Chapter 724 : Culinary Diplomacy

Chapter 0724 Culinary Diplomacy

Translator: ‍​‌‌​​‌​‌​‌‌‌‌​​‌​‌​​‌​‌​​‌‌‌​​​​​‌‌​​‌​​​‌‌​‌​​‌​‌​​‌​​‌​​‌‌​‌‌​​‌​​‌​​‌​‌‌​‌‌‌​​‌​‌‌​​‌​‌‌‌‌​‌​​‌​​‌‌‌​​‌‌‌‌​‌​​‌​​​‌‌​​‌​​​​‌​​‌​‌‌​​‌​‌‌​‌‌​‌​‌‌​‌‌​​​‌​​‌​​‌​‌‌​​​​‌​​‌‌​​​​​​‌‌​​​‌​‌‌​‌​​‌​‌‌​​​‌​​‌​​​‌‌‌​‌​‌​​​‌​​‌‌​​‌‌​‌​‌​‌​‌​‌‌​‌​‌‌​‌‌‌​​​​​‌‌‌‌​‌​​‌​‌​‌‌​​‌‌​‌​‌‌​​‌‌‌​​‌​‌​​‌‌‌​​‌‌​​​​‌​‌‌​‌‌‌​​‌‌​​​‌‌​​‌‌‌​​‌​‌​‌​​​​​‌​‌​​‌‌​‌​​‌​​‌​‌‌‌​​‌‌​‌​​‌​​‌​‌‌​‌‌‌​​‌​‌‌​‌​​‌‌​‌​​​​‌‌​​​‌​​‌​​‌​​​​‌​‌​‌‌​​‌‌​‌‌​​​‌​​‌​​‌​‌‌​‌​‌​​‌‌​‌‌‌‌​‌‌​‌​​‌​‌‌​​‌​‌​‌‌​‌​‌‌​‌​​‌​​‌​​‌‌​‌​‌​‌‌​​​‌​​‌‌​‌‌​‌​‌​‌​‌‌​​‌​‌‌​‌​​‌‌​​​​‌​​‌‌​​​‌​‌​​​‌‌​​​‌‌​‌‌​​‌​​‌‌‌​​‌‌​‌‌​‌​‌‌‌​‌​​​‌​‌​‌​​​‌‌​​‌​​​‌‌​‌‌‌​​‌​​​​‌​​‌‌‌‌​​‌​‌​‌‌​​‌​​‌‌​​​​​‌​‌​‌‌​​‌​​‌​‌‌​‌‌​​‌​‌​‌‌​‌‌‌​​‌‌​​‌‌‌​​‌‌​‌​​​‌​‌​‌‌​​‌‌‌‌​‌​​‌‌​‌​‌‌​‌‌‌​‌‌​​‌​‌‌​‌​​‌​‌​‌​​​‌​​​​‌​​‌‌‌‌​​‌​‌​‌‌​​‌​​‌‌​​‌​​‌‌‌​‌​​​‌‌​‌​​​​‌​‌​​‌​​‌‌​‌​‌​​‌​​​‌​‌​‌‌‌​​‌​​‌​​‌‌‌​​‌‌​‌‌​‌​‌‌​‌‌​​​‌​‌​​​​​‌‌​​‌​‌​‌​‌​‌​​​‌​‌‌​‌​​‌​‌​​‌​​‌​‌​‌​​​‌‌​‌‌​​​‌​​​‌‌​​‌‌‌​​‌​​‌‌​​‌​​​‌​‌​‌‌​​‌‌​​‌​​​‌​​​‌​​​‌​​‌‌​‌​‌‌​‌​‌‌