Chapter 140:
The Third Princesses Ascend to Sainthood
“A FAMINE, YOU SAY?”
“Indeed. The northern shore claims they suffered a bad harvest, but apparently it was even more devastating than one might think.”
The king of Brandel had a policy of eating dinner with his family as often as possible. Not only did he consider it important for family bonding; he also took it as an opportunity to ensure his children—both the two princes and three princesses—were up to date on current events. Today’s topic was not a happy one, but it was of the utmost importance to both the country’s internal affairs and international relations.
“The kingdoms of Tils and Aubram have suffered similarly disastrous harvests along their northern coasts. As you know, the majority of Aubram borders the sea, and much of its farmland was devastated in the battle against the invading monsters six months ago. As a result, it is in a particularly dire state. The Albarn Empire is vast, but most of it was mountains or wastelands to start with, so it has not yet fully recovered from the events of the battle, either.
“The kingdoms of Marlane and Trist have not suffered quite as badly, but their crop yields are still down from previous years. Although they are making an effort to provide aid, there is only so much they can spare. Ensuring their own people do not starve takes precedence over helping other countries, and I cannot fault them for that. For the same reasons, purchasing food from other countries is not an option. No matter how much money is dangled before them, no king or local lord would let their subjects go hungry for their own profit.
“Even supposing a deal was struck, the food caravans would be extremely attractive targets for hungry thieves. I imagine only a scant few shipments would make it to their destinations. No one would be willing to shoulder the task of transporting the goods.”
“Will there be a death count, do you think?” the queen asked.
A worried look passed over the king’s face. “Yes. Perhaps not a large one in our own kingdom, but elsewhere—particularly in Aubram—things will get brutal. It’s truly a pity, seeing as they were also hit the hardest of the surrounding countries in the battle last year. Perhaps their one consolation is that none of their neighbors are in good enough shape to take this chance to invade.
“We may be better off than Aubram, but people will almost certainly starve to death in our kingdom as well. Take care of what you say and do, lest we give our subjects the impression that the royal family is living in luxury.”
Everyone at the table nodded, their expressions grave.
***
A famine would lead to starvation. No one was injured, no one was sick, and yet perfectly healthy people would starve and die for lack of sustenance. The young, the old, and children alike!
This is unacceptable.
What, you ask?
Why, the unfairness of life!
It shall not be allowed to happen.
By whom, you ask?
By me, Morena, the third princess of Brandel!
I wrote a letter and left it in storage for Est.
Our country and our neighbors are anticipating disastrous harvests this year. What about you?
A response came right away.
Ours should be plentiful. In fact, the prices of crops have fallen, and leafy greens that don’t keep long have been left abandoned in the fields or crushed and plowed into the soil. The farmers seem quite chagrined. I suppose an abundant crop isn’t always a blessing. Still, I do realize this is a million times better than a poor harvest…
This is blessed news! Hear this, great Goddess! I, Morena, shall rise to the occasion! I will use the power you bestowed upon me for the sake of the masses!
No doubt that is the reason why you entrusted me with this gift. I vow to live up to your expectations!
***
Whaaaaat?! Are you serious, Lady Morena?! Oh, who am I kidding, of course you are. You have never once lied or joked about anything involving money, food, or people’s lives. Very well then. I, Estorina, will put everything on the line to aid you!
Excellent! With our third princess powers combined, we shall surely conquer this trial from the Goddess!
Indeed we shall!
***
At dinner the next evening, the king couldn’t help but question what he was hearing.
“Could you repeat that, Morena? I don’t think I quite understood you the first time.”
“Certainly, Father. I would like you to convert all my personal assets into gold ingots, jewels, precious articles, and works of art—things that could fetch a high price in a distant foreign land. We shall convert those into food and distribute the provisions to the northern lands and the kingdom of Aubram. And we will mark the price up by twenty percent!”
“You still plan to charge for the supplies?”
“Well, naturally. We would go bankrupt otherwise. Not all volunteer work is done for free. The word does not inherently imply that something is done without compensation but simply that it is done with self-determination. What differentiates volunteer work from labor is not the absence of remuneration but the absence of compulsion.
