Magicraft Meister Part 1

Dali has a guest house for such ceremonies.

All the guests from each country were to stay there.

Each country was divided into wings or floors, but nothing was done to prevent interaction, so people were free to move around inside and chat with each other.

"...... yes, something like that."

"Yes. I thought that this was no longer a problem that I could handle on my own, so with Rita's approval, I brought her here as my follower.

"That's fine. And this is the deed and the tattoo on her chest is the original owner, right?

"...... yes."

Gerhard Hilde von Rubies Shawlo, Empress of Shawlo, and Fritz Randall von Grosch, Lieutenant Colonel of the Expatriate Army. And Rita from the eastern part of the Kingdom of Cerroa.

The three were having an unusual three-way meeting.

The location of the meeting was a brightly-lit common room by the window.

However, Rita was so tense that she could not even look up.

Then Elsa arrived with Edgar. Jin seemed to be on a separate trip and was not with her.

As a matter of fact, Jin was wondering what to do with the souvenir he had left behind for Hannah. So he asked the servants and maids of the Kingdom of Celuloa who were in the vicinity.

"Your Majesty, excuse me. ...... brother, you asked me to come to your room..."

"Please have a seat, Elsa. I just heard a brief report from Fritz.

The Empress asked Elsa to sit down.

"Yes, excuse me."

Elsa sat down and looked at the girl sitting next to her brother.

"Who is she, my brother?"

The old man had told me about her, but I asked her to make sure.

"Yes. Her name is Rita, ...... and I her."

"Hmm."

Since she had not heard any report about her appearance, Elsa looked at Rita. She glanced at Rita, since staring at her too closely might make her even more deflated.

(...... looks a bit like me ......?)

I feel something like sympathy for Elsa.

(Could it be, brother, the reason why you protected Rita? ......)

She has a good intuition.

"......Hey, Erza, are you listening?"

Erza comes to her senses when she hears a voice from Fritz.

"Yes. What, brother?

"I knew you weren't listening. ...... I asked if you could remove the tattoo on her chest."

"...... don't worry. It's easy to get rid of."

Elsa, who had already treated ten girls, replied immediately.

"Oh, oh, I see. I'll take care of it later."

"...... later?　Not now?"

The question was answered by the emperor.

"Yes. I'm sorry Rita, but I need you to be a living witness to let the rest of the world know about the dark side of the Kingdom of Selroa. Hopefully, this will prevent more children like Rita from being bought and sold."

Rita nodded. She seemed to agree with the idea that fewer children would have to go through the same situation as she had.

"...... got it. ...... Rita, great."

Erza looked at Rita with kind eyes.

"Oh, Mr. Arthur."

The second prince Arthur, the representative of the Kingdom of Klein, was walking by and the emperor called out to him. She was accompanied by Lioness Ashford.

"Your majesty. You look as young as ever.

"Well, thank you. Well, why don't we have a little chat?

The Empress turned the water on him and Prince Arthur smiled and nodded.

"Very well. "Good. Now, if you'll excuse me..."

Prince Arthur sat down next to Elsa.

"Erza Ehime, my father has been very kind to you. Wasn't she with Jin-dono?

Your Highness, it's been a while. Jin is currently on a separate mission ......."

Just as he was explaining this, Jin came in.

"Oh, just in time. Jin, why don't you come over here?　We're all gathered here to talk."

Jin saw that a distinguished group of people had gathered, led by the Shoro Imperial Princess, whose words such as "innocent" and "flawless" suited her perfectly.

"It's a bit small then, isn't it? ...... why don't you all move over there?"

The Empress is referring to the recreation room next to the common room.

There are several games in the recreation room, but the main one is <>, a game popular in the Kingdom of Selroa.

It is located in the center of the room, and about 20 people can sit around the game table.

<> is a game similar to roulette. Or rather, think of it as a more primitive form of roulette.

There is no red/black, even/odd numbers, etc. You simply predict the outcome and bet on it, but since there are only 12 squares, the so-called < is enough to make a bet.

I'll leave you with a quiet word.

The table is just the right size to emphasize that this is not a formal talk, and everyone has moved from the common room.

Reinhard and Matheus, Gloria and her father Boulton. And now Marquis Florenziano, Marcia, and the Duke of Breu, all of them are present.

The uninitiated might wonder when the World Congress began.

"First of all, let us exchange information on how the food crisis has turned out.

The female emperor of the Shoro Kingdom, who seemed to be in the highest position in the room, took the lead.

"Yes, that's right. Our Kingdom of Klein is just barely getting by. I cannot thank His Majesty the Emperor Shoro and His Excellency the Marquis Firenziano of the Kingdom of Elias enough for this.

The second prince Arthur bowed deeply.

"No, we are all here for each other in our time of need.

"We are also indebted to you, Your Highness, for showing us that topopo is safe to eat.

Then I would like to take this opportunity to thank Jin-dono as well. ......

"No, I ...... wanted to eat it myself.

After a few moments of pleasantries, the emperor changed the subject.

"How was the Kingdom of Egelea?"

The answer was given by the king's cousin, the Duke of Brouw.

"The northern regions were in danger, but thanks to the food shipments from the south, the crisis in the country has been averted.

"That's a great relief."

The exchange of information on foodstuffs continued.

Eventually, the topic of conversation shifted from famine to food self-sufficiency.

"I would like to increase production more and more as long as preservation is not a problem," he said.

The land is fine. Every country has a population shortage.

"I think it's time to think about farming with golems.

There are many tasks that are better suited to golems than people, such as hard work, simple tasks, and vermin extermination.

"However, the cost of manufacturing a golem is still not as high as it should be ......."

"Indeed."

At that moment, all eyes in the pew turned to Jin.

"......I, or even I, can reduce the time and effort, but it is difficult to lower the cost of the materials."

This is true. So far, we have not succeeded in smelting materials at will.

"That's for sure, isn't it?"

Not only metal materials, but also muscle materials and magi crystals are expensive. Even if the cost of labor were reduced to zero, it would not be possible to have one for each household.

How about a method in which a village or other community owns one or two magi crystals and uses them in turn?

Jin suggested.

"Oh, that might be possible in a large village.

A further suggestion was made.

"And the government could subsidize it.

"Well, that's a good idea.

The idea seemed novel in a world that is still vertically divided, and the leaders of the countries began to think seriously about it.