​‌‌‌​‌​​​​‌‌​​‌‌​‌‌​​​‌​​​‌‌​​​​​‌‌​‌‌​​​‌‌‌​‌​​​‌​​‌‌‌​​‌‌​‌​‌‌​‌‌‌​‌​​​‌‌‌‌​‌​​‌‌​​‌​‌​‌​​​‌​‌​‌‌‌​‌​​​‌​‌​‌‌​​‌‌​​​‌​​‌​‌​​‌‌​‌‌‌​​‌‌​​‌‌​‌​​​‌​​‌‌‌​​‌​​​‌​‌​​‌‌‌​​‌​‌​​‌​​‌​‌​‌​​‌‌​‌​​​‌​‌​‌​​​‌​‌​‌‌‌‌​​‌​‌​‌​‌‌​​‌​​​‌‌‌​‌‌‌​​​​​‌‌‌​‌​​​‌​​‌‌​​​‌‌‌‌​​‌​​‌‌‌​​‌​‌​​‌​‌‌​‌​​‌​‌‌​​‌‌​​‌​​‌​​​‌​‌​‌‌‌​‌‌​​‌​‌​​‌​​‌​‌​‌‌​​‌​​​​‌​​‌‌‌​​‌​​‌​‌​‌​​​‌​​​‌​‌​​‌‌​‌​​​​‌‌​​​‌​‌‌​​‌​‌​‌‌​‌​‌‌​‌​​‌​​‌​​‌‌​‌​​​‌‌​​​‌‌​‌‌‌‌​‌​​‌​​​​‌​​‌‌‌​‌‌‌​‌‌​​​‌‌​‌​‌​‌​‌​‌​​‌‌‌​​​‌‌​‌‌​​‌​‌​‌​​​​‌‌​​​​​‌‌‌​​​​​‌‌‌​‌​​​‌​‌‌​‌​​‌​​​‌​​​‌‌​‌‌​​​‌​‌‌​‌​​‌​​‌‌‌​​‌‌​‌‌‌​​‌​‌​‌​‌​​‌‌​‌​‌​‌​​‌‌‌​​‌‌​‌‌‌​​‌​​‌​‌​​‌​‌​​‌‌​‌‌​​‌​‌​‌​​​‌‌‌​‌​​‌​‌​​‌‌​​​​‌​‌​‌​​‌‌​​‌‌​​‌‌​‌​​​​​‌​‌‌‌​‌‌​​‌‌​​​​‌​‌​‌‌​​​​‌​​‌​‌​​‌​​​‌​​​‌​‌​​​‌​​‌‌​​‌​​‌‌​​‌​​​‌‌‌‌​​​​‌​‌​‌‌​​‌​‌​‌​​​‌​​‌‌‌​​‌​‌​‌‌‌​‌​‌​​​‌​‌​‌‌​​​​‌​​‌​‌​​‌‌‌‌​​‌​‌​​‌‌‌​​‌‌‌‌​‌​​‌​‌​‌‌​​‌‌​‌​​‌​‌‌​​​‌​​‌​‌​‌​​​‌​​‌​​‌​‌‌‌​‌‌​​‌​​‌‌‌​​‌​‌​‌​‌​​‌‌​‌​‌​‌‌​‌​​‌​‌​​‌​‌‌​‌‌‌‌​‌​​‌​‌​‌​‌​​‌‌​​​​​‌‌​​​​‌​‌​​​‌‌‌​​‌‌​‌​‌​‌​​‌​‌‌​‌​‌​​‌​​‌‌​‌​‌‌​‌​‌​‌‌​​‌‌​‌‌‌‌​‌​​‌‌‌​​‌​​​‌‌​​‌​‌​‌‌​​‌‌‌​​‌​​‌​‌​​​‌​‌‌​‌​‌‌​