"Are those merchants lying?"
Tsunami frowned.
"Who knows about things like that? After all, we don't know what it's like outside. Whatever those merchants say, we just take it as truth."
Tazuna let out a sigh, picked up the bottle of liquor beside him and took a swig, looking a bit down as well.
"How about I go out and work too? That way, things at home would get a lot better."
Tsunami suggested.
Tazuna glanced at his daughter Tsunami. Although she'd already been married and had a child, she wasn't even thirty yet. Even dressed in plain, simple clothes, you could still tell she was a beauty with both charm and poise.
Before she got married, plenty of young men in the Land of Waves had been infatuated with his daughter. Having such a beautiful and kind daughter was one of the few things he took pride in during his life.
Tazuna said, "I heard the towns can be a bit rough. Those good‑for‑nothing thugs easily set their sights on you. They'll drug young women and secretly sell them to owners of certain special establishments, where they entertain shady men."
"..."
Tsunami dropped the idea of going out to work.
"All right, you don't need to worry about money. As long as I can get a job this year, we won't have to fret about it for a long time afterward."
Tazuna said with an optimistic smile.
After all, he was a famous bridge builder. As long as he landed a single job, he could get an exceedingly generous payment from his employer and improve the family's living conditions.
"Then…"
Tsunami was just about to say something when a knock sounded at the door, cutting her off.
Tsunami and Tazuna exchanged a look, each seeing the confusion in the other's eyes.
"I'll go take a look."
"I'll go with you."
Tazuna stood up and walked out of the room with Tsunami, heading toward the entryway.
When they opened the door and saw the unexpected visitor, both of them stared, eyes wide in surprise.
"You are…"
"It's been a week, Mr. Tazuna. Do you still remember me?"
Chiba Ichihime stood outside the door with four Ninja Guards behind her, smiling as she greeted them.
"I remember. You're Miss Chiba Ichihime from the Land of Demons."
Although she was a girl whose words and behavior were rather strange, the noble bearing on Ichihime that had nothing at all in common with ordinary commoners had left a deep impression on him. He immediately recognized this mysterious noble girl from the Land of Demons who had come to visit him a week ago.
"Calling me 'Miss' is too formal. My family just has a bit of money, that's all. Nothing worth mentioning."
"Miss Ichihime, are you from a merchant family?"
"Mm, just a very normal sort of merchant family."
Ichihime answered politely.
Tazuna nodded and didn't press the matter further.
"So, Mr. Tazuna, aren't you going to invite me in to sit? I have something important on hand and would like to ask for your help. Of course, I'll be paying you for it."
Ichihime lifted her head slightly, meeting Tazuna's eyes.
"Ah, sorry, please come in. Tsunami, go make some tea."
Tazuna stepped aside, and at the same time told Tsunami to brew tea to serve the guest.
Ichihime tilted her head slightly and said to the four Guards behind her, "You stay outside on watch. I'll go in by myself."
"Yes, milady."
After hearing that, Ichihime nodded and went into Tazuna's house.
"Sorry to intrude."
She followed behind Tazuna, walked down the hallway, and arrived at the living room.
Though it was called a living room, the space was actually quite small. The walls were lined with all sorts of odds and ends, taking up a good chunk of the room.
"Our place is shabby. Please don't laugh at us, Miss."
"No, Mr. Tazuna, please don't take me for that type of girl who only knows how to live in luxury. Work on construction sites, or going to the countryside to farm—I've experienced all of that."
Ichihime replied.
"Eh?"
Tazuna stared at Ichihime in disbelief.
"Is there something strange about that?"
"Well, generally speaking, a young lady like you wouldn't be doing that kind of manual labor, right? And…"
Looking at Ichihime, she didn't look like someone who had ever done heavy work.
"Can't be helped. That's just how it is with education in my family. Doing things this way actually makes it easier to manage the Country."
After listening to this, Tazuna had no idea what he was supposed to say.
So much for coming from an ordinary merchant family, huh?
Managing a Country is not something a normal merchant family could ever reach.
That's the domain of high‑ranking state officials—top‑tier nobility.
"Please enjoy, guest."
At that moment Tsunami finished brewing two cups of tea and set them in front of Ichihime and Tazuna. Then she left the living room and went into her own room, leaving the space to Ichihime and Tazuna so they could discuss important matters.
"So, what is it that you've come to me for, Miss Ichihime? I'll need to think it over before I can agree."
"That's how it should be."
Ichihime didn't argue. She took a rolled sheet of paper from inside her clothes, spread it out on the low table, and showed it to Tazuna.
Tazuna focused his gaze. It was a very detailed map of the Land of Waves. On the map, one area was encircled over and over in red, standing out especially clearly.
"This is…"
"This is why I came to see you, Mr. Tazuna. I want to build a large integrated factory in this location, to produce certain technological equipment. This job shouldn't be too difficult for you, right?"
Ichihime calmly took a sip of tea.
Although Tazuna was famous for bridge building, that didn't mean he could only build bridges. If the information was accurate, this job wouldn't be all that difficult for Tazuna.
Tazuna folded his arms across his chest, seeming to sink into thought.