“Suppose that someone has gone missing. If a person takes time off of work to join the search party, heedless of the risk that they may end up stranded themselves, would they not be considered a volunteer regardless of how they are ultimately compensated? Some may be under the misconception that volunteering equates to working for free, but they are an ignorant minority.
“If we were to distribute the food for free, we would be rendered destitute, unable to purchase the next batch of relief supplies, and incapable of volunteering ever again. Meanwhile, the masses would go on with their everyday lives under the impression that they will be handed free food should they ever suffer another famine, thereby disincentivizing them from the pursuit of any preparations or precautions!”
The king’s eyes were wide in astonishment as he listened to Morena’s passionate speech.
“I can tell you’re serious about this. This is not some pie-in-the-sky dream, then? I assume you have a path forward? I am naught but an ordinary man. If the Princess of Stratagems and one of the guardians of the world has set out to do something, I have no right to stand in your way. Very well! You have the royal family’s full support. Do as you see fit!”
“You have my thanks!”
Struggling to follow the conversation between Morena and the king, her brothers, sisters, and the queen looked on in perplexed silence.
“By the way, Morena, you keep saying ‘we.’ Do you have someone else assisting you?” the king asked.
Morena smiled and said, “Yes. One who lives on a continent far across the sea—a kindhearted girl who is like a little sister to me. Princess Estorina.”
“Excuse me?!” her entire family cried out in surprise. What could Morena possibly mean by this?
The royal waitstaff were the ultimate professionals, known for letting any comment pass without a flicker of an expression. But that day, even they could not help but fumble the dishes they held, a mistake that would haunt them for the rest of their lives.
***
All set on your end, Est?
Yes. I have found my way to our nation’s breadbasket. I am standing inside a warehouse filled with crops, with even more piled up outside. There are several such collection points in the area, and crops are to be rounded up for pickup as I make my way around. Furthermore, once we have established a reputation for buying and paying for the farm produce, I expect to be inundated with sales offers from the neighboring countries. After all…
The condition is that we will purchase them at twenty percent off the pre-crash price, yes. Of course the lords of the breadbasket regions would jump at an offer like that. For my part, I am currently inside an empty warehouse in an area suffering from a poor harvest. Then, without further ado, let us begin.
It was a bit tedious to communicate by exchanging letters through our shared storage, but there was little to no time lag when we both made a point of checking it constantly.
I stood now in an empty warehouse, accompanied by my personal guard, the chiefs of the surrounding villages, the local lord, his vassals, and his guards.
None of them appeared to believe anything I had told them beforehand. The battle of half a year ago may have propelled me to fame, but all I did then was fight with magic. I did not demonstrate any sort of miraculous power. And only Father and a few others knew of the extraordinary storage magic I had recently been granted by the Goddess.
I was about to unveil it for the first time here and now.
What’s that? People may come after me? They may try to use me for their own ends?
I care not. That is a trifling concern compared to the lives of my subjects. I have the Goddess’s favor on my side; if anyone dares oppose me, let them take their best shot.
It was time.
I opened up my storage and took out its contents. The onlookers said nothing. In most circles, storage magic was an unusual sight, but anyone who had regular contact with the aristocracy was used to such marvels.
The only real surprise would have been that a princess like me had concealed such magic, and that I was choosing to reveal it now…
In any case, I began pulling out the contents of my storage.
Out they went. Out they went. Out they went. Out they went. Out they went. Out they went. Out they went. Out they went. Out they went. Out they went. Out they went. Out they went. Out they went. Out they went. Out they went. Out they went. Out they went. Out they went. Out they went. Out they went. Out they went. Out they went. Out they went. Out they went. Out they went. Out they went. Out they went. Out they went. Out they went. Out they went. Out they went. Out they went. Out they went. Out they went. Out they went. Out they went. Out they went. Out they went. Out they went. Out they went. Out they went. Out they went. Out they went. Out they went. Out they went. Out they went. Out they went. Out they went. Out they went.
