Badlands Saga: Reincarnation in a Different World with Extreme Charisma - Chapter 27

Chapter 27   Funky Dealer 1

In the warm spring sunshine, a dry breeze swept across the wasteland.

On this land, filled with rocks, debris, and clumps of dirt, countless people were struggling to cultivate it into farmland…

Meanwhile, I had been summoned by my new wife, Harriett, to a negotiation building at the port, where I now faced three unfamiliar men.

Harriett sat calmly beside me, sipping tea, while the men remained motionless, kneeling on one knee in the style of the Makiano custom.

My attendant, Isara, stood with her hand on the hilt of her sword, quietly observing the men.

“…So, who are they?”

I asked Harriett, who set her silver cup down on the table and tilted her head.

“They’re merchants. Didn’t you say you needed money, Fushanklan?”

“Well, yeah, I do.”

There were currently two major problems in this wasteland.

The first was the sudden influx of people.

The land had originally been just barely surviving through small-scale farming and modest fishing, but now a large number of people had arrived.

Even while we waited for crops to grow from the newly cultivated fields, we still needed to feed these people, which required money to buy food.

And the second problem…

“You also mentioned something about needing to pay taxes to the Kingdom of Folk over the mountain, right?”

“Yeah, by autumn.”

The Folk Kingdom, which governed this region through the Tanukan border margrave, had stopped providing subsidies after the war with Makiano. Instead, they were now demanding taxes, due by autumn.

Frankly, with these two problems, no matter how much money we had, it wouldn’t be enough. The Tanukan territory’s finances weren’t just strained—they were in ashes.

I planned to start making financial arrangements as soon as Medubal returned from negotiating the trade routes for the mystical army in Makiano, but…

At this point, I hadn’t been able to address anything yet.

“Then, just have these men provide the money.”

“Provide the money…?”

In other words, she was suggesting that we sell them something to raise money…

But we had just returned from Makiano, and our stock of potions and other goods was completely depleted.

I felt sorry, but it seemed we would have to send these merchants back empty-handed…

“…Merchants, I regret to inform you that we currently have no goods available for trade. I apologize for having brought you here for nothing…”

As I was about to apologize, Harriett, who had risen from her chair, patted me on the shoulder.

“…What is it?”

“The southern Folk way is too indirect.”

With that, she stepped forward, standing before the merchants. In response, they lowered their heads even more deeply while still kneeling.

“We need some money. You’ll invest in my husband.”

Though we were nobility and they were mere merchants, her words were absurdly overbearing.

However, what came next was entirely unexpected.

“For the sake of the princess’s husband, we’ll provide as much as needed.”

“We are most grateful.”

“Please, not just money—whatever else you may need, just let us know.”

To my astonishment, instead of objecting, the merchants wholeheartedly agreed with her words.

No, no—this can’t be right.

“Harriett, it’s not right to make unreasonable demands. They have their own lives to think about too.”

“Unreasonable? They’ll easily make back what they invest.”

“Indeed, we will.”

The man who raised his head in response to Harriett’s words was a merchant with a straight scar across his nose.

“Lord Fushanklan, it is a pleasure to meet you. I am but a humble merchant, and my name is Dalashi. I’ve heard much about you…”

“I am Fushanklan, third son of the Tanukan Border Margrave, and ruler of this land.”

“To be direct, all of us here are on very good terms with the families of the settlers in this area… It is not an unreasonable request at all. In fact, we see this as an opportunity to repay a favor.”

He looked as if he might start rubbing his hands together any moment, showing no sign of being troubled by the situation.

“This man is part of our branch family.”

“Branch family?”

“Yes. That one over there is Urok’s uncle, and the one at the end is the grandnephew of the fortune-teller granny, Logos. If they don’t secure a stake in the interests here, they’d be in trouble. So, don’t worry about it.”

I wasn’t sure what was going on, but it seemed the people from Makiano had a lot of relatives around here…

“So… we can rely on them?”

“Absolutely.”

“Of course, of course.”

Still, they must have responsibilities within their trading companies. If possible, I wanted to give them something in return as a token of gratitude.

“Are there any conditions? If it’s within my power, I’ll hear them out.”

Upon hearing this, Dalashi smiled broadly, showing his teeth, and with his right hand formed into a fist, he raised a single finger and said, “Well then…”

“If you’re willing to do that, I would like permission to build a trading post in town…”

“I can’t provide any funding for construction, is that alright?”

“Not a problem at all, we only need your permission.”

Frankly speaking, our castle town is nothing more than a desolate ruin. I don’t know if building a trading post there would be of any use, but then again, if they don’t build something, there’s nowhere to stay anyway.

“And, if possible, we’d like to build a warehouse at the port…”

He continued, raising another finger, but that falls under my brother’s jurisdiction.

“You’ll have to negotiate with my brother Koutasma for that. I’ll connect you later.”

“Much obliged.”

Then he raised yet another finger and said:

“And, I’ve heard that Lord Fushanklan possesses a divine medicine that can cure all ailments. If it’s possible, could we perhaps be involved in that trade…?”

“I don’t have anything like that.”

“Oh? You don’t? But in Tsutomuporita, you were rumored to be a divine healer, Fushanklan.”

Harriett said this in a slightly bored tone, but if I had something like that, I wouldn’t be living in such poverty.

“I don’t have any divine medicine, but I can make simple remedies or potions. When Medubal of the Mystic Army returns, you can talk to him.”

“That would be most helpful.”

“Anything else?”

“Well, this is unrelated to business, but…”

“It’s fine, go ahead.”

