Hellmode ~A Hardcore Gamer Becomes Peerless in Another World with Retro Game Settings~

Chapter 396: Tribute (2)

Allen had brought a Water Purifying Device as tribute to Patlanta, which could purify an area ten times bigger than the city, and run for 300 years.

"Why is this here now though…"

Tynome was still in shock, looking at Allen trying to understand just what he was looking at.

His attitude was quite different to his curt personality from earlier.

(Hmm, it seems he won't just go report it right away. I guess he is the top officer of the port after all.)

Rather than finding someone to ask for indications, Tynome was trying to understand everything himself.

Allen had been waiting to talk with someone in a position of authority like Tynome.

His plan was proceeding smoothly.

"As I mentioned before, this is a friendly gift from Baukis for our emperor. Let me explain."

Allen had brought a magic device with incredible properties.

Once it was carried to the palace, Tynome would likely be questioned about it by someone in a higher position of power.

He wanted to know all the details to not get in trouble once that happened.

Everything started when Pagan Worshippers, people turned into terrifying monsters, began attacking Clebeur.

That caused a lot of damage to the country, managing to cause trouble for Prostia even.

"How is that connected to this magic device?"

"Just bear with me for a moment. Due to the extreme losses suffered, all countries banded together to offer aid."

"All countries?"

Peromus, Formar, and Iwanam listened to Allen and Tynome talk.

According to Allen, the Confederation that was on the same continent as Clebeur had joined forces to support them during such trying events.

"They even appointed Clebeur's king as the Confederation's representative this year. Then three months ago, Clebeur was able to take part in the Five Continents' Alliance meeting."

"Oh?"

(So far this is all true.)

If Allen only told lies, he would eventually get found out.

Being able to mix truth with lies was the best way to influence people.

That was all true, Clebeur had been elected as representative of the Confederation as a sign of sympathy from the other countries.

They took part in the Alliance's meeting thanks to that, Clebeur's king appearing in front of the entire world.

Appearing in such an important meeting was a great way to raise awareness for their deplorable situation, gaining some support from other countries.

That included gifts to rebuild the country as well.

The report Allen had brought also reported on the various gifts and items of support Clebeur had received, detailing it for Prostia.

The Holy Land and Carvaluna had also suffered similar losses, but there was a reason why Clebeur had been chosen instead of them.

The Holy Land was the house of Elmea's Church, so they would receive support even if they did not ask for it.

Meanwhile Carvaluna did not have much international appeal, unlike Clebeur that was tied to Prostia.

The support Clebeur received did not come from purely humane and charitable hearts.

It was also a favor of sorts, which other countries would want repaid if they were ever in trouble.

Carvaluna had very little to offer when repaying such a favor, so they were not chosen.

So in the end, Clebeur was chosen as representative.

Clebeur also decided to share some of the supplies they received with the Holy Land and Carvaluna.

That sharing was also detailed in the report.

While Clebeur was a vassal country of Prostia, it was also part of the Confederation on the continent, so every deal made on the surface had to be reported to Prostia as well.

The report corroborated many of Allen's claims, lending validity to the parts which were not so true.

"And this magic device was also part of that support package then?"

(Well, good thing mermen have a skewed sense of value because of their lifestyle.)

Tynome was still a bit doubtful about that.

"See, the Talent Change Dungeon has opened to the public on the surface, and that has brought a lot of activity to Baukis' S Rank Dungeon."

Allen's story was slowly deviating from the truth.

"There's activity in the S Rank Dungeon now?"

Tynome was the immigration bureau director in Prostia, but he did not know much detailed information about what happened in the surface.

"Just a bit before the Five Continents' Alliance's meeting happened, this enormous Water Purifying Device was found in the S Rank Dungeon. That was while I mediated deals between Baukis and Clebeur."

Allen claimed that that enormous magic device had been found in the dungeon.

He also mentioned he was handling foreign deals with Baukis for Clebeur's king at the time.

