699 – The Arctic Needs Your Attention – 4

A huge eagle has descended on the land of perpetual snow and harsh cold. The grace carried by the eagle would have been a ray of light and hope for the starving and weakened subjects.

Ziz’s journey, which is likely to lead to a Bible verse, ended with enthusiastic cheers and thanks from the three kingdoms.

– I felt very welcome! They gave me lots of presents!?

And perhaps the gratitude of the three kingdoms was sincere, but the three kingdoms, who were already in a poor state, did not send their savior Ziz away empty-handed.

Vodka and chocolate, which are specialties of the Kingdom of Lucerne, as well as black pearls, which are mainly produced in the sea off Nosgor, and even the skin of white marten, which only lives in Stinye. The maximum sincerity that the three kingdoms could show was fully loaded on Ziz’s back.

“This is also sent in leather, why did they send it alive?”

– Pieeen…

– Beep…

Meanwhile, two white martens were brought in alive, not with their skins.

It’s a little confusing. If they had all been sent alive, it would seem that the Empire had sent them to raise them, but only two were sent as the other white martens had turned into leather.

What on earth? Is there any family of these guys among these hides? So you jumped on Ziz’s back without permission to get revenge on those dirty people?

– Ah, they are special white marby.

“Special?”

-What did they say? You say you were born in a sacred place on a sacred day? The place where they were born used to snow all year long, but on the day they were born, the weather was clear, so it was considered a symbol of hope.

I was convinced that it was a pretty good story.

It’s definitely not at the level of Stinye and Lucerne, but isn’t it a country that’s extremely cold and snowy? A pair of white martens born on a sunny day in such a country? It is not strange to be treated as a spirit object and receive all kinds of beauty.

But I don’t know why such a spirit was sent to the empire. From their perspective, it must have felt like they were eating well and then being dealt a blow.

“Do you want to raise it?”

– Eh? Are they scared of me?

“Yes, it seems.”

As soon as Ziz landed on the ground, the two white martens hurriedly hid behind my body. If these two guys are left in Jiz’s hands, she will die suddenly from stress, or she will make a desperate escape with tears in her eyes.

‘I have to send it to the imperial palace anyway.’

I held two shivering white martens in my arms.

These white martens are like a tribute sent from the Kingdom of Stiniye to the empire. In that case, it is right that it falls into the hands of the emperor, not into Ziz’s hands or mine.

Coincidentally, there is a zoo in the corner of the imperial palace run by Sang-tae. I’m worried that those who lived in cold places will be able to stay in warm islands, but I’m sure wizards can solve that problem.

‘The Crown Princess will like it.’

I couldn’t help but smile as I thought about the Crown Princess being happy about her new animal friend.

These guys would also rather live as the pets of the next emperor of the empire than as spirits of a cold country.

The emperor, who received the reward from the Three Kingdoms of Winter, opened his mouth with a face full of sadness and pity.

“Stinye’s leather and Nosgor’s black pearls are items of considerable quality. They can easily be said to be the main products of a country.”

“I guess that shows how sincere my feelings of respect and gratitude toward His Majesty are.”

“To put it another way, they were starving because it was difficult to trade even with those items.”

It was such a solemn remark that I inadvertently lowered my head.

That is correct. Leather and pearls are usually classified as luxury goods and are always in demand by big buyers. If high-quality products can be sold in large quantities, the national treasury will inevitably become rich.

However, Stniye and Nosgor were poor, poor. It was difficult to trade by sea because the sea often froze, and it was difficult to trade by land because it snowed a lot.

‘There weren’t even that many countries that bordered each other.’

Even if you use land routes to reach other countries, it is a problem. From the perspective of other countries, you know that there is no other seller than themselves. No matter how good a product is, it is okay to purchase it at a steep price.

‘It’s terrible.’

There is a product that would make a full living if you could sell it properly, but you can’t sell it properly. Only with such bad conditions can a country be brought to the brink of ruin.

No, it may have been a country that should have collapsed long ago, but it survived with leather and black pearls. It is truly a pity.

“Lucerne is more serious. For people like us who live in warm places, vodka and chocolate are just convenience items, but for those who live in the harsh cold like Lucerne, they are survival items.”

“We need to increase the supplies we send to Lucerne.”

“I guess so. The Empire is Lucerne’s only hope now.”

Hearing that it was the only hope, I looked at a pair of white martens wandering at the emperor’s feet.

It is said that Stinye considered those two birds as symbols of hope. However, offering a symbol of hope to the empire means that we will now place all our hope in worshiping the empire rather than just a beast.

It is an extremely sad expression. The desperation and despair of one nation having to place all its hopes on another nation. Even if I die and wake up, it’s a feeling I won’t understand.

“Ah, in five days, the foreign ministers of the Winter Three Kingdoms are scheduled to visit the empire. At that time, a treaty of market opening and tariff elimination will be signed between the empire and the Winter Three Kingdoms, so I will send Ziz again in a week.”

“Yes, Your Majesty. I will forward it to Ziz.”

As I lowered my head, I felt the emperor’s gaze on the back of my head.

“…Your Majesty?”

