The travel destination was the countryside, and there was truly nothing there. There were no proper inns, nor any restaurants.
It wasn't that there were no inns at all, but they posed many problems for the three main travelers. Things like bedbugs, rats… things difficult for a noble girl to witness.
“Still, isn’t it better to sleep under a roof?”
“Absolutely not,” Heillo stated firmly to Seiana, who had brought up the topic cautiously. As a knight, he had no problem sleeping rough on the cold ground, but his little sister was different.
His sister, seemingly made of whipped cream, jelly, and all things soft and fluffy, would surely not even know that inn beds were made of straw.
He judged she might faint or have a fit if she knew the reality of a countryside inn.
“That’s right. Let’s just sleep outside.”
Raymund and Aries felt the same way. Although they too were raised delicately, becoming individuals with special abilities had taught them how to live outdoors, allowing them to stay in somewhat rundown facilities, but Seiana was different.
Seiana felt a bit dubious, thinking everyone considered her too fragile, but she held back when she saw their worried faces.
They had no idea that inside the child's body was someone who had practically lived outdoors as a merchant; there was nothing she could do about it.
Fortunately, there were medium-sized cities along the way, even if not large metropolises, so they weren’t entirely roughing it.
About four days into the journey, Seiana finally arrived at her desired location.
“…There’s nothing to see here.”
As Aries observed, there was nothing. The entire view consisted of a dirty-colored sea and a cluster of dilapidated old houses huddled together.
It was a place perfectly described by the word ‘hamlet’. The previous village at least had an inn where outsiders could stay, but this place, seemingly unvisited, didn't even have that.
“How on earth did Seiana know about a place like this?”
Aries and Raymund wondered why she had come here. As soon as they arrived, Seiana rushed off somewhere and started conversing with someone who appeared to be the village chief.
Though they were some distance away, their excellent hearing allowed the two to overhear Seiana’s conversation.
“That stuff? Why buy it?”
“Because I need it.”
“Well now… It’s over yonder, if ya need it, ya can just dig it up yerself, ya know?”
“It’s not that I need it temporarily; I want to buy it continuously.”
“My oh my, you must have money to burn, eh?”
Even though the old man spoke with a strange dialect, Seiana seemed to understand him perfectly well.
‘Did she come here to buy pearls?’
Seeing the mudflats when the tide went out, they thought it was a possibility. Seiana liked pearls.
However, what Seiana brought back a little later was not pearls.
“What… is that?”
Aries asked, her face filled with revulsion. She could tell it was seaweed, but its appearance, with thin purple stems tangled together, looked as if someone had ripped out the blood vessels of some creature and brought them here.
Imperial nobles generally didn’t eat seafood. Large fish like salmon, whale, or shark were occasionally eaten as delicacies, but smaller fish, shellfish, or crustaceans like crabs were not consumed.
Seaweed was certainly not considered food; at most, it was used by nobles with a hobby of keeping aquariums to decorate fish tanks.
But what Seiana held looked too bizarre even for decoration. Its color was so ominous that they worried it might be poisonous.
As the three, including Heillo, recoiled in horror, Seiana suddenly did something impulsive.
“Kyaak!”
“Seiana!”
“Why are you eating that!”
Gulp.
She had stuffed the seaweed she was holding into her mouth.
The three rushed over in an instant, trying to pull the seaweed out of Seiana’s mouth, but despite their protests, Seiana just kept chewing determinedly.
“Noooo!”
Heillo sobbed loudly. How could this happen right in front of him? He could force her mouth open with his strength, but what if he broke his delicate sister’s jaw? He hesitated, unable to act easily.
Raymund and Aries also had faces pale as sheets, unsure what to do.
Gulp.
Having finished chewing and swallowing the seaweed, Seiana grinned.
“It tastes really bad.”
“Seiana?”
“Are you… okay?”
“Yeah. It tastes bad, but… do you guys want to try some? It’s good for your body.”
Seiana casually held out the remaining seaweed in her hand. How on earth did she know it was good for the body when she’d just seen it for the first time today? Besides, even if it was good for you, its appearance was so grotesque that nobody wanted to eat it.
Even Heillo, who would probably eat mud if his sister asked, felt an instinctive revulsion. If even he felt that way…
Just as Seiana, thinking raw wouldn't work, was about to withdraw her hand, Raymund snatched the seaweed she held and stuffed it into his mouth.
"Ugh…”
As soon as he bit down, the seaweed’s skin burst, and the fluid inside oozed out, making Raymund grimace.
