Chapter 337 - Episode 329: New Diplomatic Relations ②
"I see, trade... Our country began to develop by serving as a hub for trade between the Kingdom of Lordberg and the Kingdom of Lancel. As the ruler of this country, I am pleased that the Kingdom of Revelant would join us as a new friend for mutual prosperity."
First, Noein showed a positive attitude toward the intentions of King Gabriel Revelant as described by Beverstamm.
"But to be honest, I am a bit surprised. I have heard that until now, the Kingdom of Revelant had almost no involvement with the southern part of the Adleon continent."
In the northern part of the Adleon continent, there are not a few countries ruled by beastman kings, but such countries generally do not wish to involve themselves with the Kingdom of Lordberg or the Kingdom of Lancel. They are aware that beastmen tend to be persecuted in the southern part of the continent, and they dislike the idea of their own countries being looked down upon.
In fact, there are many nobles who regard countries with beastman royal families as "inferior nations" and openly mock or belittle them. As a result, it is said that trade with the southern part of the continent across the Lestio Mountains has been limited to countries ruled by humans or demi-humans.
Considering such history, it was somewhat strange that the Kingdom of Revelant, ruled by a tiger-man king, sought diplomatic relations with the Grand Duchy of Arqvist, a nation in the southern part of the continent.
"I believe it is only natural for Your Excellency to have such doubts. Because the Revelant royal family is of the tiger-man clan, they have avoided involvement with the southern part of the continent, fearing they would be treated as unequals. However, His Majesty Gabriel, who ascended to the throne five years ago following the passing of the previous king, has resolved to change this policy for the sake of further enriching the nation."
As he spoke, Beverstamm cast a momentary glance at Matilda, who stood behind Noein.
"Furthermore, word has reached us that Your Excellency Arqvist possesses open-minded views toward beastmen. If it is the Grand Duchy of Arqvist, which Your Excellency established through independence from the Kingdom of Lordberg and which you rule with complete sovereignty, then the Kingdom of Revelant may be able to forge a true friendship. That is my lord's thinking."
Noein was slightly surprised that rumors of them had reached as far as the Kingdom of Revelant, which was effectively a distant foreign land. Seeing that reaction, Beverstamm smiled quietly.
Even if it is small, the opponent is an independent nation. It means they have collected information on the southern part of the continent to some extent. Thinking this, Noein responded with a smile.
"I see, so that was the case... Regarding my views on beastmen, I believe they are as you expect. My attendant is a beastman of slave status, but at the same time, they hold an honorary knight's title, and in my country, there is almost no difference in social status between beastmen and other races. Therefore, I will not change my attitude based on the race of your royal family."
"I believe my lord will be pleased by the understanding Your Excellency has shown."
Saying so, Beverstamm bowed quietly.
"Now, you say you desire trade, but are you familiar with our country's industries?"
"With all due respect, as my country is small, I only know of things on the level of rumors... but I have heard that lapis lazuli and its processed goods, as well as potatoes and sugar, are the specialties of the Grand Duchy of Arqvist. I have also heard that through trade with the Kingdom of Lordberg and the Kingdom of Lancel, various goods have come to be exchanged."
Beverstamm answered Noein, who had asked with the intention of testing the opponent's information-gathering capabilities.
Hearing this, Noein was inwardly impressed by the accuracy of the information; the only thing the other side didn't know was the oil made from soybeans.
"Among those, what our country desires most right now are potatoes."
"...I see. Is that for the enrichment of the nation you mentioned earlier?"
Rather than expensive items like lapis lazuli or sugar, they first sought potatoes, an efficient agricultural crop. There was no doubt that the intention behind this was to improve national strength from the foundation.
"It is exactly as Your Excellency says. While our national territory is reasonably large, much of the terrain is mountainous. In order to produce more food more stably and to make the country strong and wealthy, my lord strongly desires the potatoes that have gradually begun to be imported even in the northern part of the continent."
Now that potatoes had spread throughout the Kingdom of Lordberg, the Lordberg royal family judged that there was no longer any way to completely prevent leakage via smuggling, and so they lifted the ban on exports to friendly nations last year. They decided it was more profitable to boldly use it as a trade weapon and let great profits flow into the country in exchange for exports.
