..."
The people around him sent cold stares at Windam, but Aqua's expression did not change.
"That is not the case! It is the best name there could be. If I am allowed to use it, I intend to cherish it for a lifetime!"
When I knelt before Aqua, she was moved to tears. Probably, she understood the meaning behind my words "cherish for a lifetime" and was touched. Unable to raise my face, I cast Perception Block, and when I took her hand, she looked around in a fluster. But realizing she hadn't been noticed, she squeezed my hand back tightly and said happily, "Yes! Thank you for using my name!" squeezing back.
When I released her hand, she let out a reluctant "Ah," but I immediately dispelled the Perception Block.
"Shivan! Congratulations on building the new territory and new capital! It's called the Water City, right? I heard rumors, and it seems quite beautiful! Even here in the imperial capital, your territory capital has a reputation for being wonderful! Develop it so it doesn't lose to Mother's name!"
"Of course, Aristo-sama! But, it's not as beautiful as Aqua-sama, you know?"
When I said that, laughter erupted.
"Aqua is beautiful?"
Everyone ignored Windam, who was still going on, and the conversation continued.
"But I feel like I've been beaten to the punch again. You're always one step ahead of me. But someday I'll definitely catch up and make something better than you, Shivan!"
"Of course, Aristo-sama! As a friend, I'm somewhat biased, but I believe you would never be inferior to Windam-sama or Klaus-sama..."
Laughter erupted again.
"Hey, dear. Watching the friendship between these children warms my heart!"
"Indeed. Compared to that, Windam! You're being noisy!"
At that point...
"Since I was able to obtain permission for the naming from Aqua-sama, I can present these with peace of mind. I have brought two items harvested in my capital, Aqua, that I wish to show everyone."
What I showed them were the lobster-like creature and the All-in-One lotion.
"Oh my? Were you planning not to present them if I hadn't given permission?"
"Of course! I was prepared to go home in tears!"
Laughter erupted again.
"This is a lobster, as I've tentatively named it, that can only be caught locally. Its taste is close to shrimp. It's richer and sweeter than shrimp, and when boiled, the meat is firm and has a nice chew. The more you chew, the more a rich umami flavor comes out!"
Everyone swallowed their saliva, their throats making a "gulp" sound.
"What I recommend to everyone is the way it's eaten locally. I want you to try it simply boiled in salt, then peel the meat from the shell and eat it directly! What do you think?"
"Absolutely!!"
All five answered at once, so I immediately borrowed the kitchen and boiled the lobsters in a large pot.
First, I boiled them in salt. To make it easy to peel the meat from the shell, I inserted a knife and split them cleanly in two, then put them back together and arranged them on plates.
"First, please take a bite and enjoy the flavor of the ingredient itself. After that, please eat it with soy sauce, salt, or mayonnaise in the amount you prefer. You can enjoy different flavors."
The ladies, skillfully using their forks to insert between the shell and meat and peel it cleanly, were in high spirits.
"Delicious! This is delicious, Shivan! What is this?!"
"I'm happy that Aristo-sama also enjoys it!"
They enjoyed changing the flavors with soy sauce, salt, and mayonnaise, and finished eating in no time.
"That was close. If I hadn't given permission for the name, I would have missed out on such a delicious thing."
"Exactly. Everyone, please give your thanks to Aqua-sama!"
When Windam looked like he wanted to say something, Klaus intimidated him with a glare.
Then, the lady of the house, Marino, pressed Klaus.
"Dear! Wouldn't it be fine to have a town with my name too?"
"W-Well, Windam is the lord now, so... Isn't that right, Windam?"
Suddenly put on the spot, Windam looked bewildered.
"Mother is, well, already of a certain age..."
Just as he started to say it, a plate hit him square in the face.
"What? Was that ringing in my ears? I'm asking you where you'll build it. Name the place!"
"That's... even if you say it suddenly, it's impossible..."
And then, the lady of the house grabbed him by the scruff of the neck with a demonic expression, and Windam looked like he was about to cry.
"I-I'll do my best, Mother!"
"With the utmost urgency! Do you understand?"
The lady of the house was overwhelmingly intense.
Windam looked at me with his eyes, begging for help. Having no choice, I said, "What I wanted to show the Lady and Aqua-sama is this," and presented the All-in-One lotion.
She tossed aside the Windam she had been holding and immediately latched onto it.
"If it's acceptable, I can apply this for you tonight after treatment and tomorrow morning after you wash your face."
Of course, I was told to do it.I suddenly realized that Noah wasn't there.
"It's her day off, so she's at home. Someone else will go wake her tomorrow morning."
In that case, I can stay with Aqua until morning.
Afterwards, after her bath, I finished the treatment and applied the All-in-One.
"May I visit again tomorrow morning?"
"I'll tell the maid to guide Shivan-kun to my and Aqua's room!"
That night.
Aqua clung to me with tears in her eyes.
"You know! Today was my birthday! In the 28 years I've lived, there's never been a day as happy as today. Because, to name a town after your wife's name! It's just too cool!"