A silence fell over the warehouse, not a single cough to break it. Until…
“Ooohhhh! It’s a miracle! A miracle from the Goddess! What are you all standing around for?! Can’t you see the divine messenger is buried up to her feet?! There’s no room for her to take out the next batch! Move the crops to the back of the shed and start organizing them! Get a move on! Assist the divine messenger!” one of the village chiefs yelled. The other chiefs scrambled to haul the goods out of the way. Really, they were being quite helpful.
Meanwhile, the guards, lord, and vassals were all rooted to the spot, their mouths hanging open.
Well, I suppose I’ll just leave them be. I have more important matters to attend to.
I knew Est was continuing to shove more and more supplies into her side of the open storage. I took them out at an equal pace.
Out they went. Out they went. Out they went. Out they went. Out they went. Out they went. Out they went. Out they went. Out they went. Out they went. Out they went. Out they went. Out they went. Out they went. Out they went. Out they went. Out they went. Out they went. Out they went. Out they went. Out they went. Out they went. Out they went. Out they went. Out they went. Out they went. Out they went. Out they went. Out they went. Out they went. Out they went. Out they went. Out they went. Out they went. Out they went. Out they went. Out they went. Out they went. Out they went. Out they went. Out they went. Out they went. Out they went. Out they went. Out they went. Out they went. Out they went. Out they went. Out they went.
“Ah! Aaahhh! Aaaaaahhhhhh!!”
“Oh, thank you, Goddess! Praise be!”
Behind me, I heard the voices of the local lord and his guards, choked with emotion.
I hope they understand that I am not spawning an endless supply of food here. These goods cost money, and I am expecting them to repay me later. My services do not come free!
If I let them believe that the Goddess would provide them free food whenever disaster struck, they would become impractically carefree, devoid of a work ethic or a healthy sense of danger. We certainly couldn’t have that. Indeed, I was determined to avoid that outcome at all costs.
Ahem? Vassals? If you have nothing better to do, I would most appreciate it if you moved the crops sitting at my feet…
As soon as they noticed my eyes on them, the surrounding men realized what I was thinking. The guards, the vassals, and even the lord himself took off their coats and pitched in to help haul the crops out of the way.
Perfect. Now I can proceed.
Est can work at a much faster pace. Since she needs only stash away the piles of crops before her, she doesn’t have to worry about moving anything arou—wait, what a fool I am! I could just move to another spot and take things out there! Oh, I am such an idiot! What a humiliating blunder!
***
Once the first warehouse was filled with crops, everyone kindly escorted me to an empty one. On her continent, Est had likewise moved on to her next storehouse, which was full.
My next stop would be the coastal areas, where the harvest was particularly bad, and after that, I would head to the neighboring kingdom of Aubram, which was in truly dire straits.
To provide Est the funds to buy up the grain on the other end, I had used all my personal savings and even borrowed extra money to buy gold ingots, jewels, and anything else that could fetch a high price in her country, then sent those to her by means of our storage. Father had also contributed funds from both the national treasury and his personal assets. Est used the money provided to buy up a collection of surplus food from the other continent.
On one end, no amount of money could buy crops due to the disastrous harvest. On the other, the prices had plummeted due to a bumper crop.
How fortunate that our two sides were connected by the tunnel of a shared storage space.
With a clever use of the miraculous power granted to me by the Goddess, I shall save a great many lives. No doubt She would be proud!
***
After making my way around my own kingdom’s coastal regions, I was currently touring the kingdom of Aubram. Much to my surprise, its neighbors of Marlane and Trist, which shared its long southern border, had taken inspiration from my activism and stepped up to provide food assistance.
As far as I knew, they didn’t exactly have any excess resources. While neither country had suffered a truly devastating harvest, they were still having a lean year.
Evidently, they had calculated that they could free up resources for relief efforts if they reduced their own population’s food intake by one-third. Each nation was bringing its population together to aid their neighbors.
What fools!
But I had to admit, I had a soft spot for fools.
Of course, their help didn’t come free, either. They also planned to collect payment later.
This was really only fair. It cost them a fortune to gather up and transport the relief supplies. Besides, there was always the possibility of a disastrous harvest in their own future, and they could not count on any other government to reciprocate their goodwill when that time came. Any payments collected now could be saved for their own national crises.
