Chapter 72

Chapter 72. King of Tableware

The two Tower Masters were deeply impressed by the bone china, Royal Marcel.

Then both left on their journeys.

Gaston took a tea set to Le Capital.

Javier took one to Lisboa.

They were not exactly doing sales work for me.

They simply wanted to show their acquaintances the new product.

There was also a little pride involved in becoming early adopters.

At this stage, Royal Marcel was still extremely rare.

Like some limited-edition snack that everyone suddenly wanted.

Chairwoman Itana Bonmati of the Lisboa Noble Council enthusiastically welcomed Javier after not seeing him for a long time.

“Tower Master Javier! What brings you all the way to see me?”

“Hahaha. I always enjoy visiting a wise noble like you, Chairwoman.”

After exchanging greetings, the two moved to a tea table.

A servant brought tea.

The tea was served in a Royal Marcel tea set that Javier had handed over in advance.

Javier picked up the cup and slowly turned it in his hand.

“I received some vacation time and have been staying in the Marcel Territory. While I was there, Viscount Marcel happened to create this tableware. Since I know you enjoy tea, Chairwoman, I thought of you immediately and brought it.”

Chairwoman Bonmati received the cup.

Her eyes widened.

“Incredible! I have never seen a cup with such beautiful color in my entire life!”

“You like it?”

“Of course! How do I obtain more? You said Viscount Eric Marcel created this?”

“Yes. I take it you know him.”

“How could I not know someone so remarkable?”

The Chairwoman was completely fascinated by Royal Marcel’s milky white surface.

She continuously ran her fingers over the cup.

Javier watched her with warm eyes.

“Chairwoman, why not visit the Marcel Territory for a vacation? The scenery is beautiful and the people are simple and friendly. I enjoyed it greatly.”

“I would love to, but I must finish organizing the expedition fleet that will soon depart for the Western Continent.”

Javier saw the greed shining in her eyes.

He shook his head with concern.

“Too much of anything can be worse than too little.”

“Of course. I will remember your advice.”

Her expression did not look like she intended to remember it at all.

Still, Javier did not wish to interfere further.

“By the way, Tower Master. Are you considering moving your Mage Tower to the Marcel Territory?”

“Perhaps. I do have to move somewhere...”

In truth, Javier had recently fought badly with the royal family over the enormous slums of Maherit, the capital of the Iberian Kingdom.

The angry king had eventually ordered him to remove the Mage Tower from the kingdom.

The royal family wanted to establish a clear example that even a Mage Tower could not stand above the crown.

“Are you worried about the poor people who will remain in Algeciras?”

A Mage Tower was practically the same as a giant corporation.

Its presence affected the entire surrounding economy.

If the Mage Tower left Algeciras, the powerful families might survive.

The lower classes would suffer badly.

“No. Fortunately, Viscount Marcel taught me how to make bottle stoppers from cork oak. I stopped at the Mage Tower on my way here and ordered them to establish a cork stopper factory. I am not as worried anymore.”

Javier smiled bitterly and drank some tea.

“As you know, Chairwoman, moving an entire Mage Tower requires the agreement of its members.”

“I heard many young mages are leaving.”

“It cannot be helped. They have bright futures ahead of them...”

The atmosphere became gloomy.

Chairwoman Bonmati hurriedly changed the subject back to Eric.

“Still, Eric Marcel truly is remarkable. This tea set and the bottle stopper you mentioned are both excellent.”

“He is only nineteen. I am very curious about his future. Even the Roches Tower Master praises him.”

“I find it even more shocking that someone managed to earn praise from that eccentric man.”

“Hahaha! That thug is strange, but I would not call him eccentric.”

The atmosphere brightened again.

After chatting for some time, the Chairwoman ordered a servant to bring a gift.

“Tower Master, this is alcohol produced using my family’s secret recipe. I prepared it for you to share with Viscount Marcel.”

“You did not need to give me something like this.”

Then the Chairwoman looked at Javier with gentle eyes.

“Marcel has capable people and a bright future... so please do not be too discouraged.”

She had skipped quite a lot in that sentence.

What she really meant was,

Forget about the Iberian royal family.

Move to Marcel and live comfortably there.

“Chairwoman, do you truly believe that would be the best choice?”

“Of course. Eric Marcel is there.”

“Hahaha! True. Very true.”

Chairwoman Bonmati ended the meeting by asking Javier to send her as many Royal Marcel tea cups as possible.