“Minister. There is one thing I’m curious about.”

“Please speak.”

The emperor touched his chin for a moment and then spoke carefully.

“It would be impossible to send Leviathan as well, right?”

“Not only is the speed fast, but it will be chaotic in many ways.”

“It’s a shame. Leviathan would be overwhelming in terms of transportation volume.”

The sight of the emperor slightly clicking his tongue reminded me of the size of Leviathan.

It’s dizzying just to imagine it. Leviathan cannot fly at the speed of light like Ziz, so not only does it have to travel for a long time, but if it is as large as an island, it is a problem whether it moves by sea or sky. All countries along the route will be excited and visit the Empire’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

Of course, it doesn’t really matter to me if Leviathan causes a commotion, but if a commotion arises on the continent for no reason, I can’t guarantee what kind of incident that commotion will lead to. It’s best not to make a fuss from the beginning.

“Well, if too much supplies are supplied, gratitude will decrease. Rather, it would be useful to use jizz.”

The emperor probably didn’t really intend to deploy Leviathan, so he quickly shook off his regrets.

***

I felt like crying when I saw the supplies piled up in the palace garden.

No, maybe it was already shed. It may have flowed down, melting the cold snow.

“Thank God.”

I knelt down in front of the piled up supplies and gave thanks to God.

Towards our Lord Enen, who led us to a new path.

– I am a divine beast who follows the eternal blue sky! Jizz King of the Sky! I will come often from now on, so please take care of me!

And towards the divine beast and its owner, heaven, who gave us miracles and grace.

Did you say it was an eternal blue sky? It was one of the two gods whose existence the Church of Dawn officially acknowledged. There is not much information about this as it has nothing to do with our Kingdom of Lucene, but I remember it as a god mainly believed in by northern nomads.

But thanks to that sky, we were able to breathe together. The mercy of the empire has come to us thanks to the divine beast of heaven.

Then we must respect and reverence heaven. As much as we thank Enen, as much as we thank the Empire—we must also consider heaven as our benefactor.

‘The Church of Dawn has also recognized it, so there will be no problem if we serve.’

If the god of the eternal blue sky were a pagan who was hated by the Dawn Church like the Twilight Church in the past, he could never be worshiped. If we, who are already having a hard time living, receive hatred from the religious sect, it would be like bringing death upon ourselves.

But the Eternal Blue Sky is not the Twilight Cult. Like Constantina, the god of the elves, she is of a different religion, but she is respected by the Church of Dawn. Then there is no problem in offering our faith.

‘…It would be impossible to build a temple.’

Unfortunately, the current Lucene Kingdom’s finances cannot build a new temple.

It would be possible to make it smaller and more compact, but this is the first temple of a god who helped us greatly. It is better not to make something than to make it small and insignificant. Someday, when you have enough money… It’s right to make it right then.

‘Should I make a stone statue first?’

Still, if there is no evidence of faith, it is just rude.

Next time the black divine beast comes, let’s ask about the god. What kind of god is the eternal blue sky and what does it look like? No matter how poor we are, we can make a nice stone statue.

“External Minister.”

“Yes, Your Majesty. Please give your order.”

When I called the Minister of External Affairs who was behind me, the Minister of External Affairs answered with a trembling voice.

I understand. I feel like if I relax just a little bit, I’ll burst into tears.

“I couldn’t be happier than I am today that the emperor likes vodka.”

This is sincere. Unlike Stinye’s sable leather and Nosgor’s black pearls, Lucerne’s vodka and chocolate are just ordinary luxury items. It’s an item that’s nice to have, but it’s okay to not have it, and it’s not particularly luxurious to be used as a luxury good.

However, such items are receiving the emperor’s attention. Vodka filled with our souls is enough to satisfy the emperor. How fortunate this is.

“I would like to give a national treasure as a gift, but…”

“That kind of precious thing doesn’t exist in Lucerne.”

“It’s a pity.”

To be precise, there are no national treasures that can be given as gifts to other countries.

An inalienable treasure steeped in royal history, a symbolic relic imbued with Lucerne’s bitter tears. It would be ambiguous to give something like this as a gift of gratitude to the empire.

Therefore, we must show more thorough and certain loyalty. You must become a thorough subject of the empire.

“External Minister.”

“Yes, Your Majesty.”

“In the future, when my children grow up… I will have to send at least one of them to the Imperial Academy.”

At those words, the Minister of External Affairs bowed his head in silence.

It doesn’t matter because I didn’t specifically want an answer.

A few days after the foreign minister visited the empire and signed a treaty.

– Hi! I’m back!

“Welcome, Ziz. It’s nice to see you again.”

The divine beast of the eternal blue sky has visited again.

“Ziz. I have a question.”

– Huh? What is it?

“I want to know about the god you serve. We are ignorant of the nomads’ faith—”

– Are you curious about the eternal blue sky!?

Ziz’s eyes sparkled.

– If you’re that curious, I can’t help it! First of all, if you want to know about the eternal blue sky, you have to explain it from the beginning when the sky first opened its eyes—!

The beak also began to move without mercy.

I knew he had an active personality, but I didn’t expect him to talk this much.