I take a sip of the grape juice I got from Alice, and it has a refreshingly crisp flavor, really delicious.
[This grape juice is pretty good.]
[By the way, this grape juice was made from grapes grown by the Ritch Barony. Well, it’s not like they sell it as grape juice or anything, so I was the one who turned the grapes into juice.]
[Eh? Really? So, Marie-san's place grows not just ripples but grapes too……]
[Not to the extent that Raz-san’s place does, but they do grow several types of fruit. Ripples are the main one though…… The Ritch Barony’s territory has good soil and climate. It’s quite suitable for cultivating fruit.]
When I ate their ripple before, I thought the same thing, but the fruit from Marie-san’s orchards is really tasty. Of course, it’s not like it’s on the level of "the best in the world" or anything like that, but I can tell it’s high-quality, carefully grown, and made with great effort.
[Their ripples were really good too, no doubt about its quality, right?]
[Yes, if they take them out in a produce fair, they might even win an award. But the problem is distribution. The territory is surrounded by high mountains and monster habitats, so to get to the nearest large trading city, you have to make quite a detour……]
[Fumu, in that case, wouldn’t flying dragon flight be useful? Or is it that unlike in Symphonia Kingdom, Archlesia Empire doesn’t really have flying dragon flight?]
[No, Archlesia Empire has flying dragon flight as well. It’s just that Ritch Barony’s territory falls under a no-fly zone for flying dragon flights.]As she answered my question lightly, Alice pulled out something like a whiteboard from nowhere and sketched a map freehand.
[Right. I’m sure you’ve seen teleportation gates a few times yourself, Kaito-san, but they’re massive facilities, and of course, building one costs an outrageous amount of money. So, if there isn’t much profit to be made, no trading company is going to pay that kind of money to build one.]
It’s a bit like train stations, I suppose. Since those who build them aren’t doing charity work, if they can’t expect profits from passengers and usage, no teleportation gate gets built. As a result, the area remains inconvenient, no more people settle there, and it becomes a kind of vicious cycle huh……
[I see, sounds like Marie-san's got it rough.]
[Yes, well…… that problem will be resolved soon enough. And besides, what’s rough for Marie-san probably isn’t that particular issue……]
[Unn?]
[Oh, nothing. Just thinking how tasty this grape juice is.]
Alice tilted her wineglass with a cheerful smile. I cocked my head at her words, but since I couldn’t quite put my vague doubts into words, I decided not to press further and just kept on with lighthearted small talk.
<Afterword>
Wyvern-senpai : [It’s been a while since I got some screentime, yahoo!]
Serious-senpai : [No, that's not screentime, you were just mentioned in conversation…… and every time you come up, you’re treated as either meat or a nuisance……]
Wyvern-senpai : [I leave the spotlight to Big Sis, so I’m fine with appearing in the shadows too. Besides, there was talk about ordering a special brush for Dragons, and if that leads to Big Sis getting more screentime, that’d be great.]
Serious-senpai : [……Ah…… T- That’s true, isn’t it…… Kaito's got an absurd number of Dragon acquaintances…… If they manage to make a special brush for Dragons, and Kaito takes a liking to it…… then it looks like Cornelia’s stomach really will be destroyed.]