Hakai no Miko

The Benes Inland Sea is an ocean that cuts deep into the central area of the continent of Cerdeas. It is an inland sea surrounded by land, a calm sea rarely rough. As a result, marine transactions have been flourishing in the Benes Inland Sea since ancient times.

And in such ocean transactions, it was the marine nation of Jeboa that was at the heart of the western realm.

The coast of the Benes Inland Sea in the region known as the Western Region has few bays and coves to evacuate from storms and waves, and is also shallow and has many reefs. As a result, it was a land where large ports where large trading vessels with deep water intake could dock were difficult to develop.

In this context, the Gulf of Jeboa, situated in the peninsula section protruding into the Benes Inland Sea and with a headland that serves as a natural jetty, has been used since ancient times as a port for large trading vessels to dock.

Over time, the bay was maintained and turned into a large port. With it, the small city that was trying to lean against the harbour developed into a commercial city, and that only became a country at any given time.

That is the marine state of Jeboa.

And that day, this guild of merchants in Jeboa's real power - a regular meeting of ten luxuries known as its decision-making body, the ten-member committee - was held.

It was one of the ten members of the committee that was the venue for this regular meeting, the mansion of the luxurious Cornelius, which builds tremendous wealth in the processing and trading of precious metals such as gold and silver copper.

Ten men, including Cornelius, surrounded by a large round table lined with lots of dishes, in a room filled with luxury and luxury - they are the ones who are called the Ten Commissioners.

The luxuries of eating the meat hand-cut by Cornelius, the master of the mansion, watched slightly.

"Hmm...... Bornis-style."

It is a dish made with the spices of Zoan, which has also recently become popular in Jeboa. Jeboa, where the ocean trade flourished, had a variety of spices imported from overseas countries as well as mustard seeds (from) and fish soy sauce (ginger).

But when it comes to fitting meat dishes, this Zoan spice is exceptional.

But it is a rarity that has just been exported from Bornis. With the fashion of Bornis cuisine, prices were soaring in Jeboa, not to mention trading for the same amount of gold and silver. The magnitude of Cornelius' financial strength can be questioned from the fact that he is using it to cook and show it at all costs.

But eating it is no less luxurious than Cornelius again. A common man would have drummed his tongue in plain conversation before a dish that was also confusing to lay hands on.

By the time the obvious dish is cleaned up, Cornelius asks how he feels about the dish. The luxuries then replied satisfactorily that they had been fully indulged.

But Cornelius' expression is hard, even though he says the customer was satisfied.

"Sure, it's good. - But if you eat too much good food, it will be physically impaired. Isn't it?

The air of the place, which was nasty, cools at once.

All of them here are the leading merchants of Jeboa. I notice Cornelius perceiving the dishes as alarming to the forces of Bornis, who have begun to rise in obscurity.

"But what I want to eat good is human. And a merchant is not a creature that makes money by responding to those desires?

Some merchants nevertheless say that their dealings with Bornis have advantages, while others have opinions that echo Cornelius' alarm.

"It's ruined to cool down the dishes too. But if you rush a hot dish into your mouth, you could burn it."

I think so, and next, I also gave my opinion in the light of the current state of affairs between Holmea and Bornis.

"But I hear a hungry lion is after cooking. Wouldn't it be a bad idea for us to just pick the delicious spots before the lions eat us up?

Use far-fetched rhetoric to explore each other's bellies. It is a forgery between a fox and a raccoon in the knowledge that everyone on this occasion will think of putting others out and kicking them down, and that the other person will also think so.

"Because of those fugitive slaves, I'm being forced to spend money I don't need!

It was the dealer Jacob who raised his frustration with the other ten commissioners who would only discuss it in such far-fetched terms.

He is a merchant who built wealth by distributing goods from the centre of the continent to the city of Bornis. That's why he was badly damaged by the ban on slavery issued by the Ethereal Horse in the city of Bornis, which prevented him from using cheap slave labour for transportation.

Now, when asked what to do, Jacob vociferously says that further sanctions are needed.

"Disagree"

The first to disagree with it was the grain dealer, Old Kaiafa.

"We should also stop buying wheat right now. The only people who are happy to get cheap wheat are idiots who only see what's going on right now. In the last five years, wheat harvests on the Sorbiant plains have grown abnormally. Now Bornis is also turning the bulk of it to domestic demand. But it's not far from being exported. If abnormally cheap wheat is available on the market in large quantities, no other wheat will be bought. Then the peasants who make wheat elsewhere will be wiped out. After that, we'll have to buy wheat at at their price."

Following the old Caiafa man, the opposition rose one after the other as to how a merchant guild defending freedom of commerce could impose sanctions against it. That's it, or even the beginning of an opinion that Cornelius and Jacob led and resolved five years ago that the wheat buying beating isn't as effective as they think it is.

Jacob, whose self-esteem was hurt by it, raises his anger.