During the Alliance's meeting, Baukis' emperor asked Clebeur what they needed.

"Oh, so the emperor himself offered help?"

"Yes, I had become rather familiar with emperor Pupun III Baukis due to my line of work. That was also how I was offered this magic device for Prostia."

Allen then claimed he had gone into a lengthy conversation with Baukis' emperor.

Prostia was starting to lose trust in Clebeur, due to the whole incident with the Evil Cult.

Things eventually went to the topic of offering the large magic device that had just been found to the mermen, as a sign of friendship.

If Clebeur offered that device to Prostia, maybe their broken relationship could still be mended.

At the same time, Baukis firmly believed that this act of kindness would be remembered.

(Well, I'm just throwing Baukis' name around, I never spoke with them about this. It's not like anyone will find out though, and even if they do I'll deal with it later.)

Allen was using Baukis' name without hesitation, even though Baukis' emperor knew nothing.

But Prostia had no direct contact with Baukis, Allen was sure of that.

Even if Baukis were to catch wind of it, they would not accuse Clebeur of being liars.

Baukis valuated strong trade lines, so instead they would choose to pretend it was true just to profit from it.

They would surely go along with it, just to fortify their trade lines.

"And that's also the reason why you were chosen as ambassador at such a young age then."

Allen's supposed skillful negotiations had fetched him a powerful magic device for free.

Tynome understood that as the reason why Allen was granted the role of ambassador extraordinary and plenipotentiary to restore the relationship between Prostia and Clebeur.

"I was a bit hesitant at first, but in the end I decided to accept such an honorable duty and brought the magic device here.."

Allen could not forget to pretend he was nervous about accepting such a position.

And so, Allen finished explaining how he was given that role, and brought the magic device.

"Well, at least you got it here safely."

Tynome seemed to understand the story, though he still looked doubtful, even if he had no reason to believe it was all a lie.

"You might not know this unless you visit the surface, but these devices are only so valuable to us mermen folk. On the surface, even cities just as large as Patlanta have no need for such large Water Purifying Devices, smaller ones doing more than enough for them."

(Peromus really came in clutch with that. Apparently a magic device like this goes for 38'000'000 gold coins here in Prostia.)

Allen had used the export and import records of Prostia through Clebeur to determine what the empire valued most.

Magic devices appeared often in the lists, Water Purifying ones especially.

On top of that, using Peromus' Extra Skill [Valuate], he investigated the specific price Prostia paid for them.

The results Peromus got after using [Valuate] were the following:

-Baukis: 2500'000 gold coins

-Giamut: 2000'000 gold coins

-Rosenheim 400'000 gold coins

-Latash: 0 gold coins

-Clebeur: 0 gold coins

-Prostia: 38'000'000

Peromus could see the local prices, and also the buyer's funds.

The value was listed as 0 for smaller countries like Latash and Clebeur.

That meant that even if there was demand, it was too expensive to even consider buying.

Meanwhile Rosenheim could use spirits to produce clean water, meaning there was less demand for such magic devices.

(I had Larappa work for three days and three nights to built this puppy after all.)

The magic device had not simply been found in a dungeon chest and taken out.

Allen had taken one of the Water Purifying Devices (Extra Large) from Gordino's gold chest, and given it to Larappa to improve further.

That had cost three Magic Cores, enhancing the device to a ridiculous level, and all for his plan.

Adding just one Magic Core had increased its value in Prostia by ten million gold coins.

When four Magic Cores were used, its price exceeded Prostia's available budget, making the value fall to 0.

Thanks to that, Allen now had a rough idea of Prostia's wealth.

"Still, how am I supposed to explain this…"

Even if everything Allen said was true, Tynome still felt unsure about reporting that to the palace.

He worried they would not believe him.

(Oh? He doesn't feel confident then? That makes sense, the device is essentially worth all of Prostia's national budget.)

"If you're so worried about it, do you mind if I give it a test run here? Though it might cause some noise."

"So it's not a quiet device? Actually that makes sense, if it's truly so powerful."

