Ch.238238. India

India, the second port of call for the exploration ship, was a region in the Eastern Continent characterized by such distinct cultures that it was commonly referred to as the “Indian Subcontinent.”

While the Western Continent generally gives the impression of cultural unity through pantheon worship and knightly orders, the Eastern Continent—about three times larger—displays striking regional cultural differences.

These include the Wu Empire cultural sphere, the nomadic culture of the northern steppes, and the maritime civilization of the south.

Among these cultural spheres, India technically belongs to the southern maritime culture, but upon closer examination, it shows clear distinctions from the others.

Their customs and culture are so distinctly different from the outside world that recently, public opinion has been growing to classify them separately as the “Indian cultural sphere.”

The fact that India is sometimes called a subcontinent speaks to its vastness, which is difficult to express in mere words…

Perhaps the most defining characteristic of the Indian subcontinent is that its states have never unified, remaining scattered across dozens of small countries.

At first glance, it might seem similar to the Frankish Kingdom, but at least the Frankish Kingdom maintains unified diplomatic channels as a single nation.

In contrast, while the Indian continent is nominally unified under the name “Indian Empire,” in reality, each small state operates independently as its own sovereign power.

These small states are ruled by monarchs called “Rajas.” Each possesses enough territory to constitute a nation in its own right, allowing them to function based on their own unique histories and systems.

Moreover, these Indian states differ from one another in religion and race, with the latter distinction wielding particularly significant influence.

Consider how humans reject even their own kind for differences in hair color (ginger) or skin tone (people of color)—imagine what feelings they harbor toward beings of entirely different races.

As a result, these states wage war against each other as if fighting for extinction, which was precisely why the High Elf expedition was able to destroy the kingdom in India’s Silica region and establish a colony there.

From the perspective of other Indian states, the Silica kingdom was merely a foreign country, not part of their own territory. When foreign powers appeared and destroyed it, they felt no particular emotion—if anything, they found it satisfying.

In any case, within this Silica region that had become an elven colony, our port of call was none other than Ceylon Port.

True to its strangely familiar name, it was a port city deliberately built by the elves for trade purposes.

“When will the resupply be finished?”

“I asked the boatswain earlier, and he said it should be done within an hour.”

“…I see.”

Well, since we had already wasted too much time in Iztel, instead of touring this place, we simply remained on the ship, gazing at the harbor.

Ceylon Port, unmistakably built by elves, featured predominantly elven architectural styles, except for the use of local materials.

The buildings were elegant yet ancient, characterized by beautiful, gentle curves that showcased the graceful aesthetics achieved through magical construction methods.

Yet in this beautiful port… there were more locals than elves, likely due to the chronic elven problem of low birth rates and population shortage.

Indeed, in this Ceylon Port built and ruled by elves, I had barely seen three local elves. The vast majority of the population—especially the dock workers—were large elephant beastkin or predator beastkin.

These dock workers moved crates of what appeared to be trade goods under the direction of other races in higher positions, such as halflings and humans.

The sealed boxes, preserved for storage, would normally be undetectable to most, but with my exceptionally sharp senses, I could tell what they contained.

The contents of those boxes were none other than tea produced in Ceylon Port.

Elves, especially High Elves, love tea as much as any Englishman.

During meals, if no specific drink is mentioned, they naturally serve milk tea—a mixture of black tea and milk—and holding regular afternoon tea times is simply part of their daily routine.

Since tea time is considered an aristocratic culture, tea remains absolute even in elven armies, which would normally be at odds with such “elegant” customs.

Elven military supplies and emergency rations always include tea leaves, and elves naturally carry magical teapots that allow them to brew tea anytime, anywhere.

For elves, tea transcends being merely a preferred beverage or tasty drink—it has become an essential necessity.

Tea pricing policies significantly influence the number of parliamentary seats and government changes in elven society. Even Dark Elves, notorious for their cruelty, never interfere with elven tea trade ships.

This is due to the “Tea War” that occurred long ago between Dark Elves and Elves.

At that time, Dark Elves still maintained a somewhat loose relationship with Elves. However, one day, they happened to plunder an elven trade fleet.

Normally, despite having some exchanges, the two sides didn’t particularly get along well, and raiding each other was almost routine, so this incident wouldn’t have escalated into a major conflict…

Unfortunately, this fleet was transporting tea leaves to the Elven Kingdom.

The tea-loving elves had used their superior magical technology to modify tea plants, developing varieties with higher yields and better flavor. However, as a consequence, these tea plants could only be cultivated near the Silica region.

Even after considering transportation costs, it was still several times cheaper and tastier than growing tea in the Elven Kingdom. As this new variety became mainstream, 80% of the tea consumed in the Elven Kingdom was produced in Silica…

And the Dark Elves had plundered all of those tea leaves being transported.

Since supply quantities had been calculated based on expected delivery times, shortages occurred after just three weeks. Analysis suggested it would take at least three months to make up for the deficit.

In other words, elves could no longer obtain high-quality tea leaves at affordable prices.

Having lost their tea “limiter,” the elves threw aside all dignity and dispatched a delegation to the Dark Elves’ headquarters. Unfortunately, the Dark Elven leadership at the time was truly insane.

Not only did they fail to properly understand elven tea culture, but the Big Boss (Dark Elf leader) of that era, who simply didn’t want to yield to the elves, uttered these infamous words:

“If you don’t have tea, just drink coffee.” While this might make sense to Dark Elves who traditionally loved coffee, it was utterly unacceptable to elves whose mental limiters had been released due to tea deprivation.

Over hundreds of armed elven merchant vessels “voluntarily” joined the militia invading the Dark Elves, with about 15% of the elven population participating in the invasion force.

At this point, one might wonder what tea could possibly be to cause such an extreme reaction.

The war between the ferocious tea-deprived elves and the Dark Elves eventually ended when the Dark Elves, unable to withstand the damage from repeated offensives, sold out their leadership.

Dozens of Dark Elves, including the Big Boss who had uttered those infamous words, were captured and executed by being boiled in tea water as “living tea bags.” The invasion’s aftermath reduced Cape Town, once the Dark Elves’ greatest trading port, to Ash Town.

Naturally, diplomatic relations between Elves and Dark Elves cooled to the point where they now regard each other as mortal enemies.

As I was reminiscing about the elven history I had heard before, I suddenly caught a scent that made my expression harden.

The truth is… from inside those boxes came a smell that wasn’t tea leaves.

Specifically, it was a smell I had encountered several times in the Elven Kingdom.

‘This is… opium?’

Able to detect the faint smell of opium hidden among the tea leaves, I couldn’t help but think that some things never change…

“Lord Aleinos! We’re departing soon!”

“Ah, understood!”

After briefly entertaining these thoughts, I heeded the navigator’s call and returned to the ship.

…After all, one shouldn’t associate with filthy things.