Multiple proficiency requirements fulfilled. [Dreadflare Dragon Lv. 5] [White Flame Lv. 5] [Delayed Cast Lv. 4] [Draconic Roar Lv. 6] gained

“I welcome you on behalf of the senators of Estralia to my home, Princess Hestia Atsuko Kargryxmor. I thank you from the depths of my heart for accepting my invitation. May God Mercurias and Goddess Aurena bless our meeting today.”

The foxian man with the lifeless eyes led us into the mansion’s office almost immediately, as if they were ready to receive us the moment we arrived. Considering we only made an appointment about just a bit ago at the merchant’s guild, it was a bit surprising to see. Nevertheless, I was okay with it. The sooner, the better.

“My name is Reajaen Resclave. One of the senators of Estralia’s senate. You have already met my son, yes? His name is Parilostro and he’s the one responsible for the security of our home and my protection.” Her hand stretched out to the foxian man from before, pointing at him without letting her gaze escape my direction.

The owner of this mansion was a human-like foxian woman in a Victorian business dress. Very elegant and mature. It exuded respect, prestige, and, most importantly for this city, wealth. Of course, as a woman, a bit of female flair shouldn’t be neglected. For how modest the dress was, it fitted well with her aging beauty, like fine wine, as the saying goes.

“Thank you for inviting me and I do apologize for giving you an answer this late. First arriving in this city and I have already become too busy to manage my schedule properly.” I then pointed at the four people around me — two sitting side by side to me on the couch while our two guards stood behind us. “This is Lady Amelia Greenveil and Haruka Sakamoto. They were with me when I received your invitation.”

Saori and Ellaine were usually my go-to people when my business had anything to do with money or the merchant guild. Sadly, Saori was still on her mission for Shaturein and Tasianna’s revenge, while Ellaine had become too busy with adventurer work after deciding to take a bunch of Quests with Tatsuya and Kyouya.

As such, Amelia and Haruka came with me to help get the administrative and bureaucratic stuff with the Sarlenzia company’s branch out of the way. Mother was asleep for a couple of days now, but her usual guards, Shay and Beth, still accompanied us. Most likely they felt it was better to guard her young daughter who still had a missing sun core rather than the embodiment of absolute zero inside a hard-to-infiltrate subspace.

They were our guards, so I decided not to introduce them to the senator. They weren’t here to speak.

Reajaen’s winkles contorted as she smiled at my introduction, taking a sip from her tea before looking back at us through the still warm beverage’s steam. “Amelia Olive Greenveil. Youngest Daughter of Lord Duke Greenveil of Artorias. One of the heroes of Aurena, Haruka Sakamoto. Also known as the ‘Foxian Slyness’ due to her unique skill. Mhmm, I can smell that foxian smell from you, dear.”

She’s well informed, huh?

Her showing off her information on us here told us she had done her research. How much, I didn’t know, but I knew I had to keep my guard up. This woman was a senator of a city where merchants ruled through money. She had to be cunning.

I then looked back at her son standing right behind her like a robot. His lifeless eyes still gave a sense of foreboding, but I had to immediately turn away once he noticed my stare. Without showing my flustered self, I sipped from my tea, enjoying the warmth and the melting honey inside it.

“I have heard much about your exploits in Artorias, Princess Hestia, in addition to what you have been planning inside this city. A branch of the Sarlenzia company. Sharing the recent yeast boom with us Estralian, Lady Amelia? I presume you already know of our own pastry shop, ‘O’Bloom’s Confectionary,’ correct?” the middle-aged foxian asked Amelia.

“That is correct, Lady Reajaen.” Amelia nodded. “However, we are still planning on competing, since we believe our products are superior and will have more value for Gleisvale. I can assure you, my company will benefit Gleisvale tremendously.”

“At least our taste buds and belly, I presume? Hahaha!” The foxian let out a controlled laugh. “Still, O’Bloom is owned by another senator and he has his hands all throughout the food industry. The amount of elven yeast he imports is well known throughout the upper city, and it is just barely enough to keep up with the demands of certain individuals. Not even close to how many customers he could receive, and the price would be ludicrous weren’t it for the lack of supply. Have you tried his cakes yet?”

