Isekai Nonbiri Nouka
Chapter 943: Airship Routes and Operation Staff

〇Character Refresher

Guinel – Impure Dragon. Representative of the Six Dragon God Kingdom.

Metora – Impure Dragon. Formerly known as Dandaji, the strongest among her kin. Married to Guinel.

Roberto – Vampire. Guinel’s subordinate and friend. Acquainted with Flora.

Nashii – Human. Wife of the beastkin Gutt.

Nutt – Human. Daughter of Gutt and Nashii.

Principal – Demon. Wife of the Demon King. Mother of Yuri.

Shirukine – Demon. Mother of Frau.

Ruincia – Angel. Mother of Tia.

-0-

Through the test excavation, we obtained a large quantity of feather magic crystals that produce floating gas.

Although we no longer needed the extra-large crystals we had ordered through some merchant companies, we decided to keep the order as is.

If Bell’s hypothesis proves true, these crystals could have broader applications.

Besides, canceling the order abruptly would cause trouble for the companies.

Fortunately, the village’s funds are plentiful.

This isn’t a place where we should be stingy.

Let’s see it as an opportunity to build trust as a client who doesn’t back out midway through.

-0-

Now that we’ve secured a source of floating gas, it’s time to decide on a plan for operating the airship.

Still, if we send it too far, the universal ship might get lonely, so for now, I’d like it to focus on trade between Big Tree Village and Howling Village.

That said, the volume of trade between those two is small enough that even once a month might be excessive.

Eventually, I’d like to expand the route from Howling Village to other villages or towns, but there’s a complication.

Villages and towns where trade is viable are typically governed by a local lord.

Big Tree Village, which has no lord, and Howling Village, which has a lord that can trade independently, are exceptions.

…….

What is it, Alfred?

You’re saying I’m the lord of both Big Tree Village and Howling Village?

No no, I may be responsible for Big Tree Village, but I never made Howling Village my territory.

Don’t say strange things like that.

If the excavation team hears that, they’ll be offended.

More importantly, Alfred.

Shouldn’t you be heading to ancestor-san’s country?

Harvest season is over, yet you’re still here.

Feeling reluctant?

Struggling with the cultural differences?

Hmm…. as someone who cares, I’d say there’s no need to force yourself.

But as your parent, I shouldn’t spoil you either.

So here’s what I’ll do….

I advised him to consult with his mother, Loo.

I’m not passing the buck!

It’s putting the right person in the right place!

-0-

Let’s get back to the point, trading with villages or towns that have a governing lord requires prior preparation… or rather, negotiation.

If you go ahead and do it unilaterally, it’s bound to cause trouble.

Mainly about taxes.

That’s the biggest hurdle, taxes.

Lords who understand economics will cut you a reasonable deal, but the ones who don’t might shamelessly demand half the profits.

And if you try to say it’s just barter and there’s no “profit”, they’ll insist you leave behind half the goods you exchanged.

It sounds absurd, but I’ve heard the same story from several civil servant girls, so it’s likely true.

According to them, villages and towns directly governed by the Demon King pose no such issues, and they recommend trading with those areas.

All right, let’s say we decide to establish routes to such places.

Another problem arises.

Airspace violations.

While the concept may not officially exist, flying over someone’s territory without permission tends to provoke complaints.

Sometimes they’ll even demand an overflight fee.

What a hassle.

And in some cases, they’ll falsely claim you flew over their land, even if you didn’t, and demand payment anyway.

An even bigger hassle.

Trying to avoid such disputes severely limits viable flight paths.

What should I do…

As I was mulling it over, Beezel showed up.

Then, he handed me an unrestricted pass for travel within the Demon King’s Kingdom.

What’s this?

「Count Pugyaru made arrangements to obtain this pass specifically for Village Chief. Please make good use of it.」

Uhh…

Lately, Count Pugyaru has been way too prepared. Almost suspiciously so…

Does he have some kind of precognition?

「I’ve never heard of him possessing any such ability.」

R-Right…

Well, either way, I’ll gratefully accept it.

「Thank you. Also, here is a document stating that all trade-related taxes within the Demon King’s Kingdom are waived.」

This too? From Count Pugyaru?