"I love Aqua. I had decided long ago to name the town Aqua."
She smoothly undressed and said, "Hold me, darling!" clinging to me. She was already soaking wet. She immediately started masturbation fellatio. When I held her head and said, "It feels good, Aqua," she moved her tongue, licked carefully, spread her legs, and said, "Come."
When I inserted, she said, "Darling! It feels good! I'm already your wife! You're the only one I become lewd for! This pussy has been reshaped to the form of your cock! You're the only one allowed to ejaculate inside my vagina! You can make me more obscene! I'll bear your child, the next one, and the one after that, only your children!" and convulsed, losing control of her bladder.
Without minding that, I continued to hold her, and she clung to me, saying, "Darling! Darling! I love you!" climaxing repeatedly, and breast milk came out.
"I wonder if it's because I'm pregnant with the second one? Or maybe because you massaged them so much, but I've started producing a lot of breast milk!"
When I asked if she was pregnant, she nodded.
"It's not 100% yet, but there's no mistake!"
"Because Aqua was the first wife in this world to bear my child."
"That's right! I am your legal wife! The second one will be mine alone too, right?"
Of course! When I said that, she kissed me happily.
"What about the third? Do you want to impregnate me?"
"What about you, Aqua?"
"Impregnate me, darling! Because I'll be your lewd wife!"
She cried, saying she didn't want to be held by anyone but me anymore. And that's why she wanted to get pregnant quickly. I held her as we slept until the next morning. When morning came and we woke, she clung to me tightly again and performed fellatio.
"I want to suck this cock forever! It's tastier than yesterday's lobster!"
She was so cute that when I held her in the morning, she writhed incredibly lewdly. When she got on top, her lewdly writhing figure was bewitching, beautiful, and lovely, I thought.
"S-Stop! It's embarrassing when you stare at me like that..."
"I thought you looked bewitching, beautiful, and lovely."
"That's a me that I only show my husband! Darling ♡ Kiss me!"
Just as I finished a thorough creampie and the cleaning fellatio, I heard a knock. I cast Clean and hurried back to my room.
After a while, a maid came to wake me.
"Once you've changed, I will guide you to Lady Marino's and Lady Aqua's room."
First, I carefully finished applying it to Lady Marino.
"Oh my! It's amazing! But why?"
"It has the effect of plumping and refining the skin's texture. It makes the skin soft, smooth, and dramatically increases translucency! What do you think?"
She didn't quite understand, but was delighted, saying the translucency was incredible. Next was Aqua. No one else was in the room; she was waiting completely naked.
"You know, once the pregnancy is confirmed, you won't be able to hold me? Today might be your last chance to hold me for a while?"
When I went to the bed, she promptly performed fellatio, and once I got big, she sought me in the missionary position.
"Every time Aqua is thrust by my cock, she writhes, her breasts shake, and she lets out moans of pleasure, and that makes me happy! You're the best wife!"
"My body is entirely yours! You made me into a lewd woman, didn't you! My super-slut pussy is going to squirt!"
When I latched onto her breasts and came inside, Aqua's legs trembled violently, and she screamed, "I'm CUMMIIING—!"
Then, after I finished making her beautiful with the All-in-One and showed her a mirror, she clung to me, crying and kissing me, so in the end, we did it one more time in doggy style...
When we finished changing, she begged, "Hey? Escort your wife to the dining hall!" So, leading Aqua by the hand, we went to the dining hall, where the Lady was being highly praised for her beauty.
And the servants who saw Aqua raised voices of surprise.
The wrinkles at the corners of her eyes and the sagging of her cheeks had vanished, and her skin looked rejuvenated. It was no exaggeration to say the Lady looked in her late twenties, and Aqua in her late teens.
(Magic really is magic, huh.)
The three men were also greatly astonished by this.
"Shivan-kun! I want more of the All-in-One!"
"Lady... you're too close."
At that point, I told them that while I wanted to sell it as a specialty product, the raw materials were rare and hard to obtain. I informed them that mass production was impossible, and that the expiration date and lasting effects were still unknown.
"However, while I knew it was good for the skin, I didn't expect it to have such a rejuvenating effect. Of course, there are no harmful effects on the human body, so please rest assured!"
So, I explained that I hadn't even been able to set a price yet.
"Shivan-kun! Don't worry, we'll buy up everything you can make! If it's a small quantity, you absolutely must not sell it elsewhere! By the way, how much were you planning to sell one bottle for?"
"Huh? Let's see. About 10,000 G?"
When I said that, they burst into laughter.
"Something of this level for only 10,000? That's far too cheap. This is the kind of thing that, if the nobles found out, could even start a war! Right, dear?"
"I think war is an exaggeration, but the possibility of conflict arising over this is high. You always create outrageous things, don't you."
I apologized and bowed my head.Klaus panicked, saying that's not what he meant.
"But if we lower the quality, there won't be any wars or conflicts, right? This luxury item can't be mass-produced, but if we use substitute materials, we might be able to mass-produce it cheaply."