“Yes, we did. He invited us and I would say it was a good treat,” I commented, remembering how our first stop on our second day here was that store. Although, we didn’t meet this O’Bloom fella.

“And you still believe you will be able to compete? Mind you, with how fattened like pigs my fellow senators are, merely quantity won’t be able to satisfy their tongues. You need quality as well.” Not only her gaze but also her tongue was razor-sharp. However, once she heard Amelia give her a confident confirmation, Reajaen's eyes widened in wonderment. “Oh? How intriguing. I do admit I haven’t had the luxury of tasting confectionaries created by Princess Hestia yet. I shall have to pay a visit when the shop opens.”

After taking another sip from her tea, she placed the half-empty cup on her saucer and pushed it slightly forward. Her eyes instantly calmed down after our information, telling us the small talk was over.

“Pleasant as that was, time is money, and I am aware I am overstepping my boundaries here with a princess of the great Empire of Dragons, Kargryx. I shall not take any more time off your hands,” Reajaen stated with an artificial smile. “You went to the merchant’s guild to get something approved, correct? Please, allow me to look over them.”

I instantly raised a brow, wondering what this woman was suddenly planning. Look over our documents? Was she actually attempting to steal our ideas right in front of us so brazenly?

Noticing our suspicions, she shook her head. “Every senator is authorized to approve guild dealings to a certain extent. After all, our country’s president is also the merchant’s guild’s master, and we senators are simply high-ranking members of the guild. If it is something as simple as authorization for the establishment of a business and allow it to operate, I can do it without you needing to wait in line in the bureaucratic queue.”

“But why?” Haruka spoke our thoughts out loud. “Excuse me for saying this, but we know little of you, Lady Reajaen. You mentioned our competitor in the other confectionery, which could mean you are allied with them and here to scout our plans in advance. This is all too sudden.”

“You suddenly called us out to come to your mansion and are now asking us to hand you our company's documentation on our operations. I cannot allow that without a proper reason, Lady Reajaen,” Amelia added, frowning.

Reajaen’s smile waned, her winkles relaxing as she looked as us with a face telling us “Isn’t it obvious?” before stating it outright, “Why, to ally with you, of course.”

Ally? So suddenly?!

Ignoring my confusion, she continued her explanation. “There is one thing you must understand about us senators, my dear young ladies. We are not merchants. We are rulers in our own little territories spread around Estralia like any other kingdom’s nobles. The only difference is that our ‘king’ is the senator the senate voted to be the most capable president.”

“Hmm? I thought the president was a marionette to be controlled?” Amelia asked in a fluster, considering this went against the intel we received from Duke Fillion.

“No, my dear lady.” She shook her finger. “To you Artorian and any other kingdom, our system of governance does seem like our president is the marionette, as we vote our ruler democratically. They aren’t installed through some royal bloodline or a feat worth celebrating over, but if they are capable of leading the senate. If not, they are kicked out immediately and replaced by somebody with more, well, wealth and hopefully competency.”

“It sounds like the power still lies in the senate, though,” Haruka argued. “You are able to denounce your current president and remove them from their position just like that. The same constant is your senate, here. The power doesn’t lie in the president, but in your senate. He seems even more like a marionette now that you explained it to us.”

Being from Earth gave us a more substantial idea of types of governments. She might call Amelia ignorant, but she couldn’t say that to Haruka since she knew her as an otherworlder.

“Ahh, the insight of someone from another world, it truly is a blessing for the studious. However, while I cannot comment on how the countries of your world are ruled, Miss Haruka, I would say that you shouldn’t be too quick to criticize without a full understanding of our country.”

“Then enlighten us, please, Lady Reajaen,” I said, causing the foxian’s smile to grow and say, “With pleasure, Princess.”

Estralia was, as explained before, a republic governed by a group of senators made up of the wealthiest, most influential merchants. The people who held the different seats often changed, though, as there was always a maximum of 21 senators and the ranking of the merchants was often in flux.