「Yes.」

That being the case… I suppose I should prioritize his territory when trading via airship.

「He said no such favor is necessary.」

Yeah, he’d say that.

Still, just let him know we’re “coincidentally” favoring his region. Nothing official.

「Understood. I’ll inform Frau regarding Count Pugyaru’s lands and those within his faction.」

Thanks.

I’m counting on you.

-0-

Now, the airship routes are settled.

The next issue is….

The crew.

For flights back and forth between Big Tree Village and Howling Village, the mountain elves should be enough. If we plan to reach any other destination, though, we will need a dedicated flight team.

During the village council we asked who might serve, and a few days later we received volunteers.

It was the angels.

The angels already liked the airship, so that part was easy, but I had originally hoped to ask them to serve as escorts. When I explained this, they said another group of angels was ready to handle security. In other words, one angel team would fly the ship and another would guard it.

So that is how it will be.

「Leave the airship to the angels.」

The angel who volunteered as chief pilot bowed as she spoke.

Do you have permission from Tier and Malbit?

「We do.」

Very well.

I see no problem.

Still, we may build more airships in the future.

I would like you to train new crews as well.

「Understood.」

Will you accept people from other races?

「Of course. We would like to recruit our first trainees from Village Five and from Shashaato City.」

That makes sense.

It is easier when everyone understands angel customs.

I will leave that to you.

For the moment the ship will only run between Big Tree Village and Howling Village, but I am counting on you.

「Please leave it to us.」

-0-

With that, the issue of flight crew is settled.

Next up is the matter of building more airships…

At first, I was concerned because the mountain elves, our primary builders, had recently become more interested in the Multipurpose Humanoid Mobile Heavy Machine (Arti Horse).

I thought it might be difficult to get their help again for airships.

But it turns out the mountain elves hadn’t forgotten the airships at all.

In fact, they submitted a formal plan to construct a dedicated airship dock in Village Five.

Ah, I see. Their proposal is for the mountain elves to handle the critical parts of construction, while delegating the less essential components to local craftsmen in Village Five.

「We can manage everything for a single airship ourselves, but if you plan on building more, we’ll need extra help.」

That’s fair.

I had at least two or three additional airships in mind.

And if the need arises, we’ll likely expand beyond that. It makes sense to scale the workforce now while we can.

I’ll pass the proposal along to Youko for review and coordination.

「Thank you.」

-0-

Night.

After dinner, Loo came to see me.

It seems she wanted to talk about Alfred.

「You might be unsure how to handle things as a father, but I’m still new to being a mother too」

Yeah.

I ended up assuming everything would be fine if I left it to Loo.

Sorry about that.

「There’s no need to apologize. But let’s work through it together」

Right.

「So, about Alfred」

I’ve heard that he doesn’t really like the food in ancestor-san’s country.

He also said he’s confused by the cultural differences.

「Well, about that…」

Loo explained Alfred’s situation to me.

Apparently, when he said he wanted to become a village chief, the people around him laughed.

When he addressed Fushu as 「Fushu-san」, the church staff corrected him and said it should be 「Fushu-sama」.

And when he tried to point out that the scent of perfume on some women was too strong, he was stopped, told that it would be considered rude.

Then he thought maybe he could offer perfume as a gift instead, but was told that would be the same as a marriage proposal.

I see.

Who stopped him?

Fushu’s son.

Ah, the one who recovered thanks to Loo’s medicine.

Good to hear he’s doing well.

As for Alfred… each individual issue may be small, but they’re piling up and making it hard for him to feel comfortable.

「It sounds like the food issue is especially serious」

About that, though, ancestor-san and Fushu should have known there was a big difference between the food over there and what we eat in the village, right?

I discussed things with them a few times before Alfred left, but they never mentioned anything about that.

「Ah, well, the two of them are religious officials」

?

「They are in the position where they need to tell everyone to cut back on overeating and overindulging.」

A-ah.

I see.

Wait, but they’ve eaten here, haven’t they? Is that okay?

「If it’s offered, then it’s fine. Refusing would be considered rude」

I see.

