A Dragon Idol's Reincarnation Tale - Chapter 499: Time For a City Building Side Quest.

“Levianewts.”

“You’re kidding, levianewts?”

[“Levianewts, dear. I can see them from here.”]

Jumping off Mom’s back to grab onto one of her front legs, I stared at the ground as the sight of Frozen Nest and Iceskale came into view, trying my best to see what Vifi and Mom were talking about. From up here, it was like trying to pinpoint a single person from the windows of a flying airplane.

It took a second until my superhuman eyesight finally kicked in and I managed to see what was going on through this evening’s darkness. At the front of the Nordor dragonewt mansion, I could see a group of levianewts leaving through the gates alongside a silver dragonewt who was seeing them off.

Wrinkling my brows, I climbed back up.

“What’s so bad about that?” I asked.

[“Management of Loatryx is delegated to the kinkyuro, or in Frozen Nest’s case, to our dragonewt clan and our subordinates. The city hall and the seat of our nest’s republic officials is on the floating city, but business talks may happen within our mansion, as well,”] Mom explained. [“There is a distinction, though. Having the talk in at our mansion usually indicates something that involves our clan personally, and I don’t believe some levianewts have anything important to say to us.”]

[“Most levianewts and the few leviathans working on Frozen Nest are hired by Lord Karydrinos’s fishing industry or by the harbormaster,”] Shay added. [“If they have a complaint, they would normally lodge it with the harbormaster or Lord Karydrinos, not to the Nordor clan.”]

 

I tilted my head. “… So you’re saying something is going on while we’ve been out?”

 

“Only one way to find out.” Vifi shrugged before Mom began to rapidly accelerate her flying speed, helping us to quickly reach the port city as fast as possible.

As we landed, Mom and the wyverns immediately transformed back into their humanoid forms, and I immediately heard a raucous amount of “Her Majesty has returned!” and “Good health to Empress Melloxtressa” cheering from every direction. People were flying up to the floating city, gathering in large groups to express their awe and respect for their “former” Dragon Ruler of Ice.

Nobody rushed in front of us, keeping a respectful distance even in the sky. While this was totally a normal sight, since it also happened on the first day I came to Iceskale, what made it actually surprising was that this was in the middle of the night. We had just returned from the mainland, and people were already treating Mom as if they hadn’t seen her in ages.

Regardless, we ignored them for now and entered the mansion, our new base for the foreseeable future, so I could help Mom fulfill her duty as an empress of Kargryx. And, once we were all settled inside, Mom spoke with the mansion’s majordomo—Pradreo—to find out what was going on with the levianewts.

“They came as representatives of the various leviathans living and working on Frozen Nest, your majesty,” he answered. True dragonkin wouldn’t want to beg lesser or dragonewts for favors, after all. “They were asking us if we wished to formalize a larger trade contract between Frozen Nest and Caedhul. Meaning, more levianewts to man our trading operations, allowing us to deliver our wares and fish to even mainland Altrust. Cut Coral Beard out of the deal.”

They want to undermine Yuileingreill’s authority?

“Undermining the fifth empress, I see?” Mom said with cross eyes. “Well, there are no laws stopping us from doing so. Frozen Nest can independently form deals as long as I breathe. What did you tell them?”

“I rejected.”

“Good. Reason?”

“They are expanding the first princess’s influence. Our princess has not made her will and standing known to us; as such, I spoke on behalf of the rest of Iceskale’s senate as clan Nordor’s majordomo.”

“Excellent work, Pradreo. I see now why my daughter spoke so highly of your work while I was hibernating.”

Bowing, he replied, “I am unworthy.”

Hearing this only made me feel bad, since my first meeting with Pradreo didn’t exactly go too well, to the point Neill had to step in. I only spoke well of him after our entire ordeal with the event Quest in Inkoran-Tazul, where he had almost lost his life giving me the chance to kill that dragonslayer. I should consider this a chance to better our relationship, since he was part of the family.

After this discussion, Mom scheduled a meeting with the senate in Iceskale’s city hall, prompting Pradreo to execute her order. He immediately went out of his way to send messengers to recall the senate members back to Iceskale, telling us it would happen tomorrow.

Once morning came, it was time for this adventure’s genre to change once again! No longer were we in an action-RPG or idol simulator game, no-no, it was time for me to truly become one with my role as a princess! What exactly was it? Well, obviously, a bit of kingdom building! A member of the imperial family had the right to play some Cities Sky—

No, wait, wrong game.