“Eight are always composed of the oldest houses and merchant families with history dating back to the founding of Gleisvale and the country. The eight Olden Money, as they liked to call themselves. The remaining 13 are composed of the representatives voted on by the merchant assembly. This is why the merchant guild is such an integral part of our country.”

While the eight old money members rarely ever changed outside of choosing a different house member, the 13 remaining senators always vote for new senators every two years, though senators could be reelected and serve for multiple terms in a row. This was to ensure the “normal” people had a representative against the city’s old guard.

This narrative has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. If you see it on Amazon, please report it.

Of course, only the most successful merchants could be elected as a senator due to the city’s belief of wealth makes right. As such, these merchants were better described as business people as their ventures included investments beyond just operating two or three stores. They owned land, they hired private mercenaries and adventurers, and held full or partial ownership of multiple shops throughout the country.

“Which side do you belong to, Miss Reajaen?” I asked, asking if she was old money or a newcomer.

“The latter, dear. All eight of the Olden Money families are humans. Beastmen like me are fully allowed to work as a senator since money is more important than your race and sex, thank Mercurias.” Reajaen pressed her hands together and closed her eyes, turning her head to the ceiling as she let out a sigh. Once she was done, she continued her explanation concerning the president.

In general, while the president’s position was volatile and prone to getting voted out, it was probably the position with the most voting power in the senate. Voted amongst the members, not only did the president have the support of the people who elected them in but they also had the voting strength of three senators and the ability to veto decisions outright.

In theory, presidents could be removed with the system, but in practice it was harder since the senators wanted to keep their president in power. Also, since they had the voting power of three people, the president could lead the discussion of the merchant guild and Gleisvale’s political sphere.

Huh, that did seem a bit different than we heard before.

[“Hesti-chan,”] Haruka sent a telepathic message to me. She had bought [Telepathy] and she learned how useful it was for situations like these. [“Their government really is a plutocratic republic as we expected. And, it seemed the president really wields more power than a puppet. Since the president could bribe and join an alliance with other senators, I think we should imagine them similar to any government member with high executive powers from Earth. Like the US’s president or Japan’s prime minister.”]

We already had a good idea of what Estralia’s government type was but we had no information on how the senate and president worked outside of a surface-level understanding from Duke Fillion. As such, Haruka was aiming to get more information about how it worked.

And, from the looks of it, it made sense why during the meeting I had in Griffonpeak the dukes called the senators corrupt and bribable. As fine as a republic was, one ruled by the rich could easily lead to outside forces controlling the members of the senate through money. For example, an enemy state or through those cartels.

“Which leads me back to my wish to ally with you, Princess Hestia.” Reajaen finished her explanation and crossed her legs, smiling again and awaiting an answer.

“You want to become the president, I presume?” From all the information I had gotten, that was my conclusion from this talk.

“You wield immense influence, my dear. I don’t know how much diplomatic power you have in your country, but being the senator to have the support of a dragon princess sounds pretty fine, no?” Reajaen winked. “Tell me, how many senators have already approached you?”

“One. Only you, for now.”

“Wrong, dear.” She announced dramatically by intoning it. “At least two others. You already visited O’Bloom’s pastry shop, no?”

“Huh? But we haven’t met him yet,” I said, flabbergasted at what she was trying to tell me.

“… But we tasted his cake. We visited his shop and let people see us enter it,” Amelia suddenly stated. “Then, the clothier we visited was also—”

“Exactly, Lady Amelia!” Reajaen confirmed her guess. “Everything in this city belongs to one of the senators one way or another. You are currently the hottest commodity for them, Princess Hestia. Uhm, not to be rude, I apologize. I was speaking about how we senators and most merchants who know about you are thinking about your worth to us.”

I waved her apology off. “None taken. I already understood that when your representative and the others came to me on the first day to invite me.”

“Mhmm. Yes, that is correct, but unlike the other senators acting like cowards, as they don’t know how to handle your presence here, I believed it would be best to confront our newest guest right on,” Reajaen admitted her intentions. “When royalty or nobility visit our ‘humble’ city, they usually approach us for deals since Gleisvale holds power over trade due to our location and access to the longest river in the western part of Altrust. We hold value as ‘pawns’ for these rulers, but little do they know we are simply using them to increase our wealth.”