「Well, the Korin religion isn’t too strict. They’re more like, ‘avoid overeating and overindulgence as long as it doesn’t harm your health’. Even so, it’s probably frowned upon to outright say the food is bad.」

Hmm.

「As for meals, I’ve already asked Ann to start teaching Alfred how to cook」

Alfred can cook, but his repertoire isn’t very wide.

He’s still a child, so we didn’t let him handle things like oil.

Hmm… maybe it was a mistake not to send someone with him from the village when he went to ancestor-san’s country.

Being separated from Ursa and Tiselle means there’s no one around to support him or listen when he needs to vent.

「Should we send someone now?」

I’d like to, but… who could go?

If they don’t have at least some familiarity with ancestor-san’s country, it might just lead to more trouble.

Someone who knows enough about ancestor-san’s country and would be willing to side with Alfred…

Flora, maybe?

「We could count on Flora, but it wouldn’t help Alfred」

Really?

「You might’ve forgotten, but Flora’s just as well-known over there as I am. Remember Roberto, that vampire who came for Metora’s wedding? His reaction says it all.」

Ah, right. That’s true.

If we send someone like Flora, it wouldn’t be a learning experience for Alfred.

In that case…

How about someone from Village One?

The residents of Village One came here through Fushu’s recommendation.

They were originally from ancestor-san’s country.

So they should know the place well enough.

But there aren’t many of them, and most have children of their own.

They’d probably go if I asked, but it feels wrong to ask.

「That’s true. Or we could flip the idea… what about someone who doesn’t know anything about that country? Like Nutt, Gutt’s daughter」

Taking someone who doesn’t know anything would only cause problems, wouldn’t it?

Wouldn’t that just increase the burden?

「Exactly. If Alfred gets busier, maybe he won’t dwell on things so much.」

I see.

But if that’s the goal, I don’t think we should be using someone else’s daughter for it.

It should be someone from our own family.

Though in terms of age, who would we even be able to give permission to go…

「So the choices are Ririus’ group, Torain, or Hiichirou.」

Ririus and the others are studying in Village Five.

Torain is studying in the Royal Capital.

That leaves Hiichirou… do you really think Raimeiren will let him go?

「He’s your son. I don’t think we need her permission…」

If we force the issue, Raimeiren will probably insist on going as well.

My guess is that if we send Alfred off with Hiichirou and Raimeiren, ancestor-san will show up the next day wearing a very troubled face.

「I think it would happen the very night they arrive.」

……..

All right, let’s set the idea of an escort aside for now.

If Alfred tells us he wants one, we’ll revisit the matter.

「Yes, that sounds best.」

Instead of trying to handle Alfred’s problems by ourselves, let’s talk them over with someone.

「For example?」

Tier, Ria, Senna…

「They have about the same amount of motherly experience as I do.」

Y-Youko, Malbit, Raimeiren…

「They’ll probably suggest unleashing Hakuren-san to show our strength and end the discussion right there.」

…….

N-Nashii, or Gulf’s wife?

「Those two are dependable, but they’d step back the instant it involved Alfred.」

What about the principal or Shirukine-san?

「Their status and thinking are far too aristocratic.」

I run through faces in my head, but none feels right.

Wait, that’s it.

Our consultant doesn’t have to be a mother.

We could ask the Demon King, Beezel, or Michael-san, other fathers.

「Y-you’re right. Exactly.」

We’ll cast a wide net for advice and do our best together.

「Yes, let’s give it our all.」

And so we agreed.

-0-

Raimeiren: 「Just how low is your trust in me…?」

Dors: 「Well, you did lose your temper and nearly wiped out the Elven Empire.」

-0-

Ruincia: 「I’ve been waiting to be consulted.」

Rigune: 「I’ve been waiting to be consulted.」

Loo: 「Suggesting letting Hakuren-san loose is out of the question.」

Ruincia: 「I would never do something so cruel.」

Rigune: 「Neither would I.」

Ruincia: 「I’d go myself.」

Rigune: 「Exactly.」

-0-

Hakuren: 「I’ve been keeping a low profile lately, so why am I still catching stray fire like this?」