A member of the imperial family had the right to play some Ann—

‘Hestia, can’t we just eat our breakfast before going to work?’ Hikari snarled in exasperation from inside my mind. ‘Look, they made some sushi! A buncha early morning shellfish with lemon, fish oil, and, ooooh! Itadakimasu and eat!’

Hearing my other half say that almost sounded like a threat. In fact, it was one since she could just take over our body and begin eating, meaning I would miss out on the chance of fully enjoying the meal!

“Itadakimasu!” I said after clapping my hands, pushing that genre change idea for a later time.

Once the meal was done, the maids inside the mansion quickly helped me get dressed and Mom, the twins, and I departed for the city hall. Vifi, as she had no interest in how we wanted to manage our lands, decided she would just go out to hunt instead. Just hearing her say that made me want to join her, but I really, really should learn Iceskale’s bureaucracy first.

Iceskale’s city hall was located on a large elevated area on the floating city, requiring us to fly up the stairs. I tilted my head back a bit and stared up at the building, which looked more like a giant, gothic cathedral than what I would normally expect civil servants to work inside. When I pointed that out, though, Mom asked me why that would be important.

“The city hall is the republic’s ‘dragon nest.’ Their show of power, which is why the building was constructed with imported fairnite, dwarven-made stone statues of dragons, precious timber and stone only found on Frozen Nest, as well as plenty of true ice from your grandfather,” Mom explained.

“‘Grandfather?’ Oh, your father?”

She nodded. “As you know, the position of Dragon Ruler of Ice was taken by my father after Kargryxmor established his empire, which also led to the founding of Loatryx. Iceskale back then was far different from nowadays, and although it has grown, some ancient pieces from back then still remain. This city hall, for example; only its exterior kept changing but its skeleton is still made from that same true ice from back then.”

“… So you’re saying my maternal grandfather also likes to show off like my paternal one?”

“Oh, shush, dear!” Mom pouted, causing me to giggle.

Hiehie … but using true ice to make things, huh? I guess Mom and the other ice dragons are the only ones able to do that.

Hearing her explanation only reinforced the idea that these older buildings probably were initially intended as places of worship. Not out of religious reasons, but purely from the awe and respect dragonkin probably felt for their ancestors, or, in the beginning, for their parents.

“Mom, since I am your only child, does that mean that all of the Nordor dragonewts are descended from my uncle? Your brother? Or are some of them also related to grandfather Nordor?” I asked. My understanding of how dragonewt clans worked was pretty good, but sometimes questions did pop out with how they first began.

Mom gave it some thought for a moment before shaking her head. “My father was only faithful to his wife, your grandmother, so don’t worry. Every single Nordor dragonewt is descended from your uncle, Odlesstrus, but I think you’re also curious about your paternal dragonewt clan, correct? Well, much like Eltharion, Kargryxmor also had a harem of wives, but only one of them was his favorite—the only dragon among them.”

Hearing that made me look up with furrowed brows.

“I know it’s different with the culture you grew up with, Hestia, but harems aren’t that particularly controversial. Female dragons are quite possessive with their mates and children, with many not wanting to share, leading to the mating battles I told you about. Being able to settle it peacefully is a virtue,” Mom excused. “Your paternal grandmother was a saintess, though. Or maybe she never felt threatened by her husband’s elven and dwarven mistresses.”

“Are they around today? How about Uncle’s children?”

“My nephew is well, but he is reaching the end of his soul’s lifespan, much like your aunt. They should be alive long enough to see you mature, though,” she replied, worsening my mood a bit. “Your paternal side, though … The civil war wasn’t kind, and neither were your uncles and aunts. Your Kargryxmor dragonewt relatives took their sides, and that is that. Let us not speak ill of the dead.”

Tricky discussion point, I guess …

After entering the building, two lines of silver- and white-scaled dragonewts bowed and welcomed us with a loud, “To Her Majesty, Empress Melloxtressa, and Her Highness, Princess Hestia, we of Iceskale welcome you to the city hall!” Only men and women in fine yukatas could be seen, with some having badges on their badges while others wore ice flower wreaths around their horns.

Two of them stood in the middle and approached us. One of them was Pradreo. The other was an elf-dragonewt hybrid with a true dragonkin smell, looking pretty similar to Rhekkraxus in his humanoid form, only that he wasn’t as scarred and had long, white hair that grew down to his waist.