“So why do you call the others cowards?”

“Because we never received a guest from an imperial family before. The wealthier you become, the more likely you are to take risks, as you can afford them. However, who can afford to risk their lives by potentially angering the Folschreck Empire or Kargryx? They don’t know how to work with you, since they fear you might kill them if they go too far. Neither of the imperial families need Estralia after all, especially not you dragons.”

Ahh, I get it now.

Reajaen continued, further confirming my new understanding. “That’s why they aimed to approach you in a roundabout way. Show you their worth through their businesses before sending you an invitation. That’s how all of them wanted to gain your favor.”

“But you didn’t,” Haruka interjected. “You went directly at us on the first day. Instead of showing the value of your products and business, you are showing your value as a person. As our business partner. As our ally.”

“Good!” Reajaen clapped her hands. Her foxian ears wiggled around, looking adorable despite her age. “I have my own private business with you, but first and foremost, I must represent my family — Resclave. Princess Hestia, you coming to Estralia probably has a meaning. You have a goal here. Your group has not only been dabbling in expanding Greenveil’s but also Shaturein’s influence, from what I could see. You aren’t here only for them. You are here to expand Artorias’s influence into Estralia. Allow me to help you so you can help me. Allow the both of us to help Artorias.”

This woman!

Her gaze intensified as she got into this discussion, figuring out the political goal of our trip into Estralia. She didn’t guess how it was to gain Estralia’s alliance so we could stop a possible war between Artorias and the countries around it, but this was still close enough. This woman was pretty good.

This woman could really be the—

“But that doesn’t mean we can trust you.” But before I thought of something dumb, the two young woman next to me spoke up.

“Your aggressive approach won’t impress us,” Haruka stated to support Amelia’s exclamation. “Instead of going with the roundabout way, you decided it was more efficient to send an invitation. That doesn’t make the other senators cowards. It makes them careful instead of reckless.”

“But, I believe it was the correct decision, no? I think Princess Hestia was impressed,” Reajaen said with a smirk.

Did she react to my expressions!? Shit, did I not have my poker face on!?

“… The decisions are made as a group. I’m not the only one who has a say in our company’s future.” Considering there was no way out, the only way to save myself here was to give Amelia and Haruka equal decision rights.

“Oh? So very similar to our presidential system, huh? Since you’re the princess, you should still have the final say, though, right?” Reajaen turned my argument around me.

[“H-Hesti-chan…”] Haruka gave me a worried look.

[“I’m sorry, I’m sorry. I’ll shut up. Damn, I really need Nishio-kun to help me with this kinda stuff.”]

Deciding to shut up for the rest of this discussion, I let Amelia and Haruka continue it for me. Amelia took the lead with a sigh.

“Haaa, regardless, I don’t think we can actually make a deal to ally with you yet. We need to know more about what you are planning.”

“My goal is to become president or at least control the president, including squashing some rivals I have. If Princess Hestia and the Heroes of Aurena are allied with Artorias in any way, I believe I can argue for Estralia to help out. Depending on what it is, of course,” Reajaen answered without a single hesitation.

“We understand that but this isn’t proof that you would continue helping us in the future,” Haruka raised her voice as she spoke, acting more assertively than I was usually used to with her. “Even if you mention angering Hestia and HER MOTHER to be good deterrents against a betrayal, it doesn’t mean we would ally with you without knowing the intentions of the other senators, Lady Reajaen. Do not presume you are the best option when we are ignorant of others.”

Reajaen’s smile waned as Amelia and Haruka were vehemently against deciding on an alliance or not now. Hearing them speak made me realize I was too easily drawn in. I was not only a princess but also the leader of my company. I had to keep an open mind.

“Hmm. I see. Then, I shall be patient about it,” Reajaen backed off. “However, please allow me to look over your documents. Regardless if you hand it to me or to the guild, it will land in the hands of one of the senators anyway.”

“If we choose to hand it to you, the other senators might presume you already gained our favor. We apologize, but we would rather stay neutral for now. In the future, we shall speak with everybody and make our move fully in the know.” Amelia did not let down her guard. “Now, instead of speaking about this alliance or not, how about we end this quickly. What private business did you have with us?”

