For the transition from cash crops to food crops, I had wanted to grow rice, because I had heard that paddy fields didn’t degrade the fertility of the soil, unlike wheat in dry fields, but because the all-important rice plants didn’t exist in this country, that plan had ground to a halt.
Now I see. It grows further north, huh? I’d very much like to bring some here and try cultivating it. Still, these mystic wolves… Between the soy sauce, miso, and now rice, their race has a lot of the things I’ve been wanting.
I paused.
“Okay, that settles it! I’ll give the mystic wolves among the refugees a district in Parnam.”
“Whaaaa?!” Tomoe exclaimed.
I wanted them to produce this bean hishio and hishio water there. We had plenty of soybeans, since we had planted them as part of the soil restoration process.
“Hold on, Souma, are you serious?!” Liscia seemed confused and flustered, but I was as serious as serious gets.
“With soy sauce and miso… I mean, hishio water and bean hishio, I can recreate most of the dishes from the country I came from. It sounds like there’s rice here, too. Don’t you want to try the tasty foods of another world?”
“Th-That’s…”
“Yes! I really want to try them!” Aisha raised her hand with gusto.
“Ha ha… while they may not feel as strongly as Aisha, I’m sure our people would like to try them. If I publish the recipes, they’ll either gather the ingredients and make them themselves, or go to a restaurant that serves them, I’m sure. Either way, it will cause a lot of movement in the economy.”
Huge market liquidity would bring prosperity to this country. That, I firmly believed. That was why I said this to the people watching:
“My search for the gifted is still ongoing. If people have a gift, I will use them even if they are refugees. This race has superior food production techniques, so I have no reason not to accept them. Oh, I know… For the next five years, I will grant the mystic wolves a monopoly on bean hishio and hishio water. We will clamp down on illicit production by any other parties. However, five years from now, I will lift the monopoly on bean hishio and hishio water to create a free market, so I recommend the mystic wolves create a firm economic base for themselves in that time. That is all.”
After this pronouncement, a mystic wolf quarter was built in the capital Parnam, and bean hishio and hishio water were produced there with assistance from the country.
In this world, there had been many cases where refugees had been given a district of their own and it had turned into a slum. That was because the refugees faced economic limitations (lack of jobs, being used for cheap labor, and more) and struggled with poverty.
However, in the case of the mystic wolves, because they had been given a monopoly on bean hishio and hishio water by the king, they were able to build an economic base for themselves, and so their quarter did not turn into a slum, instead becoming an integrated part of the capital by the time the five-year limit was up.
Furthermore, even after bean hishio and hishio water had been renamed to “miso” and “soy sauce” and the monopoly had ended, they continued to study it. The miso and soy sauce that the mystic wolves put out under the Kikkoro brand, marked with a hexagonal logo with a wolf in the center, would continue to be loved for a long time after that.
Cheery background music and the soft voice of Juna Doma echoed through the fountain plaza.
“Now, it is time for this program, The King’s Brillunch, to come to a close. How did you feel about hosting, Poncho?”
“Y-Yes. If my knowledge has been able to help our countrymen in the slightest, that would make me very happy. Still, I think hosting was too great a burden for me, yes. Please, have someone else take my place next time.”
“I wonder, will there be a next time? What do you say, sire?” June asked.
“If the people demand it.”
“Well, there you have it. I hope they do demand it, Poncho.”
“I–I don’t think I want there to be a demand for me, yes!”
“Oh, don’t say that. Do this with me again sometime!” Juna cried in a singsong tone.
“Eeek! Please, spare me!” he yelped.
“Now then, thank you all for watching. This is your hosts, Juna Doma…”
“…and Poncho Ishizuka Panacotta, signing off, yes.”
“Now everyone, I bid you good day.”
The music cut out, and the video faded away. It seemed that the program had ended.
From here and there around the plaza, sighs could be heard.
“Aww… It’s over, huh.”
“That was more interestin’ than I expected. Wish I coulda watched it a bit longer.”
“Yeppers. It don’t hafta be every day, but I do hope they’ll make the broadcasts semi-regular.”
“If there’s demand, they’ll do more, yeah? Well, how’s about we send in a request to the Congress of the People?”
“Oh! Now that there’s an idea that wouldn’t’ve occurred to me! I’m gonna go talk to the mayor about it right now.”
Conversations like this one happened in towns everywhere.
The people were completely taken with this new form of entertainment called the “variety program.” Souma had intended it as an “information program” about the food crisis, but with Juna and Poncho playing off one another, the cooking program-like aspects, and pretty girls squealing over and then eating bizarre ingredients, you couldn’t blame them for seeing it that way.
Later, the Congress of the People submitted a “request for the regular holding of Jewel Voice Broadcast programs.” With Souma’s assent, a time for a public broadcast that would take place every evening was established.
There were those who took a different view of this from society at large.
“When the new king suddenly took the throne, I suspected usurpation, but that young king seems to be a surprisingly affable fellow,“ said one old man.
“You’re right,” another responded. “I can see why King Albert chose to abdicate in favor of him.”
“The princess seemed to be in good spirits, too. I had suspected she was forced into the betrothal.”
“They were very natural together. They didn’t seem to be on bad terms.”
“Ho, ho, ho, we may have an heir by next year, I reckon.”
“A child between the wise and gentle king and the dignified princess, huh. The next generation will be one to look forward to.”
“It really will. Ho, ho, ho.”
The old men laughed quietly together.
A wise and gentle king… that was how they had evaluated Souma. However, about half of that evaluation was wrong.
Souma was not purely a gentle king.
Sitting in my chair in the king’s governmental affairs office, I spoke to Hakuya, who stood across from me.
“Give me your report on the surrounding countries.”
Right now, Hakuya and I were the only ones present in the room. Liscia and the others were elsewhere, probably having a great time at the party to celebrate the launch of the Jewel Voice Broadcast. Even Aisha, who usually stayed at my side at all times, claiming it was to guard me, was busy with the food that had been prepared for the occasion.
We had left the celebration partway through, coming to the governmental affairs office for a secret meeting.
Hakuya spread out a map of the world on my desk.
“I will now make my report. First, I will review the surrounding countries. Our country, which is situated in the southeast of the continent, shares a border with three countries: the Union of Eastern Nations to the north, the Principality of Amidonia to the west, and the Turgis Republic to the southwest. Also, across the sea to the southeast there is the Kuzuryu Archipelago Union. In addition, to the west of Amidonia, the mercenary state Zem could also be called one of our surrounding countries. Of these, zero are friendly, four are neutral, and one is hostile.”