After a shopping spree at a jewelry store, a clothing shop, and a glassware store, Armand suddenly realized that if he didn't wrap up this trip soon, he'd have to hunt monsters along the way to earn enough money to get home. He immediately went to visit Frederick.
"We admire Count Henry Weissen's bravery, fearlessness, and unwavering loyalty," Armand said to Frederick in fluent Rhenish. "We recently heard of the injustice King William has done to your country, and we are outraged. I have been appointed as our representative to help Count Weissen's family through this difficult time."
Frederick had often heard lately that the Kingdom of Gaul was free-spirited and romantic, and that its people revered every virtue.
Before, he'd dismissed such talk as hearsay. Now that he'd seen it for himself, he was startled.
A purple silk purse sat on the tea table between them, filled with gold coins.
Frederick didn't so much as glance at the purse before replying sincerely, "I thank Lord Armand and our friends from Gaul for your concern. Wessen Territory is indeed facing some difficulties, but I believe that with the efforts of everyone in the territory, we will overcome them."
Armand watched Frederick's every move, trying to see through this young boy, who was barely younger than he was.
The reports he'd heard before arriving in Wessen Territory were very different from what he'd seen and heard since arriving. The people here hadn't panicked or fallen into chaos despite their young lord and the plots beyond their borders. Instead, they lived in peace and prosperity, full of hope for the future. They even had an endless stream of clever ways to fleece people.
As a rising star among his family's younger generation and a favorite of the king, Armand had received an education few could match. A prosperous little town had been his classroom.
Because he'd had experience governing a territory, once he'd calmed down, he could understand just how difficult it was to govern Wessen Territory well.
Even just keeping the people at ease wasn't something he believed could be achieved with a few songs. There had to be more to it than he knew.
Yet for the moment, all he could see was that Frederick's clothes were... plain and simple, but he looked quite sharp in them.
"Baron Weissen is still young. That's an advantage. He hasn't been spoiled by a life of luxury, so he can endure a frugal one and save a great deal of money."
Armand summarized his first point to himself.
At the same time, Frederick smiled while muttering to himself.
He couldn't figure out what the Kingdom of Gaul was up to. His father's fans had brought him several hundred gold coins?
They were giving him money because his own king was taking advantage of him?
What would other people think? What would the king think? Did this mean the Weissen Family really was colluding with a foreign enemy?
What the heck? Could this be a scheme to sow discord?
He suddenly realized that he simply couldn't understand "fans," no matter which world they came from.
But this was nearly two kilograms of gold coins. He couldn't very well make them carry it all the way back, could he?
While exchanging pleasantries, Frederick made up his mind.
The king had already fallen out with him, so he might as well accept the money.
As for everything else, as long as the story was spread properly, even if they later called it a bribe, people would only think they'd lied because they'd been forced by the circumstances.
Besides, Armand still hadn't said what his surname was. Even when he introduced himself as a "fan," he hadn't given his family name. It was clear he considered this a personal undertaking.
After they'd finished exchanging pleasantries, Armand asked, "I have a question. Would you be willing to enlighten me?"
Frederick nodded slightly. "Please, go ahead."
Armand asked, "When Wessen Territory faced such a grave crisis, how did you unite the people here?"
Frederick was taken aback. He hadn't expected that question.
"It's simple," he replied. "Meet their needs."
Armand said in surprise, "But human desires are endless. Trying to meet everyone's needs would be like trying to fill the sea."
Frederick didn't argue. He only smiled and said, "That's true," then left it at that. He had no further explanation. He couldn't explain it.
Psychology was still just a branch of philosophy, with all kinds of conflicting theories. Since statistics hadn't been introduced, many studies treated individual cases as universal truths, so there was no mainstream school of thought.
If you proposed humanism, your opponents could drag a dozen or twenty counterexamples in front of you to argue their case, then ask if you thought that was objective enough—and, if not, offer to bring over another two cartloads of people.
Explaining Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs to the people here would be difficult enough, let alone using psychology to guide the development of a territory. That was an entirely novel idea.
At the same time, to prepare for the refugees who were about to arrive, Frederick had begun trying to break down the regional clan identities tied to the feudal system and build something even more novel: nationalism.
On one hand, he relied on the recent boom in malt sugar and steel trade to promise that opening the canal would give everyone a chance to make money. On the other, he used the external tensions created by King William's outrageous blunders to unite the people of Wessen Territory—and everyone else they could bring together—through nationalism. As a result, morale across the territory had been climbing steadily.
Armand, however, thought that Frederick couldn't have come up with these ideas on his own. The boy had simply grabbed the first excuse that came to mind because he didn't know the details, and now that he'd been seen through, he had nothing more to say.
If Sword Saint Richard Nahl had known this kind of political theory, he'd have gone to curry favor with someone powerful and become a duke long ago. So there had to be someone brilliant behind Baron Weissen.
Armand just didn't know who that person was. It was very likely one of the scholars from Constantinople.
When Constantinople was in turmoil, many people fled. Among them were famous scholars and advisors unknown to the outside world. Every one of them was talented and persuasive, and wherever they went, they were valued.
For a moment, Armand yearned to bring someone like that back home.
Hoping to meet this brilliant person, he'd spent three days freeloading on meals here. Yet aside from a senior gang leader from the south of the Kingdom of Sardinia who was always with Frederick, he hadn't seen anyone else.
The day before Armand left, Frederick gave him a gift.
"What's this?" Armand asked, studying the object in front of him with curiosity.
It was a regular hexagonal wooden box made from expensive wood and finely decorated. On its lid was a design of flowers in six different colors of glass.
When he opened it, he found a set of Glass Chinese Checkers. Both the board and the pieces were made of colored glass, and the pieces in each color matched a different flower.
Frederick wore a polite, practiced smile as he said, "This is Chinese checkers, a little game. You can play alone, or with as many as six people. Give it to Françoise."
Armand was well-traveled, and whenever he had free time these past few days, Frederick had asked him to tell him about the outside world.
As he talked, he'd eventually mentioned his younger sister, Françoise, a girl three years older than Frederick.
Frederick was preparing to take the initiative and welcome the refugees, so he needed to maintain good relations with the local lords. For this, he'd prepared quite a few small gifts suitable for polite occasions.
Two of the lords had children around his age, so his gifts included two newly invented sets of Chinese checkers.
It wouldn't have been right to make Armand travel all this way and send him back empty-handed. But Frederick didn't have many gifts worth giving, so he gave him the attractive and entertaining-looking Glass Chinese Checkers for his sister. It was a gracious gesture that saved face all around.
As it turned out, in an age short on both money and entertainment, a brain-teasing little game like Chinese checkers was quite popular. After Armand learned the rules, he spent the entire night playing both sides himself.
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