* * *

Tower Master Gaston went to visit Court Count Chatillon in Le Capital.

“Tower Master, you were staying in a warm southern country, and now your face is shining.”

“It was hot. Also, that ‘country’ is part of your own kingdom, you bastard.”

“Your hair even looks slightly thicker.”

Gaston’s face brightened.

He quickly rubbed his head.

Perhaps he wondered if Marcel’s mana vortex had somehow improved the health of his hair roots.

“Really?”

“Obviously a lie. Anyway, how was that strange fellow?”

“You bastard... You mean Viscount Marcel?”

“I heard you are even building his canal almost for free. You must like him.”

“It is not exactly free. But yes, I like him. The south will become very entertaining from now on. Hehehe.”

As expected from a master and disciple who had known each other for decades, they laughed in exactly the same suspicious way.

“Perrier was already being tormented by Toulouse. Now it will probably be swallowed by Marcel.”

“Not only Perrier. Even Dijon far to the north may be in danger.”

“Oh? You think it will spread that far?”

“If you follow the Rhône, you reach Ronalp. Continue north and you eventually reach Dijon.”

“Come on. That crosses the line. Surely not.”

“‘Surely not’ is how people get caught. You understand the power of money better than anyone.”

A sinister light appeared in Chatillon’s eyes.

“Hehehe. Then when should I cut Viscount Marcel down?”

“I want to watch him for a long time. He is far too entertaining.”

“Once he becomes the ruler of the south, I will simply swallow him whole.”

If Chatillon could truly do that, it would be an excellent result for the royal family.

Someone else would unify the south.

Then the crown could simply replace that ruler with its own puppet.

“Disgusting bastard. You could simply say ‘take his territory.’ And besides...”

Gaston spread his mana to check whether anyone was listening.

“If your sister learns about this, she will not sit quietly. I mean it. Control yourself.”

“......”

Gaston shook his head.

Chatillon, his old friend and disciple, was excessively cruel.

Chatillon had also been involved when the Corse Territory was reduced into a royally administered viscounty.

The incident caused other lords to become alarmed and resist centralization.

The Queen Mother had nearly killed Chatillon over it.

Gaston had made a promise to Eric as well.

He could not allow Chatillon to run completely wild.

That was why he mentioned the Queen Mother, the one person capable of restraining him.

“Anyway, did you properly control Count Perrier?”

“I sent him a warning.”

“What kind?”

“If he acts up, he dies.”

“Good. Oh, right. Viscount Marcel created another new product.”

“Again? That brat truly is strange.”

Gaston called an attendant and brought out the Royal Marcel tea set.

“The brand is ‘Royal Marcel.’ Apparently, he used ‘Royal’ because it is supposed to be the king of tableware.”

“Oh! Ohhh! It really is royal! It is ridiculously beautiful!”

Chatillon became incredibly excited.

Royal Marcel was more than enough to capture the attention of a man who loved tea parties.

“Tower Master, immediately...”

“You want to hold a tea party? I already sent invitations everywhere. I told them to come here.”

The two men began giggling again.

They looked extremely happy, as if every unattached noblewoman invited to the tea party already belonged to them.

* * *

Meanwhile, Count Matthias Perrier received Court Count Chatillon’s letter.

Its meaning could be summarized as,

‘Act up and you die.’

“Damn it!”

Bang!

Count Perrier slammed his office desk with all his strength.

Unfortunately, he was not a knight.

The sturdy desk took no damage.

“Ow. My hand.”

The elderly Head Butler standing nearby sighed.

“My lord, how will you respond...”

“What response? Read it yourself!”

The Head Butler picked up the letter Count Perrier threw at him.

After reading it, his expression turned serious.

“...It appears the rumor was true.”

The rumor that Tower Master Gaston was close with Eric Marcel.

They had reported it to Count Perrier recently.

“Chatillon and Gaston are master and disciple. Naturally, Chatillon would side with Marcel too.”

“Damn it. The dogs of Toulouse will never leave me alone.”

“My lord, you greatly overestimate Toulouse’s strength. There are still many knights loyal to you.”

“You bastard! Have you ever been there? I have! They are not people we can challenge!”

“You are too excited. I will prepare tea. Please calm down.”

Knowing the Count loved sweets, the Head Butler brought tea and snacks.

He served them in a Royal Marcel tea set that had arrived as a gift from Marcel.

Count Perrier noticed immediately.

