Ch.228228. Trade (1)

# Bethes.

Once the city with the third largest port in the Roman Empire, Bethes has now become the Empire’s largest port city after undergoing complete reconstruction following the establishment of the Dawn Empire.

Originally, Bethes served not only as a trading port but also as the center of the Roman Empire’s fishing industry, with enormous sardine schools nearby that would turn the sea white during spawning season.

But that’s already a story from several hundred years ago.

Within a few years of the Dawn Empire’s founding, the sardine schools disappeared somewhere, and the other premium fish species that fed on them also vanished from the waters of Bethes.

In an instant, the city’s main industry evaporated, putting Bethes at risk of decline.

Around that time, the city’s mayor, a seal beastkin, made a bold move.

At the time, the Dawn Empire was internationally regarded as an evil empire ruled by evil gods, resulting in the worst diplomatic reputation and disastrous maritime trade.

But with the mindset of trying something before their inevitable downfall, they renovated the port, investing an enormous budget to completely transform the former fishing village into a magnificent trading port—

In the end, the seal beastkin mayor’s attempt returned as a tremendous success.

At that time, the Dawn Empire was reaching out to various powers to normalize diplomatic relations, and they happened to make contact with the Dark Elves living on the Southern Continent.

These dark-skinned elves, who could be considered a subspecies of elves, are divided into several factions. The Dark Elves who encountered the Dawn Empire were a minority faction focused on trade.

Unlike High Elves who primarily trade but occasionally engage in piracy, Dark Elves typically focus on plundering and then trading with what they’ve acquired.

However, a faction dissatisfied with the excessive violence of their kin broke away, seeking their own trading partners, and eventually encountered the Dawn Empire.

Both powers, shunned due to their evil deity patrons, formed friendly relations and implemented mutually beneficial trade arrangements.

As a result, Bethes became the most important port city for trade with the Dark Elves, and as diplomatic relations normalized over time, it flourished widely as a trading port.

In fact, given that Bethes itself is the terminus of ocean currents from the Southern and Eastern Continents heading toward the Western Continent, it would be strange if it hadn’t prospered with such a perfect location.

Until now, it had remained a fishing town due to reduced trade demand in the face of the sardine fishing grounds, and because it was territory of the Roman Empire, a human supremacist nation.

Once they properly opened the port and declared it an international trading port, Bethes became the gathering place for the most diverse goods imported and exported by the Dawn Empire.

Spices and saltpeter from India, ivory and various gems from the Southern Continent, porcelain and silk from the Jin Empire, and all kinds of rare animals and crops from around the world.

Export goods from the Southern and Eastern Continents bound for the Western Continent gather here, and conversely, export products from the Dawn Empire, the most trade-focused nation in the Western Continent, also converge here.

The Dawn Empire exports various products directly through magically enhanced cargo ships, and surprisingly, the most popular commodities aren’t magical tools but meat products.

While the inexpensive magical tools mass-produced in the Empire are certainly popular, they can’t compare to the incredibly cheap meat sold by the Empire.

In particular, the Empire can literally grow meat from the ground like crops, and thanks to this, extremely affordable meat is frozen by magical devices and sold everywhere.

Even after adding shipping and delivery costs, it’s still at least 50% cheaper than local meat anywhere, making the Empire arguably the biggest player in the meat trade worldwide.

With an enormous volume of goods moving through daily and additional merchant guilds emerging as a result, Bethes has prospered to a scale unimaginable for its former identity as a fishing village.

※ ※ ※

On a late summer day.

At a dock in the port city of Bethes.

Strong laborers of various races were carrying trade goods, neatly loading them into the cargo hold of a Dawn Empire standard-specification merchant vessel.

These merchant ships, mass-produced and supplied by the Empire’s national shipyards, were a step below the Empire’s warships but still perfectly adequate for civilian use.

At just under 2,000 tons, they rivaled the flagships of other nations’ fleets, and their reinforced durability with metal frames was another distinguishing feature.

But if there was something that truly differentiated the Dawn Empire’s vessels from others, it would be their active incorporation of magic and technology.

The standard merchant vessel was fundamentally a sailing ship, but it was equipped with a steam engine as an auxiliary power source.

Of course, being designed for long-distance voyages, it used mages’ magical power rather than coal, with magical devices for navigation assistance placed throughout the vessel.

Magical lights and seawater desalination devices were standard equipment, and those with more money could add wind direction controllers or magical barrier generators.

The cargo hold in the lower hull was enhanced with space expansion and weight reduction magic, with additional preservation or freezing magic applied as needed.

Capable of carrying substantial cargo over long distances, this premium merchant vessel had someone contentedly watching the loading process from the crow’s nest at the top of the mast.

A harsh-faced man wearing a red wyvern wing membrane coat popular among wealthy captains, with a peculiar hat pulled down low and adorned with a few feathers.

His name was Zodnak Vales.

After graduating from the Empire’s Magic University’s Navigation Department, he had earned money through numerous voyages and now focused on trade along specific routes with his own ship.

“Captain! All cargo loaded!”

“Understood!”

As Zodnak was admiring his ship preparing for voyage, his navigator and most trusted confidant informed him that preparations for departure were complete.

“《Fly》.”

Using flight magic to descend to the deck, Zodnak moved to the wheelhouse at the stern and gripped the magical wheel with both hands.

[Setting sail! Everyone to your positions!]

“””””””To positions!”””””””

With his departure announcement amplified through one of the wheel’s many functions, Zodnak’s trading vessel—the Glory of Red Scale—set sail from Bethes.

And exactly 7 days after the start of the voyage.

“Captain! Pirates spotted 6 kilometers to the southeast! Three ships in total! Not very large!”

They encountered pirates, a natural occurrence when sailing these waters.

“Understood! Everyone—battle stations!”

“”””””Battle stations!””””””

The moment the captain’s order was given, the crew, seasoned by years of voyaging experience, immediately sprang into action.

Some went below deck to load the cannons mounted on the ship’s sides, while others grabbed pistols, powder weapons, or magical muskets and watched the approaching vessels from the deck.

“Goblins, goblin pirates!”

“Well, goblin pirates it is! Listen up, you lot—if you get hurt by goblins, you’re pathetic!”

“””””””””Hahahahahahaha!!!”””””””””

After identifying the enemies as goblin pirate ships, the crew began cracking jokes to ease the tension before battle. Meanwhile, the gunners below deck sent a direct message to Captain Zodnak.

“Loading complete! Ready to fire at any time!”

“Good, aim! The gunnery officer will designate targets!”

“Yes, sir!”

As a tense atmosphere spread throughout the ship, the gunners below deck precisely adjusted the cannons mounted on the hull.

Perhaps due to advanced telescope technology and various magical instruments installed, they quickly completed their targeting according to the gunnery officer’s instructions.

“Targeting complete.”

“Good, fire!!”

The moment Captain Zodnak gave the order after hearing from the gunnery officer, the magical cannons mounted on the ship’s sides unleashed shells packed with gunpowder.

KWAAAAAANG———!!!

With a thunderous roar, the shells flew to their distant targets and struck the goblin ships directly. As explosions erupted, everyone on deck began cheering at the sight of the pirate ships beginning to sink.

“Yes!!”

“That’s it!”

“Ohhh… Blood Wolf! This we offer to you!”

Having eliminated the goblins—who would have been extremely troublesome in close-quarters ship combat—in a single strike, the crew continued their sincere voyage as the “Glory of Red Scale” steadily advanced toward its destination, the Republic of Kore.