Most importantly of all, if the provisions from Aubram’s neighbors came free of charge, we would have no justification for charging for our crops.
Phew. We made it by the skin of our teeth…
***
Lady Morena came to me with an outrageous proposal.
Apparently, her kingdom and its neighbors had suffered a poor—or as she put it, disastrous—harvest, and people were likely to starve if the situation was allowed to continue unchecked.
In contrast, our kingdom and the surrounding countries were struggling with the ramifications of a bumper crop. When prices plummet, farmers can no longer make back the cost of harvesting, sorting, and transporting their crops, or hiring guards to escort those shipments to larger towns. The more they attempt to sell, the further into debt they go. No matter how hard the farmers work, the necessary expenses will exceed their profits. Thus, the farmers are left with no choice but to let fruits and vegetables rot and plow their crops back into the fields, in the hope of turning them into fertilizer to aid their next harvest.
Our farmers were in no danger of starving, but they would not have the profits to buy meat.
Worse still would be the problems that came in the following years. After a season like this one, would the farmers put in the usual work to improve their crop yields? Weren’t they more likely to determine that there was no point in making the extra effort? Why, they might even cut back on their crop acreage.
This year’s bumper crop could be wholly attributed to the weather, temperatures, and several other meteorological factors that impacted the growing period. What if next year saw a poor harvest due to unfavorable weather conditions? What if it saw a disastrous one? We were liable to end up in an even worse state than Lady Morena’s kingdom at present! A good many people would die.
Her plan is a godsend! This is about more than simply helping Lady Morena’s kingdom—it’s divine intervention to save our realm as well! I shall stake everything I have to see this through!
***
I took the gold ingots, jewels, and fine art that Lady Morena sent via storage magic and sold them for a huge sum of gold coins. I then used that money to buy loads of the surplus crops from our kingdom and the neighboring countries.
Following Lady Morena’s lead, I bought them for twenty percent less than the pre-crash price. I could have beaten the price down further if I wished, but my true goal here was to help the masses, both on my continent and on Lady Morena’s. As far as I was concerned, I was already set to make more than enough of a profit.
Perhaps you all suspected that I would pour all my personal assets into this venture and come out broke for it, but I would never be so soft.
Actually, that’s a lie. I had initially planned to buy the crops at their full pre-crash price, but Lady Morena had scolded me. “You wouldn’t make any money if you did that!” she said. “We are not running a charity here!”
We’re not?! I thought. If it’s not charity, then what are we even doing?!
After buying the crops for twenty percent off, I would sell them to Lady Morena for the normal price, and Lady Morena would sell them to the local lords at a twenty percent markup.
Lady Morena explained it was far more practical—and lucrative—to sell the crops she obtained from me in bulk to the local lords than to market them directly to the masses. In exchange, she planned to claim a handsome payout of coin—or gold ingots, jewelry, bonds, and what have you.
She’s so on top of things! I really ought to learn from her example.
And so, I asked my father to make a nationwide announcement.
We are hereby offering to purchase all your crops for just twenty percent less than their pre-crash price. This applies to grains, potatoes, leafy greens, and anything else with nutritional value. Domestic products shall be purchased in unlimited quantities. Foreign items shall be limited to sales arranged and contracted in advance. Our third princess, Estorina, will be the one presiding over this charity project. As we do this for the salvation of our kingdom and the people of distant foreign lands, we request your full cooperation in gathering and transporting the goods.
The announcement letter made his desire to cut the labor costs to zero pretty transparent.
Our king certainly knows what he wants! That’s my father for you! I really ought to learn from his example, too.
As outlandish as the plan might sound to some, I knew my father would not question me. After all, I had already informed him and a handful of others that Lady Morena and I were granted storage magic by the Goddess. Perhaps more importantly, he had seen the gold bullion, jewels, artwork, rare materials, and various other gifts stashed in my personal quarters.
Of course, Lady Morena had made her payment in advance.
As a result, I was able to use the items she sent as collateral to borrow government funds at no interest. Then, I ordered that our kingdom’s surplus crops be gathered up in warehouses all over the realm, and set out on my journey to collect the goods.