“Your Majesty,” both bowed, tucking their tails in between their legs.

Once Mom ordered both to straighten, Pradreo re-introduced himself to us out of formality before he began introducing the dragonkin next to him.

However, I interrupted him.

“Siegragxus, correct?”

Smiling, the man nodded. “Correct, your majesty. We’ve only met once, but you were already able to recognize my smell?”

I shook my head. “Not quite. However, I did meet your younger brother in his elven form, and you look just like him—almost like twins—so it made it easy to guess. Also, you don’t smell like your father, and I still remember him.”

Personally, it felt awkward to see him, here since I Rhekk and I left on a bad note the last time we met, and I wasn’t so sure if he had told Sieg everything that happened or not. Sure, Rhekk was pretty prideful so maybe he didn’t say anything, but I didn’t know. Should I excuse myself to Sieg, or should I wait for him to speak first?

“Astute. I apologize, I forgot he had told me of his meeting with you in Iceskale. I’ve been immersing myself in documents,” he said, causing my heart to drop for a moment. Keeping my poker face up, Sieg didn’t notice anything as he invited us in. “Aunt Melloxtressa already knows me, so I don’t think we need to keep the introductions up. Let us move on up, then, shall we?”

Mom nodded. “Lead then, Siegragxus.”

Ahhh, he knows! Shit!

[“He won’t be snide with Her Majesty around, your grace,”] Beth said, patting my back with a thumbs up. She could always see the positive … although I was more worried about the atmosphere.

‘I think she means he’ll keep it sensible. Let’s keep our mouths shut and it should be okay,’ Hikari added to calm me down, successfully doing it for now.

The meeting room was on the third floor, where we also found out that Pradreo and Sieg weren’t the only people who would speak with us. Aside from four dragonewts, I was shocked to see that Uncle Kary and Uncle Guyul were here! Well, I’d seen Uncle Kary’s dragonewt form, and I guessed the other guy was Guyul since he smelled exactly like Uncle Kary, and his elven form had the same white-brown-colored hair as his dragon form’s fur.

“Uncles!” I waved at them, smiling to hide my surprise.

Mom’s finest retainers and the dragonewts all stood up, greeting us as gracefully as they could, showing their fullest respect to Mom and me. The dragonewts, especially, looked both anxious and excited about the impending meeting with how they were viewing us, reminding me a bit of idol fans.

We then got seated, with Mom and I on one side, while everybody else was seated together on the other end. The twins, however, had to stand up, as they were serving as guards.

“Alextraxus couldn’t come in time?” Mom asked before we began.

“Ah, he had to take care of his retainers,” Uncle Guyul answered, looking a bit grim. He gave me a look, as if to tell us it had something to do with me. “Issues with that problem, and also the recent ‘you-know what.’ Don’t mind it, your majesty. If their parents cannot be patient with the current situation, then they do not deserve to be punished.”

“Which is why I am here,” Sieg added. “My brother had to clean up his own mess, and Father assures me that he will learn to keep his claws to himself.”

Mom glanced over to me, causing me to feel a bit trapped with everybody’s attention on me. Noticing this, Pradreo raised his hand.

“W-well, let us not be concerned about such issues now, right?” He coughed to clear his throat. “We are here because Her Majesty wishes to help rule the country, so let us begin, no?”

As nobody protested, Pradreo nodded, letting out a deep sigh through his nose. “Ahem, once again, I am Pradreo, the current majordomo for clan Nordor’s mansion on Iceskale, acting on the authority of Patriarch Odlesstrus to aide Her Majesty, Sixth Empress Melloxtressa, and Third Princess Hestia. Therefore, I am the representative of clan Nordor’s seat on Iceskale’s senate.”

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From there, the rest introduced themselves.

“Karydrinos. Patriarch of clan Liandsee and also the seat holder of the fishing and gastronomy industry.”

“Guyulthanos, patriarch of clan Ievfuchsdra and the seat holder of cultural management, the textile industry, and education.”

“Siegragxus, eldest son of Dragon Ruler of Ice, Alextraxus, and the representative of clan Thalaxarus. I shall speak about the mining and timber industry, in addition to our military, if needed.”

“One question.” I raised my hand. “Speaking about the military, I learned that the first empress has the highest authority over it. How does it work for Iceskale, seeing as it isn’t ruled by the kinkyuro, but by the clans Nordor and Thalaxarus?”

