If you didn’t know something, better to be honest and ask. Maybe you can’t get away from that if you’re dealing with a stranger, but Erald was intimately familiar with the emperor—she even let him look at her unobscured face, a right granted to a tiny handful of people in Thalion.
“You truly claim not to know, then? Ellwyn brought some samples back several years ago as a souvenir. I suppose she didn’t see fit to give you any.”
“She what?!”
The revelation that his own daughter declined to save any for him hurt harder than expected. Elmesia was clearly gratified to see this.
“All right. Seeing your expression is all I need. Let me tell you, then. Yoshida, it seems, has found a new source for his ingredients. It’s allowed him to greatly expand the diversity of his wares, and the quality of his work has improved to match. In addition, in exchange for some monetary support, he’s been willing to send a supply of his goods to us.”
Erald was well aware of Kaoru Yoshida. Like his fellow otherworlders, he’d been the subject of much investigation and eventually pinpointed in the capital city of Englesia where he was running a café and sweet shop. He was said to lack any special skills, although that was unconfirmed. His talents as a pastry chef, however, were undoubtedly top-of-the-line, enough so that he counted the grand master of the Free Guild as a grateful client. There were even rumors of Hinata, the Saint, sneaking in after closing hours to avoid attracting a crowd.
Thus, Erald already knew him as a successful tradesman, but Elmesia wasn’t done speaking yet.
“So you know I invited Yoshida here once. Ellwyn, you see, brought along the most tremendous cake I’ve ever had. I was hoping I could have him become the empire’s official dessert specialist. But he turned me down. No matter how much money I stacked on the table, Yoshida refused to come here…”
The way she put it, Yoshida wasn’t the kind of man who was moved by money. Instead, she made do with having a small selection of “souvenirs” purchased for her. Your Excellency, what are you doing?!! Erald resisted shouting the thought out loud. But she still wasn’t done.
“Recently, Yoshida apparently sent word that he’d be closing soon. I’m not sure if he’s moving or opening up another location… But losing my dessert supply during his hiatus would be a nigh unbearable blow, wouldn’t it?”
“Not especially, no.”
“Hmm. That’s what you have to say to me? Ellwyn is quite fond of that bakery, you know. If their wares remained easily obtainable, I’m sure she’d be glad to ferry my orders back here.”
“Wh-what?!”
“Oh, yes. She already comes back here for our regular tea parties.”
This was monumental news. Erald thought his daughter hadn’t come near Thalion for years. Elmesia’s revelation was a heavy blow. He already knew the two bodyguards assigned to her weren’t exactly the most reliable agents out there, but he hadn’t heard a word of this from the other observers he had hired to watch over her. He resolved to rake them over the coals about this later, but for now, he had to press Elmesia for more.
“This is grave news, is it not?!”
“Oh, yes, it is! But I’ve used some of my authority—and funds—to obtain some rather interesting information.”
“What is it?”
“Well, of all the places, it turns out that this baker is seriously considering a move to the nation you visited, Tempest. So tell me, what were you doing over there?”
This actually jogged Erald’s memory a bit. Every meal he had at Tempest was a delight; his daughter Elen practically wept tears of joy at first sight of their dessert selection. He even recalled her jumping up and down: “Ah, Shuna’s perfectly re-created that new recipe!” and the like.
“Ahhh… Was that what she meant?!” Erald cried as the pieces fell into place.
Elmesia sighed. “Are you sure you still have all your marbles, Archduke?”
Erald wasn’t so sure any longer. “I—I am sorry,” he apologized, and he was entirely sincere.
Now he saw what the empress was displeased about. She suspected that Erald was hoarding all the sweets for himself—something he never would’ve done, even if it was for his daughter’s sake.
“Nothing is ever too good for your daughter, after all…”
Now, at least, Erald’s name had been cleared. Instead, Elmesia was now busy yelling at him about being totally oblivious to everything. Erald dutifully accepted it.
“But, Your Excellency, how will we respond to Sir Rimuru?”
Elmesia gave her companion a satisfied grin. “Yes…well…”
She was acting all stately about it but didn’t seem too interested in giving an answer. It irked Erald, but he wasn’t foolish enough to offer his own words. As stated, the emperor visiting a foreign land was a national-level project. If Erald brought up the idea first, he could see himself being shouted down by criticism. People would get in his way; it’d turn into a big mess.
The Sorcerous Dynasty was established by the emperor Elmesia, its sorcerous sovereign, and the thirteen royal families and other rulers under her gave her their total loyalty. In general, each family was responsible for governing their own fiefdoms, while the imperial court ran on the taxes they provided. None of the royal families had their own standing armies; all of that was concentrated on the empire side. The emperor was Thalion’s commander in chief, responsible for arbitrating across fiefdoms and nations. Erald was born into one of these thirteen families; his mother, Ellis Grimwald, was the matriarch who ran it. This Ellis was also the grandmother of Elmesia herself—the only other person in Erald’s life he was forced to submit to.
Erald’s elder brother, the father of Elmesia, had been killed in battle with monsters. It was an event that happened both before Thalion’s founding and well before Erald was even born. It made Elmesia his niece, even though she had lived far longer than him—another reason he owed her at least some respect.
What about the other royal families besides
