There were two large rivers on Ichthyes.
From Harvan’s lake as the source, pouring through the boundary between Lucanrant and Aurelia towards the west via Leandez to Knot Reed, the Varnalis River.
From the lake at the boundary between Harvan and Aurelia, Alleska River flowed into the territorial waters of Ignitia while meandering towards the southwest via Leandez.
Both of them had little rise and fall differences and people could enter the inland areas with large vessels.
In addition, each branch divided into more than twenty small rivers that covered the majority of the continent, forming a circulation of important traffic routes in the Union Kingdom.
After the skirmish in the northwest after Aurelia’s arrival by ship, the dam was built by the migrants from Aurelia at the mouth of the river of the largest branch of the Varnalis River.
This was the beginning of Knot Reed.
Everything flowed in Varnalis River, which was the cornerstone of water transports.
Therefore, everything gathered at the port of Knot Reed which was built at the mouth of the river.
And the shipbuilding industry to transport them was also explosively growing by harmonizing with Aurelia.
Not only merchant ships and fishing vessels but military vessels were also built in shipyard areas located in the city.
Battle ships for Aurelia built with numerous ethanol cannons.
Cruisers equipped with magical armor which could also be called huge spell cards exclusively for Harvan’s mages.
For the country of dragon knights Ignitia, an air carrier to operate 10-meter class dragons on the sea.
“What is built this time is a new type of aircraft carrier incorporating a state-of-the-art mechanism in the power section.
The dragon knights of the former aircraft carrier who had been stationed at Knot Reed originally will switch to the new model during the launching ceremony.”
“Which one is the aircraft carrier?”
“The old aircraft carrier seems to be on the ocean in order to train for the demonstration that will be carried out in the launching ceremony.
Don’t worry, when the launching ceremony begins you can see both old and new aircraft carriers.”
Saying so, Otou-sama sroked my head.
There was a huge shipyard appearance in the direction pointed by him.
I was interested in how big the ship that was being built was, but it seemed it would be a sight to see during the launching ceremony.
In the meantime, a merchant ship arrived at the harbor.
However, our voyage didn’t end here.
We would switch to a small rowing boat along with a few servants.
It was a rowing boat that looked just like a gondola.
It seemed that it was faster to go through the canal whenever you went on the canal street of Knot Reed.
We got on the small boat and looked around the city as we moved through the canal.
Many ships were coming and going near the mouth of the river and it was very lively.
A cargo ship with various kinds of luggage, a sightseeing ship that was kind of bigger than our small boat.
The origin and occupation of the people riding on them were also diverse.
Turning back a little, our small boat entered an area where large buildings such as cathedrals lined up along the canal.
The religious building had white walls and gray roof.
It had calm colors, but the elaborate decorations made it looked luxurious.
We came across a group of nuns who were just going to move by boat and we waved and greeted them.
When we were passing by a place corresponding to the intersection on the road, I saw the other side and I felt dizzy.
Like an infinite loop of a mirror, similar scenery was repeated.
“Otou-sama, it seems like the canal is continuing everywhere.”
“The large canal had 20 rings. Including the small canals, there are several times more than that in total.
Knot Reed is made up of one hundred islands separated by canals and two thousand bridges.”
“That’s very amazing.”
“Aah, it’s a land that has been developed for trading since ancient times.”
It said that the canal was stretched concentrically around a river that was flowing in the center.
It was said that the transportation cost was overwhelmingly low, thanks to the terrain called the canal rings.
After passing through the gray roofs area, we entered the red-orange roofs area.
Various specialty shops were joining their eaves, and in the distance there were signboards with designs concentrated like beautiful accessories were glittering under the sunlight.
The voices of sellers who were attracting customers could be heard.
It was a vibrant part of the area with overwhelmingly large numbers of people.
“This is Knot Reed’s famous place, 〈Town of All Kinds of Goods〉.
Just like the name ‘All Kinds of Goods’, the merchants here boast that there is nothing they don’t have in this town.”
“That’s interesting.”
“I’m sorry, but we cannot afford to stop by for a while.
After the launching ceremony, let’s look around even between my works.”
“Yes, I will look forward to that.”
I was really brimming with the intention to sneak away and visit this Town of All Kinds of Goods.
As I was feeling a mild guilt, I replied to Otou-sama with a smile.
The small boat crossed the canal under the big bridge.
Suddenly, a huge building appeared in front of my eyes when the field of vision was cleared out at once.
It looked like a religious building and felt solemn but had been decorated with secular architecture everywhere.
This was where we were going to stay, the 〈Water Palace〉.
Our party of Aurelia got off the boat at a small square in front of the palace, we were guided by the servant of the palace who had been waiting.
The interior of Water Palace was precisely decorated based on white and gold.
It was a technique of advanced craftsmen who gave a luxurious but pure impression, a fusion of Aurelia-style and Harvan-style.
There were hundreds of rooms in this vast palace, which was also called as the Labyrinth Palace.
It seemed that I would get lost if I wasn’t careful.
Because it was a palace with many rooms, I was given a room by myself.
Well, since it would make it easier to sneak out, I was fine with it.
We quickly changed from our traveling outfit to formal attires in our given room, and headed to the hall where other aristocrats had arrived earlier.
☆
The owner of Water Palace was the Tulum family.
Their ancestors were masons and mages from Harvan.
However, they seemed to have been immersed in Knot Reed’s shipbuilding and water transportation, and they emigrated some time ago.
