The Harvest Festival, our children’s unveiling, and the fireworks display were a huge success.
Lord Simon and Madam Rosary seemed to have enjoyed themselves and were quite excited.
King Yggurle and Dante-san felt slightly excluded because their wives had participated in the parade while they did not. As could be expected, it was my children’s unveiling, so it would have been awkward to have the king of Yggurle Kingdom boarded the float. Dante-san was pitiful though.
And today, Lord Simon appeared to have visited my residence to have a discussion. If he had something to discuss then it could have been done at the Lodge, there’s a conference room there. However, Madam Rosary seemed to want to visit, and so they’re here.
Madam Rosary wanted to have a tea party with, my wives, Freesia-san, as well as Madam Elziabeth and Madam Lumia who were also present as if it were a given.
「So you didn’t come here this time for the Harvest Festival.」
「Yes, we bear gifts for the children born to your family, Iruma-dono. This is the catalogue.」
I accepted the catalogue that Lord Simon presented.
「We have brought mainly silverware and ceramics, as well as cotton fabric,」
It seems they brought the cloth fabric for the residents of the Sanctuary to use. As expected of Lord Simon. He knows what I am in need of. I’ll have to think of what I can give in return for the congratulatory gift.
「We truly did wish to congratulate you, but, well, that is one of the official stances.」
「As the prime minister, I needed a reason to revisit the Sanctuary.」
This time, the reason Lord Simon came to the Sanctuary was neither for the Harvest Festival nor my babies’ celebration. Of course he wouldn’t. It would be too weak of a reason for a prime minister of a country to come all this way for a foreign harvest festival, and the congratulatory visit would be on that same level for to come personally.
Now then, what could the issue be. I listened to Lord Simon resume speaking.
「It would be pointless to deceive you in the Sanctuary graced by the presence of the Great Spirits, I will speak frankly and openly. In truth, I had received information that the Queen of Yggurle Kingdom frequently visits your mansion in the Sanctuary.」
「……that is so. But it makes Princess Mimir seems happy, and I’m grateful that Madam Lumia favors Etoile, so I have mixed feelings regarding this.」
Simon nodded in agreement with my statement. But then, I started feeling uneasy about how I was gradually starting to find Madam Lumia’s presence here to not be strange.
「Well, setting aside personal feelings, it is unacceptable from the perspective of Valkyra Kingdom for one nation to get close to you, the Keeper of the Sanctuary, Iruma-dono. After all, you have a base in Volton and the Royal Capital. In terms of relationships, I believe our nation should be the closest.」
What Lord Simon said was reasonable. I do have a relationship with Lomaria Kingdom, Yggurle Kingdom, Samandour Kingdom, Gnomstoll Kingdom, but the place I’ve stayed in the longest and have a base in was at Volton which was in Valkyra Kingdom. I have many acquaintances, friends, and people I am grateful for in Valkyra Kingdom.
「About that. I hear that you are troubled by the shortage of civil servants.」
「I am. I hired three aides, but they’re still not enough.」
「Of course not. While the population is still within the range of a city, it is a given that they would not be enough considering the volume of trade that the Sanctuary conducts. Even if it is considered a city, you still have far too few civil servants.」
「It was still manageable when the the population was at the level of a large village, but now we’ve reached our limits……」
When there wasn’t that many people yet, the Sanctuary didn’t have a monetary economy, so I was able to manage without any civil servants. But after having distributed money to the residents in last year’s Harvest Festival, the increase in population, and wages starting to get paid based on the work done, we’re now just overwhelmed.
「As such, I considered searching for personnel that could serve that role. I am aware that this is meddlesome, however, frankly speaking, I wish to have a strong connection between the Sanctuary and Valkyra Kingdom.」
「Not at all, I appreciate that. If possible, I would be happy if you could choose people based on their character instead of their abilities.」
「Very well, I will work on that immediately upon my return to the Royal Capital. Eventually, they will have to pass the selection of Great Spirits. None might be left if I choose by prioritizing their capabilities. I will screen through them carefully.」
Yes! This might alleviate our lack of civil servants even slightly. I don’t care about having ties to Valkyra Kingdom now. I’m a free person because I’m an adventurer, but I was almost like a citizen of Valkyra Kingdom.
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TLN – Thank you for having read up to this point. I’ve been reading the comments and I see people are equally as frustrated with certain characters’ behaviors as I am. Ultimately, it is up to you if you wish to continue or not, but my only consolation without giving any spoilers is that this arc/volume is nearly over.