The knights rode back into the city, their mounts leaving trails of dust that made street sweepers curse under their breath. The castle at the entrance of the city near the docks was not their destination; the one in the heart of the city was. It was where the prince lived.
Driswen castle, as it was simply named was a sprawling old tower of marble, gold and questionable architectural decisions. The original architect had planned to build something that looked like a big ship floating on water. The end result was something more like a giant squid with long, curling arms.
Even the architect could not have known that those arms would serve as nests for many birds in future.
Inside the castle, Prince Stellan was holding a meeting with his financial advisors, both of whom looked like they were down on their luck. Their cloaks were patched, though looking better than what the ordinary people wore.
The first, Advisor Thrumin, was thin, balding and perpetually squinting as though as though the numbers in his ledgers were trying to escape. The second, Advisor Corin, was short, sharp-cheeked, and always frowning as if everyone owed him something.
The prince himself--Stellan Hakon was tall, lean, with rosy cheeks. His hair was a glossy black, tied back with a silver clasp. He was dressed like a wealthy, but ordinary noble. If one came across him in a first or second tier city, they would not assume he was a prince just basing off his appearance alone.
But his eyes always gave away his identity. Like all royals, his black eyes had a faint silver glow in their pupils that reflected not just light, but emotion. When angry, those eyes flashed like lightning. When amused, they sparkled like rippling water.
That trait was considered a divine mark of legitimacy and was named Echo eyes.
Right now, those echo eyes were focused on Corin while the prince tapped his quill impatiently. "If the treasury keeps shrinking, I will have to start charging my residents a tax for living in Driswen. These people have nothing to give. We need to make money."
Before either advisor could respond, the doors burst open. Vidar strode in. "She’s back!" he announced dramatically.
Prince Stellan blinked. "Who’s back? It must be a female because you said she. Unless she is giving me money and food, I don’t care. This is a serious meeting, Vidar..."
"The one who traded those sixth rank sea monsters for good rice!" Vidar declared, holding up the box of noodles like it was a sacred relic. "She cooked food without firewood, without coal--just pure magic!"
Corin snorted. "Magic food? Does it refill itself? If yes, then we are saved. This city has a population of sixteen thousand people and all of them are hungry."
Vidar ignored Corin’s sarcasm and launched into a vivid retelling of the beach chaos--the brawl, the crowd that jumped into the water, the trading of seafood, the miraculous hot plate. He put the box down and gestured wildly, nearly knocking over a vase on the table. "She boiled water in seconds! The smell alone made men weep!"
Thrumin leaned forward, intrigued. "Weeping men? That’s how you sell food."
To prove his point, Vidar asked everyone to follow him to the kitchen. It so happened that it was empty. Vidar followed Claire’s instructions faithfully, boiling water over wood fire. The hot water went into the cup noodles. He waited for the three minutes and then stirred.
The aroma filled the kitchen. Prince Stellan’s stomach growled so loudly it echoed off the marble. "By the gods," he whispered, "it smells like something that would make me bite my tongue. I can see why those men wept."
When the noodles were ready, Vidar handed the cup to the prince. Stellan sniffed it, then took a cautious bite.
"My prince, it hasn’t been tested for poison," Corin said cautiously.
His words were sensible, but the greed in his eyes said he had another motive.
The prince barely heard Corin’s advice. His eyes were wide and he was slurping the noodles like a man who had never taken etiquette classes before. The men waited in silence until the prince finished eating.
Prince Stellan put the empty cup down and dabbed at the corners of his lips with a silk handkerchief. He cleared his throat, raising his head, trying to look regal. "That was unexpected." His eyes darted to the box of noodles. "Confiscated," he declared. "For study."
Everyone knew what that meant. The prince planned to eat the entire box himself.
Vidar’s smile fell quickly. "Stellan!"
Just then, another knight entered, dressed in clothes that almost looked like rags. The stench of fish clung to them as if he had slept in the sea. He carried two buckets overflowing with Claire’s goods: rice, bread, flour and cooking oil. "Everything she sold," he said proudly.
Vidar’s eyes lit up. "Diggy, you are so brilliant. How did you get the idea to blend in with the fishermen? I was so busy helping her that I did not notice you."
The advisors crowded around the buckets like children at a candy stall. Thrumin scribbled notes furiously. "If these goods can be supplied regularly, we can base a trade model on this! We buy them and export to the rich cities. In return we can get gold. That gold can be used to purchase her goods and rebuild the city. As long as we inject money into the economy, the city can recover in two years. After Driswen is self-supporting, we apply the same model to the other six tier cities."
Corin nodded. "I have always said it, and I will say it again. Our prince doesn’t need to be the next king; he simply needs to be the richest member of the royal family. The one who controls the coin controls the throne."
Vidar nodded sagely. "Better to die rich than die poor."
Prince Stellan raised a hand, silencing them. "Gentlemen, we are getting ahead of ourselves. We have been excited before only to be disappointed after a trader closes shop within a week and moves away. For all we know, this woman will move on to a better city soon. Or maybe, she will stop buying sixth rank sea monsters after realizing they have little value."
The room fell quiet.
Prince Stellan put his hands in his pockets. "We will observe for now. If she is still coming around after one week, then maybe we can do business with her. Maybe we can even convince her to open a shop in the city."
Corin’s eyes gleamed. A grain shop in the city!
The prince looked sharply at Vidar. "Don’t let what happened today happen again. Protect her like you protect me. Let her trade inside the city for everyone’s safety. Tell everyone the importance we attach to her so that they can clean up and attract her to stay. They can try to trade things other than sea monsters. Small things. Ask nicely, no forcing sales. We don’t want to scare her off."
Vidar bowed. "Understood, Your Highness."
Back in the real world, Claire sneezed, because someone, in another world, was already plotting her next business venture.