Reajaen sighed and took up her teacup and drank from it. Finally, the uneasy atmosphere dissipated. Her drinking gave us the chance to calm down, too.

Once everybody was done drinking with their tea, Reajaen renewed her smile, but this time, it was more relaxed. It told me this wasn’t part of her work.

“I would like to buy your Belzac herbs in bulk. As many as you can offer,” she said with slight anticipation in her voice.

“Why would you need to buy so many? Are you part of the alchemy guild?” Amelia asked. “Outside of the guild, the cost for such a large amount of Belzac herbs is substantial for a single person.”

“I cannot ask the guild master of the alchemy guild to do something like that for me. However, I will be needing the potent Belzac herbs for potions which I will have made in-house. They will be used for the health of myself and my son, you see,” Reajaen explained. “The herbs used for healing potions around this area or in the other countries of this part of Altrust aren’t as potent as Belzac herbs. I don’t know what makes Belzac herbs so much different from other healing herbs, but that is simply the truth to me. As such, I need them. Will you sell them to me, Lady Amelia? Lady Hestia? I heard the Sarlenzia company was selling them.”

For her son, too? I turned to her son behind her and his lifeless-looking eyes. Even now, he hasn’t said anything and was so silent, I really thought he was dead. I then turned my eyes back to the discussion once Amelia spoke.

“How much?”

Reajaen nodded and asked her son to hand her a wooden slate to write on. Using a mana pen, she wrote something on it before turning it around and handing it over to Amelia. One look at it and Amelia’s eyes widened like a fish’s.

“You should have done your research, Lady Reajaen. You should know you are overpaying me.”

“Most merchants would have jumped right onto it and took advantage of my lack of information.” Reajaen looked at Amelia in surprise. “You don’t act much like a merchant, Lady Amelia, despite operating a pretty successful company made by Newt Sarlenzia.”

“… I am still wary of you, Lady Reajaen. Is this your way to garner favor?”

“Not at all. This price is there to assure you sell the next bulk to me and not somebody else. I really want it,” Reajaen explained. “I shall take your silence as acceptance. Would you also be able to provide monster materials from the Belzac forest?”

“If you are looking for adventurer work, you can ask our adventurer company, Lady Reajaen.” Finally, there was something I was confident in talking about. “The Aurora is a hunter company and you may commission Quests to us at the Sarlenzia company on its opening day. If you need a monster hunter for the Ullistar, Griffonpeak, and Cedaraille dungeons, you may come to us too.”

“Hmm? I do not fully comprehend what you are talking about, Princess Hestia. Dungeons? Hunting? Even in the Belzac forest?”

“You don’t need to understand it, Lady Reajaen. You may guess the reason why we can offer this, but I will not be confirming anything. Just know, we can hunt down the monsters you need in the offered locations. If you need them, visit us on the opening day.”

Believing we talked about everything there was, I stood up, signaling both Amelia and Haruka to do the same. “You’ll probably be the one to read our documentation later even if we don’t want you too, right, Lady Reajaen? As such, see you in five days.”

“Five days?”

With those words, we excused ourselves and her son guided us back outside. Once we entered the carriage, I created an [Air Shield] around us and let out a deep sigh.

“… Estralia have already made their moves, huh?”

“Yeah, I think once the documentation is read and accounted for, it will be pretty busy once our restaurant opens up. All the senators will probably visit… We should tell Tamae-chan to increase the number of tables and probably get some more waiters,” Haruka stated and I couldn’t help but agree.

We didn’t research how many senators were around. With 21 there, not accounting the normal merchants, and their family, the restaurant will be full as hell. With only five waiters and waitresses, not including Svena, they might be overwhelmed.

Haaaa, it will be a busy day.

Five days passed and it was time for the opening of the Sarlenzia company and also…

“Ladies and gentlemen of Estralia! My name is Hestia and I present to you, the Sarlenzia company’s newest additions to their menu! Prepare for a sweetness overload!”

Idols were the best product promoters!