They were the first one to develop a merchant ship with expanded interior by space manipulation magic, sold it and gained funds.
What made him rose as a wealthy merchant was the time he made a killing by maritime insurance to a trading business.
Approximately twenty years ago, the predecessor of the Tulum family bought the Count rank and became a nobleman.
Because the Visitor’s Clan didn’t care about the status system, some nobles didn’t have territories in the western region to buy a rank like them.
In the case of the Tulum family, there was a view that they governed huge networks and multiple ships by multiple businesses instead of a territory.
After we gave our greetings to Count Tulum, I was taught about the beginning of the Tulum family.
The current principal was a bald middle-aged man who seemed to be talkative, who surprisingly said to be the eldest son of thirteen siblings.
Inferring from the palace and his attire, the predecessor of Tulum who bought the court rank seemed to be a capable person.
A luncheon was held in the hall of the Water Palace, and it was a place for socializing.
To attend the launching ceremony, aristocrats who came from neighboring aristocracy such as Ignitia were gathering.
The luncheon itself was a casual event, the nobles were making groups and talking with each other there.
I greeted a few people with Otou-sama while searching for the person I had in mind.
(Yup, there he is.)
Long red hair, deep green eyes, with sturdily large build.
In addition to typical north-western characteristics, he had a mildly baby face and somewhat nervous atmosphere.
When the man saw Otou-sama, he waved his hand and came close to him.
Somewhat similar to the appearance when an introverted type of person found a few acquaintances among the people he met for the first time.
(He closely resembled Harold. His personality seems to be quite different, though.)
He was the current Count of Nibelheim, Harold II.
The third scenario’s capture target, Harold Nibelheim III’s father.
“I am honoured to meet you here, Duke Aurelia!”
“I heard many things about you, Count Nibelheim.”
“No, no, no, I and the others are not a match for you.
Your ‘Refining by the Spirit of Lightning’ based on Harvan’s spirit theory!
That’s what I called innovation!
I always thought that I want to talk about this theory if I saw you.”
As soon as he greeted Otou-sama, Count Nibelheim shook his hand.
As soon as Otou-sama replied, he began to develop professional talks on metallurgical alchemy as quickly as possible.
Based on what I had learned in Aurelia, the finances of the Nibelheim territory should be stable.
Nibelheim territory of his ruling was a rich land with a long history.
In the coastal part of the tributary of the Varnalis River, there was an industrial zone and the mountains had mines in it.
The specialty products were high-quality silver and beautiful silverwares that were resulted from the processed silver.
About ten years ago, it seemed that the silver ore had withered at once.
However, Harold II developed a new refining technology.
It seemed that Nibelheim’s industry, which was on the verge of financial collapse, had a miraculous V-shaped recovery.
Count Nibelheim’s tirade had just changed into a talk about his new refining technology.
It was a method of separating any impurities contained in low-quality silver by smelting.
Application of Otou-sama’s technology would improve the refining efficiency not only in the silver industry, but also across the continent by a few percent.
Even though there were many technical terms, I managed to understand them somehow.
After the end of the tirade by Count Nibelheim, finally his eyes met mine.
“Ah……I apologize, your daughter is with you too. I have been rude.”
“Yes. Erica, give your greetings.”
“I am honoured to meet you, Count Nibelheim. Please don’t be concerned about that.”
When Count Nibelheim got a hold of himself, I pinched my skirt and greeted him.
He had the ability to concentrate and was full of enthusiasm.
He was an excellent alchemist with a researcher’s mind, and his ability to solve problems was high from his background.
However, he had problems in attention.
Instead of being easily immersed in things he had interested in, he gave me the impression that he had a narrow field of view.
Even if that was excellent for an alchemist, that might be fatal for a nobleman.
Because it was poorly done, from a cunning scammer, this territory would seem like a fat defenceless duck.
After all his efforts to make his hometown flourished, in the end he was deceived and fell into ruins, what a cruel story.
Count Nibelheim moved to other influential people after a light chat.
“He is very enthusiastic about research, huh.
He was doing a research on Otou-sama and Onii-sama’s theory.”
“Aah, he is a very good alchemist.”
While talking to Otou-sama, he brought out the information about Nibelheim.
The economic situation and relations with the neighboring nobilities and others were good.
It seemed that the fraud case hadn’t occurred yet from my roundabout investigation.
This was the most valuable information.
I quietly took a breath.
If I struck right now, I might be able to break the destruction flag of Nibelheim family.
After the luncheon party, Otou-sama and I returned to our guest rooms.
After taking a small break, if it was as originally scheduled, there would be inspection and talks.
Until the launching ceremony begins, newly arrived nobles would be added to the roster, and a similar schedule would continue every day.
Originally, I needed to smile beside my father.
I quickly took off the dress and changed to a dark blue costume with a cape like what a town girl would wear in autumn.
When Palug in her kitten form crawled under the dress, in the next moment she stood up looking exactly like me.
“Well then, I will leave it to you. Palug.”
“Ufufu, I’ll act like a noble lady more than you, Erica.”
“Please do it in moderation. Don’t do funny things without my knowledge, okay?”
“Joking, joking. I will behave like a meek doll.”
Palug laughed pleasantly.
Since she was inherently mischievous, there was some anxiety, but well, I trusted her.
After I waved to Palug, I leaned my body forward from the window.
Tirnanog who was already waiting on the other side of the window immediately caught me.
Tirnanog leaped and we landed in the garden of the Water Palace.
Now then, it was the beginning of the investigation.
