405-Episode 395 Tribute (1)




"So, the royal family of Creville sent an ambassador extraordinary and plenipotentiary. You look very young, by the way.

 The senior official looked at Allen, who was just sixteen years old, and said, "Yes.

"Yes, I've been told that the House of Clevure is losing confidence in the Empire, so I've been appointed. My name is Alec. Please make my acquaintance."

 Allen used the alias Alec.

 This was a response to the fact that the name Allen had become quite famous in the Five Continents Alliance.

 Allen and the others had to find out what Bek was up to and get back his orichalcone knuckles, armor, and the Holy Pearl of Quattro, the proof of the Beast King.

 It seems that Bek has been hiding his own men inside the royal castle.
 He has known for a long time that he cannot become the Beast King.
 He had placed his own eyes and ears everywhere in order to prepare for what was to come.

 Some of the beastmen in Allen's army might have Bek's eyes and ears.
 I say "may" because Shea has checked on his own men several times.
 However, there has been no evidence that they are under Bek's command so far.  
 This was the case even after Shea and his beastman troops had entered Allen's army.

 This time, there were only a handful of generals and commanders other than Allen's friends who informed him that they were going to the Protean Empire.
 If word leaked out to Bek's side that they had come to the Protean Empire to capture Bek and get the proof of the Beast King, there was a high possibility that their activities would be hindered.

 Allen is using the alias "Alec," but the rest of his names are like this.
Cecil is Seraphy.
Sophie is Solanis.
Formal is Fornix.
Peromus is Peroniki.
Shea is Joanna.
Luke is Luthi.

 There is a law in the Beast Kingdom that only two-letter names can be given, but I gave Shea a longer name for the occasion.
 She was a little confused, but I convinced her that there is nothing in the law that says you can't have a long alias.

 Allen showed the senior official in charge of the port the letter he had been given by the royal family of Krebbur, stating that he was an ambassador with the same authority as the king.

 The name on the letter is made up, but it doesn't matter as long as they don't find out.

"Well. I'm Tynome, the director of the Prostia Empire's Immigration Bureau, which controls this port."

Oh, there's a very high ranking official here. He's the one who refused us entry?

 Allen came over to the senior official who was giving orders to everyone.
 There's something I need to talk to you about.

 The Thai fisherman in front of Allen was the chief executive who controlled the huge port that occupied a single petal of this huge crystal flower, whose petals were tens of kilometers long.

 And this Director Tainome was the one who formally refused Allen and the others' request to enter the Protean Empire.
 The official refusal of entry was written with the name and seal of Director Taenome.
 If Director Tynome had not refused, our movements after entering the Empire would have been different.

 There is a part of me that is angry, but Director Taenome seems to be even angrier.
 It was because Allen and the others had forced their way into the country on the Prostia Empire's immigration schedule.


 Originally, when they contacted the immigration office, the Krebs had been told to wait a month.

 When Allen found out that it was Director Tynome, he decided to give him a letter.

 In the letter, he was assured of his position by the House of Clevure, and it was acknowledged that Princess Karmin had come to see the Duke of Dresskalay.

"Hmm, I see. But we can't stay long when we have an ambassador on a special mission. Move the tribute quickly! I'm busy with my next appointment!

"But..."

"You persist! I met you. That's enough!

 I persisted, and he yelled at me.
 "Are you going to do it?" and the knights under Director Tynome's command stepped forward to join Allen.

 Director Taenome told him to leave the tribute and go home.
 He has no interest in the letter and barely even looks at it, let alone accepts it.

 Director Taenome also knows what the Kingdom of Clevure has done.
 They've allowed a pagan cult to flourish that preaches breaking free from the control of the Proustian Empire.
 The damage caused by the flood of magical beasts and such was so great that they were granted a tax amnesty and even received support from the Proustian Empire.

(So the Proustian Empire thinks that we can't even be considered a vassal state?

 Looking at Director Tynome's contemptuous gaze, he grasped the current situation.

 The Kingdom of Crevelle is unlikely to be able to stay for a long period of time because of the way the Proustian Empire is looking at us.
 This makes it impossible for us to investigate Bek and those who helped him.
 In this situation, I would have brought Princess Karmin with me, but I would not be able to meet her future husband, the Duke of Dresskalay.

 Bek's supporters might be in the royal palace standing in the center of the crystal flower petals that I saw from the window when I got off the ship.
 Even if Bek himself is in the palace, he is unlikely to be allowed to even set foot there.

(So far, so predictable.)

 To a certain extent, it was expected that he would be treated in this way.
 Especially in the past few years, the treatment was said to be severe because of the lack of strict control on paganism.
 When I asked the royal family how they usually present the tribute, they said that they just move it from the port to the warehouse and report back with a letter what they have.
 I was told that it was not often that they were invited to the royal palace.

 I'm sure I'll be treated very badly, but I can't let that happen this time.
 If I don't stay in the capital long enough, nothing will happen.
 So I'm going to make a play.

"......"

 Allen watched silently as the cargo was being transported next to Director Taenome.

"Hmm? ...... d*mn."

 I'm not sure what you're trying to say to Allen, who is standing right next to you," he said.
 However, Allen doesn't look at Director Tynome, but continues to stare earnestly at the tribute being carried by the fishermen from the hangar at the bottom of the ship to the warehouse in the harbor.

 Allen is an ambassador with special powers, so even though he is from a small country, he comes with the same authority as the king.
 It seems that Director Taenome is not going to tell him to go over there.



 At the far end of the huge ship's hangar, ten people are slowly carrying a black object that looks twice as tall as a man.
 Peromus and Formar, now fishermen, are also part of the group carrying this cargo.

