When I awoke in the morning, I was all alone again. There was no one in Mei’s and Rico’s room. When I was trying to guess whether they went to the Kurumfar territory and went down the stairs, I found everyone gathered in the dining room. It made me breathe out in relief, but for some reason, everyone had a serious look on their faces. I quietly sat on my seat.

「Good morning. Will you have breakfast? 」

「Yeah. I will」

Peris headed to the kitchen. The other women contemplated with their brows furrowed.

「Everyone…..what happened? 」

The silence continued for a while.

「It seems that we have no other choice but to have Rinos decide」

「I agree. Kurumfar is Rinos-san’s territory after all」

「What are you talking about, Rico?」

「It’s about the future of the Kurumfar territory.  The fishing industry would rise again, that is for sure. However, this alone is not enough to feed the residents and the teleported people. The time for the harvest in near but the chance to get something out of this territory is close to zero. We can support the people for this year by ourselves but it’s not a long-term solution. I was thinking of a way to solve this」

「I made the fertilizer for the fields but the chemical to melt the salt is still incomplete. I’m terribly sorry」

「Mei doesn’t need to apologize. I’m also concerned about this problem. I’m going to explain so wait for a while. Let’s eat breakfast first. There is also a need to resume the operation of the store in the capital」

「About that, my husband. I made this stone」

Mei took out big, medium, and small green stones.

「If you put your mana into it, the user will be able to cast a barrier by himself」

Ho, I put my mana into the small one and watched. After that, the stone turned red. Apparently, with this, it was completed. As a test, I had Luara wear it as I lightly hit her…..Oh, the barrier was properly deployed. Let’s see~, Ferris said and joined me. The barrier was splendidly broken apart and Luara’s face received a right straight. She flew away like a doll and lost her consciousness. [¹] When I approached to apply recover magic, I saw something leaking out from the area of her crotch. I silently applied recovery magic, prepared a bath and let Rico and Peris handle the rest.

「Are~? Even though I properly held back」

「As expected a normal barrier would be broken after a dragon strikes it」

After that, I proceeded to test the barrier stone and only after I swung my「Kurogatana」with full power did it crack. This should sell well. Another noteworthy quality of theirs is that the people with evil intentions won’t be able to use them. Therefore, it would be impossible for the bandits to use them. By the way, the big magic stone can stay active for 5 days, medium for 3 days, and small for 1 day.

I headed to the store with Mei’s barrier stones. Right after the opening, the adventurers and merchants flooded the store, it turned out to be a busy day. I left Mei attending to the customers while I filled the stones with my mana at the back of the store. Thanks to her, I was able to fill the warehouse with them. It seems that I won’t need to come to the store for a while.

While I was away, Rico went to the Kurumfar territory to receive a report on the current situation. It seems that there weren’t any big problems for the moment. For the first time in a while, the fishermen ventured into the sea capturing fresh octopi and fish filling the tables with food.

At night, I had a leisurely dinner with everyone and discussed my ideas about the development of the Kurumfar territory.

「Regarding the Kurumfar territory, I’m going to share my thought right now. Nothing is set in stone yet so don’t be shy to correct me. First, about the agriculture, we have to remove the salt from the fields. I decided to attempt it myself. And another thing, I’m thinking about building a hotel near the Kairiku town」

「Hotel, you mean, a facility like in the capital where you can stay?」

「Right. The fish there is delicious. The scenery is beautiful too. We shall invite the guests from the capital to stay there. A hotel for the adventurers and travelers to stay would do fine too. Also, we need to expand the port. This place is an important trade route. If the ship and its crew would be able to stay in the city, that should make town prosperous」

「Is it even possible to achieve?」

「I don’t know if I would be able to pull it off, but there is worth in trying」

「Sounds interesting!」

「I also agree with my husband’s opinion」

「If Rinos-san says so then I shall assist!」

Everyone was mostly in favor. That being said, it was settled with my opinion alone, thus, deciding to discuss it again with the people of the Kurumfar territory, I was about to go to bed earlier.

Rico, Mei, and I headed to the bath far away from everyone.

「Mei, what’s wrong?」

「Ah, just want to try some things…..」

「……While we are at it, how about bathing together? 」

「…..Is this all right? 」

「Mei, let’s get in together!」

「….Yes」

That night, we bathed together first time in a while and went to the bed together too.

The next morning, the three of us headed towards the dining room. As I sweated a lot in the morning, we entered the bath. Rico and Mei had their faces flushed and looked pretty erotic. I left behind my sleepiness as I took my seat. Peris and Ferris were in charge of preparing breakfast as usual. Recently, Luara, for some reason, joined their team. Although I added her as my follower, she naturally acts together with us without any permission to live in this mansion. She is just a freeloader in Ferris’ room, I can’t guarantee that she has a comfortable life.

After that, Mei and I headed to the store while Rico to the Kurumfar territory. After a while, I went to the royal palace to make a report about the Kurumfar territory to the emperor and prime minister.

「…..As I mentioned, we managed to save the fishing industry but the fields are still untouched and it’s unlikely to receive a harvest from the fields this year」

「Hm. So it’s escalated this far…..I received similar reports from my subordinates. So that’s how it was. Well, that territory was never able to feed itself in the first place. Thus, the empire collected the tax in salt. Won’t salt do? 」

「No, I heard that the salt facilities are about to start operating again, there is no problem with that. The point is, the territory would have a shortage of food. Well, this time we can solve this with our own power but if something happens I shall ask Your Majesty and Your Excellency to assist」

「Well, at that time the empire would handle it one way or another」

「That being said, Rinos-dono, your hotel plan sounds interesting. I also want to try such fish someday. Besides, I didn’t see a sea in a long while」

「The emperor can’t casually leave the capital」

「No, I still want to relax away from the politics once in a while. Besides, I can distance myself from the noisy women here and spend a good time with the girls I like」

「If Your Majesty wishes for it I won’t get in your way, but……….」

「It’s inappropriate to neglect political affairs, Your Majesty」

「What are your saying, prime minister. Creating an inheritor is an important business 」

「Your Majesty!」

「I’m not speaking about right now. However, when Rinos-dono finishes the hotel, you’ll have to let me go. That’s how it should be. It’s something that is going to be built by my sister’s husband. Why can’t I honor his achievements? Isn’t that something the ruler should do? 」

The prime minister silently lowered his head.

When I got dismissed by His Majesty, our usual lifestyle came back from the next week. In the morning, during the day when my shop was closed, I received a visitor.

When everyone was having breakfast, a voice came from the back of the mansion.

「It’s Pius! I’m here with an urgent report! 」

Rico and I face each other at the name of this sudden visitor. Since it was an urgent report, I invited him in and guided him to the dining room where everyone gathered. Pius briefly apologized for using the teleportation barrier without permission and got immediately to the deal.

「It’s an emergency. Kairiku and Tohotsu have been attacked by the monsters! 」