'Well, I've never seen such a heart money as this........'

　Ayesha looked at Granada's heart money and gulped.
　But his eyes sparkled.

　'I once killed a salamander who had scorched thirty thousand of the Persis army into charred flesh and struck the dragon Damascus steel with his heart gold... much better than that...'

　Ayesha muttered as she looked at the heart money from various angles.
　Then she turned to me and said.

　''Originally I was going to rent a steel mill in Romalia to hit it, but when it's a thing of this magnitude, it will require a certain amount of equipment. ........Would it be alright if I brought it back?

　For a moment, I thought about the possibility of Ayesha running away with it in my mind, but...
　Well, it's not possible.

　If I do that, I'll be going against the wishes of Emperor Xerxes, who wants to get along with me.

　The desert people are a very outspoken tribe that was given autonomy within the Persis Empire, but they are still only one of the minority tribes within the Persis Empire.

　And I didn't think this clever woman would do such a sneaky trick.

　''No matter.''
　Thank you. And ... could someone please send a watcher?　We don't want to cause any unnecessary misunderstandings on our part.
　All right. I'll send a guy over there.

　It would be diplomatically rude for me to come up with the idea.
　Thank goodness it came from Ayesha.

　Well, I'm the one who's going to be the kramer and say, "Stolen! And it would make it harder for them to do business if they shouted, "I'm not going to be able to do business with you.
　It would be a natural course of action.

　'Also, we need you to process a large amount of scales into armour. We'll provide the thread to hold them together.

　Granada's scales will be joined together with Alice's threads to make one armor.
　I have no doubt that you'll end up with a great piece of armor.

　The problem is that it's too rare to actually wear it.
　It's easy to imagine it turning into a figurine called a national treasure.

　Well, I'll wear it, though.
　I'm the first one to begin with, so I'm not going to be able to "get hurt! I am not aware of any such thing.

　However, did the emperor, who first obtained the three sacred artifacts, expect that his sword, jade and mirror would be such a grand thing?
　Or did they take the initiative to promote it as a divine weapon?

　I can't stop thinking about it.

　Yes, all right. Let's take that one back and complete it as well. .........Please tell me the shape and size of the armor and weapons beforehand.
　You've already put your request on paper.

　I instruct him with my eyes, and Ial hands a stack of papers to Ayesha.　
　Ayesha flips through the papers and checks them.

　'I understand. Let's finish it without missing a beat. ........By the way, what's the gem?　I didn't see that in your letter.
　Yeah, they found that out after I called you.

　I had a soldier carry the ruby in the rough.

　In fact, there were many other gemstones in the rough, but I left most of them to the Cilician and Adelian craftsmen.
　I had actually intended to leave the rubies to them as well, but they refused to do so.
　As expected, he said, it was too heavy a burden.

　Then I was introduced to the desert people.
　I was told that their gemstone processing techniques were among the best in the world.

　'This is also ... a tremendous size.

　Asha's eyes widened again.

　'Can I touch it and check it out?'
　I don't mind. Go ahead.

　Ayesha touched the ruby in the rough, looked at it, put her nose close to it, put her ear to it, played it with her fingers, and then licked it.

　'Pigeon blood...'

　Ayesha muttered in a blur.
　Then she asked me.

　'Can I take it with me or process it?'
　'Yeah, I have full confidence in you. As a business partner, you know. But if you're going to make a request, I'd like it to be as beautiful and as big a cut as possible.
　Yes, I know. Let's give it the best possible treatment.

　Ayesha smiles.
　She looks very, very happy.

　'Can I get the pedestal and decorations here?
　No, we can make that one for you.

　The desert people are better at working gems than the desert people, but the Cilician people are better at making goldsmiths, etc.
　There are many Cilician craftsmen who can't process jewelry, but want to finish the decoration.
　There are many Cilician artisans who say, "We can't process, but we want to finish the decoration.