‌​​​‌‌​​‌‌​‌‌​‌​‌​‌​‌‌​​​‌‌​​‌​​‌‌‌​​​​​‌​‌​​‌‌​‌​‌​‌‌‌​‌​‌​‌‌​​‌​​‌​‌​​​‌‌​​‌‌​‌​‌​​​​​‌​‌​‌​​​​‌‌​​​​​‌‌​‌​​‌​‌​​‌‌​​​‌​​​​‌‌​‌​​‌​‌​​‌‌‌​‌​​​‌​‌‌​​‌​‌​‌​‌‌‌​‌​​‌‌​‌​‌‌​‌​​‌​‌​​‌‌‌‌​‌‌​‌​​‌​‌​​‌​​‌​​‌‌​‌​‌​‌​‌‌​​‌​‌‌​‌‌​‌​‌​‌‌​​‌​‌‌‌‌​​‌​‌​​‌‌‌​​‌​​​‌​​​‌‌​‌​‌‌​‌‌‌‌​‌​​‌​​‌‌‌​​‌​​​‌‌‌​‌​​‌‌​‌​​‌‌​​​​​‌​‌‌​‌​​‌​​​‌‌‌​‌​​‌​‌​​‌‌​‌​‌‌​‌​​‌‌​‌​​‌‌​​‌​​‌​‌​​​‌​​‌‌​​​​​‌​‌‌​‌​​‌​​​‌‌‌​‌​​‌‌‌​​‌‌​‌​​​​‌​​‌‌‌​​‌‌‌‌​‌​​‌‌​​‌​​​‌‌​‌‌​‌​‌​‌‌​‌​​‌​​​‌​​​‌​‌​‌​‌​‌‌‌​‌‌‌​‌​‌‌​​‌​‌‌​‌​‌​​‌‌​‌​‌‌​​‌‌​‌​‌​‌​‌‌​‌​​‌‌​‌‌​‌​‌​​​‌​‌​‌‌‌​‌‌‌​‌​​‌‌​‌​‌​​​‌‌‌​‌​​‌​‌​​‌‌​‌​‌‌​‌​‌‌​​‌​‌​‌​‌‌‌​‌​‌​​‌​​‌‌​‌​​‌​‌​​‌‌‌​​‌​‌​‌​​​‌‌​​‌‌‌​​‌‌​​‌‌​‌​‌‌​​‌​​‌‌​​‌​​‌​‌‌​​‌​‌‌‌‌​​​​‌​​‌‌‌‌​‌​​​‌​​​‌​​​​​‌​​‌‌​​‌​​‌​‌‌​‌​​‌‌​‌​‌​​‌​​​‌‌​​‌‌​‌​‌‌​‌​​‌‌‌​​‌‌​‌​‌​​‌​‌​​​‌​​‌‌​‌​‌​‌​​‌‌‌​​​‌‌​​‌​​‌​‌​‌‌​​‌‌​‌‌​‌​‌​‌‌​​‌​‌‌​‌‌​‌​‌​​‌​​‌​‌‌‌‌​​​​‌​​‌‌​‌​‌‌‌‌​‌​​‌​​​‌​‌​​‌‌​‌​​​‌​‌‌​​‌​‌​‌​‌​​​‌​‌‌​​‌​​‌‌​‌​‌​‌​​‌​​‌​‌‌​‌​​‌​‌‌‌​‌‌‌​‌‌​‌​​‌​‌‌​​‌​​​‌​​​‌‌‌​‌​​​‌‌​​‌‌​‌‌‌​​‌​​‌​​‌​‌‌​‌​‌​​‌‌​‌‌‌‌​‌‌​‌​​‌​‌​​‌​​‌​‌‌​‌‌‌​​​‌‌​​​​​​‌‌‌‌​‌‍Jay_Forestieri