Let me assure you, I had absolutely no idea at the time that this would come to be called Princess Estorina’s Miraculous Pilgrimage, be adapted into bardic poems and stage plays, and make appearances in religious texts!
The plan was for me to send all the goods that had been rounded up across the kingdom to Lady Morena via storage magic. I would pay the local lords with paper bonds, which were much more practical to travel with than gold coinage. The bonds had a special seal and could only be handed out by a princess of the kingdom. Though they were only paper, they were a credible payment method insofar as they could be redeemed as long as the kingdom existed, so I didn’t receive any complaints.
Having coordinated with Lady Morena in advance, I traveled to the first warehouse where the crops were collected, gave the lord a paper bond, and put the goods into my storage. At the same time, she stood by on her side, ready to begin taking things out.
The timing was, of course, crucial. Otherwise, our storage space would end up packed over capacity.
Once the first warehouse was empty, the local lord stood before a congregation of representatives from the nearby towns and villages, held the bond high overhead, and read off the amount written on it. Cue exclamations of joy.
Well, of course. They had every reason to be happy.
I was invited to a welcome and thank-you banquet, where I was forced to greet and shake hands with more people than I could remember. The next morning, I went on my way, journeying to the next collection point. Behind me, I heard exclamations like “Oh wait, a saint! Farewell, Your Holiness!”
I can’t falsely claim sainthood! The church will be furious with me! Though after I made a warehouse full of crops disappear and handed the lord a bond for a substantial sum of money, I suppose I can’t blame them for getting the wrong idea… If I ever watched someone else do that, I would probably assume they were a saint, too.
At first, the neighboring countries hadn’t believed our written notice. Finally, about twenty days into my trip to store the goods, word had spread, and I was inundated with offers to form sales contracts. Of course, I had asked the royal palace to be my contact point, so the Minister of Foreign Affairs and Minister of Finances oversaw the negotiations. After completing my tour of the kingdom, all I had to do was travel to the countries mentioned in the letters sent to me by messenger.
Once I arrived at my destination, representatives from the country showed me where I needed to go, and they appointed soldiers to accompany for protection.
About three hundred of them, to be exact.
Goodness! You’d think I was the king himself! I know I’m technically royalty, but I’m merely the third princess of another kingdom! I am eighth in line to the throne, below my five brothers and two sisters! I suppose I do have my younger sister beat, but still…
Regardless, I have no value save as a pawn in a political marriage, and no one would bother paying a ransom were I kidnapped. There is no financial or political motivation to attack me. Why on earth would I need this many soldiers to escort me?
You know what I think it is? If something were to happen to me, there wouldn’t be anyone to buy their crops! That’s how desperate they are to make a sale…
Wait, why do people on the side of the road look like they’re praying?
Huh? Did they just say “arch-saint”? An arch-saint is coming here?! Oh no! We had better make way!
We mustn’t block the arch-saint, everyone! Clear a path! Out of the waaaay!
***
So. It turned out they were talking about me.
Well, if I ever witnessed someone magically empty a warehouse full of crops, hand over a government-issued payment guarantee, and leave, I suppose I might come to the same conclusion. At worst, I would assume she was an arch-saint or a beloved child of the Goddess. At most, I would think she was a divine messenger or the Goddess incarnate.
I was happy to take “arch-saint” over the alternatives. At least that still counted as human. Any title greater than that, and I would end up lumped in with the divine…
At that point, I would no longer be considered a human, and I would lose all hope of achieving a normal person’s happiness. I would be locked away inside a temple and treated like fragile glass!
I-I absolutely must put a stop to this before they start calling me the “beloved child” or “divine messenger”! Perhaps Lady Morena will know what to do…
***
My journey had been a long one. Traveling around the coastal areas of my kingdom, I eventually made my way across Aubram. As I had to coordinate the timing with Est, waiting for her to move from point to point and round up the goods, it ended up taking quite a number of days.
Nonetheless, we were doing this to deliver the people, so both Est and I put our all into it.
Est, for her part, became quite popular among the farmers and lords of the breadbasket regions. This acclaim wasn’t even limited to her own kingdom but extended to the other countries she visited as well. Honestly, it would not have been an exaggeration to describe their regard for her as a kind of worship.