“I haven’t seen that tea cup before.”

“Is it not beautiful?”

“Yes. The color is extremely elegant. It must have been produced in Veneto. Where did you get it?”

“It arrived as a gift.”

“Hehe. Good. At least people still send me valuable gifts.”

The Head Butler watched Count Perrier calmly enjoy his tea.

He could not bring himself to say,

‘It came from Marcel.’

* * *

I sent one Royal Marcel tea set to each royal family first.

Then I gradually sent sets to the major lords.

I hoped orders would soon explode.

However, the first actual order came from somewhere unexpected.

Chloe rushed into my office.

“An envoy from the Fatima Kingdom has arrived.”

“From that far away? They sent someone almost as if they were waiting.”

Previously, I had sent the remains discovered inside the lighthouse pyramid back to Fatima.

In return, the King of Fatima dispatched a lighthouse magic item operator.

He had also said he would grant me an honorary title.

I had not yet replied.

Then I sent him a tea cup.

Apparently, that was enough to make him immediately dispatch another envoy.

Martin quietly warned me.

“The envoy may have come to condemn your marriage alliance with Berber and harm you.”

What nonsense.

If they wanted to kill me, they would send an assassin.

“Raul, what level is the envoy?”

“An ordinary person.”

“You heard him. I’ll meet the envoy.”

“Yes, my lord. I’ll prepare the reception room.”

A short while later, the envoy appeared.

She was a young woman.

“May the blessing of Selene, merciful Goddess of the Moon, be with you. I am Yasmin Fatima, Deputy Director of the Fatima Ministry of Foreign Affairs.”

She carried the Fatima royal family name.

Usually, that meant she was a collateral relative who had not received a separate family name.

In other words, she came from one of the most powerful families beneath the king.

I did not care how influential she was in some distant country.

I immediately used casual speech.

“Skip the greetings. Why did you come to my territory?”

“...Ahem. The great King of Fatima has issued several instructions. Listen carefully.”

The wording annoyed me.

Still, I listened.

Yasmin accepted a scroll from an attendant and opened it.

“First. Why did you reject my favor and form an alliance with the wicked Berber? I am deeply disappointed and saddened. However, what has happened cannot be reversed, so I will no longer criticize you. Understand, however, that the title I promised to bestow upon you is hereby withdrawn.”

Yasmin received another scroll.

Apparently, the king had written one scroll for every instruction.

Perhaps he had written them personally.

“Second. Despite this, I greatly appreciate and praise the fact that you did not forget me and sent such a beautiful tea cup. I wish to obtain many more through this envoy, so cooperate actively.”

So it really was because of Royal Marcel.

The language was arrogant.

But all he really wanted was for me to sell him more tea cups.

Considering my alliance with Berber, he would have had every right to cut relations completely.

Royal Marcel must have impressed him greatly.

“Thus spoke Dimitris Fatima, rightful descendant of Alexandros Aphrodisias, the Great King of the Beginning.”

“I heard everything. I’m glad the King liked the tableware.”

Yasmin hesitated awkwardly before explaining her true purpose.

“I was ordered to purchase as much as possible. Even if production takes a long time.”

“Don’t worry. When you return, tell the King that the first customer will also receive complimentary gifts.”

“I am not sure what that means.”

“It means I’m grateful, so I’ll include other tableware too. This is our first order.”

Honestly, I wanted to offer a fifty-percent discount or a buy-one-get-one-free promotion.

Was that basically the same thing?

Yasmin smiled brightly.

“To think we are the first customers. I am deeply honored.”

“I’ll give you every finished piece currently in storage. Just make sure they don’t break during transport.”

There was not much inventory anyway.

Most of it had already been sent away as promotional gifts.

At that moment, one of Yasmin’s attendants carried in a large chest.

“This is the advance payment.”

The chest opened.

It was filled with gold bars.

The King of Fatima must have completely fallen in love with Royal Marcel.

My subordinates stared with their mouths wide open at the generosity of this foreign king.

But I had a different problem.

Damn it. He should have paid with another country’s silver coins. What am I supposed to do with all that gold?

Marcel was still a small territory.

If I exchanged all of those gold bars into Franche currency at once, the local gold price might collapse while the money supply suddenly exploded.

That could create inflation.

But if I exchanged the gold and simply held all the resulting cash, the opposite problem could happen.

The circulating money supply might dry up.

Where the hell was I supposed to exchange this?