Editor: ‍​‌​​‌‌​​​‌‌​‌‌‌‌​‌‌‌​‌​​​​‌​​​​​​‌‌​​‌​​​​‌‌​​​​​​‌‌​​​‌​‌‌​​‌‌​​​‌‌​‌‌‌​‌‌​​​​‌​​‌‌​‌​​​‌‌​​‌​‌​​‌‌​‌​‌​​‌‌​‌​​​​‌​​​​​​‌‌‌​‌‌‌​‌‌​​​​‌​‌‌‌​​‌‌​​‌​​​​​​‌‌‌​‌​​​‌‌​‌​​​​‌‌​​‌​‌​​‌​​​​​​‌‌​‌‌​​​‌‌​​​​‌​‌‌‌​​‌‌​‌‌‌​‌​​​​‌​​​​​​‌‌​‌‌‌‌​‌‌​‌‌‌​​‌‌​​‌​‌​​‌​​​​​​‌‌​​​​‌​‌‌‌​‌‌​​‌‌​​​​‌​‌‌​‌​​‌​‌‌​‌‌​​​‌‌​​​​‌​‌‌​​​‌​​‌‌​‌‌​​​‌‌​​‌​‌​​‌​‌‌‌​‍Tseirp

After ‍​‌​​‌‌​​​‌‌​‌‌‌‌​‌‌‌​‌​​​​‌​​​​​​‌‌​​‌​​​​‌‌​​​​​​‌‌​​​‌​‌‌​​‌‌​​​‌‌​‌‌‌​‌‌​​​​‌​​‌‌​‌​​​‌‌​​‌​‌​​‌‌​‌​‌​​‌‌​‌​​​​‌​​​​​​‌‌‌​‌‌‌​‌‌​​​​‌​‌‌‌​​‌‌​​‌​​​​​​‌‌‌​‌​​​‌‌​‌​​​​‌‌​​‌​‌​​‌​​​​​​‌‌​‌‌​​​‌‌​​​​‌​‌‌‌​​‌‌​‌‌‌​‌​​​​‌​​​​​​‌‌​‌‌‌‌​‌‌​‌‌‌​​‌‌​​‌​‌​​‌​​​​​​‌‌​​​​‌​‌‌‌​‌‌​​‌‌​​​​‌​‌‌​‌​​‌​‌‌​‌‌​​​‌‌​​​​‌​‌‌​​​‌​​‌‌​‌‌​​​‌‌​​‌​‌​​‌​‌‌‌​‍spending the night in Pishkan Country, the Skidbladnir departed.

On ‍​‌​​‌‌​​​‌‌​‌‌‌‌​‌‌‌​‌​​​​‌​​​​​​‌‌​​‌​​​​‌‌​​​​​​‌‌​​​‌​‌‌​​‌‌​​​‌‌​‌‌‌​‌‌​​​​‌​​‌‌​‌​​​‌‌​​‌​‌​​‌‌​‌​‌​​‌‌​‌​​​​‌​​​​​​‌‌‌​‌‌‌​‌‌​​​​‌​‌‌‌​​‌‌​​‌​​​​​​‌‌‌​‌​​​‌‌​‌​​​​‌‌​​‌​‌​​‌​​​​​​‌‌​‌‌​​​‌‌​​​​‌​‌‌‌​​‌‌​‌‌‌​‌​​​​‌​​​​​​‌‌​‌‌‌‌​‌‌​‌‌‌​​‌‌​​‌​‌​​‌​​​​​​‌‌​​​​‌​‌‌‌​‌‌​​‌‌​​​​‌​‌‌​‌​​‌​‌‌​‌‌​​​‌‌​​​​‌​‌‌​​​‌​​‌‌​‌‌​​​‌‌​​‌​‌​​‌​‌‌‌​‍its deck, the water-attribute magician was showering praise.

“As expected of Abel, even I was surprised by the ‘Karaage Shower’ trick!”

“Trick? Karaage shower?”

Ryo was offering praise, but Abel, who was being praised, had no idea what he was talking about.

“The move from yesterday, when you made the freak eat a huge amount of karaage. I never imagined you would overwhelm him with a tactic like that.”

“Y-yeah...”

“It’s true that the freak is massively built, so he’d probably be the type to eat a lot of meat. In fact, he ate it very deliciously. Of course, that was only possible thanks to Chef Kobatchi’s wonderful cooking skill, though.”

Ryo praised him, nodding again and again.

He seemed truly impressed from the bottom of his heart.

“You’ve been saying ‘freak’ this whole time, are you talking about Mozzare-dono, right?”

“Yes, exactly. I heard he has the nickname ‘Freak,’ so I decided to call him that.”

“I see.”

Abel had not known that Mozzare had the nickname ‘Freak’.

He was curious how, and when, Ryo had found that out, though...

“Did you know there was a way like that, Abel? Did you learn it long ago?”