As Seiana had said, it had no real taste, but the characteristic fishy and briny smell of sea creatures made it even more disgusting.
Everyone was surprised when Raymund, sniffling, didn't spit out the seaweed. Even Seiana, who had suggested it, was astonished that he had actually eaten it.
“…Tastes bad.”
Having finally chewed and swallowed, Raymund said with a pained expression and slurred speech. Even after swallowing it completely, the lingering aftertaste and sticky texture remained in his mouth.
Aries looked at Raymund with admiration. She had considered herself quite blindly devoted, but compared to Raymund, it seemed like nothing.
Heillo was equally impressed. To Imperials, seaweed was just weeds from the sea. For a prince, raised in luxury, not some slum kid, to essentially eat wild weeds at Seiana's request…
‘Amazing.’
He hadn’t liked Raymund’s continuous interest in Seiana, but now, he felt a flicker of liking towards him.
* * *
I purchased the seaweed. Worried the fresh ones might rot during the trip, I decided to take only the dried ones prepared by the seaside residents for now.
‘When I get home, I need to make pills with this.’
Since it had no taste, if dried and mixed well with honey and oil to form balls, the sliminess would disappear, making it palatable. As I was mentally planning the next steps, Ray, who had been watching quietly, asked.
“Wouldn’t it be better to hire people? If you want a continuous supply.”
“I don’t have enough funds for that. I just gave them a down payment and asked them to meet the required quantity by the next time I come.”
I had scraped together all the allowance I could use right now, but it was literally just allowance money. It wasn't nearly enough capital to start a business, so hiring people was out of the question.
I would need investment from my family to hire pharmacists to make medicine or cosmetics, set up a shop to sell the products, and buy a warehouse to store the seaweed.
For now, I just had to proceed step-by-step according to plan.
At my words, Raymund called over the attendant who had accompanied him, said something, and around evening, he casually handed me a few sheets of paper.
“What is this… huh?”
I wondered what it was, then saw they were contracts. One was even a deed to a house.
“I’ve hired a few of the villagers. The house is vacant; we decided to renovate it into a warehouse and store the seaweed there. The people I hired will handle the harvesting and management.”
“But why are you giving this to me…?”
“It’s what you wanted, Seiana.”
Ray spoke in a voice devoid of any ulterior motive. It was a flat tone, simply stating he bought it because I wanted it.
I felt ashamed for momentarily suspecting he was trying to get a foothold in my business.
“But…”
“I don’t really know how that seaweed is good. But you know well, Seiana. So, it’s useless for me to have it. I’d like to just give it to you, but… if you feel burdened, think of it as an investment.”
“An investment?”
“Yes. I’m investing in Seiana.”
Ray smiled faintly. Even though I hadn’t shown him any vision or plan, his willingness to readily spend money simply because he trusted me felt strange. And his eating the seaweed earlier, which even my brother refused…
‘Something’s churning inside me.’
Something churned in my chest, like I might blurt something out at any moment. Could there be anyone else who trusted me like this?
As I stood speechless with emotion, Aries suddenly started fuming.
“That’s cheap! I want to invest too!”
“Nope, no room.”
“I’m going to invest too! I’ll pay twice as much as him! I’ll become Seiana’s majority shareholder!”
“But the first investor will always be me.”
“Eeeeek!”
They started bickering loudly again. Seeing their usual antics finally calmed my heart, and as I smiled softly, my brother remarked with admiration from the side.
“That’s amazing. I mean, I’d buy anything our Lovie wanted too, but… I don’t think I could have trusted her so unconditionally like that.”
If I had whined that I needed money and asked him to lend me some, my brother would have handed over his wallet, telling me to take it all.
However, if I had said I wanted a continuous supply of seaweed, he probably would have shown reluctance, asking if it was really necessary.
After all, it sounded like wanting to buy sea trash with money.
“If it’s the Prince, perhaps he… you…”
“Hm? What did you say?”
“…No, it’s nothing. Still, I have no choice but to oppose.”
My brother started to say something but closed his mouth. He just looked at me with an apologetic smile.
“Seiana! Return his investment! I’ll give you 24 times more!”
“Absolutely not, right?”
As the two argued, the investment offer somehow ballooned to 24 times the original amount. I did need money, but not 'that' much.
When I declined, saying it was fine for now, Aries looked crestfallen and even made me promise to definitely use her next time. Seeing her, I burst out laughing.