When I said that, Dalashi seemed uncomfortable… or rather embarrassed. He stood up straight, scratching his cheek and looking down slightly.

“Actually! It’s quite embarrassing, but… we would like to humbly request a baptism from none other than the renowned Fushanklan, the modern-day Lao kan!”

“Baptism?”

“In Makiano, when a child is born, they receive a baptism at the church.”

“But you’re adults, aren’t you?”

I pointed at Dalashi, tilting my head in confusion. He blushed even more and spread his arms.

“That’s why I said it’s embarrassing!”

“Baptism is something performed by someone closely connected to the child. These three want to redo their baptism, hoping to form a strong bond with you.”

Wait… does that mean he’s saying he wants a close connection with me? Getting closely tied to an older man with a beard… that’s a little unsettling…

“I beg you with my life on the line!”

“A baptism by Lao kan is every man’s dream!”

“We know it’s a difficult request, but please, have mercy!”

Sensing my hesitation, the other men who were kneeling with Dalashi stood up and began pleading as well. They inched closer and closer, causing me to step back.

However… just then, a pale green glowing sword appeared in front of me, separating me from the men. It was the Emerald Sword, also known as the Sword Chiyonovagna in Makiano, wielded by Isara.

“The Sword Chiyonovagna!”

“It’s real!”

“I’m so glad we came!”

Even with the sword pointed at them, the men weren’t scared at all; they were overjoyed. Well, Makiano people do have a serious obsession with Chiyonovagna…

“What are these guys making such a fuss about?” Isara asked, looking at the men, who were joyfully reacting to the sword like children, with clear discomfort.

“They’re probably just reliving their childhood,” I replied.

Positioning herself like a protective wall in front of me, Isara kept her eyes on the men, who were acting more like kids despite the sword pointed at them.

“What’s going on here?” she asked.

“They want me to give them a baptism,” I explained.

“Oh, I see. You know, a lot of the ancestors of the people who became major chiefs in Makiano were baptized by Lao kan using the Azure Blade Chiyonovagna,” Urok chimed in, standing next to Harriett, watching the merchants with a curious look on her face.

So, it’s kind of about status and authority then, huh? That makes more sense.

“There’s no obligation to do favors for someone after baptizing them, right?” I asked, just to be sure.

“No, no. Usually, it’s more like they’d come to visit you during the changing of seasons, bringing gifts and checking in, like, ‘How’s Uncle doing?'” Harriett reassured me.

Well, I’m not Lao kan, and this sword probably isn’t the real Azure Blade Chiyonovagna, but if it doesn’t seem like there’s a downside to doing it, I guess it’s fine. Besides, it doesn’t look like they’ll be satisfied unless I go through with it.

“Alright, alright… So, how exactly does this baptism work?” I asked.

“Oh! Oh! You’ll give us the baptism?” one of the men exclaimed.

“We’re truly grateful!”

“It’s an honor!” they cried, as they eagerly threw off their jackets, revealing their hairy upper bodies.

“We will kneel, and we humbly ask you to strike our backs with the flat of your sword,” one of them explained.

The three men knelt down, showing their backs, and Harriett stepped beside them, speaking solemnly to initiate the ritual.

“This is Harriett of Tsutomuporita, and I will bear witness to this baptism ceremony… ‘Grow up healthy.'”

“Huh?”

I didn’t ask because I didn’t hear her clearly. I asked because I couldn’t believe the words that had just reached my ears.

“‘Grow up healthy.’ Oh, right. Lao kan started using this phrase. It’s actually a sacred verse from the church,” Harriett explained.

“Grow up healthy.”

The words carried a familiar ring to them, words that surely I had been told by my own parents. And, if I had ever become a parent, they would have been words I’d have said myself. Words I never thought I’d hear again—words from my homeland…

Hearing them so suddenly, I was caught off guard. They were words from my previous life.

“Could you… Could you say that again?”

“‘Grow up healthy,’… Wait, are you crying?”

“Fusha-sama? Is something the matter?” Isara asked, concerned.

Lao kan… Were you from the same place as me?

Overcome by a wave of nostalgia that hit me like a punch, I couldn’t stop the tears from flowing. The familiar sound of those words awakened a deep sense of homesickness, a feeling of relief that I wasn’t alone in this, mixed with the heartache of knowing I could never return. My chest swelled with all these emotions at once.

“Please… just give me a moment…”

As I held up my hand to reassure everyone who looked at me with concern, I tried to hold back the sobs that threatened to escape.

This was something no one would understand, even if I explained it. It would only cause unnecessary worry. Though I knew that in my head, the tears wouldn’t stop…

So I let them flow, continuing to speak in a trembling voice.

“… ‘Grow up healthy,’ huh.”

Lao kan, your children have grown strong and healthy.

So if I were to continue baptizing them, I know exactly what I would say next.

“Be happy.”

With those words, I took the Emerald Sword from Isara and tapped the back of the merchant in front of me.

“What did you just say?” Harriett asked from beside me.

But I knew it wouldn’t make sense even if I told her. And even if it did, I realized it was such a simple, ordinary phrase that it felt a little embarrassing.

So, I dodged her question with a playful, “It’s a secret,” and looked up to the sky, closing my tear-filled eyes gently.

◆◆◆

O Jia Versecra

In the distant wasteland, Fushanklan
At the foot of the mountain, Fushanklan
For the baptism of the great infant
He swings his sword over the river of tears
The words of lullabies Lao kan left behind
He adds to them and swings his sword

O Jia Versecra
O Jia Versecra

Author unknown – A nursery rhyme