“She will still have the right to overrule us as needed—dragon versus dragonewt decisions,” Sieg answered. “However, Empress Melloxtressa’s duty as the sixth empress is to Frozen Nest as a whole. That overrides every other empress’s authority.”

Hearing me pose such a question, Sieg explained that the different authorities reserved for the five mainland empresses were divided amongst the different clans of Frozen Nest. Nordor was on the top of the hierarchy out of respect for Mom, while clan Liandsee, Ievfuchsdra, and Thalaxarus helped manage everything with the support of their own retainers, which includes the four dragonewts sitting in the room with us.

“These meetings usually are hosted in the auditorium on the fourth floor; four times a year on the last day of each season. Each senator has the right to speak up for plans on how to manage the country, where we also discuss news, such as the succession crisis, and also any other events,” Sieg explained.

“Hold on, at the end of each season?” I tilted my head. “Doesn’t that mean you already had one last month?”

“Correct, we are repeating everything,” Pradreo answered. “However, it is still early in the quarter, so if needed, we can pivot well enough with our budget. Her Majesty’s words are the law on Frozen Nest.”

“She called, we must respond,” Sieg added. “It is very, very rare for the patriarch or matriarch of a clan to appear during these meetings, so they usually send representatives in the form of chosen dragonewts. If a dragon or drake wishes to learn more after hibernating for a while, the republic must please their curiosity. It can lead to some inefficiency, but it is part of our culture.”

So this is just normal. No wonder Pradreo managed to call people in despite how out-of-nowhere it was.

“We appeared since Her Majesty wanted to attend a meeting after so long,” Uncle Kary said, prompting Mom to scoff. “Ha, the last time Her Majesty attended one was right after she officially married our Emperor! It’s been years! I bet the other dragons would have gladly come to see this if they weren’t asleep.”

“Which is why these dragonewts are here,” Uncle Guyul added. “Their loss; their descendants shall have the honor to serve Her Majesty today. Good, introduce yourself to our princess.”

“Thank you, Lord Guyulthanos!” The dragonewts said with full vigor as they stood up.

Naturally, the senate was larger than these eight members, but these were the people Pradreo considered essential for the meeting when he sent the messengers. The four dragonewts were actually normal bureaucrats and economists working in the city hall, meaning they knew the ins-and-outs of the latest senate assembly.

They were here to represent their clans’ contributions but had an additional duty to summarize every other department as well. We didn’t need to fill the room with the clans responsible for law enforcement or sports, not when our goal today was to find a way to help Frozen Nest progress, or at least, stand out more than just with a simple fishing industry. We would still hear about it, since Mom had to be aware of it, but the five dragonewts could tell us about it.

After the introductions were over, Pradreo stood up and began handing out stacks of parchment to everybody, each stack thick enough that it could have been turned into a high school book! It was thicker than my hand! And, just like my school books, the information written on them made my brain turn empty.

‘I’ll sort through the information,’ Hikari suggested, but she was only a single person. [Split Soul Autonomy] might have inherited [Parallel Thoughts]’ function, but I didn’t have the support of ten mes any longer. So I was worried Hikari would have a hard time going through all of this.

“The fishing trade is still as good as always, I see,” Mom suddenly said, her eyes glued to the documents. “Multiple whale and shark merfiend trades. But why is the coralplunk suddenly so high?”

“We’ve established an underwater farm,” Uncle Kary answered. “Not the usual gheeper or chochochuckle farms, but a place for the coralplunk to settle and live properly. Good feed and a controlled environment leads to better meat. The dark dragon flight is especially fond of them, so we had to increase the export amount.”

“Good choice. Fish meat might have increased, but on the other hand, underwater vegetation has decreased. Less interest from the outside, but more interest from within.”

Mom then continued, listing out numerous points on the documents and began asking about them with the relevant parties. Neither her eyes or mouth stopped for a moment to consider anything, freaking me out how she almost seemed like a machine with how effortlessly she was working.

Similarly, the other dragons did the same, showing off years of experience working as administrators. Only the dragonewts showed their surprise at how everything was running like clockwork, but quickly adapted to the speed needed to keep up with Mom’s rapid inquiries and even her orders.

“Why has the festival budget been increased so much last quarter, Guyulthanos? You spent so much money but barely recuperated anything.”

