Chapter 509: Plans to Dive
“Apparently, there’s a Fire Spirit rolling around in the inland sea near Naruadeid, and Seikai’s got a stomachache.”
“Blugh! Cough, cough!”
“Hey, are you okay, Grandfather!?”
Haulon spat out his porridge and started coughing. Retze, holding his own dish in both hands, elegantly pulled his chair back to avoid the chaos.
“Sorry, I picked the wrong moment to listen.”
Retze apologized to Haulon while still in that position.
“Cough… Are you putting off a request from a Spirit known as a god!?”
Haulon exclaimed between coughs.
“Well, there’s no deadline, and it seemed like Captain Cat needed food more urgently. After I eat, I’ll go check things out.”
With a small pot of green onions and boar meat, egg porridge, and chawanmushi heating up, I topped it off with soft serve ice cream.
A waffle cup made from a mix of normal, caramel, and cacao flavors. The milk soft serve was fun to make since I could experiment with different combinations. I was serving the normal flavor this time, but the berry soft serve in the cacao cup was delicious too.
“Why are you reacting like a relative’s grandfather from the neighboring town is feeling a bit under the weather!?”
“That’s an oddly specific analogy,” Retze muttered under his breath.
“Seikai was muscular up top and quite chatty down below…”
Since I didn’t even know the person, it was understandable that my reaction was a bit muted.
“Don’t say ‘up’ and ‘down’!”
Haulon shot me a glare.
“Isn’t it the case that gods are called so because they have influence on a national level? Could the drought in that region for the past few years be the cause?”
Retze ignored Haulon and continued to inquire.
“Probably? Seikai said he could endure a bit, but humans are in a dire situation.”
“Then we need to resolve this as soon as possible!”
Haulon really has that Hero mentality, huh? Not in the sense of his sisters, but more like a selfless hero from a story.
Soleil, while worried, also had a tenacity to turn it into a business opportunity. If he could profit while helping others, that was a win-win, and I could understand that approach better.
“If that area doesn’t stabilize and recover its national strength, it’ll be difficult for us too. If our country is stable, we can exploit weaknesses elsewhere, but right now, it’s still a mess. Even if we send food, if we send too much, there might be idiots trying to claim the land for themselves…”
Haulon sighed.
It was for the sake of the Karn Kingdom.
There were only a few citizens, after all. A country or people desperate for food could do anything. If it was just me starving, that would be one thing, but if someone close to me was starving, even a ‘good person’ might swing either way.
Clothing, food, and shelter… No, I understand the saying that when clothing and food are sufficient, one knows etiquette. When I first came here, I was only thinking about eating. They say a person’s true nature comes out in times of crisis, but I believe it’s also important to have the ability to prevent crises from occurring in the first place.
“Dealing with everything one by one is a hassle, and leaving lingering issues would make things difficult later on…”
Haulon said, leaning over the table.
Well, yeah, Haulon is strong, but his defenses are perfect! Es might get rowdy, and Wanwan might bark.
“Right now, it seems like we could easily poach capable officials from small countries. I want a decision before other countries step in, but the people we want are hesitating to act so that their citizens won’t suffer.”
Despite his appearance, Haulon was gathering information in Nakahara through Kanum. It seemed he wasn’t just gathering information but also setting up various schemes. Since he was using Spirits for both, he was mostly just lounging at the table.
Going beyond the mountains and across the sea, the Spirits would be out of their territory. It seemed like he was doing something akin to a mastermind plotting various schemes while appearing to be idle in the safe Kanum.
Karn often stuck by the fireplace all day, but he was more active than Haulon. He likely had the goal of seeing and knowing the modern world with his own eyes, and I think he enjoyed being able to move around freely. Comparing his presence in front of the fireplace to when I first met him in the desert, he seemed like the type who was originally quite grounded.
Haulon’s lack of direct action was partly due to using Spirits, but Retze mentioned it was also to gather loyalty towards Karn. Many were drawn to the name of the Great Sage. I think anyone who looked at Karn would realize he was no ordinary person.
“I’m going to check things out and see if I can resolve it. If not, I’ll focus on securing food elsewhere.”
I also needed to figure out how to provide for livestock like pigs, not just the grains people eat.
“It should be fine, but don’t push yourself too hard, okay? It’s not like it’s your duty to resolve this.”
“Yeah. I’ve already set conditions with Seikai, so it’s not completely free labor.”
I replied to Retze while pondering.
I wonder how long it will take? The sea probably has no day or night, so it would be best to enter when it’s bright, but once I’m in, sunlight probably won’t matter much. It wouldn’t be a problem if it took until midnight.
“So, once I prepare a bento, I’ll head out.”
“What do you mean, ‘once’!?”