"The Proustian Empire has ordered us to move the tribute quickly. Hurry up and move it!

"Yes, yes, yes!

 The knight captain of the Iwanam Order tells the fishermen to hurry up and carry it.

 It's a good idea to have a good idea of what you're looking for.

"...... Hey, wow!

(Hey, try to be a little more natural.)

 It's not heavy because Peromus is equipped with a ring that increases his attack power by 5000 to carry this load.

"Hm? You're okay! Peroniki, don't drop it."

"Hmm? Yeah, thanks. Fornix.

 As I leaned heavily to the ground, Formal followed me to prevent me from falling to the ground.
 I'm doing what Allen told me to do, but it's a pretty stilted conversation.

"Hey, hey, hold on to that.
"It's heavy. Let's put it on the ground.
"Gently. I hear it's very valuable."

 The other eight fishermen, who hadn't heard the meeting, coordinated with each other and placed the huge load on the ground to regain their positions.

"Hey, make sure you carry it ......."

 The knight captain of Iwanam tried to tell him to carry the tribute that he had lost his balance and almost dropped.
 But it could not be said until the end.

"You fool! Iwanam! Don't you know how valuable this is?

 Allen shouted in a ridiculously loud voice.

"What's wrong? What's wrong with you? It's Alec."

 Director Tynome blurted out to Allen what was going on.

"I'm sorry, too. I told you to hurry up and get him to ......."

 Director Tynome asks Allen what's wrong, but Allen doesn't pay any attention to him and rushes over to Commander Ivanum to scold him further.

"You idiot! Take your time! Do you not know the value of this magic tool? This magic tool is a gift to the Emperor from the Baucis Empire, with whom Alec has a close relationship!



 I'm not going to let you get away with this," said Allen, his face turning red as he scolded the Knight Commander.

 He knew that Iwanam was here because he had served the king of the kingdom of Krebbur for many years.
 He had conversed with him several times and had always stood behind him when the king had called him to the palace.
 He scolded the commander of the royal bodyguard, who could be said to report directly to the royal family, out of his mind.

 According to Allen's story, this magic tool was offered by the Baucis Empire to the Proustian Empire, and is very valuable.

 After scolding the Knight Commander of Ivanum, Allen finally turned to Director Tynome.

"What's the matter, Mister Alec? What is it that the Baucis Empire is doing with you?"

 Director Tynome wished he had a better explanation of what he meant.

"No, no, I'm sorry, sir. If this water purification charm had been broken, it would have cost the king and me more than just our heads! I apologize! I'll make sure everything is fine right away."

 Allen bowed his head and apologized to Director Tynome for his mistake.

 Allen said that he would check to see if anything was broken.
 As the fishermen looked on, Allen frantically checked every nook and cranny to see if there was anything wrong.

"Well, that's ......."

 I'm not sure if that's such a big deal," he said, looking again at the huge magic tool being carried.
 And then he realized something.

 Allen said it would take more than just the heads of himself and the King of Clevure.
 He realized that this would naturally include himself, the man in charge of this port.
 Allen's words sounded like an apology for that.
 He looked at Allen, who was inspecting it with concern, wondering if it was such a valuable magical tool.

"There doesn't seem to be a problem. No, I need to drive it once and check it out. ......"

 Allen is in earshot, but his eyes are so serious that he can't hear Director Tynome's words, mumbling something.

 I'm sure the fishermen carrying them out were slumped over, but they didn't look like they had been dropped.

"This looks like a pretty big water purification tool, huh? How big is it and how effective is it? Does it have a tremendous effect?"

 Director Taenome realized one possibility.

 Magical tools can have the same effect, but their performance can vary.
 Some can only purify water in a single room, while others can purify water in a huge building such as a royal palace.

 Since they are claimed to be so valuable, they must have extraordinary effects.
 Perhaps it could purify the water of this huge port, the pride of the Imperial City.
 Director Taenome denied the hypothesis he had been considering, saying, "No, I don't think so.

"I've heard that a port the size of the imperial capital of Atlanta would have a water purification effect ten times that of .......

 Allen tells Director Taenome about the performance he heard from Commander Larappa of the Magical Engineers.
 He said it was the equivalent of ten Imperial Cities of the Baucis Empire.
 Allen replied that it would be about the same size since it was the same imperial city.

"...... What? I'm sorry, can you repeat that?"



 Director Taenome heard Allen's words, but did not understand them.

 Allen said that he could purify the water of ten patattas on this circular crystal flower that was over a hundred kilometers long.

"'I've heard that it can purify the water of ten Patannas in the Imperial City. I've been told that it will operate for 300 years, but thank God the Baucis Empire doesn't seem to understand its value. I never thought I'd be able to offer something like this to the Empire of Prostia. In fact, before I was given this ambassadorship, I was a member of ......."

 He said that the Baucis Empire offered this water purification tool to him without knowing its value.

 He reiterates that before Allen arrived as ambassador extraordinary, he was in charge of negotiations with the Baucis Empire within the structure of the Five Continents Alliance.

"Well, 300 years ......."

 Even with Allen's water-tight lies, the word "300 years" barely gets into Allen's story.
 Then, somehow, I began to understand why Allen was shouting.
 I'm starting to understand why Allen was shouting, and I'm starting to understand why Director Tynome thinks that this magic tool is outrageous.

(Okay, okay, it looks like you're starting to understand the value of the most imported magic tool in the Proustian Empire.

 The negotiations continued as Director Taenome listened to Allen's story with his mouth agape.