“A way like what?”

“Culinary diplomacy!”

“Culinary... diplomacy?”

Ryo answered, and Abel tilted his head.

Abel had never thought of using cooking as diplomacy.

In that case, this reaction was only natural.

“Using cooking for diplomacy?”

“Yes. Your reaction means you came up with that strange tactic without knowing about it, right? What incredible genius...”

Ryo was shocked.

Abel was still tilting his head.

But he was interested in Ryo’s words.

“So there’s a method like that, using cooking for diplomacy?”

“It was diplomacy carried out at the embassy of my hometown.”

“At an embassy? You mean... the kind of embassy I know? The one set up in the capitals of various countries?”

Abel tilted his head even more.

“Yes, that one. There are embassies from all kinds of countries in the royal capital too, right? Or the Knightley Kingdom also has embassies in foreign capitals, right?”

“Yeah, it does.”

“Most embassies have a chef, don’t they? And not just that, they’re surely all incredibly skilled cooks.”

“Now that you mention it, that’s true...”

Abel nodded as he recalled his memories.

Back when he was the second prince, he had visited several countries in the Central Countries as an envoy.

His lodging at the time was the kingdom’s local embassy.

Now that it was mentioned, he did have the impression that the food at every embassy was delicious.

“They serve food to ambassadors from other countries and to local ministers and the like. Naturally, skilled people are dispatched for the job.”

“Dispatched? You mean they aren’t hired locally?”

“In my hometown, they were cooks dispatched from the sending country. That is the key to culinary diplomacy!”

To be honest, Abel had never really paid attention to who exactly had been cooking at the local embassies.

Even now... of course, he knew there were detailed records about the servants, including the cooks, at the kingdom’s embassies in the Empire and the Union.

He also knew the cooks had been people from the kingdom.

But as for the kingdom’s embassies in other countries... well, what had they been like?

“At the local site, you serve our country’s food and have people eat it... and depending on the situation, you can even arrange it in a way that resembles local cuisine to create an atmosphere of goodwill.”

“I see, culinary diplomacy...”

Now Abel could see what Ryo meant.

A country’s claims and displays of goodwill, enacted on the tabletop.

The food served there was already part of diplomacy.

Naturally, the menu must reflect the ambassador’s intentions.

“So feeding that ‘Freak’ karaage was also part of diplomacy, then. I did think it was a diplomatic setting, but... honestly, I wasn’t conscious of the food itself.”

“That is what makes Abel so terrifying.”

Ryo nodded.

Yes, Ryo knew.

That Abel was a natural.

At the same time, that he was also, in a certain sense, a genius.

He understood things by instinct.

What should be done, right there and then.

What would be most effective.

And he could act on it, or give orders, without hesitation...

“Something I always think is that Abel is unfair.”

“Why am I suddenly being subjected to such unreasonable criticism?”

“Everyone studies, gains experience, and thinks hard to come up with the right answer... but Abel just kind of wings it and still arrives at the answer!”

“So I’m not unfair, I’m pitiable, then.”

Abel shrugged off Ryo’s condemnation.

“Eventually, someone may become jealous of Abel’s genius and scheme to do something awful to you.”

“A scheme?”

“Yes. Among human emotions, jealousy is the most troublesome and the most ugly.”

“Hm.”

“Compared to jealousy, anger is much better.”

“Is it?”

“Anger can turn into frustration and, in some cases, spur your own growth. ‘Damn it! I’ll show them!’ and all that. But jealousy doesn’t do that. It only brings people down. People trapped by jealousy look ugly from the outside, but for the people around them, they are nothing but harmful. Please be careful.”

“R-right, I’ll be careful.”

Even while the Premier Duke was praising and speaking bluntly to His Majesty the King, the Skidbladnir continued running over the sea.

If everything went according to plan, it would arrive in Banban Kingdom by evening.

As usual, Abel was on deck, seated in an ice chair and reading documents at an ice table.

After finishing his praise, Ryo peered at the documents.

“Information about Banban Kingdom?”