“… We prepared a festival to celebrate Her Highness’s birthday. With her birth, the 25th of WinterMoon must become a national holiday for Frozen Nest without question,” he answered, hesitating. “We didn’t know when she would wake up, so we prepared everything in advan—”

“I told you not to order one!” Mom raised her voice. “My hatchling will awaken when she is ready, not arbitrary for your wishes. What a waste of funds, and from the look of it, you canceled it since she didn’t wake up. She is not the sort of person to wish for such a waste of effort, so assure me you will not make another mockery of this next year.”

“Y-yes, Your Majesty. I thank you for your mercy,” Uncle Guyul bowed.

Mom was right, I didn’t like the sound of it. Even the fact that Mom made this national holiday dedicated to me official by permitting a second festival, even if it would have a lower budget. When I heard this, I asked Mom if there was a celebration for her birthday, but she hastily said no.

“I have no need to know, or want to be bothered, by a birthday, dear. I am over 3500 years old, and I barely check my age at this point; to me, a birthday has lost its meaning. To somebody young like you, though, the value of being blessed with life is still important to remember. I wish for our country to know it well, and the best way to do so is to make it a national holiday for everybody to enjoy.”

“… Now that I think about it, I don’t know when you were born.”

“That is because when it was time, I was already asleep, dear. It is the 16th of AutumnSun, but I implore you to not worry about it. I do not wish to celebrate my birthday,” she denied, sounding like she meant it.

“Shouldn’t we at least do it once for the memories, though?”

“I will be pleased to do it alongside yours, next year.”

I wasn’t the sorta person to force a celebration on somebody, so I shrugged and turned back to the pages in annoyance. I just couldn’t understand why she was so adamant about it. A birthday party would be fun … Thinking like this prompted Hikari to remind me that she might just not enjoy knowing she was older than 3500 years. I guess even dragons were sensitive about their age.

“Haaa, don’t even think about it,” Mom said, resting her head on her hand as if she was fed up. “Well, if you wish to speak, now is the time. You had your chance to look through the documents, read the numbers, and listen to me work. Have you anything you wished to ask? No pressure, dear.”

This was my favor to Mom for helping me find a cure for Raffarson’s Debilitation, so I had to show her I was willing to learn to become her heir. My future wasn’t set yet, though, but this was still a step forward to becoming an adult, in a sense.

“… Yes, could I receive a quick summary of Frozen Nest’s most abundant exports? A listing, please?” I asked. The information could be gleaned from the documents, but sorting through everything would take me more time than a couple of minutes.

“Do you count monster materials through the hunter’s guild, your grace?” One of the dragonewts replied—Thrahasa, was her name. When I shook my head, she continued. “Thank you. The most important industry is our fishing export, naturally, which includes various seafood, products made from merfiend, and also valuables like pearls and rainbow coral. Coral Beard and the other harbor cities on mainland Miononbolax are our largest customers.”

Competition amongst the fishers of Coral Beard and the leviathans living in the warmer waters was a daily issue, to the point large fishing vessels could be swallowed up by hungry leviathans or adamantoises if a dragon wasn’t protecting them. While it wasn’t enough to cause significant damage, it did mean Coral Beard’s luxury fish products were rather low.

Imagine bluefin tuna; that sorta luxury, highly expensive fish. It was harder to find delectable, high fat fish in the south since the leviathan and merfiend population made most marine life competitive and strong.

Meanwhile, due to the snow barrier surrounding Frozen Nest, the waters around our country were practically heaven for smaller fish and weaker species. We could, after all, prevent strong merfiend and leviathans from coming in, giving us the chance to even turn mackerels big and plump. Yummy, and very desirable.

No wonder Iceskale is well-off, even if its main industry is just fishing, I thought, finally understanding Mom’s words.

On the other hand, the praises Thrahasa gave the other categories was lackluster, to say the least.

The second and third most important industries were timber and mining, and that was only due to the exclusive blizzirk timber and evernight ice stone. They were considered, much like fairnite was, as a sign of wealth for dragonewts and elves, but due to a lack of winters in Coral Beard, the ice resistance of the materials were practically unused. The demand was decent, but nothing to write home about.

“How about iron and other mineral ore good for smelting?” I asked, prompting Sieg to speak.

“Our mines have access to all the common ores needed to make steel, bronze, and eoriant. We do, however, have to import andurium and arcanuit, though.”