The Lady said, "Make sure the luxury version is for me and Aqua, okay. That's fine, right dear? Look at me!" When she said that, Klaus had no choice but to nod.
So, I brought out all the luxury items I had on hand for the time being. There were 10 bottles in total, but the Lady generously gave me one large gold coin. These people's sense of money is strange.
"Well then, until next time! If anything comes up, please let me know by pigeon!"
Saying that, I returned to my territory.
(How should I search for Wild Bears? Regular bears won't work, right.)
I worried about various things, but couldn't think of a good method. For a while, I made substitutes using the fat of other monsters, but as expected, they couldn't compare to the previous product. However, even though it was a substitute, when we put it on sale at our place and the hot spring inn for 10,000 G per bottle, it became a smash hit.
The lobster-like creature was also wholesaled at 1,000 G per creature. As we spread the cooking method in the territory capital, banners reading 'Water City Aqua's Famous Lobster' began to be seen everywhere.
One month since coming here.The five who went to the village, as well as Passo, seemed to be relying on Sera, and it appeared she was lecturing them, "Despite being men! Get your act together!"
One day, the three members of the 'Shivans' Guard' said they had something to discuss.
The content was that former knights and soldiers in the former Count Hermann territory had fallen to banditry and were apparently plotting to invade our prosperous territory. Their aim seemed to be to attack the villages first, then finally the territory capital, to tarnish my reputation and steal my wealth.
"What will you do, Young Master?"
I asked Regias's unit to allocate personnel to each village for defense. Vel's unit to cross into other territories for intelligence gathering. Yaris's unit to strengthen surveillance and form an interception unit.
"What will Shivans-sama do?"
"I'll do something that will make those guys regret ever coming here."
Hearing my plan, the three of them burst into uproarious laughter.
Day and night, I used the Map Function at points where bandits were likely to appear. When enemies appeared, they reacted as red markers, so I used 'Presence Concealment' to get close, put them to sleep, then cut off their dicks and shaved their heads bald. I cast Heal on them, then left them sleeping on the main road.
Then, travelers would rob them, so when they woke up, they were stark naked, bald, and most importantly, missing that crucial thing. I wrote 'Bandit' on their faces.
'Bandit Hunter.'
I became famous among the bandits. Those who ended up naked and quit the life were forgiven, but those who continued as bandits were brutally killed and exposed as a warning.
"Who was it! The bastard who killed our comrades?"
"Like I know. If I did, we'd all be out killing him by now, wouldn't we?"
From behind them, a voice said, "It was me."When they tried to turn around, they woke up on the road.
"W-We've been had..."
"Me too! My precious dick is gone!"
Next to them where they woke up, what used to be their manhood had been trampled by travelers and was in a miserable state. Pain ran through their entire bodies, likely from being stepped on and kicked themselves.
"Looking like this, do you think there's any point in living?"
"Yeah... We should've quit being bandits..."
Gradually, the bandits were attacked and grew fearful. When they saw me and asked, "Who the hell are you?" I told them, "The rumored Bandit Hunter," and they turned pale.
"What did we ever do?"
"You killed people, raped women, and stole money and food, didn't you? Now go to hell and apologize."
When I stepped into a bandit hideout, it became a world of agonizing screams.
One group said, "Before we get attacked, let's raid the neighboring territory! Gather our comrades!" and tried to attack at night with torches, but tripped when their feet got caught in ropes. As arrows were shot into them, causing great confusion, a cavalry unit swarmed in. They tried to escape somehow, but were chased by dogs, bitten, tripped, and stabbed to death by spears.
"How is it, Yaris? Did you kill them all?"
"If one survived, it seems there are about 30 creatures in a group."
"That's not how you talk about bandits!"
Vel laughed heartily as he carried the corpses away to expose them.
"But the Young Master is something else. Defeat in detail, was it? He said they were just a motley crew in the end, and he was right."
"What would you do if you lost that thing, Vel?"
"You wanna know, Yaris? I'd probably wail and then kill myself."
And this story was told in an amusing and exaggerated way by travelers.
"Do you know the story of 'Shivans Territory'?"
"I know it! If you commit a crime, you get hit by the 'Dick Hunter,' right?"
"That's not all! You get shaved bald and dumped naked on the roadside."
Because everyone said, "You'll get dug out by the homos, so you better not commit crimes in this territory!", the number of criminals and bandits entering our land drastically decreased.
"Young Master. They're saying that dick hunting is all the rage in our territory, you know? It's good that criminals are decreasing, but... we aren't being mistaken for homos, are we?"
"Don't ask, Regias. What I wanted to spread was the Bandit Hunter name..."
Then Vel, laughing, informed me.
"It seems the Internal Affairs Officer from the imperial capital was troubled by bandits. Apparently, thanks to you, Young Master, the rumor is he's been sleeping well lately."
(The Internal Affairs Officers from the imperial capital might just be a bunch of useless ones.)
I'm sure Passo is sneezing too.