11 Fish Shortage

The apologetic mood that surrounded Rose had completely disappeared without a trace, and in its place was an air of irritation. She sat across the table in front of Roland, and the eyemask on her face did little to hinder her stare towards him.

"W-What is it?" Roland asked, his fingers nervously fiddling with the inn's teacup.

"I wish that Your Majesty will share the truths with me in the future, and not humour me with random nonsense!" Rose sent the voice transmission straight to Roland, the irritation showing in her tone.

"When did I ever humour you with random nonsense?" Roland did not quite understand where the outburst originated from.

"Your Majesty told me that the vigour potion is for Lord Berghis' new concubine, but it was just a tool to provoke him in the fight!"

Ah…that…I guess this is a good time to tell her the truth. I need to resolve everyone's misunderstanding in this matter sooner or later after all.

Roland sighed helplessly before answering, "Let me explain, Rose. This matter is not how you think it is."

"I wish that Your Majesty would be able to trust me more in the future! Even if I do know of the plan in advance, I would not spread or reveal anything about it to anyone else!" Rose pouted indignantly.

"That's not it, Rose. You misundersta-"

"What do you mean you do not have fish?!" an angry shout echoed across the entire Windfall Inn.

It was already noisy enough with everyone chattering away, but this voice completely drowned out the rest. This caused Roland and Rose to look over, just like what everyone else did.

A tall warrior appeared extremely pissed as he stared down his waiter.

"You are telling me that the famous Windfall Inn does not have fish to serve its customers? And you expect me to believe you? If you are afraid that we do not have the money to pay up then just say so!" the warrior shouted in rage once again.

"Calm down," the warrior's companion calmly interjected before turning to face the waiter. "I understand that the supply of fish had dropped since the great war. Just bring us some other dishes."

"Yes!" the waiter scampered off quickly as the warrior snorted unhappily.

Seeing that the conflict had been resolved just like that, most people in the inn were disappointed. However there was nothing they could do about it, and could only return to what they were chatting about previously.

"The fish supply had gone down? But doesn't the Great Manta Kingdom pride itself on its fishing economy?" Roland turned to Rose for answers.

"This matter was brought up in the meeting yesterday as well," Rose seemed to have stopped feeling irritated as she answered calmly.

"It was?" Roland suddenly recalled that the Chancellor seemed to have mentioned something similar. "What did the Chancellor say about it?"

"I don't quite remember either," Rose admitted.

"This is a problem, let us go ask Erin about it."

With that, Roland naturally stood to leave. Who knew that the moment he stood up, all eyes in the inn would instantly turn towards him.

Roland's keen senses allowed him to pick up on this immediately.

"What is it?" Roland made sure that his voice was loud enough for everyone to hear.

Hearing his questioning tone, everyone hurriedly turned back to their tables and resumed their chattering, pretending that they were not involved.

What is this weird atmosphere?

Roland frowned as he hesitated for a few moments, but decided to just return to the palace. After all, he could not possibly question any random person just because they took a look at him.

"Who are those two?" someone asked curiously after Roland and Rose left the inn.

"You were not here to see it for yourself yesterday, but I am sure you have already heard of the man's name by now!" his companion lowered his voice to a whisper as he replied.

"Stop beating about the bush and just tell me!"

"Couldn't you tell just from looking at his attire? He is…the Eyemask Swordsman!"

"What Eyemask Swordsman? I have never heard of him!"

"Hush!" his companion anxiously put his finger to his lip as a gesture to lower the volume. "You might not have heard of this incident yet then. Yesterday, he had a duel with the Red Mountain outside Windfall Inn, and defeated the Red Mountain in one move!"

"He defeated the Red Mountain in one move?" the man exclaimed in shock. "But Red Mountain is known for his sturdy physique and high stamina!"

"Now you see! You would do good to steer clear of that man's way in the future! Otherwise you might not even realise how you died!" his companion warned him out of goodwill.

Oblivious to the fact that even his disguise was started to gain a bit of fame, Roland swiftly returned to the palace.

Upon his return to the palace, Roland initially wanted to set a time to discuss the fish issue with Erin, but after hearing that Erin was currently in a discussion with the Chancellor, Roland decided to visit them immediately.

"Your Majesty!" everyone in the room greeted in shock when they looked to see who entered the room.

"Take a seat," Roland gave a nonchalant wave of his hand before taking a seat on a random chair in the meeting room. "I have something that I wish to talk to you about, but before that may I know what you are discussing? I would hate to interrupt something important."

"We are simply discussing about redirecting of the flood waters in the manner that Your Majesty instructed previously…" Erin's words trailed off as she looked at Roland, as if expecting some form of acknowledgement.

"What is it? Is there a problem?" Roland frowned.

It was one thing for him to give general instructions about redirecting the flood waters, but it was a totally different thing if Erin wanted him to give detailed solutions for issues that even she could not solve!

Thankfully, Erin shook her head in response, though she still looked a little worried.

"That's good!" Roland nodded in relief. "Now then, I am here regarding the fish issue that had become slightly concerning."

"Yes, Your Majesty!" Duke Ivan was overjoyed. "May I know what instructions are there for us?"

He had previously thought that it was quite a troubling matter when he raised it in the meeting yesterday, but the king had completely disregarded it as a matter of low importance, wanting to solve the other issues first.

Now he realised that the king only intended to push it back for a single day, and that did not have too much of an impact at all!

He had truly misunderstood the king that he served!

Eh? Instructions for you? How would I have any instructions for you?

