"So, what kind of < are popular in the village of Kaina?

Eric is surprised when his father Roland asks impatiently.

"What kind of crazy things ...... father?"

Eric is a little taken aback by his father's tone.

"Well, well, anyway, King's Landing is in a state of flux right now. If there's any money to be made, everyone wants to jump on it. You know that, don't you?"

"Yes, of course. I'm a merchant myself.

Roland nodded, satisfied with his answer.

"So ......, what did you come back for today?"

Roland, who had calmed down a bit, resumed.

"Oh, yeah. Oh, um, to tell you that Barbara has a baby.

Eric said, a little embarrassed.

"Oh!　I hope it's a boy this time!"

"You're being a bit fast, Dad."

Barbara had given birth to their first child, Linda, in March 3461.

And now the news of her pregnancy.

Congratulations, Mr. Vice President.

"Congratulations, Mr. Vice President."

"Thank you."

Roland receives the congratulations with a smile. But then again, he is a merchant. When the excitement subsided, he told his son again about the business opportunity.

"At ......?"

Eric smiles at his father and gives him a piece of information.

"Not in the village of Kaina, but in the neighboring village of Toka, they are working on a blue dye.

Eric took out a blue-dyed cloth as a sample and showed it to the participants. He had prepared it.

"Oh, it's a beautiful blue color," he said.

"I dyed it in Toka village."

"Oh?　Tell me more about it.

This blue dye comes from the fruit of the <> tree, which was discovered by Saki a few years ago and put to practical use by Toa and Stellina.

Specifically, the color fades when left as it is, so Stearina has used her new engineering magic <> to stop the color from fading.

The cultivation of ice-gos has been encouraged by Lycia, and in recent years, the industry has taken off.

Therefore, it is a good thing that the Raglan Chamber of Commerce has taken notice of this, and it is also a good thing for Toka village.

"Good, it would be great if we could dye cloth with this new dye and make it fashionable in the capital.

Roland thought that if new ministers and officials were appointed, the new clothes would sell well. In that case, if this color would be fashionable .......

Staring at the deep blue cloth, Roland wondered what the procedure would be.

* * * *

"We've saved up a lot of money, haven't we?

In the village of Toka, the lord Licia took the initiative in stabilizing the cloth dyed with icego nuts.

The dyed cotton cloths are already piled up.

Cotton cloth brought from Mitsuho is dyed here.

The color is deep blue. Hitoshi described it as .

The only way to achieve such a deep blue color is to use magic dyes, which are quite expensive and not available to the common people.

Therefore, <> was regarded as a <> along with <> and <>.

Just to be clear, it is not <> but <>. It does not mean that the common people were disrespectful for owning it, but simply that it was expensive.

Such blue cloth was mass-produced in Toka village.

The blue cloth was produced in large quantities in the village of Toka.

One day in early summer, three wagons visited Toka village.

They were the wagons of the Raglan Trading Company, who came to purchase the specialty of Toka Village, the .

After unloading the white ...... cotton cloth, the wagons are loaded with the products.

"Well, my lord, it was a good deal.

"Thank you."

The Raglan Chamber of Commerce purchased large quantities of white cotton cloth through its own channels, and then wholesaled it to the village of Toka in exchange for the blue cloth.

In this way, Toka Village was able to obtain white cotton cloth at half the price of what they had purchased themselves, and the Raglan Trading Company had an exclusive contract for the purchase of blue cloth for the time being.

Moreover, since the cargo was cotton cloth both on the way to and from the port, the transportation was very efficient.

Thus, clothes made of this blue cloth became very popular in Alban, the capital of the Kingdom of Klein, and the blue color was named .

* * * * * * * * * * *

The Kingdom of Klein was full of such glamorous topics, but .......

The underworld was also alive with activity.

"Tonight is the Merdus Chamber of Commerce. They're out of the country in force right now, trading."

"Good."

The bandits are on the run.

They target medium-sized merchant ...... establishments that have amassed a decent amount of cash and are less ...... guarded under the watchful eye of the Royal Guard.

In the past week, three houses have already been hit.

And tonight is the fourth.

"Well, this is a serious problem."

Pascoe Rush, the third son of Baron Rush, has a grim look on his face.

He is currently the commander of the 2nd Royal Guard.

"It would be a shame for us if the residents cannot live in peace. Patrol with determination!

Yes!

The Royal City Guard is divided into four units, working day and night in half-day shifts to provide security around the clock.

Tonight, Pascoe Rush's second unit was in charge of night patrols.

There are 19 members in the second unit, not including Pascoe. There were originally 20, but one of them was on leave due to illness.

The time was 6:00 p.m.. After handing over from the unit leader who had been in charge during the day, he gives the order.

Then, patrol your posts!

The patrol is conducted in groups of three, or three-man cells.

Pascoe, the captain, patrols the town as needed. Usually he is accompanied by two men, but tonight he is alone.

He is accompanied by his second-in-command, Lelamie Northland. She is a petite woman with light brown hair pulled back in a short ponytail and lovely brown eyes.

"Captain, the bandits, why can't they find their way back to us?"

"Well. If we knew that, we could do something about it.

Pascoe replied, looking down.

Lélamie Northland is 145 centimeters tall. Pascoe is 172 centimeters tall, a difference of almost 30 centimeters.

Therefore, Lélamie would walk a little faster than Pascoe.

"......Oh, bad."

Pascoe noticed this and slowed down a little.

"I'm sorry, captain."

Walking side by side like this, they look like father and son, but Lelamie Northland is 20 years old this year and a grown-up. He is also the best healer in the group.

It is not yet 7:00 p.m., and the early summer sky is not yet completely dark, but the eaves of the stores are lit and many people are walking by.

"We should have more nightlights in the city."

Pascoe thought to himself.

"Yes, I agree. I think that the awareness that <> will curb crime."

Lélamie agreed with him.

However, even magic lamps are not free.

The lights that are on the street now will be turned off by 9:00 p.m.

Only a big business or a wealthy family would be able to keep their lamps on all night just to light up their store fronts.

Thieves would take advantage of such darkness to steal.

"We can't afford to be tense right now. Shall we go somewhere for a quick meal?

Yes, sir.

Pascoe and Lélamie went into the dining room, where the crowd was beginning to thin out.