　I see, I understand. So that's everything, then?
　'Oh, this is all the work I would like to commission from you I hope, Lord Ayesha.
　"Leave it to me, Your Majesty. For the future of our desert people and the Kingdom of Romalia's friendship.

　Ayesha smiled and bowed.







　About a month or so passed since then.　
　Eleven months of the season.

　Every day we are busy coordinating with the various city-states we have forcibly incorporated, and deceiving the angry King Gilbed and the increasingly suspicious King Fardham and King Domorgal.

　Now, in the midst of all this, a wonderful announcement has arrived.
　Granada's collection of gold and silver, ornaments, jewelry and glass has been appraised.

　In addition, the gemstones have not yet been appraised.
　The results of the evaluation of the gemstones have yet to be determined, but we will have to wait until we process them.

　And the result is....

　If it's only gold and silver, it's equivalent to the national budget. If you include the ornaments, it's two years' worth.
　No, not at all ... this is what peony cake off the shelf looks like.

　It wasn't a peony cake that fell, though, but a treasure trove.
　Raimondo's expression seemed to be looser than ever.

　Even though this is a difficult time diplomatically and politically.
　Well, I guess that's the same for me.

　After all, money makes people calm.

　'I hear it's even more expensive if you include the material from the Granada corpses...'
　'That's not something you can cash in on. It's too good to be true.

　The Granada Hydra is one of the few gods in the world.
　It's not something that money can buy, and it's not something you can sell.

　I'm not going to let Yuria, Tetra and Alice pick out a few things they like for now. The rest can be put in the treasury. .... no, but first, let's gather the senators and auction off the ornaments.

　There's no need to rush to convert the ornaments into gold, because if it comes down to it, the ornaments can be converted to cash.......
　Some of the senators will want it.

　It would be best to sell them, since giving them away for free would be unfair.

　'I understand, Your Majesty. I'll pay for it in the treasury on my end. But more importantly, Your Majesty, take care of the cure.
　I'm better now, but...
　I've heard that you have dreams.

　I chuckled.
　I still dreamt of Granada Hydra in my dreams, even if it's still an accidental one.

　According to Julia, the curse has been lifted, so it must be a mental wound, according to her.
　Alice suffers from the same symptoms as I do.

　Well, it's not so much that she has insomnia.
　Still, it was a painful one.

　'All right, Raimondo. I'll take my rest.

　With that, I head to my private office.
　Lately, perhaps out of concern, Raimondo and Ial have been taking care of a lot of the political duties on my behalf, so there's not much for me to do.

　My days of playing cards with Julia, Tetra, and Alice are numbered.
　Peace, I guess you could say, is peace.

　'Oh, Your Majesty. I apologize for the absence. I have a few matters that I would like Your Majesty to decide on.

　I'm about to go back to my room when I'm stopped by Ial.
　I nod my head involuntarily.

　'What's up?'　
　A representative of the race, the Jultans, wishes to see you, Your Majesty.

　Yrta ... people?
　Never heard of him.

　You know it?
　'No, I did not know this, but Master Cornelius was very knowledgeable about it. You will have to listen to what Cornelius has to say first, and then decide whether or not to meet with him. Until then, I will keep the representative of the Jultans in place.
　Yeah, okay.

　What is it?






　'Sire, I won't say a bad thing. The Jultans should be driven out. This is my opinion as a Pophenian, and the will of the Cilician people of Rezad, and as Alexios Cornelius, a nobleman of the Kingdom of Romalia.

　Alexios said as soon as they were face to face.
　What, what?
　Are they really that dangerous?

　Tell me more. And then we'll see what happens.
　'The Jultans ... are a people who believe in a special religion called Jultanism. They are a distant cousin of the Pofenians and are skilled in commerce. And they are very smart.
　What's the problem?

　I have nothing but good things to say about it, but...

