Chapter 268 – The King"s RootsFirst, I want to know your status.」Hikaru said.「And by that I mean, what position do you hold in Dream Maker?」
Before sharing anything with the man, he wanted to know what his objective was. He wasn"t simple-minded enough to just say “yes” to a request to exchange information.
「I am leader of one of strong families in Dream Maker.」
According to Duinkler, Dream Maker had nine clans that a.s.sisted the king. They handled military affairs, agriculture, construction, and many others.
In j.a.pan, they would be similar to cabinet ministers, but in their case, clans held the positions. Perhaps they could allow this kind of system because Dream Maker was a small nation with only about 10,000 citizens. Being a small community, people lived their lives by helping each other.
Duinkler was the head of the clan that managed public order and finance.
d.a.m.n, he"s got a lotta power to be both Chief of Police and Minister of Finance.
However, the Western a.s.sault Army was under military affairs, which Grucel handled. As such, Duinkler could only command one ship.
「You and Grucel don"t seem to get along.」
「Yes. My life, and subordinates" lives, all for the king.」
「Why bring up the king now?」
「Grucel and I, argue how to heal the king"s illness. He thinks everyone important.」
Duinkler didn"t care how much was sacrificed as long as they obtained a Healer, while Grucel wanted sacrifices to be kept at a minimum. Hikaru finally knew that they needed the Healer for their king.
「I"m surprised you told me it was the king that needs help.」
「You will know, anyway, once arrive. Grucel is too secretive. Not good.」
「Let me guess. In exchange for you being so open, you want information. You benefit more that way.」
Duinkler clapped his hands.「Exactly! You smart. I like smart people.」The old man smiled.
Don"t let your guard down, Hikaru thought as he sipped his tea. These guys are blindly devoted to their ruler. He might be friendly right now, but if it"s for their king, he probably won"t hesitate to back-stab me.
Just like Deena.
「So, can heal king?」Duinkler asked, leaning forward.
He must"ve really wanted to ask the question.
「There are things Healing magic can and cannot do. How"s the king"s condition?」
「Very bad. Always in bed. Can"t get up and eat.」
So he"s in critical condition. Sounds like we don"t have much time to waste. Food is important for humans to survive. If the king couldn"t eat, he would gradually lose weight, since it wasn"t like they had IV drips.
「What are the chances of him being poisoned?」
「None, is what I"d like to say, but not sure.」
「What about magic?」
Duinkler shook his head. It was a foolish question. The people of Dream Maker couldn"t use Spirit magic so there was no point in suspecting magic spells.
「Let me change the question. Can monsters use magic?」
「Monsters? No. Have only see magic item, no magic.」
「So there"s magic items, huh…」
「So, can you heal?」
「We just have to try. It would be great if we knew the actual cause of the illness. But if the doctor says he doesn"t know, there"s nothing we can do. Let me just get this out there first: Healing magic is not very effective against illnesses cause by viruses.」
「Vy… roosees? What?」
「Ah, right. It"s hard to explain, but basically it just means illness.」
「King is ill. It"s what all doctors said.」
「I see…」
「Can"t heal?」
He looked like he was just about to cry, clearly disappointed. Hikaru figured it would be better to tell him this now rather than later when they arrived.
「Alleviating the symptoms might be the best we can do. Do you still want to bring us there?」
「Yes. No other option.」the man said with grim determination.
Wait, all will be for nothing if the king died before we even arrived. Also, I feel like there"s more to him than just being “loyal”.
Hikaru thought Duinkler was the type of man to be accompanied by his henchmen and wouldn"t hesitate to cause trouble. Hikaru witnessed one of his men threathen Deena. Now the man looked like a child who was about to cry.
「Why is the king that important to you? Are there many people like you in Dream Maker?」
「You not swear loyalty to your king?」
I don"t. I"m not even a citizen of any country. Hikaru recalled his life back in j.a.pan. Even then he didn"t swear loyalty to anyone. He didn"t have anyone he"d give his life to either. And that was perfectly normal.