“Yeah. It’s information that was gathered when this Skidbladnir called at port while coming from the Western Countries.”

“I see. ...The population is pretty large, isn’t it?”

“It says around three hundred thousand. The population of Pishkan Country this morning was said to be one hundred thousand, so that’s about triple. There’s quite a difference.”

Abel nodded at Ryo’s observation.

A population three times larger was a considerable gap.

Pishkan Country and Banban Kingdom were both island nations, maritime states.

They had apparently been competing fiercely for a very long time.

But when only two countries exist, far away from other nations, and there is such a huge difference in population... usually, the country with the smaller population ends up in a state close to being a vassal of the larger one.

In the worst case, it is annexed.

That is a scene often seen in history.

However, these two countries were rivals...

“Pishkan Country must have worked really hard.”

“Or Banban Kingdom may be in a state where it cannot fully exert its national power.”

Ryo and Abel exchanged possible explanations.

“Do you mean something like it’s divided, or different regions are fighting each other?”

“Exactly. Compared with Pishkan Country, its population is three times larger, but its land area is also about three times larger. There are apparently three islands about the same size as Pishkan Country, and national politics are centered around them.”

“...The investigative ability of the people on this Skidbladnir is amazing. To think they could gather even information like that just from a brief port call.”

“Yeah, right? Maybe they’ve been trained up that way in their homeland?”

Abel also agreed with Ryo’s point.

The crew of the Skidbladnir were citizens of the Goslon Duchy in the Western Countries.

The ship was registered under the Knightley Kingdom, but the home port was Goslon Port, and both maintenance and crew registration were also under citizens of the Goslon Duchy.

The Goslon Duchy had never gone to war with its neighbor, the Mafalda Republic, and had produced many popes throughout history. For that reason, it maintained friendly relations with both the Theocracy and the Republic.

What is more, it seemed that many duchy citizens had learned seafaring in the Mafalda Republic, the leading maritime nation in the Western Countries, and as a result, the duchy had produced many excellent crew members.

For that reason, the Franzoni Shipping Company, which had built the Skidbladnir, had also introduced Goslon citizens to them.

And yet they possessed such excellent information-gathering ability as well...

“There’s a chance Abel’s information will be stripped bare and leaked to the Western Countries!”

“My information? What is that supposed to mean?”

“The information that Abel is a battle-crazed, brutal, scheming king, and a terrifying person with ambitions to conquer the world.”

“Wow, not a single thing in that is right.”

“In that case, let’s spread this information. If we spread false information, we can confuse the other side!”

“...That’s likely to embarrass the kingdom’s people, so I’m rejecting it.”

Abel rejected Ryo’s suggestion with a sigh.

Yes, having information taken away was unpleasant, but being misunderstood by false information was unpleasant too.

No, more than that...

“The crew of this ship are not enemies.”

“Of course. It is one flesh and blood, and more like traveling together in the same boat—rather, they’re allies.”

“I do not know all those words, but yes, they are allies and companions. Very capable ones too.”

“Exactly. As crew members who move the ship, I trust them completely. It’s just that they might extract information...”

“Even if they do, it’s fine.”

“Huh? Really?”

“Just make Goslon Duchy an ally.”

“I-I see...”

Indeed, the only problem was if information went to an ‘enemy’.

There was no problem if it went to an ally.

Rather, it could even become a stronger force for keeping them in their own camp.

It could make them think, ‘If we make a powerful presence like this our enemy, it will be a huge problem. Let’s stay on their side’. Something like that.

Not a makeshift solution, but bringing the other country over wholesale.

A strategic solution in the largest sense.

“As expected of Abel... that’s a solution on a grand scale.”

“Is it?”

Ryo nodded in sincere admiration, and Abel looked a little embarrassed.

“Having more allies than enemies... from a big-picture perspective, that’s wonderful too.”

“The fewer enemies we make, the better.”

While Ryo and Abel were having that conversation, the Skidbladnir sighted Banban Kingdom.

Three o’clock in the afternoon.

It would call at Ichiban Port on Ichiban Island.

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