"That and this, because some prodigal son is doing something he doesn't want!

The other luxuries turned their gaze to one man at all.

It is Menahem Shapiro, a shallow, black, tidy, magnificent man who is wiping away the soup left in his vessel with a thousand slices of bread with a strange face without joining the conversation.

It is already a well-known fact that his son Joash is in and out of "Son of Destruction". Besides, that's not all. It is also his Joash who spread in this Jeboa the rare things that the Son of Destruction makes. Thanks to this, the city of Bornis was able to earn extra revenue from exports to compensate for the losses caused by the beating of wheat.

"Lord Menahem. We'd love to hear from you!

After being named by Jacob, he pretended to finally realize that he was talking to him, and Menahem wiped his mouth with a handkerchief.

"I don't know who that prodigal son is, but I have a strong sense of empathy. Anyway, I'm getting my hands burned by my prodigal son too."

Menahem blurred into the sky when he said he was obviously being hinted at about his son, Joash.

"Even if I want to scold him, he doesn't give me an excuse to scold him. It's my son, Xiao Xian."

It means I'm not willing to blame my son for his actions, and there's no reason for that.

And Jacob, too, gets stuck in words.

Wheat is the only merchant guild in Jeboa directing the buying beating to exert pressure on the Ethereal Horses. Because when Jacob and the others tried to target it, besides wheat, it was also vetoed with opposition from other merchants.

And all Joash deals with is spices, glass, soap, etc. Now I do not blame Joash on the Merchant Alliance.

"If any of those prodigal sons come into contact with the guild's terms, recommend them immediately and make a removal. But..."

So he set aside for a beat, and then Menahem said away strongly.

"The primary meaning of Jeboa's Merchant Guild is to protect freedom of commerce. Not to mention the brothers who are named to the ten Commissioners."

Without finding words of objection, Jacob stares into remorse and Menahem responds with a cold smile to it. In contrast to the two figures, the story flow on the spot was leaning toward an improved relationship with Bornis.

"Um... are you sure?

There, a man who seemed weak enough to see, lean (or), raised his fearful hand. It is a luxury juda whose main business is brewing and its distribution and sale. Judah says freaked out by the gaze she was directed at.

"Weren't you forgetting the example letter?

Then, the ten commissioners' extravaganza became the most sinister faces. Only one of them, Jacob, who became good at only getting my will.

"That's right! Don't forget that!

One opinion after another pops up from other luxuries, skinning Jacob's words.

"No. But that threatens to undermine Jeboa's independence..."

"Not at all. We don't belong here!

"But don't you dare even carry a good danger?

From then on, the ten-member members of the committee fought their opinions with indiscretion.

But in the end, nothing was decided that day.

◆ ◇ ◆ ◇ ◆

When Menahem returned to his mansion after a meeting of ten commissioners, he was told by a family decree that his son Joash was awaiting his return home.

"Yo-ho! We're out of time, Father!

When he enters the guest room of the mansion, he opens his hands wide and greets himself, and Menahem exchanges a hug when he breaks up with him. After checking each other's health, they sat down on a large cushion placed on the floor.

"Today, he said, it was a meeting of ten members of the committee, how was it?

First, to Joash, so cut out, Menahem makes a tannic surface.

"There's nothing like it. It's a waste of time..."

Menahem also understands the problem of the lack of immediacy of the ten-member committee.

But that's why I wasn't thinking about what to do. I don't have to worry about the confusion that would be better if the current ten-member committee mechanism were not immediate, rather than concentrating power on one person. Above all, because if we try to change the mechanism of the ten-member committee poorly, we risk other luxuries pulling our legs.

So Menahem remembered a rumor.

"There was a suggestion from" Son of Destruction "that you want to bulk the deal, but you said no. If you could have a monopoly, why did you say no to what further profits had been made?

That's right, my father's ears are fast, and Joash laughs.

Indeed, Joash had received a suggestion from Aoima that he wanted to leave the property of Bornis in bulk. Because I thought the Ethereal Horse, who doesn't even know the iroha of commerce, would be more certain to leave it all to Joash than to do it himself.

But Joash refused it with a bitter smile.

"Then I'll be able to buy and beat you cheap. You should let other merchants in and compete."

That said, he handled only 70% of Bornis' property and divided the remaining 30% to other merchants.

At first glance, Joash seems to have let go of the opportunity to make a lot of money. However, the Ethereal Horse, who earned his trust in Joash, also asked for advice in the remaining 30% of business dealings. For this reason, Joash had been allowed to include his own intentions in the remaining 30% in real terms, while dealing with seventy percent himself.

"The city of Bornis - no, that soma is like a chicken laying golden eggs. Crush the chicken and turn it into meat and you'll be satisfied for one moment. But if you feed them plenty and feed them well, they'll keep laying golden eggs forever."