「Most people do, but you guys go too far.」
「I see. Perhaps. Our king, very important to us living in Grand Dream.」
「You"re counting on just one person?」
「Not just him. But only king knows best about previous king who bring prosperity to Dream Maker… About Eychi.」
Hikaru returned to the guest room to find Lavia and Paula already there. Drake was also up and about as Deena wasn"t around.
「How"d it go?」Lavia asked, curious about what he talked about with Duinkler.
「He caught me by surprise.」Hikaru removed his mask and cloak, sat down on a chair, and heaved a deep sigh.「I didn"t expect him to mention a j.a.panese person.」
Duinkler told Hikaru about how they found a man named Eychi—Eiichi in j.a.panese p.r.o.nunciation—in Grand Dream. At first, he couldn"t understand the language, but after a few years, he learned it. Already in his late thirties, Eiichi became obsessed and immersed himself in research. The results improved the lives of everyone in Dream Maker and drastically decreased the mortality rate.
Hikaru guessed Eiichi to be a professional teacher. He knew a little bit of everything. He didn"t focus on one thing, but he did invent things that helped the lives of the people.
First, the heavy artillery, then the fundamental knowledge of building a warship. These proved useful in fighting monsters. The saltpeter and sulfur used for gunpowder could be collected nearby.
Second, he introduced the idea of hygiene and nutrition. The natives of Grand Dream were vigorous, but they had poor eating habits. Eiichi taught them about sterilizing water by boiling, development of wells, and balanced diet. The people didn"t have much to do for amus.e.m.e.nt, so all they did was produce alcohol and drink, which Eiichi discouraged. Hikaru guessed they had weak livers as they got drunk easily. Duinkler himself said he felt good after a cup of alcohol.
With the sea nearby, they could gather all the salt they wanted. This led to them loving strong-flavored food, which of course, wasn"t good for the body.
Eiichi also created card and board games that the citizens could enjoy. He explained to the leaders of the nine clans how important order and discipline was. Many opposed his ideas, but the natives gradually accepted the knowledge and the inventions he offered.
Eventually, he was appointed as king by the nine leaders and became the first king of Dream Maker. He wasn"t lavish, and instead lived his entire life in modesty.
「Who would"ve thought that someone from another world would delve into domestic affairs?」
「Domestic affairs?」
「Ah, no. Forget what I said.」
Eiichi got married right before he turned fifty, and his wife bore him a child who became the father of the current king. The man invented many things, but time was a limited resource, so he left his ideas behind. On his deathbed, he asked his followers to write them down.
Someday, someone who can understand them will appear, he said.
As a matter of fact, the optical camouflage was Eiichi"s idea that was made real by the current king. While Eiichi used purely science in his inventions, the current king made use of magic items.
On a side note, the current king"s name was Drearchi. Apparently the king"s family adapted the “chi” to their names. Hikaru wondered if he should correct their p.r.o.nunciation of Eiichi"s name, but he refrained, thinking that doing so would be the same as telling them that he too was from another world like Eiichi.
「So someone from j.a.pan like you was treated like a messiah over there.」
「Exactly. His grandson, Drearchi, succeeded in creating the things Eiichi was not able to and is extremely famous among the citizens. They probably believe that he"ll contribute just as much as Eiichi did. He"s still young too, only in his thirties.」
「So Lord Drearchi, is not feeling well, right?」Paula asked.「What"s his condition like? Is he injured?」
「Unfortunately, it"s an illness.」
Paula was disheartened. After hearing the man"s story, she must really want to help however she can.
They might become our enemies. Heck, they even kidnapped Paula. But I guess it"s just like her to not worry about stuff like that.
Hikaru believed Paula"s desire to help others was one of her strong points. It didn"t matter if people called her soft. It was Hikaru"s job to resolve problems that resulted from her softness.