“I’m glad we could reach an understanding. However, I’ve never hosted royalty or aristocrats before, so I’d appreciate it if you could offer some advice. As a national special agency, you must have connections with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, right? I’d like to request information on how to entertain state guests and what level of hospitality is appropriate.”
“Understood… I’m not an expert in that area either, so I don’t have much knowledge about it… Could you give me a little time? Let’s see… I’ll try contacting the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and related departments. Even though it’s another world, receiving such important individuals… people of state guest caliber… this is a diplomatic matter for us as well… Ah, yes? P-Please wait a moment!”
…Ms. Kashima seemed unusually flustered and put me on hold.
The hold music was the classic call center tune, “Temptation of the Gentle Breeze”…
It sounded incredibly familiar… Or rather, I don’t know where she’s making the call from.
Seriously, I hope she’s not in some corner of a call center.
*Chari-rari-ra, la-la-la*… the melody of an old Western song played.
Apparently, call centers use the same equipment, so the hold music often ends up being the same without intending it.
Still, calling it a diplomatic matter seems like a huge exaggeration… No, it’s not an exaggeration.
If we make a mistake in handling this, it could lead to disastrous consequences, so we have to approach it with that level of seriousness.
After precisely three rounds of waiting, the hold was released.
“Thank you for waiting. Regarding this matter, Owner Takakura, considering its importance, we would also like to conduct various internal discussions… For now, as this is a sudden request, we may not be able to provide sufficient support… However, considering the future, we understand that establishing friendly relations with the representatives of the Kingdom of Romeo is of great significance.”
“I understand… I’ll make a list of the necessary supplies and send it via email later. I apologize for making such a difficult request. We will do our best to entertain them to a level that doesn’t displease them.”
“Yes! Please do! For now, I’ll secure an express delivery, and we’ll arrange the supplies you mentioned immediately! We’ll send you the finest ingredients as well, so please emphasize the ‘Made in Japan’ aspect when recommending them! If they show interest in Japan, feel free to even invite them! We’ll get back to you later, so please bear with us! For now, I’ll be ending this call! We’ll speak again later!”
Ms. Kashima, still uncharacteristically flustered, hung up the phone.
Well, at least… the procurement of resources is underway…!
From the looks of it, it seems like she’s thinking about inviting Kuroie to Japan…
Whether inviting them is a good idea or not is beyond my control…
If the Empire continues to do as it pleases, relying on its national power and military strength, then strengthening the Kingdom of Romeo, which could become a counterforce, might be a good strategy.
It seems to be a considerable economic power, and if they can unite forces other than the Empire, it might be possible to pacify the Empire without resorting to military action.
More than anything, compared to the Empire and the religious fervor that is France, the Kingdom of Romeo is a far more sensible country.
Since I might be relying on them for many things in the future, it wouldn’t be wrong to support them.
This is the first step! The Great Hospitality Operation for Kuroie has begun!
The first thing to do is… check on the progress of renovating the lodging for tonight… the sleeping quarters.
If they like it and decide to make it a villa, the strategic value of this place will skyrocket.
This is quite important!
With Aage in tow, I headed to see the building that was planned to be our directly managed inn.
“Hmm, the buildings in this village were all built in a haphazard manner, but they could build something like this too… It has a certain charm to it and is quite nice!”
Aage looked up at the new log cabin with admiration.
“I thought an inn would be necessary as a trading post. I asked the Dorans to build it. It’s a two-story building… we plan to run wires from the convenience store and equip it with air conditioning, heating, and electric lighting.”
…At this point, it was already an exceptional inn by the standards of this world, and there was even an open-air bath behind it!
Since the Dorans were mobilized for the campsite construction, it was still very much under construction.
There were no staff members decided, so the opening was scheduled for some time later… but given the circumstances, we’ll have to open it in an instant.
For staff, Kirika and Lansia will be in charge of security.
For hospitality, Rana and Mimimomo will be assigned… since they are girls, it’s only natural to assign female staff!
As for me… I’ll create a final checklist and a list of tasks.
This will inevitably leave the convenience store understaffed, but with the Manager there, and the Wolf Tribe and those dispatched from the Merchant Guild undergoing training, they should be able to provide some force.
Although there will be Aage and the others from their side for security, I can’t just leave everything to them.
And as for the inn itself…
The exterior of the building is mostly complete, with only the interior and the open-air bath left to finish.
The Dorans have done quite a remarkable job crafting these authentic structures from the jungle trees, which are not ideal for lumber.
Incidentally, the open-air bath is currently a completely open design with a fantastic sense of freedom. It’s a rock bath where a hole was dug in the ground, lined with stones, and the gaps were sealed with waterproof cement.
Water is drawn directly from a nearby river, and there are no partitions for washing areas… in essence, it’s not much different from a pond.
It has a drainage outlet at the bottom and is quite well-made. The surroundings have also been landscaped with bushes and gravel instead of exposed earth, giving it a garden-like appearance.
There’s no changing room, but there’s a rudimentary clothesline-like structure for hanging clothes…
The Dwarves, using a photo of a hot spring inn they found online, have managed to recreate this to a considerable extent, which is quite impressive.
Moreover, the river water is lukewarm, and the temperature here typically exceeds 30 degrees Celsius during the day year-round.
The water channel is shallow and takes a long, winding route, so during the day, it naturally warms up to a lukewarm temperature, making it perfectly adequate for daytime use.
Therefore, despite being unfinished, it’s already being used extensively…
In fact, when they were filling it with water, the Meow Tribe children started using it for bathing, and before they knew it, Lansia and the Elves, and then others who heard through word-of-mouth, started using it too… without permission!
However, the nights can get cold, so there’s been talk of filling it with hot water at night.
The Dwarves were discussing installing a coal boiler for heating water, and it seems that even with the technology of this world, such a thing is possible.
According to the Dwarves, coal is used quite commonly, and it can be mined in the mountainous regions near Ormechia.
The Dwarves use a lot of coal for smelting iron ore, and they also use boilers quite routinely. In fact, they mentioned using steam engines for mining.
Although I haven’t seen them in person, from their descriptions, it sounded like they were using steam pressure to generate strong forces, which means they’ve likely succeeded in practically applying steam engines that convert steam pressure into kinetic energy.
However, there are many aspects of Dwarven technology that humans cannot replicate, and those are apparently the exclusive domain of the Dwarves.
Their metallurgy and metalworking skills are surprisingly advanced… the Dwarves…
Hmm? Could it be that if I ask the Dwarves, they could build a steam locomotive?
A steam locomotive wouldn’t require electricity, and they could probably build the rails too.
There should be blueprints left in Japan, and I heard a few years ago that a small steam locomotive was newly manufactured.
Reproducing a steam locomotive in this world might not be that difficult…
Once steam locomotives are running, it would easily trigger a distribution revolution…
…To persecute and expel such incredible people based on nonsensical prejudice… the Empire is truly foolish.
