Chapter 204 – Fresh
Eventually, I had to wait for two days and could only meet her late in the afternoon in the ducal castle. The inside was as luxurious and well-decorated as the outside, and I wondered if this was built during the Taende’s empire era of dominion over the region or after Makji declared its independence.
Zhuri was still smelling of alcohol, proof that I wasn’t far from the truth. I didn’t mean it in a bad way either. Partying with her people was part of her work description as the chief of internal affairs. High-level positions, be it in government or companies, were mostly managerial roles. None of them would spend a lot of time behind a desk scribbling on some documents since it was extremely inefficient. Their job was mainly to speak to people, have meetings, and make final decisions. Their subordinates could take care of all the boring tasks for them, leaving them to a more “species” role. In a way, Crali wasn’t completely wrong, even though she was obviously behaving ridiculously.
Zhuri gave me a wide smile as she entered the meeting room.
“Ah, our iron trader. It’s good to see you again. We made good use of what we bought from you last time, even though I can’t say for sure whether that saved a thousand of us or not.”
She chuckled in a good mood while I greeted her back.
“Good afternoon, my Lady. Congratulations on your victory. I heard the Chian duchy contributed greatly to the campaign's success.”
“You’re well informed. That’s right, both the queen and the duchess are rejoicing at the outcome. Now, what can I do for you?”
“I came to ask a small favor. I’d like to buy a store location to open a shop in Alfiro and do some business here permanently.”
She shook her head.
“No can do. We don’t allow foreigners to own property in Makji unless there's a good reason for it.”
“I want to talk about this “good reason”. I believe I can offer you a very desirable product for sale in exchange for your permission.”
“Oh? What product?”
“Fish.”
Her slight interest vanished as she sighed dismissively.
“Many traders sell fish already. That’s not a good enough reason.”
“You’re right. To be precise, I want to sell fresh sea fish.”
“How fresh can fish be so far from the ocean?”
“Fresh from the day, or one day at most.”
She laughed with derision.
“Ha! If that were possible, others would have done it already. I’m sorry, but your bluff won’t work this time. I’m disappointed if that’s all you could come up with.”
“I’m not joking. I can prove it.”
She raised her eyebrows.
“And how would you do it?”
“That’s a trade secret.”
“Ha! All right, I like concrete action more than empty words. If you can come here with a shipment of fresh fish, I’ll let you open whatever shop you want. And don’t think you can trick our sense of smell with a preservation spell or something because that won’t work and you’ll get yourself in trouble, Geola’s trader or not.”
“I understand. I’ll show you I can do it. I’ll accept my fate if I can’t.”
“At least you’ve kept your guts. Contact the castle guards as soon as you arrive, and I’ll send people to check it quickly.”
“Thank you for giving me a chance, my Lady.”
“I wish you good luck anyway. If you somehow manage to do it, and regularly too, there’s no doubt the whole of Alfiro will rush to buy your fish.”
I grinned. Felines’ adoration for fish was well-known in the outer world. They had some rivers with a few fish, but their real interest was in sea fish, because they tasted so much better, according to them.
“That’s why I’m doing it.”
We talked a little more, and I was dismissed soon after. It was now time to do some real merchant work after so long. I wasn’t in a hurry either, since a normal person would need time to travel back and forth between countries.
A few days later, I teleported toward the east, in Taifau’s direction. I soon reached the frontier between the two countries and entered the easternmost state of the region. The first thing I noticed was how the roads were well-maintained, on the same level as the ones in Geola. I moved further inside the territory while looking down at the ground.
I was in the western part of the country, which acted as its granary. Most of the farming was happening here, and fields extended as far as the eye could see. The villages were simple but very orderly, composed of a few tens of houses built perpendicularly to each other, with clear paths between them. The architectural style was almost the opposite of that of Makji. Instead of bright colors and well-decorated buildings, everything here was much darker in tone and constructed with the clear objective of being practical over everything else. The houses and buildings were simple but efficient, with strict angles and cubic or rectangular shapes.
I continued to teleport toward the east, reaching a few towns and even a larger city. However, I didn’t stop there since my destination was all the way to the sea. It took me a little while, but I finally reached the place I was aiming for.
This was the city of Ekidos, Taifau’s largest port city. The ocean extended over the horizon, filled with many ships of all sizes. Some of the small ones seemed to be fishing while the larger ones were on their way to trade to faraway destinations, their docks filled with cargo. The sulfurous smell of the sea filled my nose while a strong wind ruffled my hair.
I took a deep breath, enjoying the view for a moment. Then, I memorized the place’s coordinates and teleported back to Geola. From there, I took my carriage and horses out and teleported back with them to the road leading to Ekidos.
The large port city was now in front of my eyes, and I urged the horses forward, ready to discover a new country, its culture, and its people.
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