I didn’t like to hear that. Arcanuit was the main material needed to make mana batteries, meaning we were reliant on other countries for them. It would increase the cost to train artificers here on Frozen Nest.

In any case, the fourth most important industry was jewelry while the fifth was clothing using the fur and leather from the local monsters. Everything here was decent as well, but, once again, nothing stood out. The ice jewels you could find here were beautiful like pearls, but that was about it.

I had Thrahasa list five more products before stopping her, realizing there was something missing amongst the list—service and technological experts. Everything listed was some kind of raw material, never any manufactured goods. Artificers were in low demand, as they were only used to maintain the various manatech around Frozen Nest, including the floating city, and tourism was an entirely foreign word. People came to Frozen Nest for trade and Quests, nothing more.

There wasn’t anything special to see here that you couldn’t find on mainland Miononbolax, aside from the snowy landscape. Not to mention, the south was so much warmer and comfortable to live in, unlike the sheer cold freezing my poor toes off daily. While the ice dragonkin loved this place, the other sub-races didn’t.

Sleighing, ice skating, and skiing aren’t sports here, it’s just part of living, I thought after noticing them in the “accident report” section. That was how the flightless dragonewts, elves, and levianewts traversed the snowy land.

“Has there ever been any efforts to introduce ideas to our manatech industry?” I asked.

Sadly, another dragonewt—Penaka—shook his head. “Unfortunately, everybody able usually just moves to Kel’Thun or to one of the main facilities on the mainland. Iceskale is large, but most of our land is used for residential buildings. The majority of our yearly budget is used to maintain the buildings, for food, and entertainment like festivals. The cold stings, but warm food heals it well.”

… Ah, okay. We dragons eat a lot, right. I realized. Aurora’s main expenses, aside from my concerts, were for our food and spices, after all.

Still, looking at the budget, Iceskale wasn’t lacking in funds to invest in the manatech industry. In fact, there was a good chunk leftover categorized as “innovation funds” that was allocated to nothing at all. When I asked about it, I was told it was mainly used for improvements to our fishing industry.

“The coralplunk farm, for example, dear,” Mom interjected. “Our fishing industry is part of our pride, so improving on it is a necessity to keep up with demand. Coralplunk fish are plump sea bass that act as moving coral beds for smaller fish. Their meat is a delicacy; it is like butter with an exquisite iron taste. Not too overpowering. And they help us develop larger schools of other species. This money is used for these sorts of ideas.”

I nodded, contemplating on this fact before an idea actually appeared. “Theoretically, it could be used for other ideas, right? Money should be used to invest in ourselves, right?”

Sieg, though, didn’t look pleased by this. “Our fishing industry is the backbone of our economy, Princess Hestia. To disturb it could spell trouble for us.”

“That is where the emergency funds are for,” I pointed at the 89th page of this 200 page pile. “If something were to happen, use it. From past years’ budget usage, the emergency funds haven’t been used once, while the one for innovation was only for the new fish farm. And only a quarter of it was needed. The money has accumulated, so why not use it? Iceskale’s income hasn’t increased that much, even with the new fish farm.”

“It created stability and a more controlled environment for our fishers,” Uncle Kary defended. “Not only that, due to the addition of a farm, we’ve managed to decrease our number of unemployed. If we continually increase more opportunities for our citizens to work, it will help our growing population.”

“Does everybody want to become a fisher, though?” I tilted my head, prompting him to do the same.

“Why wouldn’t they? Fishing to feed our populace is honest work, while also decreasing the need for dragons to go on hunting rampages. It quells unrest.”

Uncle Kary didn’t mean any malice with his answer, he was pretty forthright with how much he loved his job. It was clear he viewed his duty as the number one breadwinner as a tremendous badge of honor, and seeing how he was defending this budget, it seemed he also only saw himself as the one place Frozen Nest could grow.

If that was the case, then I had to argue him out of it, first.

“Is dive fishing like dragoons the only way the dragonewts are fishing?” I asked.

“No, we also have plenty of underwater caravans. Liandsee dragonkin allows our clan members to ride on our backs as we dive deep into the depths to catch a merfiend. They would throw harpoons and nets at our targets.”

“How do you retrieve them?”

“With rope and water magic. If my children or I come along, we use ice magic to help.”

He was so frank! I could see Uncle Guyul and Sieg starting to lose their patience with my simple questions, but Uncle Kary really was the best. He was a sweetheart, through and through. He could probably be an amazing kindergarten teacher with that sorta patience.