　I believe in a particular religion. This one thing is a big problem. They have a very entrenched elective philosophy. There is only one God in this world, and all other gods are idols and demons of the kind. And only we, the Jultans, who adhere to the teachings of that one God, will be saved in the end, at the end of the world. That is the idea.

　... hmmm.

　It's funny.
　What could be so bad about it?

　Is that funny?
　'What are you talking about, Your Majesty!　They are the ones who say the delusion that there is only one God and one pillar, you know?　Besides, they're talking about denying His Majesty's father, Mares, the god of war!

　Oh.....
　Come to think of it, there was a setting like that.

　I was the child of Mares, the God of War.
　Now I remember.

　"Hmm, it's a setup. That. What, is he going to be in trouble?　They are.
　That's ... depends on the person. But some extremists vandalize statues, others get into trouble with residents.

　But there are radicals everywhere, right?
　Even the Cilician was a bit of a handful not long ago, with all the extremists.

　Well, we'll see.
　I've given you some advice, haven't I?　We should definitely get rid of them.

　I took Alexios's words very seriously and went to the meeting with the Jultans.






　'Thank you for this opportunity to meet with you today, Your Majesty. Your Majesty Almus.
　Yeah, so I'll just have to make this quick.

　The Yuleta man dropped to his knees and bowed his head as he said

　'Will you allow me to conduct my commercial activities within the Kingdom of Romalia?
　I don't mind. Just do your business.

　When he replied, the Yulta man jumped up on his face in surprise.
　It's a face that says, "You give permission that easily?

　Well, it's true that they were somehow very dangerous.
　In a polytheistic world, monotheism would just be a pervert, a cult.

　To Alexios, the Yurtas would look like a certain yoga group.
　But it's a little out of my way to kick a country out of a religion or ideology.

　'But there are conditions. One, you must obey the laws of our country. Any kind of private punishment is absolutely forbidden, even between fellow Yuleta people.

　It seems that the Jultans keep a precept, and have their own laws according to it.
　I don't care if they use their own laws to execute people inside their country, but this is Romalia.

　Romalia has its own laws, and they should be tried according to a set judicial procedure.

　Two, taxes must be paid. This is a must.

　If we don't get the sales tax, there's no point in granting the permit.
　That's a given.

　Third, we must ascertain the number of Jultans who have entered our country and their location. If there are any unreported Jultans in our country, we will deport them immediately.

　There is no doubt that they are a bit of a danger.
　So we should know the numbers.

　And.....

　Four. Anyone who causes a brawl is subject to deportation without exception.

　The bottom line is, don't get into trouble.
　Don't hit people, no matter what.
　And don't hit them back.

　That's what he said.

　Five. Religious activities are to be done discreetly. And don't insult our country, the Cilician, the Pofenian, or any other gods in public.

　Well, they can think what they want, but I don't want them to talk about it.
　It's definitely going to cause trouble and I'll have to deal with it.

　Can you keep this up?
　Yes, Your Majesty. Absolutely.

　The Yulta man bowed his head very happily.
　After hearing Alexios' story, I read through the history books, and they seem to be a people with a moderately unfortunate history.

　That's probably why they're genuinely happy to get permission from me.
　Well, at least I've got the guarantee that I won't be persecuted by the official authorities in Romalia.

　But you're still weak.

　'Swear to your gods. And let every Yuleta man write a stroke. It is an absolute requirement.

　Then the Yultah man's face tightened for a moment, but he nodded.

　'Yes, sir, I understand.'

　As long as we swear by God, we won't break it.
　At least as long as we don't break it.

　'Oh, yeah.'
　...What is it?

　Can you put any other conditions on it?
　The Jultan man reveals his alarm.

　'I'm genuinely interested, as an individual, in your teachings. Could I have a copy of your Bible, please?
　With pleasure!

　The Yuleta man had a big smile on his face.



________.


　"The Jultans and the Romalis. The first contact between these two peoples, who would later become kindred spirits, turned out to be a good thing, at least on both sides.

　-A History of Romalia.