Chapter 608: The Journey to the New Territory
After arriving in the Barriera Duchy, Tauro and his party decided to stay for a few days.
During their stay, Tauro kept busy buying various things in the city and meeting with the manager of the local Garfish Trading Company branch, which had been established there over the past year, to discuss several products.
But their destination was Tauro’s own territory, so they eventually departed with Viscount Musai seeing them off.
“Next time you come, will it be to promote goods from the Giro Sugar Viscounty?”
Musai joked.
“Haha, I’ll leave that kind of work to the Garfish Trading Company. I look forward to working with you from here on. Now then, we’ll be on our way.”
After exchanging another firm handshake with Musai, Tauro took the wolf-shaped puppet Garo out of [Magic Storage], and everyone climbed aboard.
“Amazing… This is nothing like the puppet users I know. I’ve been fortunate to witness something incredible at the end. —Lord Tauro, I wish you a safe journey!”
Acting in place of his father, Duke Barriera, Musai bid them farewell as they set off.
“This is my second time in the Barriera capital, but it really is a great city with a wonderful atmosphere,”
Ragune remarked as the city gradually shrank in the distance behind them.
“Yeah… I don’t know what my new territory will be like, but I hope its capital has an atmosphere like that,”
Tauro said, imagining the land he had yet to see.
“I understand how you feel, but don’t get your hopes up too much. It ran deficits for years, and the economy only improved recently, right? Even if it used to be a count’s domain, there’s no guarantee it’s thriving.” Aeris cautioned him realistically.
She has a point. Even if the Garfish Trading Company rebuilt the territory, that was only recently. Being back in the black doesn’t necessarily mean the capital itself is prosperous.
Tauro nodded at her advice, reminding himself that developing the territory from here on would be his responsibility.
After heading south for several days, the group turned west.
The Giro Sugar Viscounty lay to the southwest.
Along the way, they passed through several noble territories. At each one, they requested a meeting as a courtesy, but were turned away with excuses such as the lord being absent or unavailable because of a sudden scheduling conflict.
“They were all pretty unpleasant, weren’t they? They probably don’t know yet that you’re on good terms with Duke Barriera,”
Aeris remarked with a hint of frustration.
She had refrained from invoking the prime minister’s name because Tauro hadn’t done so, even though it might have secured them meetings. Instead, she chose to observe how the nobles would treat them. But when they reached the territory directly neighboring Tauro’s new domain, she finally brought it up.
Tauro’s new domain was large, most likely because it had formerly been a count’s territory.
However, much of it was covered in mountains and forests, making it seem of little value at first glance. On the other hand, it bordered many other territories, giving it strong potential as a trade hub.
In particular, it bordered autonomous regions inhabited by various races as well as the Royal Frontier Special Zone. Rare goods from those areas had once flowed into the territory, and the previous lords should have profited from that trade.
But the former lord’s greed had alienated the autonomous regions. Trade with the frontier zone had also dried up, contributing to the territory’s prolonged financial decline.
On top of that, he imposed heavy taxes on the people and mismanaged the territory, worsening the situation.
It was clear that the former lord’s incompetence had driven the territory into ruin.
The neighboring lords had likely distanced themselves as well. Even with a new lord like Tauro, they probably saw little benefit in dealing with the territory and may even have considered a meeting a waste of time.
“So, Leader, what now? This territory borders yours, right? We should really meet the lord here. They’ll be our neighbors, so it’d be bad not to.” Ankh suggested, wanting to make sure Tauro’s territory wouldn’t remain isolated.
“He’s right. Even if we’re only passing through, we should at least introduce ourselves,”
Aeris agreed, advising Tauro to be persistent this time.
“Yeah… no one has agreed to meet us so far, so I don’t have high hopes. But this time, let’s be persistent,”
Tauro said, deciding to take the matter seriously.
This time, he decided to prepare some of the rare items he had purchased in the Royal Capital as gifts.
He also made sure to discreetly offer money to smooth the negotiations.
First, he tipped the gatekeeper at the castle gate.
Then he did the same with the official handling their request.
The official smiled, promised to intercede with the lord, and immediately arranged a meeting for noon the following day.
“That was surprisingly easy. Why didn’t you do this before, Leader?”
Ankh asked, half amazed and half exasperated.
“Because it wasn’t necessary before. I also wanted to see how they’d respond when I formally introduced myself as the new lord. It’s good to know where we stand,” Tauro replied casually.
He continued:
“But like you said, it’d be better to meet the lord of the neighboring territory. This was also a test—to learn what works when we need to secure a meeting in an emergency, and what kind of people we’re dealing with. That’s useful information.”
It seemed Tauro had his own reasoning all along.
“As expected of Lord Tauro!”
Zion praised him enthusiastically.
“But isn’t it a bit of a problem that you can secure a meeting with bribes?”
Aeris said with a wry smile.
“Not really—it’s fairly normal. A lord doesn’t have time to meet people who bring no benefit to the territory. But if someone offers payment, it shows they understand how the world works. That alone can make them worth dealing with. And this time, it finally made them interested in me as a neighboring lord.”
“But still… your name is well known in the Royal Capital. Shouldn’t they meet you even without that?”
Ragune asked.
“This isn’t the capital—it’s the rural south. Besides, my inventions are known, but people recognize the Garfish Trading Company more readily than the name ‘Giro Sugar,’ their creator. I doubt I’m that famous around here.” Tauro was speaking from what he had observed in the towns and villages they passed through.
“…Now that you mention it, that’s true. You really pay attention, Leader. We’ve mostly just been passing through the towns and villages, yet you still noticed all that,” Ankh admitted.
Aeris and the others nodded in agreement, impressed by Tauro’s keen observations.