“… Uncle Kary, has anybody ever told you that you love your job?”

“Yes,” Mom suddenly replied.

Only for Uncle Guyul to follow up. “Yes.”

Seeing this, Uncle Kary closed his eyes and nodded. He wasn’t bothered by how annoyed Mom and Uncle Guyul looked as they glared at him as if some bad memories had resurfaced.

“Then … how would it sound if we made sure others were to like it as well,” I suggested, causing Uncle to tilt his head in confusion. “As I said, not everybody will want to become a fisher in the future, seeing as not everybody is part of your clan. For example, Uncle Guyul here probably can’t understand your love for it, right?”

“Princess Hestia, I have never heard somebody speak a more honest truth before!” Uncle Kary nodded without hesitation. “Guyulthanos, Alextraxus, and Empress Melloxtressa all do not understand the true weight our fishing industry has on everything. All they wish for is to improve in other fields and to make sure our trade remains diverse, but our wealth comes from exporting fish! The other dragons cannot live without our fish!”

“You are sooo right, Uncle!”

“Mhmm, I see our little princess truly understands Frozen Nest. Ah, what a shame I haven’t been able to give you a lecture on it yet, but this meeting should suffice.” Still, even if he was a wholesome uncle, his eyes suggested he understood I had an ulterior motive. “Then … what is it you want?”

“I want to spend the innovation funds on the artificer industry.”

“… I am waiting.”

I smiled. He was getting agitated. “Uncle, as you know, not everybody in the world can enter the sea and live in the ocean. Similar to how amazing flying is, those who can’t will never be able to understand it. I know it has been over 3000 years for Mom, Uncle Guyul, and Uncle Kary since they felt the thrill of flying for the first time. How about you, Siegragxus?”

Sieg closed his eyes and lifted his head up, staying silent before grumbling a bit. “Freedom.”

“Freedom.” The dragonewts said as well.

“Freedom.” I nodded, feeling kinship with them. I then turned to Uncle Kary. “Do you think I could swim into the depths?”

“… You would need external protective measures,” he answered, looking a bit grim. “The sea around us is quite cold and it would pierce your draconic barrier after a while. Not to mention, the deeper we go, the more pressure will build up. For us Liandsee, we are half leviathan; we can survive in the depths.”

“In other words, I will never be able to see the beauty of swimming with you, Uncle. Am I right?” I said, causing Uncle to realize the horrifying truth of this.

With him looking like this, I opened my storage and pulled out the recorder. Placing it on the table, I gained everybody’s attention.

“Then, how about we help the artificers out a bit? Everybody, this is an invention made by the Revolution Queen to replicate an Earthen invention—the video recorder.” I turned the item around and began showing everybody a recording of my concerts back on Altrust. “The use of this manatech is to record visuals and sounds in real time, copying them into a memory card that allows you recall everything from that time.”

“Is that you, Princess Hestia?” Uncle Guyul asked.

“Ah, it is the one I attended in Inkoran-Tazul!” Pradreo stated, jumping in joy. Hearing him say this, everybody knew this wasn’t fake.

“You make me want that (Ring on Hand) ♫

Give my soul for (Ring on Hand) ♫

Our happiness (Ring on Hand) ♫

Reminds me of the flames of life (Flames of life) ♫

Wild emotions (Flames of Life) ♫

Roaring engines (Flames of Life) ♫

All so I can say, ‘I love you!’ (I love you) ♫

Motivates me (I love you) ♫

You’re my muse (I love you) ♫

All to share this ring on hand ♫”

I could hear myself singing “Ring on Hand” in front of a bunch of newlyweds, making me smile as everybody was so intrigued by this.

“Uncle Kary!” I shouted, gaining his attention. “Tell me, what if we’re able to create a video of the depths of the ocean? A way to show the beauty of those who can’t swim? Show me what you’re experiencing and maybe even the entirety of Miononbolax! Let them know what the fishers of Frozen Nest do to deliver the finest fish meat ever!”

With a flowery description, Uncle Kary couldn’t endure it any longer and shot up, slamming the table. “How much money do you want for that?”

It was time for the idol culture to move to the next phase—mass multimedia. If a country didn’t have the resources to create more exports, then it was time to turn to the people. Music and entertainment was what we called “soft-power!”

The power to influence others!