After all she had done, it was only natural. She had purchased an enormous supply of surplus grain, and she had done so for the reasonable price of twenty percent off the original price, when she could very well have used the bumper harvest to negotiate herself a much bigger bargain. Besides, everything she did was for the noble purpose of aiding the starving citizens of a distant kingdom.
The story went that the Goddess had been so impressed with her charity that She had even granted the princess mass transfer magic.
That last point alone would be sufficient cause for a country’s reverence.
Est, word has it that the people are already calling you an arch-saint.
***
“I hereby ordain Princess Morena as an arch-saint!”
Cheers erupted from the crowd. My attempts to escape reality ended here.
Indeed. As you can see, I had somehow found myself ordained as a saint.
I had provided an enormous supply of food for the exceptional price of only twenty percent more than the standard. And seeing as the general public didn’t know the full story, they assumed that I had purchased everything at a much higher price and was therefore operating at an enormous loss of my personal finances.
Despite my royal status, I had braved a long and dangerous journey for the masses, and in doing so saved a great number of lives all over the world.
To top it all off, I possessed an astonishing, miraculous power to transport supplies from faraway lands, granted to me by the Goddess for this very purpose.
It was no wonder they were calling me an arch-saint, really… It did sound like these were the sorts of miracles performed by a divine messenger or the Goddess incarnate. In any other situation, my accomplishments certainly would have been beyond the capabilities of any mere mortal.
Have I, perchance, made a blunder here?
Far from depleting my private funds, I had made myself a fortune. While the countries hit with disastrous harvests had struggled to reap crops, their mining, forestry, and commerce were unaffected, and their gold and jewel reserves hadn’t vanished into thin air, so they were able to pay me out of the lords’ vaults and the national treasuries. Some of the sums came in the form of jewels or bonds rather than gold coins, but payment was payment.
As a result, both the personal assets that my father and I had lent to cover Est’s expenses and the money we had borrowed from the national treasury were soon returned in full, plus a little extra. Furthermore, when Est cashed out the items I had sent her to pay for the grain, it had come out to more than she needed to make the purchases, which meant that she, too, had turned a profit.
Not only did we save a great number of people and earn their gratitude, we had made an enormous amount of money in the process.
Oh, I do so enjoy doing business!
“…and so, with the advent of the saint, sent to us by the great Goddess herself, we pray that a bright future lies…”
Argh! They keep rambling on without letting me get a word in edgewise! Half a year ago, our kingdom failed to reclaim Lady Ade—er, Lady Mile and keep her for ourselves. I imagine this is an attempt to put me on a pedestal and raise national prestige, as well as establish a connection between me and Lady Mile as fellow favorites of the Goddess. They clearly plan to use this as a springboard for another attempt to poach Lady Mile…
I have no personal objections, of course. That fits nicely into my plans for Lady Mile to marry either Vince or my elder brother, and for whoever is left over to take Marcela… I haven’t given up hope yet!
***
“Achoo!”
“A-CHOO!”
Marcela and Mile sneezed in quick succession.
“Pardon me, Miss Mile, but do you think you could be a bit more discreet?”
“When you’ve gotta sneeze, you’ve gotta sneeze! I think you might be putting girls on a pedestal, Miss Marcela! Who are you, Tawaba?!”
“I have no idea who that is! And how could I put women on a pedestal when I am one myself?!”
“It’s not like I was blowing my nose into my hands or something! All I did was sneeze a bit loudly!”
“That doesn’t make it acceptable! How little regard do you have for a maiden’s dignity?!”
“Uh-oh. Marcela’s started in on one of her etiquette lectures for Mile,” Reina commented.
“Well, Mile is a count-slash-marquis. She really should mind her manners a bit more,” said Mavis.
“More importantly, Miley is a divine messenger and beloved child of the Goddess,” said Pauline. “If she behaves too inappropriately, she might receive complaints from the church. I suppose we don’t have to worry about that on this continent, but we do plan to return eventually, so…”
Monika and Aureana just cracked amused smiles.
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