Roland froze for a moment upon hearing his words.

"What does Your Majesty wish for us to do in order to resolve the situation?" Erin added immediately.

Erin too? I guess the one-sided statement from Berghis just now had truly poisoned their minds! But at this point, it would truly be embarrassing if I were to admit that I do not have any idea about what is going on. Looks like there is only one way to handle this then!

"What good would it be if I simply relay instructions to you every time?" Roland shook his head in disappointment. "Why don't you tell me what you understand about the situation first?"

"My apologies, Your Majesty!" Erin and Duke Ivan were taken aback and slightly lowered their heads in shame.

"As mentioned in the meeting yesterday, a lack of manpower had resulted in a movement of labour away from the fishing industry. Thus, the supply of fish in the kingdom had sharply reduced," Duke Ivan reported immediately.

"That is right, and what are your suggestions to solve this problem?" Roland's tone was serious as he carefully watched both Erin and Ivan.

"This…" Duke Ivan turned to look towards Erin for help.

"Many of the fishermen were lost in the great war, so if we wanted to improve fish production, we would just have to attract more people back to fishing. Though that might require quite a high budget, and might not yield results that match the costs," Erin lightly bit her lower lip nervously.

"If we simply need more people to do it, then just like how we established the Royal Military Academy, how about setting up a Royal Fishing Company and taking over the bulk of the work?" Roland earnestly asked.

"But Your Majesty, for the royal family to set up a company like that would have lasting consequences on the economy!" Duke Ivan hurriedly mentioned. "Even if it were to operate fairly, others might feel pressured into trading with the company. This could result in the other fishermen being marginalised!"

"Indeed, a major company could rely on economies of scale and increase our fish production efficiency by a huge margin. But this could also drive fish prices to an unnaturally low level due to the increased supply, resulting in even more solo fishermen to leave the industry," Erin frowned as she continued pondering over the problem.

"Oh, but is that a problem?" Roland did not quite understand.

"Eh?" Erin looked at her brother in surprise.

"A-Am I wrong? " Roland stuttered a little.

The Great Manta Kingdom had always prided itself on its fish production, but if more and more commoners stopped fishing, then they would truly lose their competitive edge in this industry.

However, Erin did not believe that with Roland's supreme intellect, he would ever be oblivious to the consequences of such an action. That could only mean two things – Roland either wanted to test how they would react, or he had plans that were beyond their understanding.

Since the Chancellor and herself had already verbalised the consequences, yet the king continued to push on, that would mean it was likely to be the latter reason!

But what could be the reason?

As Erin was taxing her mind to the extreme, Duke Ivan continued to explain, "When more solo fishermen leave the industry, it would result in a monopoly by the remaining fishing company. In time to come, the industry will lose its competitive edge due to the lack of competition."

"I see," Roland still did not quite understand, but it did not seem proper for him to keep asking, so he simply nodded with a frown.

Hearing those words from the Chancellor, realisation finally struck Erin!

She had been looking at it from the wrong angle all along!

The whole reason why the king was asking them this question was not to test their understanding of the situation, but their acceptance of his view!

"I understand now, Your Majesty! We shall do as you instructed!" Erin could barely contain her excitement as she suddenly exclaimed.

Huh? What is with her?

Roland looked at his intelligent sister curiously.

After he became king and started making more regular contact with his siblings, he had started to realise that Erin sometimes seemed to have this kind of mood swings.

"May I know what has Your Highness understood?" Duke Ivan asked.

Seeing that the king had no intention to explain himself, Erin simply continued proudly, "We shall set up the Royal Fishing Company as instructed. I believe this will curb the fishing problem."

"I-Is that so?" Roland was particularly confused. "But didn't you just make it sound like it was not a feasible plan?"

"Upon further consideration, I believe that it is an extremely good idea, as expected of Your Majesty."

Roland turned to look at Duke Ivan for answers, but the latter simply shook his head to show his ignorance.

"Well, if you say so. Then that shall be it for now. Do you have anything else for me?" Roland shrugged off the weird feeling in his heart.

"There are none, Your Majesty," Duke Ivan was the first to answer.

"There are none, Your Majesty," Erin shook her head as well.

"Well then, I will take my leave for now," Roland turned to leave with Rose after saying his piece.

After seeing the king leave the room, Duke Ivan quickly turned to the princess. Even without him speaking a single word, Erin knew exactly what was on his mind.

"Do you still not understand His Majesty's intentions? Even after he explicitly said that he wanted it to be just like the Royal Military Academy?" Erin chose not to directly explain herself initially.

"Royal Military Academy? You mean…" Duke Ivan narrowed his eyes as he finally came to a conclusion.

"I see you understand now. The Royal Military Academy is His Majesty's way of controlling the armies of the kingdom. So its equivalent in the Royal Fishing Company would simply be a way of controlling the economy of the kingdom! A monopoly is exactly what we want then! This way, we would have complete control over the workings of the kingdom!" Erin nodded in satisfaction at how fast the Chancellor understood.

"Making such huge moves just a day after His Majesty took the throne, how fearsome! That said, the kingdom had always been working fine, so I wonder what the reason is behind the decision to consolidate power this quickly," Duke Ivan thought out loud.

Erin smiled knowingly as she looked at him, "There is more to the world than what the Great Manta Kingdom currently represents, you know?"

Duke Ivan's eyes widened in shock before a grin slowly spread across his face, "If it is under the leadership of King Roland, it truly might be possible to have the flag of our Great Manta Kingdom flying high in all cities in the world!"