With that said, Joash said, "The chicken is a chicken with fangs and nails that could kill either a chicken or a lion," he said in one breast.

As Joash put it, Menahem also thought that the city of Bornis today is exactly the chicken that lays golden eggs.

A number of rare items, such as glass vessels and distilled liquor and soap, which are much thinner and more delicate than previous ones but which are favourably produced in large quantities, are also well worth it in empires where preferences from all over the continent are gathered. In fact, when I brought some items into the empire, I even had a medical examination asking if I could get more from the leading royal marquis nobility.

But even considering that, my son seems to be getting a little too much into it.

Mindful of that, Joash came up with a slightly puzzling color, but soon became convinced face by himself.

"Well, your father doesn't know Bornis."

Menahem disgusted. Still, as one of Jeboa's leading luxuries, I intend to keep my ears shut about situations everywhere. That's not the exception with Bornis.

"No, I'm not saying your father is bad. The city - no, Master Soma is too out of standard."

I don't understand that one up close, Joash laughed Kerakera. Then I look up at my father.

"Father, do me a favor"

"Now what? You want another boat?

The usual thing about this prodigal son. I usually want a new ship or nautical chart, but not this time.

"Actually, Master Soma says he wants to visit Jeboa. So with Father's help, I'd like to invite you."

Menahem turned sinister.

Now "Son of Destruction" is not just the head of a rebel slave. If such a person were to come to Jeboa, who is bent over and in the shape of a country, he would not be able to do so unless it was an introduction by someone else.

But the problem is that they are in conflict with the Holmeer State.

Bringing them in cheaply could buy the discomfort of the Holmeer country, known as the male in the western region, which would also be detrimental to Jeboa. The wind will also be stronger from the merchant guild to the Champiro Chamber of Commerce, which invited such people.

Exactly. It was Menahem who tried to reject it as impossible, but Joash said it before that.

"- I give up because that's just a story my father can't accept right now. Instead, would you like to see the city of Bornis with your father's own eyes?

Menahem often thought about this proposal.

The world calls him a prodigal son, but Menahem bought his own son high. Its eyes are certain to look thin and discern the value of things.

"Fine. I'm also interested in the city of Bornis and the Son of Destruction."

◆ ◇ ◆ ◇ ◆

He is one of the ten Commissioners who is said to lack instant power, but Menahem individual is different. When he left the Chamber of Commerce to his eldest son Daniel during his absence during the day he accepted his invitation to Bornis, he set up a journey support and left Jeboa with Joash the next day.

In a large carriage of four horses headed to Bornis, sitting in a laid down seat futon, Joash, facing his father across a small table with a liquor cup, took something out of his nostalgia (two places) some time after leaving the city.

"Father, shall we come slowly while we still eat this"

That is what Joash offered, a small piece of bread. Probably let the cook cook cook cook for the departure. Closer to the nose, it smells freshly baked.

"Well, that's Bornis-style bread."

This also originated in the city of Bornis. It was a bread that was not found in previous breads, because of its softness and fragrance, it was also spreading to Jeboa with the momentum that had driven the bread so far.

But I've never seen anything like hardened mud painted on it.

"I applied butter mixture to the soy mite, and it's baked"

Rumor had it that the Son of Destruction was making mites out of soybeans, not potatoes. But Menahem is new to seeing and eating.

First, take a bite of the part of the mite. Then, at first, I wondered if it was not as sweet as a mite made of potatoes, just salty. However, as I chewed it, I felt a flavour that I had never tasted before. It also adds an aromatic flavour of butter to it, making it indescribably good and spreading into the mouth.

"Hmm......! This is quite."

Joash shrugs a laugh at his father's appearance narrowing his eyes to the flavor he enjoys for the first time. Besides, Menahem asks with his eyes what's wrong.

"In front of Master Soma, please avoid the topic of buttered mites. He seems to have an extraordinary commitment to Mitu, and this is the way to go."

They don't complain face to face, but they don't look very good.

Menahem was shocked how childish he was to be in a bad mood with food. Some other anecdotes are heard when they try to give away the soybean mitu they just did, such as being looked sad like a child who was taken away with the toy.

Menahem's growing interest in the Son of Destruction was driven by the difference between childish childishness heard from his son and rumors of brutality and tyranny in the alley.

That's when we went about three days in the carriage, talking like that.

Menahem tilted his neck.

Until then, the wagon, which was heavily rattled, suddenly became quiet. I still feel small shakes and shocks. But compared to earlier, it was no exaggeration to say that it was equal without.

"Oh? Apparently, you've entered the Bornis sphere of power."

Joash, similarly aware of the change, says with a pungent face. You obviously know something, but that's the face you dare hide it from.

When Menahem pursues it, Joash replies, "If you go out and look, you'll see".

Menahem stepped out of the carriage with his neck tilted to his son's mouth, stunned.

…… What is this?! "