Tynome heaved a sigh of relief, that would help his case greatly.

At the same time, a lot of noise would mean it was working properly.

"Yes, precisely. Let's give this Water Purifying Device Baukis so graciously offered a test run then, shall we? Luty, could you turn it on, just like you were taught?"

"Sure! I'll do it!!"

(His voice sounds a bit too shouty. Though I guess it actually fits his appearance.)

Luck had been waiting for his turn the entire time.

Tynome watched as Luck approached the device, manipulating it exactly the way Larappa had taught him.

There was something that resembled a touchscreen with buttons, which Luck pressed in order.

<em class="chakra-text css-0">Vooom!

There was a rumbling sound as the device powered on, while lights of geometric shapes slowly turned on.

The lights became gradually brighter, eventually illuminating the entire port.

There was clearly a sound as the device powered on, but Tynome felt like it was still quieter than expected. Still, the noise mattered little if it was as effective as claimed.

"O-ohhh! This is incredible. I can see the water getting clearer already! This is the first time the city has looked so pristine from here!!"

Tynome's eyes twinkled while his body began to tremble.

The port was located near a city with a population of one million, so the water was somewhat tepid from all the waste.

But that was all fading and becoming clearer at an incredible rate.

And the magic device glowed brighter than the crystal flower, making the effect even more obvious.

It was so clear that it almost made one forget they were underwater.

Tynome, the mermen nearby, and even Allen's group could see the scenery change.

(Hmmm, Larappa said it should happen any time now. Oh, there it is.)

<em class="chakra-text css-0">BEEEEEEEEEEEEEPP!!!

After around one minute, a blaring sound like an alarm filled the port.

A red lamp turned on as well.

There was only one red lamp at first, but soon others turned on all over the port.

The workers carrying cargo or maintaining ships quickly began to move.

"W-what happened? What does this mean!!"

"So it ended like this after all…"

Allen closed his eyes and shook his head slightly.

"Wh- what's happening? Alec, what happened!!"

(Oh, so you finally feel like calling me by name.)

"It's an abnormal status. Magic devices have malfunctioned and are giving out errors."

"A malfunction?"

"Yes, I fear the water has become so clean the Water Quality Control Devices have failed."

Saying that, Allen began explaining the reason behind the alarms.

Water Quality Control Devices measured how contaminated the water was, from a scale between 0 and 9.

If the water quality scored 4 or above, it was no longer sanitary and alarms would turn on.

They were a very important magic device for mermen who lived underwater.

There were multiple of such devices in the large port.

"Usually the alarms are set to ring if the water quality reaches 0 as well, to counteract failures."

It was extremely rare for water to be that clean, so that was used as another warning signal.

If the water quality reached 0, the alarms would sound.

Usually that was only possible if the device's detector failed, giving an incorrect reading, so the alarms were sound so it could be replaced as soon as possible.

It was a safety feature of the Water Quality Control Devices.

"Water quality 0… I-is that even possible…"

Tynome could hardly believe that it was possible to achieve such purity in the water.

Mermen would always expel all sorts of waste just by breathing water.

Even springs in remote places were almost never that clean.

Water quality 0 was believed to be impossible to reach.

That was why all alarms were set to ring once that result came out.

That was something else Allen had researched beforehand.

Prostia also bought a large quantity of Water Quality Control Devices.

Keeping the water relatively clean was important to Prostia.

"Oh, it's spreading outside the port already."

"Outside the port…"

The alarms were audible from far in the distance as well.

Allen realized that sound traveled more easily underwater.

"Yes, like I mentioned, this magic device should cover an area ten times bigger than Patlanta."

"So this is happening throughout the entire city… Th-that's not…never mind, I can hear it myself…"

Red lights were turning on like a wave that spread from the Water Purifying Device in the port.

It was clear that the alarm in every single Water Quality Control Device in the city had been tripped.

The surface atop the petals of the hundred kilometer large crystal flower had turned red.