Therefore, there was no problem with Noein selling potatoes to the Kingdom of Revelant. However, a fitting price was necessary.
"As one who also rules a country, I can well understand King Gabriel's thinking. However, trade is established through mutual benefit and is something that makes both parties happy. For my part, I hope that the import of goods that would be as pleasing to my country as potatoes are to yours can be realized..."
"Your Excellency's words are entirely correct. From our country, we have also considered export goods that would likely please Your Excellency. As for resources, there are iron, tin, copper, and the like. As for precious stones, there are garnets. In agriculture, there is rye. Also, since there are several lakes, many fish can be caught. We have domesticated growth lizards, so products using their leather are supple and have high waterproofness and durability, which I believe would be useful."
The items Beverstamm listed in succession all lacked a decisive edge, but they were certainly useful.
"And, since rock salt mines were discovered within our borders a few years ago, the export of salt is also possible. Because our population is not very large, the scale as an industry is still developing... but even so, exports of an amount for several thousand people are possible."
The moment they heard that, Noein fought with all their might to keep from leaning forward. They managed to keep their emotions from showing and maintained their smile.
They stole a glance at Yuri, but as expected, he did not change his expression at all and remained motionless.
Salt. That was the supply Noein wanted at any cost.
Since the Grand Duchy of Arqvist was a small country, achieving complete self-sufficiency was difficult, but development had been carried out so that a certain amount of things could be self-supplied.
They could produce enough food to feed all citizens with room to spare. They could make oil. Iron was produced. Stone could be quarried from the mountains, and they had no shortage of timber.
However, salt alone could not be obtained without relying on imports from afar. They had no choice but to buy salt whose price had risen after passing through several noble territories. Depending on the situation, there was always the possibility that imports would become completely impossible. While it might have been different when they were a single noble territory, now that they were an independent country, this point was a major weakness.
Being able to import such salt far more easily than before was a considerably great strength. The stability as a nation would be on a different level.
"As expected of a nation with history. They are all attractive items. I feel a particular attraction to the tin, which cannot be produced in my country, the growth lizard leather products, which do not inhabit the southern part of the continent, and the salt."
Knowing that they could not hide it forever, Noein behaved in a way that did not let their strong desire for salt be noticed for now.
Then, they casually shifted their gaze to Yuri's hands.
It had been arranged that if Yuri thought Beverstamm was lying, he would pretend to clasp his hands and give a signal with one hand that only Noein could see. However, there was no such signal.
Confirming this, Noein judged that there was no problem in trusting Beverstamm's words.
"I would very much like to build a trade relationship with the Kingdom of Revelant. I will cooperate actively regarding the opening of trade routes and the acceptance of your country's merchants."
"That is, for me as an envoy, the most pleasing of words. My lord will surely hold deep gratitude toward Your Excellency Arqvist."
As Beverstamm said this, relief seeped into their voice. Such a reaction further deepened the trust that the Kingdom of Revelant's proposal this time was for a pure purpose of friendship.
Because demi-humans are long-lived, it is difficult to tell their age from their appearance, but Noein thought that she might be unexpectedly young, receiving such an honest reaction.
"Then, Your Excellency, I would like to discuss the specifics toward the future opening of the trade routes."
"Yes, I look forward to it."
Beverstamm told Noein that the Kingdom of Revelant had been conducting surveys since last year regarding the trade routes and had already considered a relatively safe route...
What had to be progressed moving forward was the preparation of camping points built at key locations along the trade route (it was said that if they proceeded with room to spare, crossing the Lestio Mountains would take about two weeks one way) and the preparation of a few unavoidable danger zones.
Among those, for the southern half, the Kingdom of Revelant would provide the guides, so the opponent's request was for the Grand Duchy of Arqvist to handle the preparations.
Noein accepted this and, while receiving advice from Yuri on the practical side, spent time until the next day finalizing the details of the discussions with Beverstamm.
As a result, agreement was reached to cooperate in the preparation of the trade routes with the aim of starting trade within the year, and Beverstamm returned to the Kingdom of Revelant.