Meeting (2)

After placing the report from Gran and the others on my desk, I looked at Al and the others gathered in the room.

"Sorry to keep you waiting. Shall we begin the meeting?"

As I spoke, I looked around the room. Even if we wanted to hold a meeting, the tables and benches in my office were piled high with documents, making it impossible to discuss matters comfortably.

"Let's go to the reception room."

I stood up and picked up the rolled-up map from my desk.

"Romelia-sama, let me carry that for you."

Ray held out a hand. It wasn't much to carry, but when I handed him the map, Ray followed happily behind me. Zeze, Jini, Borel, and Gatt, who had been waiting for me in the hallway, joined us and followed along as well.

I led Al and the others to the mansion's reception room. A red carpet covered the floor of the room used to receive guests, and a knee-high table stood in the center. Two single-seat sofas and two four-seat sofas were arranged around the table.

Paintings of seascapes hung on the walls, and flowers had been arranged in a vase on a shelf. Unlike my office, the room for receiving guests was much more relaxing. I almost wished I could work here.

I sat down on one of the single-seat sofas. Al, Borel, and Gatt sat to my right, while Ray, Zeze, and Jini sat to my left.

I spread the map across the table. It depicted the Mebyum Inland Sea and its coastline.

The Mebyum Inland Sea was, as its name suggested, a vast inland sea dotted with islands of various sizes. In particular, there was a large island at its center, with Merka Island labeled just below it.

"Now, everyone. I have a question for you."

I looked around at the six people gathered for the meeting.

"Do you know what is necessary to revitalize the economy?"

I raised my index finger as I posed the question, and Zeze enthusiastically raised a hand.

"Yes, Romelia-sama!"

"All right, energetic Zeze-kun."

"I don't know!"

Zeze answered with a beaming smile. It was clear from his face that he truly had not thought about it at all, leaving Al and the others around him exasperated.

"Then don't raise your hand."

Jini, who was sitting beside Zeze, pressed down on Zeze's head. Well, I supposed that smile deserved full marks.

Beside Zeze, who was smiling with carefree innocence, Ray timidly raised a hand.

"I'm sorry if I'm wrong. Would it be the flow of money, goods, and people?"

"Correct. You've been studying well."

"I heard you discussing it with Velli-sensei and Quins-sensei before."

Ray blushed shyly. Still, the willingness to try to understand what he heard was important.

"As Ray said, the economy is broadly made up of money, goods, and the movement of people. The economy develops when these three circulate smoothly."

"Then this port is meant to gather goods, is that right?"

Al asked in response to my words.

"That's right. Once trade begins, all kinds of goods will gather at this port. Then, if we establish a market, money will change hands. With those two things in place, merchants will come here as well. However, this port currently has no way to accommodate merchants. It is critically lacking one thing."

"Is that workers?"

This time, Borel raised his hand slightly. I nodded.

"That's right. First, we'll need workers to unload the ships that arrive. We'll also need inns, restaurants, and taverns where merchants and sailors can rest, as well as gambling houses for entertainment."

I counted them off on my fingers. All of these would be necessary to welcome sailors after long voyages. Besides, I wanted them to spend the money they had earned here at this port.

"But Captain Romelia, the people who were mining gold in Girie Valley are here, aren't they? Can't we use them?"

Al made the suggestion, but I shook my head.

"They're temporary migrant workers. Once the port is complete and the construction project ends, they'll leave."

I wanted them to stay, too. However, people who had come here dreaming of striking it rich would go elsewhere if they heard of a more profitable opportunity. Velli-sensei and I estimated that fewer than one in ten would remain here.

"Besides, we need more than just male labor. We'll also need women to cook, clean, and do the laundry. Ah, we'll need prostitutes and the like, too."

As I listed what we needed, Al and the others abruptly looked away from me. Ray, in particular, blushed and shifted uncomfortably in their seat.

"Ahem. To get back to the matter at hand, what are we going to do? Recruitment of settlers hasn't been going well, has it?"

Al gave an exaggerated cough. It was true that not many settlers had gathered. People probably thought of Kashu as a frontier. Once the port was fully operational, more people might move here. But that would be too late. I did not want the merchants who came here to think it was an inconvenient place.

"That's why I intend to go recruit workers for this port."

"You personally, Romelia-sama? Where exactly?"

In response to Ray's question, I looked toward the map spread across the table.

The Mebyum Inland Sea was home to numerous islands, both large and small. I pointed to the large island at the center of the inland sea. The label Merka Island lay beneath my finger.

"Here. We're going to Merka Island, north of this port."

"I see. So we're going as your guards. But if all we're doing is recruiting workers, it doesn't sound dangerous. How about we go swimming once we reach the island?"

"That sounds great! Romelia-sama, can you swim?"

Zeze latched onto Al's suggestion and looked at me.

"I can swim reasonably well. I often played in a lake when I was a child."

In the Lionel Kingdom, swimming in lakes and rivers was a popular way to escape the summer heat. When I was a child, Father used to take me swimming in a lake near our vacation home.

"Oh, r-really...? Th-then, do you have a swimsuit, too?"

For some reason, Borel's voice cracked as he asked.

"Yes, I do. Ah, but I left my swimsuit at my family home. And it's been years since I last wore it, so it wouldn't fit me anymore."

"Then let's have new swimsuits made and enjoy ourselves. Swimming, fishing, and sunbathing!"

Al's voice was relentlessly cheerful. Ray, however, was blushing for some reason. Maybe the heat was getting to Ray?

"Having fun is fine, but you'd better not go swimming in the sea. Apparently, the waters near Merka Island are teeming with sharks."

When I warned them, Al frowned, his hopes dashed. Borel and the others also closed their eyes in disappointment, while Ray's shoulders drooped in dismay. Had they really wanted to swim that badly?

"However, what we need to be more wary of than the sharks are the pirates who roam the Mebyum Inland Sea. Apparently, masked pirates have been running amok there lately."

"Really? Then is our next job going to be defeating pirates? This is just like something out of an adventure novel."

Al's eyes lit up. But I shook my head.

"We're not going to defeat them. In fact, the pirates are people who live on the islands of the Mebyum Inland Sea."

I looked at the map showing the inland sea. Besides Merka Island, which I had pointed to earlier, it showed islands such as the Vaal Archipelago and the Mamiana Archipelago. There was also an area called the Archipelago Sea, where small uninhabited islands formed a chain.

"The people who live on each island have their own territory. They attack ships that pass through their territory without permission, but leave ships alone if permission to pass has been obtained. Recruiting workers is our objective this time, but it also means winning them over as allies."

"Ah, I see. We'll draw them into our ranks by offering them jobs. But Captain Romelia, can we trust them? They're the sort of people who work as pirates, aren't they?"

Al nodded, then gave me a skeptical look. His concern was understandable.

"We'll have no choice but to trust them. Merka Island is located in the center of the Mebyum Inland Sea, making it an ideal way station. Besides, having never possessed a port before, we are woefully lacking in the knowledge, skills, and experience needed to operate one. Our only option is to hire them and build a cooperative relationship."

I lowered my eyes to Merka Island marked on the map.